Miracles and Apparitions—Signs From God?
“MIRACLES today are still taken to be . . . a sort of letter of recommendation, a guarantee of God’s authentic message, his almighty seal on a mission or word coming from him.” The miracles here referred to by Joseph Vandrisse, correspondent at the Vatican for the French daily Le Figaro, are naturally those approved by the Catholic Church. But what are the church’s criteria for determining whether a miracle or an apparition truly comes from God?
Should the Church Judge Its Own Case?
According to Catholic authorities, apparitions must satisfy two conditions. First, they must be in harmony with the church’s teachings. A striking example is the apparition at Lourdes, where the “Virgin” presented herself as “The Immaculate Conception.” Interestingly, a few years before this, Pope Pius IX had decreed that at conception Mary was preserved free from original sin. In 1933 the future Pius XII expressed his opinion that the two events were linked, stating: “The Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and blessed among women, wished to confirm with her own lips that which was defined in Rome by her infallible Supreme Pontiff. This she did soon afterward in a famous apparition at the Massabielle Grotto [Lourdes].”
Second, the conduct of the one who saw the apparition must be considered. As the bishop of Tours stated: “The church . . . believed in the apparitions [at Lourdes] because of Bernadette’s holiness.” And the ecclesiastical authorities consider that both Bernadette and Lucie, who claimed to have seen Mary at Lourdes and Fátima respectively, met this condition by later becoming nuns.
The messages transmitted were in agreement with Catholic teaching. The visionaries’ lives were in harmony with the model established by the church. In these cases, it is hardly surprising that the apparitions recognized by the Catholic Church confirm her own traditions and doctrines exclusively, even the most recent ones, such as the Immaculate Conception.
But are miracles and apparitions actually signs from heaven that prove the veracity of the church’s teachings? J. Bricout, editor of the Dictionnaire pratique des connaissances religieuses (Dictionary of Religious Knowledge), quoted another Catholic author, P. Buysse, who wrote: “As the miracles of Lourdes have a specific connection with ‘beliefs peculiar to the Catholic Church’ (the Immaculate Conception, the definition of this dogma by pontifical authority, veneration of the Blessed Sacrament, veneration of the Virgin Mary, and so forth), one may, rather, one must recognize that ‘the doctrines of the church bear the seal of God’s approval.’”
However, the Catholic Church cannot rightfully claim such a divine warrant. By taking upon itself the authority to decide whether apparitions (and associated miracles) come from God or not, it is setting itself up as judge of its own case.
Many other religions allege evidence of miracles and claim to have God’s support. Is God behind the miracles performed in the charismatic movements (including non-Catholic ones) or even in non-Christian religions? It is difficult to believe that he is, for the Bible tells us that God is “a God, not of disorder, but of peace.”—1 Corinthians 14:33.
What is the correct basis for judging? The book Les signes de crédibilité de la révélation chrétienne (Signs of Credibility of the Christian Revelation) explained that the criteria for considering a miracle to be authentic are principally moral and religious.
True to the Revelation?
According to various Catholic authors, “the First requirement is that the message transmitted be true to the revelation of the Gospel and doctrinal tradition of the church.” “No new revelation can modify the initial revelation.” Also, Pope John Paul II explained that “the message that was given at Fátima in 1917 contains the whole truth of the Gospel.” All of this means that above all, the message given by such apparitions must conform to the “revelation,” the Holy Scriptures. Does this really prove to be the case?
What conclusions can be drawn from the visions of a fiery hell given to the shepherds in Fátima? The Scriptures clearly show that sinners are not punished in this way when they die. Jesus himself stated that we should be in fear of the One that can destroy both soul and body, thus showing that the soul can die. Other Bible texts clearly teach that there is no consciousness in death and that the hope of living again is based on the Bible promise of a future resurrection.—Matthew 10:28; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 5:28, 29.
