Posted on 10/01/2025 7:41:04 PM PDT by ebb tide
From the very beginning of salvation history, miracles have been among God’s most powerful tools to confirm divine revelation. Moses confronted Pharaoh with the ten plagues, Elijah called down fire upon Mount Carmel, and Christ Himself demonstrated His divinity through cures, resurrections, and His own Resurrection from the dead. The Catholic Church, established by Christ and perpetuated through His Apostles, has continued to be marked by miracles throughout her two-thousand-year history.
In this ten-part series, we have examined the countless miraculous signs that God has given to His Church: the stigmata, the incorruptibles, the apparitions of Our Lady, the power of the Holy Rosary, the raising of the dead, and the Eucharistic miracles that place the very Flesh and Blood of Christ before our eyes. Each installment has shown how miracles are both a motive of credibility and a proof of the divine origin of the Catholic religion.
But as we conclude, we must consider a final and important objection: what about the supposed miracles claimed in other religions? Muslims cite wonders in the life of Mohammed; Protestants recount dramatic healings and “revivals”; Eastern Orthodox Christians point to the so-called “Holy Fire” of Jerusalem each Easter. Do these phenomena prove that multiple religions are true? Or are miracles truly confined to the Catholic Church alone?
The answer to this question is critical. For if God were to confirm false religions with genuine miracles, He would contradict Himself, since He has revealed that the Catholic Church alone is the ark of salvation (cf. Unam Sanctam, 1302).
A miracle is not simply any unexplained event, nor is it merely something that inspires wonder. Father John Hardon defines it with precision: “A sensibly perceptible effect, surpassing at least the powers of visible nature, produced by God to witness to some truth or testify to someone’s sanctity” (Modern Catholic Dictionary).
This definition highlights three essential points:
As St. Augustine explained in a homily on the multiplication of the loaves:
The miracles performed by our Lord Jesus Christ are certainly divine deeds, calling the human mind to an understanding of God through visible things. God is not such a Being as can be seen with the eye. … Hence in His mercy God has reserved certain of His works to be performed at apt moments. These works go beyond nature’s usual ordered progression; and the sign of them gives pause to those for whom the daily marvels have become commonplace.[1]
Miracles thus serve as motives of credibility. They are God’s seal on His revelation. They are not ends in themselves but point us toward mysteries of faith beyond reason’s grasp. As one recent theological summary expressed:
Holding articles of the Faith to be true is not the same as accepting things as true which can be experienced by the senses or determined philosophically. The truths of the Faith are mysteries; that is, they are above but not contrary to unaided natural reason. To accept these mysteries of the Faith as true – things such as the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Son, the Church, and the Sacraments – an act of the will is needed because the truth of these mysteries is not readily apparent to the intellect.
Because God is Truth itself, He cannot confirm error by miracles. Thus, if wonders are reported outside of Catholicism, they cannot be true miracles. They may be natural phenomena misinterpreted, fraudulent fabrications, or demonic deceptions.
Islamic tradition claims that Mohammed performed many wonders. The Qur’an itself, however, repeatedly denies that Mohammed was sent with miracles: “And they say: ‘Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?’ Say: ‘The signs are only with Allah, and I am only a plain warner’” (Qur’an 29:50). In fact, the Qur’an insists that Mohammed’s only “miracle” is the Qur’an itself (cf. Qur’an 10:37–39).
Yet later Islamic tradition (the Hadith and biographies compiled centuries after Mohammed’s death) ascribes miracles to him: splitting the moon, water flowing from his fingers, curing the sick, and foretelling the future. Scholars agree these reports are legendary accretions, lacking historical verification.
Catholic apologists from the Middle Ages, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, noted that the “miracles” attributed to Mohammed lack credibility:
Mohammed … seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. … Nor do divine miracles, which alone can give witness to divine inspiration, appear in his case; for he said that he was sent in the power of his arms – which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants.[2]
No scientifically verified miracle has ever been produced in Islam. There are no incorrupt bodies, no verified healings, no Eucharistic-like phenomena. By contrast, the Catholic Church has a continuous history of miracles from apostolic times to the present.
Protestantism, born in the 16th century rebellion against the Catholic Church, has often sought legitimacy by appealing to supposed miraculous experiences. Luther himself admitted he worked no miracles, contrasting his mission with that of the Apostles. Nevertheless, later Protestant groups—particularly Pentecostal and Charismatic sects—have claimed miracles, ranging from healings to ecstatic experiences.
The 18th–20th centuries saw waves of revivalism, especially in America, where preachers claimed the Holy Spirit was visibly at work through healings, “slain in the Spirit” episodes, and glossolalia (i.e., speaking in tongues). In the 20th century, figures such as Aimee Semple McPherson, Oral Roberts, and Benny Hinn drew massive crowds by promising miraculous cures. Yet independent investigations repeatedly uncovered deception. Stage-managed “healings” often involved psychosomatic conditions or hired actors. No medically verified, lasting cures were ever produced under scientific scrutiny.
