1. Why are there so many apparitions today?
In 1882, Christ revealed to the stigmatist, Marie Julie Jahenny of La Fraudais, France that:
"During the time of the approach of the punishments announced at La Salette, an unlimited amount of FALSE REVELATIONS will arise from hell like a swarm of flies; a last attempt of Satan to choke and destroy the belief in the TRUE REVELATIONS by false ones."
2. What does Satan gain by making people holier? Don't the fruits of an apparition prove it's from God?
A perpetual argument employed by souls snarred by false apparitions, mystics or cults, goes something like, "It cannot be false because of the fruits. People are praying more and sinning less, and even giving up drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. There are many miracles and everything feels so good and holy, what would Satan gain by making people pray more, sin less?"
Christ's words to Marie Julie Jahenny reveal the primary reason for false apparitions, often described as "salt from Heaven" [true] and "sugar from Hell" [false]. Whenever Heaven delivers a true message to the world, e.g. Lourdes, Satan attempts to drown God's salt in the sugar of demonic apparitions. In Lourdes there were over 50 purported apparitions of the Virgin Mary to children other than Saint Bernadette. All of these vistiations proved to be Satanic, though in every case these children actually saw a form they thought to be GOD's Mother. Though demonically inspired their ecstasy was not interrupted when pins were stuck in them, light was passed over their eyes, etc. Had Satan's scheme succeeded, all these apparitions - including Saint Bernadette's - would have been condemned by the Church. Perhaps, we might never have intimately met the "Immaculate Conception". Thank God, the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, did not mix sugar and salt, nor expel the good with the bad.
Without a doubt, every demonic apparition is intrinsically evil and harmful. And yet, while God permits them as tests of discernment, faith and obedience, they may also provide evidence of the invisible world's reality to unbelievers. Their danger emerges when the mystically untrained and undiscerning - most all of mankind - embrace such lies over the Spirit-guided counsel of the Church (1 Timothy 3:15). Often the deceived become stronger in the faith, when they recognize how easily fallen angels can fool men, and learn to follow our Shepherd on earth safely home to the Father. Mysteriously, falling prey to the guiles of a false apparition, many souls have been given the grace of awakening, i.e. realizing that no one can disobey the Church and serve GOD, man lacks the wit to overpower and outsmart Satan's hordes on his own, and no apparition true or false can provide a soul more Grace and Wisdom than the Precious Blood of Christ received in the Most Holy Eucharist. Anchored in Christ's Blood no one will wander into curious realms of deceit. Content with "He Who can neither deceive nor be deceived" we shall truly become one. There is no greater truth than the Blood of Christ. God-loving souls need nothing but GOD.
GOD's revelations strengthen humility, obedience, patience and conformity to His Holy Will. The Devil's revelations beget pride, presumption and disobedience to GOD's Church on earth. A sure sign of a demonically-inspired seer is their seeking self-profit, glory and power over GOD's.
Piety, prayer and good works are not lone criteria for authenticating heavenly revelations. Satan will tolerate good to ultimately sew evil. A sign of true love for GOD is bearing long-lasting fruits and living orthodox, obedient lives respectful to all, especially those in authority.
From The Imitation of Christ (Book 3, Pg 160):
"You so easily follow the suggestions of your enemy, the devil, who does not care whether his deceits are true or false..."
Today, when someone announces the Virgin Mary is appearing standing on a rock, many uncautious souls imprudently run to venerate the rock. While their piety, prayer, virtue, etc. may seem to evidence fruits, these - in and of themselves - do not prove the vision of divine origin. In fact, till the Holy Catholic Church proves otherwise, vision-chasers may actually - and more often than not - be bowing down to a demon. What is the effect of unwitting prayers to Satan? Just look at the holocaust that followed the condemned apparitions in Medjugorje. "WAR is a punishment for sin." - Our Lady of Fatima, 1917.
3. Publishers claim that they can publish without an imprimatur since the index was done away with. Is that true?
Publishers often post the following disclaimer inside their books.
"Since the abolition of Canon 1399 and 2318 of the former Canonical Code by Pope Paul VI in AAS 58 (1966), publications about new appearances, revelations, prophecies, miracles, etc., have been allowed to be distributed and read by the faithful without the express permission of the Church, providing that they contain nothing which contravenes faith or morals. This means no imprimatur is necessary."
While a book may not require an Imprimatur it is not true (nor never has been) that books on unapproved apparitions may be distributed. On October 23, 1995, the Vatican reaffirmed in the official journal of the Holy See, the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, that circulation of books on unapproved apparitions are forbidden. Therein, the Church wrote:
"The Interpretation given by some individuals to a Decision approved by Paul VI on 14 October 1966 and promulgated on 15 November of that year, in virtue of which writings and messages resulting from alleged revelations could be freely circulated in the Church, is absolutely groundless. This decision actually referred to the "abolition of the Index of Forbidden Books" and determined that -- after the relevant censures were lifted -- the moral obligation still remained of not circulating or reading those writings which endanger faith and morals.
It should be recalled however that with regard to the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, canon 623 #1 of the current Code remains in force: `The Pastors of the Church have the right to demand that writings to be published by the Christian faithful, which touch upon faith or morals, be submitted to their judgment'.
Alleged supernatural revelations and writings concerning them are submitted in first instance to the judgment of the diocesan Bishop, and , in particular cases, to the judgment of the Episcopal Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith."
The following is paraphrased from Catholic Replies by James J. Drummey (The Wanderer: July 30, 1998).
The writings of the Popes are published in a variety of forms: Apostolic Letters, Briefs, Bulls, Constitutions, Decrees, Decretals, Encyclicals, etc. They acquire their force by publication in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the official journal of the Apostolic See. Since these writings are the official pronouncements of the Magisterium or teaching office of the Church, Catholics are not free to disregard them. In the case of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, the Second Vatican Council stated, a "religious submission of will and of mind must be shown in a special way to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking Ex Cathedra [i.e., infallibly]".
Now, these Catholic bookstores, Marian Centers, and publishers are violating the law of the Church, per the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, by promoting books and tapes in favor of Medjugorje, and refusing to have any opposing point of view in their stores.
To make an even greater sin, they even refuse to have approved private revelation of Our Lady in their stores with the proper Imprimatur, as in the case of The Miracle of Damascus by this author. Why? Because this author made it very clear in the book, that he would not have published the book if the local bishop had not only approved the seer but also his interpretation of the story of the apparition. That being the case, acceptance of a book on the true Virgin Mary had to be suppressed in order to protect the money and customer base created by the millions of dollars in the Medjugorje deception.
Booklets, leaflets, pamphlets, films, or books may not be used to promote an apparition or miracle that is under an interdiction of any kind. Contrary to what many will tell you, the abrogation of Canon Laws 1399 and 2318 do not permit the publication of apparitions unless no action or decision has been made by the local bishop. Any action that has been taken by the bishop must be obeyed. It matters not if he is a good or bad bishop, just as it does not matter if the seer is good or bad. God can use good or bad.
4. Please comment on the statement of Pope Urban VIII (17th Century), "It's better to believe than not to believe."
The promoters of un-approved apparitions and private revelations, appeal to two false conclusions from past Pope's statements, and in both cases they take statements out of context. As the Vatican has already clarified in their Nov. 1996 statement, "The interpretation given by some individuals to a Decision approved by Paul VI is absolutely groundless."
And regarding Pope Urban VIII, this also is taken out of context. He was referring to a private revelation that was under investigation but no conclusion was reached yet, for as he said, "and if it should prove to be false". The question you should ask is "prove to be false" by whom? By the promoters, the sheep, the bishop of the mystic, or by Rome.
The doctrine of the Church is "to the judgment of the diocesan Bishop". Of course, there must be a period of time before the diocesan Bishop comes to a conclusion, and during this period of time one is not held responsible for a false belief. If, however, you continue to believe in a mystic that the local Bishop has "proved to be false", will you still "receive all the blessings as if it were to be true"? No! Because then you have violated the Fourth Commandment. "Honor your Father and your Mother" because no one can have God for their Father without having the Church for their Mother.
"But, Lord, I believed with all my heart." (Matt. 7:21=24) "Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day,
`Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?' And then will I profess unto them, `I never knew you, depart from me, you that work iniquity.' Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock."
The important thing about this statement of Christ is that the person was surprised, he thought he was doing the will of God, and he thought that the power he had to perform miracles and give prophesies was also from God. But this power was not from God. Christ goes on to say what the rules are. "He who hears my word" means all his words. Read HIS WORDS in Matt. 18:17 which states, "And if he will not hear them [witnesses or the facts] tell the church. And if he will not hear even the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."
"We are of God. [the bishops] He that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6)
When John wrote his three Epistles he was over 100 years old and all the other apostles had already been martyred. Where he says "we" he means the descendants of the apostles, the bishops.
5. Why should we listen to bad bishops?
When you ask that question, you are saying that God has no power over His creatures. This powerless God of yours, can give prophesies and miracles to a mystic, but has no power over the very bishop that he commands us to obey to influence him to make the proper judgment. Therefore, you become your own bishops and your own Church. Then when you go up to heaven, He will say what? When you say I would rather believe in God than man, what you are really saying is I would rather believe in the mystic than the Church, and this is a Gnostic heresy.
Can a bishop make a mistake? Yes! But if you obey him, you are not sinning; but if you disobey him, you are, even if he made a mistake. However, I know of no private revelation in the 2000 year history of the Church that was condemned by a local bishop and later found to be true. I do know of private revelations that were approved by the local bishop and then found to be false. In fact one Pope lamented on his death bed that he almost brought the Church into its ruin by following a false mystic. That Pope was Urban VIII.
6. If it's better to listen to God than man, why should we obey a bishop?
What you really mean is to listen to the seer instead of the bishop. Experience with those who follow false apparitions will show that no amount of argument will convince them that they are wrong, since they get their information directly from "Heaven". These followers of false mystics are so brain-washed that: if the local Bishop condemns the apparitions, they say he is corrupt; if the Doctrine of the Faith condemns the apparition, they say the Doctrine is outdated; and even if the Holy Father condemns the apparition, (which has never happened in history) they will say that he is a false pope. They will only believe the message, nothing else.
