The miracle of flight: ‘Don’t just believe in miracles; depend on them.’

If you told a pre-historic man that one day he could fly 40,000 feet above ground and cross oceans, he would probably have growled, “Impossible!”

And if you told him that 2,013 years later, some 76,000 planes would be taking off daily from all over the world, he would probably have scoffed that only a miracle would make that possible.

Today, at least 76,000 miracles are happening every day, and if you multiplied that with happy landings, that would be at least 152,000 miracles. And I’m not trivializing miracles here.

To me, a steel bird in flight, crossing oceans and piercing clouds, defying gravity and air pressure, is a miracle. Who, if not God, could inspire and enable man to perfect a technology that could make him fly and transform the earth?

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It is quite strategic, though unintentionally perhaps, that a shrine to the miracles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, sits but a couple of hours away from a shrine to the genius of man — the Airbus factory in Toulouse, a city in France with medieval buildings and squares and a billion-euro industry.

Airbus has sold over 13,200 aircraft to more than 500 customers/operators and has delivered over 7,900 aircraft since it first entered service in 1974. A truly global enterprise of some 59,000 employees, it boasted 56.5 billion euros in revenues last year.

In a plant that can accommodate as many as 18 football fields and the Statue of Liberty, Airbus manufactures the world’s biggest commercial aircraft, the double-deck A380.

I was in Toulouse and Lourdes lately upon the invitation of Philippine Airlines, which picked up its latest “baby,” the A330-300.

PAL ramped up its ongoing fleet modernization program when it took delivery of this A330-300 at the Airbus Delivery Center, the “vanguard” of 20 such units being ordered by PAL.

In all, 65 Airbus aircraft worth $9.5 billion, including 45 A321s and 20 A330-300s, are scheduled for delivery between 2013 and 2019. According to PAL president Ramon Ang, it is the largest aircraft purchase in Philippine history.

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Near Toulouse is Lourdes, a charming city at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains. Next to Paris, Lourdes, a city of only 17,000, is the second most visited city in France.

Why do over six million people still go to Lourdes each year, year after year, some over and over again to seek a miracle?

They come from far and wide — on their feet, on their backs, on their knees. Young, old, very old; some robust and sturdy, others on their deathbed.

They come to Lourdes, as pilgrims have been coming for the last 150 years to drink from and take a dip in a spring that is said to have miraculous therapeutic powers. The spring has reportedly produced 27,000 gallons of water each week since it first emerged after the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.

It was here, on Feb. 25, 1858 that the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared to a poor, sickly teenager Bernadette Soubirous. Dressed in white and with a blue sash around her waist, she asked Bernadette to go down on her knees, kiss the ground and eat the grass there “for sinners.” The water that sprung from the ground was said to be repugnant. Our Lady, according to Bernadette, seemed so sad and asked her to pray for sinners. The first reported miracle took place on March 1, 1858. Last year, the 68th miracle was confirmed.

What is a miracle? According to our guide, a cure is a miracle if it is “spontaneous, irreversible and complete.”

Since 1860, some 200 million pilgrims have flocked to Lourdes and 68 documented medical miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.

A press statement from the Communication Service of the Sanctuary of Lourdes announced last year the recognition of the 68th miracle attributed to “the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.”

The miracle is the unexplained cure of Italian nun, Sister Luigina Traverso, who once couldn’t walk.

The focal point of Lourdes is a 52-hectare sanctuary that cradles the Our Lady of Rosary Basilica, the Immaculate Conception Basilica, the Grotto where Our Lady was said to have appeared to Bernadette, and the covered pools. There are 17 covered pools (something like the hot springs of Pansol in Laguna), 11 for women, and six for men. You pray the rosary as you await your turn. Then, volunteer attendants help you undress and cover you with a plain cloak, which they hold on to as you submerge yourself into the pool.

There is also a long row of faucets whose water comes from the spring dug out by Bernadette. Here, pilgrims line up to fill their gallons and their glasses in hopes that their faith, through the waters of Lourdes, will bring them a miracle, or an answered prayer.

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Hope springs eternal in Lourdes.

Miracles have the force of a tsunami, and the softness of a rose petal. A cripple that is able to walk again is a miracle. A change of heart is a miracle. Humility is a miracle. Acceptance is a miracle. Refusal to accept defeat is a miracle. Forgiveness is a miracle.

A plane soaring 40,000 feet in the clouds, defying gravity, bridging people, bridging nations, bridging faiths — that is an everyday miracle.

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)