Our Friend, Donal Foley has a blog

[Denise]

Please visit Donal's blog from time to time.
http://theotokosbooks.wordpress.com/

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I'll offer up my sufferings for him

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Donal seems to be obsessed with Fatima. He regards it as a priority, as if everyone must say the Rosary everyday because of the apparitions. I say this because of a reply he gave to my comment on Five First Saturdays. Nonetheless, my prayers go out to him.

[Denise]

Nick, I wouldn't call it obsessed; I would call it his Apostolate. God is probably smiling down on Donal because he is propagating the Rosary, which is the birth, life, and death of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I think he is a wonderful person and serves the Lord with his gift of discernment, fact finding, and writing.

I guess you could then call me obsessed with Purgatory; my whole life of prayer, offering of suffering and pain, mainly involves the Holy Souls and their release from Purgatory. That is my Apostolate as well as keeping this forum and my website running.

[Google [Bot]]

"Nick, I wouldn't call it obsessed; I would call it his Apostolate. God is probably smiling down on Donal because he is propagating the Rosary, which is the birth, life, and death of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I think he is a wonderful person and serves the Lord with his gift of discernment, fact finding, and writing.

I guess you could then call me obsessed with Purgatory; my whole life of prayer, offering of suffering and pain, mainly involves the Holy Souls and their release from Purgatory. That is my Apostolate as well as keeping this forum and my website running."

There is a difference between spreading a private revelation and letting it help you live by Public Revelation, and telling people that a private revelation is a priority. The former is ordinate, the latter is obsession.

[Denise]

Apparitions/Private Revelations

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

66 "The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.

67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

Christian faith cannot accept "revelations" that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such "revelations."

Public Revelation. The Church teaches as de fide (of the Faith) that all that the Father desired to reveal for our salvation has been revealed in His Word, Jesus Christ. The Word communicated this Revelation to His Apostles, who either wrote it down or handed it on (traditio) in their preaching and teaching (1 Cor. 15:1-3, 2 Thes. 2:15). The deposit of the Faith, therefore, is to be found in the twin fountains of Public Revelation, Sacred Scripture and Sacred (Apostolic) Tradition.

While some things in Public Revelation can be known by reason (the existence of a Supreme Being, elements of the moral law), many matters involve supernatural realities (mysteries such as the Trinity, divinity of Christ, grace, etc.) which cannot be known or proven directly by the senses or human reason. However, fortified by God's gift of supernatural Faith the human intellect is made capable of assenting to such truths (Mt. 16:17) and even understanding them, in so far as human beings can. Catholics are obliged to believe the entire deposit of the Faith by this divine and Catholic Faith, the extent of which is known by the teaching of the Church. In the words of the well-known Act of Faith addressed to God,

I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because You have revealed them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

The Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church alone, therefore, determines what Catholics must believe by this divine and Catholic faith. Everything else in life rests on human faith in the credibility of assertions of truth of one kind or another, such as whether John Wilkes Booth actually shot Abraham Lincoln or whether the Blessed Virgin appeared to a certain person.

Private Revelation. God continues to reveal Himself to individuals "not indeed for the declaration of any new doctrine of faith, but for the direction of human acts" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II q174 a6 reply 3). Since it occurs after the close of Public Revelation the Church distinguishes the content of such particular revelations to individuals from the deposit of the Faith by calling it private revelation. The test of its authenticity is always its consistency with Public Revelation as guarded faithfully by the Catholic Church. For example, alleged revelations which propose to improve upon, correct or entirely supplant Public Revelation are rejected by the Church as inauthentic, regardless of the claims made for them. Such revelations include those of Mohammed in the Koran, Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon, the writings of new age mystics, psychics and the like.

