Lessons in Humility from M.J.

No, not from Michael Jackson; I thought my deceptive ploys to grab your attention were common knowledge by now. This post is about the humility of Mary and Joseph (The M.J. in J.M.J.).

Following Saturday's show about approved Marian apparitions I received a call from a woman desperate for the bishops to acknowledge that she had received a message from God.  (30 seconds into the conversation, she had already conveyed enough side details to indicate why the bishops are unable to do so.  My heart went out to her though; please pray for her peace and that she is able to find good medical treatment.)  She was desperate to be acknowledged; for people to know that God had spoken to her.  The only advice I could give her was to put everything into God's hands and to be at peace.  If He wanted this private revelation known then He would open the doors for it to be known.

She came back to me this morning while praying the Joyful Mysteries, and it brought Mary's humility into stark relief.  Mary had received the greatest revelation in all of human history; she was going to be the mother of the Messiah.  Gabriel referred to her by a title, "Full of Grace;" she stood head and shoulders above the rest of humanity.  

But notice how God communicated His will to Mary over those next few years - through Joseph.   God sent his angel to Joseph, and Joseph appraised Mary of their need to flee to Egypt, as well as their eventual need to return to Nazareth.  Now it was probably very evident to Mary and Joseph who had the brains in the family; preserved from original sin, Mary's mind undoubtedly processed information and arrived at conclusions much more quickly than Joseph's.  Joseph had to marvel at the pearls of wisdom that fell from Mary's lips and be in awe of the acts of love that flowed from her.  Even though Mary's holiness and intelligence surpassed Joseph's, God had still entrusted her to his care.  Mary recognized that the superabundant graces God poured out upon her did not excuse her from following the order he had established within the Holy Family.  And to Mary's praise, she was completely at peace with it!  Now that's humility, and there is peace in humility.

Many times we may feel like God has given us some great task to carry out in the Church, but the doors don't seem to open.  Perhaps our parish priests, diocesan officials, or even the bishop do not seem to have much interest in the plans we share.  God wants us to practice humility and place ourselves in His hands.  If this work is of God, then the doors will eventually open; and if the work is not of God, it is better they stay closed.  In any case, it is an opportunity to grow in humility, to submit ourselves to the order God has established for His Family on earth.  That's where the peace is.  (I know, it's hard to practice; growing up isn't easy.)  Look to Mary; she's a model worth imitating!

 

Links to Resources on Marian Apparitions

Lets start with the free stuff!  Give these websites a try:


Apparitions and Shrines of the Blessed Virgin Mary (that have been approved by legitimate Church authority), and 
Theotokos Books' page, Nine Major Approved Apparitions - click on each for good summaries

I would also invite you to scroll back through my blog posts over the past few days for information on how the Church approves Marian apparitions and my summaries of apparitions.


Now, if you're in the mood to fork out some dough, I recommend:
1) The Catholic Book Publishing Company's Dictionary of Mary
 (Revised, Expanded Edition)
2) Donal Anthony Foley's Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World

Mary's appearances in Champion, WI & Knock, Ireland

The most most recently approved Marian apparition comes from right here in the U.S. - Champion, WI.  On Dec.8, 2010 the Bishop of Green Bay issued his statement that after careful investigation, he believed the apparition experienced by Adele Brise on Oct.9, 1859, were of supernatural origin.

Mary's appearance to Adele came only a year and a half after the apparitions at Lourdes.  Mary appeared to Adele as she was traveling home from Mass.  It was an eleven mile walk!  Mary appeared beside the path, standing between trees, dressed in a white gown with a golden sash and a crown of stars. (According to the Shrine website) She said,  

“ I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning, and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them ...

What are you doing here in idleness ... while your companions are working in the vineyard of my Son?"

“What more can I do, dear Lady?" said Adele, weeping.

“Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation"

“But how shall I teach them who know so little myself?" replied Adele.

“Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing. I will help you.’ "

Those final words to Adele were the reason this apparition became known as Our Lady of Good Help. Adele did exactly as she was asked.  Throughout the rest of her life she traveled the mostly unsettled state of Wisconsin, often on foot, instructing children in the Faith and talking with their parents about how they were living it out.

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Knock was a quiet, remote village in County Mayo, in west Ireland. Our Lady was seen there, in front of the south wall of the parish church, on the night of Aug.21, 1879, by fifteen witness ranging in age from five to seventy-five.  This apparition stands out in two respects:  1)  No messages was given, verbal or written, and 2) A number of other figures were seen.

At Knock Our Lady appeared in a white robe, with a golden crown having a gold rose where it touched her forehead.  She was in prayer, her raised to the level of her shoulders and her eyes directed toward heaven.  All of the figures with Mary were clothed in white too.  On her right was St. Joseph, he slightly gray head bowed slightly in deference to her.  On her left was St. John the evangelist, wearing the short miter of an eastern bishop, a book in his left hand and the index and middle finger of his right hand pointed upward as if he were making a point while preaching.  Slightly behind the three, closer to the wall of the church was an altar, surrounded by adoring angels, with the Lamb of God and a cross laying across it.  The angels' eyes never left the Lamb.  The light emanating from the apparition was observed by one man half a mile away.  


