Bob Hamera is hosting our Spiritual Journey cohort this month. He invited us to reflec on miracles. “What are the everyday miracles in your life?” You’re invited to join us here.
I admit to struggling with miracles – never knowing if I truly believe in them or not. The Catholic Church teaches that miracles are signs or wonders which can only be attributed to divine power. Okay. I’m certain that I’ve thought to myself: That is God at work.
Scripture is filled with Jesus’s miracles: turning water to wine, walking on water, feeding 5000, healing people, rising from the dead. As I’ve grown older, I spend less time looking for how to explain something and instead, reveling in the wondrous result. And I see it every day. Showing a parent: I got this. Letting go of fear and taking someone’s hand. Accepting and loving those our culture says are unlovable. Calling out the wrongs. Changing the trajectory of someone’s life by the good you do in your own.
In his forthcoming book, Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle, Fr. James Martin, S.J. interprets the calling forth of Lazarus: I think of the invitation for all of us to leave behind in our “tombs” whatever keeps us bound, unfree, dead.
For nothing
is impossible for God
Whether in healing, in hope, in life, perhaps the miracle is the shift that takes place in how we see something.
I offer this poem by Arun Kumar, “I lost myself” (click here)
Patricia Franz writes picture books and poetry. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Patricia, a shift in how we see things is a miracle because something in us changed so that we can view a person or situation differently. We might not know what caused something, but as you say, we can rejoice in the end result.
Patricia, I enjoy reading each person’s SJ blog post. Each person has a unique perspective. The lines from your post, “I think of the invitation for all of us to leave behind in our tombs whatever keeps us bound, unfree, dead”, are important enough to ponder.
Hi Patricia: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Miracles are tricky to define, yet I feel them. Like faith or love, maybe we somehow learn to recognize them. Maybe we feel them with a sixth sense. Maybe they nudge us into believing. I’m glad you feel them, and I wish you many more.
Hi Patricia, I agree that it is a miracle when we are able to see things from a new perspective. I’m glad you took some time to write bout miracles…I enjoyed your thoughts. Ruth
Hello Patricia, I never thought about what Lazarus left behind when he came forth. That sounds like an interesting book. These words from your post are so affirming: “Whether in healing, in hope, in life, perhaps the miracle is the shift that takes place in how we see something.”
And I love that you’ve shifted from trying to explain to reveling in the wondrous result! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.