Some private revelations, however, the Church has accepted as credible, calling them constat de supernaturalitate (that is, they give evidence of a supernatural intervention). Such private revelations cannot correct or add anything essentially new to Public Revelation; however, they may contribute to a deeper understanding of the faith, provide new lines of theological investigation (such as suggested by the revelations to St. Margaret Mary on the Sacred Heart), or recall mankind prophetically to the living of the Gospel (as at Fátima). No private revelation can ever be necessary for salvation, though its content may obviously coincide with what is necessary for salvation as known from Scripture and Tradition. The person who believes the teachings of the Magisterium, utilizes devoutly the sacramental means of sanctification and prayer, and remains in Communion with the Pope and the bishops in union with him, is already employing the necessary means of salvation. A private revelation may recall wayward individuals to the faith, stir the devotion of the already pious, encourage prayer and penance on behalf of others, but it cannot substitute for the Catholic faith, the sacraments and hierarchical communion with the Pope and bishops.

Another way of saying this is that private revelations may not be believed with divine and Catholic Faith. They rest on the credibility of the evidence in favor of a supernatural origin. In the case of private revelations approved by the highest authority in the Church we can say with Pope Benedict XIV,

Although an assent of Catholic faith may not be given to revelations thus approved, still, an assent of human faith, made according to the rules of prudence, is due them; for according to these rules such revelations are probable and worthy of pious credence. [De Serv. Dei Beatif.]

The Pope is saying that a Catholic, seeing that the Church (and here the Holy See is meant, as only it's acts can be of universal effect) has investigated and approved certain revelations, is being prudent to give them human assent. That acceptance does not rest on the guarantee of Faith, or the charism of infallibility, but on the credibility of the evidence as it appeals to reason. The assent involved is not supernatural but the natural assent that the intellect gives to facts which it judges to be true. Approved private revelations are thus worthy of our acceptance and can be of great benefit to the faithful, for as the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes,

Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church. [CCC 67]

However, on the other hand, they do not demand acceptance by Catholics. As Pope Benedict states in the aforementioned text,

it is possible to refuse to accept such revelations and to turn from them, as long as one does so with proper modesty, for good reasons, and without the intention of setting himself up as a superior. [De Serv. Dei Beatif.]

Sources of Private Revelations. Approved private revelations derive from two sources. First, there is the mysticism of the Servants of God who have been proposed for canonization. When the diocese which initiated the Cause has concluded its investigation and forwarded the documentation to Rome, the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints undertakes its own study of the person's life. If the Congregation determines that he or she lived a life of heroic virtue this decision necessarily includes the judgment that the writings, including any mystical ones, are not contrary to faith and morals. If the Holy Father concurs the person is declared Venerable. The later canonization of the person (generally considered an act of papal infallibility), only heightens the credibility of the person's writings and the pious regard Catholics should have for them, according to the standard given by Benedict XIV.

The second kind of private revelation comes through apparitions. The person who receives an apparition is not necessarily far along in the spiritual life, though they are typically humble and simple souls. God grants this grace for the good of the Church and not as the fruit of contemplative prayer. When apparitions judged at the diocesan level constat de supernaturalitate (giving signs or evidences of supernaturality) receive the approbation of the Holy See, as indicated by a positive judgment, the granting of papal favors to the apparition site, the approval of a liturgical feast, the canonization of the seer or other clear signs of approval, the words of Pope Benedict XIV can certainly be applied, as well, "an assent of human faith, made according to the rules of prudence, is due them."

Private Revelations Without Roman Approval. Since most private revelations and alleged apparitions never receive the approval of the Holy See Catholics must often judge for themselves whether they are credible. If the person (whether living or dead) has a reputation for sanctity (such as Padre Pio had), then clearly any mystical revelations have considerable credibility prior to any formal evaluation by the Church. The witness of prudent priests, especially the spiritual director of the person, is a key element in determining credibility. However, even here care must be taken. The spiritual director himself must be competent in mystical theology, credible as a person and in good standing with the Church. False mystics have been known to "shop" for gullible, extremely aged or incompetent directors. Ideally, a bishop upon hearing of an alleged mystic would assign a competent director, thus insuring the authenticity of the evaluation.

