Teenage Daughter Telling Me She Sees Images of Mary and Jesus

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As others have recommended, it would be helpful for her to speak to a priest and possibly have a priest as a spiritual director to help her discern if her visions are from God or are demonic.

The fact she has trouble putting into words what she sees could be an indication that she is having deep mystical experiences. Those type of experiences are difficult to describe because they are truly supernatural and human words are inadequate.

Great mystics of the Church such as St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross counsel not to let such visions rule one’s spiritual life and not to ascribe too much importance to them.

It is important not to seek or become reliant on extraordinary phenomena in one’s prayer life. When one does have such experiences enjoy the moment, give thanks to God, but do not try to hold onto those moments.

You and your daughter may enjoy reading The Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay, which provides an excellent synopsis of the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross and progress in the spiritual life.
 
I do agree with you about not relying on these feelings or occurrences.
I did explain that to her. Whether they are legit or not, I don’t want her to feel that she can’t get some sort of fulfillment when this doesn’t happen. I’m not a spring chicken, and I’ve never had anything remotely like that happen to me, and I keep on praying. 😀.

And I’m not sure she even knows what is happening or if it is more than something she is imagining. I do feel that speaking to our priest will help her maybe figure that out.

Thank you for your (name removed by moderator)ut!
 
I am sorry to offer a different viewpoint, and it will not be a popular one on this board.

Please consider the possibility she is simply making the whole thing up, or at least is making it out to be more than it is. It must at least be considered. I throw this out there (no need to answer; I’m not prying, just asking you to think these over):

–Would you and your spouse describe yourself as very devout, or might others see you that way? I ask because when parents are very devout, they very often IMHO want, almost desperately, for their children to be devout too. The parents push mass; singing in church choir; church youth group; attend world youth day; attend a Catholic summer camp; whatever, and IMHO it is a mistake for parents to do that because it places a lot of pressure on young teens to please their parents. There’s no better way to please uber-devout parents than to have (or claim to have) some special gift few have. Is there any possibility that could that be going on, even a bit?

–Is she used to getting lots of attention? Is she an only child, used to attention? Does she have friends; interests outside school, etc., or is she a loner? Or by contrast is she one of like 7-8 siblings, and maybe feels unnoticed? She’s certainly going to get attention now!

–When she sees this is she asleep? Overtired from school? Does she have some medical issue (ie diabetes, low blood sugar, whatever)?

–Like it or not, many young people and particularly young girls IMHO go through a “lying phase,” and if not, we all of us usually like attention in some fashion.

There is a terrific scene, one of many, in the Song of Bernadette were the priest, Father Peyramale (played wonderfully by Charles Bickford) doubts Bernadette and basically tells her, almost in as many words, “you’re playing with fire, if you’re lying say so now, because if you’re telling the truth it’s going to get worse!” As he later explains to another priest, if she really is seeing The Virgin Mary, Bernadette will spend the rest of her life being questioned; doubted; examined; etc. His sentiment unfortunately is important, and before you as a parent make all sorts of costly and/or time consuming medical and spiritual appointments, it must at least seriously be considered that she’s 1) just saying this, or 2) had some weird dreams or otherwise is making something into more than it really is.

You did say she’s quite devout. What I’m more curious about is does she get any of that from you.

Sorry. My $0.02.
 
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Not to be a naysayer, but didn’t all the mystics have years of authority figures disbelieving them? It seems to me if there’s something going on, it would continue with or without your assistance.
 
You are correct - but that’s all the more reason not to run to priests and doctors.
 
If it were me, I would assume this was above my pay grade as a mother and arrange to have her speak privately with a priest. They are trained in such things. A lot of things could be happening here that need help, from emotional distress to actual visions. But it will take someone skilled in discernment to help you figure it out.
 
You left out the fifth possibility, that the girl is genuinely convinced she is seeing visions for whatever reason - good imagination, seeing some natural phenomena that she thinks is a vision, etc. - and is not having a demonic deception or a mental illness and is not telling lies.
 
You say your daughter isn’t “normal”.

