Marian apparitions...are they for real or a hoax?

[yogosans14]

This thought came to my mind....I know about certain Marian apparitions that a lot of Catholics deem to be true but satan himself disguises himself as a angel of light according to the the word of God. Satan and his demons can masquerade as departed loved ones to trick us and wouldn't it be possible Satan and his minions can do the same with these "Marian apparitions"?

 

[PaladinValer]

This thought came to my mind....I know about certain Marian apparitions that a lot of Catholics deem to be true but satan himself disguises himself as a angel of light according to the the word of God. Satan and his demons can masquerade as departed loved ones to trick us and wouldn't it be possible Satan and his minions can do the same with these "Marian apparitions"?

...Staff moving this to Mariology and Hagiography in T-#...#...#...#

 

[pdudgeon]

This thought came to my mind....I know about certain Marian apparitions that a lot of Catholics deem to be true but satan himself disguises himself as a angel of light according to the the word of God. Satan and his demons can masquerade as departed loved ones to trick us and wouldn't it be possible Satan and his minions can do the same with these "Marian apparitions"?

There's a very easy answer to your question.
you'll need to look at the first 6 words of your post, "This thought came to my mind.." and go back to Genesis, to the conversation between satan and Eve for your answer.

It was satan who first planted the seed of doubt in Eve's thoughts. God's words were and are always true, so any time a doubt about them comes into your mind, you'll know that you're listening to the wrong counsel. God's prophets carry and proclaim His words. They cannot speak against God. Satan's messengers on the other hand will always cast doubt and speak against God.

 

[MrMoe]

There's a very easy answer to your question.
you'll need to look at the first 6 words of your post, "This thought came to my mind.." and go back to Genesis, to the conversation between satan and Eve for your answer.

It was satan who first planted the seed of doubt in Eve's thoughts. God's words were and are always true, so any time a doubt about them comes into your mind, you'll know that you're listening to the wrong counsel.

So we should just believe every spirit? (1 John 4:1)

There's a difference between having doubt and having discernment and the desire to test all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

God's prophets carry and proclaim His words. They cannot speak against God. Satan's messengers on the other hand will always cast doubt and speak against God.

Are you sure?

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. (KJV)

 

[concretecamper]

This thought came to my mind....I know about certain Marian apparitions that a lot of Catholics deem to be true but satan himself disguises himself as a angel of light according to the the word of God. Satan and his demons can masquerade as departed loved ones to trick us and wouldn't it be possible Satan and his minions can do the same with these "Marian apparitions"?

Of the many claimed apparitions, only a very small percentage are approved by the Church. In fact, many are found to be false and in some cases may be of demonic origin.

 

[Albion]

Some are hoaxes; others are unexplained.

That's true of quite a few historic events, including the non-religious ones as well as the religious ones.

 

[Optimax]

Some years back in dealing with a house that had demonic manifestations and the witch that lived there.

One of the things that occurred was that the neighbors kept seeing a dead man walking around the area.

The man they were seeing had been murdered in the neighborhood and was a relative of the witch.

Was it the dead man's "ghost".

No, of course it was not.

It was a demonic apparition.

Does not matter what the name.

Those types of things are demonic.

 

[catholichomeschooler]

Of the many claimed apparitions, only a very small percentage are approved by the Church. In fact, many are found to be false and in some cases may be of demonic origin.

This is true, and in addition no Catholic is required to accept the validity of any private revelation, which includes those apparitions deemed by the Church to be considered legitimate.

 

[pdudgeon]

So we should just believe every spirit? (1 John 4:1)

every spirit? no. believe every word of God.

There's a difference between having doubt and having discernment and the desire to test all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

certainly there's a difference between doubt and discernment; the first is from satan while the last is from God.

Are you sure?

yep.

Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. (KJV)

now read verse 18, where Paul casts the spirit out of her. Divination was from satan, but discernment was from God.

