I renounce, from this moment and for all eternity, the devil and all his works and pomps. I abhor all his suggestions and temptations. Suffer not, O Lord, this mortal enemy of my soul to have any power over me, either now or at my last hour. Let Thy holy Angels ever keep me and defend me against all the powers of darkness.
Just ten miles away from Butte, Montana, and more than 3,500 feet above the surrounding valley, stands the image of Our Lady of the Rockies: a snowy-white statue that stands almost 90-ft (30 meters) tall. The image, which at first was supposed to be only five feet tall, ended up becoming the icon of an entire town. The fourth largest statue in the United States, its story revolves around the hard work of the locals and a series of unexpected circumstances which allowed the project to fall into place seamlessly. The story begins with Bob O’Bill, who envisioned the project after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Matthew Sewell of Churchpop reports that the retired electrician prayed for his wife to be healed, promising to erect a nearly life-sized statue of the Blessed Mother in return, right in his backyard. When his wife made a sudden, miraculous recovery, O’Bill was so thrilled that his plans expanded from a five-foot statue to a towering 90-foot monument to the Virgin Mary. According to the website, “Our Lady of the Rockies” took six years to complete, requiring 400 lbs. of concrete and a “sky crane” donated by the National Guard. The work was all sourced by residents of Butte, with some donating their summer evenings to clear and pave the mountain road leading to it, while others worked tirelessly to raise the needed funds. If the city lacked resources, it overflowed in solidarity. Although the town was in the grips of a crippling economic recession, the people of Butte banded togethe. Even those who had lost their jobs donated their time and experience to work on the road leading up to the site of the statue, and while money was tight, they received just about everything they needed (from the land to equipment) from generous donations and small fundraisers. Sewell goes on to note a few of the unexpected occurrences that aided them in their mission. In once instance, funds were running low and the crew worried they would run out of fuel, when they found all the gas tanks had been filled. In another, the helicopter used to lift the pieces of the statue into place suddenly lost control and seemed about to falter, a moment recorded in a timeline of the construction, provided by MT Standard: Dec. 19, 1985 — Wind, or lack thereof, proved to be a problem for the National Guard crew as Our Lady’s hands, with a weight of 19,000 pounds, caused the helicopter to spin uncontrollably as it tried to set it down atop the other four sections already in place. The sky crane turned back and laid the section down near the Mormon Church at 3000 Four Mile Road. Although one of the statue’s fingers was slightly damaged, the crew was successful in its second attempt at 4 p.m. In a 1985 video of the moment “Our Lady of the Rockies” was completed, featured below, Leroy Lee, who made a series of perfect welds to connect the statues pieces, commented amidst a crowd gazing at their own handiwork through teary, awe-filled eyes: Read more…
he Maltese Archipelago is renowned for its picturesque coastline, exceptional diving spots, and vibrant festas. It also holds a deep and ancient devotion to the Virgin Mary, manifested in several Marian shrines popularly and officially recognized as being miraculous. The rich history and significance of these shrines, and the numerous Marian miraculous events and icons found in this small island nation ceaselessly draw pilgrims and devotees from around the world. The role of Mary in Christianity Myriam of Nazareth holds a central place in Christian theology as the Theotokos – literally, the God-bearer. Since the very early days of Christianity, Mary has been venerated for her virtue, obedience, and intercessory power. Indeed, the first Marian apparition (a bilocation, in fact) is traditionally believed to have occurred to the Apostle James in Spain around the year 40, while Mary was still alive. Tradition claims that when the apostle St. James the Greater was facing immense challenges while preaching in the Iberian Peninsula, he went to look for some solace in prayer by the banks of the Ebro river. During his supplications, the Virgin Mary appeared to him, standing on a jasper pillar carried by angels. This extraordinary event marked the first recorded apparition of the Blessed Mother – an event commemorated as Our Lady of the Pillar. Tradition claims that St. James the Greater prayed by the banks of the Ebro river. During his supplications, the Virgin Mary appeared to him, standing on a jasper pillar carried by angels.