These are supernatural events produced in the intellect without any real dependence on sensible images. The object manifested to the intellect depends either on ideas acquired, but coordinated and modified in a supernatural way, or on ideas infused. Such visions are, therefore, purely spiritual and passive, as external imaginative representations do not intervene in them.This supernatural knowledge distinguishes itself from natural knowledge. Its object, which cannot extend beyond the cognitive domain of common intellect, often surpasses this common sphere in intrinsic brightness, supra-rational certainty, agility in the learning process, stability in the mind, and lasting effects on the soul: a full intellectual light filled with love, peace, desire for God, and absolute detachment from all that is not He and does not directly concern Him.These visions have God as their principal cause and exclude the action, even if mediated, of angels and demons. Their characteristic sign is certainty, as stated by Saint Teresa of Ávila:> «Because the Lord imprints in the soul such a clear knowledge that, even without having seen it, one cannot doubt. It is engraved within the intellect, and one has such certainty from it that, even without having seen it with one’s own eyes, one cannot doubt. At first, this doubt may also exist here. But then the soul is so certain that the doubt has no power» (Saint Teresa of Ávila, *Book of Life* 27,5).Intellectual visions, which are not to be separated from the infused gift of wisdom, may sometimes be obscure and indistinct, sometimes clear and distinct. The obscure intellectual vision certainly manifests the presence of the object, but it does not reveal the details of its nature:> «It seemed to me that Jesus Christ was always walking beside me, but I did not see how, because it was not an imaginary vision. I felt He was at my right side, a witness of everything I did» (Santa Teresa de Ávila, *Book of Life* 27,2).A clear intellectual vision is a rapid intuition of divine truth, which cannot be found elsewhere, as the Apostle experiences:> «I know a man in Christ who was fourteen years ago carried off to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know. God knows. I know that this man, whether in the body or out of the body, does not know. God knows, that he was carried off to paradise and heard ineffable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter» (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).Therefore, there is no adequate formulation in human language:> «As for these things, which are so hidden, it is not easy to speak of them, unlike imaginary visions which are easier to explain» (St. Teresa of Ávila, Interior Castle, VI, 10, 1).The theological understanding of intellectual visions and their role in the spiritual journey of the seers is illuminated in the encyclical *Redemptoris Mater* by John Paul II, which reflects on faith as the highest form of knowledge and encounter with the divine.Deepen your studies: Explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian Apparitions, and a Postgraduate Degree in Mariology.
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