Posted on 06/06/2003 5:00:11 PM PDT by Salvation
On page 3, he writes, "Maria Esperanza is not of God. The church, meaning the local bishop who is the sole authority appointed by God, approved the apparitions of Our Lady to the people and the Eucharistic miracle as being supernatural, meaning "From God". The Church did not investigate Maria Esperanza. Her claims of messages came after the apparitions. And most of her messages are after the Church approval." (emphasis by the author of booklet).
The bishop of Akita approved that event, but I have since come to disbelieve in it.
There are too many weird things going on in the church today. I think people should stay on the narrow road and leave this stuff alone.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Everyone will know at the same time when Christ has arrived. The bible says we should not believe anyone who has seen him before then.
Interpreting dreams, visions, experiences, etc is a very tricky matter. People have a tendency to interpret them on a literal basis, in context of their own understanding and/or without the benefit of a good spiritual director. It is always important to check any type of supernatural experience against Scripture, established doctrines and traditional teachings.
We know that a soul with an advanced level of spiritual development is open to supernatural experiences and gifts of the Spirit. That same soul however is an open portal to the unseen and subject to the attacks and deceptions of the dark and ambivalent residing in other realms. An individual in a spiritual process will frequently experience things before they have the ability to discern what is truth and what is not. This further underscores the necessity for a good spiritual director, particularly one who has achieved a certain level of spiritual development him/herself. In these times this can be difficult to find. Conversely, we are living in times where many souls are being called to higher levels. We are experiencing a great numbers of souls being propelled along a path with no map or experienced guidance.
Do I think Maria Esperanza is a fraud? No. Do I think these are legitimate prophecies? Doubtful. Maria Esperanza is in process. I believe she is the one who has experienced the stigmata on several occasions? Her husband, Godly man that he may be, is not equipped to interpret her visions. Does Maria have a spiritual director and where is he? In times past the Church recognized the delicate nature of such situations and kept a watchful eye on these souls. Her spiritual director should be the recipient of these visions and the confidant. It is irresponsible and unwise to release them to the public as is being done. There is no discernment being exercised. We have no idea whether these experiences are meant for Maria alone, symbolic and solely applicable to her life or meant for the world at large. I lean towards the former if they are of a legitimate source.
We need to be very careful and change how we look at spiritual experience.
While it is good to be cautious concerning these matters, gifts of the Spirit are not distributed according to gender. God gives any gift he wishes to any soul he wishes, regardless of gender.
I used to think that, too, but I don't really know for sure. It's just my opinion. I do not believe that a lay woman would be given a gift of reading souls. I'm not really certain that it is a good thing for a priest to have hidden knowledge about a soul. In the scriptures, only Jesus had that gift as far as I can tell.
Only men were given the privilege of writing scripture. Only men are given the privilege of writing encyclicals. Only men can administer the sacraments.
I didn't say I like it or it is fair. That's just the way it is. When I see women exhibiting some of these so-called gifts usually given to men, I get suspicious. Why have a woman lay hands on you non-sacramentally when you can request and receive the sacrament of annointing?
I'm not sure that women spoke in tongues back when that gift was genuine.
I think we are getting close to something momentous. If Jesus decides to manifest Himself, that's fine, but it is the icing on the cake so to speak, just as all apparitions are.
We have the Church, we have the Bible, and, if we want, we have Church-approved apparitions.
But we must not become "sign and wonder" junkies.
That is not an indictment of ANYONE else nor of the supposed seers.
I just find it easier to ignore all of them now (except the old approved ones) than try to figure out which ones might be legit and which ones are not, and just stick with Apostolic and Scriptural Christian belief.
If they are legit, they can only repeat that which we already know and should be doing and believing already as committed Christians. There can be no new revelation.
For some, running after the latest messages and seers and apparition pilgrimage sites almost seemed to eclipse basic Christian orthopraxy. That cannot be of God.
I understand the 'spark' to be Our Holy Father.
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