-archizaragoza Since then, different traditions understand Mary’s intercessory role as a fundamental principle of Christian life. Numerous apparitions and miraculous events reported worldwide, including those of Fatima, Lourdes, and Guadalupe (just to name three of the most famous ones) have reinforced, spread, and confirmed this belief. Malta, with its deep Marian devotion, has its own share of miraculous sites that underscore the island’s rich Christian heritage. Malta’s Marian devotion Malta’s Christian community dates back to the apostolic age, with the providential arrival of St. Paul in AD 60. This early establishment has resulted in an enduring and fervent Marian devotion among the Maltese people. Malta boasts a remarkable number of churches and chapels, many of which are dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Among these, several stand out for the miraculous graces attributed to them. One of these significant Marian sites is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa. Local tradition holds that St. Luke the Evangelist himself, Paul’s companion during his trips, painted an image of the Virgin Mary during their stay on the island. However, further research has shown that the image dates back to the 13th century, possibly the 12th century. The original church of the Malta National Marian Shrine of the Hodegetria is a cave church. This site has been a focal point for Marian devotion for centuries, with numerous pilgrims visiting to seek graces and offer thanks for miracles received.Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Malta. Photo by Ian Noel Pace © The icon, reflecting Byzantine traditions, depicts Mary in all her majesty, holding the Child Jesus and symbolizing her role as the Theotokos. Restoration work has revealed fascinating details about the icon, including inscriptions and symbols emphasizing Mary’s eternal virginity and royal status. This site has thus been a focal point for Marian devotion for centuries, with numerous pilgrims visiting to seek graces and offer thanks for miracles received. The sanctuary’s walls are covered with ex-votos, which range from handwritten notes to baby clothes (and even a motorcycle helmet!), all testifying to the Virgin’s intercessory power. The underground grotto at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa is associated with multiple miraculous occurrences. The chapel in the grotto was hewn out of the hard limestone, thanks to a Sicilian devotee of Our Lady who was a regular visitor to the Sanctuary. He is also responsible for commissioning a white statue of Our Lady holding the Holy Infant on her left arm, at the far end of the chapel. Over the years, thousands of pilgrims have visited the underground chapel, and prayed before the Madonna, attributing to her many miraculous interventions and healings, both spiritual and temporal. The Archbishop of Malta H.E. Mgr. Charles J. Scicluna celebrating Holy Mass at the Mellieha National Shrine of the Hodegetria | Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Malta. Photo by Ian Noel Pace © Events recorded in 1887, 1888, and 1948 are particularly famous. Various groups of people on different dates and time were gathered to pray and beheld the white statue of Our Lady repeatedly moving her right hand, making the Sign of the Cross. In the Sanctuary Archives there are 13 separate documents that record these happenings. All give a very detailed description of each event, and are signed under oath by all those present. The last time such a happening took place was reported after World War II, in 1948. A group of 10 people declared under oath that they witnessed the White Lady of the Chapel moving her right hand. Various groups of people on different dates and time were gathered to pray and beheld the white statue of Our Lady repeatedly moving her right hand, making the Sign of the Cross.Marinella Bandini | ALETEIA The icon of Our Lady of Mellieħa, and the white statue of Our Lady in the underground grotto are not alone. The Maltese archipelago is home to several miraculous images of the Virgin Mary. These images, revered by thousands of believers, are central to the island’s religious and cultural life. Take, for example, the miraculous image kept at the Ta’ Pinu Basilica on the island of Gozo. The beginnings of the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary of Ta’ Pinu are rather ancient. It is known that the original local church was a small chapel, known as Ta’ Ġentile, dedicated to the Assumption. The name Ta’ Ġentile was eventually dropped and the church became known as Ta’ Pinu (“Of Pinu,” Philip), named after Pinu Gauci, who had become the procurator of the church in 1598. Eventually, the modest unknown chapel in the countryside became a revered Marian shrine, visited by droves of Gozitans, Maltese and people beyond the sea. But why? In 1883, Karmni Grima, from Għarb,…
