From: Subject: The Marian Apparitions: Divine Intervention or Delusion? Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2006 05:41:11 -0600 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_00A3_01C70DF8.D1500000" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2962 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_00A3_01C70DF8.D1500000 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/marian_apparitions.aspx =EF=BB=BF The Marian Apparitions: Divine Intervention or = Delusion?

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The Marian Apparitions: Divine Intervention or = Delusion?

By Miriam Lambouras

Journey=20 to Medjugorje
A=20 "New Mary" for a New Age?
A=20 Comparison of the Mysticism of Francis of Assisi = with that=20 of St. Seraphim of Sarov
Alien=20 Abductions and the Orthodox Christian =

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The following article is one that we have = wanted to=20 publish for a long time as we believe that its message is = timely and=20 important. We hesitated as it was submitted just after we = had begun=20 St Nicolas Varzhansky's "Whole Armour of Truth," and we did = not want=20 to have two long and serialized pieces, both confessional in = content, running together. Now we are nearing the end of St = Nicolas'=20 work and pleased to present "Marian Apparitions. " The work = will be=20 lengthy but we feel that it is well worth it. It began as a = result=20 of a correspondence between the writer and our brotherhood. = She was=20 troubled, as we had been too, by the fact that many Orthodox = Christians seem indiscriminately to make pilgrimages to = Marian=20 shrines and that sometimes churches and parishes actively = sponsor=20 these pilgrimages. She asked for guidance, but it soon = became clear=20 that her knowledge of the subject was much more extensive = than our=20 own and that her perceptions were entirely Orthodox. We have = been=20 instructed by her work and hope others will be also. Perhaps = one day=20 the whole work might be published, as it well deserves, as a = booklet. The writer, a long-time correspondent with our = brotherhood=20 and friend, is a convert to Holy Orthodoxy and member of the = Russian=20 Patriarchal Cathedral Parish at Ennismore Gardens, in = London. (From=20 the editors of The Shepherd, where this article = first=20 appeared.)

APART FROM WALSINGHAM in my distant Anglican days, the = Marian=20 shrines had never really interested me. I was of course = aware of=20 some of the most important ones=E2=80=94Lourdes, Fatima, and = more recently=20 Medjugorje=E2=80=94, and knew that while many people (the = vast majority=20 being Roman Catholics, of course) considered these = apparitions a=20 direct sign from Heaven, others (mainly Protestant) = considered them=20 some kind of hallucination or even demonic delusion. Not = being a=20 member of the Roman Catholic Church, I felt under no = obligation or=20 inclination to give them much thought. But learning that an = Orthodox=20 priest had been on pilgrimage to Lourdes, and that the wife = of=20 another Orthodox priest organized an annual visit by a group = of=20 Orthodox women to Lourdes, my interest was aroused, and I = began to=20 feel a strong compulsion to take a closer look at the Marian = apparitions and their shrines.

Books by Roman Catholic authors were the main source of = my=20 information concerning the apparitions and the shrines. I = was=20 extremely surprised to find how numerous they were, and in = the end=20 confined myself to just fifteen, with a special look at the=20 Miraculous Medal, La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima, Garabandal, = Zeitoun,=20 Medjugorje, Hriushiw. Walsingham I did not consider at all, = since it=20 seems to be in a somewhat different category, in that its = raison=20 d'etre is a straightforward honouring of the mystery of the=20 Incarnation, with the Son of God as the central figure. The=20 staunchest Protestant could hardly quarrel with that = intention,=20 however much he might disapprove of the particular way in = which the=20 honour is rendered.

The more I read the more convinced I became that the = whole issue=20 was considerably more complex than a straight choice between = Divine=20 revelation on the one hand and demonic delusion on the = other.=20 Several other factors seemed to play a part in varying = degrees of=20 significance at different shrines=E2=80=94psychological = factors, the=20 question of ecclesiastical manipulation and papal = involvement,=20 nationalist and political elements, the presence of = something much=20 older than Christianity, namely the worship of the goddess, = and=20 finally, the possibility of a link-up with New Age = syncretism and=20 neo-paganism.

One aspect that particularly interested me, and to which = little=20 attention seems to have been given, was the question of = solar=20 phenomena witnessed at most of the apparition sites from = Fatima=20 onwards. I had no idea that this would lead me into the = realm of=20 UFOs!

Any conclusion that I finally reached=E2=80=94and = sometimes there seemed=20 to be more questions than answers, and many loose ends which = did not=20 tie up, are purely the result of my own personal reasonings. = It may=20 well be that those who are far more competent to judge these = matters=20 than I am would interpret things in a different light. All = along it=20 was more an exploration than anything else. When I began, I = really=20 had no idea where it would eventually lead.

A brief resume of the shrines mentioned above may be of = help in=20 giving a general background.

Some Marian Apparitions

1) Around 1295, Duns Scotus, a Scottish Franciscan at = Oxford, was=20 defending the Immaculate Conception against Thomas Aquinas = and the=20 Dominicans. By 1708, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception = was=20 declared to be a universal holy day of obligation. In 1830,=20 Catherine Laboure, a young nun in Paris, had a vision of the = so-called Miraculous Medal. She was prone to visions, having = already=20 seen the heart of St Vincent, Our Lord in the Blessed = Sacrament, and=20 Christ the King. Being greatly desirous of seeing the = Blessed Virgin=20 also, she requested the intercession of St Vincent and her = wish was=20 granted. A small child in white (her guardian) led her to = the=20 convent chapel late at night, where she saw, spoke with, and = touched=20 the Lady. Later in the year, the Lady, dressed in white, = stood in=20 the chapel with a serpent beneath her feet, surrounded by an = oval=20 frame with the words, "Mary, conceived without sin, pray for = us, who=20 have recourse to you." A voice instructed Catherine to have = a medal=20 struck, which would give great graces to the wearers. The = reverse of=20 the Medal was to show an "M," surmounted by a cross, = together with=20 the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Catherine continued to hear = the voice=20 of the Lady in her prayers. The Medal was a huge success, = and led to=20 an increased confidence in the prayers of the Virgin, the = Mediatrix=20 of all graces, and a growing popular demand to have the = Immaculate=20 Conception made an official dogma. While wearing the Medal = to humour=20 a Catholic friend, the Jewish convert, later Fr = Marie-Alphonse=20 Ratisbone was converted in 1842 after seeing a vision of the = Virgin=20 of the Miraculous Medal. (His brother was already a Roman = Catholic=20 priest). He devoted the rest of his life to the conversion = of the=20 Jews and built the Ecce Homo Convent of the Sisters of Zion = in the=20 Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.

2) In 1842 at La Salette, in France, two cowherds, an = eleven year=20 old boy, Maximin, and a fourteen year old girl, Melanie, saw = a=20 sudden flash of light from which a lady appeared, dressed in = white=20 and gold, with a cap of roses on her head. She was = surrounded by a=20 brilliant light and was weeping. The Lady complained that = Sunday was=20 being desecrated and the peasants were blaspheming the = saints in=20 swearing. (The Cure d'Ars and other clergy were regularly=20 complaining about these very sins in their sermons). If = there was no=20 amendment, there would be great disasters=E2=80=94the = harvest would fail and=20 people would starve=E2=80=94as the Lady could no longer = restrain her Son=20 from inflicting punishment. The discourse of the apparition = was very=20 similar to a "Leter [sic] Fallen from Heaven" = circulating=20 at the time. The parish priest declared the Lady to be the = Blessed=20 Virgin; the apparitions were later approved by the Bishop of = Grenoble, and pilgrimages began. Melanie became a nun and = continued=20 to receive visions and revelations. Maximin tried = unsuccessfully to=20 become a priest and was always in debt.

3) In 1854, the Immaculate Conception became an official = article=20 of faith in the Roman Catholic Church. Just four years = later, in=20 1858, a series of visions took place from February 11th to = July=20 16th, which would result in the establishment of the most = famous of=20 Marian shrines. At the grotto of Massabielle at Lourdes, the = fourteen year old Bernadette Soubirous saw "something white = in the=20 shape of a girl." Under questioning she elaborated this to a = "pretty=20 young girl in white dress and veil, with a blue sash and a = yellow=20 rose on each foot." Later still, she said the vision most = resembled=20 "the Blessed Virgin in the parish church for the clothes and = the=20 face ... but alive and surrounded by light." The Lady, who = carried a=20 rosary over her arm, spoke in the local dialect, in a very = polite=20 manner, and, called for penance. Bernadette was given three=20 "secrets," asked to pray for the conversion of sinners and = told that=20 the Lady promised to make her happy not in this world but in = the=20 next. The apparition asked for a procession and a chapel, = and=20 instructed Bernadette to dig for a spring, which was already = known=20 to exist. Bernadette recited the rosary and went into = trances. The=20 Lady announced her name as "I am the Immaculate Conception," = thereby=20 confirming the recently defined dogma. In the following = October, the=20 ecclesiastical authorities took charge, the results being = that the=20 apparitions were confirmed as of the Blessed Virgin, the = cult of Our=20 Lady of Lourdes was authorized, and plans were put in motion = for=20 building a sanctuary. In 1933, Bernadette was canonized.

4) In August 1879, fifteen people aged from six to = seventy-five=20 years old saw an apparition at the south gable of the parish = church=20 at Knock, in Ireland. The vision was in the form of a = tableau, with=20 an altar on which stood a Lamb, with angels hovering = overhead, and=20 three figures=E2=80=94the Virgin crowned, St Joseph and St = John the=20 Evangelist dressed as a bishop and apparently preaching. The = figures=20 were a little way out from the church wall and about two = feet above=20 the ground. They were motionless, except that from time to = time they=20 receded and then moved out again. No word was spoken. Some = of the=20 witnesses remained for up to two hours in the pouring rain, = reciting=20 the rosary. This is the only known apparition of the Lamb. = An=20 international runway was eventually built in anticipation of = huge=20 numbers of pilgrims, but somehow the shrine never achieved = great=20 popularity. In 1954 Pope Plus XII blessed the Knock banner = at St=20 Peter's and gave permission for the crowning of Our Lady of = Knock.=20 In 1960, John XXIII presented a blessed candle, and in 1967 = Paul VI=20 renewed indulgences to pilgrims and those connected with the = shrine.=20 John Paul II visited Knock in the centenary year, raised the = church=20 to the status of a basilica, and presented the Golden = Rose.

5) In 1917, at Cova da Iria, near the village of Fatima = in=20 Portugal, three cousins who were all young peasant = shepherds=E2=80=94Lucia,=20 aged ten, Francisco aged nine, and Jacinta aged = seven=E2=80=94saw flashes=20 like lightning after which "a pretty little lady" appeared = above a=20 tree, who said she had come "from Heaven." The children were = told to=20 come to the same spot on the thirteenth day of the month for = the=20 next six months, then they would be told who the Lady was = and what=20 she wanted. In reply to Lucia's questions, she said that = Lucia and=20 Jacinta would go to Heaven, also Francisco, but he would = "have to=20 say many rosaries." One little friend of the children who = had=20 recently died was in Heaven, but another was in Purgatory = "till the=20 end of the world." The boy Francisco could not see the = vision at=20 first and never heard anything. Jacinta both saw and heard, = but=20 never spoke to the Lady. On other occasions they were told = to say=20 the rosary and pray especially to be "saved from the fires = of hell."=20 Lucia was told "secrets" and saw a terrifying vision of = bell. The=20 Lady promised to work a miracle in October. Lucia was beaten = by her=20 mother for telling lies, and the local atheist administrator = interrogated the children and imprisoned them for two days, = but they=20 continued to stick to their story.

On October 13th, a day of pouring rain, a crowd of = seventy=20 thousand people assembled at the Cova, expecting the = promised=20 miracle. According to a Roman Catholic priest, they were = highly=20 excited, kneeling, weeping and praying. The Lady appeared,=20 announcing that she was Our Lady of the Rosary and that the = war=20 would end that day (in fact it did not end till thirteen = months=20 later). Then she disappeared and the famous "miracle of the = sun"=20 took place. The rain had ceased, and when Lucia cried out = "Look at=20 the sun!" (in which she claimed to see in turn Our Lady of = Sorrows,=20 Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St Joseph with the Holy Child, and = Our=20 Lord), the crowd stared at the sun which appeared to spin, = give out=20 coloured rays, zigzag from east to west, fall towards the=20 earth=E2=80=94making those present fear that it was the end = of the=20 world,=E2=80=94and return to its place. This was not seen by = everyone in the=20 crowd, although some people ten kilometres from Fatima saw = it. Other=20 reported solar phenomena, both during the period of the = apparitions=20 and afterwards, were a sun casting rainbow-coloured light = over=20 everything, a "luminous globe," a "night-time star" and a = "rain of=20 flowers" (similar to the "rain of roses" following the death = of=20 Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower).

Like Melanie of La Salette and Bernadette of Lourdes, = Lucia=20 became a nun, and like Melanie she continued to have visions = and=20 revelations. In 1925, the Lady appeared to her with the = Child and=20 the message that devotion to the Immaculate Heart should be = spread.=20 The following year, the Infant appeared alone. Then in 1929, = the=20 Lady commanded that Russia should be consecrated to the = Immaculate=20 Heart=E2=80=94this was the first mention of Russia. In 1937, = Lucia wrote a=20 detailed account of the apparitions, which grew in the = telling and=20 included previous appearances of an Angel to the children. = In 1915,=20 he had appeared "like a person wrapped in a sheet;" in 1916, = as a=20 youth of fifteen or sixteen years old, "whiter than snow," = who=20 announced himself as the "Angel of Peace," and instructed = them to=20 pray for unbelievers with their foreheads touching the = ground. Later=20 in 1916 he told them he was Portugal's guardian angel, that = they=20 must pray and make a sacrifice of everything they did = (similar to=20 Therese of Lisieux) in order for peace to come, and that = "the most=20 holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary" had plans for them. Later = still in=20 1916, the angel appeared "like a cloud in human form, whiter = than=20 snow, almost transparent," and gave the children Holy = Communion.

In 1941-42, Lucia revealed still more, writing a = description of=20 her terrifying vision of hell on July 13th, 1917, in = conventional=20 terms of red fire, black demons, screams of pain and = despair, and=20 relating that the Lady had warned of a great sign of a night = illumined by an unknown light that would signal some = terrible Divine=20 punishment which could only be averted by the consecration = of Russia=20 to the Immaculate Heart. This was done in 1952 by Pope Pius = XII, as=20 the conversion of Russia was promised unconditionally. The = Roman=20 Catholic priest Fr Martindale somewhat sceptically pointed = out that=20 "the conversion of the world was not unconditionally = attached to=20 Calvary itself"! Pope John Paul II repeated the consecration = in=20 1981.

In 1960, Pope John II opened the sealed envelope = containing the=20 Third Secret of Fatima, but refused to reveal it; it remains = unrevealed. The Second Vatican Council officially recognized = the=20 apparitions and the cult of Our Lady of Fatima.

6) At Garabandal, in Spain, a series of apparitions took = place=20 between 1961 and 1965, during which time the visionaries, = four girls=20 aged from ten to twelve years, claimed to have been favoured = with=20 two thousand appearances of the Virgin and the Archangel = Michael. On=20 June 18th, while they were playing, after a flash of light = and the=20 sound of "thunder," the Archangel Michael made the first of = his nine=20 appearances that month. The girls described him as about = nine years=20 old, dressed in blue with rose-coloured wings, swarthy = skinned, dark=20 eyed, with well kept hands and nails. The following month, = watched=20 by crowds of people, the girls went into a two hour trance. = The next=20 day, during another trance, they saw the Virgin in white and = blue,=20 with a crown of stars. She spoke to them about hay-making = and=20 everyday things. Sometimes she appeared with the Baby, which = the=20 girls were allowed to hold. The trances lasted from a few = minutes to=20 nine hours, and while in trance the girls would give the = Virgin holy=20 objects=E2=80=94rosaries, medals and crucifixes=E2=80=94to = kiss for the pilgrims. A=20 large crowd saw the Host appear on Conchita's tongue when = the=20 Archangel Michael gave her Communion. This "miracle" had = been=20 announced in advance.

The messages contained warnings of great punishments, = which could=20 only be averted by many sacrifices and penances. The girls = were told=20 to visit the Blessed Sacrament often, and try to be perfect. = There=20 would be a great miracle at Garabandal in the future, which = would be=20 seen by the Pope and Padre Pio (who, of course, died without = doing=20 so), and Russia would be converted as a result of the = miracle. A=20 young Jesuit priest saw a "vision" of the miracle, = pronounced that=20 day the happiest day of his life, and promptly died the next = day.=20 Padre Pio is said to have believed in the apparitions. The = local=20 hierarchy did not, and at one stage, Conchita confessed, = under=20 lengthy interrogation, to having doubts about her visions. = The=20 present bishop, appointed in 1991, is asking Rome to re-open = the=20 case. Some people have seen the sun dance, and a red star = with a=20 tail like fire was seen during the apparitions. Once the = Virgin came=20 in a mysterious cloud of "fire."