It is the bishop and not us, or even a saint (as the Cure De Ares discovered), that God gave the gift of discernment. In Matthew 18: 17 Christ teaches us to take all questions to the Church, and then He threatens us with: "And if he will not hear them, tell the Church. And if you will not hear even the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican. Amen I say to you, whatsoever you bind on earth "
(Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Pages 289, 290) "By virtue of Divine right the bishops possess an ordinary power of government over their dioceses. In regard to the relation between the Papal powers the Vatican Council declared: `This power of the Pope in no way derogates from the ordinary and immediate power of Episcopal jurisdiction by which bishops who have been set by the Holy Ghost to succeed and hold the place of the Apostles feed and govern each his own flock as true pastors; but rather, this authority is asserted, strengthened and vindicated by the Supreme and Universal Pastor."
Ordinary power refers to the authority of the bishop coming from his office. Even if you believe your bishop to be bad, whatever his decision on an apparition in his See is, it is bound in Heaven. You have an obligation of obedience to his decision. Saint Iranaeus, taught by Saint John, the Apostle, says, "Anything done without the bishop is from the Devil."
7. Why is obedience the main criteria for discerning if an apparition is true or false?
I learned from the Vatican and the true seers that obedience is the key to knowing a true apparition from a false one. Listen to what St. Margaret Mary says:
"The greatest adversary of Jesus is Satan." Jesus warned me to be on guard and said my greatest defense was obedience. `Don't believe easily,' He said, `in every inspiration, and don't be too sure of it. Satan is furiously bent on deceiving you. So don't do anything without the approval of those who are guiding you. As long as you have the sanction of obedience, he can never delude you. He is completely powerless over those who obey.'
"Perhaps this explains the great power Satan is wielding today, especially within the Church. Where disobedience is rampant. Satan has a field day. On the other hand, `he is completely powerless over those who obey.'"
And the greatest of all mystics, St. John of the Cross, says:
"(God's) --- displeasure at the quest for revelations and locutions, even though He sometimes answers them, lies in the illicitness of transcending the natural boundaries God has established for the governing of creatures. He has fixed natural and rational limits by which man is to be ruled. A desire to transcend them, hence, is unlawful, and to desire to investigate and arrive at knowledge in a supernatural way is to go beyond the natural limits. It is unlawful, consequently, and God who is offended by everything illicit is displeased.
"The devil is most pleased when he sees that a man desires to admit revelation. For then he has an excellent opportunity to inject errors and disparage faith. As I have declared, a man desiring these apprehensions becomes coarse in his faith and even exposes himself to many temptations and improprieties." (The Ascent of Mt. Carmel, II, 21, 1).
No message from Heaven will ever violate the Fourth Commandment of God. No message from Heaven will ever condone or advocate disobedience. Listen to the words of the Virgin Mary to Mary of Agreda, Book Four, Page 421:
"Many times, in the effort to avoid humiliation at the hands of the immediate superior, the subject appeals to the higher authority and thus asks for exemptions from those who have only a general information and cannot know or understand his particular needs or danger. It cannot be denied, that this is still a kind of obedience; but it is also certain, that it is a shift for greater liberty, diminishes the reward and incurs danger; since without doubt it is more meritorious to obey and subject oneself to the inferior authority, to those in a lower condition, and to those less favorably disposed to one's own views and inclinations."
And Our Mother, Mary, finished by saying,
"Look upon them [superiors] with reverence, as taking the place of Christ, and your merit will be abundant; follow my footsteps, my example and my doctrine, and you will be perfect in all things."
And maybe you will listen to the wisdom of Padre Pio: "Without obedience there is no virtue, without virtue there is no love, without love there is no God, without God there is no salvation." (Padre Pio)
Even the bible places obedience as the test of the true from the false spirits. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone forth into the world. BY THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD KNOWN: --- HE WHO IS NOT OF GOD DOES NOT LISTEN TO US. BY THIS WE KNOW THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR." (1 John 4:1-6)
8. I have seen miracles with my own eyes. Doesn't that prove it's from God?
What the layman might call a miracle is not always an act of God. Some are faked miracles done by auto-suggestion, magic, or outright fraud. Some are done by devils, and believe it or not, it is HARD TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. Both those done by God and those done by demons look and act like angels. In fact, they both are.
Every miracle of God is a sign. No miracle is without a salvation meaning. Sometimes it is a testimony to the truth which is being given in an apparition. In fact, no apparition with a message has ever been given by God without supporting that message with an irrefutable miracle.
Sometimes a miracle is a testimony for the saintliness of a person, such as an uncorrupt body or miracles after the death of a Saint. No miracle is given by God without a reason. That reason must be for the eternal salvation of the person or persons involved. It never has a purely physical reason.
Miracles testify to the truth.
This is what is taught by the First Vatican Council in the three essential elements of a miracle. The first being its function as a sign, a sign intended to assist reason in adhering to faith by proving, through external evidence, the credibility of revelation. Therefore, the Church always looks first to the divine intention which is the cause of the event.
Only God can perform a miraculous healing. Some types of healings are a sure sign of the work of God. These are expressed in Christ's own words as an answer to a question of John the Baptist that can be deemed a test of Christ's Spirit. Christ said His works were His proof.
"Go and report to John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have the gospel preached to them." (Luke 7:22)
If any of these kinds of cures can be proved, it is from God. However, healings are very difficult to prove, even true ones. There are hundreds of cures reported on Madeira Island over the grave of Charles Von Hapsburg. But because these people have not taken the time to report to doctors, very few can be declared true healings. Even in Lourdes, of the thousands of cures each year, only a handful are documented as miracles. Healings must be beyond the possibility of nature. They must be a permanent cure. They must be documented before and after by doctors with proof: such as X-rays.
Healings made by God are always done quietly and with dignity. Satanic cures are done by autosuggestion, hypnotism, emotion and hyperactivity's of natural processes. Often demons can fake a cure by causing fake symptoms of an illness and then faking a cure. They can cause a person, who could not walk, to walk in two ways: one is if the reason for not walking was mental, and second, demons can invisibly hold up someone so that they seem to walk. But this will not last. Another way demons can cure is by autosuggestion --- suggesting to the sick person that they are cured and the person feels cured. In the long run the sickness becomes apparent again and often death results because the sick person discontinues the normal medical treatments.
So, it is essential that the cures be long term and well documented. Satan can even fake bringing someone back from the dead by possessing the dead body. It is said that this is what the Antichrist will do.
Demons CANNOT really perform a miracle, but there are things they can do that will seem like miracles to the layman. A good rule of thumb is that demons can do anything that man or nature can do, except that they can do it invisibly and instantly. If something can be done by man or nature, Satan can do the same without you seeing him and at a thousand times the speed. We will emphasize again for the sake of our friends, demons cannot perform a true miracle in any sense of the word. Laymen, however, will see the following things as miracles:
LEVITATION:
A perfect example of the appearance of a miracle is levitation. Satan can lift people or things off the ground into the air or cause them to travel at great speeds. He does this by simply lifting them up with his invisible angels. This phenomena is a good illustration of where we get information about the power of demons. This power is recorded in Scripture (Matt. 4:5) and is documented in thousands of Exorcisms.
ECSTASIES:
Demons can produce true ecstasies so that the seer is completely oblivious of sound, light, or feelings. They can make the seer stiff as a board and/or so heavy that no one can lift or move the seer. This is done by Satan in the same way a hypnotist can do it, except faster and invisible.
APPARITIONS:
Satan can make a true apparition. He has appeared as the Virgin Mary, as Christ, as saints, angels and relatives. Satan appeared to Padre Pio as Christ, to Sister Josefa Menendez as Christ and Mary, and to countless other saints and false mystics.
LOCUTIONS, VISIONS, VOICES:
Satan can bring about locutions, visions, and voices. Not only do we know this from the oracles of old and from false apparitions, but we have thousands of cases documented in Exorcisms.
MOVE OR RAISE THINGS:
He can move statues, furniture, and even mountains. He can cause fire to come down from heaven.
HALOS OR AURAS:
He can cause a glow or luminous rays to be seen around a seer or objects. He can change a picture or negative to have these same halos or auras of light to appear on them.
STIGMATA:
He can produce a stigmata [as you will see in the chapter on the history of false apparitions], however, this will be by natural but invisible means. They cannot be instantly cured.
ODORS:
Satan can simulate odors of roses or incense. Any chemist can do the same, and no one would see them do it. This is especially easy since all trace will be gone.
FASTS:
He can help his seer to have a prolonged fast; however, tests will prove that the body is not properly sustained as in the case of Theresa Neumann, who showed no physical signs of fasting, and in fact, remained plump.
SIGNS IN THE SKY:
Demons can show great signs in the sky, like fire to come down from heaven. It is said that the Antichrist will be able to do this very thing. (Apoc. 13:13) St. Augustine says,
"When fire fell from heaven and wiped out, in one sweep, all the large household and the numerous flocks of holy Job, and a whirlwind rushed down and overthrew his house and slew his children, those were no illusions; and yet they were the work of Satan, to whom God had given this power."
(CITY OF GOD, Book XX, Chapter 19)
St. Hippolytus, in speaking of the future Antichrist, said that he will be able to walk on the waves of the sea, turn day into night, and direct the course of the sun at will. Why then should Satan not be able to make the sun spin and change colors? But these are usually illusions and not real like Fatima. The difference is that not all will see it, and the effects will not be the same. At Fatima, everyone saw it, even those who did not believe [even communists in surrounding towns miles away]. The after effects were hundreds of cures, the ground dry after weeks of rain, and real graces of conversion.
MAKE GOLD:
Satan and demons can change brass to gold. This is called Alchemy and has been practiced throughout the ages. The reason Satan can do it is that the pure science of Chemistry can do it.
It is no longer being done by chemists because the cost is higher than the cost of real gold.
The method of the Alchemists was a medieval magic using what they called the "Philosopher's Stone". This magical art was practiced in Egypt and China. Hermes Trismegistus is regarded as its founder. Robert of Chester describes the successful making of gold in the presence of the son of the Caliph Yazid I, 682 A.D.
Although we, at the center, have seen over 400 miracles of God and Satan, including levitation of man and object, not one of us have ever seen metal turn to real gold. We have seen rosaries that the owners claimed turned to gold, but investigation showed them all to be brass.
