On this Christian Holy Day, there has likely been plenty of reference to miracles. But what is a miracle? The word is invoked for an array of unlikely and unexplained events, from the Miracle Mets of 1969 to the mysterious "healings" associated with religious sites. In its most common usage, the word implies Divine intervention, often referring to an inexplicable rescue from disease, injury or death. In such cases, nature is often the villain, whether it be a storm, an infection or an illness (such as cancer) and the saved is either a human or one of his domestic pets. We rarely hear about miracles that saved the lives of wildlife unless, of course, humans were somehow involved.
But that which was unexplained a thousand years ago may be well understood today and that which we currently cannot comprehend may be common knowledge a century from now. The how, when, where and what of our natural world are gradually becoming less mysterious; it is the "why" that opens the door to spiritual and religious philosophies. Miracles are not part of the natural world; rather, they exist in the mind of man.
