WEEKLY E-MAGAZINE 45/6-13/2/2021

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Carlo Voice

Chief Editors- Bro. Ephrem Kunnappally and Bro. John Kanayankal

Contributing Editors Very Rev.Joychen Paranjattu, Vicar General- Diocese of Rajkot Rev.Fr. Shanthi Puthusherry, PIME Rev. Fr. Sunny Kuttikkattu CMI Rev. Bro. Philip Kunnumpurath Spiritual Patrons His Holiness Francis HB Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak Coptic Catholic HB Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi Marionite Patriarch HB Ignace Joseph III Younan Syriac Catholic Patriarch HB Joseph AbsiMelkite Catholic Patriarch HB Louis Raphaël I Cardinal Sako Chaldean Patriarch HB Gregoire Pierre XX Ghabroyan of Cilicia Armenian Catholic Patriarch HB Mar George Alencherry- Major of Syro-Malabar Church HB Moran Mor Cardinal Cleemis Mar Baselius Catholicos HB Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa Jeruslem Catholic Patriarch HE Cardinal Oswald Gracias, CBCI- Chairman and Archbishop of Bombay HG Joshua Mar Ignatius, Vice Chairman CBCI- Mavelikara Metropolitan Bishop HG Domenico Sorrentino, Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino HE Philiopose Mar Stephanose, Syro- Malankara Bishop of Canada HE Mar Prince Antony Panengadan Bishop of Adilabad HE Mar George Madathikandathil Bishop of Kothamagalam HE Thomas Dabre, Bishop of Poone Dr.Nicola Ghori, Postulator Cause of Carlo Acutis Madam Antonia Salzano, Madre de Carlo Acutis

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Homily of His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa

February 7, 2020

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

“The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:14): with these solemn words Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee. The words we find in today’s Gospel, instead, are all much more straightforward and ordinary: home, mother-in-law, fever, take by the hand, rise, serve (Mk 1:29-31).

There is a disproportion between the solemn opening words of the Gospel and today’s episode, but in this imbalance lies the entire new story of the Gospel. There is the “is at hand” of the Kingdom, about which we read two Sundays ago. Because the Kingdom is fulfilled only in the ordinariness of encounters and homes, relationships, and life experiences, in the simpler things of life.

The event of today is part of the so-called “Capernaum day” that the evangelist describes as a typical day of Jesus, to show us as Jesus moves within ordinary life. Having left the synagogue, where he taught with authority and freed a demoniac silencing the unclean spirit that possessed him, now Jesus goes to the home of one of His new friends. 3 | P a g e

Home is the first critical element of today’s Gospel: it’s here in a house, in a “profane” place, unofficial, that the first community comes alive, the first church. Jesus returns here often, to have a private and ordinary life that is not less important than the more visible and public. The synagogue at that time was the institutional place of meeting for the community. It is that very institutional context, led by the leaders of the people and the scribes, that shows them unable to receive the new salvation that Jesus brings (in Mk 3:6, we see that it’s in the synagogue the very first violent rejection against Him develops). The home instead appears to be the place where salvation happens, where Jesus reveals the style of the Kingdom. In the home, ordinary things are important, and it’s in that context that one can encounter it.

And in the case of Simon, as in many homes, it happens that sickness has entered: even if an ordinary sickness, a simple fever, but still a symptom of that weakness that all humanity shares. Jesus naturally draws near (Mk 1:31): a young Teacher is next to an older woman, and a relationship happens full of humanity and affection. What can one do, to a sick person, but take his or her hand, as a sign of friendship and sympathy? And Jesus also does this, because this is the style of the Kingdom that Jesus announced at the beginning of His ministry.

Here is not the only case when Jesus takes someone by the hand: He will do it other times, and every time this gesture will be significantly linked to healing and, even more, to give back life. Thus, it will be for the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:41) or for the epileptic boy who, after the exorcism, “is as dead” But Jesus took him by the hand and made him rise (Mk 9:26-27).

There is a sequence, a link that occurs between these two verbs, take by the hand and rise up, and it is a link that generates life, that conquers death, that resurrects. The hand of Jesus, when it takes ours, lifts us, gives life back to us because to live we need this simple gesture of tenderness and nearness.

But there is a third important verb: Peter’s mother-in-law, once healed, begins to “serve” (Mk 1:31).

We are not healed merely to be well, but so that the life, which has been freely given back to us, is available to others. And this implies that the healing – the resurrection – is “complete” only if these two verbs are together, if you get up to serve: only thus will it indeed be Easter.