TONGUES, SECRETS:
In the Roman ritual, common miracles of Satan are speaking in an unknown language, understanding someone who speaks it, revealing hidden secrets of people, things, or places. Since God promises not only to forgive sins in confession but to forget them, if someone were to reveal a sin from the past that was forgiven in confession, it is absolutely demonic.
TEARS:
Satan can fake tears on a statue, but it will not be real tears, which even a chemist cannot reproduce. The tears that Satan can cause will be proved to be nothing but water. He cannot even produce water out of nothing; however, he can cause water to condense out of the air and onto a statue, since this can also be done by man. He cannot produce blood on a statue or picture, unless it is done when no one is looking, in which case he could bring it to the room from somewhere else. He could use a leech as he did on a statue in Portugal. Investigation by the Church showed leech saliva in the blood.
9. Are there any miracles that devils cannot perform?
Only God can create matter out of nothing, such as the changing of water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana, or the multiplication of the bread and fishes. This would also hold for cures that require instantaneous growth of destroyed tissue such as cancer, or the quick closing of a wound such as a stigmata.
By the same criteria as above, only God can multiply matter, since it requires creation. Any instantaneous and permanent cure, scientifically tested, objectively diagnosed and measured, showing the condition of the body both before and after the cure, can only be from God.
The best of these are organic lesions [hernia, cancer, toxication, parasites, and the like], or the organ shows a congenital malformation, or again it is in a state of degeneration or gradual disintegration. Some processes of tissue degeneration are irreversible and therefore incurable. The cure of a blind child, who was born with no pupils in her eyes, is beyond the power of Satan since it is beyond the power of nature. Done by the prayers of Padre Pio. She is still living and she still has no pupils.
A supernatural light given to a soul to understand mysteries of God from imaginary images, as happened with Joseph (Gen. 40:41) and with Daniel (Dan. 1:24), is the highest form of miracle. Neither the demons nor the angels can infuse this supernatural light into the understanding, since they can only cause images and fantasies in the imagination. See Chapters XIV, XV in CITY OF GOD, Book 1.
Satan can fake bilocation by carrying his seer someplace quickly, but only God can allow someone to be in two places at the same time, as in the case of Padre Pio and Mary Agreda.
10. Why so many people claiming to witness miracles in Medjugorje, how can you say it's a fraud?
Any person who seeks a spiritual chrism or supernatural phenomena will not get one from God. The primary condition for a true apparition or miracle is that man free himself from any desire for supernatural phenomena, such as visions, locutions, revelations; and that he gives them all up in order to remain in the pure faith which St. John of the Cross calls the "night of faith" or the "dark night", and which is what really sanctifies. St. John of the Cross says,
"The Devil rejoices greatly when a soul seeks after revelations and is ready to accept them; for such conduct furnishes him with many opportunities of insinuating delusions, and derogation from faith as much as he possibly can; for such a soul becomes rough and rude, and falls frequently into many temptations and unseemly habits."
A phenomenon or marvel may have no natural explanation. It is not for that reason to be assumed from God. It could be attributed to satanic forces, that can exercise powers over nature and mind, and can create many illusions. A special chapter will be given to satanic miracles.
11. Even when an apparition is declared false, don't people receive graces from their prayers and fasts?
Apparitions, locutions, ecstasies, etc. do not give grace of themselves; and therefore, they do not sanctify, do not justify, and do not [of themselves] make a person better. Only grace does that; and the gifts of the Holy Spirit do not give grace. Balaam was a prophet (Num 23:24) but received no grace from it. Moses brought water from a rock (Num. 20:13) but was punished as a result of it. The miracle of the manna (Num. 11:6) was the object of blasphemy for those who ate it.
"The grace of divine visions, revelations and raptures," wrote Mary of Agreda, "although they are operations of the Holy Spirit, must be distinguished from justifying grace and from virtues, which sanctify and perfect the soul in their operations."
12. What is the first sign to look for in any apparition?
God cannot contradict God; therefore, look for contradictions. No new doctrine can come from an apparition or any other kind of private revelation. All faith, the complete deposit of faith, was completed and sealed with the death of the last Apostle. One must never guide his life and actions on private revelation. Private revelation must always conform to Divine revelation [the Bible and Tradition].
No mystical manifestation can teach anything that is contrary to Catholic doctrine and tradition and worship. Any revelation that endorses, approves or condones hedtrodox changes and innovation in faith or worship which are in conflict with the continuing tradition and magisterium of the Church or are even of a doubtful and unproved authenticity and orthodoxy must be rejected.
"Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema." (Gal. 1:8)
For all revelations contrary to faith or morals must be absolutely rejected, even if this is in a single point or a single word, according to St. Theresa of Avila.
If a mystical phenomena should serve to confirm or endorse some movement which is questionable, or should confirm some leader, who pretends a false magisterial authority, it would have to be considered spurious or diabolical. There are already many schismatic or heretical sects or cults which are founded upon alleged private apparitions or miracles.
Fidelity belongs to all the teachings of the Church. Listen to the words of Our Lady to Mary Agreda in Book Four [Coronation], Page 442:
"I desire also that you hold in great veneration the councils of the Church and all such gatherings, and whatever is resolved and established by them; for the Holy Spirit assists at these councils and He fulfills his promise, that He will be with those who gather together in His name (Matt 8:20). Hence what is thus ordained and commanded must be obeyed. Although in our times, no visible signs of the assistance of the Holy Spirit occur in such councils, yet He does not fail to govern them invisibly; for signs and wonders are not any more so necessary as in the FIRST BEGINNINGS OF THE CHURCH." (What if an apparition condemns a Council????)
(2 Thess. 2:7-12; Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:18; 1 Tim. 4:1-4; 2 Tim. 4:3-4; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Tim. 3:12-13; 2 Pet. 3:3; 1 John 4:1 2 John 4 and 7)
To sum up, miracles are the test of doctrine, and doctrine is the test of miracles.
Can an apparition be true if it advocates not listening to the Church, "which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth."???? (1 Tim. 3:15)
If the Church investigates, and we do not accept that investigation, what does the Bible say of us? "Appeal to the Church, but if he refuse to hear EVEN THE CHURCH, let him be to you as the heathen and the publican. Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven." (Matt. 18:17-18)
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone forth into the world. BY THIS IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD KNOWN: --- HE WHO IS NOT OF GOD DOES NOT LISTEN TO US. BY THIS WE KNOW THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR."
(1 John 4:1-6) Who is us? The Bishops!
No true apparition of God can contradict another true apparition of God. One example of this would be the description of Heaven. The Apostle Paul, Padre Pio, Mary Agreda, Anne Catherine Emmerich, and countless others were allowed by God to see the third Heaven. Not one of these was able, with human words, to describe any aspect of it. If any apparition or vision claimed to be able to describe Heaven, it would be false.
By harmony we also mean that it must fit into place in the Christian system and into the Christian history in a logical way, without unnecessary repetition, or unneeded revelation.
13. My parish priest has said that Medjugorje has far too many messages for it to be from God. Why should that matter?
No miracle of God is without an economic reason. Miracles and wonders of God are not multiplied without necessity. Nor is there ever a single word given in an apparition that is not for the sanctification of the soul. Nothing, absolutely nothing, comes from God without the salvation of the soul as its end. All words or actions done without this end are to be rejected as from illusion or from demons. Jesus said,
"But let your speech be 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no;' and whatever is beyond these comes from the evil one." (Matt. 5:37) "Every IDLE WORD that man shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment." (Matt. 12:36)
God does not conform to the whims of man. Bernadette of Lourdes was told to ask the Virgin Mary to make the wild roses bloom, and as Bernadette tells it,
"She smiled when I told her that you wanted a miracle. She smiled again when I asked that she make the wild roses bloom." The Virgin did not enter into this kind of POINTLESS CONVERSATION.
The devil sometimes appeared to St. Catherine of Bologna as Christ and demanded of her, under the appearance of perfection, the most impossible things, in order to drive her to despair. This too is a sin against economy. If a message was to request something that was too difficult for the average person in their station of life; excessive prayer, fasting, etc., it must be rejected as false.
14. Because many other bishops believe in Medjugorje, why should we listen to the bishop of Mostar?
ONLY the local bishop, who has unlimited geographical jurisdiction on matters of the supernatural, can make the final judgment of the Church as to what spirit a supernatural phenomena comes from: one's own spirit, God's Spirit, or a Demonic Spirit. A bishop from another area has no authority whatsoever.
Every validly consecrated bishop receives his authority and power (John 20:21-23; Luke 22:19-20) through an apostolic succession of bishops that can be traced all the way back to the twelve Apostles who received their authority and power from Christ, Himself.
(2 Cor.5:20; Acts 1:24-26; 14:22; 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:5; Mk. 16:15-16; Jn. 16:13-14; 20:21-23; 14:16,17,26; Mt. 18:17; 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 3:7; Is. 22:22: Lk. 10:16; Eph. 4:11-12; Heb. 13:7; 1 John 4:6)
Encyclical "Stais comnitum" of Leo XII-1896 (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott, Page 289)
"This power of the Pope in no way derogates from the ordinary and immediate power of Episcopal jurisdiction by which bishops, who have been sent by the Holy Spirit to succeed and take the place of the Apostles, feed and govern each his own flock as true pastors; but rather, this authority is asserted, strengthened and vindicated by the Supreme and Universal Pastor."
According to this declaration the Episcopal power is:
"An ordinary power, that is, it is associated with the Episcopal office; an immediate power, that is it is not practiced at the order of a superior, but in the bishop's own name. Thus bishops are not delegated (agents) and so are not vicars (representatives) of the pope, but they are independent pastors of the flocks entrusted to them, even though they are subordinate to the pope. A power appointed by God for the Apostles (on the ground of divine ordinance, whether in the immediate commission of Christ, or on the direction of the Holy Spirit --- Acts 20, 26) have passed on their pastoral office to the bishops. The bishops are the successors of the Apostles, not in such a manner that an individual bishop is a successor of an individual Apostle, but that the bishops in their totality are successors of the College of Apostles.
