Why private revelations?

# Why Private Revelations?Public revelation is the sole foundation of Catholic faith, as Saint Thomas Aquinas states: “Our faith rests on the Revelation made to the Prophets and Apostles who wrote the canonical books, not on some revelation made to other doctors.” (De locis theologicis, XII, II, 12).Therefore, (Melchior Cano, De locis theologicis, XII, II, 12): “It does not matter to the Church whether it believes in the apparitions of Bridget and Catherine of Siena, which in no way belong to faith.”**What is the purpose of private revelations or why does God grant them?**The Lord wishes to communicate personally and directly with creatures He has freely chosen, whom He wants to bestow with a deeper and clearer knowledge of the mysteries contained in public revelation and the ability to foresee the future (St. John of the Cross, The Ascent II, 25, 1), or to penetrate the secrets of the human heart, or to inspire actions beneficial for individuals and groups of people, and at least indirectly, for the whole Church. This does not mean that these illuminations always have a relative and non-canonical character and cannot become the norm of faith.This exclusion of them from the deposit of revealed truths does not mean that the doctrinal character pervading public revelation is absent from private revelations. It is true that private revelations are characterized primarily by a practical and concrete orientation, repeating dogmatic truths designed to promote or support an increase in ascetic and interior life. However, to achieve this pastoral outcome, to arouse interest and fervor, private revelations emphasize a particular aspect of public revelation, make it clearer, connect it to another truth, dissect its power of charity, animate and personalize it, making the mystery the engine, often, for a mystical experience or for an apostolic life, or even for the Christian regeneration of countless multitudes. These fruits presuppose the existence and action of particular aspects of the doctrine of Divine Revelation operating through forms, suggestions, and simplifications proposed by private revelations.For example, there is an intimate and providential link between biblical theology of mercy and God’s love manifested in Christ to humanity, and modern devotion to the Heart of the Savior, which can be considered an historical expression of that theology. Similarly, one cannot fail to see the connection between Mariology and the great apparitions of Lourdes and the intense sacramental practice observed in Marian shrines, even at the foundations of Christian existence.Divine-apostolic Tradition, which transmits and perpetuates public revelation in the Church, (Dei Verbum 8) progresses within the Church under the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it progresses in both the perception of things and words transmitted, whether through contemplation and study by the faithful who meditate on them in their hearts (cf. Lk 2:19, 51), or through intimate understanding they experience of spiritual things, or through the preaching of those who, with the succession of bishops, have received the charism of truth. This is to say, the Church continually moves towards the fullness of divine truth until it realizes God’s words. Testimonies of the Saints Fathers bear witness to the vivifying presence of this Tradition, whose riches enter into practice and life within the Church, faithful and praying.Therefore, it is permissible to narrate private revelations, whose content does not contradict truths proclaimed by public revelation, as means by which the faithful gain a deeper understanding of divine realities and the Church an opportunity to progress in knowledge of Christ’s mystery.It is legitimate to include private revelations, provided their genuineness has been filtered and approved by the Hierarchy of the Church, among those special graces and extraordinary or even simpler and more widely diffused charisms that the Lord grants for the renewal and development of the Church.(Lumen Gentium 12). They should be received with gratitude and consolation.The history of great and well-known private revelations recalls and still bears witness to the spiritual and pastoral fertility of these providential events.Yves Congar writes:“Who could deny that two holy Teresas (of Avila and of Jesus), Saint Margaret Mary, Blessed Maria of the Incarnation, made a significant contribution to the Church in terms of knowledge of God? But their contribution, however profound its resonance and fertility, had no other value than the observance of the apostolic rule of doctrine, even when it exceeded hierarchical teaching in depth, subordination, and coordination. Therefore, the contribution of the faithful visited by the Spirit corroborates hierarchical teaching. In a certain sense, it adds something and can also serve as a guide for its judgment. But this contribution does not constitute itself a public authority with social value as a criterion for the life of the people of God in unity of truth. Although coming from God, it could only assume that value through approval given by hierarchical magisterium, which could recognize in the revelations the development and deepening, resplendent with the splendor of higher gifts, already contained in the deposit (of faith) that has already received.”There are theologians who argue that private revelations could be given containing for the Church, in certain situations, teachings and imperatives of prophetic nature, especially when such revelations are less linked to visions (cf. K. Rahner, Revelation Private 225) and more to the prophetic and charismatic dimension that has always been present in the eclesial life in multiple forms.The theological sense of private revelations and the role of Mary as messenger is explored in the encyclical Redemptoris Mater by John Paul II, which situates Mary at the heart of salvation history as a mediator of Christ’s grace.

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