Divine Authority: God's Power Shown Through Miracles

June 3rd Readings Reflection: Feast of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions

In today’s Gospel, the chief priests, scribes, and elders of the Temple asked Jesus by whose authority He performed His miracles. Jesus responded by asking whether St. John the Baptist’s “baptism [was] of heavenly or of human origin.” The Temple leaders knew that if they acknowledged the heavenly origin of St. John’s baptisms, their hypocrisy would be made manifest. On the other hand, they were afraid to claim an earthly origin and face the wrath of the crowds who believed that St. John the Baptist was truly a prophet. The Jewish leaders ultimately refused to answer Jesus, Who in turn refused to tell them the source of His authority by which He performed miracles.

The subject of miracles has recently been a popular topic of discussion among Catholics and non-Catholics alike due to the remarkable discovery of a Benedictine nun’s apparently incorrupt body. While no official investigations have yet been made to definitively prove the incorruptibility of Sr. Wilhelmina’s body, this incident has rekindled the hope and deepened the faith of thousands of Catholics throughout the world.

While the chief priests, scribes, and elders in today’s Gospel rejected Jesus and His works, we as Christians know that Jesus performs miracles by the authority He possesses as the Son of God. Although Jesus has ascended into Heaven, He has not left us alone on earth; He promised His disciples, “[B]ehold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Mat 28:20 DRB). Christ continues to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father (cf. Rom 8:34) and to perform miracles for those of us on earth.

Through these miracles, God’s omnipotence is shown as He uses His power to perform an act that nature cannot otherwise explain. God performs countless miracles in the lives of each of us. Some are smaller and easier to miss, while others are more monumental and dramatic. Large or small, they all come from the hand of God and should inspire within us a spirit of holy awe and gratitude.

Tomorrow is Trinity Sunday, a feast dedicated to the Blessed Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The existence of three co-equal Divine Persons in one God is a supernatural mystery, one that we can’t fully understand due to the limits of our finite human reason. Nonetheless, miracles give us an opportunity to witness the almighty power of God at work in our lives. Miracles are a reminder that we are never alone; God is with us always, guiding and strengthening us with His grace so that we may spend eternity in the glorious presence of the Blessed Trinity.

The Blessed Trinity, public domain