Precisely in a Paschal context, indeed, will Jesus speak of Himself as a servant, when He will speak of not coming to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mk 10:45).

Today’s passage does not stop at the house of Simon: the salvation that happened in that house also moves outside, to another important place of encounter that is the city gate (Mk 1:33). It is a border place, a place where everyone meets. Each one comes there with his burden of suffering and difficulty, and we can think that the same hand that was placed on Peter’s mother-in-law is also placed on each one, with the 4 | P a g e

same tenderness.

But the passage concluded with an unexpected event: Jesus, in the night, retires in solitude, to take care of His relationship with the Father, with His source of life.

And to the disciples who are seeking Him anxiously, preoccupied with not ignoring the expectations of the people (all are looking for you! Mk 1:37). Jesus opens still greater horizons, as those opened for them at the time of the call; and He proposes to them an “elsewhere” (Mk 1:38). Whoever wants to follow Him, whoever seeks Him, knows where to find Him. He will always find Him “somewhere else” because He will have already left the place that will have benefitted, without being imprisoned there, obedient to a call asking to go “elsewhere” (Mk 1:38), to another place.

Within this “elsewhere” there is a possibility of salvation, of healing, and a hand placed on all.

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Biblical Reflection of this week:

Very Rev. Fr. Joychen Paranjattu, Vicar General Diocese of Rajkot

Jn 3 Jesus and John the Baptist

In the first reading, we see the instruction that Moses gives to the Israelites concerning miscellaneous Laws. He reminds them to have a generous and compassionate heart towards the poor, in particular the laborers. Justice is to be meted out to them without fail. He constantly reminds them that they were slaves in Egypt. Thus, Moses commands the Israelites to remember their own tough past and show great concern towards the alien, the orphan, and the widow and to leave things for them in the field when they harvest. This is one of the criteria to receive God’s blessings. It’s only a person who has suffered hunger will understand the sufferings of the poor and the needy.

In the second reading, we find that the author of Hebrews refers to Jesus as the high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. He is the minister in the heavenly sanctuary. Every priest on earth offers sacrifices in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one. Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant and continues to offer every sacrifice we offer on earth in the heavenly sanctuary.

John the Baptist points out that Jesus’ ministry comes from heaven. “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven”. These are words of wisdom that come from John. He knew that God is the one in command over everything. Every good thing comes from God. No one can claim to be achieving success on their own. His words come out of his humility. He was humble enough to accept the superiority of Jesus and acknowledge it before others. When he was told: “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here is baptizing, and all are going to him”, John replied that it is all in accordance with the plan and purpose of God. To see everything in accordance with the plan of God, one needs to be truly connected to God. He does everything for the glory of God. He would never do anything for his own glory. He is unassuming in his discourse. He gives credit to God and is not jealous of other’s rise to glory.

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John the Baptist is not concerned about the fame and welcome that Jesus gets; but rather, considers himself as his forerunner and his friend who rejoices at his voice. He never makes any claim to be the Messiah. He never wanted to compete with Jesus and his ministry. He understands that he is not the final voice to be listened to. There is somebody greater than he. He is only the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness. He is only preparing the way for the one who is to come. He views life as an opportunity to cooperate, rather than compete. He does not shy away from his responsibility to manifest Jesus to us. He was happy to see Jesus doing the works which he himself had longed to see. He understands that Jesus’ origin is not earthly, but rather, heavenly and above all. Jesus reveals to us the heavenly mysteries which we couldn’t have known unless someone revealed them to us. He realizes that only Jesus has the real power to communicate to us regarding the hidden things of heaven.

It is natural inclination of the mind to desire fame and name in the society in which we live. It is the desire of the Spirit to give glory to God and to acknowledge the blessings of God. Such a person will not boast over one’s own success. To humble oneself, one must shed the ego which often dominates over others and begin to appreciate others. One should not be disturbed by someone else’s success. Even to appreciate others and their achievements, one should grow spiritually and be closer to God. Let us not be threatened by other’s success. Every success is the work of God’s hands. The wise man acknowledges it, the foolish resent it. Let us place our trust in God who bestows us with all the spiritual blessings that we are in need of. Amen!

