Jesus never, throughout his ministry, performed miracles for his personal gain. This is shown particularly in ‘the temptations in the desert’ [LK 4:1-13], where he was given the decision of performing miracles to make himself powerful, famous, or happy.
When he first began to perform miracles he simple did so because of his love of man, and his want to do good, not to prove who he was and reveal his identity as the Messiah. At that time he actual tried to hide his real identity to the people, this was known as the messianic secret. There are many examples of him performing miracles because of his want to do good, while trying to hide his identity, for example; ‘a number of cures’[Lk 4:-4-41, the ‘cure of the leper’ [Lk 5:12-16], when he actually told the cured man not to tell of this miracle, and also the ‘cure of the demoniac’ [8:26-39], where he told the demon to be silent when it began telling people of Jesus’ identity.
Later on in his ministry he began to perform miracles in public. This I believe was not only because he wanted to help the ill, the poor or possessed, but also to establish faith in people, or to strengthen faith in his followers, and also to reward those with faith. Examples of these are; the ‘curing of the centurion’s servant’ [Lk7:1-10]. ‘The cure of the paralytic’ [Lk5:17-26]. ‘The feeding of the 5000’ [9:10-17]. This miracle was different to others because it was performed for several reasons, to feed the hungry, to create faith in those who ate, the strengthen the faith in his disciples, to begin establishing the Eucharist, and to show the Jesus nourishes people, like in the temptations where Jesus tells the Devil, that people do not live on bread and water alone, but on every word that God utters.
His miracles were also to show that he was the Christ, as shown in Lk 7:22, and also in Isaiah 26:19;5-6;61:1.
Jesus said, when he thanked for performing miracles, ‘His (the man cured by a miracle) own faith had made him reception to the power of God. It is this that played the essential rule in him being saved.’[Lk7:11-19]. Also in the cure of the woman with haemorrhages, Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has made you well’ [Lk 8:43-48].
Discuss the meaning of healing miracles with reference to present day beliefs and Catholic life.
In biblical times people were more eager and relaxed in what they call a miracle. In modern times we have better understanding of medical science, also we a more open mind to natural healing, and more sceptical of miracles occurring. In biblical times, if a man was sick then it was believed that that person had sinned. If that man was healed in miraculous circumstances then they believed that it was God forgiving there sins (this is notably seen in the healing of the paralysed man). This theory has been dismissed by both medical authorities and the Church due to our greater understanding of these illnesses.
Common day belief of the meaning of these miracles, which I believe, is that these miracles come about due to the immense love of God for all men. It was seen with Jesus, part of the holy trinity, thus God, healing men not to show off his powers, nor to prove that he was the God, but because of his love of mankind, the ill and poor, for example, the curing of the leper [Lk 5:12-16], he cure, and relieves peoples suffering simply because he loves them. Other ‘healing’ miracles come to be, I believe, because of faith to reward, strengthen or to create faith among people. It is also to show the presence of god.
Very strong faith may lead to a miraculous healing, or it may lead to someone believing that they have been cured through a miracle. If a who does not really believe in God, and is faced with a life threatening illness, and is cured, he may well begin to believe that his cure came through the power of some divine power, thus inspiring faith. If a man already has faith, and pray for help, then a miraculous recovery may strengthen his faith. Also God may have saved him as a reward for his faith in God.
Lourdes is famous as a place of healing miracles; over 6000 miraculous cures have been recorded, although only 64 have been officially recognised. These miracles come about through people having the faith to take the pilgrimage to Lourdes, to show that they believe that God will help.
‘Healing miracles do not happen today’.
-Do you agree, give reasons for you answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.
There is a strong argument for both ‘for’ and ‘against’ for this statement, I personally believe that healing miracles do occur today.
The obvious example of healing miracles is Lourdes. Lourdes is where Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858, in France. There have been 6000 cures that have been certified, although only 64 have been officially recognised since the reorganisation in 1946, off which only 19 have been recognised by the diocesan Bishop. Because it has become well known for it miracles, it has become a famous place of pilgrimage for Christians, particularly the sick.
You often hear ‘stories’ of miracles occurring today, or example Eva Roth went through a miraculous healing miracle, curing her of her severe backache.
In 1970, the pope at that time, Pope Pius IX called a meeting of the Vatican, for the subject of miracles. They came up with this response to the public, ‘If anyone asserts that a miracle cannot happen…let him of her be anathema (excommunicated)’. This shows that Christians, at least believe that miracles strongly believe that miracles occur today.
There is also a strong argument that healing miracles do not happen today. The first of which is coincidence. For example, in 1995, a Roman Catholic priest, who suffered from a sever stroke was not expected to live. An old mummified hand of an English martyr, which was regarded as being able to bring about miracles was put onto the chest of the dying priest and he recovered. You could take this story as it is and say that a miracle did happen, however it is just as likely, if not more so that it was just a coincidence, it is a matter of personal opinion. Virtually all miracles can be explained away by coincidences, even in extreme cases. Many miracles seem not to have a point to them, such as the blood of St Gennaro, in Naples, which liquefies 3 times a year. There is no reason why this should occur, therefore there is a question arising of whether it is actually a miracle at all. There is also a rejection on moral grounds. Many miracle accounts involve God intervening in the world to bring about some benefit to those who worship him. However, one of the principle Christian teachings id that God Loves everyone equally, so would he not help everyone, not just those who worship him? Surely he would want to help his followers equally. Why then does he choose to answer the prayers of some people, and not others? These miracles go against the Classical Theism.
The fourth criticism is that many miracles are not supported with evidence, and are only known by word of mouth, and there were very few witnesses. When things are passed down through word of mouth it is very likely that they will have been exaggerated along the way, to create a better story.
Bibliography
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“Christian Beliefs” by C. Wright
- “The Essential Catholic Handbook”
- “Questions About God” by P.J.Clark
- “Exam Revision Notes for Rs –A/S Level-” by S. Tyler
- “The Philosophy of Religion” by Jordon, Lockyer and Tate
- The Catechism of the Holy church.
- “Faith Alive” by Pasco and Redford.
- “Introducing the new Testament” by John Drane
- The Bible
- Online Resources
