There is no doubt in my mind that Mother Teresa was among God’s saints. Her service to some of the poorest people on the planet demonstrated a depth of faith and commitment to discipleship that certainly ranks her among the examples of how to live a life of faith. Her story deserves to be told not just in our generation, but for generations to come.

Having said that, I remain a bit confused about the process of the official declaration of sainthood in the Roman Catholic church. Mind you, I am a Protestant and not a member of the Roman Catholic Communion. Still, we were the same church for a millennium before we divided. We share such a long common history and so many articles of faith that it seems only natural to pay attention to our brothers and sisters in that church even as we live our lives of faith in a different part of the church.

I’m no expert, but if I’ve got it right, to become a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, a person must have lived a virtuous and holy life, and two miracles need to be attributed and confirmed to have occurred as a result of the person’s intercession with God. The two miracle policy can be reduced to a single miracle in the event that the person is martyred for their faith. I do not know the history of these rules or policies or traditions or whatever the guidelines for the beatification of a saint are called.

As I have said, I am convinced the Mother Teresa is a saint. I have no problem with making that official through the channels of the church. What confuses me is the process of determining whether or not a miracle has occurred and whether or not the miracle came about as the result of prayers of intercession or supplication issued by the person being considered for sainthood.

I do not doubt miracles. There are many events in human experience that defy human explanation. There are exceptions of the patterns of life and death and illness that are real and yet cannot be explained. God’s ways are not our ways.

What I don’t understand is the concept of cause and effect when it comes to miracles. It seems to me that a true miracle is beyond human control. If we can cause a set of circumstances to be altered, should we consider the intervention to be a miracle? Would we call it a miracle when a doctor makes an accurate diagnosis and outlines a plan of treatment that results in healing? Would we call it a miracle when an engineer makes accurate calculations and prevents tragedy by intervening and reinforcing a structure so that it doesn’t collapse? Would we call it a miracle when a software designer comes up with an application that increases longevity and quality of life?

There are so many amazing things that occur in human experience, so many unexpected events that we have witnessed, that I am tempted to say that miracles are far more common than the church declares. Still, I am reluctant to say that a human can cause a miracle to occur.

It appears to this outsider that the process within the Roman Catholic Church is one of determining whether or not the prayers of an individual are directly related to the miraculous healing. In the case of Mother Teresa, the latest miracle attributed to her intercession with God is the inexplicable 2008 recovery of a Brazilian man who was diagnosed with multiple brain tumors. My question is not about whether or not he recovered, nor is it about whether or not Mother Teresa prayed for his healing. It is just that there were probably hundreds, perhaps thousands of others who also prayed. How can it be determined which prayer is the intercession with God that sparked the miracle?

More importantly, what do we say to the grieving families of those whose tumors were not healed and who have died leaving behind loneliness and loss and sadness? Are miracles capricious? Do some people get them while others are denied? Do you have to come in contact with a person on their way to sainthood in order to obtain healing? If so, how could you possible know who to contact for the prayer you need?

I think is possible that things work in an entirely different way. I think that it is possible that a miracle occurs within the community when we join together in prayer, even if the things for which we pray don’t come to pass.

I know that I am no saint. I doubt that I could qualify for the “having lived a virtuous and holy life” part of the requirement. But I have been witness to miracles. And I know that not every miracle is the result of getting the things I think I want. When my father was dying as the result of brain tumors, the miracle wasn’t the restoration of his health. It wasn’t the prevention of his death before his 60th birthday. It wasn’t the prolongation of his life so that he could meet our first-born child. The miracle was the love and support of the community. It was the way that my home town provided care for my mother and youngest brother. It was the outpouring of love and support for the rest of us. It was in the response of the congregations I was serving at the time and their generosity of spirit. It was my learning that when you have no words for your prayer the prayer continues, and it is especially important to know that you aren’t the only one praying. There were plenty of miracles. But we didn’t make them happen. They weren’t caused by the quantity or quality of our prayers.

I guess I’m willing to say that there are plenty of saints whose lives have made a difference in the faith of others and who have lived lives of discipleship. Many of those saints will never receive official confirmation from the Vatican.

The business of official determination of who is and who is not a saint seems to be important only to a few folks in a particular corner of Christ’s church. From God’s perspective, the family of saints is much bigger than the list in the official records of the church.

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