Aparicionismo: Fátima prejudicial ou obrigatória?

Houve um debate recente sobre Fátima: é necessária para a salvação? É vinculativa? Pode qualquer revelação ou aparição privada ser vinculativa? Alguns dizem que são completamente inúteis e podem até ser prejudiciais, enquanto outros fazem deles uma super-religião, especialmente de Fátima. Já discutimos fatimismo extremo no passado.

A nossa Fé ensina que a revelação necessária ou obrigatória terminou com a morte do último apóstolo e está contida nas Escrituras e na Tradição. Portanto, revelações ou aparições privadas não são necessárias para a salvação. Eles não podem se ligar sob a dor do pecado mortal. Sempre que a nossa Santa Mãe, a Igreja, faz um juízo dogmático sobre a fé e a moral, ela é vinculativa, e as decisões do Santo Padre também. (Nos documentos dogmáticos, a declaração é infalível, mas as considerações adjacentes não o são necessariamente. Nem é preciso acreditar nos milagres citados nos decretos de canonização, porque não há obrigação de acreditar em nenhum milagre depois que a revelação pública terminou.) Um exemplo da terminologia que os papas usam é:

Pela autoridade de Jesus Cristo, nosso Senhor, dos Bem-aventurados Apóstolos Pedro e Paulo, e pela nossa: Declaramos, pronunciamos e definimos que a doutrina que sustenta que a Santíssima Virgem Maria, em primeira instância de sua conceção, por uma singular graça e privilégio concedido por Deus Todo-Poderoso, tendo em vista os méritos de Jesus Cristo, o Salvador da raça humana, foi preservado de toda mancha de pecado original, é uma doutrina revelada por Deus e, portanto, deve ser acreditada firme e constantemente por todos os fiéis. Por isso, se alguém ousar — o que Deus me livre! — pensar de outra forma que não a definida por nós, fazer com que ele saiba e compreenda que está condenado pelo seu próprio juízo; que sofreu naufrágio na fé; que se separou da unidade da Igreja; e que, além disso, por sua própria ação, incorre nas penas estabelecidas por lei se quiser expressar por palavras, por escrito ou por qualquer outro meio exterior os erros que pensa em seu coração.

Pio XII: Ineffabilis Deus

Sempre que há um julgamento sobre uma aparição privada, não é uma doutrina nova (uma vez que a Revelação terminou com a morte do último apóstolo). Declara-se quea aparição “é digna de credibilidade”, “é permitida pregar”, etc. Um exemplo disso é:

É permitido aos Padres Carmelitas pregar para que o povo cristão creia que a Santíssima Virgem ajudará, com a sua assistência continuada e os seus méritos, particularmente aos sábados, as almas dos membros da Confraria do Escapulário que morreram na graça de Deus, se em vida tivessem usado o escapulário, observavam a castidade de acordo com o seu estado de vida, e recitavam o Ofício da Santíssima Virgem ou observavam os jejuns da Igreja, praticando a abstinência às quartas-feiras e sábados.

Paulo V, 1613

Verifica-se que esta última aprovação não é do mesmo tipo que a primeira. Tal aprovação significa que as aparições ou devoções em questão não são prejudiciais à fé. Assim, é possível ter uma devoção equilibrada a algumas dessas aparições aprovadas. Embora eles não são vinculativos, podem ajudar, e precisamos de toda a ajuda que pudermos obter. Em conclusão, Fátima não é prejudicial nem vinculativa, mas pode ser útil.

Àqueles que ainda dizem que as aparições privadas não têm valor, respondo que duas aparições aprovadas são comemoradas no Missal e no Breviário, a saber, Nossa Senhora de Lourdes e Nossa Senhora do Carmo. O Rosário e o Escapulário Castanho trazem indulgências, e ambos devem o seu início a aparições privadas. Se alguém recusa aceitar essas aparições, deve aceitar as indulgências. Exemplos de outras aparições aprovadas são La Salette e Rue the Bac. A Medalha Milagrosa (Rue de Bac) também está indulgenciada.

Algumas aparições são condenadas. Alguns não aprovadas são suspeitas, como Garabandal. Outros contêm heresia, como Bayside e Akita.

Apparitionism: Is Fatima Harmful or Binding?

There has been a recent debate about Fatima: is it necessary for salvation? Is it binding? Is any private revelation or apparition binding? Some say they are completely useless and could even be harmful, while others make a super-religion out of them, especially of Fatima. We have discussed extreme Fatimism before.

