Rose petal from denounced apparition?

[newcalling]

I only been Catholic since May of this year. However, I have always felt close to the Holy Mother Mary. Sometime in the early 1990s a Catholic friend named Chris gave me a rose petal from an apparition of Mary which has since been denounced. It is laminated on a little card, and I have kept it in my wallet ever since. I have recently read about the apparition, and I can definitely understand why it was denounced. It isn’t just unapproved, but actually denounced as far as I have read. However, the rose petal has long been a reminder of my friend Chris, as well as my love for the Mother. Am I doing something wrong by keeping it and looking at it now and then as a reminder of that sort? Sure, I would love to have something from Guadalupe, Fatima or Lourdes, but it wouldn’t change what his gift means to me. (The alleged apparition was in New York, and the friend was someone I knew from college in northern California. ) Opinions, thoughts, facts I should consider? Love to all of you. Thank you and God bless.

 

[fred_conty]

It is just a reminder of Mary and your friends. And that is something good.

 

[crystal_waters]

Get rid of it…if the apparitions aren’t from heaven then why would you want anything from a false apparition…if you want a reminder of your friend why not write him a nice letter and get him to write one to you in return…that would be much nicer to look at than keeping something from an apparition that isn’t from god…have you made the friend aware of the apparition being denounced?

God bless you

Crystal waters

 

[newcalling]

Get rid of it…if the apparitions aren’t from heaven then why would you want anything from a false apparition…if you want a reminder of your friend why not write him a nice letter and get him to write one to you in return…that would be much nicer to look at than keeping something from an apparition that isn’t from god…have you made the friend aware of the apparition being denounced?

God bless you

Crystal waters

We lost touch twenty years ago as we both finished at that college. He was intelligent, kind and we had great discussions even though we disagreed about a lot of things. In a way though, I think that our conversations planted a seed in me which gave me new perspective on the church. Even though it was twenty years later that I became Catholic, I think that those conversations were part of why I was willing to consider the church when the Holy Mother called me to it.

 

[Memaw]

We lost touch twenty years ago as we both finished at that college. He was intelligent, kind and we had great discussions even though we disagreed about a lot of things. In a way though, I think that our conversations planted a seed in me which gave me new perspective on the church. Even though it was twenty years later that I became Catholic, I think that those conversations were part of why I was willing to consider the church when the Holy Mother called me to it.

Your memory of this friendship will be there without the fake reminder. I would get rid of it and pray for your friend daily as a thank you for his friendship and influence on your conversion. It’s your conversations you should cherish. Plant “seeds” in others God Bless, Memaw

 

[AttendeDomine]

I’m actually pleasantly surprised by the advice you’ve been given thus far, and I quite agree with Crystal Waters and Memaw.

Practice mortification by setting aside an attachment, all while practicing obedience to the Church in their denouncing an alleged apparition!

 

[edward_george]

I’m not sure what the problem is. It’s not like having the rose petal brings some sort of evil presence into the life of the person who owns it. And the OP has acknowledged that the apparition is false–it’s not causing any confusion there. What would be the harm in holding onto a memento of an old friend, and something that stirs up devotion to Mary? People just keep saying it’s bad, it’s bad, it’s bad, get rid of it; I’m not sure what the reason could be?

-ACEGC

 

[GEddie]

It’s just a bookmark bearing the name of a place having no spiritual significance. Just the same as a postcard from the Astrodome or Disney, IMNAAHO.

Keep it if you care to, don’t if you don’t, but don’t go semi-superstitious about it.

When the Church “condemns” an apparition, the term used is “constat non supernaturalitate”: Literally, “confirmed non-supernatural.” That’s all. It doesn’t make the place or its physical appurtenances evil.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Evania]

My advice is to get rid of it.

 

[GLam8833]

The rejected apparition makes the rose petal
a false momento which is a false sacramental.
So, it will serve NO SPIRITUAL value, but
sentimental value, maybe.

 

[edward_george]

The rejected apparition makes the rose petal
a false momento which is a false sacramental.
So, it will serve NO SPIRITUAL value, but
sentimental value, maybe.

Sacramentals aren’t magic. They only work by the faith of the user. If you hand an atheist a crucifix, they might say “Oh, that’s a lovely piece of art,” or “That’s frightening, get it away!” We’d say in that case the sacramental has no spiritual value to the atheist. But if someone looks at a bookmark from an apparition site determined to have nothing supernatural going on there, and their thoughts are lifted to the remembrance of God and the saints, does it not have spiritual value? Sacramentals are not magic, they are not themselves sacraments, they do not themselves dispense grace. They only dispose us to receive grace. In this regard, whether it has value or “validity” depends on the faith of the one looking at it.

-ACEGC

 

[Jay_Lebumfacil]

3 years ago, it was one of the most disturbing time of my life. I felt so helpless, I felt so down, I felt like my world shattered and I have nowhere to run. I was so afraid, anxious and desperate. The only solace I had was to go to a church where I knelt before the image of the Sr. Sto. Niño de Cebu, fervently asked for His help and miracle. I did remember asked a sign from Him to give me comfort that He was listening to my prayers. I never had the sign I was asking. Then after I went out of the church walked across another block where the Cebu Cathedral was and taking the 6 row of seat from the back I prayed for help and in despair was kneeling and praying fervently. All of a sudden as I opened my eyes, I saw a petal of rose to the seat in front of me. I was puzzled! how can a red rose petal be sitting solely and alone in the seat when there is a fan blowing over the area. Secondly, how come that petal of rose got there where the only roses I saw was at least 10 meters away from where I was and the red roses where there adorned in the altar of the Statue of the Blessed Mother. If someone previously sitting on that seat in front of me brought with him bouquet of flowers or even a single Rose, why is it that only one petal dropped and sitting comfortably on the sit where I was kneeling… and a mere coincidence that the few rows of seat in the church where I was kneeling is very near the Statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe where Don Juan was proofed by the Holy Mother with the miracles of roses? Granting that some one sat there previously and granting that only one petal dropped on the seat, why did my feet guided me to take that part of the church where such petal was sitting. Truly, God gave me the sign I was asking from Him… everytime I am in dire need, I only recall that petal of red rose and I know the Holy Mother and the Little Child Jesus is with me in my prayers! God bless all!

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I only been Catholic since May of this year. However, I have always felt close to the Holy Mother Mary. Sometime in the early 1990s a Catholic friend named Chris gave me a rose petal from an apparition of Mary which has since been denounced. It is laminated on a little card, and I have kept it in my wallet ever since. I have recently read about the apparition, and I can definitely understand why it was denounced. It isn’t just unapproved, but actually denounced as far as I have read. However, the rose petal has long been a reminder of my friend Chris, as well as my love for the Mother. Am I doing something wrong by keeping it and looking at it now and then as a reminder of that sort? Sure, I would love to have something from Guadalupe, Fatima or Lourdes, but it wouldn’t change what his gift means to me. (The alleged apparition was in New York, and the friend was someone I knew from college in northern California. ) Opinions, thoughts, facts I should consider? Love to all of you. Thank you and God bless.

It seems to me that you’ve answered your own request, with the wording “… it wouldn’t change what his gift means to me…”.

In other words, the real value of this rose petal is as a memento of a friendship from years past, so in that case I’d be inclined to keep it.

I wouldn’t get too worried about the possibility it was a “false apparition”. You don’t seem to even be inclined to bother about it, so just look on the petal as a memento of your friend, and nothing more.

Meanwhile keep up your devotion to Mary - it’s as simple as that.