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recently addressed ongoing questions about alleged apparitions and messages from 1945-1959 in Amsterdam, known as the devotion to the “Lady of All Nations.” A decision made on March 27, 1974, by the Sacred Congregation (now the Dicastery), was revealed. At that time, the cardinals unanimously judged the apparitions to be inauthentic, a conclusion approved by Pope Paul VI. This announcement was significant, as many believers had followed these apparitions, which promoted a controversial title for the Virgin Mary: “Co-Redemptrix and Mediator of All Graces.” The Vatican rejected this title, as it seemed to take away from Christ’s unique role as Redeemer. Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI also did not support this title, and Pope Francis shares the same view. In the apparitions, Mary was depicted standing on a globe with a Cross behind her, warning of various punishments for humanity’s sins. However, the Church remains cautious about these claims. The visionary was a woman in Amsterdam named Ida Peerdeman, and she saw storms, waves, missiles, quakes, palace intrigue at the Vatican, and economic disasters. Such a profusion of doom made us wonder decades ago if Satan had a hand in the disarray of Ida’s visions, yet also to wonder if their incomprehensibility was any greater than the incomprehensibility of the seven seals of Revelation. “Let all the children of men, of all the countries of the world, be one!” said Our Lady of All Nations. “Seek and ask only for the true Holy Spirit. I have come to tell this depraved world, all of you, unite. I will lead all the dispersed flock back to one field.” in visions that were often clipped and disjointed—saw a “strange war” and supposedly heard the Virgin warn of “disaster upon disaster” caused by phenomena of nature. In Russia she saw a “hellish light” that seemed to explode from the ground upwards. Was this a reference to what would occur in 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor? Or the 1953 Soviet test of an atomic bomb? She saw a hand of heavenly protection over the Ukraine, and things would go well for a while, said Mary, but then she pointed to a globe that looked like it was ready to burst. Indicating the sky eastward, where there were many stars, she supposedly said, “That is where it will come from.” A meteor? A comet? An asteroid? Ida claimed she was later told natural disasters would overtake the world “from north to south, south to west, and from west to east.” She saw a rent that ran diagonally across the earth. Great misery and distress, she was “told,” were “imminent” (again, this in the 1940s and 1950s). During an apparition on December 7, 1947, she saw thick clouds over Europe and titanic waves. “They will first have to perish by the flood,” the seer was “told,” which she further informed would constitute the “desolation.” That seemed to fly in the face of Genesis, in which God tells Noah that “never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (9:11). But for the sake of fleshing it out, let’s go on: There were also premonitions of political upheaval, currency crises, boycotts, and economic warfare. The “apparition” allegedly said Russia would try to deceive the other countries and Ida said she was shown a vision of “blue and white stripes intermingling and then stars. After that I see the sickle and hammer, but the hammer breaks away from the sickle and then all things whirl together. Then I see the crescent and the sun. These too comingle with the rest. And finally a sort of buck or mountain goat comes jumping through the lot. While all this is whirling around together, a circle appears on the left and through this the globe is turning. Now a big pointer appears and I hear the words, ‘The hand of the sun dial is going in the opposite direction!’” After that, in this apparition of December 26, 1947, Ida saw “something like a cigar or a torpedo flying past me so rapidly that I can scarcely discern it. Its color seems to be of aluminum. All of a sudden I see it burst open.” She added: “Then I see faces before me, swollen faces covered with dreadful ulcers, as if it were a kind of leprosy.” This was all in the wake, one must recall, of something that had just been witnessed in the world: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Was the breaking apart of the hammer and sickle a reference to the eventual break up of the Soviet Union? Was the goat Satan trotting through the former republics–Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia–and stirring up ethnic animosities? Was a nuclear warhead represented by the “aluminum torpedo”? How much was simply in Ida’s subconscious? It hardly stopped there. Ida saw Jerusalem surrounded by battles and a “sword hanging over Europe and the East.” She saw multitudes in the East–presumably Asia–and heard “Our Lady” say, “These will rouse… A great disaster will occur; that will startle them. The Baltic is full You do not see this.” She saw the Chinese crossing a line and an insurrection in Manchuria. Whew! There were also warnings concerning the southern flanks of Communist Bulgaria and what was then Yugoslavia. “There is a war,” Ida said during the vision. “They are fighting again.” The civil war in Yugoslavia? “The Lady says, ‘Child, there will be a fierce struggle. We have not seen the end of this struggle yet. Economic disasters will come. The empire of England is tottering.’” While there was the promise that “Japan will be converted,” Ida saw a heavy cloud over India. There were also clouds over St. Peter’s Square. She saw the Pope and above him the word ‘VIOLENCE.” The shooting of John Paul II? There would be warfare within the Vatican, Mary warned, and in what can only be described as an especially symbolic vision, Ida heard Our Lady say, “Look,” and saw a wolf standing before the…
Monsignor Joseph Buh passed away more than a century ago in 1922. Yet his memory has not faded among the faithful in northern Minnesota. To this day many in the area consider him a saint, and he is ubiquitously acknowledged as the “patriarch of Duluth.” Despite this Buh — pronounced “Boo” — has never been officially declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Now, that might finally be about to change. Last October Duluth Bishop Daniel Felton met with the priests of the diocese to discuss officially launching Buh’s cause for canonization to sainthood. He appointed Father Richard Kunst, pastor of St. James Parish in Duluth, to lead the initiative and asked the diocese’s priests to spend the next year conversing with their flocks to gauge the level of devotion among the faithful. According to Kunst, enthusiasm for Buh’s canonization at his parish has been high, and based on conversations with other priests, it seems likely the diocese will move forward with the canonization process. “We’re just waiting to see … Are people praying to him for intercession? If the people are doing that, that’s a generally pretty good indicator whether a cause of canonization should proceed or not,” Kunst told CNA. If declared a saint, Buh would join a small list of American saints, making him a significant figure not only to the people of Duluth but also to Catholics across the country. Who is Monsignor Buh? Born in Slovenia in 1833, Buh was a priest and missionary to Minnesota in its earliest days as a state. Ordained a priest in 1858 — the same year Minnesota was made a state — Buh was integral to the development of the Church in the region. While ministering to poor immigrants and to the Native American populations, he helped to establish over 50 parishes within the Diocese of Duluth. Buh was greatly loved because of his devotion to serving the Church and the spiritual and material needs of the faithful. According to an autobiography on Buh written by some local Benedictine sisters, the second bishop of Duluth, Timothy McNicholas, told Buh in a letter that “this diocese with its priests and sisters and people can never express to you an adequate appreciation of all that you have done for religion. The whole Church of America is indebted to you.” During Buh’s funeral Mass, McNicholas said that Buh’s “love for souls was beyond our power to measure.” “The casual observer would not even direct his attention to the extraordinary zeal of this gentle apostle,” the bishop said. “It is only when one realizes the great harvest that he has reaped that one is forced to take into account the many and deep furrows that he plowed in the harvest fields of Christ.” “His zeal for souls was ever a burning fire,” McNicholas continued. “No journey on foot, no distance by horseback was too long or too trying provided a soul was to be helped at the journey’s end. He would set out with a trust in God realizing that God’s love of souls was infinite and that he was but the dispenser of the riches of God’s sacramental graces. He was ever willing to make every sacrifice in the performance of duty for the salvation of souls.” What’s the latest? On July 25 Buh’s remains were exhumed from his burial site at Calvary Cemetery so that they could be examined and then reinterred at Duluth’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary. In an interview with CNA, Kunst explained that “as the patriarch of the diocese we thought it was fitting to have him in the cathedral.” He also said the cathedral would be a more suitable place for the many visitors to Buh’s gravesite who have left a “continuous” supply of fresh flowers. Kunst said he expects the diocese to decide in October whether to recommend Buh’s cause for canonization be opened. Read more…
