With more of the bizarre happening in our culture, we must remember that heaven is in control. The scriptures are clear that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). The world and our surroundings may change, but Jesus Christ never changes. His law is everlasting no matter the circumstances.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see signs, wonders, and the miraculous following Him. Performing his first miracle we see water being changed to wine. Wherever Jesus walked, we see miracles that no one has ever done in the history of the world. Many miracles like Lazarus being raised from the dead, Mary Magdalene and Zacchaeus witnessing a complete transformation in their lives, Jesus walking on water, healings, prophecy, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, and the miraculous all the way to Jesus Himself raised from the dead. Through Christendom, with the lives of many unique people who have left themselves open to the will of God, we see the same. Is our time any different? The answer is no, if you are looking in the right places.
The fastest growing expression of the spiritual in America right now is various forms of the occult. There is the soft side of the occult like Ouija Boards and the like, and the hard-core side all the way to human sacrifice. There is a lot of room in between those forms of extremes where people dabble and then get involved more heavily into the occult. Once involved, it is a like a cancer that devours its victims. The youth have largely been exposed to mediums and spiritualists through books like Harry Potter, because they have not witnessed life-changing principles in Christian faith, because it has been so watered down by clerics of all denominations.
Trying to appease the youth with a light message like the equivalent of sugar water, has had the opposite impact where people have decided to leave the faith because they don’t see the supernatural power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. People want to be challenged, and in many churches, the challenge isn’t present as truth is watered down, therefore people leave and our churches have become empty. Just watch a young child’s excitement of the biblical supernatural and the mystical, will make one a believer how it can lift our spirits. Heaven has placed this gift in our hearts, but the world in its cynical intellect rips faith from our spirit.
The writers of scripture are clear that Jesus performed miracles. We see just several passages where many more could be provided.
“…and a great crowd of people followed Him because they saw the signs He had performed by healing the sick” (John 6:2).
“God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will” (Heb. 2:4).
“The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles” (2 Cor. 12:12).
“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles” (Acts 2:43).
“Why should it be thought a thing incredible, that God should raise the dead” (Acts 26:8)
Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).
Jesus is saying clearly that believers will come after Him who will do even greater works than He. We have had many people who have been declared saints who have raised people from the dead, and performed these signs and wonders that are spoken about over the entire New Testament. The problem is, these saints are seldom if ever spoken about from the pulpit, therefore few know about these people of all background and ethnicities. Supernatural events that promote and build faith are often concealed under a rock, and seldom if ever spoken about often because of fear of appearing simple minded in your faith. Yet, if one were to sit and explain a complex doctrine, often it will be said, “wow, that person is brilliant.” Often that person will be the first to criticize the role of the supernatural.
Below are just several stories of hundreds that could offered to illustrate the point.
Saint Ambrose (340-397) one of the four original doctors of the church raised a boy by the name of Pansopius from the dead.
Saint Patrick of Ireland (389-461). There is a lot more to Saint Patrick than parades and green beer. There is discrepancy on whether he raised 33 or 39 from the dead. He raised people from the dead sometimes who had been dead for years. People who falsely accused him were often converted on the spot. One instance when he and his confreres were accused of stealing, they were sentenced to death. Saint Patrick raised the man from the dead, and the man clarified the case on exactly where the stolen goods were hidden, and several converted to the faith.
Another time falsely accused of killing a horse, he raised the horse from the dead and gave it back to its rightful owner. Over thirty years he consecrated 350 bishops, built 700 churches, and ordained 5,000 priests in Ireland. At the time of the Reformation, Ireland was largely untouched as other European nations, as Ireland sent thousands of religious as missionaries throughout the world over centuries due to its solid formation of its citizens in the faith.
Saint Malachy (1095-1148) of Ireland lamented he waited to long to give a woman the Last Rites, so he raised her from the dead to do it correctly.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) raised a man from the dead so he could transform his life to one of virtue to the previous one of sin.
Saint Hyacinth (c 1185-1257) raised 50 dead people in Crakow, Poland alone. At his canonization it was declared that his miracles were “almost countless,” as he traveled an estimated 25,000 miles evangelizing much of it on foot. He is called the Polish Saint Dominic as he established the Dominican Order in Poland.
Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was one of the greatest miracle workers of all time. He raised twelve people from the dead, with the miraculous during and after his death. His father in Portugal (St. Anthony was from Portugal, not Italy) was accused of murdering a man while Saint Anthony was living in Italy. St. Anthony bi-located to his father’s trial, brought the murdered man into the court room, rose the dead man from his coffin, asked the man who killed him, the man pointed to a man not his father, and the man fell back dead. All the while the journey to Lisbon would have been several weeks or more by horse drawn cart each way, Saint Anthony was only gone from his monastery several days. Saint Anthony had one of the quickest routes to canonization lasting less than a year due to his numerous signs and wonders.
Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431) raised a stillborn child from the dead so the baby could be baptized. At the age of 19 she became a martyr having transformed the geopolitical landscape of Europe.
Saint Teresa of Avila ((1515-1582) of Spain is known as the Glory of Spain. She raised her six-year old nephew from the dead. She is a Doctor of the Church, in addition to being a great reformer of the Carmelite Order.
St. Catherine of Siena ((1347-1380) rose her own mother from the dead. Her mother never took her faith seriously while alive, and Catherine prayed for her mother, and she returned to life. St. Catherine had the stigmata, and worked many miracles.
Saint Dominic (1170-1220), founder of the Order of Preachers (OP), or the Dominicans, raised three people from the dead. The Order sprouted wings throughout Europe and the world, producing some of the greatest saints in history.
Volumes are written on the miraculous being a daily occurrence in his life.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) brought a man back to life.
Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595) raised a boy from the dead.
Saint John Bosco (1815-1888) raised two boys from the dead. The book on his dreams has become a classic. His famous vision of the Twin Pillars of the Eucharist on a high column, and the Blessed Mother on a lesser size column, saving a ravaged church with the Barque of Peter being tossed from stem to stern in the end days. His vision of the Twin Pillars provides THE answer where we need to place our trust in these times.
St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) is another unknown saint except in circles of Catholic scholarship. He is a giant in the church of the dark Middle Ages when illiteracy was the norm, and illness could bring immediate death due to a lack of viable medicine. Miracles were used to convert the masses, and there are twenty-eight people that he rose from the dead, in stories so miraculous they illustrate what Jesus said, “greater works will you do than I.” Over 40,000 miracles are logged that are attributed to him.
He was in such demand as a man with the gift of healing, he had to be transported in an iron cage from town to town so he would not be crushed to death. He could walk through a town and people would just touch him and be healed. In his time, his faith manifested so much of the miraculous, many wondered if he was the Angel of Judgment written about in the Book of Revelation.
There are over 400 cases in the church of cases as the above in all periods of time. The Church has elevated many to the level of saint because they were holy men and women who sought God first in their life. Tens of thousands of healings and the miraculous are not widely known because it is not the nature of the individual wanting to bring attention to themself. The Lord uses the miraculous to draw people to Himself. It is the Lord doing the healing, not the individual. The healer knows this because they are always speaking in the name of Jesus. To deny this power is to deny the authority of Jesus and His role of healing as an important part of His public ministry. But again, it is fear of what others may think that often prevent people from proclaiming the gospel as Jesus commanded.
Miracles are a significant and important part of church history. The miraculous is a constant as a means to restore faith to people in all ages. Heaven raises up anointed people for the benefit of the masses throughout history. The book Raised From The Dead, by Father Albert Hebert, on which this article is based, is available from Signs of the Times (Sign.org).
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU
A great book if you want to learn more: Saints Who Raised the Dead