theophanies

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karl_oakley

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I would like this word’s meaning explained, with some examples.
 
From this site :

vnesdoly.blogspot.com/2005/03/praying-theophanies.html

"The word ‘theophanies’ comes from two Greek words: theos, meaning ‘God,’ and ‘phaino,’ meaning ‘to appear or show’; hence the ‘God appearances.’ It is the details of these ‘God sightings’ that let us in on what God looks like and, to some extent, on what God is doing. They describe, at different times, where he lives, who is around him, the color of his hair and eyes, what he is wearing, the many sounds of his voice etc. As such they should become our starting point in prayer because, unless we are praying to God as he has revealed himself to be, we are not really praying in the Christian sense of the word…

Therefore when you pray the theophanies, you will see just who it is that you are talking to. You will become familiar with the sights and sounds of heaven. You will have confidence that your prayers are not only being heard but that you are addressing the one Person who has all power in heaven and on earth to answer them…

“When we pray the theophanies we begin to touch his power, to hear that loud voice like many waters, to tremble in the presence of the thunders and the lightning bolts. Any person who does not at some time pray the theophanies will likely limit God. To them, God may become smaller than he really is, because the person will be praying to God as they understand him to be, not as he has revealed himself to be. After all, God is who he says he is – not who we think he is! So it is essential to begin all prayer by praying to the Person of God, and praying the theophanies will keep us from praying to an extension of our own darkened minds.”

Doesn’t sound Catholic, more cultish 😦
 
A couple of mentions in the catechism (ccc) then a dictionary explaination follow-
Cathechism of the Catholic Church
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
http://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif»SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITHhttp://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif»CHAPTER THREE: I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIThttp://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif»ARTICLE 8: "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT"http://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif»III. GOD’S SPIRIT AND WORD IN THE TIME OF THE PROMISEShttp://www.catholicculture.org/images/clear.gif»In Theophanies and the Law

707 Theophanies (manifestations of God) light up the way of the promise, from the patriarchs to Moses and from Joshua to the visions that inaugurated the missions of the great prophets. Christian tradition has always recognized that God’s Word allowed himself to be seen and heard in these theophanies, in which the cloud of the Holy Spirit both revealed him and concealed him in its shadow.

697 Cloud and light. These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of his glory - with Moses on Mount Sinai, 43 at the tent of meeting, 44 and during the wandering in the desert, 45 and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple. 46 In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and “overshadows” her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. 47 On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the “cloud came and overshadowed” Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and “a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’” 48 Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples on the day of his ascension and will reveal him as Son of man in glory on the day of his final coming. 49

2 entries found for theophany. From a dictionary.
the·oph·a·ny
( P )
n. pl. **the·oph·a·nies **An appearance of a god to a human; a divine manifestation.
[Medieval Latin theophania, from Late Greek theophaneia : Greek theo-, *theo- + Greek phainein, phan-, to show; see bhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/AHD4/GIF/amacr.gif-1 in Indo-European Roots.]
: a visible (but not necessarily material) manifestation of a deity to a human person
 
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