Miracles are typically understood as events which go beyond what is possible given the natural forces present. The argument here is simple; If there has ever been a single genuine miracle - that serves as verification that God exists.
So today I want to look at five examples.
Fulton Sheen’s First Miracle:
This is the miracle for which my second son was named. It occurred back in 2010 in Illinois. I think I’ll let the National Catholic Register article do the rest of the talking:
“Throughout the pregnancy, all the signs pointed to a healthy, normal pregnancy. And then came the delivery, at their home in Goodfield, Ill., on Sept. 16, 2010: Their newborn had no pulse, and for the next 61 minutes, a nightmare unfolded.”
“For 61 minutes, James Fulton Engstrom had no pulse and was medically dead, as medical professionals did their best but failed to resuscitate him. The only hope they had was to revive the infant long enough for Bonnie and Travis to hold him and say their brief hellos and good-byes. When the doctors finally gave up and started to certify death, Engstrom said, ‘that’s when his heart shot up to 148 beats per minute’ — just like any healthy newborn.”
“Engstrom said she later learned that her husband had been fast at work starting a prayer chain in that difficult hour, asking others to pray — all over the world — specifically for Archbishop Sheen to intercede and ask God to save their little boy.”
“Astonished by James Fulton’s inexplicable return from death, the doctors told the Engstroms that their son must have suffered severe organ damage from the oxygen deprivation and would be severely disabled. Those predictions, however, never came to pass, and their baby was soon weaned off the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit machines and drugs. ‘He’ll now be 4 in September,’ Engstrom said. ‘He’s a normal, healthy little boy — just cute and really happy.’”
Healing at Lourdes:
A second would be one of the many healings at Lourdes - (and there have been many). One notable example is the strange case of Marie Bailly and Alexis Carrel.
Marie Bailly was entering the last stage of a terminal case of tubercular peritonitis. She met Nobel laureate and ardent skeptic Alexis Carrel while on a train to Lourdes and bordering on death. The rest is related in his book “The Voyage to Lourdes”.
At 2pm on May 28th 1902, Marie was taken to the baths at Lourdes and was dying. She was washed with water from the grotto. By 4pm, she was completely healed. All of this took place under the close medical scrutiny of Alexis Carrel who kept hourly notes on her progress.
Alexis Carrel died in 1944, reconciled to God.
The Miracle of the Sun Outside Fatima:
In 1917, three young children experienced an appearance of the blessed virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal. To validate the apparition, the woman told the children to await a sign on Sunday, the 13th of October in a field called Cova da Iria. About 30,000 people gathered to see this sign.
At 1PM, the people experienced ... something. Here is how the local pro-grovernment, anti-clerical newspaper O Seculo described it:
"From the road, where the vehicles were parked and where hundreds of people who had not dared to brave the mud were congregated, one could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort. It might have been an eclipse which was taking place. But at that moment a great shout went up, and one could hear the spectators nearest at hand shouting: "A miracle! A miracle!"
Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bareheaded, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws---the sun "danced" according to the typical expression of the people."
And another local newspaper, O Dia:
"The sky, pearly grey in colour, illuminated the vast arid landscape with a strange light. The sun had a transparent gauzy veil so that the eyes could easily be fixed upon it. The grey mother-of-pearl tone turned into a sheet of silver which broke up as the clouds were torn apart and the silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken clouds. A cry went up from every mouth and people fell on their knees on the muddy ground....
The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come through the stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and spread itself over the people who knelt with outstretched hands. The blue faded slowly, and then the light seemed to pass through yellow glass. Yellow stains fell against white handkerchiefs, against the dark skirts of the women. They were repeated on the trees, on the stones and on the serra. People wept and prayed with uncovered heads, in the presence of a miracle they had awaited. The seconds seemed like hours, so vivid were they."
The Tilma of Juan Diego:
In December of 1591, an Aztec peasant named Juan Diego stumbled upon a woman bathed in glowing light. She requested that a church be built on that location. As a sign to demonstrate the veracity of the apparition, she arranged a boquette of Castilian roses (which weren't in bloom at the time) in Juan Diego's tilma.
When the peasant showed the roses to his bishop, everyone in the room was astounded to see the following image imprinted on the cloak:
The tilma and the image has a number of very odd properties. The stars on woman's garment matches the astronomical pattern in the sky that night. It was applied (somehow) without a single brush-stroke. The woman featured there-upon was of an ethnicity that didn't yet exist. And her eyes contain miniature photo-negatives of people.
Most amusingly, the tilma - which is made of cactus fibers - has exhibited the quality of indestructibility. Similarly made tilmas last about 5 years. This one is going on 424 years. It has even survived a bomb-strike, which occurred in 1921. The bomb damaged nearby buildings, warped a nearby metal crucifix... and did nothing to the tilma.
The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth:
And now for the central miracle of human history; the Resurrection. Pretty much all historians will accept the following historical data points:
- Jesus of Nazareth was crucified in 33AD.
- He was taken from the cross and put in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
- 36 hours later, a contingent of His female followers found the tomb empty.
- The disciples came to the sincere belief that they had seen Jesus resurrected from the dead.
- Paul of Tarsus, an opponent of the Christians experienced roughly the same thing, and changed sides.
As CS Lewis noted, the attempt to put those facts together in a way that avoids the Resurrection ... typically results in something more bizarre than the thing you're trying to avoid.
To Conclude:
Many people imagine the miraculous as a sort of vending machine whereby God fixes all of our problems. But this isn't the case. In reality, miracles are the little helps we receive to help us during times of doubt.
If just one miracle - ever - is genuine, then God exists.
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