‘Pray Without Ceasing’: Bonnie Engstrom Recounts the 61-Minute Miracle That Saved Her Son
As we wait with joyful anticipation for Fulton Sheen to be delcared a ‘Blessed,’ the mother of the son who received the miracle pens her own recollection of t...
6 days ago
The article’s headline says Bonnie Engstrom recounts what it describes as a “61-minute miracle” that saved her son, and emphasizes the phrase “Pray Without Ceasing.” The available information does not provide details about the events or Engstrom’s account. 1*
Intercessory prayer reveals the relationship between providence and miracles
Intercessory prayer shows that providence is not a closed mechanism that makes prayer pointless. In the Thomistic account, God does not revise an eternal plan in response to new information; rather, the prayer itself and the good granted through it can both belong to that plan. Prayer is therefore a real cause in the order of events, while God remains the primary cause who gives it its efficacy.
That does not mean every answer to prayer is a miracle. Providence ordinarily works through created causes, and a prayed-for good may come about through events that appear entirely ordinary. A miracle is a more extraordinary divine work, not the default form of God’s response.
The biblical pattern of intercession makes the relationship especially vivid. Pope Benedict XVI’s reflection on Moses describes his prayer as giving voice to divine mercy and as participating in God’s saving work—not as forcing God to change. Thus, intercession does not compete with providence: it can be one of the means providence appoints. A miracle may be among the goods God grants, but prayer neither guarantees one nor limits God to one particular outcome.