Deus Machina

 There's a conundrum that asks, "If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one to hear it, does it make a sound?"

A physicist would say "no" because there's no one there to prove there was a sound.
A philosopher would say "yes" because experience proves that falling trees make sounds. Besides the falling tree would make vibrations that would be heard and felt by animals and birds.

I don't know where you stand on this conundrum but it seems to me that the same situation happens when God sends a miracle.

If God gives someone a miracle and he doesn't know it, is it still a miracle?

Eyes to See

Another Padre Vaillant quote from Death Comes to the Archbishop: "One might almost say that an apparition is human vision corrected by divine love."

He was speaking about the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  But it would be true of anything.  The eyes of Faith have us see differently, especially people.  Ordinary people become special when see through the eyes of Faith.  In fact,  Bishop Latour explains

deeper, "I do not see you as you really are, Joseph (Padre Vaillant); I see you through my affection for you.  The Miracles of the Church seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always."

Amen to that.

Father Patrick Joseph Power

This picture shows a fenced in monument.  It is the gravesite of a good priest, Father Patrick Joseph Power.  It is fenced to keep people from chipping away at the monument.  Surrounding the monument, up to the fence is cement or something like that, to keep people from scooping up soil, from Father Power's grave.  People did that before this monument was placed in this part of Holy Cross cemetery in Malden, MA.

In examining Father's brief life, there's nothing extraordinary.  See Charles Radosta's story.  He died young from tuberculosis, age 25. But afterward, miracles started occurring, at his grave site.  As usual at such places, crutches, eye patches, hearing aids, etc. started to accumulate at the gravesite.
People even took soil from around his gravemarker.  His gravestone had a chalice on it and people would scoop out the rain water that had accumulated.  Naturally, the surrounding, neighboring gravesites were trampled over.    

Eventually, Father Power's grave had to be moved, away to a separate location.  This is the picture above.  Now there's a monument instead of the gravestone with a chalice.  But people still come to pray and ask for Father's intercession.

Such was the case with a member of my prayer group.  He visited the site to pray for a friend who has cancer.  However, my friend was cured.  He had a carotid endarterectomy that cleared his carotid arteries, but it affected his neck.  He couldn't turn it to the right side.

Now he can.

No, Nay

Discernment required.  As for me, I say, "No."  In the first place, chalices are made of precious

metals, i.e., gold or silver.  This chalice is glass.  So I doubt a priest would use a glass chalice for Jesus' Precious Blood.  A priest would need special permission because it's not permitted.

In the second place,  isn't it awfully convenient that the host in question just happened to be in this GLASS chalice.

Thirdly, it's just too, too, too coincidental.

Besides I don't see the face of Jesus, do you?

A Sign

What more to people want!  Jesus just fed the crowd with 5 loaves and fishes and they ask Him for a sign John 6: 30.

I guess it takes eyes of faith to see a miracle.

How many go to Mass and don't see the miracle right in front of them?  No wonder they don't see how many accidents they just missed.  How many times their child could have been harmed?  How many times they finally understood their loved one's need?

Revelation and redemption are one occurrence and we have it in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Miracles and Beauty

There was a discussion on Facebook about miracles.  Specifically, why doesn't God perform miracles in front of atheists and bring them back to faith.  One commenter said He did, look at the book of Exodus.  Time after time, God performed miracles and the people would still turn away from God.

An interesting comment was about Marie Bailly and Dr. Alexis Carrel.  Since I never heard of either one, I googled the names.  I found their stories very interesting.  You will, too.  Dr.  Carrel was a surgeon who doubted. You know the ones who think they're being scientific and above faith.

Carrel wanted to see for himself about all this miracle stuff happening at Lourdes.  He did and still didn't believe it.  He saw Marie Bailly be cured.  She was dying of tuberculous peritonitis.  Water from Lourdes was poured over her abdomen and a miracle happened.

Carrel downplayed it.

You know what I think.  I think miracles are like beauty.  They depend on the eye of the beholder.

Read the story at Catholic Culture.

Dominican Province of St. Joseph | Miracle approved for Père Lataste Blog | op-stjoseph.org

Dominican Province of St. Joseph | Miracle approved for Père Lataste Blog | op-stjoseph.org

Yes, finally what we Dominicans have been praying for --  B16 has approved a miracle for Pere M. Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P.  Pere Lataste is known for founding the Dominican Sisters of Bethany.  We who follow his spirituality are excited.

 It is a spirituality that is understood in the context of redemption, particularly through Jesus Christ, in the death He suffered after being taken prisoner from the Garden of Gethsemane. It is a spirituality that directs preaching to challenging situations of despair, into offering hope through redemption. Here is where the Word of God is to be announced, especially to the prisons, where our Messiah was sent "to proclaim liberty to prisoners." (Luke 3:18)

Something I wrote for Facebook.

I have seen miracles. Many miracles!

It is wondrous.  The conversion stories were inspiring.  "I have seen miracles--many miracles."  These are the words of Father M. Jean-Joseph Lataste, O.P. when he visited a women's prison in Cadillac, France, in 1864.  And these were our words today, at a Day of Recollection, in MCI Norfolk, MA.

I'll start with one miracle that you can relate to.  Sister Ruth had asked the prison administration for permission to bring in flowers for the altar, for Mass on the Day of Recollection, and Promise day.  She was refused.  Permission was denied--no flowers could be brought in. 

So be it.

We had Mass at the end of the Day of Recollection.  While the altar was being prepared, in walked some "cloistered brothers" with six vases of cut flowers.  They were beautiful.  They were quite a surprise.  Who was responsible for providing them, we don't know.  And how whoever it was, knew we wanted flowers for the altar is a mystery, too.

Another miracle: A pagan high priest was converted to Christianity.  Explain that.

How about a murderer that prays for the soul of his victim and the victim's family.  And other inmates whose lives have been touched by the holy spirit and have turned their lives around.

How about a priest that has learned patience by watching how the "cloistered brothers"  treat another brother   handicapped with many physical handicaps?  

It's a miracle, that I myself was there.  It was a beautiful day today.  You'd think I'd be on a beach, down the Cape.  How come I was there - inside a prison?  

It's all explained by grace.