Private revelation
Private revelation is, in Christian theology, a message from God which can come in a variety of types.
Roman Catholic theology
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, public revelation was complete in New Testament times, but depends on interpretation and deepening understanding of this foundational or "definitive" revelation:97 "Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God" in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church contemplates God, the source of all her riches.
66 "The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.
67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church. Christian faith cannot accept "revelations" that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfilment.
Divine revelation was fulfilled, completed, and perfected in Christ, the fullness and mediator, author and interpreter, purpose and center of public revelation. Hence, public revelation is the deposit of faith and rule of faith and must be lived by all Catholics. Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that all public revelation ended with the death of Saint John the Apostle. Private revelations cannot surpass, correct, improve, fulfill, complete, or perfect public revelation.
Divine revelation, since it is contained in the Word of God and in Christ, also includes the living tradition or sensus fidelium, the magisterium, the sacraments, and Catholic dogma.Catechism, 767Catechism, 1116Catechism, 88 Because the living tradition and the magisterium are a part of divine revelation, they both have divine authority.Catechism, 874 Because the sacraments are a part of divine revelation, their natures cannot be changed but their ways of celebration can be changed.Redemptionis Sacramentum, 10 Because Catholic dogma is a part of divine revelation, the saving truths of Christ are immutable.Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith: "The Council, according to Pope John XXIII, wanted 'to transmit doctrine, pure and whole, without attenuations or misrepresentations,' in such a way that 'this sure and immutable teaching, which must be respected faithfully, is elaborated and presented in a way which corresponds to the needs of our time.'"Address of Pope John Paul II to the Bishops of Korea: "In union with Christ you will ponder again what God’s word demands of the Church in Korea. With the courage that comes only with holiness you will accept the full authentic exigencies of the Second Vatican Council for your dioceses. In prayer you will review the perennial teachings of the faith and the ever relevant newness of the Church’s immutable dogmas. In vital communion with Christ, the life-giving vine, and in union with the universal Church, you will continue to preach the word of faith which depends on hearing and which enables the People of God to confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord, to believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead, and to be saved ). This faith - which is nourished in your own hearts and proclaimed with the special episcopal charism that is yours - is the source of all the insights of the faithful, who are called to believe and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to ponder that belief and live it. " But what truths are dogmas has needed to be clarified by church councils, and the much more numerous doctrines have yielded to varied and increased understanding based on solid study of the Biblical roots and of the history of the topic. For this the work of theologians is indispensable, since the charism of the bishops is not to receive revelations but to determine what is Catholic teaching, the more so in doctrines that are more central to the faith and dogmatically taught. The Second Vatican Council of Bishops maintained a careful line between the "two source" and "one source" explanation of revelation, careful to acknowledge the ultimate priority of the original deposit of faith: "For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known."
The revelations in the Word of God such as the apparition of the three angels to Abraham and the angel who wrestled Jacob; the burning bush; the theophany on Mount Sinai; the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire; the visions and prophecies of the prophets; Elijah's test at the cave, and his assumption; the revelation to Saint Peter ; the apparitions of the risen Christ to the Apostles, including the exceptional and unique apparition to Saint Paul; the various miracles recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles; and the entire Book of Revelation are not private revelations but are public revelation, though their original meaning and relevance for the Church today are subject to interpretation. The apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar to Saint James the Greater is a private revelation, since it depends on facts not contained in the original deposit of faith. It, along with the canonization of saints, will never be dogmatically taught, but are taught as safe for Christian belief.
Because Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would lead the church into every truth, the Lord leads the church into a deeper understanding of the original deposit. To suitably apply the truths of revelation to the needs of each age, the magisterium examines carefully private revelations, to assure that they are in accord with church doctrine. Christ warned that false prophets would come and that the tree will be known by its fruit.
Types of revelation
Private revelation is a heavenly message that helps people live by divine revelation. Various types of private revelations have been reported in the Catholic Church.Private revelations can come to anyone for so long as God pleases. Some address the visionary, while others address more people. For instance, Our Lady of Laus appeared to a young shepherdess for many years, while Our Lady of Kibeho addressed the leaders of the nation of Rwanda.
The appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary are usually called Marian apparitions. These generally include a vision of the Blessed Virgin, accompanied by brief messages. These are by far the most widely reported form. Well known examples of approved Marian apparitions include Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fátima. These apparitions are considered private revelations from God through the Virgin Mary.
Marian visions do not mean Mary appears as a disembodied spirit, since she has been assumed into heaven. However, it is probable that Mary could appear in bodily form by bilocation. Some theologians, such as Father Reginaldus, believe that, because Jesus does not appear in bodily form, Mary does not appear bodily either.
A number of apparitions of Jesus Christ following his ascension have been reported. Some of these have received approval, as safe for private belief, from the Holy See. For instance, the Vatican biography of Saint Faustina Kowalska quotes some of her conversations with Jesus.
Apparitions of Jesus are not the same as the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, even if they include Eucharistic adoration, because the sacraments are a part of public revelation. The apparitions are also not the same as the Second Coming, because the church believes Jesus "will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead".
There are also reports of interior locutions in which inner voices are reported, but no vision of divinity is claimed. The Vatican biographies of both Saint Teresa of Ávila and Mother Teresa of Calcutta refer to their interior locutions, although Mother Teresa often preferred to remain private about them.