1. The Miracle of the Sun at FatimaIn 1917, over 100,000 people witnessed the sun dancing in the sky of Fatima, Portugal. “The sun started spinning like a pinwheel, casting multi-colored lights all over the place.” Skeptics and faithful were left stunned, says Scheel. It is one of the most documented and extraordinary miracles in Church history. 2. Our Lady of LourdesLourdes, France, has been a site of healing since St. Bernadette’s vision of Our Lady in 1858. Scheel says “there’s been over 7,000 scientifically attested miraculous recoveries from her intercession.” These cures are each scrutinized and confirmed by the Lourdes Medical Bureau. 3. The Miracle of LancianoIn the 8th century, a doubting priest witnessed the Eucharist turn into actual flesh and blood. Scheel explains scientific investigation of “the flesh was found to be a human striated muscular tissue of the myocardium, the heart wall.” Even though it’s 1250 years old, this relic shows no signs of decay today! 4. The Blood of St. JanuariusA vial of St. Januarius’ dried blood in Naples, Italy, liquefies every year on his feast days. “This happens on TV, like you can see it,” says Scheel. This public miracle has been observed and recorded for centuries without any explanation. 5. The Universal Blood Type of Eucharistic MiraclesScheel explains that “all major blood miracles or Eucharistic miracles of our Lord have the same blood type, AB.” This incredibly rare type, the universal recipient, is a remarkable consistency with profound symbolism of Christ’s blood being able to save all.
Following a months-long investigation, the bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, has concluded that the body of a Midwestern nun buried in 2019 appears to be “incorrupt.” “Within the limits of what has been observed during this time, the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster does not appear to have experienced the decomposition that would have normally been expected under such previous burial conditions,” Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr., said in a statement August 22. The community that Sister Wilhemina founded, the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, said in a statement provided to Aleteia: “We are very grateful for Bishop Johnston’s statement regarding our foundress, Sister Wilhelmina, and are thankful that His Excellency has shown such solicitude in providing a scientific investigation for the claim of the miracle of her incorruptibility. Many pilgrims continue to visit her, and we receive ongoing reports of favors and miracles, which are being attentively gathered. We rejoice that Sister Wilhelmina continues to be a bright light of faith for all Christians, confirming us all in the truth of the Resurrection and the life of the world to come.” Bishop Johnston pointed out that the Catholic Church does not have an official protocol for determining if a deceased person’s body is incorrupt, and incorruptibility is not considered to be an indication of sainthood. He said that there is no current plan to initiate a cause for sainthood for Sister Wilhelmina. She died in 2019 Sister Wilhelmina died on May 29, 2019, at the age of 95. She was buried within days in a grave on the property of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in Gower, Missouri. She was not embalmed, and her body was placed in a simple pine box, without a vault protecting her body from the elements. Following the exhumation of her body on April 28, 2023, for the purpose of moving it into the Abbey church for interment, it was discovered that her body did not exhibit signs of decomposition that would normally have occurred after nearly four years of burial under the conditions that existed in her grave. “On May 24, 2023, as the Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I commissioned a team of local medical experts to conduct an examination and evaluation of Sister Wilhelmina’s body,” Johnston stated. “The team was led by a Doctor of Pathology, who was assisted by two other medical doctors and a former Missouri county coroner. In addition to examining and evaluating the mortal remains of the deceased, the team inspected the casket, and interviews were conducted with eyewitnesses to events immediately preceding the burial in 2019 and the exhumation in April 2023.” In the final report, the investigative team noted that the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’s body during the examination was notable for a lack of any detected features of decomposition, the bishop said. The lining of her casket had completely deteriorated, but her habit and clothing showed no features of breakdown. “The report also noted that the related history of Sister Wilhelmina’s death and interment does not describe conditions that would be expected to protect against decomposition,” he said He said that the investigative team was only able to conduct a limited examination but still concluded that “the condition of