7) In many ways the appearances over the Coptic Church of = St Mary=20 at Zeitoun, Cairo, were the most interesting and the most = credible.=20 They concerned not the Roman Church, but the Coptic Church, = and=20 Coptic bishops, including the Coptic Patriarch's = representative,=20 were among the millions of Christians, Muslims, Jews and=20 non-believers, who many times witnessed the apparitions over = a=20 period of three years, from 1968-1971. The Coptic Church = recognized=20 the apparitions as true appearances of the Blessed Virgin = Mary, as=20 did the Coptic Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church, = and the=20 then Head of the Evangelical Church and Speaker on behalf of = all the=20 Protestant Churches of Egypt. Even the Egyptian Government = Director=20 of General Information and Complaints Department submitted a = report=20 to his superior stating that it was "an undeniable fact that = the=20 Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing on the Coptic = Orthodox Church=20 at Zeitoun ..." The vision maintained a complete silence. = There were=20 no threats of punishment, pushing of Latin dogmas and = practices,=20 apocalyptic warnings and no trances.

The apparition appeared on the domes of the church for up = to two=20 hours or more at a time, always at night, but not every = night and=20 not at regular times. The Lady appeared in glittering = light=E2=80=94so=20 bright that her features could not be clearly = seen=E2=80=94which streamed=20 across the church. She was invariably preceded or = accompanied by=20 luminous "doves," "strange bird-like creatures made of = light," which=20 did not flap their wings but glided. The figure moved across = the=20 domes bowing and greeting the enormous crowds, estimated at = times to=20 be as many as 250,000 people. Sometimes she blessed them or = held out=20 an olive branch. The Patriarch's representative described = her as=20 "very quiet, full of glory." Occasionally she was seen = holding the=20 Child, or as part of the Holy Family. All prayed in their = own=20 way=E2=80=94Moslems reciting the Koran on their prayer mats, = Greeks saying=20 prayers, Copts singing hymns. The "doves" were consistently=20 mentioned by eyewitnesses. Other phenomena were a "shower of = diamonds," a glowing red cloud, and billowing clouds of = incense.=20 Spectacular and medically authenticated cures took place, = although=20 as at the other shrines, these were few in number compared = with the=20 multitudes of sick people.

8) With the apparitions which began in 1981 in Medjugorje = in=20 Yugoslavia, it was back to the familiar atmosphere of = youngsters,=20 trances and secrets. Four teenagers, three girls and a boy, = aged=20 fifteen and sixteen years old, saw a light on a hillside one = evening=20 in June. In the light was a young woman holding a child. She = called=20 to them, but they ran away. The following evening they = returned with=20 two more friends, a girl of sixteen and a ten year old boy, = and all=20 saw, on the opposite hill this time, the same great light = encircling=20 the woman as if she were "clothed with the sun," but they = were too=20 frightened to approach her. On the third evening the six = young=20 people were joined by a crowd of five thousand. After three = flashes=20 of light the Lady appeared, but only the six could see = her=E2=80=94dark=20 haired, blue-eyed, in a grey dress, with a crown of stars, = standing=20 on a white cloud just above the ground, so close they could = have=20 touched her. One of the girls, clutching a jar of holy = water, said=20 to the apparition, "if you are satan, go away," (!) and = received the=20 reply, "I am the Virgin Mary," come to "convert and = reconcile."=20 Later they saw her in a cross of rainbow-coloured light, = sad, and=20 repeating, "Peace, peace. Be reconciled."

The vision appeared weekly at about 6 p.m., during the = recitation=20 of the rosary, over the past few years. She was dressed in = grey with=20 a white veil, but wore a gold-sequinned dress at Easter and = at=20 Christmas, when she held the Child. Sometimes the "Gospa" = [Lady]=20 came to the young people at home, especially if they were = ill,=20 praying with them for five minutes to half an hour. They = were shown=20 visions of heaven, hell and purgatory. (In heaven angels = flew and=20 people in grey, pink and yellow robes walked about, singing = and=20 praying. Purgatory, a place of mist, resounded to the noise = of=20 hammering on prison bars. In the fires of hell, men and = women=20 emerged unrecognizable as human beings.) The Gospa gave them = messages calling for peace, conversion, prayer=E2=80=94the = daily recitation=20 of the Creed, followed by seven Paters, Aves and Glorias (a = local=20 devotion)=E2=80=94penance, fasting on Wednesdays and = Fridays, and respect=20 for other religions.

The Gospa told the seers that she suffered because of the = sinfulness of humanity, and that she and satan were engaged = in a=20 great battle for souls. Medjugorje would be the last place = where she=20 would appear=E2=80=94all future visions would be false. = There would be a=20 great sign on the hillside to convert unbelievers. Ten = secrets were=20 given to the young people, believed to be apocalyptic and = warning of=20 possible disasters to come. As the Vatican refuses to reveal = Fatima's third secret, so the Franciscans are believed to be = playing=20 down the more sensational aspects of the Gospa's = revelations.

The former Roman Catholic Bishop of Mostar refused to = accept the=20 Apparitions as genuine but the Franciscan parish priest, Fr = Jozo,=20 supported later by the Archbishop of Split, enthusiastically = supported the visionaries. Fr Jozo was imprisoned by the = Communist=20 authorities for his activities in connection with the = apparitions.=20 On his release, he was sent to the parish of Tihaljia, = where, in the=20 gleaming new church, services of healing took place for the = many=20 pilgrims who came to see and speak with the man who was the=20 confidant of the visionaries. The laying on of hands was = accompanied=20 by embracing, weeping and fainting. Between 1981 and 1990, = before=20 the Bosnian conflict, ten million pilgrims from all over the = world=20 including many Americans and Australians, also Lutherans, = Anglicans=20 and Orthodox, had come to Medjugorje. The usual crop of = hysterical=20 stories had circulated=E2=80=94Christ had been seen in the = sky, one woman's=20 rosary had turned into gold=E2=80=9424 carat in another = case=E2=80=94, and someone=20 had taken a snap [shot] of the Virgin.

In 1993, four of the young people were still seeing = visions.=20 Cures have been claimed, and various phenomena reported. The = sun has=20 rotated, mysterious "fires" and "rainbows" without rain have = been=20 seen, a thirty foot high stone cross on the mountainside has = spun=20 round and round, and the word "MIR" (Peace) appeared over = the=20 mountain in letters of white light, and could be seen by = everyone in=20 Medjugorje.

9) The Ukraine has been visionary territory for = centuries, and in=20 1987 the Virgin was said to have appeared at fifteen places. = On=20 April 26th, 1987, a thirteen year old peasant girl from = Hriushiw saw=20 a light above a derelict chapel. A woman dressed in black, = with a=20 child in her arms, appeared in the light, saying that the = Ukrainians=20 had been chosen to lead the Russians back to God. The girl = called=20 her sister and mother, who immediately declared that it must = be the=20 Bogoroditsa [Theotokos]=E2=80=94the Virgin. From = then on, streams=20 of people flowing into the village increased, until half a = million=20 claimed to have seen the Bogoroditsa, whose outline even = appeared on=20 television on May 13th, the anniversary of the Fatima = appearance.=20 Communist authorities failed to stop the crowds and "Pravda" = pronounced it the work of extremists trying to wreck=20 Perestroika.

It is not clear whether everyone heard the messages or = whether=20 they were relayed through the peasant girl, Marina, who was = examined=20 by a psychiatrist and declared to be normal. Certainly not = everyone=20 in the crowds saw the Virgin=E2=80=94many, including monks = and nuns, saw=20 nothing. The purport of the messages appeared to be that the = Virgin=20 sorrows for the state of the world, that the Last Times are=20 approaching, and Chernobyl had been a warning for the world. = The=20 rosary is a great weapon against satan; the Ukraine, "my = daughter,"=20 is under the special protection of the Virgin, and would = become an=20 independent state. Because they had suffered the most under=20 Communism, the Ukrainians had been chosen as Apostles to = convert=20 Russia, and if Russia was not converted there would be a = third world=20 war. If they stayed loyal to the Pope, the third secret of = Fatima=20 would be revealed.

As at Zeitoun, the appearances were irregular, they were = seen by=20 many, and the light surrounding the apparition was "lunar," = not=20 "solar," and the words used to describe the light were very=20 similar=E2=80=94"moonlight but not moonlight," = "phosphorescent," "silver=20 glow," "streams of light." But there was no ecumenical = spirit at=20 Hriushiw. The messages were not conducive to any lessening = of=20 tensions between the Uniats and the Orthodox.

Divine Intervention

Is God really speaking through all, or any, of these = apparitions?=20 Are any of the related solar phenomena genuine signs from = Heaven, or=20 are they counterfeit?

Believing, as we do, that the Orthodox Church Is the=20 Church, wherein is to be found the fullness of the = Catholic=20 Faith=E2=80=94that is, the Apostolic Faith in all its purity = and=20 wholeness=E2=80=94there can be no question of accepting = anything contrary to=20 Orthodox teaching and practice. This must immediately render = suspect=20 any shrine or apparition involving the dogma of the = Immaculate=20 Conception or encouraging the un-Orthodox cult of devotion = to parts=20 of the body=E2=80=94the hearts of Jesus and Mary. (In = seventeenth century=20 France, there had even been devotion to the Virgin's left = foot and=20 the soles of her shoes.)

Equally doubtful would be any suggestion of replacing = "Christ our=20 God, long-suffering, all-merciful, all-compassionate, Who = loves the=20 righteous and has mercy on sinners," with a distant, = impersonal=20 figure of wrath, bent on punishment and vengeance. The = apparition of=20 La Salette said, "I can no longer hold back the heavy arm of = my=20 Son;" the apparition of Fatima: "... already He is deeply = offended."=20 At San Damiano, 1961, 'The Eternal Father is tired, very = tired....=20 He has freed the Demon, who is working havoc. " At Oliveto = Citra,=20 Italy, in 1985, again we hear, "I can no longer hold back = the=20 righteous arm of my Son." The sayings echo the unbalanced = but very=20 popular teachings of some of the Latin saints and preachers = of the=20 past, whereby Christ's Kingdom of justice was opposed to = Mary's=20 Kingdom of Mercy. "If God is angry with a sinner, Mary takes = him=20 under her protection, she withholds the avenging arm of her = Son and=20 saves him" (Alphonsus Liguari). "She is the sure refuge of = sinners=20 and criminals from the rigour of the wrath and vengeance of = Jesus=20 Christ;" she "binds the power of Jesus Christ to prevent the = evil He=20 would do to the guilty" (Jean-Jacques Olier).

Absurdities from La Salette speak for themselves, with = the=20 apparition claiming that she had given the people six days = for work=20 and reserved the seventh for herself (l). Desmond Seward in = The=20 Dancing Sun states that,

According to the visionaries, the Virgin (of = Medjugorje) has=20 said that the world is passing through a period of = unparalleled=20 darkness.... Satan ... is waging a great battle for souls = with the=20 Mother of God, who has been sent from the Eternal Father = to warn=20 and hearten them, for, as God told the serpent in Genesis, = the=20 woman "shall crush thy head."

If so, this perpetuates the Roman Catholic mistranslation = in the=20 Douay Bible of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15. It is not the = woman,=20 but the seed of the woman=E2=80=94Christ=E2=80=94Who will = crush the serpent's head,=20 by His Passion and Resurrection.

The more cautious and sober Latin theologians have often = been=20 uneasy with the excesses of their contemporaries, but on = many=20 occasions the weight of popular enthusiasm has proved too = strong for=20 sound theology to prevail. Louie-Marie Grignion de Montfort = (d.=20 1716)=E2=80=94a master of Marian excess=E2=80=94closely = connected the Virgin to=20 eschatology. With the Second Coming she must be revealed by = the Holy=20 Spirit so that Christ may be made known, and she must shine = forth in=20 power against the enemies of God, since in some way the = devil fears=20 her more than God Himself. The idea of the Virgin as always = being=20 the one who prepares the way for the coming of = Christ=E2=80=94not only His=20 first physical coming at the Incarnation, but of His coming = into the=20 souls of men, and of His Second Coming, has continued into = modern=20 times. "As there would have been no advent of Christ in the = flesh in=20 His first coming without Mary, so there can be no coming of = Christ=20 in spirit ... without Mary again preparing the way." "As she = prepared His body, so now she prepares souls for His coming" = (Archbishop Fulton Sheen). At Zeitoun, "one can perceive the = salvific role of the Blessed Virgin in evidence, as it was = at Fatima=20 in 1917. This role is essentially that of preparing the way = for her=20 Divine Son, by opening the souls of mankind to His redeeming = grace."=20 "=E2=80=A6[H]aving prepared His way 2,000 years ago among = His own people"=20 she "now prepares His way into the souls of millions of = Gentiles of=20 all faiths and none with a new and greater Visitation" = (Francis=20 Johnston: When Millions Saw Mary). One wonders if = there is=20 anything left for the Holy Spirit to do.

This thinking accords well both with the current belief,=20 prevalent in some Roman Catholic circles, in a Marian Age = which is=20 to precede the Second Coming, and with the strongly = apocalyptic tone=20 of the majority of the apparitions. But as such a role for = the=20 Mother of God is to be found neither in Scripture nor in = Tradition,=20 it inspires little confidence in the authenticity of the=20 apparitions.

One of the most disturbing features of these apparitions = is that=20 the Virgin appears as an autonomous figure, while Christ is=20 strangely absent. It is she who weeps for the sinful state = of=20 humanity, she who decides who will be healed ("some I will = heal, but=20 not others"). Whatever the messages actually say, it is the = Virgin=20 through whom Heaven speaks, not Christ. The Orthodox Church = never=20 separates the Mother from the Son, and an absent or distant = Christ=20 would be an impossibility, since without life in the God-man = Christ,=20 lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church would = cease to be=20 the Church.

Psychological Factors

In the majority of the apparitions considered, children = or=20 adolescents were the sole or main visionaries, making it = likely that=20 an element of child psychology might well be involved. For a = thorough evaluation of the visions and messages, it would be = necessary to know a great deal more about the = children=E2=80=94what kind of=20 religious art they had been exposed to, what sermons they = had=20 listened to, what teaching they had received at school and = catechism=20 classes, and what religious books they had read.

In the case of Bernadette, for instance, her visions did = not come=20 out of the blue, as is often thought. She was already = familiar with=20 the Miraculous Medal (as a nun, she was said to have worn it = constantly), and the Immaculate Conception had been declared = an=20 official dogma in 1854, so for four years she must have = heard it=20 repeatedly mentioned both at church and at catechism = classes, even=20 if she did not fully understand its meaning.

In addition, visions were a familiar occurrence in the = Lourdes=20 area. The essential elements of the Lourdes vision=E2=80=94a = Lady, a=20 shepherdess (Bernadette had at one time been engaged = temporarily to=20 mind sheep in the nearby village of Bartnes), a chapel, = processions,=20 and a spring with miraculous powers=E2=80=94had all featured = in shrines=20 across the Pyrenees, which in Medieval times had been on the = route=20 to Compostella. In 1475, a young shepherd at Betharvam had = seen a=20 vision of a Lady who asked for a chapel to be erected. In = 1520, a=20 young shepherdess at Gavaison had seen a vision of a Lady = and the=20 request for a chapel was repeated. Besides Gavaison, other = nearby=20 shrines of the Virgin were Poeylanum, Heas and Pietat. There = was=20 also Our Lady of Sarrance, of Bourisp, of Medous, of Nestes, = of=20 Buglose. There were also four other pilgrimage centres in = the=20 region, making fourteen established centres close to = Lourdes.=20 Whether genuine or not, Bernadette's vision fitted easily = into the=20 local pattern. The area had earlier been infected with the=20 Albigensian heresy. In a crusade against this particular = heresy by=20 Pope Innocent III, the heretics had been put to the sword, = and the=20 Inquisition moved in. The usual methods of the Inquisition = had been=20 employed leaving behind a people orthodox in (Latin) = doctrine, but=20 no lovers of the clergy. Consequently visions were very = popular, as=20 they dispensed with the need for clerical mediation.

It is well known that children of a certain stage of = mental=20 development, which can vary considerably with different = children,=20 love to have a secret world inaccessible to adults, and = often play=20 out in their minds situations where they can be important. = There are=20 a number of similarities between La Salette and Fatima, and = Lucia=20 admitted that her mother had read her the story of La = Salette. And=20 how far were Bernadette's visions an unconscious form of=20 compensation? The Lady was small, no taller than Bernadette = herself,=20 and addressed the sickly, under-sized girl, generally = referred to as=20 "the little idiot," very politely as vous. The = attention=20 given to the youthful "seers" on account of their visions = would be=20 further enhanced by the "secrets" delivered to = them=E2=80=94a standard=20 feature of apparitions to adolescents and children from La = Salette=20 onwards=E2=80=94increasing their importance in adult = eyes.

