Never hesitate to beg for miracles

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

NOTHING is lost if we dare to ask God for some miracles or some special and extraordinary favors. If God sees that it would really be for own good, he will surely grant it. If not—and he can only be the one to know if what we are asking is truly for our own good or not—then he will not grant it. And if we always trust in God’s providence, it would be the same for us whether God grants our request or not.

But we should not hesitate to ask for miracles. We, of course, have to do it with due homage to God, as what a leper did in a gospel episode. (cfr. Mt 8,1-4) And we should ask for miracles motivated only by our desire to give glory to God and not just for us to be freed of some suffering, inconvenience or disadvantage.

Said in another way, our desire to be freed of some suffering, inconvenience or disadvantage should be motivated by our desire to be in a better condition to give glory to God and to love him and others better. It should not just be a matter of self-interest only.

Yes, it cannot be denied that given our wounded condition in this life, we should realize that we need to ask for miracles, for some special divine interventions. There are times when we have to resort to extraordinary means because the predicaments at hand are just too big or complicated to tackle.

These days, in fact, this type of predicaments is getting plentier. In the international scene, for example, we are witness to the seemingly endless terror attacks on innocent people, done completely at random. These attackers are not afraid anymore to lose their lives.

The value of life has diminished tremendously. If it is not due to some kind of fanaticism, racism or extreme revenge, it can also be due to the cheapening of life in general through the widespread legalization of abortion and other anti-life practices.

We can also detect an increasing number of predicaments that often reduce us to helplessness. This can be brought about by the new technologies that, while giving us a lot of advantages, can also cause great harm.

Many people, especially the young, are now addicted to pornography, to uncontrollable games, to plainly wasting time. They are finding it harder and harder to resist the temptation.

They more or less know that what they are doing is wrong, but they still do it. But neither can we discount the fact that many people are now losing the sense of sin, of what is right and wrong, and of repentance.

It’s clear that the world today is into some serious sickness, more spiritual and moral than physical and medical. It’s not just some kind of virus that causes it. There seems to some kind of evil possession involved. Precisely in the gospel we are told that we are actually ranged against spiritual enemies, more powerful than the usual germs and viruses around.

And so, let us go to God like those helpless characters in the gospel who went to Christ begging for some miraculous cure. What is important is that we approach Christ with deep faith. In those miraculous cures Christ did, he always referred to the great faith of those who asked for those miracles.

Let us humble ourselves so that that faith can grow and show itself in deeds, like intense prayers and sacrifice. Remember what Christ told his disciples why they could not cure an epileptic boy. It was because of their little faith. (Mt 17,20)

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com