Miracles

The knowledge brought to men by prophecy, by the gift of tongues, and by the gift of words, needs to be authenticated as revealed truth. This is done by the working of miracles. The gift of performing miracles is, therefore, a gratuitous gift and grace.

A miracle is a wondrous fact or event, beyond the power of any creature, and produced by almighty God. In the working of a miracle, God often uses a human being as his instrument; in this case, the human being has the gratuitous grace and gift of miracles. Now, it is possible that the human instrument of a divine work should not be himself a holy man. For the divine work of miracles is meant to prove truth, and even a sinner can teach truth. But there are miracles which are wrought to prove the holiness of the person who is their instrument; in this case, to be sure, the truth confirmed by the miracle and the holiness of the instrument are one and the same thing.