Vatican's commission completes investigation on Medjugorje, submits report [CC]

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Memaw said:
I hope all are willing to accept the Vatician’s decision on it. Prayers for all of us. God Bless, Memaw
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I wonder if I will accept the decision if they come out in favor of Medjugorje? I looked at it awhile back and I didn’t like what I saw. Do we have to believe in the apparitions, even those approved by the church?
 
J_Peterson said:
I wonder if I will accept the decision if they come out in favor of Medjugorje? I looked at it awhile back and I didn’t like what I saw. Do we have to believe in the apparitions, even those approved by the church?
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Private revelation does not add anything to the deposit of faith. It never supercedes Scripture and Tradition. Even if the Church were to approve the apparaitions as “worthy of belief”, that doesn’t obligate you to become devoted to it.

Don’t get me wrong. If the Church declares something to be worthy of belief and/or of supernatual origin, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at it 🙂 (like Lourdes or Fatima). But I would view it in the same way as taking a look at the lives of the saints. It’s good to look at some of them and there are valuable lessons to be learned. But it’s impossible to look at all of them and it is only natural to prefer reflecting on some over others.
 
irishpatrick said:
So many thousands, perhaps millions over time, will want to go to the site for any number of reasons. I suppose what confuses me is that a much larger event is in place in every Catholic parish, and that is the Lord’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. People who go to adoration are adoring and praying to our Risen Lord present in those churches.

What confuses me–and I have a great love for Our Lady–is why so many Catholics will spend so much time, and treasure, going to various apparition sites, yet the undeniably Real Presence is within a short distance from their own homes.

It is, without doubt, an amazing miracle that Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist across the globe. The miracle is much larger than the feeding of the 5,000 (which prefigured the Eucharist), and it happens during every Mass, and exists in most Tabernacles. It is an amazing fact that the Lord is with us in such a Real and directly viewable way.

Just today I went to adoration–it never ceases to amaze me that I am adoring Jesus Christ and that He is truly there to see me, to here me–what a gift.

No matter the outcome of the investigation, and no matter the reality of Our Lady’s approved apparitions, I think the world, the faith, and the Church, will change enormously when Catholics begin to realize they have all they need in their own backyard. After all, approved apparitions always have at their core the mission of bringing people to Mary’s Son through repentance and prayer.
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😃 Totally agree and beautifully said 👍
 
BklynTony said:
I think the message so far is the same as in 1991 when the whole incident was said not to be credible. The document last OCT 2013, repeated the message ,but said the investigation was ongoing. It absolutely wants to make the point The Church does not support anything which advances the unconfirmed visions. As the norm the Church is ultra conservative in it’s opinion and I for one support their thorough investigation.
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blaskoman said:
One can experience the real presense of Jesus in the Eucharist at st James in medjugorje as well.
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Of course…yet the Real Presence is no more real there.
 
irishpatrick said:
What confuses me–and I have a great love for Our Lady–is why so many Catholics will spend so much time, and treasure, going to various apparition sites, yet the undeniably Real Presence is within a short distance from their own.
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This. 👍 Obviously, there is nothing wrong with visiting an approved apparition site, but how blessed we are to have Jesus so near us.
 
KrazyKat said:
We will be notified of their findings in due time, right now any conclusions would just be speculation.
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Rome, normally, is the one saying “No, not authentic” to aparitions.

The normal process is the local bishop endorses the apparition, asks rome to validate it, and Rome says, “Maybe” or “No.” Sometimes, due to much evidence, as with Fatima or Guadalupe, Rome says “Yes!”

Medjugore is odd in that the Bishop already said “No!” but Rome is investigating anyway.

It’s rare for Rome to say “Yes, it’s real and valid” when the bishop says “No, it’s not”… It has happened, but not often.
 
Corki said:
Interesting to note that according to the article, the commission seems to be looking at the original visions and the ongoing ones separately. It’s possible that there will be a determination on one but not the other at this time.
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What you say makes sense because they do not like to approve anything that is ongoing. The obvious reason is that if approval were given to an alleged ongoing apparition, and then, subsequent to the approval, something is said within the context of the alleged ongoing apparitions that is contrary to Catholic teaching, many faithful could be misled.

I have been to Medjugorje twice, and I have not yet heard anything attributed to Our Lady in connection with those or subsequent alleged apparitions or messages that is contrary to Catholic teaching. But, of course, I recognize that I am not in any authoritative position to judge, and I leave that to Holy Mother Church. It seems to me possible that all the messages could be in agreement with Catholic teaching and still the apparitions could be deemed unworthy of belief. It’s been twenty-two years since my last visit to Medjugorje, and I am still waiting patiently for the Church to make a final ruling. It is a testament to the Church that it is so diligent in its investigations to make sure it gets it right.
 
Memaw said:
I hope all are willing to accept the Vatician’s decision on it. Prayers for all of us. God Bless, Memaw
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The caveat should be made…regardless of what is decided…Catholics are NOT required to believe “approved” apparitions either. Even approved apparitions like Lourdes are PRIVATE revelation which are NOT required to be believed by the faithful.
 
There will always be the “miracle chasers”.

For them it is a hobby.

Belief in the ordinary faith and teaching of the Church isn’t enough for some. They seek the fantastical, the dramatic. I can sympathize with some of this sentiment as following our faith day-to-day can get hum-drum.

But the Lord asks us to believe in what we have not seen.
 
ringil said:
There will always be the “miracle chasers”.

For them it is a hobby.

