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The Catechism describes a miracle as “A sign or wonder, such as a healing or the control of nature, which can only be attributed to divine power. The miracles of Jesus were messianic signs of the presence of Gods kingdom."

The key words here are “which can only be attributed to divine power.” Since God created the entire universe and everything in it, only God is above the order of created nature. Supernatural therefore means a participation in God’s own life. A true miracle is always supernatural, above the order of created nature. God performs miracles to highlight some truth or testify to someone’s sanctity.

Only the Church is authorized to declare an event miraculous. The laity can propose a miracle, which the Church then investigates. The criteria are strict. At Lourdes, France, the Lourdes Bureau Médical has in its records many hundreds of cases in which cures which the medical boards have found beyond all possibility of natural occurrence, yet the Church has certified only 66 cases as miraculous.

Some Catholics, grateful for an extraordinary benefit God has given, such as a healing that could have occurred by natural means, call it a miracle. If it could have occurred by natural means, it may be an outpouring of grace or a blessing, but it cannot be described as a miracle. Even more egregious are those who say something like, “The wind blew the hat off my head. It is a miracle that the hat got caught in a tree so I could retrieve it."

Copyright © 1999-2010 Martin K Barrack. All rights reserved.