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1. WHY DOES GOD SEND US SUPERNATURAL SIGNS?
God conferred on humans the supernatural destiny of
participating in His Eternal Life and Happiness. To that end, we are to seek,
know, love and serve God, Who alone is the absolute Truth and infinite Goodness.
As His children, we are also to love and help one another, forming God's family.
Humans have failed, however, by seeking their own will and disobeying God's
Commandment. To deliver us from eternal perdition, God sent His Only Son as our
Savior. Christ redeemed us by His Death on the Cross and established His Church
to make salvation available to all.
Despite all that, humans have continued wandering away from
God's Teaching and Commandment. This is why God is sending us more messages and
signs, warning us about the consequences of unrepented sins and urging us to
return to Him and to His Teaching and Sacraments in the Church.
2. HOW CAN WE TELL TRUE SIGNS FROM HEAVEN FROM
FALSE ONES? Christ Himself warned us about false
prophets. The devil was a great angel before his fall and still is capable of
false messages and apparitions and is anxious to lead more people to hell. This
is why we must not blindly accept the reported supernatural phenomena but
discern them carefully. The following criteria may be helpful:
a. Do the reported messages, apparitions, and miracles conform
to the authentic teachings of the Church? For example, if they deny or
equivocate Christ's true divinity or his true humanity, they cannot be from God.
True messages and signs cannot alter or improve the truth already revealed by
God. Instead, they draw us powerfully to God's teachings and Sacraments in the
Church. For correct discernment, we need to be firmly grounded in the Church
teachings.
b. In addition to being in conformity with the Church teachings,
are the messages and the people who are directly involved respectful of and
obedient to the proper authority in the Church? If not, they cannot be from
God.
c. Are there physical supernatural signs? The absence of
physical signs does not necessarily mean that the messages are false. The
presence of genuine miracles, however, can be strong marks of true revelations
from God. Our Lord Himself performed many miracles to confirm His teachings. The
physical signs also need to be discerned.
d. Are the fruits good? Are the messages and miracles leading
people to a stronger faith in God and His teachings and to a more faithful
adherence to the authentic devotions in the Church? If they lead people to
pride, materialism, pursuit of fame, deviation from the teachings and devotions
of the Church, and defiance against the proper authority in the Church, they
cannot be from God.
Thus, true messages and signs from God are always focused on
God's Incarnation and Redemptive Work, which is a reality continuing through the
Church until the end of the world.
3. WHY IS GOD SENDING MARY TO US?
God the Son took human flesh through the Virgin Mary.
When Mary said "Fiat" to the Annunciation by St. Gabriel the Archangel,
the Savior was conceived in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was the
beginning of God's Incarnation among us and of His Redemptive Work for us. Thus,
Mary became the Mother of the God Incarnate.
Mary's participation in Christ's Redemptive Work continued
throughout His life on earth, culminating at the time of His Crucifixion.
Together with St. John and several holy women, the Mother of the Savior was
standing at the foot of the Cross, offering up her sufferings to God the Father
in union with her Divine Son. Her essential role as the Helper to the Savior is
continuing even after her Assumption into Heaven. Because Mary is the Mother of
Christ, she is also the Mother of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of
Christ, and of everyone who belongs to the Church. She is eternally and truly
our Mother, who loves and cares about us. God, Who willed that Mary be the
Mother of His Son, also assigned to her the role of a mother for all of us. That
is why He is sending her to us so that she may help us repent our sins and
return to Him and His Church as His children.
4. WHAT ARE THE ERRORS OF OUR AGE? a. Being self-centered and human-centered instead of
God-centered. Perceiving and living our life on earth outside the context of our
eternal destiny. If we devote our lives to pursuing worldly goals instead of
seeking God and doing His Will, we are going to perish eventually, because we
are not the source of the truth, power, goodness, or life. We really cannot
overcome the burden of our sins or the limits of the physical world by ourselves
regardless of any temporary successes on earth. Life is vain without God,
because He alone is the true origin of everything that is good.
b. Ignoring the reality of Gods Incarnation in our world. Thus,
denying the existence of (1) the absolute and full truth for our salvation, (2)
the objective moral laws, and (3) the adequate means of salvation available
through the Church.
c. Refusing to accept that the Catholic Church was established
by Christ and is being sustained by the Holy Spirit to continue the reality of
Christ's Real Presence and Redemptive Work. We often look at only the human
aspects of the Church members and fail to recognize the supernatural reality in
the Church that flows from the infinite merits of Christ's suffering on the
Cross.
d. Having forgotten the value of sacrifices. We often ignore the
fact that self-denial and sacrifices are the only true signs of love. Because of
this, we may fail to appreciate the meaning of Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross
and the continuing reality of His Sacrifice through the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. We may also fail to understand the Blessed Mother's suffering and weeping.
We may fail to respond to Our Lord's call to deny ourselves, take up our cross
and follow Him, which is the essence of the Christian life.
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