Post by Pacelli on Oct 4, 2018 13:02:52 GMT -5
The following, “Miracles, True or False,”, Rev. Gregory O’Connor, O.P, was published in the Dominicana, vo1. 13, issue 1, 1928, pp. 31-37
PDF linked HERE
Note to reader: one may ask, why is this important, Catholics have always believed in miracles going right back to the time of Our Lord who performed countless miracles, as did the apostles? In my opinion, Catholics need to brush up on Church teaching on how to discern true miracles from false miracles in our age, as we no longer can rely on the hierarchy to do this for us, as Catholics were able to do in former times.
It is clear that in the end times, and I am not saying with any certainty that we are there, but in those times, there will be false miracles, that is so called miracles that are not performed by God, that will take place. We have been warned about this in Sacred Scripture, it will happen. If we do not have the benefit of the hierarchy to protect us, we then must rely on our own judgment, and in order to judge properly we must know how to make such a judgment correctly.
In my opinion, there are two dangers in regards to judging miracles. On one end is the modernists who deny miracles altogether, and always seek to explain all legitimate miracles in natural terms. Btw, this is a classic sign that you are dealing with a modernist, they always downplay the supernatural and miracles in particular. The other danger are those too quick to judge that something is miraculous prior to the investigation of the Church. In some cases, miracles are obvious, such as a known blind person regaining immediate sight, or a cripple being able to immediately walk again. These are obvious, but others, such as healing that are not immediate and take place over a period of time, or miracles involving changes in matter that are not immediately obvious as miraculous, need careful investigation by the Church.
It seems that some traditionalists are quick to judge the Eucharistic miracles that have taken place at “Novus Ordo” churches as miraculous, but in my opinion, such a judgment is hasty. If there are any grounds whatsoever to have a reasonable judgment that this may be either a natural phenomenon or a willful deception, then the matter needs investigation by the Church. We must be careful in our times, and always keep in mind that without the guidance of our lawful shepherds, we could easily be led astray.
PDF linked HERE
Note to reader: one may ask, why is this important, Catholics have always believed in miracles going right back to the time of Our Lord who performed countless miracles, as did the apostles? In my opinion, Catholics need to brush up on Church teaching on how to discern true miracles from false miracles in our age, as we no longer can rely on the hierarchy to do this for us, as Catholics were able to do in former times.
It is clear that in the end times, and I am not saying with any certainty that we are there, but in those times, there will be false miracles, that is so called miracles that are not performed by God, that will take place. We have been warned about this in Sacred Scripture, it will happen. If we do not have the benefit of the hierarchy to protect us, we then must rely on our own judgment, and in order to judge properly we must know how to make such a judgment correctly.
In my opinion, there are two dangers in regards to judging miracles. On one end is the modernists who deny miracles altogether, and always seek to explain all legitimate miracles in natural terms. Btw, this is a classic sign that you are dealing with a modernist, they always downplay the supernatural and miracles in particular. The other danger are those too quick to judge that something is miraculous prior to the investigation of the Church. In some cases, miracles are obvious, such as a known blind person regaining immediate sight, or a cripple being able to immediately walk again. These are obvious, but others, such as healing that are not immediate and take place over a period of time, or miracles involving changes in matter that are not immediately obvious as miraculous, need careful investigation by the Church.
It seems that some traditionalists are quick to judge the Eucharistic miracles that have taken place at “Novus Ordo” churches as miraculous, but in my opinion, such a judgment is hasty. If there are any grounds whatsoever to have a reasonable judgment that this may be either a natural phenomenon or a willful deception, then the matter needs investigation by the Church. We must be careful in our times, and always keep in mind that without the guidance of our lawful shepherds, we could easily be led astray.