“It was a miracle!” How often do we hear those words? Not as often as we should. Rather, we hear, again and again, things just waved aside as being 'luck' or 'chance'. People so often try to discredit the miraculous. And yet, they only give their 'non-answer' answers because they simply cannot explain what they refuse to believe. And though these unbelievers do not wish to search deeper, for fear of what they may discover, God in His mercy will often force them to confront the truth they want to deny. And He does this in ways and at times that are often quite unpredictable...

Some may know of the terrible Paris disaster of May 4, 1897 – when a horrible fire broke out in the midst of a crowded bazaar. It claimed many victims – some mortally and others injured – as it destroyed the entire building in a mere 15 minutes.

A French pastor tells the following story of some of his parishioners who were trapped in the dreadful blaze. A young man, who was far from being Catholic, had accompanied his mother and sister to what was the second day of a five day long charity bazaar. It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when some of the machinery suddenly broke out in flames. The fire spread quickly, catching on many of the curtains and ribbons that covered the walls and booths.

Suddenly surrounded in this horrific scene, the young man hurried to secure his family's safety. Having succeeded in rescuing his mother, he rushed back to save his sister, whose clothes were already on fire. The fast-moving flames were all around him. Taking his sister in his arms, he made his way through the burning and falling debris. But as he was carrying her away, a heavy and burning wooden beam came crashing down on his head. It was actually one of the many tarred and flaming rafters that were falling down throughout the building, as the wooden structure was quickly succumbing to the terrible fire.

But though he stumbled with his precious burden, the young man amazingly suffered no injury from the falling lumber and he succeeded at length in bringing his sister to safety.

A few days after the memorable incident, as he spoke with his sister about what had happened, he made the following comment:

“If I were a pious sort of person, I would have said that my escape was simply miraculous.”

“Go and fetch that hat you wore,” was the young lady's response. When he had done so, she told him to look inside it. He did and saw what appeared to be a small coin gleaming in the lining.

The young unbeliever looked curiously at his smiling sister.

“It's a Miraculous Medal.” she told him. “I had hid it in your hat.”

At that, the young man understood what had happened. In a hopes to convert him through Our Lady's Medal, his sister had inadvertently saved his life. But having thus protected his body, Our Lady won the young man's soul, for the very next day he approached the long-neglected Sacrament of Confession.