Modern Day Miracles?: Background information when reading The Miracle Girl

Modern Day Miracles?

This article relates to The Miracle Girl

Andrew Roe's The Miracle Girl follows the life of Anabelle Vincent, a comatose girl who many believe grants miracles. Of course, there are skeptics who surround the young Anabelle, too, and so the novel asks readers to question whether they are believers or skeptics.

The occurrence of alleged miracles is, of course, not a new topic. It's one that has garnered interest for many years, even centuries. But if we examine the cited miracles that have occurred in the modern day compared to centuries before, the decrease is large. Why is this? It is not, necessarily, because people don't believe. According to Craig Keener (Professor at Asbury Theological Seminary), in a 2011 Huffington Post article: "Various polls peg U.S. belief in miracles at roughly 80 percent. One survey suggested that 73 percent of U.S. physicians believe in miracles, and 55 percent claim to have personally witnessed treatment results they consider miraculous." The citing of miracles is often inextricably linked to deep religious faith. While this supports some people's views that miracles do occur, others point to studies that show faith and faith based communities offer coping strategies (organized community support, for example) that create better health outcomes.

So why the decrease? The lower number of miracles does not necessarily mean that fewer unexplainable happenings are occurring; instead, it is likely due to the heightened need (and ability) for rationalization in our current cultural climate. It is also due, perhaps, to the availability of scientific facts that lead to explanations, as well as the availability of philosophical examination of miracles. There is a class at Queensborough Community College, for example, that delves into the philosophies around miracles. The specific requirements for the definition of a miracle and the verification process are scrutinized, among other things, which reduces the ease of belief.

However, believers can still find modern miracles in the world. Since Roe's The Miracle Girl takes place just before the turn of the millennium, I have sought out some of the most popular contemporary miracles and leave it up to you to determine if there is truth behind the claims.

According to the Vatican, one recent miracle occurred in Colorado Springs in 1999. Two nuns prayed to Mother Theresia Bonzel for the (then) four-year-old Luke Burgie. Luke was sick — incredibly sick — with stomach problems. He suffered for months with terrible bouts of diarrhea. His sickness was so severe that he was unable to attend school. After the nuns extensively prayed for multiple days, Luke's illness vanished. He was able to return to school, participate in sports, and live a normal, successful life.

Another possible miracle occurred in 2001. This time, the situation involved an unborn child. The baby was growing inside its mother's womb, but things began to get complicated. Suddenly, after a report of an abundance of fluid in the amniotic sac, the child was at risk for brain damage. Things got worse. After more tests, doctors realized the baby would likely die, or, at the very least, that the child would be born with a severe kidney disorder. The mother was offered the choice of abortion — however, she refused. Instead, she began to pray for Paul VI's intercession. The mother soon returned to the doctor to get a new report, and she found out that her unborn child showed a vast improvement from previous reports. During her 39th week of being pregnant, the mother gave birth to her child, who was healthy.

2011 saw another potential miracle in the healing of a Costa Rican woman named Floribeth Mora. Mora developed a very dangerous brain aneurysm. She suffered from hemorrhaging and severe migraines. Her condition was so bad that she was resting on a bed and imagining her own death. Suddenly, she experienced a vision of Pope John Paul II telling her to "get up" and consoling her by saying, "Don't be afraid." The next day, doctors said the aneurysm had vanished. Now, she is healthy and aneurysm-free.

Another story of miraculous healing comes from Sister Marie Simon-Pierre who developed Parkinson's in 2001. After her diagnosis, she began praying to John Paul II. Soon, her symptoms began to disappear. Simon-Pierre's story has a number of skeptics attached to it — more so than the other examples of modern miracles. Parkinson's is a disease of progression, and people experience good days and bad. Symptoms might worsen one day, for example, but then improve the next. It's impossible to say whether Simon-Pierre's condition is truly lasting.

Each of these stories has an outcome that is undeniably astonishing. Are they, in fact, miracles? The Vatican states that a medical miracle must prove to be "instantaneous, complete, and lasting." What constitutes a miracle in your opinion?

The Raising of Lazarus (c. 1410) from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Musée Condé, France, courtesy of Petrusbarbygere

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This "beyond the book article" relates to The Miracle Girl. It originally ran in April 2015 and has been updated for the March 2016 paperback edition. Go to magazine.