Saint Augustine, Still Around?
Fixing Problems We Don't Have
St. Augustine, in his early years of ministry, wrote: "These miracles are not allowed to continue into our time, lest the soul should always require things that can always be seen, and by becoming accustomed to them mankind should grow cold towards the very thing whose novelty had made men glow with fire."
Funny how some things never change. In discussing the issue of healing with believers, there are several retorts that are commonly used to argue against healing being a normative practice for Christians. One retort used by a friend and fellow church member goes something like this: ‘the Bible says, we live by faith and not by sight, so we shouldn’t be having to see things all the time.’
Another biggie I heard again recently at a get-together; ‘what are you gonna do if the whole world gets healed?’
Both of these ‘arguments’ can be seen in Augustine’s statement:
That miracles are the ‘easy’ way. That people should live by faith. That somehow having a healing experience that one can feel and see is temporal and in violation of the eternal principle of unseen faith. These are high-sounding words but a gross misapplication of the meaning and context of that scripture. To use that argument to prove that it takes less faith for healing than for enduring in sickness would be to diminish Jesus’ works as well.
Augustine hints at the other ‘argument,’ about everyone getting healed, when he says, “by becoming accustomed to them (works of healing).” As if to say, 'If everyone gets healed, people will think it common.' To which I would answer, ‘how about we wait till we have that problem before we try to fix it?’
In his later years, "Saint Augustine dramatically changed his position when he personally encountered miraculous events. In City of God he writes about the miracle of Innocentia, a respected citizen and holy woman who doctors diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Saint Augustine wrote that 'she turned for help to God alone, in prayer.' In a dream she was told to wait in the church for the first woman who came out after receiving Baptism, and to ask this woman to make the Sign of the Cross over her breast. Innocentia followed these instructions and was miraculously healed."(as related by Laura Wright, in the new book, Chosen To Heal)
Augustine urged her, and those who experience an 'astounding event' to make it known to others.
