THE MIRACLES OF THE GOSPEL.

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. — SUPERIORITY OF THE NATURE OF JESUS: — Dreams.

— Star of the magi.

— DOUBLE SIGHT: Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

— Kiss of Judas.

— Miraculous catch of fish.

— Vocation of Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. — CURES: Loss of blood. — The blind man of Bethsaida. — The paralytic. — The ten lepers. — The withered hand.

— The bowed woman. — The paralytic of the pool.

— The man blind from birth. — Numerous cures of Jesus.

— THE POSSESSED.

— RESURRECTIONS: Daughter of Jairus. — Son of the widow of Nain.

— OTHERS: Jesus walks upon the water. — Transfiguration. — The tempest stilled. — Wedding at Cana.

— Multiplication of the loaves.

— The leaven of the Pharisees.

— The bread of Heaven. — Temptation of Jesus. — Prodigies at the death of Jesus. — Apparition of Jesus, after his death.

— Disappearance of the body of Jesus.

Daughter of Jairus.

— When Jesus had again crossed, by boat, to the other shore, as soon as he disembarked, a great multitude thronged around him. Then a ruler of a synagogue, named Jairus, came to meet him and, on approaching him, cast himself at his feet, beseeching with great insistence, saying: I have a daughter who is at the last extremity; come, lay your hands upon her to cure her and save her life. Jesus went with him, accompanied by a great multitude, which pressed upon him.

While Jairus was still speaking, persons who were subordinate to him came and said to him: Your daughter is dead; why should you give the Master the trouble of going farther? But Jesus, hearing this, said to the ruler of the synagogue: Do not be distressed, only believe. And he permitted no one to accompany him, except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. Arriving at the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a confused crowd of persons who were weeping and uttering great cries. Entering, he said to them: Why do you make such a clamor and why do you weep? This little girl is not dead, she is only asleep. They mocked him. Having made all the people go out, he called the father and mother of the girl and those who had come in his company and entered the place where the girl lay. He took her hand and said: Talitha cumi, that is: My daughter, arise, I command you. At the same instant the girl rose and began to walk, for she was twelve years old, and all were marveled and astonished. (Saint Mark, chapter V, vv. 21 to 43.)

Son of the widow of Nain.

— On the following day, Jesus made his way toward a city called Nain; his disciples and a great multitude of people accompanied him. When he was near the gate of the city, it happened that a dead man was being carried out to be buried, who was the only son of his mother, and this woman was a widow; with her was a great number of people of the city. Having seen her, the Lord was moved with compassion for her and said to her: Do not weep. Then, approaching, he touched the bier and those who were carrying it stopped. Then he said: Young man, arise, I command you. Immediately, the young man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus restored him to his mother. All who were present were seized with astonishment and glorified God, saying: A great prophet has arisen among us and God has visited his people. The rumor of this miracle that he had performed spread throughout all Judea and throughout all the surrounding regions. (Saint Luke, chapter VII, vv. 11 to 17.)

— It would be contrary to the laws of Nature and, therefore, miraculous, the fact of returning to corporeal life an individual who was really dead.

Now, there is no need to resort to that order of facts to have the explanation of the resurrections that Jesus performed.

If, even at the present time, appearances sometimes deceive the professionals, how much more frequent must accidents of that nature have been, in a country where no precaution was taken against them and where burial was immediate. n It is, then, in every respect probable that, in the two cases above, there was only syncope or lethargy.

Jesus himself positively declares, with regard to the daughter of Jairus: This little girl, he said, is not dead, she is only asleep.

Given the fluidic power that he possessed, there is nothing astonishing in that this vivifying fluid, set in action by a strong will, should have reanimated the senses in torpor; that it should even have made the Spirit return to the body, on the point of abandoning it, since the perispiritic bond had not yet definitively broken.

For the men of that time, who considered an individual dead as soon as he had ceased to breathe, there was resurrection in such cases; but what there was in reality was cure and not resurrection, in the legitimate acceptation of the term.

— The resurrection of Lazarus, say what they will, in no way invalidates this principle.

He had been, they say, four days in the sepulcher; but it is known that there are lethargies that last eight days and even longer.

They add that he already smelled bad, which is a sign of decomposition. This allegation also proves nothing, since in certain individuals there is partial decomposition of the body, even before death, there being in such a case a smell of putrefaction.

Death occurs only when the organs essential to life are attacked.

And who could know that Lazarus already smelled bad? It was his sister Mary who said so. But how did she know it? Since it had already been four days that Lazarus had been buried, she supposed it; no certainty, however, could she have. n (Chap. XIV, No. 29.)

[1] A proof of this custom is presented to us in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter V, vv. 5 and following:

“Ananias, having heard those words, fell down and gave up the Spirit, and all who heard of it were seized with great fear. Soon, some young men came to fetch his body and, having carried it away, buried it. After some three hours, his wife (Sapphira), who knew nothing of what had occurred, entered. And Peter said to her… etc. — At the same instant, she fell at his feet and gave up the Spirit. Those young men, returning, found her dead and, carrying her away, buried her next to her husband.” [2] The following fact proves that decomposition sometimes precedes death. In the convent of the Good Shepherd, founded at Toulon by Father Marin, chaplain of the prisons, and destined for fallen women who repent, there was found a young woman who had borne the most terrible sufferings with the calm and impassiveness of an expiatory victim. In the midst of her pains, she seemed to smile at a celestial vision. Like Saint Teresa, she asked that it be granted her to suffer more, although her flesh was already in tatters, with gangrene ravaging all her limbs. By wise foresight, the physicians had recommended that the inhumation of the body be made immediately after the passing. A singular thing! Scarcely had the sick woman breathed her last sigh when all the work of decomposition ceased; the cadaverous exhalations disappeared, so that for 36 hours the body could remain exposed to the prayers and the veneration of the community.