Prologue
…
- Eucharistic miracles
- Old Testament prophecies
- Marian apparitions
- Healing
- Exorcism
- Intercession
Old Testament prophecies
Daniel’s prophecies
The prophet Daniel (620 – 538 BC) predicted the rise of Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BC) nearly 200 years before his coming.
| Daniel’s prophecy (6th century BC) | History (4th century BC) |
| Daniel 8:3 - a ram with 2 great horns | empire of Medes & Persians |
| Daniel 8:5 - a he-goat comes from the west | Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC) emerge and conquers the 2 empires |
| Daniel 8:8 - the large horn broke up | Alexander the Great dies (323 BC) |
| Daniel 8:22 - his empire will be divided into 4 | 4 empires: Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Persian |
| 2 empires: Ptolemaic & Seleucid | |
| 1 empire: Romans |
The coming of the Messiah
Christoph Römhild, a Lutheran pastor, found around 63,000+ cross-references between the Old Testament and the New Testament. 1
Data comes from Chris Harrison & Christoph Römhild
The Messiah
Peter associated Jesus’ messianic and divinity as one same thing (Acts 2:36). The Greek word for Messiah is “Christos”, where we got “Jesus Christ”. Christians are in fact, people who believed that Jesus is the promised Messiah, awaited by the Jews. The first converts were called ‘Christians’ in Antioch in the 40s AD (Acts 11:26).
The Prophets predicted a Messiah with 300+ accurate descriptions. Since the Old Testament was written by many different people, at different locations, different times, it makes the probabilities extremely low, almost miraculous. Here’s a sample of only eight of them.
| Old Testament prophecy | New Testament fulfillment | Probabilities |
| Christ to be born in Bethlehem |
And Herod asked where Christ had been born… they answer Bethlehem |
2.8 x 105 1 in 280, 000 |
| Forerunner of Christ |
John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ |
1 x 103 1 in 1,000 |
| Christ to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey |
Christ enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey |
1 x 102 1 in 100 |
| Christ to be betrayed by a friend |
Judas betrayed Jesus |
1 x 103 1 in 1,000 |
| Christ to be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver |
Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver |
1 x 103 1 in 1,000 |
| 30 pieces of silver casted down & used to buy a potter’s field |
30 pieces of silver used to buy a potter’s field |
1 x 105 1 in 100,000 |
| Although innocent, Christ kept silent when on trial |
Jesus kept silent when questioned |
1 x 103 1 in 1,000 |
| Christ crucified |
Jesus was crucified |
1 x 104 1 in 10,000 |
Data comes from Peter W. Stoner’s book “Science Speaks” (chapter 3).
Marian apparitions
Fatima
In 1917, 3 Portuguese kids (Lucia, Francisco & Jacinta) claimed to have seen Our Lady at multiple occasions. In order to prove their case, a huge miracle happen where 70,000+ people (including skeptics & atheists) had a vision of the sun dancing in the sky.
Lourdes
In 1858, Bernadette, a young French girl, claimed to have seen Our Lady in a grotto.
the miraculous water has healed many people.
Guadeloupe
The veil painting of Mary: scientifically paintable by an artist?
Other cases
Crying statues
There have been cases of statues of Mary crying out with real human blood. The odd is, it matches perfectly the same blood type as the Eucharistic miracles & the Shroud of Turin.
VERIFY THIS ONE
An atomic bomb exploded on Hiroshima, destroying everything on its road, except for a small community of Catholic monks. Their body has no radiation. Their secret: the daily Rosary.
Miraculous statues
There are also many stories of miraculous statues of Mary or Jesus surviving a natural disaster/catastrophe.
The Breezy Point Madonna is one good example. It was featured on the NY Times 2 & Wall Street Journal 3.
The hurricane Sandy, which happened in 2012, destroyed everything on its road, except, a statue of Mary which remains intact.
My family possesses one.
Healing
Charismatic healing are popular among Pentecostal churches.
Exorcism
The supernatural phenomena which we often see in Hollywood movies are extremely rare cases. According to Fr. Gabriele Amorth, 90-95% of a suspected case of possession is only due to mental illness and can be cure medically.
Curse & spell
It seems that magic & witchcraft only exist in fairytales & legends. But in reality, there have been reports of people who play Ouija boards, who practice Hindu yoga, crystal ball, etc. had a terrible experience.
In pagan history, they believe in the 4 elements of nature : water, air, fire, earth. There’s a 5th one that unites them, and it’s the spirit. That’s why the pagan symbol is represented by a 5-sides star. Now, what is that spirit?
According to …, when people plays the Ouija board, they think it’s innocent, but they are calling upon a demon spirit.
Near-death experiences
Gary Habermas & Fr. Robert Spitzer has been studying “near-death experience” cases for years, through the lens of scientific & medical field.
Incorruptible Saints
Egyptians used to mummify people to preserve their body intact.
In the Catholic Church, none of that is necessary: we have few Saints whose body is still preserved almost intact (don’t require a special medical treatment of dryness, cold, etc.) which take a much longer time to decompose.
This is the body of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, who died in 1879 AD.
Miracles of Saints
The Roman Catholic Church only declare a person Saint if there is at least 2 miracles attributes to them after their death, which must be proven scientifically & medically impossible to be done under normal circumstances. If it is the case, then we can be sure that their soul is in the presence of God in Heaven and they can intercede for us on earth.
One clear example was St Brother André (Montréal, QC). If anyone goes to the St Joseph Oratory, they will notice a ton of cane suspended on the wall, proven that he was able to ask God’s for miraculous healing, therefore the sick don’t need their cane anymore and give it to the church.
Eucharistic miracles
Lanciano.
Recommended books
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