her body is highly atypical for the interval of nearly four years since her death, especially given the environmental conditions and the findings in associated objects.” Along with the evaluation by medical experts, additional tests were soon conducted on the soil in which the burial took place. After analysis, no unusual elements were found which would have impacted the condition of Sister Wilhelmina’s body when it was exhumed. Founded community Sister Wilhelmina in 1995 founded the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a contemplative community consecrated to prayer and sacrifice for priests through the Rule of St. Benedict. They celebrate the liturgy as it was before the Second Vatican Council-era reforms. The 50 or so nuns in the community today devote about five hours a day to the chanting of the Mass and Divine Office and private prayer. The sisters’ remaining time is spent doing manual labor, such as sewing vestments for priests, gardening, cooking, and farm work. Read more…
According to The Catholic Weekly, Archbishop Anthony Fisher “officially signed off on the final decree for the acts of the cause at Cathedral House, alongside members of the Eileen O’Connor tribunal and the historical commission, who hope the Servant of God will become Australia’s second saint.” So far, Australia has one canonized saint, Mary MacKillop. The Vatican will now review the life of Eileen O’Connor to determine if she lived a life of “heroic virtue.” If the Vatican affirms that she did live heroically, she would be declared “venerable.” Who was Eileen O’Connor? Eileen Rosaline O’Connor was born in Richmond, Australia, on February 19, 1892. By the time she was 10, her family would move near Sydney and she would be as active as she could in her school and local parish. Eileen suffered from spinal tuberculosis, meaning she had severe curvature of the spine and only grew to 3ft 9in, but for much of her life, she could not stand. Despite being in constant pain, O’Connor was known for her joyful disposition. Later on she related a possible vision of the Virgin Mary who encouraged her to offer her pain for the salvation of others. Read more…
Download as PDF below Powered By EmbedPress Archdiocese of Feira de Santana Pastoral Letter to the Catholic faithful about the presumed apparitions of Our Lady in Anhanguera Bahia/BR. Ladies and Gentlemen, Grace and peace in Christ Our Risen Lord!“Devotion to the Virgin Mary originates, reflects and finds complete expression in the cult of Christ and, through him, in the Holy Spirit, leads to the Father, thus becoming a qualifying element of the genuine piety of the Church” (Marialis Cultus, Introduction). Dear believers, faced with the phenomena of Marian apparitions, we must take a stance that overcomes the extremism of an exaggerated appreciation of the messages of the “seers” as if it were the best and the only way to update divine Revelation, losing focus on the centrality of Christ and, on the one hand, to avoid another extreme, which is tounderstand these phenomena only from the perspective of human sciences.“Visions” or “appearances” are considered by the Catholic Church to be “private revelations” or “particulars” that are subordinate to the biblical Revelation of God, in Jesus Christ. Revelation also known as Christian, historical and public, and which reached its fullness in the person of the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ, which is condensed in theSacred Scriptures and the Sacred Apostolic Tradition. This public Revelation has already ended with the death of the last apostle of Christ, Saint John the Evangelist. But, from the point of view of interpretation and its transmission, the understanding of the historical Revelation of God to Humanity, which was fully given by Jesus Christ, is progressingTherefore, it is the Holy Spirit who leads us to the full truth until the end of time. After a long process of discernment, the Church can recognize and approve the content of the messages, the result of the phenomenon of visions/appearances, according to the mystical experience of some visionaries. And, in this sense, what does this recognition and approval consist of? It consists of: a) not stating that Mary of Nazareth,the mother of Jesus, appeared in a specific place, nor forcing the faithful to follow the messages of the “seers”, as this is a “private revelation”; b) proclaim that the phenomenon is “worthy of human faith”; c) the Blessed Virgin Mary can be venerated with a certain title. For example: Queen of Peace; d) authorize the construction of a sanctuary in honor of Our Ladyon the site) allow this devotion to spread throughout the world. (CF. Doctrinal Subsidies, n.01, Apparitions and Private Revelations of the CNBB). In recent years, the number of people in different parts of the world has increased, claiming to be “seers” of Our