"D> I have a question about Our Lady of Guadalupe, and apparitions in
"D> general. How does the Church give actual approval to an apparition,
"D> and, how often has this been done?
"D> Also, I heard that it is necessary to have a body of a past Christian
"D> in order for that person to be proclaimed a Saint by the church. Is
"D> this true? And, if so, how were some of the martyrs, whose bodies
"D> were destroyed, recognized as Saints?
"D> Thanks,
"D> I appreciate you informative responses...
Dear Jeff,
Apparitions are sensible manifestations of God, an angel, or a saint to a
person on earth. Biblical apparitions (as of the Angel Gabriel to Mary in
Luke's gospel) are part of public revelation. In addition to the biblical
apparitions, the Church has at times recognized certain apparitions of a
private nature, the most famous being the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin at
La Salette, Fatima, and Lourdes (cf. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion, vol.
1, p. 235). I do not have a complete list of approved private apparitions.
The following comments on this subject are from Karl Rahner's "Visions and
Prophecies" (Herder?palm, pages 81, 83, 85):
"Certainly there is no obligation to attach much importance to such things when
classic mystical doctrine warns the visionary himself against attributing too
much value or significance to these experiences. Where they are alleged by
people without the properly mystical graces of infused contemplation, it can
almost always be safely assumed that such visions (if not fraudulent or
pathological) are parapsychological, eidetic or other hallucinatory or
pseudo-hallucinatory occurrences. For, on the one hand, these phenomena can
occur in people who are morally and mentally sound and, on the other hand, they
adequately account for the facts of the case. The principle always remains
valid that supernatural agency is not to be presupposed but must be proved. The
history of mysticism justifies Poulain's judgment that even with pious and
"normal" people, in three cases out of four visions are well intentioned,
harmless, genuine illusions. With such occurrences, therefore, there is more
danger of error in credulity than in scepticism, especially in unsettled times.
... This seems also to have been the opinion of St. Paul of the Cross: in a
letter he tells the amusing little story that St. Theresa once appeared to a
nun and told her: "Know that of all the visions and auditions...that I myself
have had, only a small part, a very small part was true and good"; indeed he
even writes in one letter, "amongst hundreds or perhaps thousands of these
articulated auditions, scarcely one or two are true." It is well to remember
that St. Paul of the Cross himself enjoyed very advanced mystical graces" ...
"If the investigations and the judgment of the Church declare tat a particular
vision and private revelation may be believed with human faith (for the Church
does no more than this)," this ecclesiastical approbation in itself is not
necessarily infallible (for the infallible magisterium was not given to the
Church, the custodian of general public revelation in Christ, for this
purpose). The approbation implies only that such a revelation can show good
grounds for human credibility and does not contradict the deposit of faith;
like all important acts of the Church's pastoral authority (to which this
judgment is to be attributed rather than to the magisterium), it deserves to be
respectfully obeyed by the faithful. (Nothing more is necessary, by the very
nature of judgment, which imposes virtually no activity on the faithful.) Yet
a Catholic is not forbidden to think within himself, for weighty reasons, that
the judgment is in fact incorrect; and if he feels it appropriate he may even
express his opinion with becoming modesty, always provided this will not
promote an attitude of general scepticism which ultimately would deny the
possibility of any supernatural, historical revelation of God. Much more will
a critical attitude be permissible towards the details of a vision which, as a
whole, is recognized as genuine."
"Though God speaks to us in divers ways, it is not clear a priori that his most
important instructions will be given in visions. Rather they are contained in
the Gospel and are proclaimed by the Church in her "ordinary" preaching. God's
Spirit stirs -- sometimes, at least -- even in the Church's theologians and
various "movements", even if they cannot appeal to visions. Lovers of
revelations and apparitions should not forget either (as often happens) that
Christ appears to us most surely in the poor and suffering. In the Blessed
Sacrament and in the grace of the Holy Spirit offered to every Christian, we
have God's most real presence. The Cross is true mercy, and charity the highest
of all gifts. If we do not recognize the hand that chastises us as God's
merciful and healing hand, we shall not find him in "revelations" either. The
only good in any spirit is what makes us better Christians, and our conscience,
trained by the spirit of the Church, tells pretty plainly what does that. This
criterion will enable us to cope with real life, even though it may not settle
the very theoretical question of whether a mental phenomenon comes directly or
indirectly from the Spirit of God. What is left of visions and revelations
after this test may still contain much that is human mingled with the divine,
and ti will be very difficult to distinguish the one from the other. A.,
therefore, must not force B, to seek the divine in this particular human
element, and B. must not dispute A.'s ability to find the divine in this same
human element. The Church has always adopted this attitude and she will
continue to do so."
Your other question will be treated in another message.
Sincerely in Christ, Father Mateo
--- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit ---
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