In the Catholic Church we believe that on rare occasions God speaks to a soul directly in visions or words, which are also known as “private revelations.” Typically God speaks to a soul discreetly through thoughts, desires or through another person.
[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898)[/featured-image]
However, with certain privileged souls who have an intimate relationship with Him, He shares many special graces.
Well-known examples of private revelations are those visions granted to St. Faustina Kowalska, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, and St. Bernadette Soubirous to name a few. These have all been confirmed as authentic private revelations and the faithful are free to read and gain spiritual benefit from them, but are not obligated to do so.
However, not all private revelations are approved by the Church and have been deemed either the fruit of a human spirit (originating from the thoughts of the person involved) or a diabolical spirit (coming from a demon who appears in the form of an angel, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing).
Here are 3 quick signs that will give you an initial idea if a private revelation is from God (keep in mind that the Church has the final say and we should always respect their decisions):
1. Obedience
The hallmark of any private revelation is that the visionary is entirely obedient to their superiors. This might be a local bishop, the pope or their religious superior. Padre Pio, who experienced many graces from God, but who also received unjust sanctions from his local bishop once said, “The will of the Bishop is the will of God.” Saint Faustina added that, “Satan can even clothe himself in a cloak of humility, but he does not know how to wear the cloak of obedience.” (Diary, 939). We may not like the judgement of a bishop and often a bishop will put sanctions on private revelations that were later lifted (as in the case of the Diary of St. Faustina). However, in the mean time, God asks us to obey those given authority in the Church and to respect their decisions. God will reward us for our obedience.
2. Does not Add nor Subtract from Divine Revelation
The second sign to look for is to see if the private revelation adds or subtracts (or tries to correct) a Truth of the Faith that has been handed down by the Magisterium of the Church. Private revelations are not meant to add or subtract from what has already been revealed by God (CCC 67). They are ordered to help the faithful adhere to God in a specific point in history. Authentic private revelations do not reveal anything new or try to correct something that the Church has taught from the beginning. Often they help clarify or put special emphasis on a particular attribute of God (like the Divine Mercy of God), but it is never anything new. We should always be wary of those private revelations which teach something contrary to what the Church has always taught or that proposes that they have some sort of “special” knowledge that was only revealed to them (for example, the exact date of the End of the World or that the “Latin Mass” is the only valid Mass that can be celebrated).
3. Humility
The third sure sign to look for is to see if the visionary is a humble person from humble origins and who does not seek any fame from the visions. From the beginning of time God chose to use human vessels who were obscure people from distant lands instead of great rulers of powerful nations. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the prime example as she was a poor peasant woman from an obscure nation that was under Roman occupation. Even while looking at the apparitions of Fatima and Lourdes, you see that God chose little children, who had absolutely no power or wealth in this world. Even more so, the children did not gain any monetary rewards for their visions, but were very heavily persecuted and scorned by their community. The visions also often do not gain much attention until after the death of the visionary. This is especially the case in the only approved Marian apparition in the United States, which happened in a small country village in Wisconsin, which was virtually unknown to the world until it was recently approved.
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Above all when dealing with private revelations, we must remember that God chooses weak little instruments to do great things. Their names might not be renowned around the world while they are alive, but afterwards we are able to see God’s work in their lives and how He used them to change the world.
In the end, we must be obedient to the judgements of the local bishop, even if we disagree with their decisions. It is up to those whom God has appointed to decide on whether a vision is authentic or if it has an origin outside of God. The final judgement rests on their shoulders.