Recent Posts

Tuesday 5 June 2012

Against a popular private revelation-part two

I shall just highlight one more point from the website which is getting Catholic followers. This supposed mystic is dangerous and her revelations are protestant in theology. Many errors can be found. I listed three earlier, and another one to address is obvious. The person states that Jesus gives a plenary indulgence to those who say a prayer for seven days. No. Jesus does not give indulgences, the Church does. Obviously, this seer does not see the Church as the arbiter of grace and merit-only the Church's has the power to forgive sins and deal with punishment due to sin, as Christ gave that power to St. Peter, see John 20:23. Again, the seer circumvents Catholic teaching and tradition regarding the sacraments, in this case, Confession. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. DR


The consistent view of this false prophet is that such graces as the seal of Confirmation, discussed in the last post, and now the forgiveness of sin or the temporal punishment or penances due to sin, is outside the provenance of the hierarchy, the Teaching Magisterium, the Tradition of the Church.


If any Catholic follows the teaching of this woman, they have moved out of the mainstream of Catholicism and need to consider their souls. I wrote part two in the title, but there are several more posts of the same theme on this blog. These points hold significance for many, many people.

Against a popular private revelation--part one

Two months ago, I wrote of the dangers of private revelation. Today, I have learned of another person who is into a false prophet online who publishes items about the Second Coming. In 45 minutes, I found 22 errors, including serious doctrinal errors. Catholics who cannot be bothered to spend time reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or encyclicals, or commentaries on The Creed, seem to be drawn to private revelations which are based on a protestant theology and which fall into Gnosticism. Gnosticism is one of the most prevalent heresies alive and well in our times. The need for some people to feel holy, to want secret or arcane knowledge, or who would rather seek out seers and people seeing apparitions presents a problem for the Church, especially in England and Ireland. For some reason, this tendency to follow false prophets seems more prevalent here than in other countries. To seek out false seers is a sin of pride. To desire secret knowledge is a form of pride.

The website is full of errors. I have several sheets of errors which I have passed out to four people, and now I find another person has fallen into the seduction of looking for revelation outside the Catholic Church.

I am going to list only four of the serious errors. If anyone wants to entire list, I can e-mail it to them.

First, there is no further revelation from God after the last word of the Book of Revelation. This is a teaching of the Catholic Church found in the CCC in section 65, 66 67, and Lumen gentium 12, with regard to private revelations. We call the set revelation in the Catholic Church "the deposit of faith". 


Secondly, the Second Coming happens at the end of the world and does not introduce a time, such as a thousand years of peace. I can refer readers to the Catholic Encyclopedia online and to the early Councils of Florence, Trent,   Also, we have Scripture clearly stating "Knowing this first, that in the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, Saying: Where is his promise or his coming? for since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they are wilfully ignorant of, that the heavens were before, and the earth out of water, and through water, consisting by the word of God. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of the ungodly men. The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance. But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it, shall be burnt up." 2 Peter 3:3-5,7,9-10


and "The Sacred Scriptures inform us that there are two comings of the Son of God: the one when He assumed human flesh for our salvation in the womb of a virgin; the other when He shall come at the end of the world to judge all mankind. This latter coming is called in Scripture the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord, says the Apostle, shall come, as a thief in the night; and our Lord Himself says: Of that day and hour no one knoweth." Catechism of Council of Trent, The Creed, Article VII


Also, the CCC 1040 on the Second Coming is clear.


A third point concerns sacramental theology. The seer claims that Christ gives a seal to those special people who listen to her and follow Christ. Yes, Christ does give a seal and it is given in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are then sealed, if we are confirmed in the Catholic Church, with an indelible mark as Catholics. From the CCC, which refers to the Catechism of Council of Trent. The seer consistently undermines sacramental theology by speaking of such things as seals and grace outside of the sacramental life of the Church. This is a protestant view. I shall do one more later.



1295
By this anointing the confirmand receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy Spirit. A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority, or ownership of an object.106 Hence soldiers were marked with their leader's seal and slaves with their master's. A seal authenticates a juridical act or document and occasionally makes it secret.107



Partisan Gap Widens in the States


There is a new poll on partisan gaps in the States. Here is the link and a graph. Not surprised...this president has caused even more of a split, as his rhetoric and attacks on the Constitution are divisive.

The June Sky in the North

Mars is obvious in the southwestern part of the sky. I saw it this evening. late about 10:45. Bootes, the Herdsman, is the big constellation in the sky. Arcturus and Izar are visible plainly, the first being very bright.
Corona Borealis is clear as well, the great Northern Crown. Another clear constellation is Draco. In England, if it is not raining, like tonight, these constellations are clear.

Tomorrow, in some parts of the world, the great, second, and last transit of Venus will occur. One must not look directly at the sun. There are many websites on this rare event explaining how to look at Venus crossing the sun without damaging one's eyes.

At the end of the month, one can see Jupiter and Venus together in the pre-dawn sky.  Right now, in Walsingham, as I am writing this, it is 41 degrees Farenheit. I am not going to stand outside and look at the stars any longer! However, I did see the full moon rising. This was an extraordinary experience, as I was standing in a country field, waiting for the lighting of the beacon and a display of fireworks, when the move took  all my attention.

Enjoy the sky this month.

The Walsingham Beacon


Tonight I saw the Walsingham Beacon, as I was standing outside in a cold field with a friend and about another 100 Norfolk visitors. The beacon was lit for the Jubilee and as I noted the other day, about 4,000 beacons across Great Britain were all lit at the same time,10:00 p.m. At the same time, fireworks of a great variety and colour exploded next to the Beacon.

For my American readers, the Beacon was a remembrance of the original Anglo-Saxon beacons, lit at the invasions of the Danes. See post below for a beacon celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.

Of course, Tolkien used this tradition in his books and above is the clip from the movie.