Also well known is the fact that a small number of = people=E2=80=94nearly=20 always children and adolescents=E2=80=94demonstrate = considerable eidetic=20 ability, that is, vivid visual images of specific objects = that are=20 not present in actuality, but are present to their conscious = or=20 sub-conscious imagination, are "seen" by the persons = concerned.=20 Hilda Graef mentions in her book Mary=E2=80=94A History = of Doctrine and=20 Devotion, a very interesting experiment carried out by = a=20 psychologist, C. M. Staehlin, in which he tested the = suggestibility=20 of six boys aged fifteen to eighteen, letting there appear = to them=20 by suggestion a battle of medieval warriors above a tree. = Two boys=20 saw nothing at all, two "saw" the battle but heard nothing, = and two=20 both saw and heard the noise, even the shouts of individual = knights.=20 None of the boys had been able to communicate with each = other, yet=20 even the two who saw and heard agreed in every detail. In = the=20 apparitions we have the same thing=E2=80=94the agreement of = children, their=20 apparent telepathic communication with each other, the fact = that=20 some only saw, while others both saw and heard the = apparition=20 speak.

How much were suggestibility and eidetic gifts in = evidence when=20 twelve year old Eugene Barbadette saw a Lady in a blue robe = with=20 gold stars in the sky at Pontmain, France, in 1871? The = ceiling of=20 his parish church was painted blue with gold stars. Adult = neighbours=20 who gathered saw nothing, although other children claimed to = see the=20 apparition. Once the local priest arrived on the scene, the = vision=20 became more elaborate, with a blue oval frame with writing = inside it=20 (echoes of the Miraculous Medal), small white crosses, a = large red=20 cross, and four candies that lit themselves. The parish = priest had=20 previously had white crosses erected all over the parish, he = was=20 leading the small crowd in the recitation of the "red = rosary" in=20 honour of twenty-six Japanese martyrs (which may have = suggested the=20 red cross), and he himself always lit four candies after = Sunday=20 vespers in front of a statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate = Conception.

However, eidetic ability and ordinary developmental = factors are=20 not sufficient by themselves to account for the children = sticking to=20 their stories when in some cases they were repeatedly = questioned,=20 mocked, physically punished for "lying," and even = imprisoned. Nor=20 would they account for the trances, sometimes lasting for = hours,=20 during which the young people=E2=80=94at Garabandal, for = instance=E2=80=94were=20 impervious to flashing lights, cigarette burns, and having = pins=20 stuck in them. A neurologist from Barcelona medical school, = who=20 examined the Garabandal visionaries during and after at = least twenty=20 trances, could find no explanation, declaring them to be = perfectly=20 normal young people.

Trance is acknowledged by psychologists to be connected = with=20 religious ecstasy and visionary experiences, but also to be = linked=20 with mediumistic ability, whereby paranormal physical = effects and=20 materializations can be produced. Trance states are, of = course,=20 well-known to pagan shamans and medicine men.

On the occasions when many adults saw the apparitions or=20 accompanying solar phenomena, not all those present did, in = fact,=20 see anything. An interesting example of adult susceptibility = to=20 telepathic suggestion or mass hallucination is recorded in=20 Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future by Fr = Seraphim=20 Rose. At the end of the nineteenth century, some passengers, = mainly=20 English, were aboard a ship that docked at a Ceylonese port = en route=20 to India. Having some time to spare, they visited a local=20 magician-fakir who, while appearing not to notice them, = caused the=20 crown of the tree under which he was sifting to fade, and an = incredible scene to appear of their ship sailing the seas. = The=20 amazed spectators had a bird's eye view of the deck and = could see=20 themselves laughing and talking, the Captain giving orders, = the crew=20 working, and even the ship's monkey, Nelly, eating bananas. = The=20 source of the story, a Russian priest-monk, in fear began = silently=20 to pray the Jesus Prayer, as he had previously dabbled in = the occult=20 and realized who the real power was behind the false vision. = For him=20 the scene disappeared, while the others continued to see it = and=20 marvel.

The Return of the Goddess

Why is it always the Mother of God who supposedly appears = in=20 these visions? Was Canon John of Satge, an Evangelical = Anglican,=20 right when he said that the Marian cult (here Orthodox would = draw a=20 clear distinction between Mariolatry and the Orthodox = veneration of=20 the Mother of God) had its roots in an older paganism, in = the=20 recurring tendency of mankind to worship a = mother-goddess?

Gnosticism is clearly linked with the present clamour for = the=20 ordination of women and the use of inclusive language for = God, but=20 the ancient pagan goddess seems more closely linked to the = Marian=20 apparitions. Gnostic heretics allowed women to minister = equally with=20 men as priests and bishops, and adopted some Christian = beliefs,=20 distorting them unmercifully to fit them into the Gnostic = religious=20 / philosophical system, but their interest lay not with = Mary, the=20 human Mother of God, but with God "the Mother," that is, the = Holy=20 Spirit. Some Gnostics developed an immortal Sophia figure, = and at=20 times saw the Virgin Mary as one of her incarnations, but = there=20 seems nothing that would lead to a Christian cult of Mary = such as=20 prevailed in the Roman Church.

The one Great All-Mother of the pagans showed herself in = various=20 forms of nature on earth and in the sky. Having no human = shape, she=20 was worshipped at sacred sites and high places marked with = pillars.=20 Later she was represented in human form, attended by doves = and=20 snakes, symbolizing her power in the air and on earth. = Pre-eminently=20 she was the Bringer and Sustainer of life, the bearer of = fertility=20 to man and nature, and, in her later role as Muse, the = inspiration=20 that gave birth to music, art and poetry.

As societies merged and influenced each other, the = Goddess became=20 fragmented and identified with local deities, taking on = their=20 characteristics. As Neith, brought from Libya to Egypt, she = was a=20 cosmic virgin-mother, who "gave birth to the Sun, and became = a=20 mother when none else had yet borne children." As Isis, she = tells a=20 supplicant that in many different places, she, the one, is=20 "worshipped in many aspects, known by many = names"=E2=80=94Mother of gods,=20 Artemis, Aphrodite, Mother of the Corn, Persephone the = Maiden par=20 excellence. Likewise the Lady of the apparitions is = venerated in=20 many localities under a variety of names and = aspects=E2=80=94Our Lady of the=20 Rosary, Virgin of the Poor, Mother of Consolation, The = Immaculate=20 Conception, and so on.

A Babylonian hymn to Ishtar hails her as Queen of all, = who in her=20 pity makes the dead live, heals the sick and saves the = afflicted,=20 yet nevertheless has a "dark" side, and in the Gilgamesh = epic=20 decides capriciously on the destruction of mankind. The = nineteenth=20 century Roman Catholic writer, Robert Hugh Benson, discerned = this=20 dark aspect of the Lady of Lourdes. He wrote,

Mary, then, has appeared to me in a new light since I = have=20 visited Lourdes. I shall in [the] future not only hate to = offend=20 her, but fear also. It is a fearful thing to fall into the = hands=20 of that Mother who allows the broken sufferer to crawl = across=20 France to her feet and then to crawl back again. She is = one of the=20 Maries of Chartes that reveals herself here, dark, mighty, = dominant and all but inexorable: not the Mary of an = ecclesiastical=20 shop who dwells amid tinsel and = tuberoses.

Doubtless men thought like this of the Magna Mater long = ago, or=20 of Artemis, benign enough at Athens, but dark and terrible = as Diana=20 of Ephesus. Geoffrey Ashe (Miracles, 1978) = commenting on=20 the "miracle of the sun" supposedly performed by the Lady of = Fatima=20 wrote, "Even to accept it as Mary's doing is surely to admit = that=20 she has an alarming and inscrutable aspect, which does not = sit well=20 with Christian ideas of her."

If the Goddess does play a part in the Marian visions, = France=20 would seem to provide a naturally fertile ground for them, = since=20 there, on the whole, the Goddess seems to have been benign = and=20 helpful. There had been a temple of Isis at Soissons, a = strong=20 mother cult in the region of Treves, the cult of the Earth = Mother=20 prevailed in the Seine, Oise and Tarn regions, and there = were many=20 shrines to minor goddesses, who protected springs. There = were also=20 enchanting nymphs who protected springs, rocks and water, = and a=20 multitude of "white ladies," descendents of the Earth = Mother.

In Rome, Cybele, the Great Mother of the gods, a divinity = imported from Asia Minor was credited with the defeat of = Hannibal=20 and developed a lasting following. A special feature of the = statues=20 of Cybele was that they were crowned and carried from place = to=20 place. Similarly, a further development of the apparitions = has been=20 the solemn crowning of Marian statues and their procession,=20 especially at Fatima, from place to place. In 1864, the = Garaison=20 Virgin had been crowned with Papal permission (Pius IX), = followed by=20 La Salette (Leo XIII) and Fatima (Pius XII). In 1954, Our = Lady of=20 Knock, Queen of Ireland, was crowned. Earlier, in 1732, by=20 permission of Clement XII, the Virgin of Svata Hora in = Slovakia was=20 crowned with the diadem of the Holy Roman Emperor. That the = Mother=20 of God, representing redeemed humanity, is glorified and = reigns with=20 Christ is beyond doubt, but this earthly crowning tends to = set her=20 apart from us and to obscure the fact that her heavenly = crown is not=20 the "diadem," the royal emblem of monarchy, but the=20 stephanos, the crown of laurels given to those who = are=20 victorious in the battle of life, the reward for faithfully=20 striving, attained through suffering and purification, the = crown=20 with which all Christians hope and pray to be crowned.

Universally worshipped, the Goddess supplied a deep need = in the=20 human psyche for the Eternal Feminine. Sometimes she acted = in her=20 own right as sole superior deity, sometimes as co-equal = partner to a=20 male divinity, and sometimes in a Goddess-Spouse / Son = relationship.=20 Only among the Hebrews, led by their fiercely monotheistic = and=20 uncompromising prophets, was there no place for the Goddess, = and=20 even the Hebrews, surrounded as they were by polytheistic = societies,=20 sometimes relapsed into pagan worship. With the Hebrews, the = serpents of the Goddess, benign symbols of healing and = wisdom, were=20 reduced to an evil tempter, and Eve, the mother of all the = living,=20 became a Pandora figure unleashing sin and death on mankind. = The=20 dove, the other attendant of the Goddess, was not demoted, = most=20 likely because of its connection with Noah and the Ark. The = Lady of=20 Zeitoun has her attendant "doves," and the serpent appears, = in the=20 accepted Judaeo-Christian form as the symbol of evil, = beneath the=20 feet of the Lady of the Miraculous Medal, while the vision = of=20 Medjugorje is engaged in a battle to crush the serpent's = head.

If the assumption of a Goddess connection with the = apparitions is=20 correct, how did she gain a foothold in the Latin Church and = remain=20 undetected?

The Apostolic missionaries moved out from a strictly = monotheistic=20 background to encounter societies steeped in a world of gods = and=20 semi-divine human beings. Doubtless for many converts to=20 Christianity, the old ways of thinking could not have been = easily=20 shed, even after Baptism.

From the Church Father, Epiphanius, we learn of a sect, = composed=20 mainly of women, nicknamed the Collyridians. Originating in = Thrace,=20 it had extended to Upper Scythia (roughly to the west and = north of=20 the Black Sea) and into Arabia by the fourth century. It = seems to=20 have been inspired by the Gospel events, combined with an = Elias-type=20 legend of Mary's purity and "non-death." St Epiphanius = states that=20 the "priestesses of Mary" worshipped her as a goddess in her = own=20 right, the Queen of Heaven, with rituals far older than=20 Christianity, and "adorn a chair or square throne, spread a = cloth=20 over it, and at a certain solemn time, place bread on it and = offer=20 it in the name of Mary." Recalling the Jews, condemned by = the=20 Prophet Jeremias, who made similar offerings to the "Queen = of=20 Heaven"=E2=80=94in their case, Astarte=E2=80=94he warns = against the worship of the=20 Virgin as strongly as he had also warned against a lack of = proper=20 respect for her. This is the seventy-ninth heresy in a long = list,=20 challenged by Epiphanius, yet somehow it seems more like a = different=20 religion than a Christian deviation the ancient pagan = religion of=20 the Goddess, under her new manifestation: "Mary." While it = is=20 unlikely that the Collyridians as such influenced the = Church, this=20 shows how such distortions of true belief can arise and it = might be=20 that a more orthodox version of some of their ideas might = well have=20 been congenial to some new converts from a pagan background, = lying=20 dormant until the right combination of circumstances caused = them to=20 take root. While working on this study of the apparitions, I = began=20 to feel what seemed to be the presence of another religion, = running=20 side by side with Christianity; so I was interested to = discover that=20 the nineteenth century French novelist Emile Zola had = experienced a=20 similar feeling, and believed he perceived "almost a new = religion"=20 at Lourdes.

Within the Church, Christ [is] the Second Adam, but once = the=20 Virgin had been seen in a certain sense as the Second Eve = (without,=20 of course, the slightest surrender to paganism) this was = likely to=20 have recalled to the spiritually weak the Goddess-Son / = Spouse=20 relationship; while the title Theotokos, although solely = concerned=20 with teaching that Christ was God, might surely have evoked = the=20 memory of Cybele, Great Mother of the gods, except that this = was in=20 fact an even greater title, the Mother of God. As = paganism=20 crumbled and local deities were dethroned, it was more often = than=20 not the Mother of God who was put in their place as = patroness of=20 healing springs and holy mountains, for long centuries = associated=20 with pilgrimage. In the West, where the theological and = liturgical=20 foundation was perhaps weaker, during the Middle Ages "Our = Lady" of=20 one district came to take on an almost separate personality = from the=20 Virgin of a rival shrine. Sir Thomas More, the Roman = Catholic Tudor=20 martyr, commented, "They will make comparisons between our = ladie of=20 Ippiswitch and our ladie of Walsingham, as weening that one = image=20 hath more power than the other."

Nothing like this happened in the East. Rooted soundly = and=20 soberly in the solid theology of Orthodoxy, and spiritually=20 nourished by a vernacular liturgy, the Lord's Mother fitted=20 naturally into her rightful place in a perfectly balanced = and=20 harmonious whole. The Western distortion of the doctrine of = the Holy=20 Trinity resulting from the Filioque with its (almost = unintentional)=20 down-grading of the Holy Spirit, together with the = historical events=20 that overtook the Western Empire in the shape of the = invasion of=20 barbarian tribes and the resultant consequences, = increasingly=20 isolated the Church in the West from the pure Orthodoxy of = the=20 Church in the East.

With the restoration of order and stable government at = the end of=20 the Dark Ages, the Church in the West found itself with a = largely=20 illiterate and semi-barbarian laity. Churchmen had to supply = the=20 clerks and lawyers needed by the lay rulers. In consequence, = the=20 Papacy found itself relying on ecclesiastical lawyers, and = this was=20 to give the Roman Church the legalistic outlook and = systematic=20 philosophy which are its hallmarks. The ecclesiastical = establishment=20 acquired an overriding authority, and with the enforced = celibacy of=20 priests, "the Church" in common parlance came to mean the = clergy. A=20 faulty Trinitarian theology, and an undue emphasis on the=20 Augustinian teachings on original sin and the Atonement, = together=20 with an all-male hierarchy, led to the loss of the feminine = element=20 in Western Christianity and created a "Goddess-shaped gap." = The=20 Virgin Mary was the obvious candidate to fill that gap.

In contrast, the Tradition was handed on unchanged from=20 generation to generation in the Eastern Church. Apart from = the=20 treacherous Fourth Crusade, the Roman Empire in the East = remained=20 unconquered until the arrival of the Turks. There was always = an=20 independent and highly-educated laity. With a powerful = Emperor there=20 was never any opportunity=E2=80=94nor was there any need or = the desire=E2=80=94to=20 subject all lay power to the authority of the Patriarch, and = "the=20 Church" continued to mean the whole body of the faithful, = past and=20 present, including the angels. Married priests ensured that = the=20 priesthood was not a class apart. (As today, the priest = lives in the=20 same kind of house as his parishioners=E2=80=94a village = priest in Cyprus=20 may also be the village bootmaker, and a Greek papas, in = cassock and=20 stove pipe hat may be seen clasping a small son or daughter = with one=20 hand and a shopping basket with the other). There was no=20 Goddess-shaped gap to be filled in Orthodoxy, and anchored = safely in=20 Orthodox theology and hymnology, the holy Virgin, more=20 honourable than the cherubim and beyond compare more = glorious than=20 the seraphim on account of her Divine Maternity, = remained a=20 woman with a human nature in all points like our own, = completely=20 purified by the Holy Spirit at the Annunciation in order = that she=20 might be able to give a human nature to the Eternal = Logos.

In the Latin Church, Marian exaggeration soared to ever = new=20 heights, checked only briefly by the Protestant Reformation. = The=20 Virgin had "added certain perfection to the Maker of the = universe"=20 by giving Him a human nature=E2=80=94quite the opposite view = from that taken=20 by Scripture and Orthodoxy, which saw the Incarnation as a = kenosis,=20 a self-emptying, of Christ=E2=80=94"though He was rich, yet = for our sakes He=20 became poor." Bernadine of Siena's weirdest fantasy, the = "seduction=20 of God," was described in language more appropriate to a = Greek=20 legend of Zeus than to the Great Mystery of the Incarnation. = The=20 Virgin was higher than the Church ... she had authority over = her Son=20 in heaven ... she appeased the Divine justice and prevented = God from=20 chastening sinners ... she and the Holy Spirit produced = Christ in=20 souls. "Even the tongue of the Holy Spirit" was "scarcely = sufficient=20 to celebrate her praises worthily"! Unfortunately the = authors and=20 preachers of such offensive nonsense were frequently = canonized,=20 which was naturally taken as a sign of official approval. = Such=20 distortions could well be the stuff of which Marian = apparitions are=20 made. The Goddess, or at least a semi-divine being, had=20 returned.