 

[Rhamiel]

This thought came to my mind....I know about certain Marian apparitions that a lot of Catholics deem to be true but satan himself disguises himself as a angel of light according to the the word of God. Satan and his demons can masquerade as departed loved ones to trick us and wouldn't it be possible Satan and his minions can do the same with these "Marian apparitions"?

yeah, many of them might be demonic

That is why any such event is investigated very deeply before it is said to be harmful or if it seems to be a true apparition.

For example, I would recomend that anyone interested in this topic read the book Our Lady Of Fatima by William T. Walsh, it was written in the 1950's
it is 240 pages, so it goes in to detail but is not so big that it is impossible to read, the author is a Catholic and goes about writting it with a bias towards Catholic docterine
but he was also an Ivy League trained historian and he spent several months in Portugal and had the oppertunity to interview many people (he was in Portugal 30 years after the events of the book took place so there were still many witnesses still alive)

One of the things you might find interesting is how hostile the Priests and Bishops were when the apperitions first started
they were worried that it was just a hoax
They care for their flocks and they do not want people to be tricked by false visions.

 

[Rhamiel]

Some are hoaxes; others are unexplained.

you left off the third possibility
some are true visions given from the Lord

That's true of quite a few historic events, including the non-religious ones as well as the religious ones.

good point

 

[Targaryen]

I'm going to sidetrack the conversation a bit just to have an answer, possibly from an RC that has more info then I on the subject. What are some of the more recent Marian visitations recognized as such by the See of Rome?

 

[Rhamiel]

I'm going to sidetrack the conversation a bit just to have an answer, possibly from an RC that has more info then I on the subject. What are some of the more recent Marian visitations recognized as such by the See of Rome?

Akita, Japan "Our Lady of Akita" 1973, is accepted

Amsterdam, Neatherlands "Our Lady of All Nations" 1940's-1950's
the authenticity of this is disputed and I believe it is still counted as open to investigation but has been slightly more favorable, since this is seen as an open investigation I will not speak out for or agianst it.

Fatima, Portugal "Our Lady of the Rosary" or "Our Lady of Fatima" in 1917
this is probably the most famous modern apperition and the one that is most respected.

Knock, County Mayo, Ireland "Our Lady of Knock" 1879

Lourdes, France, Our Lady of Lourdes 1858, this is another vision that is very famous and well respected. Recently even the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the shrine that was built there.

the one I am most familiar with is Fatima and I know a little bit about Lourdes and Guadalupe

not sure if you count the vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe as "recent" it took place in 1531
even though that is almost 500 years ago, it is pertenant to this conversation because it is seen by many as the "start" of Marian apperitions, before 1531 they were much more rare and not as widely accepted, Guadalupe is seen as by many as the first "modern" apperition

 

[Rhamiel]

oh there is also Medjugorje, Bosnia 1981-presant
but I view that with a lot of scepticism, it is not accepted by the Church

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

I think us none RCC folks are just super jelly that we don't get cool things like those Fatima girls.

Our Lady of Fátima - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

Instead we get stuff like this:

Street Fighter II (The Church Edition) "ORIGINAL VIDEO" - YouTube

 

[Albion]

you left off the third possibility
some are true visions given from the Lord

I don't think that I did. I said that the non-hoaxes are unexplained. That leaves open the possibility that these are genuine.

 

[MoreCoffee]

This thought came to my mind....I know about certain Marian apparitions that a lot of Catholics deem to be true but satan himself disguises himself as a angel of light according to the the word of God. Satan and his demons can masquerade as departed loved ones to trick us and wouldn't it be possible Satan and his minions can do the same with these "Marian apparitions"?

Gru has minions and aren't they just the cutest little things!

And they are tender hearted too!

Alien Pet - Funny Minions Video - YouTube

 

[concretecamper]

I'm going to sidetrack the conversation a bit just to have an answer, possibly from an RC that has more info then I on the subject. What are some of the more recent Marian visitations recognized as such by the See of Rome?

A google search and 10 minutes can yield this information.... Do you have a specific question on apparitions?

 

[concretecamper]

Today is the 97th anniversary of the Miracle of the sun at Fatima. What an appropriate time for the OP to bring up this topic. Coincidence?