Authentic apparitions and private revelations are for our spiritual well-being, while false ones can lead us astray. One is a great good; the other is a grave danger. On the surface, however, it can be difficult to tell which is which.
In his classic book on Catholic mysticism, The Graces of Interior Prayer: A Treatise on Mystical Prayer, Father Auguste Poulain examined authentic mystical experiences that guide souls to union with God, as distinguished from those that are imagination, fantasy or diabolical illusion... “Approval only is to declare that nothing is to be found contrary to faith or morals, and that they can be accepted without danger and even with advantage.”
The Church investigates claims of private revelations cautiously, according to Father Poulain, because the devil can use them to ensnare otherwise serious Catholics. The devil “can by a ruse, feign to encourage them for a time for the sake of landing his victim in exaggeration and oddities,” he said. “Provided that the end is evil, the road leading up to it matters little to him.”
(How to Tell True Apparitions From False)
In his classic book on Catholic mysticism, The Graces of Interior Prayer: A Treatise on Mystical Prayer, Father Auguste Poulain examined authentic mystical experiences that guide souls to union with God, as distinguished from those that are imagination, fantasy or diabolical illusion... “Approval only is to declare that nothing is to be found contrary to faith or morals, and that they can be accepted without danger and even with advantage.”
The Church investigates claims of private revelations cautiously, according to Father Poulain, because the devil can use them to ensnare otherwise serious Catholics. The devil “can by a ruse, feign to encourage them for a time for the sake of landing his victim in exaggeration and oddities,” he said. “Provided that the end is evil, the road leading up to it matters little to him.”
(How to Tell True Apparitions From False)
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