"This is a true pastoral power, as it embraces all the ecclesiastical powers to the exercise of the office, the power to legislate, to judge and to punish. It is a power which is limited locally and materially, since it extends only to a definite segment of the Church, and is circumscribed by the Papal power which is superior to it. Matters of causae maiores (universal importance), touching the welfare of the whole Church, are reserved to the Holy Fathers." (Dr. Ott)
No one would dare to say that the Holy Spirit has the power to bring about an apparition but does not have the power to direct the very man, the local bishop, whom God placed over the area to protect it from error.
15. Why shouldn't I just wait until Rome speaks?
Contrary to the erroneous belief of many, Rome never ever interferes with the decision of a local bishop in matters of private revelation. Sometimes a local bishop will ask help of Rome, but in such cases only the Nuncio of the local area will become involved. We went to the Vatican and spoke to the Holy Father's closest friend regarding this. He told us that there is not even a department in the Vatican to handle such cases. [The Nuncio is the Vatican Ambassador.]
It is true that the Holy Father could overturn a Bishop's decision on matters of faith and morals, but only if the matter was of universal importance. If Rome is silent on an appeal to the Holy Father, it is because he leaves the matter to the local Bishop; and the matter is closed. (Silence is affirmation - St. Thomas More)
The fact is that Rome never has, and never will, overturn the decision of a local bishop on matters of private revelation. [Regarding Medjugorje, we went to Rome and asked on film. See our second film. We also have a written statement from the Vatican.]
Rome has only informally endorsed three Marian apparitions: Fatima, Lourdes, and Guadalupe; and these, only after the local bishop investigated and approved the miracles.
We also found out in the Vatican that there are many words attributed to the Holy Father that he never said regarding some active apparitions.
16. Medjugorje teaches that all religions are God's religions; even Mohammedism. Muslims and Protestants don't have to obey bishops or popes. Is pluralism Catholic?
Babylon is the symbol of the Church of Satan, and the word means "confusion". This confusion came about when Nemrod tried to build the tower of Babel and God confused their languages. That is why demon means "to divide". The Kingdom of God, the Church, is the end of that confusion, as expressed by St. Augustine,
"He sent the Holy Spirit He had promised; and the greatest and most unmistakable sign of the Spirit's coming to those who believed was that every one of them spoke in the languages of all nations; thus signifying that the UNITY of the Catholic Church would exist among all nations and would thus speak all languages."
Paul teaches, "We are many; but we are one loaf, and one body." (1 Cor. 10:17) Thus, he who is in the unity of Christ's Body, that is, the body which the faithful habitually take when they communicate at the altar in the state of grace, and therefore become members of that same body, can claim to be Christ's children.
Any apparitions or visions or voices that speak of pluralism [that all religions are the same in the eyes of God or have the means of salvation] or that do not draw people to the truth and to the Body of Christ (the Catholic Church) are not from God.
17. Do you believe in the "prophetic signs" mentioned at Medjugorje and Garabandal?
God knows all things, past, present, and future. If He, or one of His messengers, declares that something will happen, it will. If it does not, or does not exactly when promised, it is not of God.
"If you say to yourselves, 'How can we recognize an oracle which the Lord has spoken?' Know that, even though a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if his oracle is not fulfilled or verified, it is an oracle which the Lord did not speak." (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)
Some will say that God can change His mind if He wishes [as He did with Jonas and the Whale]. But this does not hold water, since God did not tell Jonas WHEN He would destroy the City of Ninive, and in fact, the following generation it was totally destroyed as He promised and without further warnings.
18. Why did Cardinal Ratzinger condemn Vassula Ryden?
Rome always leaves private revelation to the pastoral discernment of the local bishop; however, Vassula Ryden is not a Catholic, and therefore she has no bishop. It became important for the Vatican to let bishops know that it was not OK for them to allow her into their Churches to receive the Sacraments.
One should look at is a seer's background. Is the person from a good family or a family prone to superstition and magic? Is the seer free of mental pathological conditions, balanced and calm mentally and emotionally, self-possessed and dispassionate, not given to exaggeration, inordinate imagination, passion, or impetuosity?
All this is important; however, it is not important that the person be holy or even religious prior to a private revelation. Balaam, a very sinful man, gave four oracles from God (Num. 23:24), but was far from holy. The seer must, however, be Catholic, since no miracle has ever taken place outside the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit cannot be found outside the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. A Catholic seer can perform a miracle on a non-Catholic, but this is only done to prompt the person into the Kingdom. A miracle of God can happen to a non-Catholic place (a church, an icon, a statue), but not to a non-Catholic person.
19. Does Mary appear to only holy people?
A seer does not need to be holy before the private revelation. By infused knowledge, Mary Agreda in Book One, Page 476, states that,
"---revelations and visions are not dependent upon the sanctity and perfection of those, that are thus favored, but upon the Divine Will. God concedes them according to weight and measure for the ends which He wishes to attain in his Church (Wisdom 11:21). God can without doubt grant great and the most exalted visions to those, who are less holy, and only inferior revelations to those, who are of exalted sanctity. The gift of prophecy and the other gifts freely given He can give to those even, who are not saints; which have nothing to do with moral virtues."
A seer, however, who sees Christ or Mary cannot remain the same AFTER an apparition. No one could remain earthly after seeing the Mother of God. No one could have anything on their mind except Heaven after a true apparition or vision. If the private revelation is inner-locution, one could be excused for not becoming more holy, since no vision of the heavenly is seen. Once, however, Heaven is seen or touched, the earthly things should become abhorrent to the seer.
Holiness is a complete love for the heavenly and a hatred for anything of this earth. Let us hear the words of Our Lord to Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, "WIFE, MOTHER AND MYSTIC", Page 44:
"He who wishes to taste My delights must despise the world, and expect to be despised by it in turn ... Love, then, to meet with contempt, for love of contempt is the true foundation of virtue."
The essence of holiness consists in conforming to the Divine Will, loving God above all things, and despising the things of this world.
20. How can these seers be false when they appear so holy?
The main indicator of sanctity (holiness) is a deep and true humility. To reach high into sanctity you must fall deep into humility. Humility is the opposite of pride and therefore the opposite of Satan. Satan cannot be humble and neither can a seer of Satan, even one who does not know that Satan is the object of the vision. The humble will always submit their revelations to their spiritual directors and will always obey their lawful superiors.
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi often doubted whether it was the good or evil spirit that spoke to her. God told her the most important of all discernment an individual can use. Page 44:
"You must know,: said Jesus to her, "that when I speak to you I produce in you tenderness, peace, compunction; above all, HUMILITY. Know well, my daughter, that no matter how much he desires to love me, if a man enter not the straight path of humility he will keep on stumbling. Man has within himself a dust that settles round his heart; it is called self-love ... Man is full of pride, and I have nothing to do with the proud. Only the humble find favor in My sight...
"I make My abode in humble souls that are full of simplicity. The more lowly and uncultured they are, the more I take pleasure in them. As to these wise and learned professors whose heads are full of the fumes of pride, I put them down from their seats, and you, yourself, shall soon learn where I send them."
False mysticism, instead of humbling man and glorifying Christ, tends rather to clothe man in divine attributes which of right belong to God.
21. Bishop Zanic said he knew Medjugorje was false because the seers did not obey him? That seems arrogant.
Obedience holds the most important of all tests in a private revelation, even though it is not the first thing looked at. The capacity of one to understand obedience, background, holiness, and humility are looked at first. Satan is not capable of obedience because that implies obeying a mere creature. This was the test that saved Sister Josefa Menendez from being fooled by the appearance of Satan as Our Lord. Her spiritual director ordered her to renew her vows at any and every appearance of Our Lord.
(THE WAY OF DIVINE LOVE, Page 129)
Whenever it was not Christ, "The arch-enemy was not able to endure such acts of faith and love, and his crafty wiles failed in the face of them." Even when the Virgin Mary appeared to her she would say--Page 131: "If you are the Mother of Jesus, allow me to renew before you the vow of virginity that I have made"
And again Our Lord told her--Page 414: "Seek Me in your Superiors. Listen to their words AS IF THEIR WORDS FELL FROM MY LIPS; I AM IN THEM FOR YOUR GUIDANCE."
"I want you always to obey and I, myself, will obey." (THE WAY OF DIVINE LOVE, by TAN)
Amazing, isn't it? God will obey the human that He placed in authority. But can it be any other way? If God did not obey, He would contradict His own words, "Whatever you bind on earth, I will bind in Heaven." How would we know if it was really God, or the father of lies. John told us how to know.
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits ... he who is not of God does not listen to us [the bishops]. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:1-6)
22. Bishop Zanic's report makes a big deal of the children changing their stories. Why is this so important?
Since Satan is a liar from the beginning, honesty is a very important virtue in a seer. Honesty is a major test, since the spirit of Satan cannot be honest in anything that does not ultimately bring about a lie. He can tell truths if the end result is a lie. His lies are hidden in truths so that the elect cannot recognize them. Therefore, any lie at all will cause us to discount the miracle or vision.
23. Should seers always suffer after an apparition?
Yes and no! In all cases of true visions, seers practice heroic virtue AFTER an apparition or vision from God. St. Theresa of Avila founded thirty convents by her own hard work, in spite of the hundreds of visions. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi and St. Bridget never neglected their families, in spite of the many visions. False quietism leaves to Christ alone the salvation of the world, excluding and neglecting man's co-operation. Naturalism, of course, would also be wrong since it places its faith in the social and human action, without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
A true apparition, after the initial wonderment and even fear, will result in a true, deep peace, joy, and security. Diabolical visions, on the other hand, bring joy at first, but then bring restlessness, moroseness, sadness, and discouragement. A true vision will strengthen virtue, whereas false visions will beget pride, presumption and disobedience.
24. What harm is there in taking a pilgrimage to Medjugorje?
The book "THE IMITATION OF CHRIST" says that if you travel the world over looking for miracles, you would not find a greater miracle than the Mass. Therefore, any seer who puts more importance in a miracle than in the Mass would be a false seer. At Fatima God sent an angel to instill devotion in the children to the Body and Blood of Christ before the messages were given by His Mother. Our Lady's own words to Mary Agreda--TRANSFIXION, Page 428,
"I wish you also to ponder, what a horrible crime it is in the eyes of the Lord, in mine, and in those of all the saints, that men should despise and neglect the frequent reception of the holy Communion, and that they should approach it without preparation and fervent devotion."
