Tag: apparitions
Are We Praying to Avert Catastrophe or Just Waiting for It?
All prophecies — at least, the vast majority — are conditional. Perhaps one can say: all prophecies since the New Testament. For prophesied events change, it seems — or can change — because conditions change. They are fluid situations. Note some major apparitions of the Blessed Mother and her qualifications: — at Fatima: “If what… Read More ›
Do Ghosts Exist?
Q: Dear Father Kerper: It seems like there is a lot of evidence that there are ghosts that haunt people’s homes. Do ghosts really exist? Thanks very much for your question about the reality of ghosts. Some people, of course, would brush it off as a silly thing to ask, but it actually leads us… Read More ›
Lady of Lourdes: Revelation of God’s goodness
‘I believe Lourdes to be a genuine revelation of the goodness of God to a world which every day stands more and more in need of it.” This was the conclusion of John Oxenham, a non-Catholic in his book The Wonder of Lourdes. Lourdes in 1857 was a town of 5,000 inhabitants, mostly agricultural or… Read More ›
Ghosts of Christians past: The church’s long history of spooks and hauntings
Whether or not you believe in ghosts, one thing is for sure: Reports of visitors from beyond the grave are far from a recent phenomenon. In fact, ghosts go back. Way back. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, viewed by many as the oldest surviving piece of literature in the world, parts of which date to two… Read More ›
Discernment must Extend to All Forms of Mysticism
We hear frequently about various apparitions and, though they may be helpful reminders of God’s concern for us, they cannot replace the daily struggle of conversion. Demetrious Dumm Cherish Christ Above All =================================== In 1 Thessalonians 5 we’re told, when it comes to mysticism (“prophetic utterance”), never to despise such, but we’re also told to… Read More ›
Our Lady of Quito and a warning for our age
I was leafing through the current issue of The Flock, the newsletter of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, (available here) when I came across an article by the redoubtable Mrs Daphne McLeod about Our Lady of Quito—otherwise known as Our Lady of Good Success—who appeared several times to Mother Mariana, Abbess of the convent of the Immaculate Conception… Read More ›
Vatican publishes guidelines on apparitions, private revelations
Vatican City, May 24, 2012 / 12:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has published guidelines to help the Church worldwide handle claims of private revelations and apparitions. In his preface to the new publication, prefect Cardinal William J. Levada voiced his “firm hope” that the norms will aid… Read More ›