Private revelations: Are they reliable?

John Young

Contents - Mar 2014 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Lent 2014 and its practical application - Peter Westmore Holy See responds to unfounded UN Committee attack - Peter Westmore News: The Church Around the World Pope Francis puts indelible mark on College of Cardinals - Peter Westmore Whither religious education in Australian Catholic schools? - Peter Finlayson The violence of abortion - Anne Lastman The McCabe affair in context - Lucy Sullivan Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Association: a new force for good - Br Barry Coldrey Private revelations: Are they reliable? - John Young What Jesus teaches us about prayer - Audrey English None so blind: refusal to see the obvious - Fr John O'Neill Books: TEN AFRICAN CARDINALS, by Sally Ninham - Michael Gilchrist (reviewer) Books: THE WORLD OF ST PAUL, by Joseph M. Callewaert - Michael Daniel (reviewer) Books: WHERE WE GOT THE BIBLE: Our Debt to the Catholic Church, by Henry G. Graham - Michael E. Daniel (reviewer) Books: Order books from www.freedompublishing.com.au Reflection: Archbishop Chaput's homily on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade - Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

In recent decades there have been numerous reports of alleged messages from heaven. I even had letters from a man in New York who communicated what he said were messages from hell. (He explained that they were reliable because the demons in question had been compelled to tell the truth!)

There's also been a lot of speculation lately about the prophecies attributed to St Malachy, who lived in the 12th century. (They didn't appear until several centuries later, and most scholars judge them to be fraudulent). The final item in those prophecies seems to predict that the present Pope is the final Pope before the end of the world - called Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman) in the prophecy. So attempts (very weak attempts) are being made to identify Pope Francis with Petrus Romanus.

One desperate suggestion goes like this: Pope Francis took the name of St Francis of Assisi, and Francis of Assisi had the middle name Peter. Also, the Pope's parents were Italians and came from Turin, which centuries ago was a part of the Roman Empire.

Of course that's an extreme case. But what should be our attitude to private revelations, or alleged revelations? How important are they? How are we to judge whether they are genuine? How are private revelations related to God's Revelation in the Bible and Sacred Tradition?

Firstly, there is no doubt that God does sometimes give messages to chosen individuals. That is recognised by all orthodox theologians, and the Catholic Church has officially approved some of these communications: notably the appearances of Our Lady to St Bernadette at Lourdes in 1858 and her appearances to Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia at Fatima in 1917.

Similarly, numerous miracles have been authenticated, including striking Eucharistic miracles confirming the real, bodily presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

All these manifestations of the supernatural have the purpose of strengthening our faith and guiding our lives. The events at Fatima, for example, stress the need for prayer and penance, the seriousness of sin, the reality of hell. They are meant to bring home to us the truths of faith in a vivid manner.

Catholics who simply dismiss private revelations, ignoring them completely, should examine their motives and ask themselves whether they fully accept the truths of Divine Revelation on the subject matter. Have they doubts, for instance, about the reality of hell or the urgency of doing penance as a reparation for sin?

It is important to remember that every authenticated apparition, including Fatima and Lourdes, began as a private revelation.

At the other extreme are people who uncritically accept the numerous alleged seers claiming to receive communications from heaven, and who travel to site after site where supernatural events are said to have occurred, even though the claims are dubious.

Some people will claim confidently that the end of the world is near, citing a visionary as having revealed this. Or they will believe without a shadow of doubt details of events in the daily life of Jesus when he was on earth, details supposedly revealed to a mystic.

St John of the Cross

It is important, therefore, to be guided by sound principles in assessing these phenomena. St John of the Cross, the great 16th century Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church, had close experience of such claims, and offers wise guidance in assessing them. Let us look at what he has to say.

He points out that there are no more articles of faith to be believed. This point is repeated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "God has revealed himself fully by sending his own Son �... there will be no further Revelation after him" (n. 73). All the doctrines that we are required to believe are contained in the Revelation that was completed by the time the last of the Twelve Apostles died.

When a genuine private revelation repeats a doctrine that is already a part of our Faith we should believe it because it is part of the Catholic Faith, not because it is also contained in a private revelation (John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, book II, chapter 27, n. 4).

John of the Cross also warns that the devil sometimes deceives a person by first presenting truths, and then instilling falsehoods. He says that the devil "... resembles one that sews leather with a bristle, first piercing the leather with the sharp bristle, after which enters the soft thread; the thread could not enter unless the bristle guided it."

Regarding the prediction of future events, John of the Cross points out that the devil, with his superior intelligence and understanding of nature, can often correctly predict future happenings, and so fool people into thinking the prophecy must have come from God (Book II, chapter 21, n. 7).

