Miraculous Cures at Lourdes

[epower]

I read a book about Lourdes once. It stated that there was a volunteer medical board of doctors that determined whether or not a cure was genuine, They would look at before and after xrays, pictures, and medical charts. Then they would debate whether or not the cure could be explained by any reasonable means (“inexplicable” I think).

If they were unable to come up with a reasonable explanation,
then they would vote that it was unexplainable. The board consists of doctors of all faiths, including atheists. The unexplained healings would be forwarded to the Bishop for review.

It was really good reading.

 

[LukeQ]

Hi Aurelia,

May I first state that I believe in Loudes as well as Fatima though my knowlege of Loudes is limited.

I am just wondering what you might mean by applying this well known quote:

For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice.

From my perspective, I believe this quote is linked to the Gift of Faith. The Gift of Faith refers to Faith in God through Holy Mother Church. The Church through Charity provides explanations of the Faith to those who are interested or curious. At this point, the interested or curious do not believe.

My view is that this quote refers to a situation where the Faith has been explained yet the inquirer still does not believe because the Mystery of the Gift of Faith has been possibly rejected.

However, as regards to Private Revelation of which Loudes is, the Faithful are not obliged to believe. Further, when it comes to an alleged miracle as a possible fruit as is the case in Loudes, The Church does not automatically believe. It tests the miracle by atempting to understand and explain the situation through investigation.

Faith and Reason go hand in hand. A healthy scepticism as practiced by the Church over the centuries through investigations guided by the Holy Spirit has kept it on the narrow path.

For the record, I do believe that miracles occur at Loudes as fruits from the apparitions.

Luke

 

[Rosalinda]

Mijoy 2, As you said you would like nothing more than to believe I will pray for just that intention. Faith or no faith, get down on your knees, put your hands together, raise your arms heavenward or beat your breast but say this prayer, “LORD, help my unbelief. Jesus, mercy. Have mercy on me a sinner.” Pray and act as though you have faith even when you feel nothing, believe nothing. Humble yourself before God; beg for His mercy. Finally, find yourself a Miraculous Medal and wear it. (The prayer around Our Lady on the medal, “Oh Mary, conceived without original sin, pray for us, we have recourse to thee.”) If you don’t believe, it won’t do you any harm, and if it is as powerful as many believe, it could just open up your heart as it did for Alphonse Ratisbonne.

Meanwhile, read this account I first heard from Fr. Benedict Groeschel on EWTN; it may interest you. It is the story of a French scientist, Alexis Carrel, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1912 for his pioneering work in blood vessel surgery and organ transplants. He witnessed the instantaneous healing of a young woman, literally dying before his eyes, with tubercular peritonitis in 1902.

ewtn.com/library/MARY/VOYLOUR.HTM

 

[Aurelia]

Aurelia:

For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation will suffice.

To LukeQ: By citing this quote I meant to say that if a person believes that God works miracles, then he is willing to accept a miraculous healing at face value. If he does not believe in miracles then, when he is confronted with a miraculous healing, he has to cast about looking for a “natural” cause which really does not explain it.

We see this in operation every Easter when the so called “experts” come out of the woodwork to take part in television documentaries purporting to tell us about the “real” Jesus. These people are obvioulsy not believers, and so they try to explain away the Resurrection with all sorts of ridiculous theories.

 

[urban-hermit]

LukeQ:

…However, as regards to Private Revelation of which Loudes is, the Faithful are not obliged to believe. Further, when it comes to an alleged miracle as a possible fruit as is the case in Loudes, The Church does not automatically believe. It tests the miracle by atempting to understand and explain the situation through investigation…

Hi Luke,

Yes we are not obliged to believe in the miracles at Lourdes, it’s true. I’m glad you pointed that out because we should all know when speaking to others that it is not mandatory to believe in it - ie not part of the “deposit of faith”.

As i understand it, after the Church investigates and finds no reason to doubt a miracle, it is deemed “worthy of belief” - ie for Catholics to believe in it would not be contrary to the faith.

On the other hand, after the Church has investigated and found no obstacle, i don’t see any reason why not to believe. Miracles can help our faith. And they may help those who do not believe to receive faith as well, if they are open, because the signs are pretty hard to dismiss. I think the quote Aurelia posted is good because it points out that faith is the most important thing, not only to look for miracles, as wonderful as they are. And it also points out that if somebody does not want to believe, you cannot force them, no matter if you literally moved heaven and earth.

I see them as God giving us every gift and assistance He can to bless us and confirm us in our faith. He really is generous!

 

[nMbR1BaRlOwGiRl]

What a wonderful tribute to the faith you are nMbR1BaRlOwGiRl. I read your words, then your date of birth.

I know this thread is extremely old now, but I truely feel I need to respond to this post I got. You have NO idea how much this simple complement has changed my life. I didn’t know I could make a difference, even a small one, in someone’s elses life. It really touched me to receive this. I now know that what I have to say really does matter. I don’t post much on here because I’m afraid of what people are going to think, but this post I got back showed me that what I say can really change something for the better. Thank you SO much!!!