The Church is careful to declare only certain events as miraculous.
Humans have always had intense interest with miracles. In every age there have been events that occurred which can not be explained through natural reasoning and are seen as divine in origin.
The entire life of Jesus was full of miracles, starting from his virginal conception to his resurrection and ascension.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the importance of miracles for the Christian believer: “the miracles of Christ and both the saints, prophecies, the Church’s growth and holiness, and her fruitfulness and stability are the most sure signs of divine Revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all’; are ‘motives of credibility’ (motiva credibilitatis), which show that the assent of faith is by means of a no blind impulse of the mind.’” (CCC 156)
However, miracles are real and they confirm for us the reality of the supernatural and restore the existence of God to us.
Though, the Church doesn’t believe everything that is hard to explain by science is a miracle. The church has a strict processes that examines each event and determines if it indeed originated supernaturally.
St. Thomas Aquinas described Miracles as “those things which are done by divine power aside from the order generally followed in things.”
In that case, it means that a miracle must have strong evidence that it did not follow the rules of nature.
One of the most common type of miracles accepted, is the sudden healing of someone.
As Michael O’Neill explains, “For a cure to be considered miraculous, the disease must be serious and impossible (or at least very difficult) to be cured by human means and not be in a stage at which it is liable to disappear shortly by itself. In such, no medical treatment must have been given, or it must be made sure that the treatment given has no reference to the cure. The healing must be immediate, complete and permanent.”
In every cases the local bishop is the first authority to investigate a miracle. He will create a board of medical professionals to evaluate the event and then they would report their results to him.
Still, despite the strict procedure, miracles are proclaimed on a daily basis. For almost in each beatification and canonization the existence of miracle is a primary requirement, clearly showing the power of God through the intercession of a person.
This assures the interest God has in our affairs and his willingness to help us in our needy moment. Our God is not a distant “god of the clouds,” but a loving God who is always present among us and keeps us and all creation in existence.
Surely, every day is a miracle and all of creation proclaims the power and glory of God.