In the case of apparitions, however, they often occur to obscure individuals with little or no reputation. Their human credibility may rest initially on the attitude of the local clergy and the personal experience of observers. There may or may not be phenomena which suggest something out of the ordinary. The message may or may not be appear to be consistent with Church teaching. The person or persons may or may not have a competent spiritual director. Finally they may or may not be investigated by the local bishop to determine if they are credible. In the end the faithful are often left to fend for themselves in a perplexing sea of information. If the message is orthodox, the seer(s) of good reputation, the clergy favorable, the signs supportive, even without an official investigation the faithful can make a prudent judgment that it is credible. Certainly those who were present at the apparitions of Lourdes and Fátima, as well as those who believed in them prior to Church approval, had to have made such a judgment.

Certainly, however, the faithful benefit the most from the judgment of the bishop of the diocese in which the apparition occurs. He has the authority to assemble a commission of scientific and theological experts, to judge the case, as well as the grace of vocation to carry out this pastoral service. While his decision is not infallible, it has the presumption of being correct and should receive the respectfully adherence of the faithful (Canon 753). Thus, such decisions should generally be decisive in the prudential judgment of the faithful. It would require very weighty and sound theological reasons (not feelings or mere agreement with the content of the alleged apparition) to find defect in such a decision. Such intellectual disagreement, however, does not permit acting out of communion with the bishop. (See my FAQ on Medjugorje for the attitude of the Holy See in one such case.)

With respect to any disciplinary precepts the bishop makes concerning the apparition and its site, they should be followed faithfully (e.g. what sacraments, if any, may be celebrated there). No Catholic should ever violate the practical norms laid down by the local bishop with respect to an alleged apparition, even if intellectually they disagree with his conclusion regarding the alleged apparition. Such disobedience would be sinful, and if it characterized the attitude of the followers of the alleged apparition it would be a sign of its inauthenticity, i.e. by producing bad fruit.

Types of Decisions.

The decision of the local bishop should be one of the following: 1) constat de supernaturalitate (established as supernatural), 2) constat de non supernaturalitate (established as not supernatural); or 3) non constat de supernaturalitate (not established as supernatural).

1. Constat de supernaturalitate. An apparition judged supernatural (formerly called worthy of belief) has manifested signs or evidence of being an authentic or truly miraculous intervention from heaven. This judgment is possible when there is evidence of supernatural phenomena, sound doctrine, moral probity, mental health and sound piety of the seer(s) and enduring good fruits among the faithful.

The issue of supernaturality is one that deserves to be explored more fully. According to the common teaching of the Church, most extraordinary phenomena in the mystical order (visions, apparitions, locutions, ecstasies, mystical knowledge etc.) are caused by angels acting on God's behalf. Whether the burning bush which Moses saw, the ecstatic flights of St. Joseph Cupertino, the stigmata of St. Francis or the revelations of St. Catherine, the general rule in the spiritual order is that God does not do immediately and directly what can be done mediately through a lower order nature, in this case the good angels. The presence of such phenomenon is not, therefore, unequivocal evidence of supernaturality. Each of the approved apparitions have had such clear signs, from the instantaneous and inexplicable cures at Lourdes to the natural prodigy of October 13th 1917 in Fátima, but also the other marks of authenticity mentioned above.

2. Constat de non supernaturalitate. The judgment that an alleged apparition has been shown to be not supernatural means it is either clearly not miraculous or lacks sufficient signs of the miraculous. Private revelation, for example, which is doctrinally dangerous or which manifests hostility to lawful authority could not come from God. It could even be demonic, especially if there are extraordinary signs accompanying it. The devil gladly mingles truth and lie to deceive the faithful, dazzling them with signs and wonders to give credence to his message. His purpose is to separate them from the Church, either by getting them to believe things contrary to the deposit of the faith or to act contemptuously of Church authority. An attitude of pride and judgment toward the Church is a clear sign of his presence. An alleged revelation may also only be a pious rambling, consistent with faith and morals, but lacking evidence of being anything more than the product of human effort. No fraud need be intended, only an active imagination. Finally, it may be that the doctrine may be sound and there may be phenomena, but insufficient to demonstrate supernaturality. In this latter case, there would seem to be a possibility of revision.