Lady, as well as other Saints of the Catholic tradition. As a result, the phenomenon of “apparitions” and “private revelations”, mainly related to the Blessed Virgin Mary, have multiplied significantly in Brazil and elsewhere. In this way, manypeople in a sincere search for God have followed these “seers” as if they were the only reference of Catholic faith and, even, the only authorities, with regard to Catholic doctrine and as if they were a qualified witness of the Church’s own faith tradition. In this sense, many people follow them without the necessary discernment, such as theological-doctrinaltraining, accurate catechesis, critical sense and prudent ecclesiastical attention. It is also, in this context, that the phenomenon of the well-known “appearances” of Our Lady, in the Municipality of Anguera, in the Archdiocese of Feira de Santana/BA, is growing. The archdiocese has cautiously monitored the phenomenon of “apparitions” in Anguera and, above all, through a theological-pastoral Commission constituted by the Metropolitan Archbishop, with the purpose of observing and discerning about this phenomenon, from an theological-doctrinal point of view, ecclesiological-pastoral andpsychic-spiritual. That is, analyzing it in the light of the entire Tradition of the Church, in its biblical, patristic, liturgical and theological expression. Tradition that is transmitted, taught and updated, uninterruptedly, by its living Magisterium.The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the norms for proceeding in the discernment of presumed apparitions and revelations of 1978, number 3, indicates criteria for discernment on the phenomena of particular apparitions and revelations, which are under the competent ecclesiastical authority of the local Bishop . Dear Catholic faithful, for these reasons, we address you with the desire to guide you, so that you are not, as Paul teaches, Apostle of Christ, “dragged by any wind of doctrine, deceived by these presumed seers and by them, with cunning, led into error. You are no longer children, allowing yourselves to be carried from here to there like toys, left to the wind and the waves (cf. Eph 4:14). It is with this pastoral sensitivity and ecclesialresponsibility that we would like to offer you elements and criteria for discernment for such phenomena.According to the discernment of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, regarding these phenomena, an essential element, for their possible acceptance, in view of the spiritual pastoral good of the people of God, is that they are in communion with the entire Tradition of the Catholic faith (cf. Rules for proceeding in the discernment of presumed apparitions and revelations – Criteria for judging, at least with a certain probability, thecharacter of presumed appearances or revelations, Part I). How to welcome and understand these messages? The most important thing is to follow Jesus Christ, our only Lord and Savior, listen to his calls, discern his will through faith, hope, charity and solidarity. God speaks to us in many ways: He speaks to us in the prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture, in biblical circles, in the appeal of a social orecological reality, in spiritual retreats, in personal prayer, in liturgical celebrations, in ecclesiastical meetings, in the practice of charity , human solidarity and, also, through extraordinary manifestations, such as visions, apparitions, interior and exterior locutions, intuitions and dreams.From a spiritual point of view, they all have value, as they are in tune with the divine Project for us and the world. All must be discerned and monitored by the Church; They are opportunities…
By Matt McDonald National Catholic Register, Jul 2 Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance is one of the most overtly religious major politicians in America. Vance has written extensively about his life in faith, both in a mega-selling memoir and in a long essay that describes how a drug-using teenager with anger problems, family problems, school problems, and doubts about God became an accomplished, successful family man excited about being a Catholic. But nowadays, he’s also the most questioned of religious politicians, as pro-lifers ask if he’s still one of them. Where did he come from in faith? And how did he get where he is now? Vance, who comes from a long line of culturally Protestant Scots-Irish Americans from Appalachia, was baptized Catholic in August 2019. Below are 13 items about his meandering journey to Rome and the aftermath, drawn largely from his 3-million-copy-selling 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” and a 6,777-word essay he wrote about his conversion for the Easter 2020 issue of The Lamp, a Catholic magazine. 