The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-04-25
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49,
but we do not thereby show ourselves
to be credulous or superstitious.
God Governs All Things.

TO De creQulOuS or SuporSLlLlOuS.
God Governs All Things.
We hold that God can and does
make exceptions to the laws He Him
self has made. The apostles of mod
ern free thought" seem to look upon
the world as governed by laws indie
pendently of forgetting that all
laws were established by Him, that
they all operate because He allows
them to do so, and that His hand is
as necessary for every moment of the
worlds existence as it was for the
worlds creation.
God has established natural laws,
and the events of nature take place
as the result of the working of these
| laws. The movements of the earth
and the planets-heat and cold, storm
and calm-girth and growth and life
and death-sickness and health-all
these depend ordinarily upon the con-
slant and universal laws which God
has established for the proper order of
created things. But we must remem-
! Der that God is free, that He is ON
nipotent, that He cannot be subject to
the laws which He Himself has made;
and He may, for reasons that seem
good to Him, perform acts which are
beyond these laws, and may cause Gre
ated beings to produce effects which
are beyond their natural capacity.
And when he does so, He works what
we call a miracle.
Above the Laws Of Nature.
Let us consider some of the usual
objections against this Christian and
Catholic teaching.
What you call miracle is against
the laws of nature" By no means.
1t is beyond them. These laws are
natural causes. They are constant
and uniform in their effects-unless a
superior cause, being the Author of
all natural laws; and law-giver may
make exceptions to the laws he him
self has made.
1T is unreasonable to suppose that
God would suspend a universal ma
tural law to benefit an individual"
He does not. When He performs a
miracle, the law remains still in
force; but the particular effect which
is miraculous is produced by a cause
beyond the law-not opposed to it.,
but above it; namely, by the First
Cause of all things, God Himself. He
has not bound Himself in any way to
work always according to the laws of
| no 70 hu ic
free to act independently of them if
He so desires. Otherwise, these laws
would be greater than the God who
had made them.
Miracles in All Ages.
Some Protestant writer's assert that
miracles were wrought in Scriptural
and Apostolic times, but ceased soon
after the foundation of the Church"
There is no ground whatever for any
such assertion; in fact, there is abun-
dant proof to the contrary. We Cath
olics hold that the giftsof miracles ex-
lists now as it did then, and that it
is manifested from time to time in
the lives of some saints and in an
swer to prayer. There is no formal
definition by the Catholic Church to
this effect; but her constant practice
in the canonization of saints and the
uniform teaching of her theologians
show that she holds that miracles are
not only possible but actually existent
in every age. 1t is probable that they
were more numerous in earlier times
when they were more needed. When
Christianity was a new religion, the
working of miracles brought many to
the truth who would not have other.
wise embraced it; but why should we
say that they have ceased to be re
quired now? Heather nations are
still to be converted; the fervor OF
Christians is still to be renewed; the
hearts of sinners are still to be
touched by the grace of God-and fol
all these purposes, miracles are use
full, even if not absolutely necessary
What. then, are the reasons for mir
acles? To promote Gods glory, tc
give happiness to men, to help the
spreading of truth and the confuting
of error, to nourish piety and to de
stroy vice; to inspire men with feal
of Gods justice, gratitude for His
beneficence, and respect for His pow
er. These were the objects of the
Bible miracles-and these objects are
just as important now as they were
then.
The "CreduIity" of Catholics.
you Catholics are very credulous
, You believe in numberless so-calleC
/ miracles which are nothing but fan
tastic legends"
, Wrong again. We Catholics believe
I in the Bible, for we believe in thu
" Bible itself, much more firmly thai
: do any of the Protestant sects. W.
+ know of these miracles on the author
4 ity of Gods written word And W,
s believe that miracles are as possible
e now as they were then, that God
/ power is as great at the present da,
0 as it was in Scriptural times. But W.
are not bound to believe in any singh
miracle except those mentioned in tn
Bible. Every Catholic is allowed t
consider the evidence for and agains
o any miracle alleged to have ACQUIRES
d since the days of the Apostles an
; to believe or not, as may seem prope
|. to him.
The False and the True.