Belief in the ordinary faith and teaching of the Church isn’t enough for some. They seek the fantastical, the dramatic. I can sympathize with some of this sentiment as following our faith day-to-day can get hum-drum.

But the Lord asks us to believe in what we have not seen.
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I’m sure that’s true for some people, but I wouldn’t say it describes everyone (or even most) who have devotions to apparitions.
 
Joe_5859 said:
I’m sure that’s true for some people, but I wouldn’t say it describes everyone (or even most) who have devotions to apparitions.
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I am not speaking of those with devotions to apparitions.

I am speaking of those who tenaciously read about, debate, and are obsessed with unapproved apparitions. I am speaking of those who travel to places where apparitions are reported. I am speaking of those very focussed on the fantastical aspect of religion to an almost superstitious extent.

I am devoted to the Divine Mercy and I acknowledge all approved apparitions.
 
ringil said:
I am not speaking of those with devotions to apparitions.

I am speaking of those who tenaciously read about, debate, and are obsessed with unapproved apparitions. I am speaking of those who travel to places where apparitions are reported. I am speaking of those very focussed on the fantastical aspect of religion to an almost superstitious extent.

I am devoted to the Divine Mercy and I acknowledge all approved apparitions.
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Okay.
 
Sounds like the decision is not far off. I’ll bet there is a good deal of investigative work to go through.
 
GaryTaylor said:
Sounds like the decision is not far off. I’ll bet there is a good deal of investigative work to go through.
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“Not far” relative to what, though? 😛

I think you’re right about there being a lot of investigative work to go through (what with daily messages going back 30+ years!). I am not expecting it to be a speedy process for th CDF to sift through it all.

I would perhaps venture to guess that the decision will be made by the end of this year. That gives them 11 months. 🙂
 
ringil said:
There will always be the “miracle chasers”.

For them it is a hobby.

Belief in the ordinary faith and teaching of the Church isn’t enough for some. They seek the fantastical, the dramatic. I can sympathize with some of this sentiment as following our faith day-to-day can get hum-drum.

But the Lord asks us to believe in what we have not seen.
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Mary would be disappointed if her appearances at Fatima, Lourdes and other places were ignored by people who said they were not interested because the Blessed Virgin could add nothing to their ordinary faith and the teaching of the Church. Mary is not trying to attract miracle chasers, but wishes to address a world that is in great need of spiritual guidance and encouragement. If you believe in what you have not seen, then believe in her apparitions, the ones already approved by the Church. It is not sinful, crazy, lacking faith, nor is it a sense of the day-to-day faith being boring that makes these apparitions, or alleged apparitions exciting, it is the chance that heaven is trying to speak to us in a special way for our day and the special challenges we face.

I am not promoting Medjugorje, only saying that we should keep an open mind, realizing that Our Lady has appeared on many occasions over the past two centuries, or at least the Church has said that those alleged appearances are worthy of belief. If heaven is speaking I don’t want to be guilty of not listening. IMHO, there is something wrong with a faith that deliberately ignores the possibility that God is speaking anew to this day and age. This in no way impugns the sufficiency of Church teaching.
 
JamesCaruso said:
Mary would be disappointed if her appearances at Fatima, Lourdes and other places were ignored by people who said they were not interested because the Blessed Virgin could add nothing to their ordinary faith and the teaching of the Church. Mary is not trying to attract miracle chasers, but wishes to address a world that is in great need of spiritual guidance and encouragement. If you believe in what you have not seen, then believe in her apparitions, the ones already approved by the Church. It is not sinful, crazy, lacking faith, nor is it a sense of the day-to-day faith being boring that makes these apparitions, or alleged apparitions exciting, it is the chance that heaven is trying to speak to us in a special way for our day and the special challenges we face.

I am not promoting Medjugorje, only saying that we should keep an open mind, realizing that Our Lady has appeared on many occasions over the past two centuries, or at least the Church has said that those alleged appearances are worthy of belief. If heaven is speaking I don’t want to be guilty of not listening. IMHO, there is something wrong with a faith that deliberately ignores the possibility that God is speaking anew to this day and age. This in no way impugns the sufficiency of Church teaching.
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Very few Marian Apparitions have been approved by the Church, considering the many hundreds that have “claimed” to be authentic. I wouldn’t listen to intently until the Church tells us it’s worth listening to. A very Holy Priest, whom I won’t mention, told me 20 years ago that Medjigorje would never be approved! His cause for Canonization is now in progress. So I am very cautious about jumping out ahead of the Church. God Bless, Memaw
 
JamesCaruso said:
Mary would be disappointed if her appearances at Fatima, Lourdes and other places were ignored by people who said they were not interested because the Blessed Virgin could add nothing to their ordinary faith and the teaching of the Church. Mary is not trying to attract miracle chasers, but wishes to address a world that is in great need of spiritual guidance and encouragement. If you believe in what you have not seen, then believe in her apparitions, the ones already approved by the Church. It is not sinful, crazy, lacking faith, nor is it a sense of the day-to-day faith being boring that makes these apparitions, or alleged apparitions exciting, it is the chance that heaven is trying to speak to us in a special way for our day and the special challenges we face.

I am not promoting Medjugorje, only saying that we should keep an open mind, realizing that Our Lady has appeared on many occasions over the past two centuries, or at least the Church has said that those alleged appearances are worthy of belief. If heaven is speaking I don’t want to be guilty of not listening. IMHO, there is something wrong with a faith that deliberately ignores the possibility that God is speaking anew to this day and age. This in no way impugns the sufficiency of Church teaching.
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The Risen Lord is Present in the Eucharist…how would the world look if all Catholics believed that fact?
 
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