Our Faith teaches that necessary or mandatory revelation ended with the death of the last apostle and is contained in the Scriptures and Tradition. Hence, private revelations or apparitions are not necessary for salvation. They cannot bind under the pain of mortal sin. Whenever our Holy Mother, the Church, makes a dogmatic judgment on faith and morals, she binds, and so does the Holy Father. (In these dogmatic documents, the declaration is infallible, but the adjoining considerations are not necessarily so. One doesn’t even have to believe in the miracles cited in canonization decrees because there is no obligation to believe in any miracles after the public revelation has ended.) An example of the terminology popes use is:

By the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own: We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. Hence, if anyone shall dare — which God forbid! — to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law if he should are to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart.

Pius XII: Ineffabilis Deus

Whenever there’s a judgment on a private apparition, it is no new doctrine (since the Revelation has ended with the death of the last apostle). Whatever she says, it (the apparition, id est) “is worthy of credence”, “it is permitted to preach”, etc.

An example for this is:

It is permitted to the Carmelite Fathers to preach that the Christian people may believe that the Blessed Virgin will help by her continued assistance and her merits, particularly on Saturdays, the souls of the members of the Scapular Confraternity who have died in the grace of God, if in life they had worn the scapular, observed chastity according to their state of life, and recited the Office of the Blessed Virgin or observed the fasts of the Church, practicing abstinence on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Paul V, 1613

One can see that the latter approval is not of the same kind as the former. Such approval means that the apparitions or devotions in question are not harmful to the faith. Hence, it is possible to have a balanced devotion to some of these approved apparitions. Although they can’t bind, they might help, and we need all the help we can get. In conclusion, Fatima is neither harmful nor binding but can be helpful.

To those who are still saying that private apparitions are of no value, I would respond that two approved apparitions are commemorated in the Missal and the Breviary, namely Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The Rosary and the Brown Scapular bear indulgences, and they both owe their inception to private apparitions. If one still doesn’t want to believe in the apparitions, he must accept the indulgences. Some other approved apparitions are La Salette and Rue the Bac. The Miraculous Medal (Rue de Bac) also bears indulgences.

Some apparitions are condemned. Some are not approved, but suspect, like Garabandal. Others are affirming heresy, like Bayside and Akita.

A Missionary’s Nightmare: “This Doesn’t Work For Me”

Our times are a nightmare for any missionary. The issue of salvation is the one people treat the most liberally. I myself tried to inform friends and family of this issue of salvation. The most frequent answer I received was: “this doesn’t work for me.” This is so brainless that it is hard to analyze properly, therefore I will use parables. Our Lord used to speak in the same way.

Imagine the following scene: a young boy from a balcanic third world country goes to the US. He finds out that everybody has a driver’s licence there. He is told that he should get his too. And imagine that he responds to this with a why. The reader unfamiliar with the US should know that it is the country whose citizens question their system the least. Civil law is a religious belief, nobody questions it. Imagine the boy in the story starting to question things. “Why would one need to drive since we in the third world have public transportation? We take it for granted, and when I came to the supposedly most developed country on the planet, I expected more not less. With all this pro-choice propaganda, one lacks the option of not driving? And why is the drinking age twenty-one years? In which third world country has one seen such a thing? And the issue of showing a picture ID for a simple beer, not to speak of political correctness? In a commie dictatorship it was enough not to criticize the camarade president, and here you can’t criticize anybody. Sexists can only be men, racists are only whites. Isn’t this racism and sexism? And see the psychological sensitivities! No matter where you step, you are touching a nerve! Oh no, people have no rights here! This doesn’t work for me.” Then imagine the American reaction to this. “If you don’t like it here, you are free to go.” But this reaction doesn’t take into account how much it cost for the young boy to get there. The ticket was around a thousand bucks in a country where the average salary is about two hundred. So, for the boy in the story, this was a huge financial sacrifice. In addition, he lost some friends and gave up some job opportunities in his country, and why? Because he was expecting something better, not worse. He fell for the lying propaganda of the West. He felt deceived. Going home would be difficult because the departure meant irreversibly burning several bridges. His compatriots didn’t have the possibility of leaving, so they became envious of him. Integrating into that society again was next to impossible. The punchline of the story is that the average American would not look favorably on an answer of the type “this doesn’t work for me.” Yet outside the US there is still life, while outside of the Church there is no salvation. Nobody likes such an answer. But if it’s about the most important thing on this side of Heaven, people respond in the most liberal way. If one said that being forced to drive or having to show an ID for drinking a beer didn’t work for him, people would consider him a wacko. But when it comes to the most important issue, anyone can say that. Funny how people who never question anything would question this. “But why? Who are you to tell me that this is the only way to be saved?” And then comes the final verdict: “Well, it doesn’t work for me.” Even Bp. Williamson, in one of his rare lucid moments wrote that if one answers like this, the problem is with him, not with God. If it doesn’t work for you, you have to make it work, or else you face an icky eternity. Nobody says that going to the dentist doesn’t work for him. People are very careful when they choose their dentist or gynecologist. Ironically, they are the most careless when they choose their spiritual leader.