1. J.D. Vance rarely went to church as a child. Vance was largely raised by his grandmother, whom he called “Mamaw,” who believed in Jesus and liked Billy Graham but didn’t like what she called “organized religion.” Vance wasn’t baptized as a child. The family members he spent the most time around generally didn’t go to church unless they were visiting their Appalachian ancestral home in Jackson, Kentucky. Even so, he says in his memoir, his grandmother had “a deeply personal (albeit quirky) faith.” 2. Vance had a crisis of faith as a child. When he was about 10, Vance had a moment of doubt. “Mamaw, does God love us?” he asked his grandmother after a major disappointment, mindful of the fractured family life he and his half-sister were growing up in. The question caused his grandmother to cry. Vance doesn’t say how his grandmother answered the question. But he describes another instance when Mamaw accidentally went the wrong way on a three-lane interstate before making a U-turn, causing him to scream in terror. “Don’t you know Jesus rides in the car with me?” his grandmother replied. 3. As a teenager, Vance was a Pentecostal. As an adolescent, Vance reconnected with his biological father, whom he hadn’t seen much of after his parents split up. For a while, he stayed with his dad every other weekend. “With little religious training, I was desperate for some exposure to a real church,” Vance wrote in “Hillbilly Elegy.” His father had given up drinking and became a serious Pentecostal, and he would take Vance to a large Pentecostal church in southeastern Ohio with his new wife and their children. Vance drank it in. Among other things, he rejected evolution and embraced millennialism, including a belief that the world would end in 2007. “I’m not sure if I liked the structure or if I just wanted to share in something that was important to him — both, I suppose — but I became a devoted convert,” Vance writes in his memoir. 4. Vance didn’t like the Catholic Church when he was a kid. Even before he started going to a Pentecostal church, Vance thought he knew certain things about Catholicism — which he didn’t like. “I knew that Catholics worshipped Mary. I knew they rejected the legitimacy of Scripture. And I knew that the Antichrist — or at least, the Antichrist’s spiritual adviser — would be a Catholic,” Vance wrote in his April 2020 article in The Lamp of his once-misguided impressions. 5. Vance’s image of Jesus when he was growing up differed from his image of the Catholic Church’s image of Jesus. One of Vance’s aunts married a Catholic, whom Vance liked and respected. “I admired my uncle Dan above all other men …,” Vance wrote in “Hillbilly Elegy.” His grandmother liked Dan, too. But Catholicism seemed too formal and impersonal to her. “The Catholic Jesus was a majestic deity, and we had little interest in majestic deities because we weren’t a majestic people,” Vance wrote in his conversion essay. 6. “Hillbilly Elegy” isn’t a conversion story. Vance mentions the word “Catholic” or “Catholics” only five times in the 264-page book, and he never engages with Catholic teachings in it. He wrote it between 2013 and 2015, several years before he became a Catholic, and gives no hint that he had ever considered Catholicism. He also doesn’t dwell in his book on his atheism as a young man, a period he describes at length in his conversion essay in The Lamp. 7. An Anglican philosopher provided the first crack in Vance’s atheism. While he was still a nonbeliever, Vance encountered the work of English philosopher Basil Mitchell (1917–2011) in an undergraduate philosophy course at Ohio State. As Vance describes it, Mitchell, who was a member of the Church of England, presented difficult experiences in life as a trial of faith that requires trust in God without fully understanding what God has in mind. Vance was surprised by Mitchell’s presentation because as a young Christian he had always thought that “[d]oubt was unacceptable” and “that the proper response to a trial of faith was to suppress it and pretend it never happened.” “But here was Mitchell,” Vance wrote in his conversion essay, “conceding that the brokenness of the world and our individual tribulations did, in fact, count against the existence of God. But not definitively.” Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and former president Donald Trump bow in prayer during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. Credit: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images 8. A homosexual billionaire influenced Vance’s outlook on life. While a student at Yale Law School, Vance went to a talk by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who was Facebook’s first outside investor and co-founded PayPal. According to Vance, Thiel argued that elite professionals got themselves trapped into climbing rungs on the socioeconomic ladder at the expense of happiness. Vance realized that he was “obsessed with achievement” for itself…