God by definition is infinite and therefore can and will go beyond the laws of the natural world, which He created. He certainly will go far beyond humanity's very limited understanding of nature. When the Lord goes beyond the laws of nature, we call this a miracle. For example, the Lord healed King Hezekiah of a terminal illness (Is 38:5) and combined this with an awesome miracle of making the "shadow cast by the sun on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz go back the ten steps it has advanced" (Is 38:8).

Because miracles derive from God's infinite nature, they are necessarily very significant in God's plan of salvation. For example, Christianity is based on the astounding miracle of the Incarnation. Miracles always have been a sign of God's kingdom (Lk 11:20). The salvation of the whole world by Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead is the miracle of miracles. Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, was another miracle. The Church began with miracles. Every sacrament is a miracle. The world will end with the miracle of Christ's final coming and the resurrection of the dead.

Because miracles permeate the Christian life, the devil is using our secular humanistic society to program us to automatically doubt all miracles. This is a way of robbing us of our faith. Therefore, abide in God's Church and her word and "have no love for the world, nor the things that the world affords" (1 Jn 2:15).

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert A. Stricker, December 13, 2003

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 18, 2003