Should we all take Private Revelations seriously?

[LilyM]

Well, private revelations can be intended for more than just those who received them. I think I read somewhere that Jesus told St Margaret Mary that he wanted France consecrated to the Sacred Heart. At Fatima, Our Lady wanted Russia consecrated, etc. Jesus told St Faustina that He wanted a Feast of Mercy to be established in the Church, and so it was done. The wishes and mandates of private revelations aren’t necessary for salvation, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t helpful for us, even VERY helpful. And in some cases, ignoring them seemed to have lead to disastrous consequences. In the case of the Sacred Heart, the consecration of France wasn’t done. 100 years later, the French Revolution occurred. Some Catholics see a connection. At Fatima, what Our Lady wished for wasn’t done. Then WW2 happened… I’m sure there are other examples

“Despise not prophecies.” Thessalonians 5:20

Except that we are in the age of Public Revelation. What Christ said and did in His ministry, and continues to say and do through the Magisterium, are sufficient and more.than sufficient for our individual and collective salvation.

Private revelation or ‘prophecy’ is like.any other private aspect.of.devotion.

Some.may find saying the Rosary helpful and beneficial for them spiritually. Others similarly with the Divine Mercy Chaplet or the Stations of the Cross etc. It is wrong to assume that what oneself is attracted to or benefited by is for everyone.

If any particular devotion, private revelation or prophecy were for everyone, the Church would bind everyone to believe or do it

Put it this way - the common thread of all prophecy and all apparition is what? Repent, fast, pray, do good works. Which is also .a central.theme.of PUBLIC revelation and Church teaching.

Do we really need to know the future, either of the world, of our own countries or anythung else, to know.that we need to pray, fast, repent and do.good works? Does it rreally require Mary or Jesus to speak or appear to us personally, or.for us to believe they have done so to others?

“Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe”. A faith that is linked to belief in private revelation.or prophecy is built on shaky ground.

 

[LilyM]

Why do obscure people mostly get “private revelations” but never The Pope or even a Cardinal?

The St Michael prayer (which IIRC is said t the end of tthe Mass in the EF) was inspired by a vision or revelation to one of the Popes, so it does happen. This is an instance of what I said upthread- said Pope thought it was important enough to make it part of public liturgy rather than leaving it as optional and private.

But in general you are right - its rather like alien abductions and encunters supposedly happening all over the place. None, for example, in the middle of the day in Times Square or to a scientist working on the SETI project or the like.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Why do obscure people mostly get “private revelations” but never The Pope or even a Cardinal?

That’s not true, as there have been a number of Popes who had private revelations, among them Pope Pius V, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope Pius XII. Popes do not tend to announce their private revelations, at least not in the modern era. Such revelations may influence the Pope to do something like Pope Leo XIII did, compose the Prayer to St. Michael and have it be said. I am aware of bishops (primarily saints of the Church who were bishops while on earth) who had private revelations also.

However, God chooses whom he wants to receive private revelations. It’s a charism - a gift - to be a mystic who receives such revelations. Not everybody receives the same charism. God also often chooses very simple, humble people, partly because they have great faith, partly because he likes to exalt the lowly, and there is also a school of thought that they are less likely to mess up the message by embellishing it or overthinking it.

Really though, you could find all sorts of people who’ve had a private revelation about something. Often it’s just that - Private. Nobody will hear about it except their family member or the priest because it concerns a personal matter, like whether a deceased loved one is in heaven or not.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The Church doesn’t investigate nor approve private revelations given to Popes. The Pope would basically be investigating himself to see if his own revelation was a fantasy or a lie, which makes no sense.

Pope Pius V is a saint, so his private revelations are automatically approved (as they are for all beatified people). Likewise, for all bishops, cardinals etc who reached the level of beati, then their private revelations would be considered approved automatically.

Source for Pope Pius V private revelation (Battle of Lepanto vision):
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12130a.htm

Source for Pope Leo XIII private revelation (involving Satan):

The 100 year test

On October 13, 1884 Pope Leo XIII, just after celebrating Mass, turned pale and collapsed as though dead. Those standing nearby rushed to his side. They found him alive but the pontiff looked frightened. He then recounted having a vision of Satan approaching the throne of God, boasting that he...

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Source for Pope Pius XII private revelation (he saw Miracle of the Sun in the Vatican gardens):

Pope Pius XII witnessed the Fatima "miracle of the sun"

 

[Krisdun]

It is interesting to see that 3 out of 5 Papal approved Marian apparitions were approved by St John Paul II - the other two by Pius XII.

 

[Krisdun]

I’m also aware of another case where it took over 100 years for a bishop to approve the revelation but he finally did, and it is approved as of today. And a third case where the archbishop at the time had approved the revelations for faith expression and might well have approved the revelation entirely, but he died too soon before he had a chance, and the archbishops who came in after him haven’t been interested.