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Vox-Fidei History of Eucharistic Adoration (Abbreviated)

by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

The Fathers of the early Church defends with vigor the permanence of the Real Presence. Already in the second century the faithful frequently carried the Holy Eucharist with them to their homes. (Thus (Ad Uxorem, 2) and St. (De Lapsis, 26)). Or they carried the Blessed Sacrament with them on long journeys, as described by St. (De Excessu Fratris, I, 43, 46). Permanent deacons were commissioned to take the Eucharist to those who could not attend the Eucharistic services (St. Justin, First Apology, 67). So too the deacons would bring the Sacrament to the martyrs, to those in prison, and to the sick (Eusebius, History of the Church, VI. 44). The deacons were also required to preserve the sacred particles that remained after Mass and transfer them to specially prepared Pastophor as prescribed by the fourth century Apostolic Constitutions (VIII, 13).

Also already in the fourth century, it was customary to celebrate the Mass of the Presanctified. Hosts that were consecrated a day or two earlier, were then received by the faithful. In the Latin Rite, this Mass of the Presanctified is now limited to Good Friday. But in the Eastern Church, we know from at least the seventh century that it was celebrated during the whole of Lent, except on Saturdays, Sundays, and March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.

The Middle Ages to Modern Times

Nothing really startling occurred in the thirteenth century when the feast of Corpus Christi was instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264. In establishing the feast, he stressed the love of Christ which moved Him to give us the Holy Eucharist. Urban IV ordered Thomas Aquinas to compose the Liturgy of the Hours for the feast, to be celebrated annually on the day following Trinity Sunday.

Three hymns which Aquinas composed for the feast are among the most beautiful in the Catholic liturgy. They express the unchangeable faith of the Church in the abiding Presence of her Founder on earth. They also explain why the faithful adore Christ in 8 | P a g e

the Blessed Sacrament. All three hymns are part of the Divine Office. They are best known by each of their last two verses which have become part of the treasury of Catholic hymnology.

 Salutaris Hostia is an act of adoration of Christ, the Saving Victim who opened wide the gate of heaven to man below.

 Tantum Ergo Sacramentum is an act of adoration of the word-made- flesh, where faith supplies for what the senses cannot perceive.

 Panis Angelicus is an act of adoration of that wondrous thing where the lowly and poor are fed, banqueting on their Lord and King.

Aquinas, like the Church, never separated the Eucharist as Sacrifice, Communion and Presence. But with the Church, he also realized that without the Real Presence, there would be no Real Sacrifice or Real Communion. God became man, that He might offer Himself on Calvary, and continue to offer Himself in the Mass. He became man that He might give Himself to the disciples as food and drink at the Last Supper, and continue to give Himself to us in Holy Communion. He became man to live in flesh and blood in Palestine, and to continue living now on earth as the same Jesus who died and rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of His heavenly Father.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

The institution of the feast of Corpus Christi gave new momentum to the desire to behold the consecrated Host. We know that elevation of the Host at Mass was practiced long before the feast was established. Some historians trace the elevation of the Host and Chalice as the Church’s answer to the heresy of Berengarius. Other scholars trace the practice to a profession of faith in the Real Presence already after the first . Some theologians had erroneously claimed that transubstantiation of the bread took place only when the priest at Mass had pronounced the words of consecration over both bread and wine.

The devout longing of the faithful, to look upon the Sacred Host was not limited to the time of Mass. As early as the thirteenth century a person in mortal sin was allowed to look at the exposed Blessed Sacrament. Church authorities decided it was not only permissible, but, if done with a good intention, would be the source of special grace to the sinner.

St. Juliana Cornelion of Liege (1192-1258) was only one outstanding promoter of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass. Her zeal was instrumental in having her fellow countryman Pope Urban IV (also of Liege), institute the feast of Corpus Christi.

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By the sixteenth century, it became a norm of Catholic orthodoxy to recognize the Real Presence in the Eucharist outside of Mass and Holy Communion. That is why the made, among others, two formal declarations on the subject.

“The custom of reserving the Holy Eucharist in a sacred place, “ said Trent, “is so ancient that it was recognized already in the century of the Council of Nicea.” (325 AD)

Then a historic condemnation of “anyone who says that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God is not to be adored in the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, with the worship of latria, including external worship…or that the Sacrament is not to be publicly exposed for the people’s adoration” (October 11, 1551).

Trent was simply confirming what by then, had become a recognized form of Eucharistic piety. Thus the Order of the White Religious Body of Jesus Christ, a Benedictine men’s community dating from the late fourteenth century, dedicated themselves to the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. But Trent inspired growing devotion to the Real Presence among the faithful in general.