The so-called “Toronto Blessing” (1994) epitomized the chaos. Participants collapsed, laughed uncontrollably, barked like dogs, or roared like lions—supposedly manifestations of the Spirit. Yet such disorder contradicted St. Paul’s injunction that “God is not the God of dissension, but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). The fruits were confusion and scandal, not conversions to sanctity.
Unlike Catholic miracles, which occur in every century with ecclesiastical investigation, Protestant claims are sporadic, unverified, and often confined to emotional events. As Fr. Alfred Hebert, S.M., documented in Saints Who Raised the Dead, over 400 Catholic saints have restored the dead to life with ecclesiastical attestation.[3] By contrast, no Protestant minister has ever raised a verifiably dead person.
St. Vincent Ferrer alone is credited with over twenty-eight such miracles; St. Francis Xavier raised multiple persons in India, leading to mass conversions. Protestantism, in its 500-year history, has produced nothing comparable.
God does not confirm falsehood. Protestant “miracles” are invoked to validate heresies: denial of the Eucharist, rejection of the papacy, and private interpretation of Scripture. Were God to grant genuine miracles to these sects, He would be confirming contradictory doctrines, which is impossible. As St. Alphonsus Liguori insisted:
Who dares say that the Church of Christ erred, and that God Himself confirmed that error by a miracle? Would any one dare to accuse those who built these churches, of having erred? Let no one disconcert you in devotion to the Queen of Heaven, never become cold in her service.[4]
Thus, whatever extraordinary phenomena Protestants claim, they cannot be true miracles. At best, they are natural; at worst, demonic counterfeits intended to keep souls outside the Ark of Salvation.
Eastern Orthodoxy boasts many pious traditions, but one stands out in apologetic debate: the annual “Holy Fire” ceremony in Jerusalem. On Holy Saturday, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Orthodox Patriarch enters the tomb of Christ and emerges with candles lit by a mysterious flame, which then spreads throughout the congregation. Many Orthodox claim this is a divine miracle proving their faith.
The first accounts of the “Holy Fire” appear in the ninth century, long after the apostolic age. Unlike Catholic miracles, which are contemporaneous with the Apostles and saints, this phenomenon lacks early Christian testimony. Western pilgrims in the Middle Ages repeatedly described the rite as contrived. In 1238, Pope Gregory IX denounced it as a fraud used to extract money from pilgrims.[5] Crusader chroniclers also recorded suspicion, noting that Muslims sometimes controlled access to the tomb and mocked Christians for credulity.
Modern witnesses have filmed the Patriarch using lighters or concealed matches to ignite the candles. Investigations have shown the fire behaves exactly like ordinary fire: it burns skin, consumes wax, and produces smoke. While pious legend claims the flame does not burn for the first few minutes, scientific testing disproves this. In 2005, Israeli physicist Michael Kaluzny measured the flame’s temperature—unsurprisingly, it was normal.
Patriarch Sophronius IV of Jerusalem (19th century) admitted privately that the fire is lit by natural means. Indeed, several Orthodox clergy have expressed discomfort at presenting the rite as miraculous. Unlike the incorruptible bodies of Catholic saints – which remain lifelike centuries after burial without embalming – the Holy Fire has never withstood objective scrutiny.
Compare the Holy Fire with the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano (8th century). There, the Host visibly transformed into flesh and blood. In 1971, Dr. Edoardo Linoli, professor of anatomy at Arezzo Hospital, confirmed the tissue is human cardiac muscle, blood type AB positive, with no preservatives and no decay despite 1,200 years.[6] The difference is stark: one phenomenon vanishes under examination, the other deepens in credibility the more it is studied. The Orthodox Holy Fire may be a meaningful ritual for the faithful, but it is not a miracle. It cannot compare with the rigorously verified signs that God has lavished on His Catholic Church.
In surveying these claims, one fact becomes undeniable: only the Catholic Church can produce a continuous history of genuine, scientifically verified miracles.
No other religion can compare. The very survival of the Church, her universality, her holiness despite the sins of her members, her fruitfulness in saints, and her unity under the papacy are themselves a “social miracle” beyond human explanation, as the First Vatican Council declared.
The Catholic Church alone has been confirmed by miracles in every age. These miracles are not isolated curiosities but part of a living tradition that continues today. Lourdes continues to heal the sick under medical scrutiny; Fatima’s Miracle of the Sun was witnessed by 70,000 people; the Hosts of Siena remain incorrupt after nearly 300 years.