In the case of the 100 year long approval perhaps something eventually came true based on a vision that allowed the bishop to approve it? In any case it is a long time to wait to approve a revelation. Or is it simply the case that some individuals more receptive to the idea of revelations compared to others?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

No, the truth is that some bishops are just more interested in private revelations than other bishops. Some priests and bishops do not like mysticism or private revelations. They think it’s not important for people to bother with, or that people should concentrate on Scripture or on core teachings of the Church.
Also, to be perfectly honest, a good private revelation can bring in tourism dollars from pilgrims and this does motivate some to be more interested in getting it approved. I know this for a fact because when I was at Fatima last (2017), I saw a whole workshop on monetizing private revelation being advertised at the tourist information center. I know this may horrify some people but I am just reporting what I saw with my own eyes.

 

[Krisdun]

I know this for a fact because when I was at Fatima last (2017), I saw a whole workshop on monetizing private revelation being advertised at the tourist information center.

Sadly as with anything like this there will always be people who will try to make money out of it for personal gain. We as Catholics should not try to mimic celebrity evangelists…

 

[Krisdun]

Do you think us as Catholics we are somewhat forced to believe and accept approved private revelations or apparitions e.g Our Lady of Knock, Fátima, Gaudalupe?

 

[graciew]

Some advocations are already in our Liturgical Calendar.
Today we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Lujan,our Patroness …
No one is forced , but then some have have gone through the whole process and are already in our Liturgical Calendar. Very much related and loved by the people by now.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is another similar case.
She is Mary under different advocations.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Do you think us as Catholics we are somewhat forced to believe and accept approved private revelations or apparitions e.g Our Lady of Knock, Fátima, Gaudalupe?

No. Many people don’t believe those.
Those who do believe, including myself, find them spiritually helpful and beneficial.
I grew up with Fatima since I was tiny. I would no more not believe in it than I would not believe in Our Mother of Perpetual Help (not an apparition).

 

[puer.dei]

Do you think us as Catholics we are somewhat forced to believe and accept approved private revelations or apparitions e.g Our Lady of Knock, Fátima, Gaudalupe?

No, not by the Church. Now, some of the devotees of some private revelations really push them, and may try to intimate that “real” Catholics would believe them. But the Church says otherwise, so pay no attention if you come across these folks.

 

[undead_rat]

Popes sometimes mention or even make use of a private revelation. For instance, Pope Pius X is reported to have used the words “religio depopulata” when he referred to the impending outbreak
of WW I.
And in 1942 Pope Pius XII selected the words “Pastor Angelicus” for the title of his autobiographical film.

I have great respect for the Popes of the Catholic Church, and I take their use of the words of this private revelation quite seriously.

 

[commenter]

Popes sometimes mention or even make use of a private revelation. For instance, Pope Pius X is reported to have used the words “religio depopulata” when he referred to the impending outbreak
of WW I.
And in 1942 Pope Pius XII selected the words “Pastor Angelicus” for the title of his autobiographical film.

I have great respect for the Popes of the Catholic Church, and I take their use of the words of this private revelation quite seriously.

Given the countless religious phrases used by some revelation or other, it’s hard - no, impossible - for a pope to write a document or give a talk and not use some phrases also used by them…

And/or phrases used by Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Martin of Tours, Martin van Buren, or Martin Kardashian. There’s only so many possible phrases out there.

The best way to respect the Popes is to focus on public revelation 95 percent of the time. For some people, it should be 100 percent.

 

[commenter]

++Fulton Sheen in the 1940s,1950s would always build his argument on public revelation, then sometimes refer to Fatima to help illustrate it, make it more appealing. In that era he could make 2 assumptions about most Catholics:

1. They likely understood public revelation.
2. Abuse of private revelations was uncommon.
   So, it was safe then to refer to Fatima, etc.

What if Sheen were living today? I think he would avoid any mention of private revelations.

 

[Maximus1]

What exactly is a private revelation?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Now, some of the devotees of some private revelations really push them, and may try to intimate that “real” Catholics would believe them.

This falls in the same category with all the other stuff that some Catholics constantly try to push on other Catholics.

• A “real” Catholic would vote for (insert name of political candidate or party)
• A “real” Catholic in a marriage would have multiple children, or else something shady must be going on
• A “real” Catholic couple would not have the wife working outside the home
• A “real” Catholic would be part of whatever group at the parish is currently being pushed
• A “real” Catholic would pray a certain way regularly
• A “real” Catholic would have certain kinds of preferences for Mass, and not other kinds
• A “real” Catholic would confess every week, or else they must be in a state of mortal sin
  Etc.

One must constantly be on guard against Catholics pushing their own opinions and expectations that are not the required teaching of the Church.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

What exactly is a private revelation?

Any purported message or illumination from God that happened after the end of the time of public revelation. Public revelation is traditionally said to have ended with the death of the last Apostle, or alternatively with the end of the authoring of the book of Revelation, the last book of Scripture.

 

[Maximus1]

And obviously this idea does not encompass mystic experience. So what is the difference.

 

[Maximus1]

Oh that never happened before. Lol