Are there any Christians out there that believe unexplainable miracles can still happen, like the kind Jesus performed in the Gospels?

[Eric_Hyom]

My mum went into a coma and was rushed to hospital, the doctors said she had a day or two to live. At the time, none of us in the family really had any faith, we just knew mum was brought up a Catholic, so we thought we should ask for a priest to come and say the prayers for the dying.

The priest came and said the prayers, whilst he was there her breathing changed from a horrible gurgly sound, to a more normal breathing. a few minutes after the priest left, mum came too, she asked why we were all there and she lived another ten years.

At the time we thought she might just live a few more days, we never knew the priests name, it was really only after years had passed that I found my faith. My brothers and sisters who had been there also; were not moved in the same way, and to this day they do not profess a faith.

The healing was both a blessing and curse, mum did not want to die, but at the time of her coma, she had suffered with multiple sclerosis and had been paralysed from the neck down, for about ten years. She had spent the last twenty years of her life in this state, I always sensed she had a great faith, but she rarely talked about it. She is the strongest and kindest person I shall ever meet, she endured so much.

 

[7_Sorrows]

That sounds like a miracle to me! Your mom did endure a lot.
She sounds like a saint!

 

[Nine_Two]

I do agree. But, most people seem to be afraid to talk about them, even when they do happen.

That’s generally because secular society likes to mock such beliefs.

Then again we Orthodox have a certain taboo on talking about certain types of miracles - they get viewed as more of a rebuke from God than anything.

Generally though ones faith should not be based on miracles, so I’m fine with them not being a big conversation piece. Though believing that God can not work miracles would be quite questionable.

 

[badnewsbarrett]

So, what do you believe about real, unexplainable miracles? Can they still happen, today, like they did in the Gospels? Or, are they just those ordinary graces that we sometimes call miracles, and give more credit than they deserve, now? Do non-Catholic churches have any examples of holy people (saints) in their church history, that really could perform these types of miracles, just like the Apostles did in the Gospels?

I would normally start by talking about all the bad examples of so-called miracles, based on coincidence, weather patterns, or temporary cessation of pain for reasons that are just psychosomatic. However, since you ask this portion first, I can tell you about some examples from a couple of different angles. One has to do with some friends of mine- while in Mexico, specifically Juarez, they did some prayer for miracles as they were evangelizing. There were two different blind men who miraculously recovered their sight, I would call that a legitimate miracle. They recovered their sight in two different ways, too- one of them, if was basically all at once. The other, it was a little bit at first, then they kept praying and didn’t quite know what else to do so they tried doing the thing with the mud, more prayer, and then wash the mud off. They hadn’t planned on it going quite that way (it didn’t happen like that for the other blind guy, after all) so they did the mud thing one more time and kept praying until his vision had gradually gone from nothing to basically good. The other example I can give doesn’t come from personal experience, but there is this book I know of that DC Talk has to do with, it’s called Jesus Freaks- Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus. Some stories are drawn directly from Scripture, others have to do with martyrs, but interspersed are stories from the past 10-20 years, primarily coming from countries where Christians are a minority and some miraculous things happened. One that sticks out in my mind was a man riding a motorcycle- if memory serves, he was actually an EMT and a Muslim in a primarily Muslim country. He got in a wreck and was hurt badly, he believed he was going to die and he had very good reason to think so given what he did for a living. Then there was a Christian woman who stopped, knelt by him, and started praying for him. He told her to go away, the last thing he wanted as he lay dying was for a Christian woman to pray over him. Once he got rid of her, though, he found that he was able to get up and walk away. He got himself checked out but didn’t really need medical attention. Then after that God spoke to him in a dream, essentially telling him to go to a certain place, seek out a certain type of person and become a Christian. He ignored the dream, but some other things transpired that led to him eventually becoming a Christian.

As for names, I would cite “nameless woman” from the book along with a few other stories that I can’t remember as well. When it comes to my friends, let’s call them Jer Bear and Steve.

I know there are some televangelists that make claims of performing miracles, but are they really true? I have serious doubts about most people that claim to perform miracles, no matter what church they belong to. It’s way too easy for people to fake that kind of thing, at least these days. Isn’t it? On the other hand, I’m pretty sure it’s still possible. I think it can still happen, but I just don’t think there are too many people out there that have the kind of faith necessary to be able to do it. Sad but true.

Mostly I don’t think those kinds of things are really true. It’s a performance. It’s a means to an end. And I’ve also noticed that legit miracles don’t tend to happen nearly as much in Christian-majority countries (the previous example from Mexico would obviously be a notable exception). But mostly, they do seem to happen a lot more in countries where Christianity is a minority religion and especially when it’s a persecuted religion. I’m not quite sure why that is, there may be multiple things to that. But that’s the way it seems to me.

