Mysterious priest performs miracle at site of Mercedes crash

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oldcelt said:
So, what have we all learned today?
I’d say that it is best not to start shouting miracle before the facts are known.
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Hey, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t a miracle. It just means God does miracles differently than we think He should - using ordinary slobs like us. :cool:
“What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home”
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source: lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/ifgodwasoneofuslyrics.html

Also, since the priest was named “Father Dowling”, maybe the late +Ralph McInerny’s prayers had something to do with him showing up, right time/right place. 😃 )
 
Thanks Father Patrick Dowling!😃

That’s a relief to know who it was! I am not in the least less impressed with an ordinary Priest. Neither is he ordinary to me. It was quite exciting to imagine a Saint come down to bless a girl in a tragedy, for sure! But we still know the Holy Spirit came down that frightfull morning, in order to give calm and hope.

I dont, however, understand why he wished to withdraw his statement???

Now, i’m gonna go have a pint, or three, of guiness for my good fellows Patrick and Katie 👍
 
rcwitness said:
Thanks Father Patrick Dowling!😃

That’s a relief to know who it was! I am not in the least less impressed with an ordinary Priest. Neither is he ordinary to me. It was quite exciting to imagine a Saint come down to bless a girl in a tragedy, for sure! But we still know the Holy Spirit came down that frightfull morning, in order to give calm and hope.

Now, i’m gonna go have a pint, or three, of guiness for my good fellows Patrick and Katie 👍
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Hear Hear… Agree completely… Cheers to you too, man!

What were the odds… I wonder… radically amazing…
 
Morwenna said:
👍
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There were still two workers at the scene who heard from somewhere that Katie was going to be OK, the equipment was gong to work, and they were going to get her out. Father Dowling said that did not come from his lips.
 
Prieldedi said:
I have discussed this story with a more knowledgeable person in Church matters, and he told me these are the possibilities that can explain this “mystery” priest:

1) He is a priest who arrived and left unnoticed when everyone was paying attention to the injured girl. Nothing supernatural here.
  1. He is a saint and a priest in heaven who was sent by God to come to this accident, perform his duties and return.
  2. He is a “living” saint, living somewhere else on the planet, a priest who has the gift of ubiquity or bi-location.
  3. The priest was not an angel. The reason is that only a priest can administer the Sacraments. The priest in the accident administered the injured girl the Anointing of the Sick sacrament. An angel can’t do that. Only a man, a man of God, a priest.
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Option 1) was the explanation to the “mystery” priest. Thank God he was driving the same route.
  • Why did it take so long for him to come forward?
  • Two rescue workers heard him say everything would be OK, the machinery would work, the girl will be out, yet Father Dowling says he didn’t say those words.
  • He said he shook hands with a sergeant and told him his name, the sergeant gave him at the Sheriff’s request Katie’s name so he could visit her at the hospital, but no sergeant came forward saying he had talked to the priest.
 
Regarding the words “everything will be okay” or similar, in the video clip of the fire chief, the chief states that he is unsure how he understood that everything would be okay. He indicated that he and his colleague both understood everything would be okay, but they were not sure if it was because the priest spoke those words out loud or not. If you go back and look at the text of the video interview, or the interview of the fire chief, you will see what I am referring to.

Part of what is marvelous about the event is that both the fire chief and his colleague seemed to have gained an interior understanding about how the events would unfold. The fire chief seems a little embarrassed about it actually, or at least not sure how to describe it. As a result of all the prayers, the Holy Spirit may have inspired them with understanding, helping them to be at peace about what would happen next. Sometimes the Holy Spirit works in this way.
 
“I absolved and anointed Katie, and, at her request, prayed that her leg would not hurt. Then I stepped aside to where some rescue personnel and the pilot were waiting, and prayed the rosary silently”

:signofcross: 🤷 OK it wasn’t it miracle, just a days work. 👍
 
So, what have we learn?

God provide us with miracles when needed, but in His terms. And, “Thou shall not worship miracles but God”. Wait and listen to The RCC. Remember the victim, not the miracle, what ever it might look like. Do not speculate when you have insufficient data. Never trust the media. Let us gather all information and make sure we have the facts right.

