True Apparitions always support the Church

Richard Salbato - Feast of Immaculate Conception 2010

In one of the Sections of www.unitypublishing.com I outline how you can test the truth or not of a claimed apparition - How to Test Apparitions. One of the truisms of apparitions is that they support teachings of the Church and never come to force the Church into a theological position.

Force

I will first give an example of force that show it is false. A few apparitions around the world are trying to force the Church into declaring the Co-Redemptris as Ex-Cathedra. Understand that Ex-Cathedra has never been used unless there is a division in the Church regarding a dogma. There is no division on this and never has been for almost two thousand years regarding Co-Redemptris. However, the unlearned must understand this carefully or some would put Mary on par with Christ in our redemption. Christ did not need Mary to help him save mankind nor did She add or take away anything from His redemption, but She wanted to share in His suffering and He wanted Her to console Him on the Cross. Her suffering made Her part of His redemption but it was not needed. Because false apparitions are trying to force this, it will never happen. If it did, it would be seen as a Church support for a false apparition.

Support

1. Now let us see how true apparitions support the Church. In Guadalupe, Mexico the local bishop saw that the Spanish Army was abusing the Indians and the Indians were about to rebel and go to war against the Spanish Army. He made a public prayer to Our Lady to save the new world from war and asked for a sign that She heard his prayer. As a sign he wanted some Castilian roses, not grown in the New World.

At the same time of this prayer, The Holy Father was also praying to Our Lady to help in the rebellion caused by Martin Luther in the Old World and the masses of people leaving the Church to join in the Reformation.

Our Lady came to support the Church by ending the war, converting 7,000,000 Indians into the Church and sending the bishop the Castilian roses he asked for. At the same time, she appeared crushing the beast and the false religions of the Indians. Luther’s real name is Luder, which means “Beast”.

Later Our Lady of Guadalupe came to Europe to save it from the Moslem invasion at Lupano.

2. On this feast day, December 8, 1854 the Pope declared the dogma of Immaculate Conception because there were many in the Church that did not believe this including Thomas Aquinas.

In spite of this dogma many in the Church continued to argue about it and so 5 years later Our Lady appeared to Bernadette of Lourdes and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. Just to add an interesting point to this, at the Annunciation the Angel did not say, “Hail Mary”, ne said “Hail Full of Grace” and in so doing he gave Her a new name which means without Original Sin.

3. In Fatima during World War I, Pope Pius X prayed to our Lady to help the world defeat Communism and end the war. He had earlier written against Communism and Modernism. A few years later, Our Lady appeared in Fatima with a solution to his prayer.

4. In Rue de Beck, France is another example. It was the Teaching of the Church that Mary replaced Lucifer in Heaven and became the dispenser of God’s Grace but many did not believe this. And in support to this teaching Our Lady gave us the Miraculous Medal showing Her dispensing grace to the world and even offering our prayers to God.

5. After Pope Pius XII all the popes asked the world to start an eccumental movement to try and re-unify all the Christian Churches of the world. Pope John Paul II wrote Ut Unum Sint (That they may be one) and Orientate Lurrie (The Light of the East). Some worked on this but did it wrong and others apposed it to the point of leaving the Church.

Our Lady came to help in a city that had the most different Christian Churches and Patriarchs in the world, Damascus, Syria. What was Her message. Tell the people that: “Those who caused these divisions sinned and those who are happy with these divisions are still sinning.”

6. I can also show this regarding the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and its source of grace and even the founding of the Church.

7. In another care of supporting the Church we find the American Church, Seven years before the Pope’s dogma of the Immaculate Conception, consecrating all of America to the Mary, under the title of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Shortly after they dedicated and named the Great Basilica in Washington DC, to the Immaculate Conception.

8. A few years later, Our Lady appeared to Sister Mildred (Mary Ephrem) Neuzil and said She came to thank the American Church for the honor they gave Her and because of this She would reward America by helping them lead the world to peace.

9. iH

On November 21, 1851, the Bishops of the United States admonished the faithful through the decrees of the First Plenary Council of Baltimore that no parish is complete until it has schools adequate to the needs of its children.

Shortly after these important events in the Church, two manifestations of the Blessed Virgin Mary occurred, one in Europe and the other in North America:

In February of 1858, the Immaculate Mother manifested herself and expressed her will to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France.

A year and eight months later, on` October 9, 1859, the Queen of Heaven manifested herself to Adele Brise in Champion (Robinsonville), Wisconsin, USA:

“ ‘Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation’ “ ‘Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing. I will help you.’ "

Even though not yet approved I had to believe this because it was so simple and it helped a great deal in getting Catholic Schools opened throughout the world. I say not yet approved even though Bishop Ricken did approve devotion and publication of the message he did not say it was supernatural. His opinion is the same as mine, it has the appearance of supernatural, there is no doctrine error, it is simple and it helped the Church in its goal to open schools. (Note 2-decree of bishop)

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception – Richard Salbato

Note: 1

By the Grace of God and the Authority of the Apostolic See

Bishop of Green Bay

Decree on the Authenticity of the Apparitions of 1859

at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

Diocese of Green Bay

GIVEN THAT

For over one hundred fifty-one years, a continuous flow of the faithful has come to Champion, Wisconsin to pray, to seek solace and comfort in times of trouble and to petition Our Lord Jesus Christ through the powerful intercession to Our Lady of Good Help.