It is interesting to note that John Henry (Cardinal) = Newman was=20 appalled at all the excesses. While accepting the Immaculate = Conception, he considered the popular exaggerations and = other=20 deviations from Patristic teaching to be "calculated to ... = unsettle=20 consciences, to provoke blasphemy, and to work the loss of = souls."=20 In a quaintly nationalistic touch, he noted that all these = devotions=20 and teachings were clearly the work of foreigners and not=20 Englishmen!

Pope John XXIII still found it necessary to remind his = flock,=20 "The Madonna is not pleased when she is put above her Son." = Needless=20 to say, such excesses are out of favour in the present = ecumenical=20 climate. What the current guide book says I do not know, but = the=20 Lourdes Official Guide for 1980 spoke against "a superfluous = devotion to the Virgin, relying on trinkets, rosaries and = medals: a=20 perversion of authentic religion, bordering on = superstition."=20 Somehow I do not think that Goddess will be so easily = dislodged.

Politics, Nationalism and Ecclesiastical = Involvement

How did these apparitions acquire national and even = international=20 fame? How is it, for instance, that a young girl's real or = imaginary=20 visions turned Lourdes not only into a major religious = centre of the=20 Roman Catholic Church, but into a major tourist industry, a=20 "religious Disneyland," with more pilgrims than the Holy = Land, more=20 hotels than any city or town in France other than Paris and = Nice, a=20 factory that produces over a ton of candles daily, and = souvenir=20 shops where one may purchase Virgins in snow-storms, Virgins = in TV=20 sets, and Madonna shaped holy water bottles, a metre high, = with=20 removable golden crowns for filling? Of course, all the = regrettable=20 and tasteless commercialism has no bearing on the = authenticity or=20 otherwise of the visions.

Politics and ecclesiastical manipulation (as well as the = coming=20 of the railway) played their part. In France, reaction had = set in=20 against the anti-church French Revolution and the spirit of=20 rationalism. The Marian visions were in line with popular = demand,=20 and encouraged by the ecclesiastical authorities, were = important in=20 reviving a declining Catholicism. In fact, Lourdes gave such = an=20 impetus to Marianism in the nineteenth century that a rival = movement=20 was started to encourage pilgrimage to shrines directly = connected=20 with Christ. Here again we see the separation of the Mother = and the=20 Son. The fact that her own devotion was Christ-centred, = rather than=20 Marian-centred, may have been one reason why Bernadette's = novice=20 mistress, Mother Vauzou, was never convinced that = Bernadette's=20 visions were genuine.

Fr Peyramale, the parish priest of Lourdes, who had = supported=20 Bernadette and built a chapel at the grotto, was quickly = bypassed by=20 the Garaison Fathers, professional revivalists, who had been = sent by=20 the Bishop of Tarbes to take over Lourdes as part of the = revivalist=20 campaign. The Bishop had from the first recognized the = apparitions=20 and authorized the cult. The Garaison fathers were installed = to run=20 the mission to the pilgrims as distinct from the parish = church, and=20 apparently exchanges between them and Fr Peyramale were = extremely=20 acrimonious and vindictive. The feud between the parish and = grotto=20 continued after Fr Peyramale's death, involving lawsuits of=20 "horrible complexity." Zola's "savage satire of=20 dog-collar-eat-dog-collar was based on solid fact" (Alan = Neame:=20 The Happening at Lourdes).

The Third Republic regarded religious demonstrations as=20 pro-royalist, and anti-Catholic riots broke out with attacks = on=20 pilgrims. The response of the ecclesiastical authorities was = to=20 stage a national Catholic rally at Lourdes in 1872, attended = by nine=20 bishops and twenty thousand people, further encouraging = Lourdes as a=20 religious centre.

All modern Popes have been Marianists, and John Paul II = has given=20 an extra boost to Lourdes by his personal support, and his = visit to=20 the Shrine, the first by a Pope.

At the time of the Fatima visions, Portugal was going = through a=20 period of severe anti-clericalism. A left-wing republic had = replaced=20 the old monarchy, and there were strikes, crime, corruption, = bomb-throwing, inflation and food shortages together with = the added=20 complication of the First World War. The Roman Catholic = Church was=20 regarded as a major supporter of the deposed monarchy, and = clergy=20 were restricted in their preaching and forbidden to wear = clerical=20 dress. After 1926, the Church recovered its former position. = The=20 Vatican, encouraged by the success of Lourdes, was = instrumental in=20 launching Fatima as a shrine of rival status and = authenticity.

Papal involvement with Fatima has been very marked. Pius = XII,=20 very pro-Fatima and violently anti-Communist, consecrated = the world=20 to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942, and in 1954 made a = special=20 consecration of Russia as directed by Lucia, the surviving=20 visionary. Paul VI, who was to give the Virgin yet another = title,=20 "Mother of the Church," visited Fatima in 1976. Pope John = Paul II,=20 whose motto is "I am completely yours, Mary," and who = apparently has=20 the letter M embroidered on his robes, is also a keen Fatima = supporter, and after the unsuccessful attempt on his life = (he=20 attributed his deliverance to Our Lady of Lourdes), had the = bullet=20 set into the crown of the Fatima Madonna. The supposed = directives=20 concerning Russia are behind the present unprecedented = Vatican=20 campaign of proselytism in Russia.

There was also a political dimension at Turzovka in = Slovakia,=20 Medjugorje, and Hriushiw, in the clash with Communism, and = in the=20 latter two a very strong nationalist and Vatican element. = Medjugorje=20 is a Croat enclave in predominantly Orthodox and Moslem = Herzegovina.=20 Croat nationalism has always gone hand in hand with Roman=20 Catholicism ("to be a Croat is to be a Catholic,"). In World = War II,=20 Pius XII, in his paranoid fear of Communism, did nothing to = stop the=20 massacre of 750,000 Orthodox Serbs by the fascist Croat = Ustashi of=20 the puppet "Independent State of Croatia" set up by the = Nazis.=20 Cardinal Stepinac of Zagreb saw the Orthodox Church as an = evil=20 "almost greater than Protestantism," and Franciscan friars = ran the=20 most notorious of the concentration camps. In the Medjugorje = vicinity, fifty men, women and children were thrown from a=20 cliff-top, and all the monks at a nearby Orthodox Monastery = were=20 buried alive. It is interesting to note that while the = former Roman=20 Catholic bishop of Mostar, Mgr Pavao Zanic, denounced the = visions as=20 "all the fruit of fraud, disobedience to the Church and = disease,"=20 they were enthusiastically taken up by the Franciscan parish = priest=20 of Medjugorje, who heard a "voice" telling him to protect = the=20 visionaries. If and when the troubles in the former = Yugoslavia get=20 sorted out, Medjugorje is set to take up where it left off = as part=20 of the (Roman Catholic) tourist industry and an = international=20 pilgrimage centre.

For centuries there has been tension in what is now the = Ukraine=20 between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican on account of = the=20 activities of the Uniats, who are once again conducting a = militant,=20 aggressive campaign engineered by nationalist and religious=20 extremists. Hriushiw fits easily into this pattern, with its = echo of=20 Fatima in the call for the conversion of Russia and the = messages=20 from the apparition that the Ukrainians have been specially = chosen=20 for this work.

In passing, mention might also be made of the nationalist = /=20 religious mix in the Virgins of Guadalupe, Mexico, and = Czestohowa,=20 Poland. In 1531, a "dark" or Indian Virgin appeared to an = Aztec=20 peasant and told him to request the bishop to build a shrine = on the=20 spot of the apparition's appearance, which just happened to = be an=20 important sacred place in the native Indian religion. Her = image was=20 miraculously imprinted on the peasant's cloak. Indian = self-respect=20 in the face of the white man was restored while the = ecclesiastical=20 authority rejoiced at gaining a vital aid in converting = eight=20 million Indians to Roman Catholicism in the space of four = years. In=20 1910, Pope Plus X proclaimed the Virgin of Guadalupe the = "Empress of=20 the Americas."

The Virgin of Czestohowa, in the Jasna Gora monastery, is = synonymous with Polish Roman Catholicism and nationalism. = The chapel=20 housing the icon is in the centre of "a huge complex, a = highly=20 organized pilgrim centre," run by the Pauline fathers. The = Virgin is=20 unveiled four times daily, when to a fanfare of trumpets, a = silver=20 curtain slowly rises. It would seem that all the great = Marian=20 shrines bear the twin stamps of Roman efficiency and = professional=20 stage management. In 1717, the "Queen of Poland and Grand = Duchess of=20 Lithuania" was solemnly crowned by formal decree of the = Polish=20 Parliament.

Such secular titles sound somehow strangely incongruous = when=20 bestowed on her to whose sublime title, Mother of God, no = further=20 glory can be added. The words of a Roman Catholic writer, = spoken of=20 Lourdes, seem equally applicable to other Marian = shrines=E2=80=94"a bastion=20 of the temporal power of an infallible Papacy."

[Editor's note: two points might be noted here. The = first is=20 that at Czestohowa, the icon itself is, of course, an = Orthodox icon=20 and has its place in our calendar=E2=80=94the objections = raised here are to=20 the cultus which surrounds it. Secondly there is one Marian = shrine,=20 Knock in Ireland, whose first promotion may well have been=20 instigated by anti- nationalist rather than nationalist = sentiment.=20 It has been suggested that the British found the promotion = of the=20 cultus extremely useful in distracting nationalist attention = in a=20 rather tense period. Of course, at the time of the = "apparition," and=20 until quite recent times, the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical=20 authorities, as supporters of the "Establishment," were = pro-British,=20 rather than, as is now generally perceived to be the case,=20 pro-nationalist.]

The Solar Phenomena

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament=20 proclaimeth the work of His hands (Ps. = 18:1=E2=80=94Septuagint=20 numbering).

Allowing for auto-suggestion, over-active imagination, = pretending=20 to see things so as to be like other people, there remain = enough=20 solid witnesses to make it clear that there have been many = instances=20 of spectacular solar phenomena at the shrines. Are they = natural=20 phenomena, signs from heaven that accompany the presence of = the=20 Mother of God, or part of the "signs and lying wonders" = campaign in=20 preparation for the Anti-Christ?

In the Old Testament, the sun stands still for Joshua = (Jesus, son=20 of Navi), and moves backwards for Hezekias, while in the = Gospels we=20 have the Star of Bethlehem and the darkening of the sun at = the=20 Crucifixion. In the Church, we know the Cross of Constantine = the=20 Great, the Cross seen over Jerusalem in 357, and the Cross = over=20 Athens in 1925.

Throughout history, strange things in the sky have been = seen and=20 recorded. At the beginning of the tenth century, Bishop = Radbod of=20 Utrecht recorded a sky filled with stars which seemed to = "crash one=20 upon another," a sign which was followed by many natural and = historical disasters. Halley's Comet, visible in England in = 1066, is=20 embroidered on the Bayeux Tapestry. During the Wars of the = Roses, a=20 contemporary chronicler recorded "three suns in one" = appearing=20 before a battle, which the leader of the Yorkists, the = future Edward=20 IV, declared was a good omen as it signified the Trinity, = thus=20 calming his frightened troops. Shakespeare used this account = when he=20 mentioned this sign in his play, "Henry VI." In 1646, a book = was=20 published called, Strange Signes from Heaven, = recording=20 sightings of many phenomena, and in 1882 Walter Maunder, a = Greenwich=20 astronomer, published an account of the most remarkable = thing he had=20 ever seen in the course of many years sky gazing. Together = with=20 hundreds of people all over Britain, he witnessed a great = circular=20 disc of greenish light which lengthened out into a cigar = shape, more=20 than a hundred miles above the earth, at least fifty miles = long, and=20 moving very rapidly at about ten miles a second. Scientists = today=20 can explain it as part of an auroral display. There had been = a=20 violent magnetic storm at the time, and charged particles = from the=20 sun plunged into the earth's atmosphere and lit up like a = neon=20 light. A beam of particles would create the appearance of a = solid=20 object moving at speed. When the beam had spent its force, = it would=20 simply break up like a cloud, which it did, over Europe. No = doubt=20 many "strange signs from heaven" are in fact natural = phenomena.

A well-known natural phenomenon is the "halo," when the = sun's=20 image, refracted through ice crystals, forms a cross with = the sun at=20 its centre. There are "mock" suns and moons known to = astronomers,=20 and the planet Venus, when viewed through the polluted air = near the=20 surface of the earth, appears to change colour and make = erratic=20 movements. A programme appeared on television, Christmas = 1993,=20 about the Star of Bethlehem. One scientist / astronomer = said=20 that natural phenomena occur every year, and if the Church = could=20 give him a definite date for the Nativity, he would be able = to say=20 what it was the Wise Men saw, as all the dates for the = movements of=20 the planets are known.

[Editor 's note: Although, as our authoress doubtless = intended, this demonstrates the number of extraordinary = natural=20 phenomena there are, the scientist was mistaken because the=20 Bethlehem Star was not a natural phenomenon but a spiritual = one (see=20 Homily VI of St John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St = Matthew).=20 Furthermore, despite the frantic preparations by Mammonites = to=20 celebrate the second millennium of an event they do not seem = to=20 believe in (!), the exact date of the Saviour=E2=80=99s = birth is not known=20 to us.]

Some of the solar phenomena seen at the very many shrines = all=20 over the world are undoubtedly purely natural in origin. But = hundreds of people who claim to have seen the sun "dance" = have been=20 able to look at the sun with ease for long periods with no = damage to=20 their optic nerves. But not everyone present saw exactly the = same=20 thing, and some saw nothing at all, so obviously the dancing = sun=20 does not have a natural cause, and perhaps has to do with a = mass=20 hallucination of some kind. Certainly the sun could not = physically=20 have spun and zigzagged, or that would have been the end of = the=20 solar system.

All the well-documented accounts of the "miracle of the = sun" at=20 Fatima stress the terror of the crowd, many of = whom=E2=80=94but not all=E2=80=94saw=20 the sun spinning in a mad whirl, then detaching itself from = the sky,=20 spin towards the earth in a huge fiery mass, and return to = its=20 place. The movements were repeated twice. While some people = at the=20 shrine saw nothing, others fifty kilometres away saw the = spectacle=20 and believed that the end of the world had come. The sun = changed=20 colour, giving off red, then yellow, then purple light, In = The=20 Dancing Sun, Desmond Seward quotes a passage from an=20 unpublished account of events at Turzovka. In 1958, the = Mother of=20 God is said to have appeared to a forty-two year old = forester, a=20 "vague believer," who saw a beautiful woman in white holding = a=20 rosary and floating in the air. Altogether there were seven=20 appearances, in the same place and at the same time weekly. = The=20 forester was told to pray for reconciliation and atonement = by the=20 world for its sins; there were the usual apocalyptic = warnings and=20 the stressing of the rosary. Crowds from all over the = Slovakian=20 countryside came to the mountain, a spring burst forth on = the spot=20 of the apparition and healings took place. The Communist = authorities=20 put the forester in an asylum, but later released him. = Strange=20 lights were reported, and in 1963 the miracle of the sun = took place.=20 "The fiery orb ... seemed to be ablaze, burning, with flames = bursting out of it.... among over 500 people who were = watching in=20 consternation there was only shocked astonishment. After a = few=20 moments an enormous cone-shaped light spread above and = around us,=20 like an over-sized tent made of long, vividly hued strips. = It=20 consisted of every colour in the spectrum, from red to = violet ...=20 All around, coloured strips covered the sky, the trees and = their=20 branches, the ground and the people. The strips fanned out = from a=20 single focal point in which was the sun. I saw deep blue and = bright=20 yellow people next to me, whose colour changed when they = moved."=20 Three local brass bands with the pilgrims formed up and = played=20 fortissimo the hymn, "We salute you a thousand times, Mary," = as=20 everyone believed this to be a sign of the presence of the = Mother of=20 God. Reading about it at second hand, one rather gets the = impression=20 of a sort of supernatural religious disco, but to the writer = it was=20 "strange and deeply moving, overwhelming ... = God-related."

It had never occurred to me that there could be some = connection=20 between UFOs and the shrines, until quite by chance a book = about=20 UFOs in a pile of second hand books in a local antique shop = caught=20 my eye. Glancing through it, I was astonished to find, among = many=20 sightings reported in England in 1967, two that immediately = sounded=20 familiar.

The first concerned two women neighbours living on an = estate in=20 Stoke-on-Trent, who, together with some children playing in = the=20 street, saw a "flying saucer" land in a field not far from = the=20 estate about 9 p.m. on September 2nd, 1967. The field = "looked as=20 though it was on fire=E2=80=94like a bonfire," "it was just = as if someone=20 had got a great big bonfire." Within minutes the police, = summoned by=20 the women arrived, but all was in darkness, and a daylight = search=20 revealed nothing. At Medjugorje in August 1981, along with a = spinning sun sending out multi-coloured rays, rainbows = without any=20 rain, and other phenomena, a fire appeared to break out on = the Hill=20 of the Apparitions, but when the firebrigade arrived there = was no=20 sign of it.