And Mary Agreda, inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoke of the main reason for the wounded heart of Mary.
"Mary foresaw also the ingratitude of mortals in regard to this ineffable Sacrament, [the Mass] established for their benefit, and She resolved to atone, with all the powers of her being, for our shameless and ungrateful behavior. She took upon Herself the duty of rendering thanks to the eternal Father and to His divine Son for this extraordinary and wonderful benefit to the human race. This earnest desire dwelled in Her soul during Her whole life and many times did She shed tears of blood welling forth from Her purest heart in order to satisfy for our shameful and torpid forgetfulness."
So, to me the Mass is greater than even a pilgrimage to Fatima. Unfortunately, just like the charismatic movement, people say, I get more out of the pilgrimage. God puts more into the Mass.
25. Are SACRAMENTALS good weapons to use against demons?
A sacramental is very effective against demons. Sacramentals are blessed items such as holy water, rosaries, crucifixes, relics, statues, icons, etc. However, it is the blessing that is effective and not the thing. So, any rosary, water, crucifix or statue that does not have the priest's special blessing is useless against demons. Keep this in mind when you see fake seers or even witches wearing crucifixes or crosses around their necks. A crucifix without a priest's blessing is useless against demons. Mary is not a priest. A priest takes the place of Christ. Mary does not take the place of Christ. Mary cannot give a priest's blessing to a sacramental.
26. Your film makes much of the houses on"Millionaire's Row", home to the Medjugorje seers. They have to put up with a lot from other people. Why shouldn't they have some comfort?
Mirna, the Church-approved seer of Our Lady of Soufanieh, has never taken any money, even though she has two children she lives in total poverty. Any seer who makes money of any kind out of an apparition or miracle would have to be suspect, for this would not be Christ-like, and would be steeling for you cannot sell the work of the Holy Spirit. Greed for money is the badge of the false prophet.
(2 Peter 2:3, 1 Tim. 6:5-10)
27. You take issue with the way Theresa Lopez dresses. What's wrong with wanting nice things?
If you see expensive clothes, makeup, fingernail polish, jewelry, fancy hairdos or any other preoccupation with looks, you can suspect the devil. If the clothes are indecent or pompous, forget it. There are times when one should dress better as laid down by St. Francis de Sales in INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE, but this is infrequent.
"One should dress according to his condition, so that the wise and the good may have no reason to complain that you do too much or young people say that you do too little."
"The attire of the body and the laughter of the teeth, and the gait of the man, show what he is." (Eccle. 19:27)
And in my opinion, a woman seer who has seen the Virgin Mary (who is never without a veil over Her head), and then prays or attends Mass without a veil, we would wonder about. A veil says that you are in the presence of God or that you are a bride of Christ. Any seer who does not want to imitate her Mother, would seem at least foolish. (1 Cor. 11:4-5; 11:13)
28. You people lack charity. Why are you attacking these good people?
Love is often confused with hugging and kissing. Love [as Christ taught] is an action, an action of mercy. The works of mercy are: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit the imprisoned, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to bury the dead, to admonish the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive all injuries, to pray for the living and the dead. Our love is to admonish the sinner, even ourselves, to instruct the ignorant, and to counsel the doubtful. I would rather have the fruit of the Holy Spirit than have the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Paul says that if you had all the gifts of the Holy Spirit but did not have love, (the fruit of the Holy Spirit) you have nothing. Therefore, if a seer is not led to some or all of these acts of love, then no grace is being received.
29. Can Satan perform miracles? What can't he do?
Miracles come from GOD. Satan works "lying wonders". Only God can create matter out of nothing, such as the changing of water into wine at the marriage feast of Cana, or the multiplication of the bread and fishes. This would also hold for cures that require instantaneous growth of destroyed tissue such as cancer, or the quick closing of a wound such as a stigmata. By the same criteria as above, only God can multiply matter, since it requires creation. Any instantaneous and permanent cure, scientifically tested, objectively diagnosed and measured, showing the condition of the body both before and after the cure, can only be from God. The best of these are organic lesions [hernia, cancer, toxication, parasites, and the like], or the organ shows a congenital malformation, or again it is in a state of degeneration or gradual disintegration. Some processes of tissue degeneration are irreversible and therefore incurable. The cure of a blind child, who was born with no pupils in her eyes, is beyond the power of Satan since it is beyond the power of nature. Done by the prayers of Padre Pio. She is still living and she still has no pupils. A supernatural light given to a soul to understand mysteries of God from imaginary images, as happened with Joseph (Gen. 40:41) and with Daniel (Dan. 1:24), is the highest form of miracle. Neither the demons nor the angels can infuse this supernatural light into the understanding, since they can only cause images and fantasies in the imagination. See Chapters XIV, XV in CITY OF GOD, Book 1.
Satan can fake bilocation by carrying his seer someplace quickly, but only God can allow someone to be in two places at the same time, as in the case of Padre Pio and Mary Agreda.
30. Since God can do whatever He wants, why couldn't He use anyone to receive a heavenly message?
Yes! But there are things that God would never do. This is pure logic.
A lie is a lie is a lie, and God will never lie for any reason, no matter what the justification. Therefore, it is wise to compare all messages with the deposit of faith, with the Bible, and with Church- accepted private revelations. God will not contradict Himself, His Church, or one of His saints.
God will never ever speak a single word, Himself, or through one of His messengers, that is not for the salvation of souls. Useless words, prolonged miracles, useless miracles, or idle conversation will never come from God.
Study the Bible or true apparitions and you will not find one word that does not have supernatural meanings very, very useful for the salvation of souls. Never is God concerned with worldly things. (Matt. 12:36)
Satan appeared to Sister Josefa Menendez disguised as Our Lord, but: " the very EXCESS of this infernal craft made clear who he really was, for this was not the first time he had attempted to pose as an angel of light." (Page 397, THE WAY OF DIVINE LOVETAN) It was by the excess in words and actions that Sister Josepha Menendez recognized him.
God will never take away man's free will. A worldwide, continuous, visible miracle would be an example of taking away man's free will, because it would not allow disbelief.
Anything irreverent or undignified like showing off power, or causing a seer to run after Him, or fall on one's face, or howl like a dog, or make animal cries, or strange howling, or make sudden or awkward or ungainly movements such as convulsions, jumping, running, dancing, falls, could not be from God.
God would never do anything without a salvation reason. God will never ever condone the breaking of any commandment, and that goes also for the Fourth Commandment, which demands that we obey our superiors, especially our lawful Bishops.
31. Some priests advise against trusting true and approved apparitions.
Yes! That would be my advise. True revelations can be misinterpreted, sometimes even by the seers themselves. Sometimes private revelations might be altered or modified unwittingly by the seer, or even more so by those who record or edit the revelations conveyed by the seers. There is evidence that the revelations of Catherine Emmerich, Mary of Agreda, and Marie Lataste were not perfectly transcribed and edited.
True revelations can also be interpreted wrong by those who promote the messages. Very often these overzealous people exaggerate or add words or meanings to the apparitions that are not there. And as we said before, Satan always tries to add his own confusion to the real messages. Uncautious promoters or believers mix up everything together. This is primarily done by mixing up messages from a false vision with the messages of a true one and coming up with a different meaning altogether [a meaning acceptable to Satan].
Friends and relatives of a seer can totally destroy the works of God, especially if they are in authority over the seer, as in the case of parents. Usually these relatives do not have the grace needed to carry out the will of the messages.
32. How can you state that Betania is true but Maria Esperanza is not? Isn't that a contradiction in logic?
One of the greatest and most common tricks of false miracles is to associate themselves with true ones. They know that we love Fatima and Padre Pio, so they make it appear that the messages or the seer is also devoted to Fatima and Padre Pio. They may have a picture taken with the Pope or Padre Pio and claim, falsely, that they have their support. The next major way they attempt to look truthful is to drown the false with the truth. When we analyze messages or statements by a seer or the writers of false miracles, we automatically expect that 99% of what they say will be true doctrine and true holiness. The 99% is the bait for that 1% that will put you in Hell. There are so many false apparitions today, that we find it hard to find any Catholic who does not believe in at least one of them. Satan, in order to lead everyone astray, has found a new trick in the Twentieth Century. Every false miracle will support at least one other false miracle. Some apparitions have almost no other reason but to support another one that is losing its following. Since Heaven will never ever contradict its Kingdom on Earth, any apparition that says a condemned apparition is true is not from God.
We have seen this twice with our own eyes. Miracles that were truly of God (but without any messages or mystics) had a false mystic come along after the miracle and say that the reason for the miracle was this or that. The facts were in both cases that the Church investigated the miracles and found them to be supernatural, but not the mystics. The uncautious writers, however, have mixed them both up, claiming that the mystics have Church approval, which is not true. Maria Esperanza is trying to buy the Holy Spirit with lies. She is not part of the true apparitions of Our Lady in the trees or part of the miracle of the Host.
33. Why would Satan have an apparition that leads people closer to God?
Satan and his demons know what is happening all over the world. They know what has happened without any forgetfulness. Anything God has done [in the form of miracles, messages, prophecies, etc.] that man has seen, Satan has seen it also.
Satan uses all this information to attempt to understand what God is planning, and then he tries to thwart God's plans. He does this primarily by aping. He always does his miracles exactly the same way as God, except for one thing, his pride does not allow him to be simple; and therefore, his miracles are always exaggerated: they are bigger and longer; there are more of them; and they always have more words.
There is a certain economy to "more", in that it tends to drown out a true revelation, simply by its volume. We have said aping, which means acting the same. But Satan will act the same in order to get the opposite result. To understand the opposite result, let us first look at God's reasons.
All mystical theologians say that "miracles are signs to support truth". Thomas Aquinas teaches that we must all believe the same in matters of faith. "In devotion--diversity; in faith--unity; in all other things--love."
If this unity of faith was not so important, God would, since He could, perform some miracles outside the Catholic Church. The mere fact that He does not, is a sign in itself.
We have studied over four hundred private revelations that have been approved by the Church. One thing can be said for every one of them, they all have the message of unity in faith. God founded one faith, one kingdom, one Body of Christ, and He supports this unity throughout the ages with miracles.