3. Non constat de supernaturalitate. Finally, it may not be evident whether or not the alleged apparition is authentic. This judgment would seem to be completely open to further evidence or development.

Responsibility of the Faithful. Today there are a myriad of alleged private revelations and apparitions vying for the attention of the faithful. None have been definitively judged by the Holy See, some have been approved by local authority (e.g. Akita, Cuapa, Betania), others have been found lacking in supernaturality (e.g. Medjugorje, Garabandal), some few have been condemned (e.g. Necedah, Bayside) and finally, the vast majority have received no attention from Church authorities whatsoever.

The first responsibility of the faithful is to remain firmly established in the faith, in the sacraments and in communion with the Pope and bishops. Any Catholic who gives their primary attention to alleged private revelation at the expense of Sacred Scripture, the teaching of the Church (especially the Catechism), sacramental practice, prayer and fidelity to Church authority is off course. The running after spiritual phenomena, such as alleged revelations, is condemned by St. John of the Cross as spiritual avarice. This means that pious souls who would be repulsed by crude materialistic greed think nothing of being greedy to know revelations and prophecies. An exclusive, or even a predominant attention to these matters (especially apocalyptic ones), cannot help but produce an unbalanced spirituality. Should the Church condemn some favorite alleged revelation such a person may find themselves believing more in it than in the supernatural authority of the Church. The devil will have succeeded in what he had set out to do.

The second responsibility is to have regard, in the first place, for those private revelations and apparitions approved by the Church. Within a balanced practice of the faith the edifying content of approved private revelations can be a motive for deeper piety and fidelity to the Gospel. God has chosen to give guidance to the Church in particular eras in this way and we would, as I noted above, be imprudent to disregard altogether what are credibly His prophetic interventions in the life of His Church.

Finally, there are many other private revelations that have not received Church approval. The Second Vatican Council urges us to discern the Spirit in the case of such extraordinary graces [Lumen gentium 12], which means being neither gullible or incredulous, but subjecting them to all relevant theological and human tests of credibility. Clearly, in this the judgment of the local bishop is the key element of such a discernment as I noted above. Often enough, unfortunately, the laity are left to make this determination themselves, relying on the testimony of the events, the judgment of holy and orthodox priests and common sense. It must always be kept in mind that however credible and reasonable such revelations seem to be, God would never ask one to separate oneself from the faith and discipline of the Church to follow it.

Revised April 2001

Answered by Colin B. Donovan, STL

I digress

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A good summary of the theology of private revelation!

As I said, I believe Donal is obsessed with Fatima. I see it among some Fatima devotees, who claim the Rosary is needed for salvation - as if somehow God is limited by popular piety. But no private revelation is a priority in the Christian life. To give some support to that, I bring forth two quotes.

Cardinal Arinze (emphasis mine):

What are apparitions? Since many people are attracted by them, especially as this century and millennium are drawing to an end, locally in this country but also in other countries: Apparition, apparition, apparition; seer, seer, seer.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints can appear to anyone as Divine Providence may decide. And God can send visions or thoughts or locutions to anyone He wishes. If such apparitions or locutions are genuine, they are called 'private revelations'. If they are genuine.

Public Revelation was concluded with the death of the last of the Apostles, Saint John. That means it's already almost two thousand years minus one hundred when Public Revelation was concluded. If a private revelation is genuine, it will always be a confirmation of what is already in Public Revelation.

Only Public Revelation becomes an object of Divine Catholic Faith. That is what we must believe with Divine Catholic Faith -- dogma. Only such dose the Church demand that we all believe.

