Transcript Slide 1

MARY
MOTHER OF JESUS,
MOTHER OF GOD
Part Seven: VIIa
Apparitions and Messages of Mary
“Blessed are those who have not seen but believed.” (John 20:29)
The Catholic Catechism
66 “The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive
Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be
expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely
explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance
over the course of the centuries.
The Catholic Catechism
67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called “private” revelations,
some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They
do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve
or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in
a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the
sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations
whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.
Responsibility of the Faithful
Today there are a myriad of alleged private revelations and apparitions
vying for the attention of the faithful. Some have been definitively judged by
the Holy See, some have been approved by local authority (e.g., Akita,
Betania), others have been found lacking in supernaturality (e.g.,
Medjugorje, Garabandal), some few have been condemned (e.g., Necedah,
Bayside) and finally, the vast majority have received no attention from
Church authorities whatsoever.
The first responsibility of the faithful is to remain firmly established in the
faith, in the sacraments and in communion with the Pope and bishops. Any
Catholic who gives their primary attention to alleged private revelation at
the expense of Sacred Scripture, the teaching of the Church (especially
the Catechism), sacramental practice, prayer and fidelity to Church authority
is off course. The running after spiritual phenomena, such as alleged
revelations, is condemned by St. John of the Cross as spiritual avarice.
This means that pious souls who would be repulsed by crude materialistic
greed think nothing of being greedy to know revelations and prophecies.
An exclusive, or even a predominant attention to these matters (especially
apocalyptic ones), cannot help but produce an unbalanced spirituality.
Should the Church condemn some favorite alleged revelation such a person
may find themselves believing more in it than in the supernatural authority
of the Church. The devil will have succeeded in what he had set out to do.
The second responsibility is to have regard, in the first place, for those
private revelations and apparitions approved by the Church. Within a
balanced practice of the faith the edifying content of approved private
revelations can be a motive for deeper piety and fidelity to the Gospel.
God has chosen to give guidance to the Church in particular eras in this
way and we would, as I noted above, be imprudent to disregard altogether
what are credibly His prophetic interventions in the life of His Church.
Finally, there are many other private revelations that have not received
Church approval. The Second Vatican Council urges us to discern the Spirit
in the case of such extraordinary graces [Lumen gentium 12], which means
being neither gullible or incredulous, but subjecting them to all relevant
theological and human tests of credibility. Clearly, in this the judgment
of the local bishop is the key element of such a discernment.
Often enough, unfortunately, the laity are left to make this
determination themselves, relying on the testimony of the events, the
judgment of holy and orthodox priests and common sense. It must always
be kept in mind that however credible and reasonable such revelations
seem to be, God would never ask one to separate oneself from the faith
and discipline of the Church to follow it.
Apparitions of Mary
Catholic Christians are attracted to the reported appearance of Mary,
throughout history, but especially in the past 300 years.
The term “appearance” has been used in different apparitions within a
wide range of contexts and experiences. And its use has been different
with respect to Marian apparitions and visions of Jesus and Mary.
Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a
number of people have claimed to have had visions with Him and with
the Blessed Virgin Mary in person.
An apparition occurs when an actual
vision is reported, fully resembling
that of a person being present.
In some of these reports the viewers (at times children) do not initially
report that they saw the Virgin Mary, but that they saw “a Lady” (quite
often dressed in white) and had a conversation with her. In these cases
the viewers report experiences that resemble the visual and verbal
interaction with a person present at the site of the apparition.
In most cases, there are no clear indications as to the auditory nature of the
experience, i.e., whether the viewers heard the voices via airwaves or
other miraculous methods.
The 1973 messages of Our Lady of Akita is the title of Marian apparitions
reported by Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in the remote area
of Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita, in Japan, which were approved
at the Holy Office in 1988 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope
Benedict XVI).
Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa had been totally deaf before 1973 (and
remained deaf until 1982 when she was cured during Sunday Mass as
foretold in her messages), suggesting means of communication beyond
airwaves.