While the observers stood in a downpour, no rain was seen to fall on the figures in the apparition.  When any of the by-standers tried to approach the apparition seemed to retreat slightly toward the church.  The apparition,which began when the sun was low in the sky, was visible for almost four hours.

Although there was no verbal or written message there is so much to be meditated upon - the inestimable value of the Mass, our Lord's Eucharistic Sacrifice and how it unites heaven and earth, the preaching of Jesus' words from the Gospel, and the Magisterium of the Church, the intercession of the saints, the maternal love of our Queen, Mary, and the paternal love of Joseph!

Mary at La Salette and Pontmain

Two children (Maximin Giraud, age 11, and Melanie Calvat, 14) pasturing cattle near La Salette, France, received an apparition of the Blessed Mother on Sept.19th, 1846.  A glowing woman sat on a stone, her head in her hands, weeping.  She wore a long white gown and a tiara on her head.  Around her neck was a large crucifix adorned with a small hammer and pincers.

"If my people do not obey, I shall be compelled to loose my Son's arm. It is so heavy I can no longer restrain it. How long have I suffered for you! If my son is not to abandon you, I am obliged to entreat Him without ceasing ... I have given you six days to work. The seventh I have reserved for myself, yet no one will give it to me. This is what causes the weight of my Son's arm to be so crushing. The cart drivers cannot swear without bringing in my Son's name. These are the two things which make my son's arm so heavy."

The italicized portion of the above texts are a paraphrase of Leviticus 23:3.  Our Blessed Mother was speaking in the first person, delivering God's word just like Moses and the prophets!  She then told the children, who admitted to praying very little, to at least say their morning and night prayers.  The Blessed Mother bemoaned the way that in the summer time the only people attending Mass were the elderly women, as everyone else worked in the fields.  In the winter people came to Mass but they mocked it.  No one practiced the Lenten fasting and abstinence.  Before disappearing she told the children to make her message known to all her children.  They did and it sparked a religious revival in France.

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The apparitions over Pontmain, France took place about 25 years later.  France was fighting the War of 1870, and Prussian forces controlled 2/3 of France.  The district containing the city of Pontmain was in the northwestern part of the country, and it expected to be overrun next. 

Mary was seen in the sky over a family farm in Pontmain by four children (Joseph and Eugene Barbedette, and two young girls, Jeanne-Marie Lebosse and Francois Richer) on Jan.17,1871, for over two hours.  The parish priest was called and he led the children and their parents, unable to see the apparition, in prayer.  The children saw the Blessed Mother dressed in a dark-blue robe covered in stars, a smile upon her face, with her hands extended downward toward them.  A blue oval with four candles encircles her and as the crowd prayed Mary and the oval increased in size and more stars seemed to sweep in and cover her dress.  A broad white streamer slowly unrolled beneath her feet with gold letters, reading "Pray, my children.  God will answer before long.  My Son lets Himself be moved."  As the parish priest led them in singing "Gentle Jesus, pardon now our penitent hearts" Mary's face showed sadness.  A large red cross then formed, with a placard at the top reading "Jesus Christ" in red.  Mary offered the cross to the children.  The cross vanished after a few minutes and Mary returned to her initial posture, but now with a white cross on each shoulder.  A large white veil appeared at her feet, slowly rose in front of her, and the apparition ceased.

The Prussians that the visionaries and their neighbors feared were soon unexpectedly turned back and an armistice signed.

Apparitions at Banneux and Beauraing

Beauraing (which I believe is pronounced Bo-reen) and Banneux (pronounced Bah-neh) are Marian apparitions you don't hear much about. Both took place after the much more well known apparition at Fatima.

Thirty-three apparitions took place in Beauraing, Belgium, between Nov.1932 and Jan.1933.  The apparitions were granted to five children, (Gilberte, Fernande, and Albert Voisin and Andree and Gilberte Degeimbreand) aged nine to fourteen, in the garden of a convent.  The Blessed Mother appeared to them clothed in a white dress and veil, a Rosary hanging from her right arm, and her garments emitting a soft blue light.  Sharp rays of golden light radiated from her face.  On multiple occasions her heart was manifested to the children - a golden heart and pouring forth golden rays of light.  (Our Lady of Beauraing is also known as Our Lady of the Golden Heart.)  Mary identified herself as, "the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven."  She told them instructed them to "Pray always" and "sacrifice" for the conversion of sinners.  (This was only six years before the onslaught of WWII.)  She also requested that a chapel be built at that spot. The annual pilgrimage day to Beauraing is Aug.22nd.

