In Theory:

Are there miracles today?… Oof course, more than we ever realize. The work of the medical profession is often miraculous. The generosity of common people whenever there is a need in the world is miraculous. The fact that we have made so much progress to better the lives of people in our world is surely a miracle. All of these things attest to the miraculous hand of Jesus in our world.

Then, of course, there are the daily miracles that we so often overlook. It is not only a miracle to be cured of blindness; it is a miracle to see the beauty of the world. It is not only a miracle to be raised from the dead; it is a miracle to wake each morning and face a new day full of potential. It is not only a miracle to be cured of leprosy; it is a miracle to be in good health.

The miraculous hand of the Lord constantly touches our lives and keeps us in existence. -- The REV. RICHARD ALBARANO is pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Burbank. Reach him at (818) 504-4400.

The Rev. Bryan Griem: I am something of a believing skeptic.

I am convinced of the biblical miracles surrounding the life of Christ, and especially hHis greatest miracle of all, the Resurrection. Dead people don’t rise from the grave, and yet Christ did, defying the laws of nature. Since God authored nature’s laws, hHe could certainly bend, amend, and offend them at will. That’s how I would describe a bona fide miracle; — something supernatural, that defies natural processes.

While I believe in this, I cannot say that I have ever witnessed such a convincing miracle today. We hear of faith healers claiming that God filled someone’s teeth with gold, and yet I sit there wondering why God didn’t fill their teeth with teeth. And has anyone actually seen an amputee suddenly sprout legs? We hear stories, but we’re never there.

The miracles of Jesus’ day provided evidence of his divinity, but miracles today seem to me to be of a different sort. While God can obviously do whatever hHe wants, I’m not so sure hHe’s going around confounding nature as much as we might want to believe. Does hHe intervene at all? I would say yes, otherwise I would not pray for it as hHe has commanded, but working through nature rather than despite it seems to be hHis normal course.

People loosely describe such things as birth to be miraculous, but that’s really an extension of the original miracle of God’s creation, which is now a matter of natural reproduction. There’s nothing supernatural about it, so it isnt really a miracle, per se.

Christianity does teach the miraculous, and we must remain open to it, but I think we should reserve the word miracle for something that can really only be explained by God. -- The REV. BRYAN GRIEM is pastor of Montrose Community Church. Reach him at (818) 249-0483.