By contrast, Islam’s claims are late inventions, Protestantism lacks verification, and Orthodoxy’s “Holy Fire” is at best symbolic. None can compare to the Catholic treasury of miracles.
Thus, the series concludes where it began: miracles are the divine credentials of the Catholic Church. They confirm her teachings, inspire her faithful, and refute her enemies. And they leave us with a choice. If the Catholic religion is true, nothing is more important than to believe it and live it.
For as St. Paul taught: “If Christ be not risen again, your faith is vain” (1 Cor. 15:17). But Christ is risen, His saints have worked countless wonders in His name, and His Church remains a miracle in the world. Let us then embrace this truth with renewed devotion. The Catholic Church alone is confirmed by God. She alone bears the mark of miracles. And she alone is the ark of salvation for all mankind. To continue your study in miracles as proof of the divine origin of the Catholic Faith see the CatechismClass.com course on Miracles.
[1] St. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, Tractate XXIV, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 7, ed. Philip Schaff, 1888.
[2] St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, I, 6.
[3] Father Alfred Hebert, S.M., Saints Who Raised the Dead (Rockford: TAN Books, 2004), pp. 42–60.
[4] The Glories of Mary, Discourse VI.
[5] J. Wilkinson, Jerusalem Pilgrims Before the Crusades (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1977), 135–37.
[6] Edoardo Linoli, “Rapporto Istologico, Chimico e Immunologico sul Miracolo Eucaristico di Lanciano,” 1971. English summary available at The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association.
Ping
Among the great things about Christianity is that it can be so self assured and not a threat to me.
Good for everybody!
The Catholic’s jumped the shark over 1000 years ago.
There is of course nothing wrong with an author discussing Catholic miracles. It is a very important topic. But I’m less impressed when an author also smacks down fellow Christian denominations.
It pains me to see divisiveness among Christians in these dangerous times. It’s like if the UK and the US were picking at each other as Hitler was overrunning Europe.
Christ is not a threat to anybody.
Hopefully, you’ll realize that sooner than later.
The Apparitions of Our Lady: from Guadalupe to Fatima, rigorously examined and verified, leading to mass conversions and approved by the Church.
......
How timely. One of your other drunk posting devotees to the Roman Beast religion chimed in with some Marian Devotion ‘debunking’.
I thought I heard that it was at Fatima where promises were given for the Rosary. But no bother. It’s one of those apparitions credited with them..
one of her 15 Promises:
1.Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive powerful graces.”
...
Mathew 4:10
Then said Jesus unto him, “Get thee hence, Satan! For it is written: ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’”
Oops
Didn’t make it to promise #2 before this apparition was rebuked with Scripture. All it took was scripture test against the very first promise..
That’s not a good start.
That may be one of those Satan can transform as an angel of light kind of things.
But with the Church approving it, that tracks..
Looks like you're the drunk one tonight with your rant.
Best sleep it off.
Exactly.
And I know what you mean, and I’m firm in my faith, and Christianity is not a threat in any of its current flavors. See how great that is?
I think Christianity is great for the world and its adherents. Unlike islam.
I’m intensely focused on the fact that islam teaches its adherents to murder my family. In comparison, we Christians and Jews need as much goodwill as we can muster to fight that and communism.
So y’all continue to be good over there, and pass along those Ten Commandments! How else was the world to get them anyway?
All in good spirit, humor and wishes.
Permit me to add something to my post #5.
A few years ago I was reading a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. The author was doing a nice job, and I was enjoying the book.
Then he started to throw in quite unnecessary anti-Catholic swipes. As in, “Matthew is saying this. But Catholics are interpreting that incorrectly.”
I got so upset that I just threw the book aside. And I posted a negative review of the book online.
What I’m trying to say is this. Sure, Christian authors can make their arguments from their point of view. But it is not helpful to disparage or insult other Christians while doing so. A good argument should be able to stand on its own.
And maybe Christians should be looking for common ground, and not focus on relatively minor differences.
I think Orthodox Churches have had miracles, but I would appreciate hearing from an Orthodox Church member about this.
Very sober.
But thanks for your concern.
He doesn’t think any other denomination IS Christian!
I saw “serve me”.
I often served my own mother, and grandmother (I was raised that way); but I never worshiped any of them.
My how you prots like to make up stuff.
Then what does that make Protestants and their little rebellion?
1.Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive powerful graces.”
......
Quote
I often served my own mother, and grandmother (I was raised that way); but I never worshiped any of them.
......
Do all that serving to receive powerful graces from mom and grandma?
/s
I’m going bankrupt at age 72. I’m too feeble to fight it. Only a miracle can save me.
Neither my Mom, nor Grandmom, was the Mother of God.
I doubt yours were either.
/s
It’s a sad cult to be in, but you pull it off.
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