|
|
|
Recently
a Third Order brother of mine left us because he was dismayed over some of
the other members’ conversations upon various apparitions happening
(or not) around the world. . . . He voiced his displeasure
many times. . . .
The
long and short of this, is it has made me reflect more upon Medjugorje and
such. . . . Five years ago, I would have agreed with him
wholeheartedly, and supported such a stance with every vocal cord in my body.
But I have found since then, that . . . rather than encouraging
souls to come closer to [Christ], I was in fact discouraging
them. . . . Now I see my indignation was a subtle form of
pride in my own “superior” perception of spiritual
things . . . not inspired out of love for Christ or His starving
children, appreciating the means He uses to feed them.
I see
the picture so differently now! I see God drawing souls to Him in many various
ways. . . . Anyway, perhaps what started out as a trip to
Medjugorje made out of curiosity, or some more shallow emotion, a desire
to see Our Lady perhaps, a need to “feel good”
even . . . at least that soul has gone out of its way, to
draw closer to Christ somehow. Their soul is hungry for something and they
are trying to find food, even if it is cotton candy. It may be a first step,
but at least it is a desire for something holy rather than just another trip
to the tavern, you know? . . So, how can I mock anyone who
goes to Medjugorje who is inspired to pray with more faith as a
result?
|
 o one—at least, no human
being—can determine whether an apparition is truly an act of God. Therefore,
when the Church investigates an alleged apparition, the duty falls to the
local bishop to first look for an explanation by natural causes; and then,
if no natural causes can explain the apparition, the bishop will determine
if the events surrounding the apparition contain anything contrary to the
faith. Finally, if nothing contrary to the faith
can be found, the bishop can declare the apparition “worthy of
belief.”
Note carefully that the declaration
“worthy of belief” does not mean that the apparition has
been determined to be an act of God, nor does it mean that anyone has
to believe in the
apparition;[1]
it just means that, because the Church does not see anything surrounding
the alleged apparition to be fraudulent or harmful to the faith, the Church
sees no reason to order the faithful, for their own good, not to believe
in it.
Now, in regard to Medjugorje,
the local bishop concluded his investigation in 1985 and he declared that
he not only found no evidence of anything supernatural, but also that all
evidence pointed to natural causes. Because of his findings, he prohibited
devotion to and propagation of the so-called visions. And nothing has changed
to this day. The Vatican has made no pronouncements of its own, leaving
things—as Church law requires—in the hands of the local bishop.
Those who believe in and propagate information about the events of Medjugorje
do so in flagrant disobedience to the local bishop’s directive. And
that’s that.
So, what real good can come from
disobedience? Well, here is where we must
recognize the work of the devil. Perceiving our
social emptiness and our spiritual hunger today,
Satan is quite happy to hand out sugar-coated devotions that have a pernicious
core of disobedience. He is quite willing to tolerate popular enthusiasm
in order to snare the gullible. He knows that the few souls he will lose
through genuine conversions are nothing compared to the myriads of souls
he will gain through disobedience and mis-information. He knows that the
“good” surrounding disobedience is only temporary and that his
poison will ultimately kill the roots of faith. He knows that once people
start saying to the Church, “We don’t care what you want, we want
what we want, and we will get it, one way or another,” they have
already abandoned their faith.
Therefore, if others around you
want to believe in the so-called “apparitions” at Medjugorje and
the prophecies of the “visionaries,”
then stay away from them for the sake of your own faith, but don’t mock
anyone. Mockery belongs to the devil and has no place in a Christian
heart.
And don’t argue with anyone.
Even the disobedient have free will, so
they can do what they want if they want. Respect their free will—even
if they use it to defile love—because without
free will we would not have the capacity to love.
Nevertheless, respecting the
right of others to commit sin does not mean that you should approve their
sins. To the contrary, you must protect yourself from being infected by their
false beliefs and impure behaviors. Witness your
faith politely. If anyone pressures you, just say, calmly yet persistently,
“I do not want to hear anything about Medjugorje.”
|
Now, we might
hesitate to reject unapproved apparitions and dubious visionaries because
some persons will say to us, “Don’t be judgmental!” But to
say that something is contrary to the faith is simply a statement of
fact—it’s not judgmental in any
way.
Others will say,
“Didn’t the traditionalists and legalists reject Jesus? If we reject
an apparition, isn’t that like the Pharisees rejecting Jesus?”
Well, no. The Jewish leaders not only rejected Jesus, they plotted against
Him and killed Him. Besides, they had the genuine prophecies about a Messiah
to prepare them for hearing Jesus. So what do we have? We have the warning
from Jesus Himself that “many false prophets will arise and deceive
many” (Matthew 24:11) because, in a world grown cold in love, many who
hunger for spirituality will consume anything sweet,
even if it is just a thin shell stuffed with pride
and disobedience. |
|
Therefore, be
obedient, like the Blessed Virgin. Pray as she would
have you pray, “O Lord, behold Thy servant. Thy will—not my
will—be done.”
And never forget the motto of
Satanism: “Do what thou wilt.” It’s like demonic flypaper,
sweet on the surface, but ultimate death once you are careless enough to
touch it.
___________
1. Although belief in approved apparitions can
help to inspire faith, it is not necessary for the Christian faith to believe
in any apparition other than those mentioned in the Bible. In other words,
modern apparitions are completely irrelevant to living a
holy lifestyle. So why waste your time arguing
about unapproved apparitions? Why not just take up your cross and
practice the
Faith?
  
DID MY WORK help you? Have you found
insight into your behavior? Have you found information unlike anywhere else?
Then why not make a Quick & Easy donation to this freewill website
to express your gratitude for my labor in creating something substantial,
something that can change your life for the better?
|
|
|
Huh? Donations? Freewill
website?