Friday, August 7, 2009
Medjugorje
Ever since I first started to really hear about Medjugorje about five years ago I've been a skeptic. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not expert on the subject, but I have had intelligent conversations with people who know much more about it then I do and I have read various articles for and against. Catholic Thing has an excellent article today about Medjugorje and I believe the author has almost the exact same view/attitude towards it that I do. It is definitely worth reading. One piece of information that the author didn't mention - the one piece that above all makes me a skeptic - is the fact that the Church cannot make its final decision one way or another (yes, the visions are real or no they are not) until the apparitions stop. There is so much controversy over the alleged apparitions that I can't figure out why Mary wouldn't cease appearing so that the Church could make its decision. If She is appearing there then the Church could make it official and resolve the whole issue. I can't imagine that Mary would desire all this confusion and debate. For me, I will remain a skeptic and accept whatever the Church decides in the end.
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6 comments:
This is frustrating...like you say...would this really be the plan Mary would come up with? I am always amazed at the peace people feel there. Elizabeth came away with that clearly, but as far as the rest of it we have to wait. I was at Marytown Mon and Tue and while waiting in line for confession there was a man telling lots of stories from his trip there and seeing the miracle of the sun here, many times...but who knows?
I have heard many good things as well but that does not mean that there aren't bad things coming out of there either. My fear is that if the Vatican ultimately decides that Medj is not legit, what will happen to the peoples' faith that was transformed there? What will happen to people who have converted only to discover that it was based on a lie? I also asked a priest if it is possible for satan to do good if he knew that evil would eventually come from it and he said yes. I'm not saying any of this is what's happening at Medj but like you said, who knows?
I'm trying to think of an example of a time in history when we can look back far enough to be able to see that satan used a good thing to eventually bring evil. Can you think of any? That's difficult because most people tend to discern things based on the 'fruit' produced.
No, I can't come up with anything either but as my anthropology professor used to say "absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence". I guess my problem is how easily it is for people to accept Medj when it is not an official apparition site and there are many shady things involved. Why not go to Lourdes or Fatima?
I am a recent convert to Catholicism through Medjugorje. Once agnostic, I am now a devout Catholic. For me, Medjugorje has been a beautiful gateway to the Lord's Church. Some are skeptical of the fact that the Blessed Mother is appearing to the visionaries in Medjugorje. Before they voice their skepticism they should go there and talk to the priests and visionaries. What realistic plausible alternative explanation does anyone have to what happened and continues to happen? Who are we to question how the Blessed Mother choses to appear? The Satan theory is the one all skeptics resort to because there isn't really any other reasonable earthly explanation. The Satan theory makes no sense because the Blessed Mother in Her apparitions focuses on being devout to Christ and His Church - hardly something Satan would ever do. In fact, the priest, bishops and lay people who embrace Medjugorje are some of the most devout and conservative Catholics. The truth is that Our Lady IS appearing to the visionaries. It is just so incredible that some can't accept the reality of God granting us such a wonderful gift in our time. But Christ and His Mother have been rejected before, both in their earthly existence and through other visionaries, such as Sr. Faustina. What I think causes people to reject Medjugorje is a deep seated fear of the true reality of God in our lives. If we as Catholics believe in the presence of the Lord in each of the millions of Eucharistic Hosts presented throughout time and throughout the world, how is it so difficult to believe that His Mother would appear and give us messages of hope, love and a path to Her Son?
Timothy! First off, welcome to my blog and welcome home to the Catholic Church! I sincerely appreciate your comment and you bring up some very good points. In order to answer you as I would like I must create a new post instead of replying here with only a comment. This is an important topic and I want to "do my homework" so it may take a few days but please keep your eyes open for another post on Medj. Thanks and God bless.
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