The specific form which this popular devotion took came to be called, “The Forty Hours.”

Within two centuries, the Forty Hours devotion was so widely practiced that it became part of the Code of Canon Law (Canon 1275). Equally significant was the Church’s distinction between public and private exposition of the holy Eucharist. “Private exposition,” the Code stated, “that is in a pyx, can be had for any good reason, without permission of the Ordinary.” Public exposition, with a monstrance, could be held on the feast and during the octave of Corpus Christi. At other times, public exposition required the permission of the Ordinary, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament could be given only by a priest (Canon 1274).

Pope Francis’ Prayer to Saint Joseph

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. To you God entrusted his only Son; in you Mary placed her trust; with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too, show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life. Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage, and defend us from every evil. Amen.

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1. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

God comes first―but before we deal with God, we have to deal with knowledge. For it is by knowledge that come to the truth. How do we know? From what do get our knowledge? These are some of the things we have to examine before we begin to examine God―Who must come first as the object of our knowledge.

The knowledge of God consists in the knowledge of His perfections, His works, His will, and the means of grace instituted by Him. St. Paul bids us “increase in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Now we only know God through a glass in a dark manner; only in heaven shall we see Him face to face, and have a clear knowledge of His perfections (1 Corinthians 13:12).

1. The happiness of the angels and the saints consists in the knowledge of

God.

Our Lord tells us that “this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the food of which the archangel Raphael spoke, when he said to Tobias: “I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men” (Tobias 12:19). In heaven the saints and angels have an immediate direct knowledge of God in the beatific vision. We on Earth only know God through the medium of His works and of what He has revealed to us―that is to say, His creation and His revelation. Our knowledge, compared with that of the saints and angels, is like the knowledge of a country that one gets from maps and pictures as compared with the knowledge of one who has himself visited it.

2. The knowledge of God is all-important, for without it there cannot be any

happiness on Earth, or a well-ordered life.

The knowledge of God is the food of our soul. Without it the soul feels hungry; we become discontented. He who does not possess interior peace, cannot enjoy riches, health, or any of 12 | P a g e

the goods of this life ; they all become distasteful to him. Yet few think about this food of the soul; they busy themselves, as Our Lord says, with the “meat that perishes” (John 6:27).

Without the knowledge of God a man is like one who walks in the dark, and stumbles at every step; he has no end or aim in life, no consolation in misfortune, and no hope in death. He cannot have any solid or lasting happiness, or any true contentment.

Without a knowledge of God a well-ordered life is impossible. Just as an untilled field produces no good fruit, so a man who has not the knowledge of God can produce no good works. Ignorance and forgetfulness of God are the causes of most of the sins that men commit. Rash and false oaths, neglect of the service of God and of the sacraments, the love of gold, the sinful indulgence of the passions, are all due to willful ignorance and forgetfulness of God.

Thus the prophet Hosea exclaims: “There is no knowledge of God in the land. Cursing and lying and killing and theft and adultery have overflowed” (Hosea 4:2-3). And St. Ignatius of Loyola cries out: “O God, Thou joy of my soul, if only men knew Thee, they never would offend Thee,” and experience shows that in the jails the greater part of the prisoners are those who knew nothing of God. When Frederick of Prussia finally recognized that the lack of the knowledge of God was the cause of the increase in crime, he exclaimed: “Then I will have religion introduced into the country!” The state of your family, or parish, or school, or work- place can be assessed in a similar way—the more religion there is present, the less sin will be present. Yet that is not the way most people see things! Sadly.

This is why the learning and the understanding of the Catechism, which is nothing else than an abridgement or summary of the Christian religion, is all-important. But a mere knowledge of the truths of religion is not sufficient; they must also be practiced.

3. We arrive at a right knowledge of God through Faith in the truths which

God has revealed.

Without God revealing truths about Himself, human reason would only have a very vague and limited idea about God. The Faith has to be based on Divine Revelation and not just human reasoning and human discoveries. If I watch a person over the course of several years, I will come to certain knowledge of that person—I may know where that person likes to go, what the person likes to eat and drink, who the person associates with, whether they seem happy or sad, etc.

But all this is merely superficial or external knowledge, based on my observations and theories about the person. I do not know if the person goes somewhere because they have to go, or because they want to go. I do not know if the food they eat is because they like it, or as a penance, or because they have to eat it for health reasons. I do not know the relationship of the person to the other persons it meets, etc. I need that person to reveal and tell me those things. The same is true for our knowledge about God.