Incessant prayer has gone up in this place based upon the word of a young Belgian immigrant woman, Adele Brise, who in October 1859 said that the Blessed Mother, a Lady clothed in dazzling white, had appeared to her on this site.

The Lady was elevated slightly in a bright light and gave words of solace and comfort and a bold and challenging mission for the young immigrant woman. The Lady gave her a two-fold mission of prayer for the conversion of sinners and catechesis. “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners… Gather the children in this wild

Diocese of Green Bay

1, country and teach them what they should know for salvation… Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”

Adele Brise began immediately to fulfill the mandate and mission entrusted to her by the Lady and oftentimes at great personal sacrifice went to the homes of the children to instruct them in the largely unsettled and forested area in Wisconsin.

Adele was ever obedient to the authorities of the Church and steadfast in the mission entrusted to her by Our Lady, no matter what difficulty she encountered. The mission given her became such a commitment that she set up a Catholic school of instruction for children and even began a community of Third Order Franciscan women, who assisted her in her obedience to the mandate of Our Lady to pray for the conversion of sinners and to instruct the children.

A long tradition of oral and some documented sources recounting answered prayers at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help include conversions and many physical healings attributed to the Blessed Mother’s intercession. Many physical healings are memorialized by the multitude of crutches and other mementoes of thanksgiving for answered prayers left at the Shrine. Prayers for physical healing are answered even to this day through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Help.

Though none of these favors have been officially declared a miracle by the Church, they are clear evidence of spiritual fruitfulness and the history of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Shrine.

Graces have been poured out through the sacraments celebrated in this place especially through the celebration of the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as well as through the recitation of public devotions and private prayers.

Our Lady has lessened or relieved the burdens of the People of God, whether about financial, familial, relationship or employment matters or even through diminishing inclement and tempestuous weather.

This holy place was preserved from the infamous Peshtigo fire of 1871, when many of the faithful gathered here with Sr. Adele and prayed through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Help, with the result that the fire that devastated everything in its wake in this entire area stopped when it reached the parameters of the Shrine.

There is clear testimony to the upright character of Adele Brise, her devotion to Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her unwavering commitment to the 3 mission Mary entrusted to her. Moreover, the uninterrupted history of faith and devotion testifies to the spiritual fruits bestowed upon the pilgrims to the Shrine.

GIVEN ALL OF THE ABOVE

Three Marian experts have studied the history of this alleged apparition and all of the extant documents, letters, and written testimonies in order to determine whether or not there are inherent contradictions or objections to the veracity of the testimony given by Adele Brise with regard to the events of 1859 and to establish whether or not there is enough evidence to suggest that the events which happened to Adele Brise may be of a supernatural origin.

The accounts of the apparitions and locutions are judged to be free from doctrinal error and consistent with the Catholic faith. There is nothing in the person and character of Adele Brise that would question the veracity of the substance of her account. In fact, her personal character is a major factor in favor of the recognition of the apparition.

Objections concerning whether there was enough evidence to support a judgment in favor of the supernatural character of the events were thoroughly investigated and answered by the experts. The documents from the early history of the Shrine are not abundant, due primarily to the fact that Green Bay at the time of the apparition was frontier country. One of the experts affirmed that any lack of information does “not invalidate the overall impression of coherence between event and consequences, personality of the seer and commitment to the mission received, the comparability between this event and similar recognized apparitions, and challenges of the historical context and responses given.”

GIVEN THAT

These simple apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise became such a compelling theological and religious mission for her. The effects of these endeavors by her and many others have lasted these many years with such major spiritual benefit to so many people.

Many of the local clergy and clergy from other Dioceses and Religious Institutes have come here on pilgrimage with their people, also with spiritual benefit. All of my esteemed predecessor Bishops of the Diocese of Green Bay for the past one hundred and fifty-one years have been present for special Masses in Honor of Our Lady of Good Help, and some of them have even actively promoted the Shrine.

4 THEREFORE,

It remains to me now, the Twelfth Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay and the lowliest of the servants of Mary, to declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church: that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.

I encourage the faithful to frequent this holy place as a place of solace and answered prayer. Given at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, Champion, Wisconsin, the eighth day of December in the year of Our Lord two thousand and ten, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

___________________________________________________

His Excellency, Most Reverend David L. Ricken, D.D., J.C.L.

Twelfth Bishop of Green Bay

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Chancellor