Apparitions began taking place at Banneux, also in Belgium, not even two weeks after those in Beauraing.  Eight apparitions occurred in Banneux between January and March 1933 to an eleven year old girl, Mariette Beco.  Mary identified herself as the "Mother of the Savior, Mother of God," as well as "the Virgin of the Poor."  Mary assured Mariette of her prayers on behalf of her children and instructed Mariette to "pray ... pray much ... pray very much" and repeatedly beckoned her to a spring near Mariette's home.  The Blessed Mother said "This spring is reserved for all the nations - to relieve the sick," and she asked that a small chapel be built there. 

What's truly amazing is that Mary was appearing in Banneux at the exact time that elections were being held in Germany and Hitler was being voted in as chancellor.  The Blessed Mother's message of a spring of healing "for all the nations" flew in the face of the Nazi conception of the master race and its coming policy of extermination (see Foley's Marian Apparitions, p.297)

Guadalupe - Things We Don't Often Hear

Still prepping for Saturday:

A couple of years back, I read Donal Anthony Flew's Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World, and was surprised by the background information it contained on Mary's appearance outside Mexico City.  I had heard before how the Aztecs were looking for the return of their pale-faced god, Quetzalcoatl, and his reclamation of their empire, and how the Aztecs thought Cortes was either Quatzalcoatl's emissary, or the god himself.  What I had never come across before was how ten years before Cortes arrival, Princess Papantzin, sister of the Aztec ruler Montezuma, fell into a coma and was buried.  She revived in the tomb and recounted for her brother the dream she had had.  Dolan narrates, "In it she was taken by a shining being with a black cross on his forehead to the shore of the ocean to see a number of ships with black crosses on their sails approaching.  She was told that these were the future conquerors of the country, who would also bring knowledge of the true God" (p.8).

The Aztecs expected Quatzalcoatl to return on his personal name day according to their calendar and to be wearing black when he did so.  It just so happened that Cortes arrived in the New World in ships with black crosses on the sails and stepped ashore wearing black due to the date on the Christian calendar, Good Friday (April 22, 1519).

Properly Assessing Private Revelations

Thought I would do some of my preparation for this Saturday's radio show (EWTN, 1-2 p.m. Eastern) about approved Marian apparitions, here online.  (Please feel free to comment and help me get shipshape!)

Colin Donovan, Vice President for Theology at EWTN, has written a great article, summarizing how the Church evaluates reports of private revelation, such as Marian apparitions, and how prudent Catholics should react to such phenomena.  You can also visit the Vatican website to read the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's normative guidelines (1978) for evaluation claims of apparitions, as well as Jimmy Akin's helpful commentary here.  Because I know that many of you are pressed for time, I've tried to summarize the relevant features:

First, we really need to keep straight the difference between Public Revelation and private revelations (CCC 66-67).  The latter, such as the Blessed Mother's request to Catherine Labouré to create the "Miraculous Medal", can never be regarded as necessary for salvation.  They are not elements of the Faith handed on by Christ to the Apostles (Public Revelation).  Rather, authentic private revelations, are encouragements that God has sent, in particular times and places, to help us better live the Public Revelation. 

We Catholics do not consider private revelations as matters of "divine and Catholic faith" the way we do Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist.  The Church speaks of private revelations as "giving evidence of supernatural intervention."  To use Pope Benedict's words, they are considered "worthy of pious credence" and are judged worthy of a prudent "human faith."

So what makes for an approved private revelation?  First and foremost, it cannot contradict or claim to correct Public Revelation (Scripture & Tradition).  It is investigated by the local bishop.   What specific things does he consider?

a) the visionary - their psychological work-up, morality, and obedience to Church authority, whether he/she has sought to profit materially from the apparition
b) whether or not the revelations contradict Public Revelation
c) the presence of constant and abundant fruits - has the apparition led to increased prayer and displays of love of God and man

After looking at all of this the bishop, exercising prudent human judgment, issues one of three conclusions:

1) it is supernatural
2) it is definitely not of supernatural origin,
3) at the present time, although there are positive signs, there is insufficient evidence to declare it supernatural in origin. 

In most cases the judgment is #2 - definitely not supernatural.  In some rare cases the bishop deems #3 appropriate and gives approval for his flock to practice the devotions associated with the apparition as he and subsequent bishops continue to study the details of the apparition and watch for "constant and abundant" fruits.  (A current example of this is devotion to Our Lady of America - see Jimmy Akin's blog.)  In the case of the first approved apparition of Our Lady in the United States, Our Lady of Good Help (Champion, WI), devotions were approved for practice for well over a century before the Bishop of Green Bay issued his judgment that the apparition was of supernatural origin (#1 above).

The bottom line in all of these cases is that Mother Church expects us to abide by the local bishop's decision.  When it has been positive the Pope will sometimes signal his own approval of the apparition by granting a liturgical feast to the apparition, canonizing the visionary, granting favors to the apparition site, or making a personal pilgrimage there.