And what about the “Immaculate Conception” that Bernadette spoke about? This again is a flagrant contradiction of Bible teaching. The Scriptures show that Mary, like all of Adam’s descendants, was ‘conceived in sin’ and inherited death. (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23) If Mary was conceived without sin, why did she present a sin offering after the birth of Jesus? (Leviticus 12:6; Luke 2:22-24) Moreover, there is not a single Bible text to support the Catholic doctrine that says that she was preserved from original sin by special grace. Since the worship of Mary has no Scriptural foundation, it is quite logical to raise questions as to whether her apparitions are from God.
Could They Be From Another Source?
Of course, Bible scholars know that miraculous signs do not all stem from God. After citing the miracles accomplished by the Egyptian magicians before Pharaoh and Moses, the Dictionnaire de la Bible, edited by F. Vigouroux, mentions that “in the final days, false prophets and false Christs, all agents of the Devil, will work many miracles to the point of deceiving the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ themselves, if that were possible.”—Matthew 24:24; Exodus 7:8-13.
But what if, as was the case at Fátima, the apparition invites mankind to repent and asks believers to pray for the conversion of sinners? Interestingly, a book in favor of apparitions, entitled Fàtima—Merveille du XXe siècle (Fátima—Marvel of the 20th Century), quotes the priest, who was at that time in Fátima, as expressing his doubts about the origin of these messages in spite of their content. He stated: “It could well be demonic trickery.” Indeed, the Bible shows that Satan “goes disguised as an angel of light” and that “his servants, too, disguise themselves as the servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15, The Jerusalem Bible) A plausible message is therefore no proof that an apparition really comes from God.
This is also the conclusion drawn by Calmet’s [Catholic] Dictionnaire historique de la Bible, which states: “Miracles and wonders are not always a sure sign that those performing them are holy or that their doctrine is correct, nor are they sure testimony of the visionaries’ having received a mission.”
In contrast, Christ performed many miracles while on earth. What was his purpose, and what light do they shed on today’s miracles and wonders? These questions will be answered in the following article.
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December 9, 1531.
A Mexican Indian, named Juan Diego, was hurrying along to Mass in Mexico City. On the way he encountered a lady who sent him to ask the bishop of Mexico City to build a church on the very ground where she stood. The bishop was somewhat skeptical about the Indian’s message.
At a following apparition, she introduced herself as the mother of the true God and a little later as “Holy Mary of Guadalupe.” In order to provide him with a sign, she told Juan Diego to gather some roses, although it was neither the season nor the place for such flowers. Nevertheless, he found some and wrapped them up in his cloak. While he was presenting them to the bishop, a life-sized figure of the “Virgin” appeared on his cloak.
A portrait of the scene is on display today in Guadalupe Basilica, near Mexico City.
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Guadalupe
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February 11, 1858.
A 14-year-old French girl named Bernadette Soubirous, her sister, and a friend were out gathering firewood near Lourdes, a town in southwest France near the Spanish border. Just as Bernadette was going to cross a stream, a “lady” appeared to her in a grotto. On other occasions, the same “lady” asked for a chapel to be built on that very spot and appealed to all mankind to repent.
Encountering yet another apparition, Bernadette heard the “lady” say in the local dialect: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Alone against civil and even religious authorities, Bernadette Soubirous maintained that her declarations were true. Finally, the Catholic Church officially recognized the apparitions of the “Virgin.” The sanctuary at Lourdes is the result.
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Lourdes
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May 13, 1917.
A young shepherd and two shepherdesses were guarding their flocks at Fátima, in central Portugal, where they saw their first apparition of the “Virgin.” During a later apparition, people hurried to the spot in hopes of receiving a sign. They claimed to have seen the sun dancing in the heavens and then fall to earth.
The children also received “secrets.” They had a vision of hell, where they saw sinners suffering horribly in terrible flames. The “Virgin” also asked for Russia to be consecrated to her “immaculate heart.” Later popes fulfilled her wish. A last “secret” is guarded by the highest authorities of the Catholic Church, who refuse to make it known to the public at present.
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Fátima