The Miracle the Man Never Asked For
- DOROTHY DAY
The transcendental is thought of often as manifesting itself in signs and wonders, prophecies and voices from the dead.
There is evidence of it in the miracles which take place around us, miracles which are more common than we suppose, and which the Catholic Church is very hesitant to confirm without long investigation. There may well be more of them than we know, since most of us, if a miracle were performed for us in the way of healing, would prefer not to submit to long investigation. Most of us would be reluctant to report, or even perhaps to believe in, the miraculous.
Catholics do not generally ask for miracles. They leave the extraordinary in the hands of God. They are quite conscious that before prayer of petition there must be offered prayer of adoration and thanksgiving as their bounden duty to a Creator and to themselves. Spiritual graces, yes, they ask for these, but when it comes to asking for relief from pain and suffering, it is almost as though they thought, "Why should I refuse what is the common lot of humanity? Why should I ask to be spared when I see the suffering of the family next door? Suffering borne with courage means to the devout mind a participation in the sufferings of Christ and, if bravely endured, can lighten the sufferings of others. It is not a cult of suffering. It is an acceptance of the human condition.
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Acknowledgement
Servant of God Dorothy Day. "The Miracle the Man Never Asked For." Dorothy Day Selected Writings (Marynoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2005).
Reprinted with permission.
The Author
Servant of God Dorothy Day († 1980) was a convert to Catholicism and the co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement. She is the author of The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus, The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness, From Union Square to Rome, All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day, Loaves and Fishes, On Pilgrimage, and Wisdom from Dorothy Day: A Radical Love.
