CHAPTER I.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 43, 13 February 1885, Page 21

CHAPTER I.

To Catholic Readebs. As many Catholic readers may think that the writer has acted unwisely in divesting the following narratives of the very full description which is given in most, o f them of the devotions

performed both before and after the cures, he desires to explain bis reasons for doing so. His object has been to produce a purely medical criticism of the accounts, to describe nothing that has not a bearing on the case from the medical point of view, and to give all the particulars that are given, in as condensed a form as is consistent with clearness and accuracy. Nothing of any medical importance has been omitted. It would have entirely altered the character and designs of this work if it had contained detailed accounts of the devotions practiced by the patients and their friends to obtain a cure or in thanksgiving for a cure. Such particulars add much to the interest of the narratives, and also give a realistic air to them, which very much impresses the Catholic reader. But the writer hopes that this book may be read by many who are not Catholics, and to them the lon<* details of devotioos performed would have been unintelligible and uninteresting. But it must be distinctly understood that in all cases devotions were performed, aud that all cases of cures at the shrine itself were preceded, when possible, by Confession, Communion, and assisting at Mass, and followed by thanksgivings. Another point which it may be desirable to explain is that, in the free criticism made of these cures, there is nothing disrespectful either to the Holy See or to the ecclesiastical authorities under whose imprimatur they are published. They are very careful not to assert many case that a miracle has been performed. All that is guaranteed by the c litors is that, so far as careful enquiry has enabled them to ascertain the truth, the narratives given are correct as to facts. That when it is said that a given person lived at a certain place at such a time, we may rely with reasonable certainty that these statements were fact 9. When it is further stated that she had suffered fer so many months, or years, from some disease, we have no reason to doubt that this too was a fact. And when lastly it is stated that she came to Lourdes and was cured of bathing in the piscina and drink, ing the water, we may feel morally certain that a cure took place at the time, and in the manner described. But no where do the editors or the ecclesiastical authorities at Lourdes pronounce that the cure was miraculous. This they leave in every case to the judgment of the Holy See. Nor does the present writer use the words •'miracle or miraculous" in anything but the popular colloquial or conventional sen^e. By a miraculous cure he does not assert that the case was one which the Church would pronounce a miracle. He does not even know what is the theological definition of a miracle. All that he weans is that the cure could not have been effected by any known natural means under the circumsancea narrated. As regards the greater number of the cases narrated in the sequel the writer has no doubt thafc they were examples of supernatural intervention. That many more, which he has been obliged to omit, were so, he has little doubt. But for reasons more fully stated in the following chapter, a very large number of cases have had to be rejected, as not satisfying the conditions which the writer had imposed on himself before undertaking this work. His object has been in short to act as a professional friend to whom the reader of one of these narratives of the supposed miraculous cure might appeal, for an opinion on the case. To the best of his ability he has explained the cases, when there was any difficulty about them, translated technical terms into plain English, and fully stated his reasons for considering the cure supernatural or natural. In everything thac has been written pertaining to faith or moralß. the writer submits himself to the Church.