Yes, it was a genuine miracle, the “real stuff” so to say. And with no doubt provided by God. And yes, I still belive we have many Angels among us, and Saint’s do help us in the hour of need. But behind every miracle we have real people, in need of our prayers, not debating who was the “Angel/Saint/Priest”. The victims, no matter where or who, are what as Christians must serve. We can not heal with only thoughts or our bare hand, but we possess a mighty weapon, our faith, loaded with prayers, and that weapon is what we must use when someone is in need of help. That is doing God’s will, and after all, that is why we have our faith.
 
I learned that we are all instruments of God (or potential instruments). It’s ok to ponder at what happened there that day. It’s not jumping to conclusions. Thinking that would, in fact, be jumping to conclusions. If it makes you stop and think and reflect on the Almighty, then good has come out of it. Maybe it brought searchers Home. That would be wonderful. In this day and age, one might say that in itself was a miracle.

And that is what I have learned.

God Bless.

CF
 
Lasting_faith said:
So, what have we learn?

God provide us with miracles when needed, but in His terms. And, “Thou shall not worship miracles but God”. Wait and listen to The RCC. Remember the victim, not the miracle, what ever it might look like. Do not speculate when you have insufficient data. Never trust the media. Let us gather all information and make sure we have the facts right.

Yes, it was a genuine miracle, the “real stuff” so to say. And with no doubt provided by God. And yes, I still belive we have many Angels among us, and Saint’s do help us in the hour of need. But behind every miracle we have real people, in need of our prayers, not debating who was the “Angel/Saint/Priest”. The victims, no matter where or who, are what as Christians must serve. We can not heal with only thoughts or our bare hand, but we possess a mighty weapon, our faith, loaded with prayers, and that weapon is what we must use when someone is in need of help. That is doing God’s will, and after all, that is why we have our faith.
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You’ve said it all.👍
 
Lasting_faith said:
So, what have we learn?

God provide us with miracles when needed, but in His terms. And, “Thou shall not worship miracles but God”. Wait and listen to The RCC. Remember the victim, not the miracle, what ever it might look like. Do not speculate when you have insufficient data. Never trust the media. Let us gather all information and make sure we have the facts right.
.
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I like this very much. To seek the miracle Over the good faith in the event is a terrible mistake.
CatholicFireman said:
I learned that we are all instruments of God (or potential instruments). It’s ok to ponder at what happened there that day. It’s not jumping to conclusions. Thinking that would, in fact, be jumping to conclusions. If it makes you stop and think and reflect on the Almighty, then good has come out of it. Maybe it brought searchers Home. That would be wonderful. In this day and age, one might say that in itself was a miracle.

And that is what I have learned.CF
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This is the flipped coin! There is great joy when and if a miracle has been given! Those of us with good/genuine faith dont need the miracle, but praise God for the greater outreach a miracle can generate. In this story, some of that outreach was made.

It doesnt have to be a “lesson learned” for wondering if something extraordinary occurred.

In the end, I personally thought Katie’s faith/behaviour/strength is awsome. And I do ask our Lord to bring her healing and the understanding that so many of us were touched by her story. And Fr Patrick was lifted up for his honest humble work as a priest on the feast day of the Patron Saint of Priests! How cool is that!
 
Well said, rcwtness and lastingfaith. 🙂 I was just sharing what I gleened from all this.
 
CatholicFireman said:
I learned that we are all instruments of God (or potential instruments). It’s ok to ponder at what happened there that day. It’s not jumping to conclusions. Thinking that would, in fact, be jumping to conclusions. If it makes you stop and think and reflect on the Almighty, then good has come out of it. Maybe it brought searchers Home. That would be wonderful. In this day and age, one might say that in itself was a miracle.

And that is what I have learned.

God Bless.

CF
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Beautifully said, Catholic Fireman. I just watched and heard the live interview with Father Dowling on EWTN’s The World Over tonight. (I imagine it will be available online in the coming days.)

Father Dowling said the main reason he did not come forward sooner is that he does not have television and did not know until late in the week that people had taken an interest in the story. That was endearing in itself; as many priests do, he seems to be living a very simple life.

Interestingly, when asked if he was the one who had told the fire chief and the fire chief’s co-worker that the equipment would work and they would get Katie out, he said firmly that no, he had not said that, because he did not know that the equipment was not working in the first place, and he had no way of knowing how everything would be resolved. (In the show, a clip is played of the fire chief saying he and his co-worker “plainly” heard someone tell them the equipment would work and they would get Katie out, but he also said they did not know whether it was the priest’s voice.)
 
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