That being the case, Satan's main object in false miracles is disunity. Divide and conquer is the plan. The results of every false miracle we have studied is disunity. They all talk obedience but practice disobedience; they talk humility but practice pride; they talk Catholic but create a cult.
The history of false miracles will show divisions in religious orders, divisions in families, and separations from the Body of Christ, the Church.
All of this is done with the outward signs of holiness, extreme holiness: praying the rosary ten times a day, fasting more that the saints, sacrifices greater than prudence, etc. These extremes are what fool most people, and therefore they say, "But look at the fruits."
If Satan can get you to believe one point in matters of religion and morals different from what Christ taught through His Church, you are excommunicated ipso-facto, and you are no longer a member of the Body of Christ, you no longer share in the Communion of Saints, you are divided from the unity of believers. Satan has won.
34. What you should ask is "what is SATAN'S MASTER PLAN?"
It is not hard for us to see the evolution of devotion brought about by private revelation. The Scapular, the Rosary, the Sacred Heart, the Immaculate Heart, the Immaculate Conception, the Twin Hearts of Jesus and Mary on the Miraculous Metal, the Divine Mercy, all fit together like a grand master building up of devotion.
There is also an evolution of knowledge, from the early Doctors of the Church, like Augustine explaining the mysteries of the Bible, down through Thomas Aquinas, Kempis, Catherine Emmerich, Sister Mary Agreda.
Coupled with these are hundreds of private revelations warning of future chastisements, of future wars, of a final victory of Mary, a period of peace, etc.
Keeping God's work in mind, let us look at Satan's plans. First and foremost, Satan wants to destroy God's Kingdom [the Church] because it is the power of the Church that keeps Satan chained [restricted]. The very first cults in the first century were developed by Satan with false miracles for the primary purpose of destroying the Church.
The Church is God's Kingdom because it is ONE as Christ is one (1 Cor. 10:17; John 17:11). It is VISIBLE (Mt. 5:14). It is HOLY (Mt. 7:15-20). It is CATHOLIC-universal (Mk. 16:15-16). And it is APOSTOLIC (Eph. 2:19-20).
From the time of Luther, the oneness, the holiness, the universality, and the apostolic succession of the priesthood have been attacked. As a result, we now have approximately 27,000 Christian religions claiming to be the Word of God, in other words claiming to be the Body of Christ, therefore claiming to be the Christ. These religions cannot be holy, since they do not have apostolic succession; therefore, do not have the Body of Christ in them.
The French Revolution gave to the state the right to decide the religion of its people, and from that day to this the Kingdom of God has been persecuted by governments all over the world. From the intellectualism of the French Revolution came Communism. This intellectualism has destroyed thousands of church and convent buildings and caused the execution of hundreds of thousands of priests and nuns right to our own day. The Kingdom survives these outside attacks by the demons.
But the Kingdom is attacked from within also, by liberal theologians, who give to themselves the charisma of infallibility; by traditionalists, who claim to be holier than God's Kingdom; and by seers, who claim to be the voice of God on earth instead of the Holy Father.
All of these things have the same goal-- dividing the unity of Christ's Body. But there is an even greater plan coming in the future by Satan. There are over three hundred false apparitions about to get together into one so-called voice from Heaven. They are about to declare all together that the Pope is not the Pope. You will see a good man being declared the Antichrist by these false apparitions. You will see this also as you read on.
There are over 400 approved apparitions of the saints and the Bible that speak of a good and holy man who is to come and reunite the Kingdom of God on earth. When this man appears, these false apparitions will unite into one voice and declare that he is the Antichrist.
Since we know that the Antichrist cannot come in our lifetime, our children's lifetime, and probably our children's children's lifetime, any apparition that claims knowledge of the Antichrist being alive is false. There must come first a chastisement from God, then a period of peace on earth in which there is only one Church in the whole world. Then out of this world-wide Kingdom will come the Antichrist, who will overthrow a large part of it. After his death will come the end of the world and the second coming of Christ. The period from the death of the Antichrist to the second coming of Christ no one will ever know.
One thing we do know is that anyone claiming the second coming of Christ before the Antichrist is false. [FUNDAMENTALS OF CATHOLIC DOGMA, Page 485]
Likewise, anyone claiming the Antichrist is here before the peace of Christ comes is also false.
Whether from outside in governments and false religions, or from inside with liberals, conservatives, or false voices from Heaven, the plan is the same-- the destruction of the unity of the Body of Christ.
35. Can you make discernment simple?
No! But there are common traits of the true and the false. This is not a summary, nor can it be applied to every case. But it will be helpful if you do not have time to review all the documents of a reported apparition or message or reported miracle worker. There are some things that are a sure mark of the false, whether fraud or demonic. Keep in mind that even those that are purely fraud have demonic influence, since all sin has demonic influence.
Regarding the seer and the followers of the seer, do not judge "fruits" by the amount of prayer, fasting, masses, confessions, or even the turning away from sin. All of these things occur in every false apparition. Look instead for the virtues of chastity, poverty, obedience, simplicity, trust in God, faith in the Church, and a charity towards those in authority and those who do not believe.
A false seer does things to draw attention to himself rather than God. A false seer often claims to control the time and place of an apparition. Most false seers become the leader of the group. The false seer always profits in some way from the phenomena. The false seer seeks or needs the attention from people, or the love of people, or the approval of people. A true seer enters into absolutely no idle conversation. All conversation of a true seer is for the salvation of souls, everything else is from the devil.
Any message that is not in conformity with the Holy Bible and the Holy Tradition is false. Any message that is contrary to messages already approved by the Church is false. Any message that suggests leaving everything up to God is false. Any message that suggests leaving everything up to man is false. Any message that condones more than one Church is false. Any message that threatens punishment to those who do not believe in it is false. Any message that gives to itself the authority that belongs to the local Bishop is false.
Any miracle that does not have a salvation meaning is false. Any miracle that is done outside the Church is false. Any miracle that has a purely physical meaning is false. Any miracle that is exaggerated, presumptuous, controlled by the seer, or attributed to the actions or rituals of the seer is false.
Any apparition, miracle, or seer that causes disunity among families, communities, or the Church is false. Any message or seer that approves of discrimination is false.
By the same token, but the opposite effect, any message or seer that approves of or condones or simply remains silent about any sin is false.
36. Who are the true mystics and what are the true apparitions?
If you study Scripture, you will see that there are no hidden mysteries in the Bible that were not being systematically revealed to the saints down through the ages. Prophets in the Bible like Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Micheas, Zacharias, Malachiea, and more told what would happen in the future and revealed hidden mysteries of faith.
Saints, after the Apostles through the workings of the Holy Spirit, revealed more mysteries of the Church through proper interpretations of Scripture. Saints like Justin Martyr, Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, Iranaeus, and Hegesippus, the Historian of Rome.
In the Third Century, seven young princes of the imperial court refused publicly to offer sacrifices to the idols and hid in a valley between two mountains with only one exit. The Emperor walled up the exit to let them die. However, God put them into a deep sleep, and two hundred years later they woke up and walked into the town of Ephesus to buy food. After their actual death, their bodies have remained uncorrupted.
There have always been approved prophets since the close of the Bible. Many of their prophets have made prophecies about our times and of the future, especially regarding the Antichrist. Church approved prophets like Pastor Hermes and Hyppolitus in the second century; St. Methodius in the fourth century; Sts. Cataldus, Remigius, Caesar of Arles, Bearcan, Senanus and Columbkille of the sixth century; Sts. Ultan, Merlin, Maeltamhlacht, and Odile of the eighth century; St. Edward of the tenth century; St. Malachy, Bechet and Hildegard of the twelfth century; Sts. Gertrude, Herman of Lehnin, and John of the Cleft Rock in the thirteenth century; Sts. Bridget of Sweden, and Catherine of Siena in the fourteenth century; Cyril the Hermit, Vincent Ferrer, Jerome Votin, Hilarion and John Capestran of the fifteenth century; Sts. Racconigi, and Mother Shipton in the sixteenth century; Sts. Margaret Mary, Holzhauser, Mary Agreda, and Gekner of the seventeenth century; Sts. Lavinshy, Louis de Montfort, Padua, Ricci, Rembordt, Royer, and Saluzzo in the eighteenth century; Sts. Marianne, Boirg, Rafols, Korzeniecki, Mathew Lang, Elizabeth Canori-Mora, Souffrand, Anna Maria Taigi, La Salette, Lataste, Taggia, Joseph Goires, Cure of Ars, and Ven. Magdalene Porzat, and Pope Pius XI, Blessed Catherine Emmerich, and St. John Bosco of the nineteenth century; Lucie Christine, Marie Chambau, Chesser Lortie, Pius X, Fatima, Father Berry, Father Pere Lamy, Countess Billiante, Theresa Neumann, and Our Lady of Nicaragua, and Our Lady of Soufanieh.
All of these are prophets who have received private revelations from Heaven and have been investigated by the Church and found to be from God, or supernatural. This is a very good and proper way to learn about God, and about the future, but very dangerous if you are not guided by discernment. All of these have something else in common which you will see at the end of this booklet.
When we say apparitions, we are being lazy. For the lack of a better word that all will understand, this is a catch-all word for important historical revelations from God to the world for the building up of the Kingdom.
In this chapter we will overuse the word "apparition" when meaning "supernatural phenomena". There are many thousands of true private revelations and we could never give them all, each being important. Maybe every saint in history has had a revelation of some kind.
We have limited the true ones in this newsletter to those that had supernatural, historical, and universal importance. Some of those in the 20th century may turn out to be of universal importance, and so we will list all that we know about.
Some of the approved mystics, who received one or more of the different forms of private revelations in the first 1000 years are Hermes, Hyppolitus, Policarp, Augustine, Chrysostom, Gregory the Great, Lactantius, Jerome, Methodius, Cataldus, Remigius, Caesar of Arles, Bearcan, Senanus, Columbkille, Ultan, Merlin, Maeltamhlacht, Odile, Maurus, Leo, Edward, Hilarion, Malachy, Bechet, Hildegard, and Damascine, who saw the Virgin Mary.
