My dear brother, it is clear to me that, given the Logos, you yearn for the Rhema; that utterance of Christ directly to your heart. I fear you are looking for it in the wrong places. Pope Urban VIII was not referring to third party revelation, but rather to private first person revelation received by you. Do not look for a voice from God anywhere but in your prayers, because that alone is where you will find it. I encourage you to learn and practice the Lectio Divina.
Lectio Divina, the Latin for 'Holy Reading', is a four step prayer process that has its origins in the second century and was a form and approach to praying with Scripture that was common among medieval religious orders. Lectio Divina has recently been reaffirmed and recommended for all by Pope Benedict XVI.
The process is really quite intuitive. Select a Scripture passage. For beginners I recommend the daily Gospel reading or a Gospel passage that has been on your mind. Lectio - Read the Bible passage gently and slowly several times. Savor each portion of the reading, each syllable of every word, the word choice and the word origins, constantly listening for the "still, small voice" of a single word, a phrase, a notion, a remembrance, or thought that somehow speaks to you.
Meditatio - Reflect on the text of the passage and think about how it applies to your own life, to current, and past situations. Make this a very personal reading of the Scripture and very personal application. Permit God to touch you and your thoughts.
Oratio – Respond to the passage by opening your heart to God and know that you are in the presence of the LOGOS. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but is a conversation with God who, had you been the only person to ever live, would still have suffered and died for you.
Contemplatio - Listen to God. This is a freeing of yourself from your own thoughts, both mundane and holy, and hearing God talk to us. Opening your mind, heart, and soul to the influence of God. Most often those things that distract us are those things that God is telling need addressing.
There are several steps that many add. These are the step of Reflectio and the step of Actio. Reflectio is reflecting on the process you have just been trough, the assembling of your thoughts and inspirations, the filtering of the word of God from your own thoughts. For me this continues in my daily activities and can sometimes take quite a long time. Actio or action is determining what and how we are going to act on what God has communicated.
Peace be with you.
In cases which concern private revelations, it is better to believe than not to believe,...
“My dear brother, it is clear to me that, given the Logos, you yearn for the Rhema; that utterance of Christ directly to your heart. I fear you are looking for it in the wrong places. Pope Urban VIII was not referring to third party revelation, but rather to private first person revelation received by you. Do not look for a voice from God ANYWHERE BUT IN YOUR PRAYERS, because that ALONE is where you will find it. I encourage you to learn and practice the Lectio Divina.”
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NL, I must ask,
Why are you helping “Sola Fide” believers go on believing
a lie? They will (I wish they would change) protest the Truth until God shows them in the Great Warning, He is actually trying to show them now.
It’s not Catholic or correct to reject the messages from Heaven, you can’t mean the in CAPS.
Lectio Divina is a beautiful method of contemplative prayer using Scripture, it is not what Pope Urban was talking about in his quote on “believing” private revelation, approved and yet to be approved.
The mystics and saints practiced contemplative prayer, everyone can do the same to draw closer to Our Lord but the messages from Heaven are for all, God makes it clear to share what they have heard on their heart or in some cases actually heard audibly and sometimes though rare, seeing Our Lord and His mother in giving their message.
Private revelation is a help, God is not silent. Why would He be in these times of so much evil? I can see how some Catholics would reject God is speaking to Protestants, it goes the same for Protestants about the Catholic messages from Heaven. He loves us all, He is trying to reach us.
Pride often stops the Hierarchy too, the envy over a messenger hearing from Our Lord AND the messages speak of the falling away of some of Jesus’ consecrated ones, especially in the last fifty years.
Important, the messages from Heaven often end with a request to share the message, ie: “make My message known.”
God bless you,