THE WORD MIRACLE CAN BE TAKEN IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AS THIS RAINBOW OF DEFINITIONS SHOWS.
An unusual act when one thinks one recognizes a favorable intervention (definition of Little Robert).
An unexpected good fortune, as when a driver walks away unharmed from his car that was demolished in an accident
(a journalist).
A means of drawing forth a surge of faith. And an ambiguous way: because miracles touch those who see them in the
most troubled part of their soul. They reveal the depth of superstition which comes from our ancestors...(according to
Marcel Legaut).
A mistrust of science and reason. People say miracle when they haven't yet found any explanation for something. If
faith depends on the miracle, it has hardly any value (a scientific..).
Jesus didn't change the stones into bread (they reproach Him enough for it today). He didn't come down from the
cross. He didn't show Himself, resurrected and full of light, to the Jewish and Roman authorities. Thus born the true
miracle, that of our freedom. 1(Oliver Clement, historian).
An act of power, marvel by which God gives a sign to people who are astonished by it...(a more precise definition,
from the Dictionary of the New Testament).
DETAILS
The church is always very prudent about recognizing that there has been a miracle. At Lourdes, for example, in 100
years, only 64 cures have been recognized as miracles. The examinations, as much medical as religious, are very detailed,
and are accompanied with verification. The statement of the Bureau of Medical Verification at Lourdes in the following:
"in the present state of medical knowledge, this intervention".
The miracles of Lourdes or elsewhere are never truths of faith. The Christian remains free to have a personal
opinion. |
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