As an editor for Mysterious Ways, I have to consider whether or not a story about a miracle is authentic. A recent article from The New Yorker gave me an occasion to think about what’s involved in that judgment.
Just because something may have a rational, scientific explanation, does that mean it’s not miraculous?
In “At the Vatican, a Search for Cancer’s Miracle Cure,” writer Sam Apple discusses advances in immunotherapy presented during a conference for cancer researchers held at the Vatican. Immunotherapy is a form of treatment that uses non-deadly diseases to stimulate the body’s natural defense systems to combat cancer—and based on what scientists now know about this mechanism, it was likely the cause of some famous “miracle healings.”
Apple cites the example of Ann O’Neil. In 1952, four-year-old Ann was dying from acute lymphatic leukemia. A nun at St. Agnes Hospital proposed something to Ann’s mother—perhaps the late founder of her order, Elizabeth Seton, could intervene.
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During her lifetime, Sister Elizabeth had cured a nun of pancreatic cancer. A small piece of cloth that had touched Sister Elizabeth’s remains was attached to Ann’s nightgown, and for nine days everyone prayed. Ann’s cancer went in remission and never came back. Eight years later, after a thorough investigation by the Vatican, this event was determined to be an authentic miracle. They found no explanation for Ann’s healing, and Elizabeth Seton became the first American-born saint.
Over half a century later, according to Apple’s New Yorker story, we know what happened. Ann came down with a severe case of chicken pox just before she started getting better. It’s likely that her immune response to the virus also knocked out the cancer. “For me, that’s endogenous immunotherapy. Without any proof at all, it’s almost certain that’s what happened,” Chi Van Dang, the director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, told Apple.
How do we respond to this explanation of what happened to Ann O’Neil? We could dismiss her healing as something caused by her immune response. However, that explanation falls short. It’s not unusual for a kid to get chicken pox, but Ann O’Neil got it at just the right time. Isn’t that a miracle?
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Maybe, when evaluating miracles, the emphasis is placed too much on the who and the how. What, where, when and why are just as important, as are any number of other factors. We know—indeed, hope—that science will uncover the world’s most confounding secrets.
If we insist on a narrow definition of the miraculous—that it be scientifically impossible—we might run out of miracles and be missing the point.
Ann O’ Neil’s life was saved and lots of people were inspired. That’s more than enough for me to call it a miracle. God doesn’t need to break the laws of nature to intervene in our lives—the ways the laws of nature benefit us are often miraculous enough.
Do miracles have to defy scientific explanation? Share your thoughts with us.
