Rome rules on Medjugorje

Purple Catholic Saturday Post

Sep 21, 2024

Good morning and happy Saturday. The big news in the Church this week was the Vatican confirming some of the spiritual benefits of devotion to the spiritual pratices tied to the apparaitions of Mary in Medjugorje.

The note from the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith is quite lengthy and detailed. It affirms some of the spiritual pratices that have sprouted from site in modern day Bosnia-Herzegovina but stops short of judging the alleged apparitions there “supernatural.”

Medjugorje is something I continue to withold judgment. Notes from the DDF like the one published this week should be given the highest precedence in forming our consciences on matters of faith and moral; after all this statement was confirmed by Pope Francis himself.

But I cannot deny the testimony of individuals that I know that connect their spiritual renewal with pilgramages to Medjugorje. It aligns with something the late Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ told my late former employer Al Kresta: Religious and spiritual experiences are a primary driver to conversion and belief in God.

It is in moments like this, I like to remind myself and others that we don’t need to be committed to every spiritual devotion. I am of the firm belief that attempting to do so is unhealthy. Instead, we should find what helps us connect to God at the particular moment in our lives.

Additionally, belief and devotions to Marian apparitions are not mandated by the Church. The Church has ruled on the supernaturality of many including in Champion, Wisconsin; Gualaoupe, Mexico; Akita, Japan; and Kibeho, Rawanda and we ought to give deference to those rulings, but they fall under the category of private revelation.

I find it spiritually healthy to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, attend a charasmatic Mass, and pray the Rosary, but I understand that it is not for everyone. Others have a devotion to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the Seven Sorrows of Mary, or to the messages of apparaitions such as those at Fatima and Medjugorje.

I am glad we got a clear statement on this issue from Rome and I appreciate Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the dicastery prefect, affirming the intelligence of Catholics who partake in spiritual discernment. He said in a press conference that most Catholics with “good sense” can discern between spiritually beneficial messages from the alleged apparitions and those that are imprecise or unimportant (like that Mary allegedly told the seers her birthday is August 5th, not September 8th as in the Church’s calendar).

If you are looking for a new book to read, I would encourage you to check out Peggy Stanton’s From the White House to the White Cross: Confessions of a TV News Correspondent. Peggy was the first female Washington correspondent for ABC News and was married to the late Republican congressman Bill Stanton. She travelled to Medjugorje with her daughter and credits her visit to her spiritual renewal. You can purchase the book from the online store at AveMariaRadio.net.

Several pray at a statue of Mary on Apparition Hill in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Public domain image.

New content

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If you are already subscribed and receive emails from The Purple Catholic, then there is nothing else you need to do. They’ll show up in your inbox beginning September 9th.

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Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This week we are entering the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time. This Sunday we will hear readings from Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Psalm 54; James 3:16-4:3; and Mark 9:30-37.

Here are some resources to help you prep for the readings this Sunday:

In the Liturgy of the Hours, we return Psalter Week I. In the Office of Readings we continue reading the prophet Ezekiel.

Here is a calendar for the rest of the week:

Monday, 23 September - Memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), priest
Thursday, 26 September - Memorial of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, martyrs (optional)
Friday, 27 September - Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, priest
Saturday, 28 September - Memorial of St. Wenceslaus, martyr (optional)

To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:14

In the news:

Final thought

This week we celebrate the memorial of St. Wenceslaus, the prince of Bohemia. He was brought up Christian by his aunt and began his rule around 925 AD. He worked to convert his subjects but was betrayed by his brother Boleslaus. The First Old Slavic Legend says, “The men of Bohemia, however, became arrogant and prevailed upon Boleslaus, his younger brother. They told him, ‘Your brother Wenceslaus is conspiring with his mother and his men to kill you.’” Wenceslaus was murdered in a Church by his brother and two assassins.

If the name sounds familiar, even if you don’t know much about Slavic saints, its because Wenceslaus is the subject of the Christmas carol, “Good King Wenceslaus.”

Have a good weekend,

Matthew

Rome rules on Medjugorje

Purple Catholic Saturday Post

New content

Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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Final thought

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