The second concerned the Flying Cross. Between 1959 and = 1967, 808=20 investigations into UFO sightings were carried out by the = Ministry=20 of Defence, with help from the Royal Observatory, the = Meteorological=20 Office, the Royal Air Force, the United States Air Force = stationed=20 in Britain, radar establishments, Air Traffic Control and = the=20 police, although there seems to have been no inquiry at the = highest=20 scientific level. The vast majority of the sightings proved = to be=20 purely natural in origin=E2=80=94satellites and debris, = meteorological=20 balloons, celestial objects (Venus, etc), aircraft, natural=20 phenomena such as mock suns and moons, cloud reflections and = the=20 inevitable few hoaxes. Of the 84 unexplained sightings, some = involved those where information was insufficient to make a=20 decision, but the Flying Cross was one of the remainder,=20 well-documented, but for which no explanation could be = found.

During October 1967 lights that flew slowly, hovered, = formed a=20 cross, and moved off at tremendous speed were seen by over a = dozen=20 reliable witnesses, including policemen and BBC engineers. = The light=20 was "not piercing but it was very bright. It was = star-spangled=E2=80=94just=20 like looking through wet glass. "The Thing" was always seen = at night=20 or in the early hours. A retired RAF Wing Commander was = driving with=20 his wife in Hampshire one October night when they saw seven = flying=20 lights that made no noise, seven bright lights in formation = in the=20 sky. At first the lights formed a perfect V but later = rearranged=20 themselves into a cross. "They certainly seemed to be under = some=20 sort of control=E2=80=94the formation was perfect," said the = Wing=20 Commander.

This sounded strangely similar, indeed at times = identical, to=20 descriptions by witnesses of the apparitions over the Coptic = Church=20 of St Mary at Zeitoun, Cairo, six months later. A Coptic = Bishop,=20 Gregorios, in charge of Higher Studies, Coptic Culture and=20 Scientific Research, who saw the apparition on many = occasions said,=20 "Before the apparitions take place, some birds that look = like=20 pigeons=E2=80=94I don't know what they are=E2=80=94appear in = different=20 formations.... They do not flap their wings, they glide.... = Whatever=20 formation they take, they keep. Sometimes as many as seven = of them=20 fly in the formation of a cross. They fly very swiftly. They = are ...=20 completely lighted. One does not see feathers at = all=E2=80=94just something=20 bright. They are radiant creatures, larger in size than a = dove or=20 pigeon." A special committee of Coptic clergy appointed by = the=20 Coptic Pope said in their official report, "... Another = night we saw=20 doves with the bright colour of silver and with light = radiating from=20 them. The doves flew from the dome to the sky direct. We = then=20 glorified God Who has allowed the terrestrials to see the = glory of=20 the celestials ..." The Coptic Pope Kyrillos VI said in his=20 statement confirming the authenticity of the apparitions, = that the=20 glittering apparition was "preceded by some spiritual forms = such as=20 doves which moved at great speed."

I read and re-read the UFO accounts and the Zeitoun = accounts. Was=20 it possible that "The Thing" seen briefly in England in = October 1967=20 had turned up again in Egypt six months later for a lengthy = stay of=20 three years to become the Coptic clergymen's "celestial = beings" and=20 the Coptic Pope's "spiritual forms"?

By a strange coincidence, while I was writing this = article, my=20 husband called to me one evening early in June to come and = look at a=20 most unusual sunset effect. Lit by the most glorious = rose-gold glow=20 were clouds in an amazing deep pink and purple hill and = valley=20 formation. "It's the Judaean Desert!" exclaimed my husband. = Next to=20 it was a "map" of the Mediterranean, with the boot-shape of = Italy=20 clearly showing, together with the whole Mediterranean = coastline.=20 From behind surrounding deep rose-coloured clouds came = powerful rays=20 of golden light. Neither of us had ever seen anything like = it, and=20 we stood watching until it had faded. It was incredibly = beautiful=20 and awe-inspiring, and in a way a spiritual experience, = because the=20 overriding thought was "glory to God," and yet it was = entirely=20 natural.

I thought afterwards of the English Math teacher at = Garabandal in=20 1974, who saw the dancing sun, a disfigured Christ in the = sky,=20 "maps" of various countries together with rays of great = light which=20 she felt meant the presence of "an All-Powerful Being," = which she=20 took to be "the Eternal Father", who was sending out "rays = of=20 terrible anger" onto London on the map. I wondered what she = would=20 have made of "my" sunset if she had seen it at Garabandal or = some=20 other shrine.

Discounting the natural phenomena, unless we believe that = the=20 "doves" and dancing suns are genuine signs from Heaven sent = to=20 confirm faith, to indicate the gracious presence of the = Virgin, and=20 to warn of disasters which can only be averted by = repentance, then=20 it seems we are left with the possibility of some kind of = mass=20 hallucination, or with part of a "signs and lying wonders" = campaign=20 in preparation for the Anti-Christ.

According to St Luke's Gospel, in the last times there = will be=20 "terrors and great signs from heaven." St Ignaty = Brianchaninov,=20 writing over a hundred years ago, warned that a time was = approaching=20 when there would be numerous and striking false miracles. = "... the=20 miracles of Anti-Christ will be chiefly manifested in the = aerial=20 realm, where satan chiefly has his dominion. These signs = will act=20 most of all on the sense of sight, charming and deceiving = it. St=20 John the Theologian, beholding in revelation the events that = are to=20 precede the end of the world, says that Anti-Christ will = perform=20 great signs, and will even 'make fire to come down out of = heaven=20 upon the earth in the sight of men' (Revelations 13:13). = This is the=20 sign indicated by Scripture as the highest of the signs of=20 Anti-Christ and the place of this sign is the air." Several = of the=20 apparitions have prophesied a Great Sign to come.

Delusions

Why is it that these apparitions are accepted so readily = by the=20 visionaries themselves and by countless pilgrims? Heterodox=20 Christians have very little idea of one of the key concepts = of=20 Orthodox ascetical teaching prelest=E2=80=94spiritual = deception=E2=80=94whereby a=20 mirage is mistakenly accepted for truth. There are many = examples in=20 the Lives of the Saints where monastics and ascetics, many = of whom=20 went on to achieve genuine holiness, fell into delusion,=20 entertaining demons in the form of angels, and even "Christ" = Himself, receiving "revelations," seeing "light" in their = cells and=20 hearing "the Lord" speaking to them. Sometimes "Christ" = granted them=20 gifts of "prophecy' and astonishing powers. St Diadochus of = Photiki=20 warned against accepting the deceit of the evil one under = the form=20 of light or some fiery form, and St Symeon the New = Theologian warned=20 of evil spirits who cause many and various deceptions in the = air.

Imageless prayer, as taught by the ascetics and elders of = the=20 Orthodox Church, is in direct contrast to that of, for = instance, a=20 person seeking help from a Protestant Healing Mission, who = may be=20 told at the prayer session preceding the healing service to = imagine=20 a golden light streaming down on him from heaven, and to the = meditation practices common in the West for centuries, = whereby one=20 was encouraged to imagine a chosen scene and try to = visualise the=20 Child in the manger or the Crucified Christ. St Mark the = Ascetic=20 warns that "Once our thoughts are accompanied by images, we = have=20 already given them our assent." This image-producing faculty = may, in=20 the spiritually advanced be used creatively, as in the = iconography=20 of St Andrei Rublev and devout iconographers generally, but = time and=20 again we are warned that those not yet possessing spiritual=20 discrimination should beware of being enticed and led = captive by=20 illusory appearances.

What many Marian apparition enthusiasts do not realise is = that=20 spiritual phenomena are almost commonplace these days. The=20 Pentecostal / Charismatic groups are very quick to identify = their=20 experiences with the Holy Spirit, just as the Protestant = revivalists=20 in Indonesia in the 1970's unquestioningly accepted their = "voices,"=20 "angels" (invariably quoting Scripture by chapter and = verse),=20 visions of "Christ," healings, miraculous lights = accompanying=20 evangelists, and mysterious fires from heaven that consumed = Roman=20 Catholic statues, as genuine. People who bring "Christian" = ideas to=20 their experiences often assume, all too readily, that they = actually=20 are Christian experiences, the work of the Holy Spirit, and = they=20 seldom pause to ask if they might possibly originate from = quite=20 another kind of spirit.

Even when these experiences are genuinely Christian, the = words of=20 a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, John of the Cross, = sound a=20 timely warning: "All visions, revelations and impressions of = heaven,=20 however much the spiritual man may esteem them, are not = equal in=20 worth to the least act of humility; for this brings forth = the fruits=20 of charity, which never esteems or thinks well of self, but = only of=20 others."

The Cure d'Ars did not accept the La Salette visions, the = ecclesiastical authorities at Garabandal were unimpressed, = and the=20 former Roman Catholic bishop of Mostar denounced the = Medjugorje=20 apparitions. Certainly some of the visions would appear to = be=20 initially the result of psychological factors. Most of us do = not=20 have a strongly developed sense of self-awareness. We know = very=20 little about ourselves and have little understanding of the=20 mysterious, but entirely natural, workings of the = sub-conscious mind=20 and the effects it can produce. Apart from self-delusion, = there is a=20 possibility of unconscious mediumistic participation or even = more=20 direct demonic delusion.

If Bernadette, waving her rosary at "Aquero," and the = Medjugorje=20 youths clutching their holy water jars and admonishing "the = Gospa,"=20 "If you are satan, go away," really suspected the presence = of a=20 demon, they surely seriously underestimated the power they = were=20 dealing with. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are = you?"=20 (Acts 19:15). The aged God-bearing Elder and Confessor of = Mount=20 Athos, Fr Sabbas (+ 1908), when asked to deliver a monk = possessed by=20 a demon, prayed and kept a complete fast for a week before = doing so,=20 and delivered another monk who had been deceived by a false=20 "guardian angel," who had prayed and spoken with him daily = for two=20 years, by prostrating himself as "with pain and tears he = prayed to=20 the Lord to take pity on His servant and rebuke the evil=20 demons."

Staretz Amvrossy of Optina, who as a great monastic [and] = spiritual guide, was frequently asked for advice on visions = and=20 voices, relied on the basic teaching of the Fathers, and = warned=20 those who sought his guidance on such matters not to trust = in voices=20 heard during the time of prayer or in changes in the = icons=E2=80=94fragrance=20 or fiery flames coming from them=E2=80=94which might seem to = be good, but to=20 attach no significance to them as such things also come from = the=20 deceit of the enemy.

In a question and answer session with a Franciscan, one = of the=20 Medjugorje "seers" was asked why Ivanka, the girl who first = saw the=20 apparition, said at once, "It's the Blessed Virgin." The = reply was,=20 who else could she have thought of? A wonderful young mother = with a=20 child and a crown on her head. It was clear." The apparition = was=20 accepted unquestioningly as being the Virgin and was spoken = with=20 before any throwing of holy water (advised by the older = women of the=20 village) was resorted to. "My angels," as the apparition = repeatedly=20 called the young people, asked for a sign, and the vision = obligingly=20 made the hands turn on the watch of one of the = visionaries.

At Ivanka's last vision on May 7th, 1985, the Gospa, in = answer to=20 Ivanka's request, caused the girl's mother, who had died = some months=20 before the apparitions began, to appear. "Our Lady asked me = what I=20 would wish and I asked to see my earthly mother. Then Our = Lady=20 smiled, nodded her head, and at once my mother appeared. She = was=20 smiling. Our Lady said to me to stand up. I stood up, my = mother=20 embraced me and kissed me ... She then spoke to Ivanka and=20 disappeared.

Complete trust was given by the young people to the = apparition of=20 Medjugorje, a trust that would be encouraged by the = Franciscans, who=20 acted as their confidantes and spiritual directors. There = was no=20 concept of prelest, there seemed to be no recognition of the = fearful darkness of the fallen mind. The same = argument used=20 to support the authenticity of Medjugorje=E2=80=94"the tree = is known by its=20 fruits"=E2=80=94fervent prayer, conversions, healings, sense = of peace and=20 joy=E2=80=94has been used by "Charismatics," Protestant = Revivalists, the=20 Evangelicals in Indonesia, and various heretical movements=20 throughout history. Hindus and Buddhists doubtless say the = same=20 thing as they point to the intense devotion of their own = followers=20 on mass pilgrimages to the temples, and the reported = healings at the=20 shrines of their own holy men.

St Ignaty Brianchaninov, in his warning to Orthodox = Christians,=20 reminds us of the frightful danger of being deceived by evil = spirits. "If the saints have not always recognized demons = who=20 appeared to them in the form of saints and Christ Himself, = how is it=20 possible for us to think of ourselves that we will recognize = them=20 without mistake! ... The holy instructors of Christian = struggle ...=20 command (us) not to trust any kind of image or vision if = they should=20 suddenly appear, not to enter into conversation with them = ..." but=20 in resolute awareness of one's unworthiness and unfitness = for seeing=20 holy spirits, to entreat God that He might protect us from = all the=20 nets and deceptions, which are cunningly set out for men by = the=20 spirits of malice." ... "The only correct entrance into the = world of=20 spirits is the doctrine and practice of Christian struggle. = The only=20 correct entrance into the sensuous perception of spirits is=20 Christian advancement and perfection."

The Healing Aspect

Some people assume that the apparitions must be genuine = because=20 cures take place at the shrines, but there is not = necessarily any=20 connection between the two. The number of cures is actually = very=20 small considering the multitudes of sick people who flock to = the=20 shrines. At Lourdes, in the one hundred and twenty-two years = from=20 1858 to 1980, only sixty-four cures were finally pronounced=20 miraculous=E2=80=94that is, not attributable to any known = natural or medical=20 cause=E2=80=94out of a possible five thousand. While the = medical authorities=20 naturally need to be cautious, it does seem somewhat = artificial and=20 presumptuous for a group of human beings to solemnly declare = that=20 God has not only performed a miracle, but has performed it = properly,=20 to their satisfaction.

At several shrines the Virgin was reported as saying that = she=20 would heal some, but not others, and to read that "the = finger of God=20 would flash down unpredictably" somehow introduced a certain = element=20 of capriciousness which was disturbing, however much one = might want=20 to rejoice at the cures themselves. But the Marian shrines = are not=20 alone in claiming healings for people of all faiths and of = none,=20 although they tend to get the most publicity. The Anglican = London=20 Healing Mission lists many astonishing cures every month, = the=20 Pentecostal / Charismatic groups also claim cures, as do = Spiritists=20 (The National Federation of Spiritual Healers), and, in its = heyday,=20 the Christian Science movement had an impressive healing = record.

It is said that no-one is infected by bathing at Lourdes, = but=20 there is no record kept of infections, and, in any case, = people in=20 seventeenth and eighteenth century England were exposed to = the same=20 risk in the fashionable spa waters (Samuel Pepys at Bath had = grave=20 doubts about the wisdom of using the waters), yet there were = no=20 recorded outbreaks of typhoid or cholera. The authorities at = Lourdes=20 know that they cannot risk an outbreak of infection or the = baths=20 would have to close, and healthy pilgrims are encouraged to = wash at=20 the taps instead of bathing. It is interesting to note that=20 Bernadette herself did not use Lourdes water for her own = ailments,=20 but sought relief at the nearby spa instead.

God works in different ways as He sees fit, and it would = be=20 foolish to attempt to impose limits on His mercy, but = Orthodox=20 Christians themselves do not need to seek healing outside = the=20 Church. We have always known wonderworkers and healers. = Staretz=20 Amvrosy, mentioned earlier, was a healer, as were countless = others,=20 and innumerable healings continue to take place at the = intercession=20 of the Mother of God, for instance through her Tinos and = Malevi=20 icons, and at the intercession of St Xenia of Petersburg, = and of St=20 John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco.

Many non-Orthodox would be very surprised if they knew = how often=20 healing of the body is mentioned together with the healing = of the=20 soul in the Church's prayers. In the prayers of Preparation = and=20 Thanksgiving for Holy Communion particularly, we pray = repeatedly for=20 "the healing and purification and enlightenment and = protection and=20 salvation and sanctification of soul and body," and for the = Divine=20 Grace to fill our five senses, joints and bones, as well as = our=20 mind, soul and affections. Likewise, the service of Holy = Unction has=20 never been kept solely for the dying, but is held on the eve = of=20 Christmas and on the Wednesday in Holy Week, when all the = faithful=20 are anointed, and anyone may request a service at any time = in case=20 of need.

Some people emphasize the great compassion shown for the = sick at=20 Lourdes, and the time and energy spent on their behalf year = after=20 year by devoted helpers, and feel that the visions must be = true if=20 so much good comes from them. But compassion is not a solely = Christian prerogative. Compassion to every living creature = is the=20 hallmark of Buddhism, and plenty of people of all faiths and = none=20 are quietly doing unpublicized voluntary work in hospitals = or among=20 the mentally and physically disabled in their = neighbourhoods. The=20 healings and compassion are not proof of the authenticity of = the=20 apparitions. That cures take place is not in doubt, but the = exact=20 nature of a cure may vary from case to case, and since both=20 Protestant and spiritist bodies also show tangible results, = it would=20 be unwise to accept unreservedly the religious implications = of cures=20 at the Marian shrines and invest them with an interpretation = that=20 they cannot logically be made to bear.