Also, even when a prophecy is from God, it can often be misinterpreted. St John gives various examples from Scripture. For instance, God told Abraham he would give him the land of the Canaanites, but later revealed to him that he would not possess it personally, but his descendants would.

A striking example of the mis-interpretation of prophecy is the misunderstanding of the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah, when it was thought he would be a great temporal ruler: the prophecies were taken in a material and earthly sense instead of the true spiritual and heavenly sense.

St John sees a great danger to one's spiritual life if one forms the habit of seeking visions and messages from heaven. One can become addicted to these. Attachment to these can interfere with true detachment of spirit. It can lead the seeker to dwell on the sensual aspect of the revelations instead of the spiritual.

John of the Cross warns often of the way that a desire for visions and divine messages can leave a person open to diabolical influences. The devil may gain such influence that "... not only will his visions come in place of God's, but his visions will begin to increase, and those of God to cease, in such manner that the devil will have all the power and God will have none" (Book II, chapter 11, n. 8).

Regarding the proliferation of alleged visions and messages today, one indication of whether they should be accepted is found in the character of the manifestation. Is it of a deeply spiritual nature? If triviality is a characteristic of a supposed communication from heaven, we should be suspicious.

Again, typically when the Blessed Virgin or the saints have appeared they have spoken briefly, and the apparitions have not been continued over a long period of time. There is no hard and fast rule about this, but it is an indication to be considered when weighing the pros and cons of a particular case.

Another indication is the way of life of the alleged seers. In authentic cases they have usually led saintly lives - for instance, the Fatima seers. When faced with opposition from spiritual directors, bishops, or others in authority, genuine seers have been humble and obedient.

St Margaret Mary

St Margaret Mary Alocoque is a good example. In her autobiography she relates that Jesus told her: "... you are not only to do what your superiors tell you, but you are not even to obey me without their consent. What I like is obedience, and no one can please me without it" ( The Autobiography of St Margaret Mary, translated by Vincent Kerns, p. 39).

A sign of the authenticity of a revelation is the fruit it bears. Jesus, in telling us to beware of false prophets, gives this test: "You will know them by their fruits �... A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit" (Matt 7:18).

What are we to think, then, if thousands, even millions, of people become more fervent in their love of God after association with what is claimed to be a divine message? They may be converted from a sinful life, or move from a tepid spiritual life to a fervent one. Prayer and penance may replace an existence devoted to material comfort. There may be numerous vocations to the priesthood.

These are certainly strong indications of the authenticity of the claimed revelation. But they are not conclusive. It needs to be considered whether this increase in holiness can be explained by other factors.

For example, if people sincerely believe that messages from heaven are being given, this will influence them towards amending their lives and when thousands come to accept the messages there will be a cumulative effect: fervour will spread among the participants as they influence each other. And God will give graces to these people because of their sincere devotion.

In considering whether we have a balanced outlook about these matters, one indication is the way we react to criticism of our position. A person who dismisses private revelations out of hand is not being reasonable. In the opposite direction, some people who are strongly attached to these manifestations become extremely upset when the alleged happening is criticised.

They refuse to listen to arguments against their position, shutting them out of their minds. They act as though faith in a private revelation, or supposed revelation, is equivalent to faith in the public revelation found in Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

That attitude could lead to a serious pastoral problem if the Catholic Church were to rule against a widely held belief in a supposed private revelation. It could lead to schism. So we should be prudent, and always ready to accept the Church's ruling. The Church is given special divine guidance in these matters.

Secular-minded people

There is a psychological relation between a fascination with messages predicting great calamities and the fascination of numerous people, particularly secular-minded people, with supposed threats to humanity from such issues as global warming. Back in the 1970s dire warnings were issued of a coming ice age. Later came worries about the hole in the ozone layer. Now we have global warming to worry about - or the more general term climate change, which can cover almost anything.

These fears are driven in part by worry about the uncertain future, together with a feeling of excitement about the impending danger. Similar emotions can impel religious people to seek heavenly messages about the future, messages that combine fascinating information regarding the imminence of fearful events and the way of salvation for those who heed the warnings.

Fascination with visions and predictions can make the supernatural seem more real and convey a sense of purpose to a person's life. And life can seem more exciting.

Our Saviour has warned us: "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). So we need to be prudent, and to be always ready to accept rulings from Rome on these matters, for the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit.

John Young B.Th. is a Melbourne-based writer on theological and philosophical topics. Several of his published works are available from Freedom Publishing.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 27 No 2 (March 2014), p. 12