In some apparitions just an image is reported, often with no verbal
interaction, and no conversation. An example is the reported apparitions
at Our Lady of Assiut. The reported Marian apparitions at Our Lady of
Assiut in 2000 and 2001 in Assiut, Egypt ,were witnessed by many
thousands of people and were approved by the Coptic Church in which
many people reported a bright image atop a building, accompanied by
photographs of the image. The photographs at times suggest the silhouette
of a statue of the Virgin Mary but the images are usually subject to varying
interpretations, and critics suggest that they may just be due to various
visual effects of unknown origin. However, such Image-like appearances
are hardly ever reported for visions of Jesus and Mary.
And apparitions should be distinguished from interior locutions in which no
visual contact is claimed. One such case of reported interior locutions is
that of Father Stefano Gobbi.
Father Stefano Gobbi is a Roman Catholic priest. He is best known for
founding the worldwide Catholic movement, the Marian Movement of
Priests following an interior locution that he reported in 1972 at the shrine
of Our Lady of Fatima. In inner locution a large amount of text is produced,
but no visual contact is claimed. Interior locutions usually do not include
an auditory component, but consist of inner voices. Interior locutions are
generally not classified as apparitions.
Physical contact is hardly ever reported as part of Marian apparitions,
unlike in cases of interaction with Jesus Christ. In rare cases a physical
artifact is reported in apparitions. A well known example is the image of
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a celebrated 16th-century icon of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The image, also known as the Virgin
of Guadalupe represents a famous Marian apparition which is reported
to have been miraculously imprinted on the cloak of Saint Juan Diego.
An authentic apparition is believed not to be a subjective experience, but
a real and objective intervention of divine power.
The purpose of such apparitions is to recall and emphasize some aspect of
the Christian message.
The church states that cures and other miraculous events are not the
purpose of Marian apparitions, but exist primarily to validate and draw
attention to the message.
Apparitions of Mary are held to be evidence
of her continuing active presence in the life
of the church, through which she cares for
he brethren of her son who still journey on
earth.
Stages in Church Approval of Apparitions
The decision as to the authenticity of particular apparitions rests in the
first place with the local bishop, who is the leader of his own diocese.
If, after sufficient study, there is solid evidence to support the apparition,
in terms of the facts surrounding it and the activities of the seer or seers,
and also regarding such matters as miraculous healings, then the bishop
is empowered to issue some form of edict declaring the authenticity of a
particular apparition. “Discernment about the veracity” of alleged
apparitions “falls to the diocesan bishop or archbishop--and in recent times
to the episcopal conference in question--and to the Pope.”
Over time the Pope may grant special privileges to particular shrines,
and these are a sign of further approval by the Church as a whole.
One such liturgical sign is the granting of a feast day, as for example
that of Our Lady of Lourdes on February 11th. In recent times Popes such
as Paul VI and John Paul II have visited a number of Marian shrines,
thus giving them the highest possible level of approval. These are the
elements then that we have to bear in mind when considering the
authenticity of the Marian apparitions of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith drafted an internal document on
February 25, 1978, after four years of study. For an investigation to proceed,
“precise information” should be gathered about the various aspects of the
alleged apparitions such as
testimonies of conversions,
theological analysis of the message of the apparitions,
a medical and psychological review of the seer or visionary,
including his or her educational level,
an examination of his or her spiritual life,
his or her level of communion with the Church,
miraculous healings and occurrences, and
other factors.
The Church has approved a total of 11 apparitions out of 295 that have
been studied--including now the 12th, which are those of Our Lady of Laus,
approved on May 4, 2008.
Once verified and authenticated by Church authorities, the extraordinary
manifestations may be freely embraced, as faith is reserved only to the
public Revelation of God which ended with the death of the last Apostle.
The apparitions approved by the Church only manifest the evangelical
mission of Mary throughout the history of the Church, which has been
to point the way to the Father’s house through faith in the Lord Jesus.
Such revelations, while they help to increase faith, do not add to the
Revelation given to the Church in Sacred Scripture, but rather they help
to make it current during a specific period in history.
In the same way the Marian apparitions have a significance that goes
far beyond their surface importance as a reiteration of the Gospel message
of prayer and repentance. They can also be seen as the first presentiments
of the certain fact that Christ will come again at the Last Day. Mary was
an intimate part of Christ's first coming, and similarly, she has an important
role in preparing the way for His Second Coming, principally, it would
seem, by means of her apparitions.