However—does she have friends?
What is the quality of her relationships?
Does she get along with people in a healthy fashion?
Is she now or has she ever been under a therapist care?
Does she have an unusual backstory (traumas, griefs, wounds)?
What is other people’s “take” on your daughter? How would they describe her.
Has she hit all her milestones?
Does she blend into the crowd or does she stand out in any way?
Is she also interested in secular things like clothes and popular music, or is she obsessed with religion?
 
Peace of Jesus, as we know is Eternally more than only human or world’s sense of peace.
Happy Easter Season, He Is Risen, Indeed! Joy for all seasons to you and your family. Thank you so much for posting!
Yes, by all means, be cautious as you discern.
As we know, if something does not contradict The Divine Revelation and leans us toward more fully inclined to love GOD, GOD’s Loving Ways, for Godliness in ourselves inspiring others it is good. But it’s very important for us to know how healthy
we are, (i.e. hallucinations of imagination can be unhealthy.) But if she is in a healthy
state of mind, not so concerned with these things, that she stays away from family, and other earthly loving-kindness cheerful giving obligations; - I wouldn’t be too concerned regarding her health.
A well-balanced discernment brings the joy of The Lord in our journies on earth regarding these devout concerns.
Going to Clergy is a good idea; but as you know they would recommend much caution, also. And Ecclesiastical approval as to the validity would take much evidence and discernment.
I hope this helps a little. We are in this together, and seeing JESUS in imagination or as a real Apparition does help each of us. The key is obsession or healthy discernment.
Blessings this evening!
 
Non constat de supernaturalitate.

The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and …​

By John Thavis
Fr. John harden has a teaching on visionary and visions. Mystics.
Finding people with concrete understanding is difficult.
 
God bless you.
Can I also add that you should pray and ask God to guide you. He wouldn’t give you this to deal with if he wasn’t going to help you too. He knows she is young and will need you either way. Your faith is crucial here too, that you can work on in the meantime. Pray the rosary as a family. God bless
 
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Not every mental visual image is a vision!

If you read St. John of the Cross’ The Ascent of Mount Carmel, or any other big teacher of mystical stuff, you will see that most of the time, sensory images during prayer are just sensory images during prayer. In most translations, he talks about this being the product of “fancy” – which is the old word for “imagination.”

Your brain has the capacity to make images and imagine things. Depending on how a totally healthy brain is wired, you may have tunes come into your head, or thoughts come into your head – or you may have pictures and moving images with soundtracks come into your head. It is a perfectly normal, valid way for the brain to think about things and figure them out.

About half of writers “figure out” stories the hard way, while another half actually “hear” or “see” their characters and “talk” to them. This may come by the writer trying to imagine things, or by having these images just show up.* Other professions have similar things going on, although most people seem to be more comfortable with thinking via visual dreams.

A great many people harness visual and audial mental imagery as a planned part of their prayer, or in lieu of physical pictures of the saints. St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises specifically ask one to make pictures and other sensory images in one’s head (placing oneself in the crowds around Jesus, for instance, in order to increase piety and think about Jesus’ life).

Generally, unbidden sounds and/or images happen to people who are very audial or very visual in their processing of information. Since teenagers are people with growing and changing brains, it’s very common with them.

I am not discounting mystical visions and locutions, heavenly smells, etc., or demonic stuff, or mental illness stuff. But perfectly normal horses are even more common than Palominos, donkeys, and zebras.
 
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UPDATE: I forgot to say that a feeling of “receiving” these images passively is often because it’s a different hemisphere or area of the brain getting into the act. I’m a very analytical, verbal person. So when I start to get a global understanding of, say, the hidden motifs in something I’ve been writing, it feels like it is coming from “somewhere else” in my head – much like when I play piano, or do various other brainstretching activities.

I’ve had mystical experiences, though, and they really do come from somewhere else entirely, in a way that is unmistakable once experienced.

It won’t hurt to talk to a priest. But overall, just hanging loose and seeing what happens might be best.

*Diana Wynne Jones, who was a student of Tolkien, advised writers just to close their eyes and see what place came to mind. Then one just “walked” down the street and “met” people, and told their story.

Needless to say, this was not how Tolkien devised stories, which he did with much hard work and hemming and hawing. But he did have words for his invented languages come into his head!
 
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