Private Revelations
Fr. Jordi Rivero

^{The Church calls "private revelation" to all those received outside of Holy Scripture.}

^{The Catechism #67 teaches: Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to ‘improve’ or ‘complete’ Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. … Christian faith cannot accept ‘revelations’ that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such ‘revelations’." (See St Thomas, Summa II-II, q.174, art.6, ad 3).}

There is a danger of being misled by private revelations and there is also a danger of missing what the Lord is telling us through authentic ones. Some say that they are not obligated to believe in them. That is true, but think of what they miss in terms of understanding God's unfolding teaching to the Church. They would be discarding the graces that helped many become saints, including the seers of those apparitions!

The Divine Mercy revelations to Saint Faustina Kowalska are an example. They are "private revelations", they add no new truths to Holy Scripture, but certainly they have been an amazing grace for our times as they they expand our understanding and appreciation of Divine Mercy and its urgency for our times. Once the Church has formally approved the authenticity of a private revelation, though they still do not belong to the deposit of faith, we would be foolish to ignore them. Think of how much the Church has been enriched by the revelations at Guadalupe, Paray Le Monial (Sacred Heart), Lourdes, Fatima and so many others.   

The Lord Jesus promised that the Spirit will remind us of everything He had already revealed (Cf. John 14:26). Such a reminder is not to be taken lightly. He promised to lead the Church into all truth (Cf. John 16:13). This does not mean new truths, but that faith will deepen and grow in depth and understanding. Think of a baby as he develops into an adult. What was hidden in his genes becomes visible, but he continues to be the same person. God's mercy is a central truth of Scripture, yet in our times we have a deeper understanding of it thanks to St. Faustina.

We need not wait for formal approval to listen to private revelations. All those which are approved are so only because, before approval, multitudes were in some way being touched by them. We must remain cautious and discern in light of our Catholic faith, which is the only foundation that guides our life. If a message tells us, "Love God with all your heart", we know this is true. We still have to discern if there are any additional parts to the message because truth can be mixed with error. True messages agree fully with the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church.

To be open to the Holy Spirit we need to learn to listen to God as He continues to speak through His children, specially Mary, but also angels and saints. St. Paul teaches that the Church has a variety of gifts, one of them being prophecy, another "the ability to distinguish between spirits" (Cf. 1 Cor 12:10). In 1 Thes 5:19-22, he writes, "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything; hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil". This passages presuppose that the Christian communities continue to receive messages. Authentic listening to messages from God is always takes us to love and live the Holy Scriptures and Church teaching. If we ignore them we may suffer the silence of God.