Seeing is Believing
If we can see miracles all around us, then we’re all privy to divine gifts.
-The Miracle Collectors
So much is happening in our world it is hard to keep up. Division is rampant, fears are sometimes overwhelming, and it seems nearly impossible to find agreement in any solution to the world's ills. And yet, there is hope, and there are miracles. As Joan writes this month, miracles can be found in unexpected places if we but look for them.
This Memorial Day may we all pause to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Collecting Miracle Moments One Story at a Time.
Joan and Katie
I've always been a bit of a doubting Thomas, a healthy dose of skepticism riding along next to my faith. My belief in miracles was no exception, even after experiencing one and hearing about others shared by friends and so many of those we encountered along our miracle journey. So yes, I'm a miracle believer. And yet, even true believers like reassurance. I am always on the lookout for miracles wherever I am or whatever I might be doing. I see miracles in the kindness of strangers, the wonder of nature, and the opportunities for connection that surround us.
Given my miracle outlook, it is no surprise that a number of recent news articles caught my eye. The first was a NYT article on the choice of a new pope. (An American Pope, now there's a miracle!) According to the Archbishop of Santiago Chile Cardinal Fernando Garib, Robert Prevost's selection was the result of a series of miracles: "A miracle of the holy spirit," that Cardinals from over 70 countries came to an agreement in just over 24 hours. A miracle, and also "an example for all our countries where nobody comes to an agreement." While the notion of miracle is not shocking coming from a Catholic Archbishop, since for centuries the Catholic Church seemed to think they had the market on miracles cornered, Cardinal Garib seemed genuinely shocked at what had transpired. (1)
And then later that week, there was game 5 of the Celtics/Knicks series where according to one sports writer, center Luke Kornet, "perhaps emboldened by the election of a new Pope...performed miracles" and the game was won by the home team even after the devastating loss of a key player a few days earlier.(2) The reality is that I am a pushover for sports miracles, think Miracle on the Ice (1980), the 1969 Mets, the 2004 Red Sox, the underdog always has a place in my heart.
Another example of the miraculous has stayed with me from an article in a local CA paper, where a man who was abducted in 1951 at age 6 was reunited with his family 73 (!) years later with the help of DNA testing and the internet. He had been at a park with his older brother in 1951 when a woman came up, offered him candy, and whisked the young boy away from his Oakland CA home, to live with another family on the east coast. Even after a prolonged search at the time, no trace of him was ever found. The persistence of his relatives, who for decades always believed he was alive and had the tenacity to rally three government agencies, the FBI, Oakland Police, and CA Department of Justice all these years later, seems a miracle to me. (3)
And while my personal skepticism still exists in parsing the news and information that bombards us on so many fronts, I also truly believe miracles happen, as Willa Cather says, "Miracles seem to rest...upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes see and our ears can hear what there is about us always." (4) What better way to live than with our eyes, ears, and hearts open to the wonder of the world around us? (Joan)
1. "Pope Leo XIV celebrates first Mass as details emerge of how votes coalesced in secret conclave", Nicole Winfield, AP, NYT, 5/9/25.
2. "Garden Party", Emma Healy, Boston Globe, 5/15/2025.
3. "Boy abducted in 1951 at age 6 finally found", Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 9/21/24.
4. Death Comes for the Archbishop, Willa Cather.