R asks: “Do you have any information on the book, the Apostolate of Holy Motherhood. Have any of the prophecies in the book come to light? The book has the imprimatur but it is an older book and I was unsure whether anything else came to light regarding the authenticity of the messages. . .
” . . . The messages themselves are very beautiful but I do not want to be led astray by a false locution. I also noted that the book was endorsed by the Order of Charbel which I know is an excommunicated group. . . . As for the actual information about the author, there is very little, she said Mary told her would be the case so that she would remain anonymous but it worries me a bit since it is truly unknown where these messages are from.”
We do not yet know if the locutions in this book, which are allegedly coming from Our Lord and Our Lady through a visionary known only as Mariamante, are authentic, but the messages do have an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat from her bishop at the time, Most Reverend Albert H. Ottwenweller (now deceased) of the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio. This stamp of approval applies only to the content of the messages. assuring that they are free of errors, and does not make any decision about the authenticity of the locutions.
For those who are unfamiliar with this apostolate, it was founded by a young mother who claims she received messages from Jesus and Mary from February to August, 1987. The young mother remains anonymous and goes by the pseudonym Mariamante.
The vast majority of the messages concern the spiritual life and the raising of good Christian families; however some were prophetic and contained dire predictions about a great chastisement destined for mankind.
“The world is facing a grave cataclysm beyond known proportion due to impiety and impurity,” Mary allegedly said on February 14, 1987. “I have come to rescue the world from this fate. God has given me this mission.”
Another time, Our Lady supposedly said, “Heaven is most distressed with the state the world is in. It is very bad right now. Only prayer and penance can change this. . . .”
As for the endorsement by the Order of St. Charbel, an author has no control over the people or groups who choose to endorse their work, so this should not be seen as a reflection on the Apostolate of Holy Motherhood. This rogue order was started by a man named William Kamm, also known as The Little Pebble (born 1950 in Cologne, Germany) who is currently serving a prison term after being convicted of the rape and assault of a teenager in 1993. The Order of St. Charbel has never been a part of the Roman Catholic Church.
The faithful should not hesitate to read The Apostolate of Holy Motherhood; however, they should do so while being fully aware that this book contains private revelation which does not belong to the deposit of faith (See No. 67 in the Catechism).
