Maria Divine Mercy

The 700+ false messages clearly fulfill the biblical prophecies about false prophets that there would be many. Learn your catechism. There is no sin in not believing private revelations, even those church approved. Private revelations are never a part of the Deposit of Faith.

Ron Conte can bash whatever apparition he wants based on his expertise as a Catholic Theologian. But he is clearly espousing his own opinion: "In my humble and pious opinion as a faithful Roman Catholic theologian..." before reviewing apparitions and private revelations in his Catholic Planet site. If you are a professional, you can state your opinion, and get quoted or not. No one is forcing their opinion on you. Even with doctors, you are free to accept or reject their professional opinions. Same with Conte.

 

Mockers of and disbelievers in God's prophets fulfill Scripture. Thank you for the lesson on private revelation.

Ron is no professional or expert, he claims he is while he disobeys a basic, God does not give exact dates. He isn't brave enough to defend his attack on the messengers, his closed site. The big question since you object to a couple of his bashings, which ones are correct?

Say a prayer for me Alex, I believe God speaks to us every day through His prophets and if it ends up those
"700" are false then Ron denying so many of them, he will be right.

I previously stated, you can read them for yourself, the yet to be approved line up with the approved.

Mr. Conte has my rosary.

 

Ron Conte is not disobeying anything. Eschatology is so much like archeology. You can give dates based on your secular knowledge. One deals with the future end times, the other deals with the past. Eschatology is independent of religion. God does not give dates, but humans with their human knowledge doing eschatological guesswork are free to give dates.

And he can support or bash so-called seers based simply on common information available to everyone- the bible, the canon laws, catechism, works of the saints and popes, the magisterium. They are his opinions as a Catholic Theologian. Anyone can agree or disagree with him. He never claims any official authority when saying this or that seer is false, nor does he have any claim to the truth that many seers, both false and genuine, claim to have.

And no, God does not speak to us everyday through His prophets. The prophets who did are in the public revelations of the Holy Bible and no private revelation can or will add to it. With so many prophets unapproved today dishing out their messages, there's a higher chance that it is the devil talking through so-called modern prophets. God speaks to us through hearing mass, statements of bishops and the pope, praying the rosary, asking for His intervention in our private moments, taking the sacraments, or thru dictates of our conscience that has been properly shaped by an understanding of catechismal instruction. Unless church-approved as constat de supernaturalitate, a private revelation or apparition has no standing in the Catholic belief system.

 

It is best to stay clear of modern prophets claiming to have messages from the Virgin Mother or the Triune God. There is no sin in disbelieving any such private revelations, even church approved ones. Such revelations are never part of the Deposit of Faith. But there is the risk of sinning when one embraces a false seer and its heresies, as in the case of MDM. Our Lord in Mt. 7.22-23 is quite clear: "Many will say to me on that day: "Lord , Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out devils in your name, and work many miracles in your name? And then I will tell them: I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of iniquity."

 

1 Thessalonians 5:20
19Do not quench the Spirit; 20do not despise prophetic utterances. 21But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;…

 

The Church herself of course does not turn her back on Modern Marian Apparitions, Akita in Japan, Betania in Venezuala ans Kibeho in Rwanda being just a few recognised relatively recently by the Church.

The then Cardinal Ratzinger as head of the Holy Office commented that reports of Marian Apparitions were flooding into Rome from all over the world and as such he described these as , 'Marian Times'.

1Cor 14:24-25 ..If an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

 

Do not throw out the baby with the bath
water

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is quite clear on how to treat private revelations:

67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

 

I repeat. there is no obligation on the part of Catholics to believe in private revelations because they do not belong to the deposit of faith. There is no sin involved even in disbelieving a private revelation or apparition even if declared constat de supernaturalitate. If they help you to reach the fullness of your faith, then that is just fine.

 

Our Blessed mother comes for a reason. I think it is wise to listen to the voice of our Mother who comes to teach us to live in these times. I think it is naive to ignore her and dismiss her role as the mediatrix of all grace. Jesus wants his mother to be better known and loved which is the main thrust of true private revelation in the past 200 years.

 

I often think of the Holy Spirit as being like a Jack in the Box who'll pop out when you least expect it, a wild dog that will bite you on the ass when you're not looking, a stray wind that will blow over the house of cards , the smack in the face that will hit you when you open the wardrobe door.

Of course through the history of Scripture, in the lives of the Saints and mystics we see another approach to the Holy Spirit. That he is a pussy cat we can hold on our laps and pet. That he is small enough to put in a rule book and kept safe. That we can weigh and judge him in a test tube.

N one likes getting bit hard on the ass, no one likes lions running about, everyone likes the gentle breeze of a fan rather than the wild winds of a storm. So our ancestors stoned the Prophets and killed our saints. Not on the whole mostly from outside the Church but from inside the Church.

But getting bit on the ass is the only way to grow. Otherwise we sit on our asses all day and they just grow fat.

A biggy way the Holy Spirit has to bite our fat complacent asses is to send his Prophets out to do the buisness. If we close the doors to keep these wild dogs out, our asses won't get bitten but then again our hearts won't grow.

 

Only when the private revelation has been church-approved, then you can consider the messages.

 

So the 70,000 witnesses of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima shouldn't have been there (private, unapproved prophecy of the miracle). It's a wonder that Our Lady permitted them to see anything.
And those crowds of people seeking healing at the spring in Lourdes before approval. I wonder why Our Lady healed so many disobedient people. Maybe Our Lady was wrong, or maybe you are.

 

So how sure are you that a prophet has the Holy Spirit behind him and not the evil spirit? The catechism is quite clear on how Catholics are to treat private revelations. The Church does not close its doors on private revelations. If it did, it wouldn't even bother investigating them.

 

If I am wrong, then the Catechism of the Catholic Church is wrong???
67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

 

Scripture tells us , not to close our hearts to prophesy but rather to discern the Spirits and close the door only on that which is bad. To discern rather than await a press announcement from the Vatican.
Discernment like love requires risk, but without taking the risk that God will guide us there is no growth. We cannot slam the door on the Holy Spirit.

1 John 4:1-21

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. ...

 

Sorry time for bed. Please Alex don't just think about what I wrote here, pray about it. Maybe a dog is trying to bite your ass.

God bless,

Padraig

 

What is there to take risk for? Are you not content with what scripture, the CCC and the magisterium have to say to grow your faith? In entertaining private revelations as part of your faith, which is not required, you risk allowing the Devil to get in. Good if you have the discernment, but not everyone has. So why risk your immortal soul? Also, the Vatican rarely bothers with private revelations and leaves the discernment to the local bishops.

 

You have my prayers. And no, I have my faith in the Church magisterium, the CCC, the sacred traditions and the bible. No dog is necessary to bite my ass. I read messages from so-called prophets and visionaries, the same way I read novels. But unless they have been declared constat de supernaturalite, they have no place in my faith.

 

I am having deja vu. The arguments I have been going through in this thread is a repeat of the arguments I had with adherents of MDM at the Jesus to Mankind facebook page before I was blocked. Interesting.