Tag Archives: Miracles

Recognizing Miracles: How You Can Resurrect the Dead

14 Wednesday Sep 2022

Posted by in Evangelization

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“Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain” – Mathias Gerung, 1500-1570

(A reflection on Lk 7:11-17)

In Tuesday’s Gospel, Jesus performed a miracle and raised the son of a woman from the dead.  He showed compassion and mercy for the woman, a widow, who, without a son to care for her, would be left destitute and begging for sustenance.  Many people witnessed the miracle and were struck with fear, and they glorified God for what they saw.  They couldn’t contain their amazement and so spread the word across all Judea and the surrounding regions.

God works miracles of different degrees in all our lives.  They usually aren’t as profound as bringing someone back to life after they have died and are already in their coffin, but miracles nonetheless. We may recognize miracles when our prayers are answered, or when we receive some special grace or blessing which we feel we have not earned and don’t deserve.  The birth of a child is certainly a miracle.  Our guardian angel performs a miracle when we are saved from  a near death experience.  In smaller ways, we can consider the geometry and symmetry of a perfectly formed flower, or the beauty and iridescence of a hummingbird’s plumage when seen in a sunbeam, as miracles given to us by God.

Sadly, it seems, many miracles go unnoticed.  They aren’t recognized as miracles because they’re considered too commonplace, or they’re written off to science, or to simple good luck.  But, mostly, miracles aren’t recognized because people don’t look for them.  They aren’t open to receiving them.  They’re too caught up in the thick of thinner things to see God working in their lives.

Last week I posted in Is Your Faith Contagious? a reflection from my daily meditation wherein I asked myself whether I actively make the effort to reach out to bring people to Jesus for healing of their spiritual and emotional brokenness.  Today’s reflection is similar yet different.  Today, I was struck by how often I do see God working in my life, how I receive unexpected graces which sometimes I don’t feel I deserve, and how, like those who witnessed Jesus’ miracle, I absolutely need to bring Jesus to others by telling of the miracles (large or small) I experience in my life.

My wife and I marvel over and share with each other the beauty of the flowers in our garden, and the hummingbirds which frequent those flowers.

Each month I relate to my spiritual director, and the men with whom I am a spiritual mentor, how I’ve felt the Holy Spirit working in my heart.  And, I meet with two or three small groups of men for the explicit purpose of sharing our God-moments and encouraging each other to keep our hearts and minds open to receiving them.

The main purpose of this blog is to share inspirations and close moments with thousands of people around the world in hopes that they, too, will learn to see the presence and goodness of God in their lives.

I participate on a parish ministry team with other men in leading retreats where we give witness to the many ways in which various aspects of our lives have been touched by the Holy Spirit.  

Unlike the people who witnessed this miracle in the Gospel, we may have to heighten our awareness and pay closer attention to the smaller miracles God works in our lives.  But, just like them, we are all called to glorify God and spread the news of His good works to others.  When we do, we find that miracles beget other miracles as men and women are spiritually “raised from the dead” and given new life when they see how God has truly blessed them.

How have you seen God working miracles in your life recently, and how have you witnessed to others so that their spiritual lives might be resurrected from the dead?

“Dear Jesus, thank You for the grace to recognize Your presence in my life, especially in all the miracles that confirm Your love for me.  Thank You for the desire to share Your love with those who need to know both You and Your love for them more deeply.  Lord, I resolve today to sow the seeds of this reflection by reaching out to friends and ask them to share how they have seen God working in their lives recently.  Amen.”

(Recognizing Miracles:  How You Can Resurrect the Dead was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2022 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

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Miracles

10 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by in abortion, Grace, Love, Prayer, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized

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miracles

In yesterday’s post Without Cost You Have Received; Without Cost You Are To Give I mentioned it feels like I’ve been drinking from the fire hose of Grace this week. It has been a spectacular week for me and it seems I see God working in my life about every time I turn around.

The week started off especially nice as it was a four day weekend for me. I took Friday off and then Monday was Independence Day holiday. I had a stress-free four days away from work during which time I worked like a dog around the house and got several projects started or completed which I had put off for too long.

