Private revelations

The concept of "private revelation" is almost a contradiction in terms. The contents of the Deposit of Faith are divinely revealed and must be accepted with religious assent in order for someone to be Catholic. A "private revelation" is a gift that one judges is from God but in such a way that it can never become part of the Deposit of Faith and therefore can never be something to which all believers must assent, regardless of how much esteem members of the Magisterium show for the alleged revelation.

This means that acceptance or rejection of private revelations is a matter of prudential judgment, not perfect certitude. These are questions about which men and women of reasonable intelligence and good faith may reasonably and faithfully disagree.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Excerpts from "Norms Regarding the Manner of Proceeding in the Discernment of Presumed Apparitions or Revelations."

When Ecclesiastical Authority is informed of a presumed apparition or revelation, it will be its responsibility:

a) first, to judge the fact according to positive and negative criteria (cf. infra, no. I);

b) then, if this examination results in a favorable conclusion, to permit some public manifestation of cult or of devotion, overseeing this with great prudence (equivalent to the formula, “for now, nothing stands in the way”) (pro nunc nihil obstare).

c) finally, in light of time passed and of experience, with special regard to the fecundity of spiritual fruit generated from this new devotion, to express a judgment regarding the authenticity and supernatural character if the case so merits.

Positive Criteria

a) Moral certitude, or at least great probability of the existence of the fact, acquired by means of a serious investigation;

b) Particular circumstances relative to the existence and to the nature of the fact, that is to say:

1. Personal qualities of the subject or of the subjects (in particular, psychological equilibrium, honesty and rectitude of moral life, sincerity and habitual docility towards Ecclesiastical Authority, the capacity to return to a normal regimen of a life of faith, etc.);

2. As regards revelation: true theological and spiritual doctrine and immune from error;

3. Healthy devotion and abundant and constant spiritual fruit (for example, spirit of prayer, conversion, testimonies of charity, etc.).

Negative Criteria

a) Manifest error concerning the fact.

b) Doctrinal errors attributed to God himself, or to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or to some saint in their manifestations, taking into account however the possibility that the subject might have added, even unconsciously, purely human elements or some error of the natural order to an authentic supernatural revelation (cf. Saint Ignatius, Exercises, no. 336).

c) Evidence of a search for profit or gain strictly connected to the fact.

d) Gravely immoral acts committed by the subject or his or her followers when the fact occurred or in connection with it.

e) Psychological disorder or psychopathic tendencies in the subject, that with certainty influenced on the presumed supernatural fact, or psychosis, collective hysteria or other things of this kind.

It is to be noted that these criteria, be they positive or negative, are not peremptory but rather indicative, and they should be applied cumulatively or with some mutual convergence.

In doubtful cases that clearly do not put the good of the Church at risk, the competent Ecclesiastical Authority is to refrain from any judgment and from any direct action (because it can also happen that, after a certain period of time, the presumed supernatural fact falls into oblivion); it must not however cease from being vigilant by intervening if necessary, with promptness and prudence.

Benedeict J. Groeschel, CFR

A Still, Small Voice: A Practical Guide on Reported Revelations. San Francisco

Ignatius Press, 1993).

Epigraph	"And after the fire there was a still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12). "To ecstasy, I prefer the monotony of sacrifice" (St. Thérèse of Lisieux).
Introduction
11	Well-known visionaries: St. Francis of Assisi St. Teresa of Avila St. Margaret Mary St. Bernadette of Lourdes
12	I have drawn much from the standard work, The Graces of Interior Prayer by Fr. Augustin Poulain, SJ (ten editions, 1901-1922).
I. Private Revelations in this Day and Age
19	An eminent scientist and Nobel Prize winner, Alexis Carrel, was converted from militant atheism at Lourdes.
19	Among others the Mormons and the Seventh-Day Adventists owe their entire existence as denominations to claims of private revelation made by very serious people.
20	[The Bahai faith comes from] "the teachings of their prophet" [Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia].
20	In the face of much criticism, the bishop of Mostar has held that these experiences [at Mejugorje] are not authentic signs from God. ... If these alleged revelations are ultimately accepted as probably authentic (the most the Church can do), then his suspicions will add to their credibility. If, on the other hand, they are rejected, he will have saved the Church from much embarassment.
21	My problem with the bishop and his advisors, as well as with everyone else except the visionaries themselves, is that they are all so sure of their respective positions. ... Without clear evidence of fraud or mental illness, how can anyone else be so certain in completely rejecting their accounts?
II. Keeping a Perspective
24	Rule 1. Keep all claims of revelations in perspective.
24	Private revelations are not the most important things in the world. The consistent and authentic pursuit of a holy life leading to a loving union with God is the essential element of true religion. Many great saints reported no unusual experiences at all. Among eminent nonvisionaries in our own century are Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and Saint Maximilian Kolbe.
24	Private revelations have no significance apart from the public revelation of Sacred Scripture, interpreted by the traditional teaching of the Church. This principle was reiterated by Pope John Paul II as recently as 1983. While on pilgrimage to Fatima the Holy Father said: The Church has always taught and continues to proclaim that God's revelation was brought to completion in Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of that revelation, and that "no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestastion of our Lord" (Dei Verbum 4). The Church evaluates and judges private revelations by the criterion of conformity with that single Revelation. If the Church has accepted the message of Fatima, it is above all because the message contains a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and the call of the Gospel itself.
26	Sometimes a private revelation may alter the events of history, as did the call of Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431), who in a single year changed the course of European history to this day. Saint Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380), following personal inspirations she received, called Pope Gregory XI back from Avignon and preserved the sovereignty of the papacy from royal domination.
III. Truth and Private Revelations
27	Rule 2. No private revelation comes directly from God and therefore none can be assumed to be inerrantly true.
27	For centuries it has been a clear papal teaching that even a canonized saint who has reported a private revelation which has been approved by the Church for acceptance by the faithful may have introduced some personal element that is subject to error or distortion.
IV. The Scope of Private Revelations
V. Revelations--Authentic, Questionable, False, and Fake
VI. Sources of Error in Private Revelations
VII. False Revelations--A Sympathetic View
VIII. Dealing Sensibly with an Alleged Private Revelation
IX. Guidelines for Spiritual Directors
X. A Word to Those Who Think They Have Received a Revelation
XI. A Safer Way--Religious Experience
Glossary of Terms
Addendum: On A Course in Miracles

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