The other day, in talking about the proper use of apologetics, I quoted from paragraph
156 of the Catechism, which mentions that miracles of the saints are one of those most
certain signs of divine revelation, adapted to the intelligence of all.
Well, today we celebrate one of the greatest miracle workers in the history of the Church,
though he's not all that well-known, Saint Salvatore of Horta, a Franciscan brother who
lived in the 16th century, he used to heal the sick just by making the sign of the cross over
them. His reputation grew so much that at one point he was visited at his friary in Spain
by over 10,000 pilgrims from France. After a brief exhortation to penance and conversion,
which is what he usually would do for those who asked for healing,
he then made the sign of the cross over this enormous crowd, and all those who were
interiorly disposed—that is, they were sorry for their sins and resolved to change their lives—were
healed. Those who were not interiorly disposed to conversion were not healed. So we notice how
God works miracles through his saints always with the spiritual good in mind, in view of that,
conversion, salvation, and sanctification. Sometimes it happens that people ask why God
doesn't raise up miracle workers as numerous today as in the times of the apostles. We read about
all of the miracles and extraordinary feats of the apostles. Well, the reason is because
the Church is no longer in such need of extraordinary proofs of the truth,
of her teachings. I particularly like the way St. Augustine explains this. He says,
quote,
He who, in the face of the conversion of the world to Christianity, demands miracles and strives
to doubt those which have been wrought in favor of this most wonderful change, is himself
an astonishing miracle of irrationality and stupidity. In fact, after the examination,
in the example of the saints over the past 2,000 years, how much more proof does one need?
It's interesting to note, though, that God did raise up St. Salvatore immediately after, and we
can say in response to, the Protestant heresy, thus preserving the true faith of many, many
believers. Certainly, the most recent example of a miracle worker of this caliber is St.
Pio. But we should also note that, notwithstanding St. Pio and his outstanding miracles, and the
fact that he died less than 50 years ago, the practice of the faith in Italy is incredibly poor,
with less than 15% attending Sunday Mass. In fact, there's even a Protestant church
which has been converted to Christianity, and it's a very important church. It's a church that's
been converted to Christianity, and it's a very important church. It's a church that's been
converted to Christianity, and it's a very important church. It's a very important church.
And it's been constructed in Padre Pio's hometown of Pietrelcina. I think we can describe these
things, that is, the lack of the practice of faith and the construction of a Protestant church
in the hometown of Padre Pio, as one of those miracles of irrationality and stupidity.
This just goes to show that God's greatest miracles and those of his saints are the
bending of man's stubborn will to be in
accordance with right reason.
Saint Salvatore of Horta, pray for us.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.