Monday began as any typical holiday but by mid-day it unfolded into a beautiful blessing for my family. It wasn’t the red white and blue patriotism, or mouth-watering barbeque or the thrill of the fireworks. Nope. It was the call at mid-day from our daughter, Mary, in Louisiana saying she was in labor with her first child and that he would probably be a Fourth of July Firecracker baby. This would be my third grandchild and my second grandson. Being a father of four daughters, I kind of like this grandson business!

My projects took a back seat to the rest of the afternoon spent mostly in prayer including a rosary. I prayed for a safe delivery, that God would guide the hands of the physicians, and that baby and mother would both be healthy considering he would be entering this world two weeks early. God delivered and by early evening I was looking at texted pictures of our beautiful new grandson, Patrick, and huge smiles from Mary and my son-in-law, Michael. Patrick was perfect. Two thoughts crossed my mind: that he was made in the likeness of God Himself; and that the birth of a human child is surely one of God’s greatest achievements, his most beautiful miracle.

Tuesday was spent floating in air, my heart about to pop the buttons off my shirt! I don’t know how many times I stopped during the day to pray, to give thanks to God for so many prayers answered and to pray more for continued good health for mother and baby.

On Wednesday morning I found myself back walking on the ground but still so grateful for God’s blessing. I got a few things accomplished at my office before noon when I received another special phone call. My daughter, Lisa, who lives in Kansas, was heading to the hospital to deliver her second child and second son, also two weeks early.

It was like déjà vu. Stop what I’m doing and start praying. Instead of going to lunch I stopped by church and prayed a rosary in Adoration in the Blessed Sacrament chapel. I had to drive four hours on business that evening so I had plenty of time to pray in the car and I managed two more rosaries.

Lisa’s delivery didn’t go as quickly as Mary’s and it wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that our third grandson, Edward, was born into the world. He and his mother were both healthy and he, like his cousin, Patrick, and his Creator, was also perfect. Another beautiful miracle!

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Heavenly Father, I give You thanks with all my heart for Your many blessings, especially for the children You bestowed on my wife and I, and now for the blessing of them having and loving children of their own. Lord Jesus, I give You thanks for being with them through their pregnancies and for holding their hands during childbirth. Holy Spirit, thank You for helping me to see God’s glory in the miracles He creates. I praise You, Holy Trinity, for filling my heart with love for You and my family. I earnestly pray for all the unborn children whose lives were ended through abortion, may they be joyfully playing in heaven; and, I pray for the parents of those children who failed to accept the miracle of Your love, may they find a way to penitently turn to You. Amen.

(Miracles was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2016 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

She Said Yes!

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in abortion, Faith, Love

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Mary's FiatMary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to Your word.” – Luke 1:38

After the priest at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Seattle, Washington read these words from Luke’s Gospel yesterday morning, I said four special prayers.

The first was a prayer of thanks for how fortunate I am, or rather we all are, that Mary gave her fiat, her “Yes”, to the Lord’s angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. I thought about the love she must have had for God, a love based on an unshakable faith. I wondered if she had any idea of the unfathomable joy she would experience during the life of her Son, as well as the excruciating heartbreak she would endure at His death. Did she ever doubt her decision? I don’t think so. I believe she stuck by her words, “May it be done to me according to Your word”, her entire life, even at Christ’s death. Hallelujah, through her, a miracle was born!

My second prayer was also one of thanks for how fortunate I am, as well as my entire family, that my daughter and son-in-law, who live here in Seattle, chose to say “Yes” to God’s plan of having their own child, our first granddaughter, who is now two months old. And, I am thankful for another daughter and husband who did the same and are expecting our second grandchild, a son, in the next few days. Likewise, I wondered if they have an idea of the joys and the heartbreaks they will experience as parents. But, I know, no parent does until they actually happen. I said a prayer of thanks for their love and their courage to be good parents. Hallelujah, through my daughters, miracles are being born!

The third prayer was for all the children whose parents had neither the unselfish love nor the courage to follow through and bring them into this world, parents who chose to follow their own will and said “Yes” to abortion and “No” to the plan which God had already set in motion for them. Lord, bless the souls of these millions of children who never had the opportunity to carry out Your will here on earth, nor the chance to experience the joys of life.

