As the final seconds ticked away in the epic upset by the United States hockey team over Russia in 1980 Olympics, broadcaster Al Michaels asked, "Do you believe in miracles?" As the buzzer sounded and the crowd in Lake Placid, NY went crazy, Michaels answered his own seemingly rhetorical question by scream an impassioned, "YES!" into the microphone. The 4-3 upset of the number one seeded team in the tournament came just days after the Soviets beat the American squad 10-3. This was more than a game. The Cold War era upset gave Americans a shot of renewed national pride in the midst of challenging economic times. To many it was, and still is, perceived as a miracle.This past weekend, I traveled to South Bend, Indiana to watch my beloved Notre Dame (which means "Our Lady" in French) Fighting Irish take on rival Michigan. The Wolverines of Michigan led 21-7 at half-time. Notre Dame, however, showed tremendous resolve in their second half comeback and scored 17 unanswered points to take a 24-21 lead late in the fourth quarter. Then Michigan answered with a drive that resulted in a touchdown. Notre Dame trailed 28-24 with 26 seconds remaining. I wondered to myself if Notre Dame might have one more miracle in store. Could the Irish some how eek out a victory? The game ended when quarterback Dayne Crist's last second pass soared over the hands of all his receivers standing in the end zone. The Michigan fans cheered and I felt that all to common agony of defeat. No miracle on this day.
Or so it seemed.
I quickly exited the stadium and began speed walking across campus. My destination, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It is a beautiful church that is a must see for any visitor of the campus. One half hour after every home football game, mass is celebrated in the Basilica but space is limited so you better move quick to get a seat. Fans dressed in green t-shirts and Fighting Irish jerseys fill the pews. Dads in sweatshirts hold their daughters who are wearing ND cheerleading outfits and have shamrocks painted on their faces. Heck, they even let more than a few Michigan fans in! It is a site to be seen for sure.
The mass was done wonderfully and the University choir provided angelic music just like every other time I have been there. The priest spoke on the gospel which was the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-32). Then during the presentation of the gifts, two University of Michigan fans brought forth ordinary bread and wine which soon after became our spiritual food and drink; the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Thinking about those Michigan fans who I never met and maybe never will, while receiving the Eucharist (one bread), made me really think that we truly are "one body." Also, every time we attend mass and receive the Eucharist, we are part of the miracle which Pope John Paul II called "the source and summit of our faith."
Jesus was all about miracles. His whole life was miraculous. Do you know anyone else born of virgin and in their dying just happen to destroy death? He turned water into wine, made the blind see, walked on water, calmed a storm, made the dead come back to life and did so much more.
After mass, I went to pray at the Grotto which is right behind the Basilica. If you ever saw the movie "Rudy," this is the place Rudy lit candles and prayed that he would be admitted into Notre Dame.
What many people don't know is that the Grotto is actually a replica of the Grotto in Lourdes, France. That brings me to my next point on miracles. Here is what you need to know about Lourdes:
On February 11, 1858, the first of a series of heavenly apparitions appeared to a poor, illiterate fourteen year-old girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in a Grotto cave on the outskirts of the small town of Lourdes. During the apparitions, Bernadette was asked by Mary to "pray for sinners" and i
nstructed to dig in the ground for a spring of water, "to drink and wash of it," to go tell the priests "to build a chapel" and to "have the people come in procession." On March 25, at the request of the local pastor, the apparition identified herself to Bernadette saying, "I am the Immaculate Conception," the then recent Marian Dogma proclaimed by the Church in 1854. This was a Dogma that a girl like Bernadette would not have had knowledge of at that point in time. Physical miracles began to take place from the water and the apparitions drew crowds of thousands who prayed the rosary with Bernadette.
Lourdes has continued to be a place of pilgrimage for the faithful. Hundreds of thousands of people go there each year and the physical miracles continue to take place. These are miracles that doctors and scientist have tried to rationalize but can not give an explanation other than divine intervention has taken place.
The story of St. Bernadette and the miracles that have taken place at Lourdes might leave many of us longing for an explanation. However, I think it should leave us searching for an increase of faith. For as St. Thomas Aquinas said, "For those with faith, no explanation is necessary. For those without faith, no explanation is possible."
You should know that as I knelt in front of Grotto, I prayed for you. I prayed to God that the readers of this blog should have their faith grow and grow. I prayed that you may recognize the miracles happening every day in your life. And lastly, I thanked God for the miracle that you are.
And to answer Al Michaels, yes, I believe too.
