1.
WHY DOES GOD SEND US SUPERNATURAL SIGNS?
God conferred on humans the supernatural destiny of
participating in His Eternal Life and Happiness. To that end, we are
to seek, know, love and serve God, Who alone is the absolute Truth
and infinite Goodness. As His children, we are also to love and help
one another, forming God’s family. Humans have failed, however, by
seeking their own will and disobeying God’s Commandment. To deliver
us from eternal perdition, God sent His Only Son as our Savior. Christ
redeemed us by His Death on the Cross and established His Church to
make salvation available to all.
Despite all that, humans have continued wandering away
from God’s Teaching and Commandment. This is why God is sending us
more messages and signs, warning us about the consequences of unrepented
sins and urging us to return to Him and to His Teaching and Sacraments
in the Church.
2.
HOW CAN WE TELL TRUE SIGNS FROM HEAVEN FROM FALSE ONES?
Christ Himself warned us about false prophets. The devil
was a great angel before his fall and still is capable of false messages
and apparitions and is anxious to lead more people to hell. This is
why we must not blindly accept the reported supernatural phenomena
but discern them carefully. The following criteria may be helpful:
a. Do the reported messages, apparitions, and miracles
conform to the authentic teachings of the Church? For example, if
they deny or equivocate Christ’s true divinity or his true humanity,
they cannot be from God. True messages and signs cannot alter or improve
the truth already revealed by God. Instead, they draw us powerfully
to God’s teachings and Sacraments in the Church. For correct discernment,
we need to be firmly grounded in the Church teachings.
b. In addition to being in conformity with the Church
teachings, are the messages and the people who are directly involved
respectful of and obedient to the proper authority in the Church?
If not, they cannot be from God.
c. Are there physical supernatural signs? The absence
of physical signs does not necessarily mean that the messages are
false. The presence of genuine miracles, however, can be strong marks
of true revelations from God. Our Lord Himself performed many miracles
to confirm His teachings. The physical signs also need to be discerned.
d. Are the fruits good? Are the messages and miracles
leading people to a stronger faith in God and His teachings and to
a more faithful adherence to the authentic devotions in the Church?
If they lead people to pride, materialism, pursuit of fame, deviation
from the teachings and devotions of the Church, and defiance against
the proper authority in the Church, they cannot be from God.
Thus, true messages and signs from God are always focused
on God’s Incarnation and Redemptive Work, which is a reality continuing
through the Church until the end of the world.
3.
WHY IS GOD SENDING MARY TO US?
God the Son took human flesh through the Virgin Mary.
When Mary said "Fiat" to the Annunciation by St. Gabriel the
Archangel, the Savior was conceived in her womb by the power of the
Holy Spirit. It was the beginning of God’s Incarnation among us and
of His Redemptive Work for us. Thus, Mary became the Mother of the
God Incarnate.
Mary’s participation in Christ’s Redemptive Work continued
throughout His life on earth, culminating at the time of His Crucifixion.
Together with St. John and several holy women, the Mother of the Savior
was standing at the foot of the Cross, offering up her sufferings
to God the Father in union with her Divine Son. Her essential role
as the Helper to the Savior is continuing even after her Assumption
into Heaven. Because Mary is the Mother of Christ, she is also the
Mother of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, and of
everyone who belongs to the Church. She is eternally and truly our
Mother, who loves and cares about us. God, Who willed that Mary be
the Mother of His Son, also assigned to her the role of a mother for
all of us. That is why He is sending her to us so that she may help
us repent our sins and return to Him and His Church as His children.
4.
WHAT ARE THE ERRORS OF OUR AGE?
a. Being self-centered and
human-centered instead of God-centered. Perceiving and living our
life on earth outside the context of our eternal destiny. If we devote
our lives to pursuing worldly goals instead of seeking God and doing
His Will, we are going to perish eventually, because we are not the
source of the truth, power, goodness, or life. We really cannot overcome
the burden of our sins or the limits of the physical world by ourselves
regardless of any temporary successes on earth. Life is vain without
God, because He alone is the true origin of everything that is good.
b. Ignoring the reality of God’s Incarnation in our
world. Thus, denying the existence of (1) the absolute and full truth
for our salvation, (2) the objective moral laws, and (3) the adequate
means of salvation available through the Church.
c. Refusing to accept that the Catholic Church was established
by Christ and is being sustained by the Holy Spirit to continue the
reality of Christ’s Real Presence and Redemptive Work. We often look
at only the human aspects of the Church members and fail to recognize
the supernatural reality in the Church that flows from the infinite
merits of Christ’s suffering on the Cross.
d. Having forgotten the value of sacrifices. We often
ignore the fact that self-denial and sacrifices are the only true
signs of love. Because of this, we may fail to appreciate the meaning
of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross and the continuing reality of His
Sacrifice through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We may also fail
to understand the Blessed Mother’s suffering and weeping. We may fail
to respond to Our Lord’s call to deny ourselves, take up our cross
and follow Him, which is the essence of the Christian life.
Copyright © 2003, Mary’s Touch By Mail.
All rights reserved. Used with Permission.
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