After that comes ST. DOMINIC and the ROSARY, then ST. SIMON STOCK and the BROWN SCAPULAR, ST. GERTRUDE and the SACRED HEART, CATHERINE OF SIENA and loyalty to the HOLY FATHER, ST. BRIDGET and the PASSION of Our Lord, THOMAS KEMPIS and IMITATION OF CHRIST, GUADALUPE and OUR LADY OF THE APOCALYPSE, THERESA OF AVILA and the art of DISCERNMENT, JOHN OF THE CROSS and GUIDES FOR MYSTICS, OUR LADY OF GOOD FORTUNE IN QUITO, ECUADOR, prophesied the 20th Century, BLESSED MARY OF AGREDA, the HIDDEN MYSTERIES OF MARY, ST. MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE and the FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTION, ANNA-MARIA TAIGI and the wars of her day, ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH and the MYSTERIES AND PROOF OF THE BIBLE, GEORGE WASHINGTON saw the three great CHASTISEMENTS that would come to the Republic. Washington was baptized Catholic at his deathbed, CATHERINE LABOURE and THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL, LA SALETTE and two great CHASTISEMENTS, LOURDES and the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FR. JOHN VIANNEY and the final VICTORY OF MARY, FR. JOHN BOSCO, and the NEXT POPE, PONTMAIN, PURGATORY was revealed to a nun for over a year, MARIE-JULIE JAHENNY and the coming CHASTISEMENT, THE SCAPULAR OF THE SACRED HEART to Estelle Faguette, ST. GEMMA GALGANI and the PASSION, SISTER MARIA BENIGNA CONSOLATA FERRERO and His DIVINE MERCY, FATIMA and victory of Her IMMACULATE HEART, PADRE PIO and love of the SACRAMENTS, CHARLES VON HAPSBURG and THE GREAT MONARCH, SISTER JOSEFA MENENDEZ and Christ's DIVINE LOVE, BEAURAING and the feast of the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, THERESE NEUMANN, SISTER MARIA FAUSTINA, and DIVINE MERCY, SISTER ELENA AIELLO and THE CHASTISEMENT, QUATMAN and the HOUSE OF MARY, ALEXANDRINA Maria da Costa of Fatima, THE OFFICIAL STATUE of Our Lady of Fatima shed TEARS in New Orleans, AKITA, JAPAN and the CHASTISEMENT, DAMASCUS statue shed TEARS, OUR LADY OF NICARAGUA and WORLD WAR III, OUR LADY OF SOUFANIEH and the UNITY of all Christians, Farouk of ZEITUN, EGYPT, FATHER ALOYSIUS ELLACURIA of Los Angeles, CA, BETANIA, and maybe, Stephen Ho Ngoc Ahn in VIETNAM.
False apparitions, miracles, locutions and the like have one thing in common, they always build up the importance of the seer, the mystic. Therefore, history records them by the mystics' name instead of the message or the place. Therefore, this is really a history of the false mystics. All of them claimed to receive messages directly from God. It might be useful for those who want to improve their knowledge on these matters to study Canon Law 1259 on New Forms of Worship; the decree of the Holy Office, April 17, 1942, regarding booklets, pamphlets and leaflets seeking to introduce new forms of devotion; the June 7, 1932, decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Council regulating the manner of publishing favors and offerings related to devotions; and Canon Law 1399 regarding condemned books, paintings, and the like.
There may be as many as one hundred of these preternatural happenings in each century since Christ. We will, however, only point out a few in order to show the reader that what is going on in the 20th Century is not new, and it will not destroy the Church. It will, nonetheless, harm many uncautious souls.
In the first Century, Satan, trying to destroy the Kingdom of God before it became established, caused false seers to receive private revelations and show signs and wonders that led to the writing of 23 false Gospels and 97 false Epistles. These false revelations led the Holy Father in the fourth century to assemble the Bible and declare that it [and it alone] contained the total deposit of faith.
Simon Magus [mentioned in Acts] can be considered the founder of Gnosticism. He taught that ecstasy was the ultimate teacher of truth. He was possessed and caused many others to receive the same power he had. His mystical power was so great, Claudius Caesar had a statue made in his honor. It's not absolute how much power he had, but we do know that he could fly. His death happened the same way the future Antichrist will die. He bragged that he could fly from the top of the tallest building in Rome, and he did, but an exorcism prayer by Peter caused the demons to release him. He fell to his death.
In the Second Century Montanus began to have false ecstasies and began to prophesy. He misled entire towns of Christians by his miracles. Two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, received the same power from the demons. The miracles impressed his followers. He claimed a separate and superior revelation over the authority of the bishops. He taught that a new kingdom was coming in his lifetime. He further claimed that after him, there would be no more prophets. He was so influential, Tertullian fell into this error.
Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, was born of Jewish parents, but because of the Edict of King Louis XII in 1501, his mother and father were forced to become Catholic. He was baptized and became a doctor and alchemist. He studied magic and the occult at the great Avignon library.
In Avignon he became friends with the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John [later called the Knights of Malta]. They were the keepers of the great treasures of the Church, including the books of the prophets.
Nostradamus copied these books, rewrote them in apocalyptic language and passed them off as his own. By the use of this plagiarism, he became famous in his own day and influenced kings and queens. He is reported to have hated the Virgin Mary, whom he thought of as a demon, and to have been friends with Calvin.
Magdalen of The Cross, a Franciscan Nun of Cordove, had ecstasies, levitation, and stigmata. Her revelations and prophecies consistently came true. She was three times Abbess of her monastery. After years of fooling almost everyone, it was proved that she was possessed from an early age. She was exorcised and removed from her convent.
Kuhlman (1689) communicated with demons and Satan, and wrote preternaturally inspired books. Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) saw angels and spirits. Many followed his writings for years. J.Gichtel (1638-1710) believed that mystical experience was superior to Scripture and wrote seven volumes of mystical theology.
Rose Tamisier received many visions of the Virgin Mary. She received the stigmata, but not the usual type. She had imprinted on her the form of a cross, a heart, a chalice, and even a picture of the Virgin and Child. A picture of Christ bled at the church of St. Saturnin-les-Aptes. She had a worldwide following. However, investigation found that the blood coming from the picture was the blood from a leech. She was discovered as having belonged to a society run by another seer named Martin de Gullardon, who claimed to have visions of angels.
Marie Lenormand (1769-1821) predicted the marriage of Napoleon to Josephine, and both Napoleon and Czar Alexander I of Russia consulted her revelations. It is not unreasonable to believe that much of Napoleon's success came from her powers.
Baroness von Krudener (1800-) had visions and predicted the many activities of Napoleon. Alexander I consulted her in running his country.
Sister Salome, member of the Society of St. John, predicted the failure of Napoleon's Russian campaign. Advised Alexander I of Russia.
Baron Langsdorff (1908) predicted a bomb threat against the Czar Alexander II. He used a psychograph, a prototype of the Ouiji Board.
Father John of Cronstadt (1821-1908) performed miracles and advised Alexander III of Russia.
Eugene Vintras (1807-1875) had visions of St. Michael. Many thought he and his followers to be saints for the outward signs of piety were there. However, it was discovered that he secretly held sacreligious Masses with those present completely nude. The Masses ended in an orgy. Vintras was also accused of homosexual activity. The majority, however, never saw these things.
Rasputin (1871-1916) of Siberia claimed to have had a vision of the Virgin Mother. He left his wife and family and became a preacher. He acquired hypnotic powers, and became known as a miracle worker. He cured the Czar's child and became the Czar's advisor. He was accused of hypnotizing women for seduction and was responsible for the fall of the Czar in 1917.
Felicie Kozlowska (1861-1922), a Franciscan nun, gave such beautiful prophecies, she was called "Little Mother." She helped excommunicated priest Han Kowalski found the Mariavites -- or Imitators of the Virgin Mary. When Kowalski announced that the Virgin Mary dwelt within her, she was excommunicated by St. Pius X. In spite of this, she gained a following of one million including many priests and nuns. The excommunicated priest became the leader of the cult. They ended up in polygamy and mystical marriages. Over 600,000 Catholics were excommunicated.
1931: Ezquioga, Spain, happenings condemned by the Church. 1931: Verschaeve's paintings (1939) of the "Passion of Christ" were condemned by the Holy Office. 1931: Holy Office (1939) condemned the devotion to the "annihilated love of Jesus" and the "Rosary of the Most Sacred Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ." 1940: Heede-Germany condemned. 1941: The Church condemned devotion to "The Merciful Love". 1947: Bouxieres-aux-Dames in Belgium declared preternatural. 1947: Espis-France condemned as not from God, and produced violent cases of disobedience. 1948: Moving statue in Assisi condemned as not from the actions of God. 1948: Gimigliano-Italy condemned. 1948: Lipa-Philippine visions and rain of rose petals at the Carmel convent proved to be preternatural. 1948: Aspang-Austria condemned. 1949: Forstweiler-Germany declared not supernatural. 1949: Fehrbach-Germany condemned. 1949: Hasznos-Hungary condemned. 1949: Lublin-Poland's weeping lady condemned. 1950: Heroldsbach, Germany's alleged apparitions declared to be non-supernatural, and disobedience followed. 1950: A this-Mons-France condemned as not from God. 1954: St. Brigid: "Promises to St. Brigid- Secret of Happiness: 15 Prayers Revealed by Our Lord to St. Brigid" promoted as part of the revelations of St. Brigid were condemned.
37. What about today? What apparitions and mystics are false today?
The false in the Americas are Necedah, WIS, Bayside, NY, the Charismatids, the Portavoz of MX, St. Josehep's Hill of Hope, Los Angeles, CA, The Army of Mary of CAN, the Last Call of CAN, Maria Esperanza of Betania (although Betania is true), Fr. Albert Hebert of Paulina, LA, Eileen George of Worcester, MA, Miguel Poblete of Penablance, OH, Maureen Sweeney of Cleveland, OH, Vange Gonzales of Santa Fe, NM, Nancy Fowler of Conyers, GA, Elba & Zendia of Terra Blance, MX, Bro. David of El Ranchilo, TX, Estella Ruiz of Phoenix, AZ, Mary Constancio of Lubbock, TX, Pachi Borrero of El Cajas, EQ, Father Spaulding of Scottsdale, AZ, Gianna Sullivan and the rest of Scottsdale, AZ, Marvin Kucera of Scottsdale, AZ, Theresa Lopez of CO, Januszkiewicz of Marlboro, NJ, Singer of Burlinton, ON, Reinhiltz of Hillside, IL, Carol Nole of Santa Maria, CA, Fr Bruse of Lake Ridge, VA, Veronica Garcia of Denver, CO, Tony Fernwalt of Steubenville, OH, Ray doiron of Belleville, IL, Rosa Lopez of Hollywood, FL.