Ecumenism, Syncretism and the anti-Christ

As the apparitions have been manipulated by various = interested=20 parties for the purposes of Roman Catholic propaganda, = proselytism,=20 nationalism and commercialism, so they are eagerly taken up = by=20 supporters of ecumenism. Anglicans, Lutherans, even Orthodox = all=20 visit the shrines. "The Madonna is for everyone." Or, "Come = into my=20 parlour, said the spider to the fly"? Just as the Pope has = spoken of=20 the "conversion of Russia" under one shepherd, "the = successor to St=20 Peter," so the Vatican's unchanging reunion plan for the = rest of us=20 is an open secret=E2=80=94subjection to the Roman = Pontiff.

At the same time, ecumenism beyond Christianity continues = to=20 gather pace in "the dialogue with non-Christian religions," = although=20 honest dialogue does not appear to be what the WCC has in = mind. "The=20 great religious communities will not disappear=E2=80=A6. = Jews will remain=20 Jews, Moslems will remain Moslems, and those belonging to = the great=20 oriental religions will remain Hindus, Buddhists and = Taoists"=E2=80=94yet=20 somehow everyone, still keeping to his errors and rejecting = Christ,=20 "will abide in the Kingdom of God without ... having first = become=20 Christians like us."

God cannot be contained, and He is the source of whatever = truth=20 is present in other faiths, but as C. S. Lewis pointed out, = being a=20 Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs = from=20 other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. = He used=20 the illustration of a sum=E2=80=94there is only one right = answer to a sum,=20 and all other answers are wrong, but some of the wrong = answers are=20 much nearer being right than others.

Marian ecumenists believe that the Virgin is bringing an=20 ecumenical message at Zeitoun and Medjugorje and that as = mother of=20 the entire human family she has a special role to play as a = centre=20 of unity and reconciler of quarrelsome children, so to = speak. They=20 point out that at Zeitoun the Mother of God remained silent. = This is=20 interpreted as a gesture of motherly tact and an invitation = "to=20 everyone present, regardless of their beliefs, to unite in = God=20 through prayer" (which is now quite normal at meetings for = "dialogue=20 with non-Christian religions" and in keeping with the ideas = of the=20 WCC). Had she declared herself to be the Mother of God, the = Moslems=20 would have rejected the vision; and had she identified = herself as=20 the Immaculate Conception, the Copts would have rejected it. = They=20 emphasize that the Virgin is mentioned in the Koran as the = chosen of=20 Allah and her purity and virtue extolled, but they omit to = follow=20 this by stating that Christ Himself is regarded as no more = than one=20 prophet among others=E2=80=94and inferior to = Mahommed=E2=80=94and that His=20 Crucifixion and Resurrection are utterly rejected.

An Anglican correspondent for the Eastern Churches = Review=20 described his visit to Zeitoun in the Spring 1970 = edition. He=20 related the story of a leading Moslem who lived near the = church and=20 used to throw stones at the pilgrims. The Virgin appeared to = him,=20 requested that the stone-throwing cease, and ordered him to = paint=20 the cross on his house. This convinced him of the = authenticity of=20 the visions and he painted forty large white crosses all = over the=20 walls of his house. Somehow this seems a rather pointless = exercise,=20 as the man remained a practising Moslem and did not turn to = Christ,=20 Who seems not to have been actually mentioned and Who, as = usual,=20 seems strangely absent from the proceedings.

At Medjugorje the Virgin announced that she had come to = "convert=20 and reconcile." The shrine is seen as a possible key to = peace in the=20 region as only the "Gospa" can reconcile Catholics, Orthodox = and=20 Moslems, since they all reverence her. Once again we = encounter this=20 extraordinary idea of reconciliation and unity without = Christ. The=20 Gospa has chided Catholics of the region for mocking their = Orthodox=20 and Moslem neighbours, although this has not curbed = anti-Serb=20 propaganda in some of the books about the Medjugode = apparition.

She has declared that "basically religions are similar," = which=20 sounds very much like the teaching of Swami Vivekananda, the = late=20 nineteenth, early twentieth century Hindu missionary to the = West,=20 who said that all religions are the same at heart. The = foundation=20 and heart of Christianity is the Holy Trinity and the = Resurrection=20 of the God-man Jesus Christ. Judaism and Islam also believe = in a God=20 who requires men to live in a "good" way and oppose "evil," = while=20 Hinduism, as far as I can understand it, believes that God = is beyond=20 "good" and "evil," that everything in this world is part of = God,=20 that if only we could see things from the divine point of = view, we=20 should see that things we call bad from our own limited = human=20 viewpoint are also "God." Swami Vivekananda, speaking of the = goddess=20 Kali, the Terrible Mother, who unites opposites within = herself=E2=80=94life=20 and death , creation and destruction, mercy and = terror=E2=80=94said, "Who=20 can say that God does not manifest Himself as Evil as well = as Good?=20 But only the Hindu dares worship Him as the Evil." All = religions=20 share some things in common, but there are fundamental=20 differences.

The Gospa has also said that the Pope is to be a father = to all=20 people, not just to Catholics. Pope John Paul II, who is = said to=20 believe in the apparitions, seems to have taken her sayings = to heart=20 and made them the inspiration for further ecumenical moves. = Apart=20 from his Assissi World Day of Prayer, he refers to the Jews = as the=20 older brothers of Christians, and in his speech to young = Moslems in=20 Morocco, referred to the Father God sixty-six times. This in = addition to the Vatican "missionary campaign" in Russia and = the=20 Ukraine, and Vatican interference in the Balkans, in = Croatia, Bosnia=20 and Skopje. The Pope apparently sees the third millennium as = a new=20 time for mission, a new era of faith, and has given his = support to=20 "Evangelization 2000," which has plans for world-wide = evangelizing=20 activity, with Europe, West and East, a priority. All these = are=20 "signs that indicate not only the gathering of Christians, = but the=20 embracing of all faiths and cultures within a common human = identity=20 before God" (Dudley Plunkett: Queen of Prophets).=20 Archbishop Frane Franic of Split says, "... I especially see = the=20 importance of the role of Medjugorje in the ecumenical work = of the=20 Church."

Might it be that the visionaries of Medjugorje are being = used=20 (albeit unconsciously) as part of a much wider softening-up = process=20 to prepare the way for the setting-up of a universal world = religion=20 in preparation for the coming of the Anti-Christ? It is, = after all,=20 of the essence of subtle demonic deceit to make things = appear good=20 and Christ-like, to present the kingdom of satan as if it = were the=20 Kingdom of Christ. The eighteenth century Anglican divine, = Samuel=20 Horsley, would grieve to see his words coming true today: = "The=20 Church of God on earth will be greatly reduced ... in the = time of=20 Anti-Christ, by the open desertion of the powers of the = world. This=20 desertion will begin in a professed indifference to any = particular=20 form of Christianity, under the form of universal toleration = ...=20 from toleration of the most pestilential heresies, they will = proceed=20 to toleration of Mahometanism and Atheism, and at last to = the=20 positive persecution of the truth of Christianity."

Meanwhile, the earlier fifteenth century Cardinal = Nicholas of=20 Cusa would rejoice at the prospect of his vision in which he = saw=20 "warring sects permanently reconciled in a vast system of = religious=20 unity," wherein "pagan and Christian are jumbled up in a = remarkable=20 order, ... a Greek, an Italian, a Hindu, an Arab, a = Chaldean, a Jew,=20 a Scythian, a Persian, a Syrian, a Spaniard, a Tartar, a = German, a=20 Bohemian, and finally an Englishman," because "each system = possesses=20 a certain degree of truth" and "only through a study of the = various=20 systems can one have an inkling of the 'unity of the = unattainable=20 truth'."

If there is an Anti-Christ aspect at Medjugorje, it would = fit in=20 well with an increasing interest in signs and wonders. The=20 supernatural has been largely removed from life by = rationalism,=20 materialism and intimidation by science and technology. An=20 increasing number who feel this lack have tried to fill the = gap with=20 UFOs, dancing suns, drugs, "faith" healing, charismatic = revivalism,=20 spiritism, New Age paganism, even satanism=E2=80=94and = apparitions.=20 Superstition continues to flourish. A statue of the Virgin = weeps=20 blood from one eye, and the neighbours pour in to recite the = rosary=20 before it. (In the opinion of the manufacturers, the resin = used to=20 fix the eyes had probably melted=E2=80=94quite a frequent = occurrence.) A=20 Mexican woman fries a tortilla for her husband's supper, = sees it=20 take on a resemblance to the face of Christ crowned with = thorns, and=20 a miracle has taken place! Over the following twelve months, = 8,000=20 people have venerated the batter, encased in glass and = surrounded by=20 flowers and candles, while an embarrassed Archbishop tries = in vain=20 to halt the holy pancake cult.

Thousands of people make a sober claim to having had = their lives=20 spiritually transformed by the shrines. Traditionalist = Catholics,=20 especially Marians, see the shrines as confirmation of their = faith.=20 Waverers who have been shaken by modern liberal changes in=20 Catholicism seek and find reassurance. Liturgical = innovationists=20 feel free to indulge in services with "increased amounts of=20 spontaneity and informality," such as the Party Mass for = sick=20 children at Lourdes, where following the consecration, = balloons and=20 streamers filled the air, and the celebrants joined hands = and=20 skipped up the aisle singing "Lord of the Dance" (actually = the Hindu=20 god Siva). Some nuns continue to live the old life, but most = of the=20 Sisters of Charity of Nevers (Bernadette's order) have put = aside the=20 religious habit and become part of the modern world. Even = Bernadette=20 herself has been manipulated by different groups who claim = her as=20 their heroine=E2=80=94the "revolutionaries" of Christ the = Worker, because=20 she was poor, working-class and generally disadvantaged; the = "charismatics" because she had visions and heard the voice = of heaven=20 directly, apart from the official hierarchy.

Spiritual power-houses, places of hope and healing, an = outlet for=20 superstition, a paradise for petty thieves (according to = Patrick=20 Marnham, a large plain-clothes police is required at Lourdes = in high=20 season) and commercial exploiters, a boost for tourism, an = excuse=20 for nationalism and proselytism, a way of satisfying the = recurrent=20 popular demand for the Goddess under a respectable Christian = guise=E2=80=94the Shrines seem to be many things to many = people.

Too Much of Everything

I conclude as I began by emphasizing that this a purely = personal=20 view of the apparition events. That one or more of the = factors=20 considered has played some part in each case I have no = doubt, but=20 beyond that I will not venture. Everyone is entitled to his = or her=20 own opinion, to accept or reject the apparitions, to visit = the=20 shrines or to stay away, but any Orthodox who might consider = seeking=20 healing at these shrines or going on pilgrimage there to = honour the=20 Mother of God, should, I believe, give very careful = consideration=20 indeed to what these places are all about.

The Russian Orthodox priest, Fr Sergius Bulgakov, after = his own=20 pilgrimage to Lourdes, wrote: "The remembrance of this place = embalmed by the presence invisible to our eyes, but clearly=20 perceptible to our souls, of the most holy Mother of God, = ...will=20 remain among the dearest memories of our lives. At least in = our=20 hearts the interior dividing wall which separates us from = the Roman=20 Church has lost much of its opaqueness." Everyone's = experience is=20 his own, but this should be balanced by that of the Roman = Catholic=20 Robert Hugh Benson, quoted earlier, who experienced the dark = side of=20 the Lady of the Grotto. It should, perhaps, also be borne in = mind=20 that Fr Sergius' sophiology, considered very suspect by = Orthodox=20 theologians like St John (Maximovitch), may have affected = his=20 experience=E2=80=94"the Holy Spirit is manifest through the = Virgin Mary=E2=80=94she=20 is a creature but also no longer a creature." Contrary to = what some=20 Orthodox, including priests, have been led to believe, there = is no=20 Orthodox chapel at Lourdes.

[Here, as is her wont, Miriam is erring on the side = of=20 kindness, Bulgakov's teachings were not simply considered = suspect=20 but were formally condemned by the hierarchs of the Church = Abroad=20 and, in 1935, by the Patriarchate of = Moscow.=E2=80=94ed.]

It is not obligatory for Roman Catholics to accept the=20 apparitions even when their church has approved them, = although some=20 Marianists would like this changed, saying that official = approval=20 goes beyond permission to believe and involves = infallibility.

After a great deal of serious thought, I am unable to = accept a=20 divine origin for any of the apparitions (although some may = very=20 well be supernatural in origin), or to believe that God is = speaking=20 to the world through them. As an Orthodox, they seem to me=20 unnecessary. We have the Scriptures, the teaching of the = Church and=20 the accumulated spiritual wisdom of 2,000 years to guide us. = Above=20 all, we have the Holy Spirit as the Pilot and Guide of the = Church,=20 and the Lord Jesus Christ as the ever-present and only Head = of the=20 Church. With the exception of Zeitoun, the apparitions have = all=20 appeared within a church which has pushed the God-man back = into=20 heaven and appointed a man as His infallible vicar on earth, = a man=20 whose position and power are reinforced and extended by = these=20 visions. The great Serbian theologian, [Archimandrite] = Justin=20 Popovich [of Blessed Memory], commented: "Vicarius = Christi=E2=80=94what=20 tragic illogic: to appoint a vicar and representative for = the=20 omnipotent God and Lord."

For me, there are simply too many visions. The = psychologist=20 Staehkin, mentioned earlier, investigated over thirty sets = of=20 apparitions of the Virgin, involving three hundred = appearances,=20 between 1930-1950. Apart from the Miraculous Medal, which = seemed to=20 spark the whole thing off, and the apparitions already = mentioned, we=20 have also had Akita, in Japan (where a nun saw sheets of = light in=20 her cell and had over a hundred visions in which a statue of = the=20 Virgin spoke, wept, and bled), Rwanda, Argentina, Nicaragua, = Venezuela, Korea, Hungary, Belgium, Holland, the USA, China, = Syria,=20 the Philippines, Italy and Ireland. Forty-seven other = visionaries=20 appeared outside Medjugorje in other parishes in the Mostar=20 diocese.

It is not the experiences that are in doubt, but the = origin of=20 the experiences, as visions may be caused by various = psychological=20 factors, natural psychic and mediumistic ability or demonic=20 delusion. The demons do not hesitate to make full of our = fallen=20 intellects, false assumptions, spiritual pride, and = psychologically=20 based delusions, which is why the Church warns us, through = the=20 ascetics and great spiritual fathers, to be spiritually = sober and=20 constantly aware, lest self-deception turns into demonic=20 deception.

There are too many solar signs. Ever since Fatima, solar=20 phenomena have been a feature at most of the = shrines=E2=80=94lights, fires,=20 rainbows, dancing suns, showers of petals, fiery crosses, = with a=20 particularly dramatic display at Zeitoun. When to these are = added=20 the Protestant Revivalist signs=E2=80=94pillars of fire, = "Christ" in the=20 sky, clouds that follow evangelists and shelter them from = heat, and=20 all the earlier UFOs, one cannot help wondering if there is = a=20 programme afoot purposely geared to cater for a generation = that=20 seeks after signs=E2=80=94the demons obligingly providing = what we are ready=20 to receive. One or two visions and signs might be = convincing, but=20 not literally hundreds.

The apparitions are too public. Private revelations are = one=20 thing, but most of these apparitions have taken place amid a = surfeit=20 of publicity. The "heavenly" visitor comes with a global = message and=20 the visions frequently take place in front of crowds of = spectators.=20 The visionaries have frequently been the centre of a most = unhealthy=20 amount of interests and adulation. The Grotto at Lourdes was = filled=20 with police, the police commissioner, the mayor, his deputy, = and=20 crowds of up to 20,000. Bernadette was constantly taken from = lessons=20 for questioning, waylaid in the street and pestered by the = crowds=20 which besieged her home, anxious to catch a glimpse of her = and ask=20 for keepsakes and prayers. Similar crowds followed the = Fatima=20 children, kneeling to them and begging them to enter their = homes and=20 pray for sick relatives. Even Lucia's plaits were snipped = off in the=20 crush by relic hunters. The Zeltoun visions were seen by = millions,=20 believers and unbelievers alike.

Amid the full glare of modern publicity, the Medjugorje=20 visionaries quickly became the centre of world-wide = attention,=20 giving advice to those who crowded to their homes and = relaying=20 answers from the Lady of Medjugorje in response to questions = from=20 the crowd. They have been interviewed endlessly and = investigated by=20 doctors and psychologists. The Medjugore events have been = promoted=20 by an efficient and aggressive propaganda campaign using = every=20 possible means: printing presses dealing solely with the = events,=20 international dial-a-numbers for those wishing to receive = the=20 Gospa's monthly message, world-wide radio and TV programmes = and=20 lectures, videos, cassettes, and numerous books. (The = mariologist=20 Rene Laurentin alone has written at least ten.) One of the=20 visionaries is co-author of a book, A Thousand = Encounters with=20 Our Lady in Medjugorje; another, via the American = Ambassador to=20 the European Community, wrote to Ronald Reagan and Mikhail = Gorbachev=20 (Reagan replied). There are special Medjugorje Centres = across the=20 world. And all this before any official decision on the = apparitions=20 has been reached by the appropriate ecclesiastical = authorities. It=20 seems doubtful whether any commission will finally be = prepared to=20 give a negative verdict in view of the highly successful = propaganda=20 and the degree of popular religious enthusiasm, especially = as the=20 Pope has said he thinks there is nothing but good at = Medjugorje.

