Author Anthony F.J. Coscia recently published a book titled Tony’s 50,000 Co-Incidence Miracles and I have to say, the title really caught my eyes. Does he really mean to say that he’s been given 50,000 miracles? Is that even possible?
I got the book from a friend and began reading immediately. The cover reads, “Let me convince you that God sends you miracles every single day.” That’s a good starting point.
Do Miracles Still Happen?
The concept of a miracle is beyond many of us. It is true: advances in science have enabled mankind to have a better appreciation of nature and the physical world. Many things that might have been interpreted to be “miraculous” might have only been a matter of nature being nature. I remember learning in college sociology how the progression of sciences affects a civilization. The Native Americans of the Great Plains, as I remember, had stories passed down of heavenly curses when ice would fall from the sky as a punishment, a penance. Little did they know, that was hail, which is a reasonable and typical occurrence when cyclonic winds in a storm cycle freezing and thawing layers of colliding atmospheric precipitation.
There’s a reasonable explanation for many phenomena in the universe, but this does not mean that, at times even through our modern age, supernatural events don’t occur? For certain, God is in the business of making miracles, and business is good.
So there’s one angle I re-discovered, or was reminded of in the beginnings of this interesting book.
Do Miracles Happen Every Day?
This is an interesting question. We refer to many things as miraculous. Take for example the “miracle of life.” What an outstanding classification, an appropriate phrase. Life is truly, and astonishingly, miraculous. One in a billion sperm, out of one of hundreds of sexual encounters between a married couple, is successful enough to make a life. That life, then, goes on to wake up for some 15,000-20,000 days in a life surviving killer viruses, survives countless frantic hours in 2,000 lb vehicles traveling at high speeds, is able to forgive heinous crimes, love thousands of people, learn numerous languages, facts, and details with an infinite amount of memory and recall. Life is amazing, and yes, it is a miracle in so many ways.
Life is natural and life is physical, but life is also metaphysical. We can’t put a scale on the soul. We can’t weigh grief, and observe hope and love under a microscope. We can’t put a finger on rights and freedom. We can’t “observe” these things but we all believe these are among the most sacred of the human experience, and will do just about anything to protect and further them. So life, and its experiences, are both physical and metaphysical.
Then there’s the supernatural. The natural world governs itself until there’s an interruptor, a being more powerful than nature that can change events, calm storms, multiply food, bring dead tissue back to life, and so on. That force is what we call God, and these events are supernatural. If we’re believers of God and the Bible then it is the obligation of our conscience to believe that God performs miracles.
So do they happen every day? Well, of course.
Perspective
Part of recognizing miracles is recognizing God’s presence. Tony nails it when he says:
“Sadly, many people do not even call miracles “a miracle” any more. They now call miracles things like: a co-incidence, a shocking event, a weird thing, a funny thing, etc.”
I think that’s spot on! How many times have we gasped and thought, “man, I got lucky” when we somehow avoid a fatal accident on the road? How many times do we think, “that’s weird” when we ask for something and it shows up soon later? Our parishes are in need of money, and a check always arrives. We wonder where God is when things are going wrong, but we fail to give him credit when things are going right.
I think Tony’s on to something important: God is always working in our lives, and if God is working, it’s always supernatural. Mere coincidences should be reevaluated. If you believe that God is in control of your life, I think it’s worth considering the fact that all those good events that seemed highly improbable were not merely coincidences, but God doing what he does best.
Will they be strong enough to survive the most thorough investigations? Maybe not. But does that matter? Crediting God is never insincere. Crediting God is never inaccurate.
Furthermore, the book offers evidence that God did indeed intervene and guide Tony to write this book as evidenced by the thirteen cases cited in Exhibit-E of the book showing miraculous changes which Jesus sent Tony as he was typing the book. In addition, if you read the “post-script” of the Summary and conclusion section of the book and following you will see the final two miracles which Jesus sent Tony just before the book went to press. The book also discusses its original mission and what Tony believes is further confirmation from Jesus showing the inspiration behind the book.
Tony’s book is special. It contains a couple brief opening chapters that go over his mentality on miracles. The book is mostly a collection of the stories of these improbable—and sometimes highly entertaining—events. And he wished to give God credit for them. I think that’s neat. He’s not asking for attention. He’s not asking to be canonized. He’s giving us a simple perspective of the fact that God really blesses us, loves us, and wants a deep and sincere friendship with us, every day.
Check out the book, Tony’s 50,000 Co-Incidence Miracles for yourself, and heighten your appreciation for God’s work in your life.