Catechism 10

Revelation of Jesus Christ

What are miracles?
Give examples.
Are miracles violation of the laws of nature? 

God and the laws of nature are not on opposite sides. 

When there is a miracle that seems to be in variance

with the natural law, there is merely a higher power
introduced.

He is Lord of creation, witnessing the truth of

the messenger and the message.
Characteristics of Our Lord’s Miracles:

1. He worked miracles as signs to

convince men the He who came to
work miracles is the One who was
promised.
Our Lord explains why He worked miracles.

…for the works which the Father has granted me to

accomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear
me witness that the Father has sent me.” (John 5:36)

…but if I do them, even though you do not believe me,

believe the works, that you may know and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." (John
10:38)
The miracles were seals which God set upon
His revelation of Christ as His divine Son.

If Jesus shows it is by His own power He

works a miracle, He proves Himself to be the
very Lord of the universe and to be God.
Characteristics of Our Lord’s Miracles:

2. There is nothing unreasonable in

any of the miracles of our Lord.
The miracles were subject to the test of
everyone.

Our Lord never performed a miracle unless

there were witnesses present.
Characteristics of Our Lord’s Miracles:

3. The miracles are inseparable to

His person.
They differed from prophets and others since
theirs were an answer to a prayer granted by a
higher power. His flowed from the majestic life
resident in Him.

In his gospel, St. John calls them signs or works,

meaning they were the sort of thing that might be
expected from Him, being what He was.
They were evidences of His divine revelation;
they were even more for they testified to His
redemptive action as the Savior of the world.

By healing the palsied, lame, and blind, Christ

clothed His power with visible form to cure
spiritual diseases. For example, blindness to
the light of faith.
 The miraculous is interwoven with His entire
life. The moral integrity of our Lord’s character is
dependent upon the reality of His miracles.

We cannot put asunder two things God has

joined together; namely, the beauty of Christ’s
character and the reality of the miracles He
worked.
How many miracles did our Lord work?

The specific number of miracles mentioned in

the Gospels is 35. However, Gospel of St John
tells us that there were many other miracles
Jesus did that if they would be recorded the
world itself could not contain the books that
would be written. (John 21:25)
Three of these miracles tell of raising the dead: a
child, a young man, and an adult; nine relate
to nature and twenty-three to healing. In
addition to these there are miracles related to
the life of Christ Himself like the Virgin Birth,
the Resurrection, and the Ascension.
What is the most important miracle of our Lord?
And why?

The Resurrection.

Because if Christ was not raised from the dead then

there will be no hope in life after death, therefore,
our faith is in vain. (1Corinthian 15:13,14)
Where can we find the records of the
Resurrection in the New Testament?

Four in the Gospels, and one of St Paul and all of

them are independent.

These five distinct records give at least eleven

accounts of the Resurrection of our blessed Lord and
of His various appearances, one to five hundred
people.
What are the objections made against the
resurrection?

1. Lie Theory.

2. Psychological Theory.
The most astounding thing about the
resurrection is that no one believed He would
rise from the dead. None of His followers
believed it.

They had to be convinced the hard way, as

Thomas had to be convinced.
Believe me, the skeptics of today cannot
compare with the skeptics of those days; namely,
the Apostles. They were the doubters. When
they were convinced, they proved they believed
in it by having their throats cut for that cause.
Our blessed Lord went before the world
with miracles as a sign of His divinity.

When He had risen from the dead, He asked

men to be prepared to die for what was low
in them so they might rise again.
Where can we find the revelations of Jesus
Christ?

1. In the New Testament.

2. In the Apostolic Tradition.