The false outside our Hemisphere are: Poem of the Man-God, Luisa Piccarreta, The Pebble of AUS, Vassula Ryden of SZ, Father Gino, of San Vittorino, IT, Caterine Richero of France, Lasuta of Czech, Garabandal, Janonis, Liathuania, Rosa of Dan Damiano, Gilli of Italy, Alocci of Sant Stefano, IT, Carabelli of San Damiano, IT, Josyp Terelya of Ukraine, Fr. Gobbi of Milan, IT, Julka of Yugoslavia, Cuevas of El Escorial, Rwanda (may be approved but could not be from God), Medjugorje, Aloisia Lex of Austria, Julia Kim of Korea, 12 children of Oliveto Citra, IT, Ursula and Breda of Melleray, IR, Paul of Blue Mt., AUS, Cameroon, AF, Rosemary O'Sullivan of IRE. Maria Kizyn of Ukraine, Sr. Anna Ali of Rome, Christina Gallagher of IRE, Zenovai of Ukraine, Singer of Ontario, Ivetka and Katka of Slovakia, Matthew Kelly of AUS, Rossi of Rome.
38. Do you have any personal sign that you look for in discerning apparitions?
Yes! On February 2, 1965, the Holy Father opened the Fourth International Mariological Congress with the request that Our Lady be known as OUR MOTHER OF UNITY. The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary founded in 1867 to promote unity of all the churches took up this title. Demonic means "to divide". So let us think, would OUR MOTHER OF UNITY say anything or do anything or cause anything to be done that would cause disunity among families, communities, priests, bishops, the Holy Father, or any group of well meaning people? Unity in the family comes from a chain of command. Unity in a business comes from a chain of command. Unity in the Church comes from a chain of command. God ordained a chain of command. Would Our Lady advocate breaking God's chain. Let us pray to OUR MOTHER OF UNITY.
39. Do you believe in the Chastisement and Christ's second coming?
Yes! I do. If you study the prophets from the Bible and the first two thousand years of the Church, and those prophesies that have not come to pass yet, and who have been totally approved by the Church, and who have been proved in one way or another by miracles or at least by short-term prophecies that have come to pass in extraordinary ways, the story of the future is painted like a scroll before your eyes .
The fact is that we know what the future holds for us. We just do not know when and where. If we know, Satan knows. What do we know comes from one hundred and eleven approved prophecies about the future of the world.
We know that Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is not coming soon. Why? Because we know that some things have to happen first. We know that Our Lord, Jesus Christ, will not set up a Kingdom on Earth. Why? Because we know that the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth is the Church. And we know from the Bible that when He comes He will not set His foot on this earth.
What has to happen first? First there must be a "Chastisement of the Earth" in order to bring about one Christian Kingdom and one Church on Earth. We know that this chastisement will last from four to seven years. This chastisement will start with a world wide economic crash and will end with three days of darkness. Let me repeat that "It will end (not start) with three days of darkness). We know that during the chastisement there will be two very important people, a very holy king, called "Charles the Monarch" and a very holy Pope, a Pope who will be elected outside of Rome in a very fast way, almost certainly the next Pope.
We know that after the chastisement there will be only twenty-five percent of the world left, and it will take seven years to bury the dead. We know that the good and the bad will survive. But we also know that the bad will be converted by the Monarch and the Holy Pope.
We know that those who survive the chastisement will have a period of peace that will be without work or needs. We also know that in the first part of this peace everyone will be holy. But we also know that in the second half of this peace faith will fade and become lax.
After this period of peace on earth (We believe it will not last more than forty or fifty years.), the Antichrist will come. Henoch and Elias will come (maybe even Saint John, the Apostle). The Antichrist will be born in the ruins of Babylon between the two great rivers. He will be born of a Jewish prostitute and a Catholic Bishop. She will pretend to be a virgin. The child will be able to talk the moment he comes out of the womb. He will appear to be holy, gentle, kind, mild, and charismatic. He will look like Christ, act like Christ, and talk like Christ. He will perform many miracles (or at least what appear to be miracles), and many will follow him. He will convert the Jews first, then the Moslems, and then many Catholics. There will be no other Christian religions on earth at that time.
After converting the Jews and Moslems into one religion, he will rebuild the Temple of Solomon. There he will place himself on a seat in the Holy of Holies and proclaim himself the Son of God. He will cause a great famine over the whole earth, so that no one will have the food he needs. But then he will promise that whosoever comes to the Temple and has his or her hand and forehead marked with his mark will receive all the food he needs for the rest of his life. He will have to go to war against Egypt, Libya, and Africa, but after that all the secular world will come to his side, and he will rule the world. He will outlaw the Continual Sacrifice, the Mass. (Daniel 8:11)
The Pope (whose name will be Peter the Second) and those who refuse to be marked with his mark will go into hiding. Those who cannot hide will be martyred. More Catholics will be martyred during this time than all the two-thousand-year history of the Kingdom put together.
In the last year of his three-and-one-half-year control of the world, he will kill Henoch and Elias and place their bodies in public display in front of the Temple. After the third day, they will come to life and ascend into heaven body and soul by the Power of God.
This will so anger the Antichrist that he will promise the whole world that he, too, will ascend into heaven and bring them back to earth. And on the prescribed day he will ascend up into the sky. However, Christ will strike him dead (as He did to Simon Magus), and he will fall to the earth.
All the people will be very happy because the Antichrist is dead. They will be so happy that they will have parties and celebrations. They will have marriages and will give their children in marriages. And then forty-five days after the death of the Antichrist, there will be a great sign in the sky -- The Cross with Christ crucified. All the Jews, who have survived, will see and know that they crucified Him, but it will be too late.
Christ will appear in all his glory with all His Heavenly Hosts, and in the twinkling of an eye, half the people of the world will disappear into Hell. Those remaining will be lifted up body and soul towards Christ, who will remain in the sky. All those in Purgatory will ascend first. All the bodies of those who died, from Adam to the time of the Antichrist, will come up out of the earth and join their souls in the heavens. All this will take place as those remaining at the end ascend body and soul towards Christ.
Then Christ will wipe away the earth, purgatory, the heavens, and the stars with the movement of his hand. Amen!
We know it from the Bible: Regarding the chastisement: Isaias 24, Exechiel 39, Daniel 7, Joel 3, and Zachariea 13 and 14; regarding the Antichrist: Dan. 7,8 and 10, Matt. 24, Rev. 20, John 5; regarding the Second Coming of Christ: Matt. 24 and 25, Mark 13, Luke 12 and 21, 1 Cor. 15, 1 Thess. 2, 3, 4 and 5, 2 Peter 3, Rev. 1 and 3, Dan. 12 and Joel 2. We know it from the disciples of the Apostles, like Justin Martyr, Ignatius, Iranaeus, and Clement of Rome who learned from the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John. We know it from the disciples of the disciples of the Apostles like Hippolyius, Cyprian, Augustine and Jerome. We know it from the prophets who have been approved by the Church and by the miracles and prophesies that have already come to pass as listed in the section on prophets.
Now, this is very, very important what we are about to say. "If we know this, Satan knows this."
Let us repeat that. "If we know this, Satan knows this."
Let us repeat that again. "If we know this, Satan knows this."
41. So what if Satan knows about the chastisement?
Remember, the demons recognized Christ before His followers did. Why? The demons are masters of Scripture. They used Scripture to tempt Christ. They used Scripture to crucify Christ. Simon Magus used scripture to crucify Peter and Paul. Demons know what is going to happen better than we do. In order to counteract the Will of God, they have to make their own plans.
If God is going to chastise the world, the demons know they cannot stop it, but they can confuse people in such a way as to think they will escape it by such stupid things as "rapture", or prophets who say that if you go to this or that hill you will escape, or by claiming that God will give signs before the chastisement, or whatever.
Demons know that a very holy Monarch will come into the world to save the world in the last days of the chastisement. What is their plan? To claim him as the Beast of Revelation! The demons know that a very, very holy Pope will come to save the Church. What is their plan? To claim him to be the Antichrist!
Why would demons have apparitions, locutions, ecstasies, visions, etc., that cause people to be converted, to be more holy, to pray more, to give up sin, to even give up drugs and alcohol? More than just winning souls, Satan wants to mock and stop God. He can mock God by having very holy people worship a false God or a false Mary. He can stop God (or at least slow Him down) by confusing the prophesies that truly come from God.
Some apparitions we have followed for years and years without seeing anything that we could attribute to the demons. Everything seemed so holy to us. Then suddenly a message would come through that would say that the next Pope would be the Antichrist, and we would know that it was not of God. Or one message would say that the Antichrist was already alive, and we would know that it was not of God. Or even that Christ was already on the earth!
All false apparitions of this Century have the same thing in common: They all want to divide the faithful from their bishops. Once they are successful in dividing the faithful from their bishops (by telling them to trust only in the Pope of Rome or the message of the seer), then suddenly a message will come "FROM HEAVEN" that the Pope of Rome is the Antichrist. Who will these faithful, being led astray, be able to turn to then? Only the seers?
42. What is the danger of a false apparition?
We know that we are in the last days before the chastisement prophesied by over one hundred approved prophets. We think it could start April 1, 1999. (see our Newsletter) We also know that Satan is preparing to lead many souls away from the Church by false revelations. Over eighty percent of the Catholics in America believe in one or more false revelations right now. These false revelations seem very holy and bring people to a holier life, but the final goal of Satan in this is not holiness, but to lead people first away from their bishops, and to trust the Pope only, and then to declare the next Pope the Antichrist. At that point they will be totally outside of the Church with no bishops or Pope, and therefore outside of salvation. And just like the flood of Noah, (during the chastisement) those outside the Church, when 75% of the world will die, will be lost.