And, finally, my fourth prayer was for all the mothers who have said, and all the mothers who will yet say “No” to God’s plan and abort their babies. I am sure, for many of those mothers, there is deep emotional pain and tremendous heartbreak that accompanies their decisions. Unfortunately, I know there are many mothers who never bat an eye. Lord, please have mercy on these women, forgive those who have contrite hearts, and help those who do not to see the error of their ways.

Lord God, as I await the birth of your Son, Jesus, I give you thanks for our Mother Mary, my mother, my wife and the mother of my children, and mothers everywhere who have said “Yes” to your will. May You grant them a special place in Your Kingdom. Amen.

©2014 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

My Time Is Not God’s Time

05 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by in Hope, Love, Prayer

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It was one year ago today that I began a 2,600 mile, four day solo drive from Cincinnati, Ohio to Seattle, Washington during which I posted daily how God had shown Himself to me in one form or another. Last Saturday I set out again for another long drive for this year’s summer vacation. This trip was a 1,286 mile drive to Ingram, Texas, which is a little over an hour northwest of San Antonio, for a family reunion.

Unlike last year’s trek, I was joined this time by my daughter, Grace. My wife had gone on ahead by flying to Louisiana and then driving to Texas with another daughter. I always look forward to road trips and one of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip was being captive for twenty hours in the same space as Grace. I’m sure, at age 17, she wasn’t quite as enamored with the idea as I was. She will be leaving for college in a few short weeks and this would probably be our last chance to spend any real quality time together.

The level of conversation in the car often depends upon who has control of the stereo. Wanting to make this a pleasurable trip for both of us I relinquished control even though I was driving. This meant I had to listen to a few hours of Bruno Mars, John Mayer and Josh Groban. Pretending to like most of the songs was a small price to pay for this bonding opportunity.

Our plan upon leaving home on Saturday morning was to drive as far as Dallas via Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, and Little Rock. But, before we even arrived in Nashville, I could tell from watching my car’s GPS that our ETA in Dallas was steadily getting later and later because of the delays due to highway construction and heavy rains. By the time we were leaving Nashville I decided to make a hotel reservation in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, about two hours east of Dallas. My GPS said we could arrive at 11:30 p.m. I had already lost two hours during a six hour trip.

We came to another full stop on I-40 east of Jackson, Tennessee for more construction. We crawled along for about ten minutes when we came upon an accident. A Jeep Wrangler had collided with the rear end of a semi-trailer, and a PT Cruiser was bent in half leaning against a highway sign at the bottom of the embankment off the shoulder of the road. The driver of the Jeep was still in his vehicle and a young woman was sitting on the edge of the shoulder in front of the semi tractor. I saw one other person standing around talking on his cell phone.

Car 1

Car 2

Grace was driving so I asked her to pull over. I retrieved my first aid and blood borne pathogens kit from my car (I had just received Medic First Aid/BBP refresher training the Tuesday before and thought it would be a good idea to carry a kit on this trip) and donned the latex gloves. I walked to the girl sitting on the ground and asked about her condition. She was holding a towel to her chin in an effort to stem the bleeding from a cut she had received when her PT Cruiser had rolled down the embankment. She said she had movement of her limbs, head and torso and, other than the cut, was just shaken up. Telling her I would be back in a moment I went to see about the man in the Jeep.

On my way to check on the driver of the Jeep I met the other man who had stopped. He said he had activated EMS but otherwise didn’t know what to do. I then discovered another man who had stopped but who also didn’t know any first aid procedures. I went to the Jeep and found the young man coherent. He also said he could move his torso, neck and head but that he thought he had a broken leg because he was trapped in the vehicle. Upon inspection, he was indeed trapped and would have to be cut out of the vehicle.

As I was talking to the young man another man stopped and came up to me and asked if I was a medical professional. I replied I was not and he said he was a nurse. I asked him to take over here and I would go back to the driver of the other car.

When I walked back to the young woman, another woman walked up and said she was a nurse and, after relaying what I could tell of the injuries, I asked her to take over with this patient. I asked the young woman what had happened. She said she was stopped behind the semi and she saw that the vehicle behind her didn’t appear as if it was going to stop so she tried to move over onto the shoulder.   The Jeep slammed into the rear of her car and forced her down the embankment and caused her car to roll over. The Jeep then slammed into the rear of the semi-trailer.