 

[Ad_Orientem]

How about the Miracle of Childbirth. Is that still a miracle?

Not in the same sense. Childbirth is a wonderful, excellent, and awesome work of God, but it does not supersede the powers of Nature. It is, rather, at the heart of the natural order which God set up. A miracle in the sense we are speaking of, by definition, does surpass the powers of Nature. The Virgin Birth was a miracle; ordinary childbirth, while truly wonderful, is not.

 

[Marie5890]

Yes, I do believe that they do. And they should be still happening…

If they cease, then as a Christian people, we should be concerned, because they are one of the fruits of faith.

And I am one of those when I use the term “miracle” I am refering to that which supercedes natural law…

As another has stated, childbirth is wonderful and glorious, but does not supercede natural laws, so by that definition, is not miraculous.

 

[WilT]

I have had a couple of very impressive miracles
When my grandfather, an excellent swimmer, dove in to try to save him, he couldn’t find him. Then he had to come up for a breath before going back to try to find my uncle again. What he found when he surfaced was my uncle sitting on the river bank. And when he asked him how he got out, my uncle replied that a lady scooped him up in her blue mantle.

The lady was obviously our Blessed Mother

God bless,

Whatever became of your Uncle as an adult?

 

[Telstar]

I have had a couple of very impressive miracles in my life. However, to give you a concrete story of a miracle, I will tell you what happened to my uncle when he was a little boy. He and my grandfather went to the river and he fell into a part that had a whirlpool that pulled everything down.

When my grandfather, an excellent swimmer, dove in to try to save him, he couldn’t find him. Then he had to come up for a breath before going back to try to find my uncle again. What he found when he surfaced was my uncle sitting on the river bank. And when he asked him how he got out, my uncle replied that a lady scooped him up in her blue mantle.

The lady was obviously our Blessed Mother to whom my grandmother prayed every day for protection of her family. We recognize that miracle in my family as a special gift from God, and through the prayers of my grandmother and mother, I believe many dangers have been averted or escaped. Sometimes I’m surprised I’m alive.

God bless,

:clapping: Excellent story! That’s what I would call a true miracle! It proves that we don’t necessarily have to wait until we need a miracle to pray, but all of our faithful, daily prayers can certainly lead to miracles happening in our lives.

 

[NeedsMercy]

I couldn’t help but laugh, Telstar, at your avatar–Padre Pio. Talk about miracles–numerous supernatural phenomena when he was still here on earth! Yeah, miracles still happen.

 

[Telstar]

My mum went into a coma and was rushed to hospital, the doctors said she had a day or two to live. At the time, none of us in the family really had any faith, we just knew mum was brought up a Catholic, so we thought we should ask for a priest to come and say the prayers for the dying.

The priest came and said the prayers, whilst he was there her breathing changed from a horrible gurgly sound, to a more normal breathing. a few minutes after the priest left, mum came too, she asked why we were all there and she lived another ten years.

At the time we thought she might just live a few more days, we never knew the priests name, it was really only after years had passed that I found my faith. My brothers and sisters who had been there also; were not moved in the same way, and to this day they do not profess a faith.

The healing was both a blessing and curse, mum did not want to die, but at the time of her coma, she had suffered with multiple sclerosis and had been paralysed from the neck down, for about ten years. She had spent the last twenty years of her life in this state, I always sensed she had a great faith, but she rarely talked about it. She is the strongest and kindest person I shall ever meet, she endured so much.

This is the kind of miracle that’s much more subtle in it’s effects. Apparently, while none of the witnesses were affected more profoundly when it happened, and seem to have passed it off as a natural occurrence and ignored the deeper meaning, you eventually recognized it for what it was. I think we all have different levels of belief based on how open we are to the possibility of supernatural (spiritual) things being real. You can never be sure, but at some point down the road, they might change their opinion and it could cause a delayed reaction in them, too. All you can do, is pray for that to happen. I’m pretty sure your Mum is probably still praying for it to occur to them, too.

 

[Telstar]

That’s generally because secular society likes to mock such beliefs.

Then again we Orthodox have a certain taboo on talking about certain types of miracles - they get viewed as more of a rebuke from God than anything.

Generally though ones faith should not be based on miracles, so I’m fine with them not being a big conversation piece. Though believing that God can not work miracles would be quite questionable.

I absolutely agree with everything you said. I think there are a variety of types of miracles. Some are what we might call ‘minor miracles’, that are just slightly out of the ordinary, while ‘major miracles’ are more obvious on a much grander scale.

