Saved by a Miracle: "Indian Priest, 'Miracle Son,' Eager for Canonization of Blessed Vaz."

[mdgspencer]

This priest’s life was saved by a miracle, through the intercession of a great Asian saint. This miracle, which was approved by the Vatican, made it possible for this saint to beatified, who will now be canonized January 14. This saint, Joseph Vaz, almost single-handedly revived and made it possible for Catholicism to survive in an entire country, Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Catholicism was under severe persecution in the 17th Century, and in fact was illegal there, when this saint went into the lion’s den of this country, with great effect.
www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=172794

 

[Joie_de_Vivre]

Am I a bad person for wanting him to be a saint so I have a saint in my family?

 

[Morwenna]

I’m curious to know…how does the Vatican decide that it was praying to Father Vaz that made the mother better…and not that she was in the hospital and a team of doctors were tending to her and taking care of her?

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Hi DaddyGirl!

A quick Google search found the following helpful information:

To become saints, however, they need to have performed two miracles after death.

Toward that end, a Vatican-appointed Miracle Commission sifts through hundreds or even thousands of miraculous claims. Typically, the commissions are composed of theologians and scientific experts.

Nearly all, or “99.9 percent of these are medical miracles,” O’Neill said.** “They need to be spontaneous, instantaneous and complete healing. Doctors have to say, ‘We don’t have any natural explanation of what happened,’” O’Neill said.**

A woman whose breast cancer was cured wouldn’t qualify, for instance, if she was given a 10 percent chance of survival — she would need to be told there was no chance of survival before any divine intervention, said the Rev. Stephan Bevans, a theology professor at the Catholic Theological Union.

Full article here: livescience.com/38033-how-vatican-identifies-miracles.html

You may also enjoy the following account, written by an atheist Professor of Medicine, regarding her participation in a Vatican review: bbc.co.uk/religion/0/24660240

:nun2:

 

[ethereality]

Quoting catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1405416.htm :

With the hemorrhage worsening in the seventh month, she was rushed to the hospital. Doctors wanted to conduct a Caesarian section but could not because of her precarious condition.

“My relatives placed a picture of Father Vaz on my unconscious mother’s stomach and prayed. Soon she regained consciousness and had a normal delivery,” said Father Costa, now a church historian. He weighed only two pounds, which earned him the nickname “Frog.”

…]

Seeing the precarious condition of the baby, the Catholic nurse at the hospital baptized him within hours of his birth. …]

Father Costa said his mother prayed constantly for Father Vaz’s intercession, and her premature baby gained health steadily.

“I could have been deaf, dumb, blind or anything. … Blessed Vaz’s intercession saved us,” reiterated Father Costa.

It sounds as if the healing was instant, as well as the birth, not something that occurred over a long period of time through care. I hope this answers your question.

My question when reading this article, though, was: How can we have confidence that this event is “statistically significant” (actually a sign from God)? That is, how many are praying (with sufficient faith, etc. in accordance with the Bible’s instructions) and are not having their petitions granted through his intercession? If this number is large, it suggests that this event may have been “a fluke” (occurring through natural rare phenomena) rather than divine intercession. Of course, we have no way of estimating this number.

I suppose the answer to the first question is, “Because the Church says so with authority,” but I don’t know what to say to satisfactorily address the second question.