Miracles

A miracle is a phenomenon which cannot be fully explained using human reason or “laws” of nature.For a believer,it is God using is crestion and the laws of that creation(i.e.the laws of nature) the lay he wishes. According to the well-known writer,C s lewis,one cannot believe a miracle that has taken place,if one has already drawn a conclusion in one’s mind that miracles are not possible at all.
The Bible is full of miracles,which can be perceived as Go’s interventionin human history,in His creation to achiev His purposes. In the old testament,that is more than evident in the book of Exodus,for example,when God brought His people,Israel out of the land of Egypt with inexplicabli wonders,which surely are’miracles’ by definition.Than in yhe new Testament,God intervenes in the laws of the nature in and through jesus of Nazareth,His only Son and our God.Miracles are so interwoven with the earthly ministry of jesus that we simply cannot perceive jesus of Nazareth as portrayed by the Evangelists without His many miracles which the Evangelist John call”signs”.These miracles were to do mainly with healings,exorcisms and raising the dead to life again.Besides these,there are also miracles attributed to jesus which are supernatural in the sensethey are to do with the divine control over nature,the Creator’s control over His creation.Thus,we have changing water into the wine,walking on water,calming the storm in themidst of the sea,the draught of fish,feeding the multitude by multiplication of bread and fish……..etc.Also.His own Transfiguration on Mount Tabor and His Resurrection from the Dead clearly indicate Hid divine control over nature and all naturalprocesses,including life and death.This is an essential part of our Catholic faith.
In the Acts of the Apostles,we read page after page how disciples of jesus continue more or less performing the same miracles,of course,always in the name of jesus of Nazareth.This is the way the author of Acts is trying to portray how the miraculous power of jesus the Risen One is now present in and through His spirit,working in the Church.In other words,the mieacles of jesus did not cease with the end earthly ministry.Jesus who was active yesterday,is active today,and will be active tomorrow,too.
According to the gospel of John,the first”sign” or miracle of Jesus was in cana of Galilee where He changed water into wine.For our purposes here,what is pmportant in this event in Cana is that Jesus performs that miracle at the request of His mother who tell him”They have no wine" Mary’sintercession on behalf of us when we too run short of “wine “in this earthly life continues.Hundreds and thousands of Christians down through the ages do dear witness to this powerful intercession of Mother Mary.In fact,the many titles with which she is venerated all over the world are a clear testimony to this,because each and every such title implies a particular intervention/intercession of the Mother of God on behalf of us,her children,at a given time and place in our human history.One of the most popular titles with which she is venerated all over the world is the title “The Mother of Perpetual Help”.This is based on a devotion to a miraculous icon that goes back to at least the 15th century.