The real purpose of all miracles is to draw us closer to God, by strengthening our faith. If we already have strong faith, we have much less need to see miracles in our own lives. But, I think talking about them can be very helpful to others, that might have a little weaker faith, to see that real miracles are still possible in the modern world. I sincerely hope this thread can help people that might be experiencing some doubts, to get a little bit of a boost in their own faith.

 

[Telstar]

I couldn’t help but laugh, Telstar, at your avatar–Padre Pio. Talk about miracles–numerous supernatural phenomena when he was still here on earth! Yeah, miracles still happen.

He’s my absolute favorite miracle worker, since Jesus walked the earth. I recently read a story on another part of the forum, about a miracle that happened through his intercession. As usual for him, it was spectacular!

Hmmm… maybe I should see if I can find the link.

I found it! Never Say Never

WARNING: Be sure to have a big box of tissues handy! You’ll probably need a lot of them. I sure did.

 

[SteveVH]

He’s my absolute favorite miracle worker, since Jesus walked the earth. I recently read a story on another part of the forum, about a miracle that happened through his intercession. As usual for him, it was spectacular!

Hmmm… maybe I should see if I can find the link.

I found it! Never Say Never

WARNING: Be sure to have a big box of tissues handy! You’ll probably need a lot of them. I sure did.

Telstar, thank you so much for sharing this story. Padre Pio is my favorite as well.

I also love the story of the little girl born without pupils, blind from birth, of course. Long story short, through the intercession of Padre Pio she was given the gift of sight. The amazing thing was that she still had no pupils but could see perfectly the rest of her life. This happened while Padre Pio was still alive.

Anyway, thanks again. Truly amazing miracle.

God bless.

Steve

 

[Telstar]

Telstar, thank you so much for sharing this story. Padre Pio is my favorite as well.

I also love the story of the little girl born without pupils, blind from birth, of course. Long story short, through the intercession of Padre Pio she was given the gift of sight. The amazing thing was that she still had no pupils but could see perfectly the rest of her life. This happened while Padre Pio was still alive.

Anyway, thanks again. Truly amazing miracle.

God bless.

Steve

You’re welcome, Steve. I’m always happy to share stories about Padré Pio’s miracles. He was such an amazing man. The one about the blind girl, Gemma Di Giorgi, was one of my favorites of his, too. That one certainly baffled the doctors, that’s for sure.

 

[Pat_Albertson]

I have read that angels help us all the time.

Let us suppose that a little old lady is struggling with a bag of groceries. Why is she weak? Well, she’s old. Why does God arrange things so she has to struggle? That I can’t answer, but let’s suppose that God in his mercy sends an angel to help her with her groceries.

What could the angel do if it wanted? Who knows, maybe throw a freight train several miles, and that’s without really making an effort. What does the angel do? He (or she; they can manifest either way) reduces the weight the little old lady has to lift from 15.6 pounds to 11.1. Why only that much? Who knows? Maybe she’s still supposed to put some effort into it so that she can offer up her struggle to God. Maybe the visible struggle is an opportunity for strong young person to step up, help her, and earn a little grace.

Now, is this a miracle? Yes, absolutely, it violates the laws of physics. Does anybody know the miracle is taking place even if they see the little old lady struggling with her package? How could they? Who is there measuring the tension in her muscles or the pressure distribution on the soles of her shoes? Even if she’s walking in snow or mud, who goes around attempting to calculate stresses and strains from random footprints? I’ve really only heard about people doing that for bigfoot. And with regard to the little old lady’s footprints, any tangible evidence of such a miracle will soon disappear. Will anybody (other than me, and maybe now you) even consider making records or impressions of her footprints?

There is ample opportunity for miracles violating the laws of physics to be performed every single day in just about every place on earth without anybody being the wiser. The reality is that there are only a few laboratories (physics, mechanical engineering, etc.) in even a big city that would be able to tell the difference, and they are almost invariably concerned with other things.

We think we live in a rational world where everything is known, measured, calibrated, calculated and not mysterious, but the truth is that most things are unmeasured, uncalibrated, and uncalculated. Knowing things, really knowing them, takes effort; effort, time, talent, thought and money. We say we know all about the world, but we really don’t. What we actually know about the world is what we say are its laws, the regularities we see when we conduct experiments and take measurements, but we really don’t know everything to anything like the precision the laws would allow were we to be measuring every last happenstance.

And, what’s more, what about all of the laws of chemistry? What about biology? Who measures all of that?

I think in the absence of evidence of miracles, you have to have faith, but that does not mean we have evidence that there are no miracles.

 

[TarkanAttila]

When our Lord returned to his home town, “he wrought not many miracles there, because of their unbelief.” (Mt. 13:58). Bishop Challoner’s note on the corresponding passage in Mark (6:5) states: * … [H]e would not work miracles in favour of obstinate and incredulous people, who were unworthy of such favours.* Maybe we don’t see as many miracles today partly for similar reasons.

