Public & Private Revelation
15 July 2000 10:36
The following article, including considerable content from Fr. “X”, PIME, comes from Fr. Desmond O’Sullivan, C.S.S.p.,
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REVELATION
INTRODUCTION
When we were in the Seminary studying theology and all subjects necessary for the priesthood, we were taught the distinction between public and private revelation. Public revelation was said to be founded on the Bible (the Word of God), tradition and the infallible teaching of the Church on the interpretation of the Bible. Private revelation on the other hand was said to be a charism given to private persons for their edification, or for the good of the Church, if and when the teaching Church approves of it. This gave us future priests the formation necessary to keep us on the solid ground of public revelation and taught us to avoid walking along the dangerous quicksands of private revelations. For this reason mainly, most good priests keep their distance or are even opposed to anything reported about apparitions, locutions, visions, moving statues, messages from mystics etc.
Faulty Understanding of Private Revelation
It has taken the best part of my life to find out that my formation in this regard was incomplete. While being true, it was not the whole truth. For example, I was quite opposed to believing that the apparitions in Medjugorje were genuine. My formation, plus the fact that the local Bishop discredited them, was enough for me to discourage others in their belief. Not until I read Father Michael O’Carroll’s book on the facts of the Herzegovia problem, (one so similar to the Irish dispute between the Franciscans support of the Irish soldiers fighting for faith and fatherland and the Bishops who supported British rule as the authoritative government), made me see another side of Medjugorje apparitions. I decided to go there myself and see, judge and act. With passing years, having visited Medjugorje many times, I now believe that Our Lady of Medjugorje has converted more, has rejuvenated more, has influenced more prayer groups all over the world than any other public apparition of Our Lady in our time. “By their fruits you will know them.”
Scripture and the ‘Hebrew Factor’
The next discovery which broadened my understanding of ‘private revelation’ came from the study of scripture. I read in Makenzi’s Bible Dictionary how the Hebrew mentality understood the Word of God as a spoken word, not a written word. It was a creative word, a commending and commanding word. I quote Makenzi: “The Hebrews shared with most of the Semitic world a belief in the distinct reality of the spoken word as a dynamic entity…the power of the word is rooted in the personality who pronounces the word. Hebrew uses the word where we use ‘thing’ or ‘deed’…the Word of God comes to the prophet as a dynamic entity.. History is a process which is governed by the Word of Yahweh; rather history is the Word of Yahweh, the reality which fulfils His utterances.”
Further, scripture scholars are admitting the fact that this ‘Hebrew factor’ has been overlooked in the development of scripture studies in recent times. Clifford Hill in ‘Prophecy Today’, January 1993 says; “It is now generally recognised that the 19th century was a period when the study of history became a disciplined science. The impact of this has gradually changed the whole approach of Christian scholars to the study of scripture. Medieval theologians used what is known as the ‘allegorical method’, whereas the Reformers developed the ‘grammatical method’. What we are witnessing today is the adoption of the ‘historical method’. The historical method seeks to discover the historical circumstances and culture under which each passage of scripture was originally written. This method is now resulting in the widespread recognition that at the heart of biblical faith there lies that which the prophets revealed as the saving acts of God in history. They revealed a personal God who was active in history, and who revealed Himself to His people through what He actually did. The contemporary activity of God is one of the major elements that has been missing in biblical theology for the past century or more.”
One has only to read books, such as ‘Mary and the Defence of Europe’ by Rear-Admiral Michael Berger, to realise how God acts to save the Church under attack in all ages through private apparitions and devotions. It is true, that in this Marian age, God wishes to use Mary, Mother of the Church, to save the Church by her apparitions and messages.
What we called ‘private revelation’ is nothing of the sort. It is the ever active Word of God still speaking to us today. “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Mary is the Prophetess of our time sent by God. To refuse to listen to her is to reject the Word of God, and to suffer the revealed consequences.
Same Conclusion From Different Premises
I discussed this wrong view of most clerics regarding private revelation with a theologian friend of mine. He is a missionary, teaching theology in the Major Seminary in Bangladesh. He said he had written a document on this subject and he mailed me a copy. He refuted this general opposition to ‘private revelation’ from different premises to mine. He refuted it from the teachings of the early ‘Fathers’ (Tradition), and from the teachings of Vatican Council II on charisms given to the laity for the good of the Church. I now quote some excerpts from his document.
