miracle

Miracle of the Loaves and FishesDerivation

  • Latin: mirari, to wonder

Profile

An effect which causes admiration because it cannot be produced by any natural agency but only by the power of God. It is above the natural law, as when one dead is restored to life; contrary to this law, as when Moses caused water to gush from a rock; independent of the law, as when something that might be done by natural causes, e.g., the immediate cure of a dangerous malady, is effected without the aid of physician or medicine. Granted the existence of Almighty God, since He could create the universe and establish its laws, there is no reason why He cannot alter its course and interfere with its laws. There is every reason why He should do so if He wills to confirm some truth or fact by miraculous manifestation of His power, as did Our Lord and His Apostles when it was hopeless to expect men and women, as they were at that time, to accept the teachings of Christianity without such evidence of their Divine origin as miracles.

Additional Information

MLA Citation

  • “miracle”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 October 2022. Web. 23 April 2024. <>