Medjugorje, the Charismatic Movement and the Hercegovina = Case

While reading about the Medjugorje events I was struck by = certain=20 similarities with the Charismatic Movement, especially in = the=20 messages and attitude of the supporters, so it came as no = surprise=20 to find that almost from the beginning the events of = Medjugorje were=20 in the hands of charismatic people: Friar Jozo Zovko, Friar = Tomislav=20 Vlasic and others, or to learn that "In May 1981, an = international=20 conference for the leaders of the Charismatic Movement took = place in=20 Rome. One of the leaders present from Yugoslavia was Fr = Tomislav=20 Vlasic.... One of the leaders praying with him, Sister = Briege=20 McKenna, had a mental vision of Fr Vlasic sitting down = surrounded by=20 a big crowd: a stream of water was flowing from the chair. = Emile=20 Tardif, O.P, said as a prophesy, 'Don't worry, I am sending = you my=20 Mother.' And so Fr Vlasic returned to Yugoslavia. Two weeks = after=20 his return, Our Lady started to appear to a group of boys = and girls=20 in the Franciscan parish of Medjugorje. New Life was = flowing."

The Father Vlasic mentioned was the spiritual guide, = interpreter=20 and protector of the visionaries for three years. To some he = is "a=20 man of irreproachable sanctity," to others "a Charismatic=20 magician."

There is the same incredible ease with which the = visionaries=20 accept their apparitions and the charismatics accept their = "gifts of=20 the Spirit" as coming from God. Something that is not mere=20 hallucination, but is outside the limits of human knowledge = and=20 experience, is still not necessarily a genuine, grace-given = vision.=20 It can be simply a trust in pleasant psychic experiences. = There is=20 also the same emphasis on "love" and "peace" and "joy" in = the=20 messages.

Here there would appear to be similarities with another=20 phenomenon spiritism. Mediums do not hesitate to accept = their spirit=20 guides as Messengers of Light, and their messages, too, are=20 invariably loving and consoling, usually reverent, with = frequent=20 references to a Deity, and with moral teaching. Mediums = claim to=20 convey messages from a higher world. The visionaries have = conveyed=20 messages from the Gospa to those who have sought answers = through=20 them. Even the Archbishop of Split asked one of the = visionaries if=20 she could ask the Gospa if there was any message for = him.

A charismatic, speaking of the prophesies in her American = meeting, says, "The messages have always been those of great = solace=20 and joy from the Lord." A Medjugorje supporter, speaking of = the=20 Gospa's messages, says, "The messages are a mine of = beautiful=20 counsels and reassurances."

"I reach out my hand to you. You need only take it and I = will=20 lead you" (Charismatic). "Today I want to wrap my mantle = around you=20 and lead you all along the road to conversion" (Gospa). "Be = like a=20 tree, swaying with his will, rooted in his strength, = reaching up to=20 his love and light" (Charismatic). "Open your hearts to God = like the=20 flowers in the Spring yearning for the sun" (Gospa).

Obviously the healing services at Fr Jozo Zovko's church, = mentioned earlier, were charismatic ones, which explains why = the=20 people fell about embracing, weeping and fainting. Fr Jozo's = ministry now includes Resting in the Spirit=E2=80=94a less = dramatic version=20 of the Pentecostal / Charismatic Slaying in the = Spirit=E2=80=94to which he=20 was introduced by an American, and which has apparently = caused "some=20 embarrassment" in the parish.

Conflict with the Franciscans in Hercegovina stretched = back to=20 Turkish times, when the friars continued to minister to the=20 Catholics in the absence of a bishop. In 1881 a regular = hierarchy=20 was reestablished, the intention of the Holy See being that = secular=20 clergy would gradually replace the Franciscans in charge of=20 parishes. This caused deep resentment and tension between = the friars=20 and the people on the one hand and the diocesan authorities = on the=20 other. Medjugorje remained a Franciscan parish. Dr Zanic, = the Bishop=20 of Mostar at the time of the apparition beginnings, = continued to=20 implement this policy in the face of widespread opposition. = Two=20 friars openly rebelled and were jointly suspended by the = bishop and=20 expelled from their order by their own superiors. The two = friars=20 promptly enlisted the help of the visionaries who referred = the=20 matter to the Lady of Medjugorje on no less than thirteen = occasions.=20 She came down firmly on the side of the two friars innocent, = blameless, and punished in this way! ... The Bishop does not = act=20 according to the will of God ... The Bishop has been hasty = ... The=20 Bishop is guilty." "She (the Gospa) spoke about this = (Hercegovina)=20 case and burst our laughing and said that she alone would = sort out=20 everything. Then she began to laugh. Then Jakov and I had = fits of=20 laughter..." "If he (the Bishop) doesn't accept these events = (the=20 authenticity of the apparitions) and behave properly, he = will hear=20 my judgement and the judgement of my Son."

The Bishop (and others) remained sceptical, calling the = whole=20 thing a deceit and swindle and claiming that a group of = friars led=20 by Fr Tomislav Vlasic were exploiting the "Visionaries" for = their=20 own ends.

"By their fruits"

The supporters see in Medjugorje a great stirring of = religious=20 renewal and are wildly enthusiastic, while others, both = clergy and=20 laity, even families from the village remain indifferent or=20 opposed.

The supporters bring out the usual argument, the same one = used=20 for all shrines, as well as by heretics of the past, and the = charismatics, both Catholic and Protestant, today. "By their = fruits=20 ye shall known them." They ask how Satan can be at work when = the=20 vision emphasizes prayer and fasting, and when there are = conversions=20 and healings.

Dr Franic, Archbishop of Split, uses this argument in a = letter to=20 Rome in 1985, writing: "For the last three and a half years = over=20 three million pilgrims have come to Medjugorje, from all = five=20 continents, and all, after the pilgrimage, have returned = home=20 converted or brought back to the Christian life from = religious=20 indifference or from absolute atheism, renewing contact with = prayer=20 and religious practices like fasting, generally on Friday, = and in=20 some homes also on Wednesday, their food consisting of bread = and=20 water, in a word completely reconciled with God and = men."

That most returned home in a state of temporary euphoria = is very=20 likely; that some, perhaps a good many, began to live a more = serious=20 Christian life and came face to face with Christ for the = first time=20 is certainly possible, but that all three million=E2=80=94if = there were=20 three million to start with=E2=80=94were completely = reconciled to God and=20 men would indeed be a miracle, the miracle of = Medjugorje,=20 but it is much more likely to be wishful thinking on the=20 Archbishop's part. We only have to recall the Parable of the = Pharisee and the Publican to know that prayer and fasting or = any=20 other "religious practice" are not sufficient in themselves = to=20 reconcile us to God and men.

Healings, as we know, occur in many places other than = Marian=20 shrines, also in non-Christian religions. Healing, like the = numbers=20 of pilgrims, has been cause for dissension, with opponents = claiming=20 that there is no proof for many of the healings, that the = Medical=20 Bureau at Lourdes gave a negative response, and that some of = those=20 claimed as "healed" had in fact died. At one pilgrimage, the = Bishop=20 of Mostar declared there were only 30,000 pilgrims as = against Fr=20 Vlasic's possible 200,000. The visionaries asked "Our Lady = of=20 Medjugorje" for the precise number. She replied 110,000.

There are also rotten fruits=E2=80=94the disagreements = with devotees of=20 other Marian shrines (echoes of Our Lady of Walsingham = versus Our=20 Lady of Ipswich), and another sorry saga of=20 dog-collar-eat-dog-collar, again with exceedingly = acrimonious=20 exchanges at high levels. On a lighter note, Desmond Seward = (The=20 Dancing Sun) gives us an amusing account of the lengthy = sermon=20 at an English mass by a priest from Kentucky, which included = a=20 moving account of his agonies in giving up Coca-Cola after = he had=20 responded to the Virgin's call to do penance.

The Visionaries

How convincing are the visionaries themselves, who all = believe=20 that they have seen the Mother of God? A real cause for = concern is=20 what would appear to be an extraordinary lack of spiritual = caution,=20 resulting in unquestioning acceptance of their visions as = indeed the=20 Blessed Virgin. Recall the words of one Medjugorje = visionary=E2=80=94"Who=20 else could it be? It was obvious!"

Zeitoun stands out as a different from the other = apparitions=20 because, as mentioned earlier, the figure was seen over = three years=20 by senior members of the Coptic clergy, Catholics, = Protestants,=20 Moslems, Jews and atheists. Had it not been for the striking = similarity between the descriptions of the Zeitoun solar = phenomena=20 and the earlier descriptions of UFOs, I would have found = this group=20 of witnesses solid and impressive, although it would still = have been=20 difficult to see why the Virgin should appear in this public = way to=20 all and sundry, when Christ Himself never took the = opportunity to=20 convince unbelievers by appearing over Jerusalem, where He = could=20 have been seen by Pilate, Herod, Calaphas, and all the = people, as=20 proof of His Resurrection.

Catherine Laboure, who saw the Miraculous Medal, was a = lover of=20 visions, and embarked on the unwise (in Orthodox eyes, = exceedingly=20 dangerous) course of seeking more visions. Knowing how the = demons=20 can deceive us, the ascetics always spurned visions, saying = that=20 they were unworthy to see angels. The Miraculous Medal = prayer proved=20 excellent propaganda material for the Immaculate Conception = dogma,=20 and Catherine died knowing that millions of medals had been=20 distributed throughout the world. Her own identity, which = was=20 supposed to have been kept a secret, was somehow discovered, = and she=20 was canonized by the Roman church.

Maximin and Melanie of La Salette seem to have been an=20 unprepossessing pair as children, and their adult lives were = not=20 very reassuring either. Bishop Doupanloup found Maximin = "disgusting=20 in every way," and the cure d'Ars, who also interviewed him = said,=20 "If what the child tells me is true, one cannot believe in = it."=20 However, the voice of popular enthusiasm prevailed and the = official=20 conclusion was in favour of the apparition.

Bernadette comes across as refreshingly normal, with = plenty of=20 rough peasant wit and commonsense. After entering a convent = she had=20 no further visions and did nothing to draw attention to = herself or=20 engineer the fame she was to acquire. Her physical illnesses = were=20 suffered courageously and borne with dignity. She apparently = believed that she had never willed to do anything wrong in = her life,=20 and she also believed that she had never [previously] heard = the=20 words "Immaculate Conception." The latter is almost = impossible to=20 accept because the people of the Pyrenees had been = celebrating the=20 Feast of the Immaculate Conception as a holy day of = obligation for=20 the previous one hundred and fifty years, that is, since the = decree=20 of Clement XI in 1708. (Plus IX merely defined the dogma and = imposed=20 it as an article of faith.) Throughout her Catholic = childhood in a=20 Catholic culture, Bernadette would have been taken to church = on 8th=20 December, just as she would have gone at Christmas, Easter = and the=20 Assumption. After the definition of the dogma in 1854, and = in=20 connection with the popular Miraculous Medal, with its = prayer to=20 "Mary conceived without sin," the Immaculate Conception must = have=20 been referred to countless times in her hearing.

The small seers of Fatima were paragons of virtue = according to=20 Sister Lucia, the surviving visionary, with a chillingly = unnatural=20 brand of piety. They wore ropes round their waists, next to = the=20 skin, until their Lady assured them that God did not wish = them to=20 sleep with the ropes on, but only to wear them during the = day. They=20 mortified themselves in every possible way, at times = refusing food=20 and drink, and deliberately stinging themselves with = nettles, and=20 they made a sacrifice of absolutely everything, saying each = time the=20 words the Lady had taught them: "O Jesus, it is for love of = You, for=20 the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins = committed=20 against the Immaculate Heart of Mary." The two younger seers = both=20 died in childhood; Lucia continued to receive visions and=20 revelations as a nun.

Marlette Beco, a Belgian girl, was visited eight times in = 1933 by=20 an apparition who bore an uncanny resemblance to the Lady of = Lourdes, who likewise asked for a chapel, produced a spring, = and=20 gave the child a secret. Marie was eleven years old, at an = emotional=20 pre-adolescent age, and was frequently reduced to tears on = account=20 of the apparitions, crying during some of the visions and = "weeping=20 uncontrollably at the non-appearance of her Lady" on = evenings when=20 nothing happened, and feeling ill and tired and fainting, = although=20 the doctor declared that there was nothing physically wrong = with=20 her. At the end of the final apparition, at the departure of = the=20 "Virgin of the Poor," the girl "flung herself to the soggy = ground=20 where she lay in a crumpled heap, hiccuping and sobbing=20 convulsively, while attempting to say her prayers." Marlette = Beco=20 was recognized by the ecclesiastical authorities as having = seen the=20 Blessed Virgin, and Banneux blossomed into a pilgrimage = centre with=20 the usual parade style ground for blessing the sick, a = hospital and=20 camping area. A society of Banneux organizes pilgrimages and = disseminates information.

The young people of Medjugorje have been described as = living in=20 an exalted spiritual world, shining examples who live = "exemplary=20 lives of prayer, fasting, detachment from the evil of their = age and=20 peers manifesting true love towards the Church and the = Pope." They=20 have also been called "little liars," "ignorant pawns in a = game they=20 do not understand," with "inflated egos" and behaving like=20 "domesticated robots." One visionary, Mirjana, no longer = sees the=20 apparitions but instead hears an internal voice. Two other = girls=20 (other than the visionaries), Jelena and Marijana, initially = under=20 the direction of Fr Tomislav Vlasic=E2=80=94the charismatic = leader who had=20 been spiritual director to the visionaries=E2=80=94also hear = an inner voice,=20 which they believe to be the Virgin's, giving them personal=20 messages, messages for the local prayer group, the parish = and the=20 world. Over a million copies have been distributed free of = books by=20 the same Fr Vlasic which contain meditations on the messages = and=20 include "formulae of consecration to the sacred Heart of = Jesus and=20 the Immaculate Heart of Mary, dictates by Our Lady to = Jelena." Other=20 priests associated with Medjugorje and the Charismatic = Movement also=20 receive "inner locutions," said to be an explicit internal = awareness=20 of a message unlike any human form of communication.

Lest anyone should hesitate to accept the apparitions on = account=20 of their doubts about the visionaries, they need not worry, = Rome has=20 the answer. A special category of divine favours to cover=20 unsatisfactory visionaries=E2=80=94"gratiae gratis = datae"=E2=80=94favours given by=20 God with no regard to the spiritual state of the = visionary.

The Mother of God or the Goddess?

Who is this Lady who has appeared thousands of times and = is=20 acclaimed by millions'? Is she the Mother of God, whom we = know=20 within Orthodoxy from the Scriptures and the services and = teachings=20 of the Church? It is almost as if the Marian apparition cult = has a=20 life and ethos of its own, almost as if it were a separate=20 religion=E2=80=94Christianity overlaid with the worship of = the Goddess and=20 spiritism. The Virgin, not Christ, is the central figure. = Heaven=20 speaks through her, not Him. Despite Rome's official = teaching, which=20 still precludes placing Mary on a level with her Son, she is = predominant. Geoffrey Ashe seems to have put his finger on = it when=20 he says that "the vitality of Christ's own (R.C.!) Church = has often=20 seemed to depend on her rather than on Him."

My sense of the autonomous Virgin, acting in her own = right, was=20 confirmed by Fr Michael O'Carroll, who says that God has = chosen to=20 entrust His mission of mercy and renewal to the Blessed = Virgin Mary.=20 Speaking of Medjugorje, he says, "It was not God the Father, = nor God=20 the Son incarnate, nor God the Holy Spirit who took the = initiative=20 at Medjugorje. It was Our Lady." He goes on to say that the = main=20 feature of Medjugorje is the manifestation of the "dominant, = continuing, utterly self-assured role given to Our = Lady."

He seeks to reassure those who feel that God has been = displaced=20 at Medjugorje by speaking of the Gospa's "recurring mention = of the=20 Holy Spirit." In the two hundred and three messages I read, = the Holy=20 Spirit was mentioned just six times, twice in a way that = made Him=20 merely a witness to the Gospa=E2=80=94"I am inviting you, = dear children, to=20 pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit which you need so as = to=20 witness to my presence and all that I am giving = you=E2=80=A6. The Spirit of=20 truth is necessary for you in order to convey the messages = just as I=20 give them to you."