Apparitions of Mary
Roman Catholic Christians are attracted to the reported appearance
of Mary, throughout history, but especially in the past century or more.
One often hears of the appearance of Mary at Lourdes, France (in 1858),
in Fatima, Portugal (in 1917), in Guadalupe, Mexico (in 1530),
in Medjugorja, Bosnia-Herzegovina (today).
It must first be recalled that the Catholic Church does not teach that these
visits of Mary are a matter of either faith or morals for Catholics. These
fall in the class of private devotion. The Church does permit these devotions
when it is sure nothing said or believed about the visits of Mary is contrary
to Divine Revelation--the Bible or the constant faith of the Church.
The Catholic Church also teaches that there is no new public revelation
possible after the death of the Evangelist John. Anything else approximating
new messages would be private revelation only.
The Catholic Church applies the teaching of the Bible to her judgment of
such private apparitions.
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether
they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out
into the world.
Matthew 7:17-18, 20
Every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good
fruit. ... So by their fruits you will know them.
James 3:12
Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs?
Neither can salt water yield fresh.
The tests of such apparitions of Mary have shown that nothing in her
messages and consequent devotion contradicts the word of God and
the constant teaching of the Church.
The fruit of the shrines of Mary speak for themselves: repentance, revival,
healings, renewed faith, return to the church, Bible reading, fruits of the
Spirit, etc.
The Church has made and continues to follow the Biblical tests of the
spirits and approves some such apparitions as of the Spirit.
It remains for all Christians of a renewed mind and of the Spirit of the
Lord to follow the Biblical mandates of testing spirits and the fruit of the
tree as the Catholic Church has done.
APPARITIONS OF MARY
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, Mexico (1531)
Guadalupe, Mexico 1531
Title: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Investigated: December 12, 1531; the Bishop prostrated himself in
veneration and began the building of the shrine on the top of Mount
Tepeyac.
First Apparition: Tepeyac Hill, Saturday, December 9, 1531
Approved: Franciscan Bishop Fray Juan Zumarraga
Last Apparition: December 12, 1531
Visionary: Aztec Indian, Juan Diego (55), widower.
Number of Apparitions: 3
Miracles & Signs: Juan Diego’s tilma was opened and flowers fell to the
floor. Juan was surprised when everyone in the room fell to the floor on
their knees. The image of Our Lady had miraculously appeared on Juan's
tilma.
Summary: 10 million+ were baptized and converted to the Jesus Christ.
Pope John Paul II canonized Saint Juan Diego on July 31, 2002 calling
him the greatest evangelist of all times.
Message of Guadeloupe
“My dear little son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the
ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its
existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven
and Earth. I desire a church in this place where your people may experience
my compassion. All those who sincerely ask my help in their work and in
their sorrows will know my Mother's Heart in this place. Here I will see their
tears; I will console them and they will be at peace. So run now to
Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard.”
“My little son, there are many I could send. But you are the
one I have chosen.”
“Do not be distressed, my littlest son. Am I not here with you who am your
Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Your uncle will not
die at this time. There is no reason for you to engage a priest, for his health
is restored at this moment. He is quite well. Go to the top of the hill and cut
the flowers that are growing there. Bring them then to me.”
“My little son, this is the sign I am sending to the Bishop. Tell him that
with this sign I request his greatest efforts to complete the church I desire
in this place. Show these flowers to no one else but the Bishop. You are
my trusted ambassador. This time the Bishop will believe all you tell him.”
“Call me and call my image Santa Maria de Guadalupe.”
It’s believed that the word Guadalupe was actually a Spanish mis-translation
of the local Aztec dialect. The word that Mary probably used was Coatlallope
which means “one who treads on snakes”.
In 1977, the tilma was examined using infrared photography and digital
enhancement techniques. Unlike any painting, the tilma shows no sketching
or any sign of outline drawn to permit an artist to produce a painting.
Further, the very method used to create the image is still unknown. The image
is inexplicable in its longevity and method of production. It can be seen today
in a large cathedral built to house up to ten thousand worshipers. It is, by
far, the most popular religious pilgrimage site in the Western Hemisphere.