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Today, Modernists reject Divine Revelation, and so they cripple and cast doubt upon the knowledge we have about God. They want to rely on pure human science and deduction alone! That is an absurdity that will lead many of them, not to Heaven, but to Hell. For they will have disbelieved, rejected and ignored the truths that God has chosen to share with us.

“The heavens show forth the glory of God” (Psalm 18:2). It is true that by means of reason and from the contemplation of the creatures that God has made man can arrive at a knowledge of God: “For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; His eternal power also, and divinity―so that they are inexcusable. Because that, when they knew God, they have not glorified Him as God, or given thanks; but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:20-21).

But our reason is so weak and prone to err, that, left to simple human reasoning alone, without revelation from God, it is very difficult for man to attain to a clear and correct knowledge of God. What strange and perverted views of the Deity we find among heathen nations: “For the corruptible body is a load upon the soul, and the earthly habitation presseth down the mind that museth upon many things. And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon Earth: and with labor do we find the things that are before us. But the things that are in Heaven, who shall search out? And who shall know Thy thought, except Thou give wisdom, and send Thy Holy Spirit from above” (Wisdom 9:15-17).

God therefore in His mercy comes to our aid with Divine Revelation. Through believing the truths that God has revealed, man attains to a clear and correct knowledge of God. Hence St. Anselm says: “The more I am nourished with the food of Faith, the more my understanding is satisfied.” Faith is a divine light that shines in our souls: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

It is like a watch tower, from which we can see that which cannot be seen from the plain below; we learn respecting God that which cannot be learned by mere reason from the world around. It is a glass through which we perceive all the divine perfections. It is a staff which supports our feeble reason, and enables it to know God better. There are two books from which we gain a knowledge of God; the book of Nature, and Holy Scripture, which is the book of revelation.

2. DIVINE REVELATION

If a person, standing amongst the branches and leaves of a forest, looks at people in a field, through binoculars, from a long distance away, he sees all the people in the field, but they cannot see him. But if the person approaches them and speaks to them, the people in the field will be aware of the person’s existence and presence and will come to know something about the person. Such is our relation to God. He sees us, but conceals Himself from our eyes. Yet He has, in many ways, made Himself known to men; to Abraham, to Moses in the burning bush, to the Israelites on Mount Sinai, etc. 14 | P a g e

1. God has, in His mercy, in the course of ages often revealed Himself to

men (Hebrews 1:1-2).

God has often communicated to men a knowledge of His perfections, His decrees, and His holy will. Such revelation is called supernatural, as opposed to the natural revelation of Himself that He makes through the external world.

2. God’s revelation to man is generally made in the following way: He speaks to individuals and orders them to communicate to their fellow-men

the revelation made to them.

Thus God spoke to Abraham, Noah, and Moses. He sent Noah to preach to sinful men before the Flood, He sent Moses to the Israelites when they were oppressed by Pharao. Sometimes God spoke to a number of men who were assembled together, as when He gave the law to the people on Mount Sinai, or when Our Lord was baptized by St. John and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, a voice being heard from Heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.”

Sometimes God revealed Himself through angels, as for instance to Tobias through the archangel Raphael. When God spoke to men, He took the visible form of a man or of an angel, or He spoke from a cloud (as on Sinai), or from a burning bush, as He did to Moses, or amid a bright light from heaven, as to St. Paul, or in the whispering of the wind, as He did to Elias, or by some interior illumination (Deuteronomy 2:6-8). Those to whom God revealed Himself, and who had to bear witness before others to the divine message, were called messengers from God, and often received from Him the power of working miracles and of prophecy, in proof of their divine mission. (Cf. the miracles of Moses before Pharao, of Elias, the Apostles, etc.)

3. Those who were specially entrusted with the communication to men of the divine revelation were the following: the patriarchs, the prophets, Jesus

Christ the Son of God (Hebrew 1:1), and His Apostles.

Revelation is to mankind in general what education is to individual men. Revelation corresponds to the needs of the successive stages of human development, to the infancy, childhood, and youth of mankind. The patriarchs, who had more of the nature of children, needed less in the way of precepts, and God dealt with them in more familiar fashion ; the people of Israel, in whom, as in the season of youth, self-will and sensuality were strong, had to be trained by strict laws and constant correction; but when mankind had arrived at the period of manhood, then God sent His Son and introduced the law of love (1 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 3:24).

