Private Revelation and Healthy Skepticism In some Catholic circles these days there’s a good deal of talk about recent private revelations. These private revelations are messages, prophecies, and/or predictions that are allegedly from God, from angels, or from saints. We talk so often about the importance of faith, we might be under the impression that we ought to be ready and eager to believe these revelations right away. But this is not the case. While it is true that we ought to be ready and eager to believe public revelation – that is, the unchanging faith taught to us by the Church and scripture – the same is not true when it comes to private revelation. In fact, both scripture and the Church teach that we should have a healthy skepticism when it comes to private revelation. The bible, for example, teaches this: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). Why would we need to “test” every spirit? Because any alleged revelation can come from one of three sources: (1) God, (2) the devil, or (3) one’s self. Scripture teaches us that even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). The saints also teach us to have a healthy skepticism regarding them. For example, Saints John of the Cross and Theresa of Avila (both doctors of the Church) teach that we should not be too quick to believe when even we ourselves are the ones receiving the revelation! They teach this for the same reason stated above – we don’t know where it is coming from (God, Satan, or our own mind). They say that those who do receive a revelation should simply tell the appropriate authority (usually one’s confessor or spiritual director) and then just let it go. If it is from God, it will have its effect without our help. If it isn’t from God, then we are protected from deception. When St. Theresa received a private revelation that contradicted the direction of her confessor, she would obey her confessor rather than the private revelation and Jesus was pleased by this. So, how are we to “test the spirit” of a given revelation? One way is to look for signs of worldliness. Here are four signs of worldliness that should tip us off to an inauthentic private revelation:
If the revelation sounds a lot like the current news cycle, we can be confident that it is not authentic. God is not a news commentator who wants to fill our mind with more of the same noise that the world is already spewing at us non-stop.
If the revelation is full of juicy insider knowledge, we can be confident that it is not authentic. God does not desire us to be gossipers who are always up do date on the sins of others and the latest scandal.
If the revelation frequently speaks about partisan politics, we can be confident that it is not authentic. Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He does not stoop to the level of worldly politics when he communicates to us.
If the revelation contains unusual requests non-spiritual requests, we can be confident that it is not authentic. God has already told was what we need to do in public revelation. The role of private revelation is always to point us back to those timeless things, not to add new ones.
Authentic private revelations on the other hand do not indulge our worldly desire for curiosity. They are usually pretty boring! Consider the 1917 Fatima apparitions that are approved by the Church. What was their main message? Repent from sin and pray for the conversion of sinners. Not quite so exciting is it? It is also important to note that the presence of good and true things in the messages of an alleged visionary does not mean they are authentic. A visionary might encourage people to be faithful to the Church, to have devotion to the blessed Mother, to go to confession, etc. (all good messages), but the fact remains that anyone can say these sorts of things in order try to sound more credible. If we hunger for divine communication, it is better not to seek it from private revelation. The best way to seek it is simply by falling more deeply in love with Jesus because he himself is God’s Word to us. -Fr. Sandquist