Atheists and non-believers of course would not be convinced. I would not blame them. The miracles aren’t there to convince you. They’re not part of a deal God’s offering.

Like everything God gives, they’re gifts.

People think God has to offer them a deal, they give their part of the deal, carry off what God offers, and then you go back to whatever it was you wanted to do. Trouble is, God’s not a salesman. He works miracles as He sees fit, towards His end, which is our loving Him and each other. Miracles would do no good towards that end in this present time.

 

[The_Question_1]

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a pretty awesome miracle that has been scrupulously examined by a multitude of scientist’s. I know that’s not super recent but still recent enough.

 

[josh987654321]

.

Hi Telstar,

You might be interested in these

Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano 700 AD - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_Lanciano

Eucharistic Miracle of Sokolka, Poland 2008 - jloughnan.tripod.com/sokolka.htm

Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires, Argentina 1996 - catholicpilgrim.org/2013/11/27/pope-francis-a-eucharistic-miracle-in-argentina/

The Holy Eucharist, A Matter of Faith, A Matter of Fact thedivinemercy.org/shrine/story.php?NID=5114

& These books also linked in my signature
Unseen by Ron Tesoriero and Lee Han:

http://s15.postimg.org/mzvgbd747/unseen.jpg

Unseen – New Evidence, Purcahse here - loveandmercy.org/english-books/

In Buenos Aires in 1999, Pope Francis, then known as Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, sought a scientific investigation into something very unusual. A Communion Host appeared to have inexplicably changed to what looked like flesh and blood. First published in “Reason to Believe” in 2007, and then presented to Pope Benedict XVI and geneticist Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the Human Genome Project in 2009, the startling scientific evidence inspired Ron Tesoriero, an Australian lawyer and documentary film producer, and co-author Lee Han, to follow where the evidence led. And where it led is remarkable. This new book, “UNSEEN – New Evidence” presents not only a convincing basis for the belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist but is the most serious scientific challenge yet to contemporary thinking on the origin of life in the universe.

Reason to Believe by Ron Tesoriero:

http://s2.postimg.org/5tzxmgnet/Eng_RTB_96dpi_thumb.jpg

Reason to Believe, Purchase here - loveandmercy.org/english-books/

A statue weeps and bleeds in the same city that Catalina Rivas writes profound teachings she says are dictated by Christ. Elsewhere, a communion host (bread) changes to living flesh. Are these claims true? What does Science have to say? This is a fascinating journey of Australian lawyer, Ron Tesoriero, in pursuit of answers. On the way he invites a well-known and highly respected journalist Mike Willesee to join him. What they discover will confront the mind and heart of every reader.

Also -

Science Tests Faith - youtube.com/watch?v=-kuxEJXgGSI

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[josh987654321]

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a pretty awesome miracle that has been scrupulously examined by a multitude of scientist’s. I know that’s not super recent but still recent enough.

 

[Telstar]

I have read that angels help us all the time.
…
I think in the absence of evidence of miracles, you have to have faith, but that does not mean we have evidence that there are no miracles.

I like your hypothesis. It’s very true that not all miraculous occurrences are obvious enough for us to recognize them as such. Angels can certainly do many things that we can’t see, or even know about. It’s not impossible, by any means.

Hi Telstar,

You might be interested in these

Hi, Josh
I’m always interested in any miracles about the Holy Eucharist.

Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano 700 AD - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_Lanciano

This one was already mentioned. I’ve known about it for a long time, but it’s nice to have this link for others to read. Thanks!

Eucharistic Miracle of Sokolka, Poland 2008 - jloughnan.tripod.com/sokolka.htm

I had not heard about this one! This is very similar to the one in Buenos Aires, listed below.

Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires, Argentina 1996 - catholicpilgrim.org/2013/11/27/pope-francis-a-eucharistic-miracle-in-argentina/

This one I read about a couple of years ago, and watched the video. It’s one of the most amazing ones I’ve read about. The doctors and scientists that have examined it are some of the finest in the field of cardiology in the whole world. It certainly has baffled all of them. I love it!

The Holy Eucharist, A Matter of Faith, A Matter of Fact thedivinemercy.org/shrine/story.php?NID=5114

I’ll have to read this one, later. I just did a quick skim and it seems very interesting to me. Thanks for sharing it.

& These books also linked in my signature

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

I have so many books on my shelf that I still haven’t read, that I don’t think I would dare buy any more. But, they seem to be an excellent source of many stories like the ones mentioned, above. Thank you for posting it all!