“I was the first priest to strenuously oppose the writings of Vassula Ryden (a Greek Orthodox young mother chosen to relay messages on our growth in ‘True Life in God’ in order to unite all Christian Churches). I saw them in their unpublished form when she presented them to me in 1986 as ‘Messages from Jesus’..Chief among the things that brought me to realise my error in rejecting her yet unpublished writings, besides the grace of God was my gradual recognition of their profound fidelity to the apostolic teaching. As time went on, however, I began to discover that often things in her writings, which were fresh insights for me, were in fact reminders of things that are found in the early writings of the Church. More and more, in examining her writings, I recognised for the first time certain classical teachings of the ‘Fathers of the Church’ that had escaped my attention until then. One of the most impressive examples of this for me has been her teaching on the imminent ‘Reign of Christ’. My research on what the ‘Fathers’ had to say about the coming Reign of Christ was brought about by the criticism of Vassula, which had accused her of the ‘heresy of Millenarianism’.
Reflecting on my own experience, I can now say that, like almost everyone else, priest or layman, I grew up with a very simplified notion, that after Pentecost Sunday we were simply to struggle and wait until the end of the world; at which time Jesus would come and bring all to an end with the last Judgement. I suppose that the promises of Our Lady of Fatima should have made me realise that something quite extraordinary must await us in the future before the last Judgement.. (But) to mention something like Fatima is to introduce a topic which many seem to regard as outside of serious theological discussion, or necessarily confined to mystical theology. Private revelation is thus excluded from the area they are prepared to examine in a serious study.
Taking a serious look at Church praxis, is it really possible that such things as devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or the Rosary, or Liturgical feasts fixed on the exact date requested in a ‘private revelation’ are merely incidental to our Christian faith? The idea of such a thing as strictly private revelation seems to stand in clear contradiction to the Council’s teaching on the nature of charisms in the Church. Clearly various mystics have been judged as authentic by the Church at various times, and thus the Church has judged their charisms to be authentic. What is the general teaching of the Church on such charisms? Briefly, it is that there is no such thing as a strictly private charism, a charism is by its very nature public; “The People of God share also in Christ’s prophetic office. It spreads abroad a living witness to Him..It is not only through the sacraments and Church ministries that the same Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the people to God. Allotting His gifts to everyone according to His Will, He distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts He makes them fit and ready to undertake the various offices advantageous for the renewal and upbuilding of the Church.” (Lumen Gentium 12).
Concluding his document, Fr. “X” says; “It would seem however that the Council texts that we have presented above show how inaccurate and incomplete a theology we risk having, if it is based only on the Bible. We would then have arrived at the ‘sola scriptura’ approach which was advocated by Luther, but rejected by the Church.
With this theological preamble we are now in a position to discuss exactly the matter of immediate concern; the manifestation of the Reign of Christ, a kind of Second Pentecost or renewal of the Church by the action of His Spirit. It is found both in tradition and scripture, and yet has been completely veiled to the interest of contemporary Christian scholarship, and has emerged now only thanks to the mystics (i.e. Prophets) of our time – and in a most unique way in the writings and ministry of Vassula Ryden.”
CONCLUSION
We hope that the above principles, taken from tradition, the magisterium and the charisms, will help others to see the creative and recreative action of God ever active around us. His love and salvific plan is carried out in us and around us every day. May we not limit His activity to the past only or to the Bible only. May we respond to His Fatherly approaches with every growing gratitude and love.
One of the greatest obstacles, I believe, to the action of the Holy Spirit in renewing the face of the earth is the classification of God’s work in action as ‘private revelation’ to be ignored. Such an attitude, while excusable in many cases, nevertheless hinders God’s loving plans of salvation, and causes friction and disaffection between devotional laity and their pastors. St. John the Apostle in Chapter 5 has a great lesson for us all to ponder. “His (Jesus) answer to them was; My Father goes on working, and so do I..(and He ends his reply saying); “You pour over scriptures believing that in them you have eternal life, now these scriptures testify to Me, but you will not come to Me for life.” (John 5:17-39)
By Fr. Desmond O’Sullivan, C.S.S.p. and Fr. “X”, PIME
(cf. M.M.P. Message No. 166: “The second coming of Jesus is before the last coming in judgement” 24/12/1978)