It was obvious that her defensive driving tactic of looking in her rear view mirror had saved her life. Had she not made an attempt to move to the right onto the shoulder the Jeep would have pushed her car under the trailer and she could have easily been crushed and decapitated.

As she related the incident she began to cry. With medical professionals on-site and the EMS on its way, I decided there wasn’t much else for me to do. But, then I thought there might be one more thing I could do. I asked the young woman what her name was and she said it was Julia. I said to Julia that I didn’t know if she was a religious person but I would be happy to pray with her if she would like. She looked me in the eye and said, “Please do!”

As I knelt, I took her hand and I prayed for God to hold her close to Him, to heal her wounds, both physical and emotional, as well as those of the other driver, and l gave thanks for saving her from injuries worse than she actually received. When I finished praying she had stopped crying, smiled and thanked me. As I walked back to my car I heard the sirens of the emergency vehicles approaching.

Grace and I resumed our trip. We stopped in Jackson, Tennessee for reconciliation and mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. We got stuck in more severe weather and more construction delays. She conceded and we listened to some ‘70s music from Jimmy Buffet, Jerry Jeff Walker and Marshall Tucker Band. We arrived at our hotel at 2:30 a.m., three hours later than expected. What should have been a 13.5 hour drive turned into 18.5 hours.

As my head hit the pillow I remembered my prayers. I thanked God for delivering us safely but I wished we had not had so many delays. I prayed for the two injured young people from earlier in the day and I gave thanks for the opportunity to spend quality time with Grace. And then, the God-moment came to me. I believe now that the delays we had both prior to and after coming upon that accident were two-fold and were meant to be. Even though I may not have been able to do anything to help with their injuries, maybe, just maybe, I was able to be of help spiritually to Julia. Perhaps it was God’s plan for me to be there at that moment in time not to attend to injuries of the body but to strengthen a spirit. And, perhaps God knew that Grace and I needed an extra five hours of togetherness.

“Heavenly Father, I give you thanks for allowing me to be an instrument of your love and to spread your love through charity to others. Thank you for the opportunities you give me to build loving relationships with my family and friends and new acquaintances. Amen.”

(The post My Time Is Not God’s Time was first published in Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

Miracles and Memories

09 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Churches, Prayer

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Day four of my solo trip from Cincinnati, Ohio to Seattle, Washington

What day of the week is it?  I think today is Tuesday because I was supposed to arrive in Seattle on Monday.  I did arrive, by the way.  I suppose losing track of time could be the mark of a good vacation, one in which you lose the stress of your normal life and just enjoy the road trip, oblivious to time.

Have you ever had the opportunity to get lost from the rest of the world and lose track of time?  Not just hours, but days or weeks?

Day four (Monday) began by being awakened at 5:00 a.m. by a strange and distinctive sounding bird.  By the time I donned some clothes, crawled out of my tent and greeted the day, the make-shift rooster was gone and I didn’t hear it again.  The sky was already bright blue and cloudless.  It was the beginning of another beautiful day.  I camped at the Headwaters of the Missouri State Park.  This is the confluence point where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers become the Missouri River, the longest river in the U.S.  It is where, in 1805, Lewis and Clark and their Corp of Discovery had to stow their boats and take to hiking on their westward journey to the Pacific Ocean.  It must have been disheartening to look westward and see the imposing site of the Bitterroot Mountains ahead of you.  After breaking down camp I walked down a trail to the river.  At this point the Madison and Jefferson came together, slow and meandering.  They would join the Gallatin a few hundred yards downstream.  As I looked out across the water I had a vision of Meriwether Lewis looking at William Clark and asking, “Well, friend, what do you suggest we do now?”  I also had a vision of a sixteen inch Brown trout rising and taking my #18 Elk Hair Caddis fly.

