So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
What is a miracle? Well, my wife would say a miracle is when I fold the laundry. Of course, I would then say it is a miracle when should puts her shirts in the laundry basket without turning them inside out first. And then there are those that attach the word “miracle” to some rather worldly events. Americans may recall the “Miracle on Ice” at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York State in 1980 when a group of Amateur College hockey players defeated the powerful Russian Olympic team. Or how about the Kraft Corporation deciding that its recipe for Salad Dressing should carry the moniker “Miracle Whip”. I prefer Mayonnaise so Kraft’s product certainly does not rise to the level of a miracle for me. Then there were the “Miracle Mets”. The 1969 version of the New York Mets baseball team that won the World Series that year. Yes…I am that old to remember this event.
One definition of the word miracle is: “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” There are many examples in the Bible of such events, of course. The healing of the paralytic after he was lowered through the roof of the crowded house to Jesus. The healing of the lepers. Healing of the blind man. The healing of the lame man waiting to access the waters of the pool of Siloam. Peter’s Mother-in-Law being healed of her illness.
But these are “Biblical Miracles”. Confined to the pages of the New Testament. Not that they are not worthy of our attention but sometimes we can become desensitized to just how amazing these works were. Yeah, OK, Jesus fed the 5,000. That was a nice story. Peter makes a huge catch of fish after Jesus instructs him to cast his net one more time. There are very few more “modern” examples of miracles…right? Tell that to Juan Diego whose Tilma was imprinted with Mary’s image after he collected out of season roses in his cloak in 1531. But even this incredible event happened in the “old days”. Surely miracles don’t occur now.
18 month old Lilly had not yet learned to talk when her and her Mother, Jennifer, crashed into Utah’s Spanish Fork River in 2015. Lilly’s Mother tragically died in the crash but rescuers found Lilly, strapped in her car seat above the water, when they heard a cry for help. Rescuers had assumed it was coming from Jennifer but realized that was not possible due to her death in the accident.
Ruby Graupera-Cassimiro died as a consequence of complication from her C Section in 2014. She was without a pulse for 45 minutes but her heart suddenly began beating again and Ruby went home with her baby and with no negative effects from the ordeal.
And closer to home: Eight year old Caleb Roof of Canton, Pennsylvania was out playing near his family home in December of 2024 when he ventured out onto an icy pond. He was found by the amazing courage and skill of 200 local emergency personnel. But only after Caleb had spent 3 hours under water. When found, Caleb was in bad shape but was alive. He was initially cared for at nearby Geisinger Medical Center then transferred to Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia where he is making slow, but steady progress. To the point where he has made trips out into the area outside the hospital.
But here is the thing. All these stories are truly amazing and speak to the power, mercy and love of our God as well as the dedication and skill of neighbors, doctors, rescue personnel and researchers. But there is the biggest miracle of all happening every day right in your town. In fact, multiple times per day and we overlook it. What miracle is that? It is God himself making himself known to us in Mass. It is bread and wine becoming Christ’s body and blood right in front of our eyes. And then he consents to allow us to consume Him. For Him to enter our bodies and live in our souls. But here is the rub. Almost 70% of Catholics don’t believe in the reality of Transubstantiation. The miracle of the real presence Christ in the Eucharist. God can do all the things I mentioned above, but many Catholics cannot accept Christ coming to us in bread and wine. Well, how about these facts:
In the year 700 in the small town of Lanciano, Italy a similarly doubting parish priest was saying the words if institution over the bread and wine during mass. At that moment he saw the bread turn into real human flesh and the wine transform into blood. Testing over the centuries has confirmed that the flesh is real human heart muscle and the blood is Type AB human blood. Too long ago in history to accept as real? How about in 2006 in the town of Tixtla, Mexico. A nun was handing out communion when she noted a red substance exuding from the host. Testing verified type AB blood. On Christmas Day in 2014 in Legnica, Poland a consecrated host fell on the floor during communion and was placed in a container filled with water. When later examined there were red stains on the host which later was proved to be heart muscle.
I spent Friday night and Saturday morning at a retreat call “Be A Catholic Man” put on by men from our diocese of Scranton, Pa. Benediction and Adoration was part of the activities of the retreat on Friday night before we al turned in for bed. But we were not going to let Jesus be alone in the sanctuary all night. So the 75 men at the retreat took turns spending time with our Lord throughout the evening until the following morning.
Jesus is still among us performing signs as he did when he walked the countryside of Judea and Galilee. The Pharisees were concerned that if the people saw these signs, these miracles, all would believe in Him. Well, he has continued performing these signs and not all believe. So I guess the Pharisees were mistaken on what the impact of miraculous signs would have on the people. What about you? Is the miracle of Christ in the Eucharist sufficient for you to recognize him as Lord and Savior? To turn off Mass on YouTube and rush off to your parish church to witness a miracle and to find Him there. Waiting for you. Things to ponder while folding the laundry.
