Miracle

Miracles intrigue us. They burst into our humdrum routines with startling revelations of the supernatural realm. Some people dismiss them as imagined or psychosomatically induced phenomena. But most of us welcome news of visions, healings and other divine interventions. We long for a taste of the supernatural and value new evidence that there is more to life than we can see and touch and feel. Wouldn’t each of us love to experience a miracle? A personal miracle would comfort us, demonstrating that God cares enough to touch our lives.

Mystics are men and women who can offer us the evidence we desire. They are wonder-workers who have fulfilled Jesus’ prediction that his disciples would perform greater works than he did. Their miracles fascinate us because they are windows to the supernatural. But more than that, mystics show us what can happen when God touches human beings. Their lives paint a picture of what men and women become when God transforms them.

We get the word mystic from a Greek root that means “mystery”. A mystic is a person who is ‘introduced into the mysteries’. Broadly speaking, all Christians are mystics. We believe that by faith we are initiated into the mysteries of Christ’s death and resurrection. But most Christians are not mystics in the technical sense because we have yet to penetrate the Christian mysteries in depth. That’s what sets a true mystic apart from the crowd.

Mystics enjoy a special closeness to God. They get rid of all the clutter in their hearts to make more room for God. Often they practice severe self-discipline so they can replace their fleshly desires with longings for God alone. As a way of interceding for Christ’s intentions, Lutgarde of Aywieres fasted for forty years on bread and a non-alcoholic malt beverage. Dominic imitated Christ, who had no place to lay his head, by sleeping alongside the road with a rock for his pillow. Twenty-first century Christians are not likely to adopt such penances, but mystics believe that undertaking these severities helps them draw closer to God.

Mystics frequently experience miraculous phenomena and exercise extraordinary powers. They seem to lapse freely into ecstasy and have been observed at prayer in suspended animation, sometimes for hours. Catherine of Siena went limp in ecstasy at will. Friends reported that they saw Lutgarde of Aywieres ‘float’ off the ground. When Anthony of Egypt prayed, he seemed to glow with preternatural radiance. Martin de Porres passed through locked doors. Visions guided Ignatius of Loyola step-by-step in founding the Jesuits. John Bosco visited people in their dreams. Padre Pio appeared in two places at the same time. The list could go on indefinitely.

You might think that mystics are so absorbed with God that they can do nothing but worship him. The mystics of the past prayed for long sketches, but they were also activists. Saints like Catherine, Martin, and Elizabeth of Hungary exhausted themselves in service all day long. Then they prayed most of the night. So as not to disturb her sleeping husband, Elizabeth asked her maid to quietly awaken her for night vigils. During the day she tended the sick in hospitals that she had built for the poor. Solanus Casey counseled and prayed for people twelve hours a day. At night he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, subsisting on a few hours sleep. Anthony prayed all the time, yet he was very busy. His community0-building activities in the desert preserved the Christian ideal for the church of his time, and we still feel the influence of his achievements.
The above is a short excerpt from Mystics & Miracles: True stories of lives touched by God written by Bert Ghezzi.

The book is divided into six parts introducing various lives of the Saints. They are mainly:
a. Miracles of Love
b. Miraculous prayer
c. Dreams, visions and other wonders
d. Miracles of Conversion
e. Miracles to awaken us
f. Miracles that changed the course of History

Mystics & Miracles: True stories of lives touched by God

Revealing the Human side of Mystics
Mystics are people who have been introduced into the mysteries of Christ’s death and resurrection. In a sense, all Christians are mystics. But not all Christians enjoy a special closeness to God — this is what sets the mystics apart. In these compelling life sketches, Bert Chezzi highlights the miracles and the extraordinary lives of the mystics while reminding us of their humanity. He brings them within reach and onto level ground, where we can learn from them and find inspiration in their lives of faith in God. By Bert Ghezzi

I borrowed this book from Woodlands Regional Library. The reason why I borrowed the book is because I had experienced my own miracle and I wanted to read more about people who experienced similar miracle as me….

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