In 2009, my father introduced me to a retired university professor, thirty years my senior. She lived through the changes of the Vatican Two apostasy. She suffered under the commies for attending church. But when I described the situation to her, and presented the conclusion that the changes were bad, and if she cared for God, she must make a sharp U-turn and rush full speed backwards, she said: “That was a liberation to me. I found it very liberating.” In essence, whatever mattered to her was not truth but convenience.

And one could go on with the examples. Once I made friends with a departmental secretary. She talked to me about the Bible, her faith and all the related issues. She described that in the small town we were living in she attended the ‘Colonial Baptist Church’ because that’s where her fellow darkies were going. Then she switched churches because she found this one ‘stuffy.’ (So it was convenience again, not truth, right or wrong, true and false.) Once I felt pity for her and I explained my position. I explained why she is wrong and how she can rectify it. I told her this was the only way, and why. She never contacted me again. So should we wonder that God gives no graces to convert? The Church is eclipsed, and now we know why God has permitted it: because nobody cares for Him. A gynecologist or a dermatologist can be more important.

Many people are going to hell, people say. But when it’s about losing one’s business, nobody says that. I suggest the reader listen to the sermon of St. Alphonsus about this.

I personally speak very seldom to my acquaintances and relatives about the issue of salvation. And I only do it when I am sensing some interest. But it never worked. I only managed to convert some through  the blog. Thank God I’m not a missionary. If I were, my life would be an absolute nightmare.

Devoções a Nossa Senhora do Carmo

Além do escapulário castanho (e o terço e o escapulário são inseparáveis), existem outras devoções a Nossa Senhora do Carmo. Pode-se dizer uma novena ou a ladainha de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. Estas podem ser ditas em qualquer época do ano.

Mater mitis sed viri nescia Carmelitis esto propitia stella maris.

Radix Iesse germinans flosculum nos ad esse tecum in saeculum patiaris.

Inter spinasquae crescis lilium serva puras mentes fragilium tutelaris.

Armatura fortis pugnantium furunt bella tende praesidium scapularis.

Per incerta prudens consilium per adversa iuge solatium largiaris.

Mater dulcis Carmeli domina, plebem tuam reple laetitia qua bearis.

Paradisi clavis et ianua, fac nos duci quo, Mater, gloria coronaris. Amen.

Flor do Carmelo, vinha florescente, slendor do Céu, princesa virgem singular.

Mãe mansa, mas que nunca conheceu homem, seja a propícia Estrela do Mar.

Raiz de Jessé, a produzir uma flor, por favor, sofra-nos para estar con-Tigo para sempre.

Lírio entre espinhas, mantenha (ou guarde) puras as almas do Teu sequito frágil.

Armamento dos corajosos lutadores, estamos em guerra, vêm defender os (portadores do) escapulário.

Conselho prudente na incerteza, consola (nós) na adversidade.

Mãe, Senhora da Monte do Carmelo, enche o teu povo da felicidade que tu tens (carregas).

Chave e Porta do Paraíso, Mãe, por favor, conduza-nos onde Tu és coroado de glória. Amém.

Devotions to Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Besides the Brown Scapular (the Rosary and Scapular are inseparable) , there are other devotions to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. One can say a novena or the litany of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. These can be said at any time of the year.

FLOS Carmeli, vitis florigera, splendor caeli, virgo puerpera singularis.

Mater mitis sed viri nescia Carmelitis esto propitia stella maris.

Radix Iesse germinans flosculum nos ad esse tecum in saeculum patiaris.

Inter spinasquae crescis lilium serva puras mentes fragilium tutelaris.

Armatura fortis pugnantium furunt bella tende praesidium scapularis.

Per incerta prudens consilium per adversa iuge solatium largiaris.

Mater dulcis Carmeli domina, plebem tuam reple laetitia qua bearis.

Paradisi clavis et ianua, fac nos duci quo, Mater, gloria coronaris. Amen.

Flower of Carmel, flourishing vine, slendor of Heaven, singular virgin princess.

Meek Mother, but one who knows no man, be the protitiate Star of Sea.

Root of Jesse, bringing forth a flower, please suffer us to be with Thee for ever.

Lilly among thorns, keep (or guard) pure the souls of Thy week protegees.

Weaponry of valiant (courageous) fighters, we are at war, come to defend the (wearers of) the Scapular.

Prudent counsel in uncertainity, console (us) in adversity.

Mother, Sweat Lady of Carmel, fill Thy people with the happiness Thou bearest.

Key and Gate of Paradise, Mother, please lead us where Thou art crowned with glory. Amen.

Free translation by yours truly