Never before has the world, or should we say, Africa, been hungrier for miracles than it is now. And to fill the ever-growing miracle desire gap, miracle-centred churches are mushrooming in geometric progression at every street corner, especially in metropolitan areas.

Theirs names are understandably different to set them apart from other competing churches, but they all have a common denominator- they provide a miracle galore. No doubt claims of Jesus’ apparition at a home in Minkan-Yaoundé, sent thousands flocking to that home and neighbourhood and some avid believers have already transformed it to a place of pilgrimage.

Gullibility or just a sudden evangelical leveraging in Africa, many are questioning. Miracles are an integral part of the Christian experience and Jesus Himself even says that those who have faith in Him will perform even greater miracles than He has done. But can miracles be performed where faith is absent? Therefore when people tend to believe more in miracles than in cultivating their faith in the miracle-worker, there is certainly a problem.

Catholic teaching understands miracles as a supernatural sign or wonder, brought about by God, signifying His glory and the salvation of mankind. Miracles are learning experiences for those who witness them. As a sign, a miracle is perceived by the senses and makes present the supernatural order, God's governance of nature, and His loving plan of salvation. Miracles are a call to faith. But in today’s world many are seeking the accomplishment of miracles in faith-empty settings. Miracles require divine intervention.

The Catholic Church believes in miracles. Vatican Council I says "If anyone shall say that miracles . . . can never be known with certainty, and that the divine origin of Christianity cannot be duly proved by them, let him be anathema" (DS 3034, cf. 3009). The Catechism of the Catholic Church reasserts this teaching when it mentions that "the miracles of Christ and the saints" as being among "the most certain signs" and "external proofs" of divine revelation (CCC 156).

An article in the Catholic Resource Centre posits that while the Incarnation is the root miracle of salvation, the Resurrection is the definitive and ultimate sign. "The empty tomb and the linen cloths lying there signify in themselves that by God's power Christ's body had escaped the bonds of death and corruption" (Catechism, no. 657). The Resurrection is "the definitive proof" of Christ's divine authority.

St. Augustine writes, "The miracles worked by our Lord Jesus Christ are divine works which raise the human mind above visible things to understand what is divine." Miracles are submitted in the process of canonisation. The Catholic Church is full of miracles and an in-exhaustive list of such miracles include physical healings requiring careful medical documentation, Eucharistic miracles, the incorruptible nature of the bodies of some saints, apparitions and exorcisms.

The Catholic Church, however, sets rigorous standards for the thorough scientific investigation and verification of reported miracles before approving them as evidence for the authenticity of private revelations, or as prerequisites for every beatification and canonisation that she carries out. The Local Bishop first launches an investigation into a said miracle to make sure it is real. Information gathered is sent to the Vatican where the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, reviews and debates the material.

The Church is naturally sceptical since many people try to fake miracles for their own self glorification and neurotic people can also experience things they misleadingly consider as miracles. And this explains the Catholic Church’s sceptism about Jesus’ apparition in a home in Minkan-Yaoundé.

It is therefore a hasty and uninformed decision for Catholics to already be part of pilgrims to Minkan when the said miracle has not been investigated and confirmed. Those who also say that the Catholic Church is a miracle-devoid Church are wrong because the Church abounds in miracles.

By Ireneaus Chongwain Chia