Some private revelations produce large amounts of text, while others amount to a few reported sentences. For instance, father Stefano Gobbi produced a book of messages attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, while Sister Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering simply wrote two letters to Pope Leo XIII with a message attributed to Jesus Christ, prompting the Pope to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The church does not regard occultism – spiritism, automatic writing, astrology, fortune-telling, psychic powers, magic, divination, conjuring the dead, etc. – as types of private revelations.
The church also does not regard private revelations as having authority over the Pope or the bishops in communion with him, because the church, the bishop, and public revelation have divine authority as a matter of faith, while private revelations are not a matter of faith but are believed with human faith. Private revelations neither have divine authority nor can they be believed with divine and catholic faith, and a proof of this is that the Magisterium infallibly interprets the inerrant Word of God,Dei Verbum, 11 & 25: "Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings...It devolves on sacred bishops 'who have the apostolic teaching' to give the faithful entrusted to them suitable instruction in the right use of the divine books, especially the New Testament and above all the Gospels." whereas saints can make errors about the details of private revelations, since fallen human nature is inclined to sin and error. Hence, Catholics cannot disobey the church in favor of obeying private revelation.
Discernment of revelation
Just as with all charisms, the charisms of prophecy, speaking in tongues, and miracles are subject to discernment.The Catholic Church uses the 1987 Normae Congregationis to discern and judge private revelations. Firstly, the local Catholic bishop judges the alleged revelation according to its fruits:Normae Congregationis, positive and negative criteria
Examples of revelations with good and bad fruits include:
- the revelations to the Polish mystic St. Faustina Kowalska were promoted by Pope John Paul II from before his papacy, and received his approval as safe in practice;John L. Allen Jr, "A saint despite Vatican reservations" "
- the Mariavite revelations contained heresy and attacked critics, despite promoting popular piety and frequency of the sacraments.Tribus Circiter, encyclical by Pope Pius X
Marian Apparitions of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: A Directory of Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Apparitions Then, after the bishop sees a healthy devotion to the revelation and abundant spiritual fruits spring from said devotion, he judges the revelation to be worthy of belief: the private revelation contains nothing contrary to Catholic faith or morals, the faithful are authorized to prudently believe in the private revelation, and it is legal to publish the private revelation. In addition, the bishop approves of the titles – such as "Our Lady" – given to a Marian apparition.
Judgment on private revelations falls under a bishop's ordinary magisterium, which is authoritative but noninfallible and requires religious submission of intellect and will. A bishop or his successor could overturn a prior judgment, such as happened in the case of the apparitions of The Lady of All Nations.
A bishop can judge an alleged private revelation to be either worthy of belief or not worthy of belief. A private revelation that is worthy of belief can receive full approval if it is approved by the Pope, such as happened with the revelations to St. Margaret Mary. Papal approval does not include popes visiting sites of alleged revelations, granting special privileges to shrines, offering gifts to alleged visionaries, or speaking favorably of alleged revelations or visionaries. A private revelation that is not worthy of belief can either be more fully investigated or, if bad fruits are found, condemned. A condemned revelation may not be followed, believed, or published by the faithful.
A bishop can judge an alleged private revelation before it ends, such as was the case with the prophecies of Montanus and the prophecies of Elizabeth Barton. Fraudulent visionaries sometimes counter the negative judgments of their bishops, and skeptics of authentic revelations sometimes counter positive judgments, by saying the bishops didn't do a thorough investigation, such as interviewing the visionaries.
Not all reports of private revelation are approved, even if they have good fruits. For instance, reports of Our Lady of Surbiton claiming that the Virgin Mary appeared every day under a pine tree in England were flatly rejected by the Vatican as a fraud.
It is permissible, with the bishop's permission, to make a shrine in honor of an approved revelation. However, no one is obligated to believe in a private revelation, since it is not public revelation; just as no one is obligated to practice popular piety, since it is not the liturgy. Only public revelation and the liturgy are obligatory, for they are necessary for salvation. Despite this, some Catholics, such as the Fatima Crusaders, believe the rosary is necessary for world peace because Our Lady of Fatima said "Pray the Rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war."
Publication of revelation
On October 23, 1995 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified about private revelations:
With regard to the spreading of texts of presumed personal revelations, the Congregation makes it clear that:
- The interpretation by some people of a decision approved by Paul VI on October 14, 1966, and promulgated on November 15 of the same year, by virtue of which writings and messages coming from presumed revelations might be freely spread within the Church is absolutely not valid. This decision actually referred to the 'Abolition of the Index of Banned Books,' and said that - once relative censures were lifted - the moral obligation in any case not to spread or read those writings which endangered faith and morals still remained.
- A reminder, therefore, that for the diffusion of texts of presumed private revelations, the norm of the Code in force, Canon 823, para 1, which gives pastors the right 'to demand that the writings of the faithful which touch faith or morals be submitted to their own judgment before publication', remains valid.
- Presumed supernatural revelations and writings which regard them are in the first instance subject to the judgment of the diocesan bishop and, in particular cases, to that of the episcopal conference and the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
It is a misconception that the faithful do not need permission to publish alleged private revelations since the abolition of Canon 1399 and 2318 of the former Canonical Code by Pope Paul VI in AAS 58 on October 14, 1966. The truth is that Pope Paul VI only abolished the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, and that Canon 823 and 824 of the current 1983 Code of Canon Law define the right and duty of the bishop to censor all material concerning faith or morals.
The canonization of a mystic or an imprimatur given to a book of revelations do not mean a private revelation is authentic, because the church does not pronounce on alleged revelations when it pronounces on the holiness of an individual and because the Imprimatur only guarantees that a book is free from all doctrinal and moral errors.