Of all those who declared to men the divine revelation, the Son of God was pre-eminently the true witness. He says of Himself: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should bear testimony to the truth” (John 18:37). He was of all witnesses the best, because He

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alone had seen God (John 1:18). The Apostles also had to declare to men the Divine Revelation. They had to bear witness of what they had seen, and above all of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:39).

4. Types of Revelation: Divine Public Revelation & Divine Private Revelation

With the Divine Revelation that was given through Christ and His Apostles, the revelation that was given for the instruction of all mankind was concluded. This revelation, intended for all mankind, is officially known as “Divine Public Revelation”—because it is a revelation that comes from God (hence “Divine”) and it is intended for all mankind (hence “Public”). Any revelations made by God after the death of the last of the Apostles (St. John), cannot add one iota to Divine Public Revelation. These secondary revelations are called “Divine Private Revelations” and though they cannot add anything to “Divine Public Revelation”, they are meant to bring our attention to elements in Divine Public Revelation that we have forgotten, are neglecting or ignoring.

Hence, when Our Lady appears at Fatima and asks for prayers and penances, she is adding nothing new to Divine Public Revelation, but simply focusing our attention on what was already revealed in Divine Public Revelation—namely: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) … “That we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1) … and “Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Yet these were things that our pleasure seeking and pleasure loving world was forgetting—so a Divine Private Revelation was needed to refocus mankind on a Divine Public Revelation. (Details in Next Issue)

5. Even since the death of Our Lord and His apostles God has often revealed Himself to men; yet these subsequent revelations are no

continuation of the earlier revelation on which our faith rests.

Instances of these subsequent revelations are the appearances of Our Lord to Blessed Margaret Mary, and of Our Lady at Lourdes. Such revelations must not be too lightly credited, as men are liable to be deceived; yet they must not be rejected without examination. Many of the saints have had such revelations, i.e., St. Francis of Assisi, to whom Our Lord appeared upon the cross, and St. Anthony of Padua, in whose arms the Child Jesus deigned to rest.

These private revelations were more especially given to those who were striving after perfection, in order to encourage them to greater perfection still. Yet God sometimes revealed Himself to wicked men, i.e., to Baltassar in the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:5, seq.}. Hence a private revelation given to any one is not necessarily a mark of holiness.

These revelations, moreover, were no further continuation of the revelation intended for the instruction of the whole of mankind, which ended with the death of the last of the Apostles; they are rather a confirmation of truths already revealed.

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Thus Our Lady, when she appeared at Lourdes, proclaimed herself the “Immaculate Conception,” so confirming the dogma which Pius IX had defined four years earlier, and the countless miracles and cures that have taken place there have established the truth of the apparition. Yet it is always possible that the malice of the devil may introduce deceptions into private revelations. Therefore, no one is bound to give to them a firmer belief (even though they have in general been approved by the Church), than he would give to the assertions of an honest and trust worthy man.

6. Revelation was necessary because, in consequence of Original Sin, man without revelation has never had a correct knowledge of God and of His will; and also because it was necessary that man should be prepared for the

coming of the Redeemer.

The three Wise Men would never have found Christ if He had not revealed Himself to them by means of a star; so mankind would have lived far off from God, and would never have attained to a true knowledge of Him, if He had not revealed Himself to them. As the eye needs light to see things of sense, so human reason, which is the eye of the soul, needs revelation to perceive things divine (St. Augustine). Original sin and the indulgence of the senses had so dimmed human reason that it could no longer recognize God in His works (Wisdom 9:16). This is proved by the history of paganism.

The heathen worshiped countless deities, idols, beasts, and wicked men, and his worship was often immoral and horrible, as in the human sacrifices offered by him. The gods were often the patrons of vice. The greatest men among the heathens approved practices forbidden by the natural law. Thus Cicero approved of suicide, Plato of the exposing to death those children who were weak or deformed. Their theories when good were at variance with their practice. Socrates denounced polytheism, but before his death told his disciples to sacrifice a cock to Esculapius.

Many of the best of the heathens recognized and lamented their ignorance of God. Besides, without a previous revelation the Savior would have been neither known nor honored as He ought to have been known and honored; it was fitting that He should be announced beforehand, like a king coming to take possession of his kingdom. We ought indeed to be grateful to God that He has given us the light of revelation, just as a blind man is grateful to the physician who has restored his sight. Yet how many there are who willfully shut their eyes to the light of revelation even now!

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