newadvent.org/library/almanac_thisrock92.htm
A woman in my prayer group claims that all of the reported Marian apparitions around the world must be from God because their messages are consistent with the Bible and call people to prayer and repentance. She says “the devil would never do anything which would draw people closer to God” and concludes that none of these apparitions could possibly come from the devil.
Your friend is wrong. The message of an alleged apparition is not the only thing on which that apparition’s authenticity should be evaluated. Besides, it’s up to the Church, not to an individual, to make that decision. There have been purported Marian apparitions, later judged by the Church to be spurious, whose messages, although sensational, seemed innocuous and not contrary to orthodoxy.
Your friend is also wrong to assume that the devil would never do something that would, ostensibly, draw people to God. In fact, although the devil’s ultimate goal is to remove each of us from God’s presence permanently, he sometimes uses ploys which seem to lead people toward holiness, yet which turn out to be cleverly devised traps designed to impede our progress toward God.
Consider what happened when Paul and Silas were preaching the gospel in Macedonia:
As [they] were going to the place of prayer, [they] met a slave girl with an oracular spirit, who used to bring a large profit to her owners through her fortune telling. She began to follow Paul . . . shouting, “These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” She did this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned, and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” Then it came out at that moment" (Acts 16:16-18).
There are two important details to be aware of in this passage. Notice that it was a demonic spirit who was telling people to heed Paul’s teaching. The demon was calling people to believe the gospel which would, in the normal course of events, draw people to God. If you look closely you’ll also see there was an error subtly embedded in the demon’s message, “These people . . . proclaim to you a [not ‘the’] way of salvation,” implying that there are other ways to salvation. That is false, of course, and completely contrary to the gospel Paul was preaching.
There is only one way to salvation: through Jesus Christ alone. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 [see John 10:9]). Peter echoed the Lord’s teaching, explaining, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). The demon in Acts 16 was trying to introduce error sugar-coated by a perfectly laudable appeal to embrace the gospel.
Never doubt that the devil can, if he thinks he needs to, use the incongruous ploy of urging us to turn to God as part of his larger plan of introducing error and exploiting religious fervor that’s not solidly grounded upon authentic Christian spirituality. That’s why the first pope warned us to be on guard against his wiles.
***Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings ***(1 Pet. 5:8-9).
Our newly formed Rosary/Prayer group had just decided to have Eucharistic Adoration…we are still evolving…just letting the Holy Spirit lead for now! God Bless, Annunciata