Fr O'Carroll's "assurance" is couched in terms that will = sound=20 very strange to Orthodox ears. "The recurring mention of the = Holy=20 Spirit is notable and accords well with the revival, within = the last=20 lifetime, of doctrine and devotion about him: he was always = part of=20 the Christian creed, accepted by believers, honoured in = certain=20 common prayers." He adds significantly, "But it is not so = long since=20 a spiritual work about him appeared with the title 'The = Forgotten=20 Paraclete,' or since a great master of the spiritual life, = Dom=20 Columba Marmion, could assert that for some the attitude = would be=20 that expressed in an important text in Acts: 'We have not = even heard=20 if there be a Holy Spirit."' This confirmed my earlier = reference to=20 the Latin filioque with its subsequent downgrading = of the=20 Holy Spirit, and the large part I believe this distortion of = Trinitarian doctrine has played in the Marian apparitions. = The need=20 for the Eternal feminine lies deep in the human psyche. That = need is=20 met in the Holy Trinity, the heart of Orthodoxy. Where = Trinitarian=20 teaching is unbalanced, and the Holy Spirit neglected, the = Goddess=20 is likely to re-emerge either under the form of Marian = excess, or in=20 the guise of Gnosticism, with its demand for women priests = and=20 inclusive language for God.

In the New Testament we see the incomparable spiritual = beauty of=20 the Mother of the Lord. In her shining humility she always = points=20 away from herself. Mother of the Messiah, she humbly refers = to=20 herself as God's handmaiden. Her kinswoman Elizabeth's = praise of her=20 is immediately referred to God, Who has regarded her = lowliness. She=20 does not presume to issue her own orders to the servants at = Cana,=20 but quietly advises them to obey her Son's instructions. The = Acts=20 leaves her not engaged in some private initiative, but = waiting in=20 prayer with the whole body of the believers.

The lady of all the apparitions, by contrast, remains = firmly=20 centre stage, with the spotlight fixed permanently on = herself. She=20 decrees new titles for herself: The Immaculate Conception, = Our Lady=20 of the Rosary, Mother of Consolation, Virgin of the Poor, = Queen of=20 Peace. She seeks amendment and consolation for injuries done = to=20 herself:=E2=80=94"Dry the tears on my face, which I pour = down as I observe=20 what you do" (Medjugorje), "Look at my Heart, surrounded = with thorns=20 with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their = blasphemies and ingratitude. There are so many souls whom = the=20 Justice of God condemns for sins committed against me that I = have=20 come to ask for reparation: sacrifice yourself for this = intention"=20 (Fatima).

In Goddess-language, the Lady of Medjugorje tells us, "I = am=20 tireless, I am calling you even when you are far from my = heart. I am=20 the Mother, and though I feel pain for everyone who goes = astray, I=20 forgive easily and I rejoice for every child who comes to = me." She=20 appeared on the mountain with five angels in 1986, declaring = to the=20 visionaries that what they were experiencing was "like the=20 Transfiguration on Mt Tabor." She would give the people all = the=20 graces they needed. She blessed them and told them to "go = down from=20 Tabor and take the blessing to others." "Wherever I come, my = Son is=20 with me," she says. The truth is, that where the God-Man is, = so=20 also, in Him, His Mother, His saints, His angels and His = righteous=20 ones are present. In Him=E2=80=94and only in Him=E2=80=94we = have fellowship with=20 them and ask their help. His Mother is truly Mother of us = all in the=20 Church, where she holds the most exalted position, closest = to=20 Christ, but she does not act independently from Him. She is = not the=20 Mother of the Church, nor the Mediatrix of all graces, nor = the=20 Co-Redemptrix=E2=80=94both these latter titles being = implicit throughout the=20 Medjugorje messages.

"Divorced from her setting in the Gospels and evolved = from man's=20 subconscious fancies, she may become anything, from a dream = of=20 sentiment to being dark, inscrutable, inexorable, akin to = the gloomy=20 goddesses of pagan thought" (Newbolt: The Blessed=20 Virgin).

The Messages

In the end it must be the content of the messages = themselves=20 which inspires acceptance or rejection of the visions. As = stated=20 previously, this was why we have not included Walsingham = among the=20 Marian shrines, as the message, whether revealed to = Richeldis in a=20 private vision or a dream, was a simple request for a chapel = in=20 honour of the incarnation.

At Zeitoun, and earlier at Knock, no message was given, = so the=20 purpose of those visions is a matter for conjecture. There = are=20 differences of emphasis in the still an underlying unity, = although=20 Lourdes messages at the various shrines, but still appears = to be the=20 odd one out in several ways.

Firstly there is the air of politeness and courtesy. = "Come=20 nearer, children, don't be afraid: I am here to tell you = great=20 news," at La Salette. "Will you do me the kindness of coming = here=20 for a fortnight," at Lourdes The Lady of Zeitoun bows in = greeting to=20 the assembled crowds. The Gospa of Medjugorje repeats her = parrotlike=20 refrain at the end of every message, "Thank you for = responding to my=20 call."

There is the same absence of Christ, or at least His=20 marginalization as a distant figure of vengeance, whose just = wrath=20 is held back by the Virgin. At Medjugorje He is equally = distant,=20 though not fearful, and we are invited to "think more about = Jesus"=20 on Christmas Day and "do something concrete for Jesus = Christ,"=E2=80=94that=20 is, "bring a flower as a sign of abandonment to Jesus. I = want every=20 member of the family to have one flower next to the crib so = that=20 Jesus can see and see your devotion to him."

There are the same secrets, apocalyptic warnings, good = advice on=20 church going and behaviour, and exhortations to "love," "do=20 penance," and "pray." The message of Banneux was quite = literally,=20 "Pray a lot." Prayer means the rosary, which is constantly=20 mentioned. Although Medjugorje supporters claim that the = Mass is=20 emphasized as the central prayer, the rosary has general=20 preeminence. It is "the one form of prayer preferred by = Mary"=20 (O'Carroll). "The rosary is a powerful weapon against Satan = ... We=20 must defeat Satan with rosaries in our hands ... " = (Medjugorje).=20 Assistance at the hour of death is promised at Fatima to = those who=20 confess, receive Communion on the first Saturday of five = consecutive=20 months and recite a set umber of rosaries for a set amount = of times=20 with the correct intention. All the visionaries have recited = the=20 rosary, and the apparition at Medjugorje appeared regularly = during=20 its public recitation. The boy seer of Fatima was given the = promise=20 that he would go to heaven but would "have to recite many = rosaries."=20 One of the Medjugorje visionaries received a rosary from the = Lady=20 personally (whether this was actually a materialization is = not=20 clear) and the Pope was sent one specially blessed for him = by the=20 Gospa.

There is the same teaching of purgatory and Papal = supremacy, and=20 the same emphasis on the sacred Heart of Jesus and the = Immaculate=20 Heart of Mary. Pope John Paul II likewise emphasizes the = Immaculate=20 Heart and associates it with the sacred Heart. Those who = embrace the=20 Immaculate Heart are offered salvation at Fatima, and the = Gospa of=20 Medjugorje invites us to consecrate ourselves to the = Immaculate=20 Heart and make atonement for the sins by which the Heart of = Jesus=20 has been offended.

There are the same bargains, promises and threats, = inducements to=20 right action through self-interest. If you do this, I = promise to do=20 that: if you omit to do so and so, such and such will follow = or not=20 follow. "Those who wear the Medal will receive great = favours,=20 especially if they wear it round their neck." "If sinners = will only=20 repent, the stones and rocks will turn into heaps of wheat" = (La=20 Salette). "If people do as I tell you, many souls will be = saved and=20 there will be peace" (Fatima). "If we do not change, the = punishment=20 will be very great" (Garabandal).

Lourdes is in many ways a striking contrast. The rosary = is as=20 prominent, and the apparition holds a rosary on her arm and = lets the=20 beads slip through her fingers as Bernadette kneels and = recites her=20 prayers. But while there is no mention whatsoever of Christ, = there=20 is also no mention of Hearts, purgatory, apocalyptic threats = or=20 bargains. The utterances are few and concise, consisting in = the main=20 of short commandments: "Go and kiss the ground for the = conversion of=20 sinners; Go and drink at the spring ...; Go and tell the = priests to=20 have a chapel built here." The contrast with the = garrulousness of=20 the Gospa of Medjugorje could not be more marked.

The vision's short statement, "I am the Immaculate = Conception,"=20 has had a greater impact than any other message from the = shrines.=20 Protestants are inclined to see in it no more than a = reflection of=20 Bernadette's mental ability and the state of her grammar. = Roman=20 Catholic theologians at the time puzzled over it and felt = uneasy=20 because it was uncomfortably similar to Old and New = Testament=20 statements made by God and Christ, and seemed to parallel "I = am the=20 Resurrection," "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." = Marian=20 maximalists rejoiced at what they saw as divine honours = given the=20 Virgin in heaven, and hopefully awaited further revelations = by=20 future apparitions, saying, "I am the Mediation of all = graces," and=20 "I am the Co-Redemption." To their chagrin, they were = disappointed,=20 and had to make do with "I am the Lady of the Rosary" and "I = am the=20 Virgin of the Poor." Marian minimalists, on the other hand, = insisted=20 that the Virgin was purposely limiting her privileges to the = Immaculate Conception and thereby implying that she was not = the=20 Mediatrix of all graces or Co-Redemptrix. Some Orthodox, in = an=20 attempt to justify their own acceptance of the Lourdes = apparition,=20 try to attach significance to the the date on which the = statement=20 was made, namely March 25th, saying that the Virgin was = referring=20 not to her own conception by St Anna, but to the (only) = Immaculate=20 Conception of the Lord Jesus Christ on the day of the = Annunciation.=20

[Editor=E2=80=99s note: Not a very convincing argument, = as at the time of=20 the apparition in 1858, all Orthodox Christians were = following the=20 Ecclesiastical or Old Calendar, which at that time was = running=20 twelve days behind the papal reckoning.]

The statement would seem to be as enigmatic as many from = the=20 Delphic oracle. What it did do was precipitate and confirm = the dogma=20 of Papal Infallibility. In imposing the dogma of the = Immaculate=20 Conception in 1854, the Pope acted on his own authority = without the=20 consent of a General Council. For this he was greatly = criticised in=20 some ecclesiastical circles. When the Lady of Lourdes = announced her=20 name by privilege as "I am the Immaculate Conception," she = not only=20 proved that the Pope had been right about the dogma, but = confirmed=20 his ability to act on his own, in other words that the = supreme=20 authority belonged to the Pope alone. Papal Infallibility = became an=20 official dogma in 1870. As Alan Neame puts it, Our Lady of = Lourdes=20 was to some degree the mother of Papal Infallibility and the = grandmother of the Old Catholics who went into schism rather = than=20 accept it.

If someone should inconveniently recall that [St] = Catherine of=20 Sienna [fourteenth century], during her vision, was told by = Our Lady=20 that she was not immaculately conceived, again, Rome has the = answer.=20 Even saintly people can misinterpret their revelations, and=20 Catherine was so influenced by her Dominican teachers, who = opposed=20 the teaching, that "even in her mystical rapture this holy = woman=20 could not sufficiently immerse herself in God to overcome = the=20 suggestion" (Archbishop of Split).

Unsatisfactory messages, then, are as easily disposed of = as=20 unsatisfactory visionaries. According to Dr Franic, = Archbishop of=20 Split, not only human suggestion but even evil spirits can = easily=20 infiltrate the messages, and therefore every message must be = looked=20 at separately. In effect, inconvenient messages can be = deleted,=20 leaving a laundered revelation. What with visionaries of = doubtful=20 reliability who may be entrusted with divine revelations, = divine=20 messages which may be misinterpreted by holy visionaries, or = even=20 twisted by evils spirit, and parapsychological causes which = may be=20 the sole origin of visions, it would seem that all is = shifting=20 ground and there is nothing that can be relied on.

The new factor of the Medjugorje messages is the = ecumenical one.=20 The century of trial for the Church is coming to an end, and = the=20 Gospa has particularly prophesied an outburst of faith in = Russia=20 "where God will be more glorified than anywhere else." Link = this=20 with the Fatima pronouncement on Russia, the Hriushiw call = to the=20 Uniats to be missionaries to Russia, the Pope's keen = interest in=20 Russia and his support for Evangelisation 2000, with its = emphasis on=20 Europe West and East, and we cannot say we have not been = warned!

The Gospa has said that divisions in religion are = man-made, and=20 is also said to have declared that God commands in all = religions as=20 a king does in his realm, although I did not find this = latter=20 statement in the books I read, which is not surprising as = the=20 apparitions have been going on for so long, with hundreds of = messages, that it would be impossible to include everything. = Also,=20 as Fr Rene Laurentin has noted in one of his articles, Rome = has=20 shown concern that some of the messages seemed to be = implying=20 religious indifference, and therefore it is quite likely = that such a=20 controversial statement would be suppressed in any = publication=20 favourable to the apparitions, since such an all-out = ecumenist=20 position is not (yet) generally acceptable. I wrote to the = London=20 Medjugorje Centre for clarification on this point but = received no=20 reply. It seems that some kind of unity without Christ is = envisaged=20 for non-Christian religions. For some time now Western = ecumenists=20 have been tentatively discussing the need for a possible = revision or=20 modification of the traditional Incarnational view whereby = Christ is=20 unique and final revelation of God to man, on the grounds = that it is=20 incompatible with inter-religious dialogue. Be that as it = may, my=20 impression from studying the messages from some of the = shrines=20 (Fatima, Zeitoun, Hriushiw, Medjugorje) and different = writers'=20 comments on them, is that the Pope is to be the symbol of = unity for=20 Christians, who will be reunited despite doctrinal = differences=20 (subjection to the Papacy without unity in the faith) and = the father=20 of people of all faiths and cultures (the new world = religion).

My initial reaction on reading the messages from the = shrines was=20 one of intense disappointment. They hardly seemed to justify = a=20 heavenly visitation. The messages from Medjugorje = particularly=20 seemed bland, banal, and boringly monotonous. And there were = far too=20 many of them. If God really was trying to speak, it would be = almost=20 impossible to hear Him for the Lady's incessant chattering. = It was=20 with a feeling of grateful wonder and tremendous joy and = relief that=20 I turned once more to the richness and depth of our Orthodox = prayers.

There are very few places in the Gospels where it is = recorded=20 that the Mother of God spoke, but each one of them is highly = significant. One could spend a life-time meditating on her = sayings=20 and never exhaust their meaning. Otherwise she is silent in = order=20 that her Son, the Word, may speak. Nothing can ever surpass = the holy=20 Virgin's two sublime titles: her own choice=E2=80=94Handmaid = of the Lord,=20 and that which the Church has given = her=E2=80=94Theotokos, Mother=20 of God. Neither can anything of greater importance be added = to her=20 last recorded utterance, which remains an eternally true, = relevant=20 and universal message=E2=80=94"Whatsoever He saith unto you, = do it."

Bibliography

1) Ashe, Geoffrey=E2=80=94The Virgin, = 1976

2) Chapman, Robert=E2=80=94UFO, = 1976

3) Condamin, Rev'd A.=E2=80=94The Religion of Ancient = Babylonia and=20 Assyria

4) Eysenck, H.J., Arnold, W, Meili, = R.,=E2=80=94Encyclopaedia of=20 Psychology, 1972

5) Graef, Hilda=E2=80=94Mary, A History of Doctrine = and=20 Devotion, 1963/65

6) Hadas, Moses and Time Life=E2=80=94Imperial = Rome, 1966

7) Johnston, Francis=E2=80=94When Millions Saw = Mary, 1980

8) Karambelas, Archimandrite = Cherubim=E2=80=94Contemporary Ascetics=20 of Mt Athos, 1992

9) Kerr, Lady Cecil=E2=80=94The Miraculous = Medal, 1990

10) Khan, Muhammad Zafrulla=E2=80=94The Quran, = 1981

11) Kondor, Fr Louis, ed.=E2=80=94Fatima in Lucia's = Own Words,=20 1989

12) Laurentin, Fr Rene=E2=80=94Medjugorje: Thirteen = Years Later,=20 1994

13) Lewis, C. S.=E2=80=94Mere Christianity, = 1958

14) Mallon, Rev'd A.,=E2=80=94The Religion of Ancient = Egypt

15) Marnham, Patrick=E2=80=94Lourdes: A Modern = Pilgrimage,=20 1980

16) Martindale, Rev'd C.C.,=E2=80=94Bernadette of = Lourdes

17) Mascall, E. L. and Box S., ed.=E2=80=94The = Blessed Virgin=20 Mary, 1963

18) Maximovitch, Rev'd J [Saint = John]=E2=80=94Orthodox Veneration of=20 the Mother of God, 1978

19) Neame, Alan=E2=80=94The Happening at = Lourdes, 1968

20) New Larousse=E2=80=94Encyclopaedia of = Mythology

21) Newbolt, Rev'd M. R.,=E2=80=94The Blessed Virgin = Mary,=20 1926

22) O'Carroll, Fr Michael=E2=80=94Medjugorje: Facts, = Documents,=20 Theology, 1989

23) Plunkett, Dudley=E2=80=94Queen of Prophets, = 1990

24) Rose, Fr Seraphim=E2=80=94Orthodoxy and the = Religion of the=20 Future, 1983

25) Seward, Desmond=E2=80=94The Dancing Sun, = 1993

26) Walne, Damien and Flory, Joan=E2=80=94The Virgin = of the=20 Poor, 1983

27) Wiles, Maurice=E2=80=94Christian Theology and = Inter-religious=20 Dialogue, 1992

This was reprinted with the kind permission = of The=20 Shepherd. I regret that I was not able to duplicate the = foreign=20 accents that were in the original text.

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