Gospel Reflection for The 19th day of December in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Luke 1:5-25
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. 6 And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame. 7 And they had no son, for that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. 8 And it came to pass, when he executed the priestly function in the order of his course before God, 9 According to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense, going into the temple of the Lord. 10 And all the multitude of the people was praying without, at the hour of incense.
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John: 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice in his nativity. 15 For he shall be great before the Lord; and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And he shall convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias; that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people. 18 And Zachary said to the angel: Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. 19 And the angel answering, said to him: I am Gabriel, who stand before God: and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings. 20 And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass, because thou hast not believed my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.
21 And the people were waiting for Zachary; and they wondered that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he made signs to them, and remained dumb. 23 And it came to pass, after the days of his office were accomplished, he departed to his own house. 24 And after those days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying: 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he hath had regard to take away my reproach among men.
Miracles are caused by God alone. They are events that are not humanly possible. The Church is very careful in declaring miracles. If there is any scientific explanation for an event, the Church will not declare it a miracle, even if it be caused by God. Even so, miracles are so frequent in the Catholic world that many have become to be viewed as almost commonplace. Daily, people are healed of incurable diseases and disabilities at Lourdes.... we have come to take it for granted. At Fatima, incredible astrological miracles took place that were even observed in communist countries. The miracles of Fatima barely made the news in the United States. The consecrated Host in the Eucharist has even been witnessed by thousands to have become bleeding flesh before their very eyes, and has been preserved and tested by scientists and proven to be human heart tissue. The secular world takes no notice and Catholics don't make a big deal of it, usually.
Why? The answer is simple, with God all things are possible. We know that. But I think we make a mistake in not publicizing the miracles of God in Catholicism. Protestants never experience such and would be astounded. I know I was, even though in my own life I had experienced a miracle of healing. When I was 19, I was paralyzed by a back injury. A Protestant minister prayed for me and I was healed. That led me to truly dedicate my life to Christ. When I began to learn about Catholicism though... and the treasury of millions of miracles far beyond physical healing was shared with me... how could I not believe in the Catholic Church? The power of God is alive in the Catholic Church as in no other. God loves all people and prayer even by a non-Christian is heard by Him if sincere. But, in the Catholic Church, the miracles of the Bible never ceased. Perhaps we don't talk about them due to fear of being thought of as superstitious or old fashioned. It think this is a very serious mistake. We should shout from the rooftops all God does for us!
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings January-June, 2025 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK3M1WDZ
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Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
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"We make a mistake in not publicizing the miracles of God in Catholicism."
Judson, this is so true. There seems to be an inclination to "write off" miracles as having some natural cause in our "modern" culture and even among some "Catholic" theologians. I think that with all of our scientific methods, we have lost the wonder and joy of God intervening directly, miraculously, in our lives. Yet, thanks be to God, God is love and therefore eternally patient with us.