Madison and Jefferson Rivers, MT

Madison and Jefferson Rivers, MT

My camp was about an hour east of Butte, Montana.  I was able to make it to Butte with fifteen minutes to spare before morning mass at St. Ann’s Parish Church.  St. Ann’s was a more modern church, at least it was probably very modern in the 1970’s when, according to my limited knowledge of architecture, it appeared to have been built.  The church building itself was cylindrical with tall white columns around the perimeter.  The interior was the familiar semi-circle with concentric pews radial to the altar.  The wall behind the altar was sculpted to appear like the Dove of Peace, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, and the outer walls exhibited very modern brass sculptures of the Stations of the Cross. 

St. Ann's Parish Church, Butte, Montana

St. Ann’s Parish Church, Butte, Montana

Arriving fifteen minutes early allowed me to catch the last couple decades of a Rosary service.  The cantor was an old woman, (emphasis on ‘old’), but with a loud, clear voice.  You could tell this wasn’t her first Rosary. After the first couple Hail Marys I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.  This was a special moment.  She had a practiced rhythm that modulated like a sine wave.  As she said, “and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus”, she spoke slower and slower and, keeping the same loudness, dropped about two octaves in tone.  It was beautiful and it made my day, bless her heart.  I think I will remember her for evermore as I pray the Rosary.

In my haste to get Sunday’s blog posted yesterday, I forgot to tell you about The Miracle!  So, I told you about stopping and taking the picture of the perfect and brilliant double rainbow with a backdrop of the black cloud that produced it.  And, I told you the previous day about how my cruise control on my car went out and caused all the other dashboard warning lights to go spastic.  After taking the photo of the rainbow I got back in my car, started it up and headed down the road.  When I looked down to see that I was up to the speed I wanted to be I noticed that none of the warning lights were flashing on the dash.  I turned the cruise control on and it worked!  I haven’t had a problem with it since.  I have no explanation for it.  I had stopped and restarted the car umpteen times up to this point and nothing changed.  But, after stopping to check out that rainbow of rainbows, it started working.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so!

After heading west out of Butte, the next large town was Missoula and it was time for a bio break and some lunch at a Wendy’s.  While there I got a phone call from my parents.  My mom and dad are also traveling to Seattle but taking about two weeks to get there, camping along the way.  I had not talked to them for a few days.  I learned they were only a few miles west of Missoula at a campground not two hundred yards from the interstate on the banks of the Clarks Fork River.  I hadn’t seen my folks since Easter so, when I pulled off the interstate into their campground, we had a nice but short thirty minute visit before I needed to get back on the road.  I would be seeing them again on Saturday.

The rest of the trip was uneventful but beautiful and inspiring.  The Bitterroot Mountains were sharp and majestic. I ran into a severe storm with marble sized hail in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I marveled at the barrenness of the Columbia River Plateau west of Spokane and the enormity and depth of the Columbia River Gorge in central Washington. The lushness and unique ruggedness of the Cascade Mountains makes your jaw drop, and the view of the Seattle skyline, the Sound and islands in the distance, and the flowers – lavender, roses and dahlias, to name a few – are everywhere to be seen and enjoyed . This morning I realized that I never turned the radio on or listened to a music CD or a book on tape the whole day yesterday.  That would have been a distraction.

When was the last time you really paid attention to the beauty that lies outside your windshield?  Has it become so routine that you don’t notice the landscape anymore?

I arrived at my daughter’s at 7:57 p.m. local time, three minutes ahead of the eight o’clock arrival I had planned in my head before I left home Friday morning, another 660 miles for the day and 2,640 miles for the trip.

Visiting a new church every day and praying my way across America has been a unique, memorable, fun and spiritual experience.  It’s heartening to see there are many good and faithful Catholics out there in the world.  I feel more at peace than I have in weeks and I have a comfortable confidence that my prayers have been heard.

I want to challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and visit a new church, just for fun and for the experience.  You don’t have to go far, maybe just the next community over.  Or, purposely go to mass at your own church at a different time than normal so you can meet new people.  See how other people worship.  And, spread the Word.

Control of my own time is over.  From now until my daughter’s wedding this weekend I will be a gopher, expected to jump at anyone’s beck and call.  That’s okay, it was good while it lasted and gophering is what the father of the bride and husband of the bride’s mother is supposed to do prior to a wedding.

It may be a while until my next post.  Until then, God Bless you all.