No Need for Miracles?
Sometimes I find myself praying to God for the ability to perform great miracles - seriously - like Peter and John in the Temple or Paul or Saint Anthony of Padua or Saint Francis of Assisi. If not me, then someone else but please give us a miracle worker. Why not?
I pray I might grow in holiness and humility no matter what the cost so such power would not be spiritually toxic. I ask God to make me a saint without a saint's reward so there is no self-aggrandizement. I ask Him to make me great and make me the least so the entire Church is greater. I picture myself lying face down in the mud as the least of all so the Church can rise just a little higher and purer by standing on my back.
It's not so much for the miracles themselves. After all, whether we are healthy or sick, live or die, are wealthy or poor is not all that important. All that is important is loving and being loved, and sickness, death and affliction all have an important role in the laboratory of love. No, I ask for a miracle worker to get people's attention - to break them from the mundane, make them stop in their tracks and listen to the gospel. Yes, miracles not for the sake of miracles but to gain a hearing for the gospel.
Then I realize, we do not need a miracle for that; we need prayer. We need endless and sacrificial prayer that God would not only inspire those He has chosen to proclaim the gospel (as opposed to those who choose themselves) but, more importantly, would provide open ears to hear the gospel. That's something each of us can do all the time. Are we willing to consecrate our lives to prayer for the reception of the gospel and the transformation of people's lives into the Kingdom of God's love or would we prefer the high profile jobs? Would we rather "do" something, subtly disbelieving the power of prayer, thinking we must do God's work (as if He cannot do it Himself) and relegating prayer to a ten minute per day corner of our lives?
We don't need miracle workers. We need holy, sincere, sacrificial prayer. So why miracle workers? Why an Anthony of Padua, Francis of Assisi or Padre Pio? Why miracle workers after death like Saint Therese of Lisieux?
I don't know but I'll throw out an idea for anyone's input. I wonder if God grants some of His great saints miracles to point out people whose lives we should imitate. The miracles alone do not attest to holiness. In Deuteronomy 13, God warns Israel that if a great wonder worker arises but tries to lead people away from the faith, they are a false prophet. However, when miracles are combined with a heroic adherence to the faith, should we be paying special attention?
On the bell curve of humanity with Hell on one side and Heaven on the other, there are endless opinions about how we should live holy lives. To which ones do we listen? The ones we like? The ones we agree with? Those seem like very poor criteria to me. I wonder if God has not granted these miracles to some of those who are at the top end of the bell curve to sort through the noise and point out those souls who are truly holy and pleasing to Him.
If so, what does that mean for us? Someone whom I respect very highly regularly quotes something he was taught in seminary - "the saints are to be admired, not imitated." He is probably right and I am wrong but that seems like an awfully silly thing. I suppose if we try to imitate them as a mechanical action, a recipe for saving our skins or out of spiritual vanity, it makes sense. But, if in our sincere desire to follow God as He would have us do rather than following Him as we would have us do, we look to the lives of the saints not just with admiration but to reshape our ideas and lives in conformity to that which God approves, is that a bad thing? Why would God give us great saints if not to show us how to live holy and approved lives?
Well, probably more bad ideas but I thought I'd throw them out for discussion for whatever it's worth. Peace, wisdom, love and holiness to you all - John
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Reply #1 on : Mon August 04, 2008, 14:24:56