March 27, 1956, was Dr. Javier Torroella Bueno, MDS, a prestigious
ophthalmologist. In what is the first report on the eyes of the image issued
by a physician, he certifies what seems to be the presence of the triple
reflection (Samson-Purkinje effect) characteristic of all live human eyes and
states that the resulting images are located exactly where they are supposed
to be according to such effect, and also that the distortion of the images
agree with the curvature of the cornea.
The same year another ophthalmologist, Dr. Rafael Torrija Lavoignet,
examined the eyes of the image with an ophthalmoscope in great detail.
He observed the apparent human figure in the corneas of both eyes, with
the location and distortion of a normal human eye and specially noted a
unique appearance of the eyes: they look strangely “alive” when examined.
Many other examinations by ophthalmologists have been done of the eyes
of the image on the tilma after these first ones. With more or less details all
agree with the conclusions of the ones mentioned above.
According to Dr. Tonsmann, from left to right we can see “the Indian.”
“bishop Zumarraga,” the “translator,” “Juan Diego showing the tilma” and
below “the family.”
A new and interesting kind of analysis of the eyes started in 1979, when
Dr. Jose Aste Tonsmann, Ph D, graduated from Cornell University, while
working in IBM scanned at very high resolutions a very good photograph,
taken from the original, of the face on the tilma. After filtering and processing
the digitized images of the eyes to eliminate “noise” and enhance them,
he reports he made some astonishing discoveries: not only the "human
bust" was clearly present in both eyes, but other human figures were
seen as reflected in the eyes too.
APPARITIONS OF MARY
OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
Paris, France (1830)
St. Louise de Marillac
St. Catherine Zoe Laboure
St. Catherine Laboure’s body was exhumed in 1933, fifty-seven years after her
death, and was found in perfect condition. Her incorrupt body is now encased in
glass underneath an altar, a spot where Our Lady once appeared to her.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (1830)
Title: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Investigated: M. Aladel, the spiritual director of Sister
Catherine.
First Apparition: July 18,1830
Approved: Mgr. de Quelen, Archbishop of Paris
on June 30, 1832.
Last Apparition: November 27,1830
Visionary: Sister Catherine (baptized Zoe) Labouré,
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul;
Number of Apparitions: 3
Miracles & Signs: Countless healings from devotion to the Miraculous
Medal.
Summary: On June 6 the Lord appeared to the young (24) Daughter of
Charity at Mass, and again on the nights of July 18-19 when she was
summoned to the chapel by a “child clothed in white” to converse with
the Virgin Mary. Catherine was told prophecies and charged with “a
mission” that manifested itself on November 27 in an early morning
(5:30am) appearance of the Blessed Virgin who was “clothed in white”
standing on a globe and “a serpent.”
Rays of light issued forth from rings on her fingers and Catherine was told
to commission a medal of what she was seeing. On the face of the medal an
image of the Immaculate Conception surrounded by the words “O Mary,
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
Then, turning the medal, the letter “M surmounted by a bar and a cross”
underneath which were the hearts of Jesus and Mary all surrounded by twelve
stars. On November 27, 1830, Mary said, “Have a medal struck in this form”
(which she described in detail). “All who wear it will have great graces.”
The medal was finally minted in 1832.
Message of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Mary warned Catherine that “Evil times are coming. France is going to suffer
much. The throne will be overturned and the whole world will be upset by
evils of every sort.” She finished by saying, “The entire world will be in
distress.” And as she said these words, tears fell from her eyes and she
could barely continue speaking.
Nine days later, on 27 July 1830, a very unexpected revolution broke out
in France, forcing King Charles X to abdicate; and the Archbishop of Paris
was forced to flee the city.
It was in large part because of Catherine's accurate predictions of these
events that the Archbishop allowed the medal, which was originally called
The Medal of the Immaculate Conception, to be minted.
July 19, 1830: “Sorrows will befall France…” with “victims among the clergy of
Paris” (including the Archbishop) in forty years. Forty years later on
July 19, 1870 the Franco-Prussian War began which resulted in the siege
of Paris with horror, famine and the Paris Commune which killed
the Archbishop and many other clergy.
November 27, 1830: “These (gems on fingers with rays of light) are the
symbols of the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from
which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask.”
End of
Mary the Series, Her Apparitions, Part VIIa
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Mary the Series, Her Apparitions, Part VIIb