How to discern or interpret this

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HolySpirit1

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So how is something like seeing Jesus to be interpreted ? Is there any official teaching on that subject ? Be it one sees Jesus in any form, be it Christ Crucified , Resurrected, in a vivid dream. I can’t really dismiss people who have claimed to have an encounter with Jesus at any level, no matter how crazy it may come off as, because the manner in which Jesus interacts with us is His choosing, and He does want to have a real interaction with us and not in just a figurative , or spiritual sense. And when discussing such things with religious or clergy I tend to find such topics are ignored, or dismissed.

An while some interactions may be too hard for the person to discern on his or her own, it is probably prudent to start making efforts to find a religious or clergy who can be of help is understandable.

I am wondering as I just stated, is there any real, hard line, factual, if you encounter Jesus, these are some things you need to consider…

OR is there no official church teaching , on any of this and it is just you can only hope to figure it out one day, and then revert back to the answers of just pray over it and yada yada. ?
 
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I’d say the rules for discerning private revelation would apply. Religious visions could be caused by several different things: (1) they might be a trick of the devil and/or demonic spirits; (2) they might be the result of some psychological or mental issue; or (3) they might be authentically from God.

Personally, if I ever experienced something like this, I’d talk to my priest about it if it seemed like something that required it.
 
0Scarlett_nidiyilii said:
I would see an MD to rule out hallucinations.
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If it was authentic, you wouldn’t need to see an MD. You’d know 100% it was real.

You know. Without doubt, You just know. I am assuming no psychological illness is present, of course.
 
Actually, after I wrote that, the thought occurred to me that if it were a hallucination I might not be aware of the fact…

But in working with the mentally ill, they are often so sure they are right. Like, they could pass a lie detector test because they aren’t lying. They’re incorrect, but not attempting to deceive.
 
so far it appears that there is no offical teaching on the question and after doing a small bit of searching online, all i can find are opinions by religious .
 
What would you expect in an “official teaching”? It’s not really a doctrinal matter. A person has an experience, and then the Church needs to investigate whether or not that experience was authentic. What would an “official teaching” look like in that regard?
 
The Church teaches that most of what you have referred to would fall under private revelations category. In the miracles of Fatima thousands upon thousands were witness to the miracles which had a lasting effect upon the mass gatherings the day the sun appeared in circles and in displacement in the sky. Thus a public miracle that will pass the test of scrutiny and investigations of the Church. Private revelation cannot really be proven by the recipient or the church and therefore should be kept so. Private.
Note for Spirit 1: In reading your other posts I get the impression of someone chasing after miracles. I think I would try to be careful about that. Peace.
 
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I agree that private revelations should be kept private. They are for the person to whom Christ revealed himself, not the entire world. Fatima has the Church’s approval, but is still considered a private revelation of the Blessed Virgin to the children. We are not bound to believe. More did not see the sun move than saw it move. There is no way to prove whether it did or did not.
 
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I don’t know what an official teaching would look like in this regard , hence why I asked in the first place. The church has plenty of doctrinal answers on a lot of matters, just seems like there should be an answer for the layity on this. If all the answer is, opinions,then that would be an answer. or guidance from the church on what to do when being dismissed by a priest on such a matter. Is the person just supposed to go from one priest to another until either all disagree or one agrees with the person, or gives some kind of an explenation as to what the person experienced.
 
HolySpirit1 said:
Is the person just supposed to go from one priest to another until either all disagree or one agrees with the person, or gives some kind of an explenation as to what the person experienced.
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No. You always start with your own pastor. And if it seems like the situation calls for it, it might “go up the chain” and eventually make it to the bishop. But you’d always begin by seeking the counsel of your own priest.

I’d think if a random person—completely unknown to a priest who does not even attend his parish—came up to him and said, “I think I’ve been seeing visions”, that would probably not go over super well. 😝
 
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