Last month I briefly covered some issues regarding certain end-time prophesies with some emphasis on the “Left Behind” phenomenon.  This month I would like to continue the theme of prophesies and revelations by briefly explaining the Catholic Church’s teaching.

PUBLIC REVELATION

The Catholic Church teaches that the fullness of God’s revelation was brought to completion in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  This revelation and the truths that were brought forth from it were entrusted to his Church which is both guardian and interpreter of them: “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord…” (Ephesians 3:10-11)  This is known as public revelation and also as the deposit of faith because it is in Public Revelation, the deposit of faith, that God has revealed through Christ all that is needed to be revealed about the Christian faith to the nations (Matthew 24:14, 28:19; Mark 11:17, 13:10; Luke 24:47).  Everyone who accepts the Lord Jesus in faith must accept all the truths passed down through the twofold source of Revelation: Sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in righteousness…” “Therefore brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours” (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:15) Public Revelation ended with the death of the last apostle but revelation itself did not end.

PRIVATE REVELATION

It is in private revelation that many Catholics have had and continue to have a great deal of confusion.  Private revelation helps us understand the depth of public revelation it is not an addition to it.  The Catechism of The Catholic Church says the following about private revelation: “Throughout the ages, there have been so-called “private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church” (#67 emphasis added). Any private revelation no matter how inspirational or timely it might be which contradicts revealed truth that belongs to the deposit of faith cannot be accepted.  Conversely, any approved private revelation, approved in as much as it has been investigated by Church authorities and has been found to have a bases in the supernatural and does not contradict Public Revelation, cannot be imposed upon anyone who wishes not to believe in it.  This point is crucial because some Catholics believe every private revelation must be accepted on an equal billing with Public Revelation and this is not the case, “Even though many of these revelations have been approved, we cannot and we ought not to give them the assent of divine faith, but only that of human faith, according to the dictates of prudence whenever these dictates enable us to decide that they are probable and worthy of pious credence” (Pope Benedict XIV, 1740 – 1758).  Unfortunately for the majority of Fundamentalist Protestants, especially of the Pentecostal branches, there is more often than not any distinction between Public and private revelation.  This is why an authoritative Church is so important, “We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete” (2 Corinthians 10:4b-5).  The Lord Jesus Christ new exactly what he was doing when he left us a Church with clout, not subject to the whims and fancies of the time.   

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

In the case of private revelations, the maxim that prudence is the overriding virtue is of the utmost importance, I can’t overemphasize this.  Look before you take that leap of faith, even though that faith is human faith as Benedict XIV tells us because these revelations do not in any form bind the believer by an act of the theological virtue of faith.  However, if an individual has discerned and comes to believe in the private revelation, he or she is obliged to believe in it. That being said it is incumbent upon the believer to understand the process of discernment regarding private revelations.  The following rules are summarized in Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine:  (1) Any revelation that is contrary to the public teaching on faith or morals must be rejected.  (2) Any teaching contrary to the common teaching of theologians or that claims to settle an argument among schools of theology is gravely suspect.  (3) If some part or detail of a private revelation turns out to be false or erroneous, it is not necessary to reject the entire revelation [this is a very important point because there are times that the seer may mis-interpreted some aspect of the revelation. In short, you don’t necessarily have to through out the baby with the bathwater].  (4) The fact that a prophecy comes true is not a proof that the revelation was from God; it could have been due to some other factor.  (5) Private revelations that are very detailed or treat of useless matter or mere curiosity should be ignored.  (6) The person who receives the revelation should be carefully examined as regards physical and mental health, moral character, obedience, and humility.  (7) Carefully examine the immediate fruits that are produced by the revelation.