With a decision about the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje expected soon, Pope Francis warned the faithful to be careful not to rely on visions but on Jesus Christ.
CNA/EWTN News is reporting on the homily given at morning mass on June 9 in which the pope spoke about the Christian identity as being “sinners with faith in God” who set out on a long journey from ambiguity to a strong faith that we can bear witness to in our daily life. Rather than adhering to any particular philosophy, Christians remain faithful to their God-given identity “as the anointed ones who let the Spirit into their hearts.”
But there are ways in which the Christian witness can be weakened or watered down, “firstly by moving from our concrete faith in Christ to a kind of insipid religion of just prayers and ideas, along the lines of the Gnostics in the ancient world.”
These “modern Gnostics” are Christians who are tempted to avoid the scandal of the Cross and are content to seek God through their “rather ethereal Christian spirituality”.
Secondly, there are those who are always searching for some “novelty” in their Christian identity. They say “Where are the visionaries who can tell us exactly what message Our Lady will be sending at 4’o’clock this afternoon?” he joked.
Those who rely on these types of “predicted visions” are examples of those who base their faith on novelties.
However “this isn’t Christian identity. The ultimate word of God is named ‘Jesus,’ nothing more,” he said.
The homily came just after the pope reassured the Catholic world that a decision about the authenticity of the alleged apparitions at Medjuorgje in Bosnia-Herzegovina that have been occurring since 1981 can be expected soon.
“We’re at this point of making decisions … and then they will be announced,” the Pope told journalists during a brief in-flight news conference June 6 while on his way back from the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. He also revealed that “some guidelines will be given to bishops on the lines they will take.”
This isn’t the first time the pope has warned the faithful not to allow themselves to be misguided by a “spirit of curiosity” that can cause us to lose sight of Christ while focusing on predictable visions.
One might be tempted to say “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady,” he said last November. Our Lady “is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.”
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