The Church never imposes belief in a private revelation, even when a private revelation is approved by the Church as coming from Heaven. Like Lourdes and Fatima. These are said to come from Heaven, but even than, the Church dose not impose them as objects of Catholic Faith.

It is very difficult to know in practice if that an apparition is really from God or if it is the fruit of somebody's overfertile imagination, somebody's pious ideas, somebody who dose not distinguish between reality and dream, or somebody who has a type of journey. It is very difficult to know when they are a result of deceit of the devil.

And even in a genuine private revelation, the seer can make mistakes in recounting or interpreting some of the details. This has happened even to saints canonized. They made a few mistakes in details, they were confused.

'In practice'. It means that we should test a reported apparition by such questions as the following:

Dose it agree entirely with the revealed and Divine Catholic Faith?

Dose it lead us to the center of our Faith, which is where Holy Scriptures is, and Sacred Tradition, and where the Pope and the Bishops are?

Dose it lead us to obey the Pope and the Bishops?

If you said, 'The private revelation told us not to mind the Pope and the Bishops', we'd tell you, 'It's not from Heaven.'

It is therefore a mistake if a Christian now makes a reported apparition a central event in the Christian life or a test of those who are fervent Christians. If now you test people, 'If you don't believe in the apparition, you are not a good Catholic,' you have the whole thing wrong.

It is a negative sign when some Christians follow seers or visionaries, they follow them, they read daily their writings and utterances - but they won't read the Gospels, they won't read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, they won't read the documents of the Pope - and they read the documents of the Seer/Visionary XYZ.

It is a very negative sign when some people disobey or ignore the Pope and the Bishops in union with him all in the name of a vision or an apparition. Christ told His Apostles, 'Anyone who listens to you, listens to Me. Anyone who rejects you, rejects Me. And those who reject Me reject the One who sent Me.'

Somebody asked me, 'There is one apparition that is reported, are you going on pilgrimage there?' I said, 'Oh yes, I go on pilgrimage, but do you know why I go on pilgrimage? The Chapel. Where we have the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle. Where we are not guessing, where we are sure! That's my pilgrimage.'

Please understand me. I do not say 'Do not go to Lourdes, do not go to Fatima'. Those are certain. Jerusalem is where our Faith began.

But there are some other places where we don't know whether Our Lady was there or not. I don't go there. They can do good to people, it doesn't prove yet. We don't know. Might be, might not be.

It takes a lot of challenge - Yes and Yes - to know when they are genuine. Sometimes it takes fifty years, one hundred years.

We don't base our Faith on such because we have solid foundation for our Faith already. You want pilgrimage? Jerusalem! Of course."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29f69elBzvs

Pope Benedict XVI (emphasis mine):

Ecclesiastical approval of a private revelation essentially means that its message contains nothing contrary to faith and morals; it is licit to make it public and the faithful are authorized to give to it their prudent adhesion.
...
In all of this, the Church gives voice to her awareness that with Jesus Christ she stands before the definitive word of God: he is “ the first and the last ” (Rev 1:17). He has given creation and history their definitive meaning; and hence we are called to live in time and in God’s creation within this eschatological rhythm of the word; “ thus the Christian dispensation, since it is the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tim 6:14 and Tit 2:13) ”...The value of private revelations is essentially different from that of the one public revelation: the latter demands faith; in it God himself speaks to us through human words and the mediation of the living community of the Church.
...
Consequently the Synod pointed to the need to “ help the faithful to distinguish the word of God from private revelations ” whose role “ is not to ‘complete’ Christ’s definitive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history ”...A private revelation can introduce new emphases, give rise to new forms of piety, or deepen older ones. It can have a certain prophetic character (cf. 1 Th 5:19-21) and can be a valuable aid for better understanding and living the Gospel at a certain time; consequently it should not be treated lightly. It is a help which is proffered, but its use is not obligatory. In any event, it must be a matter of nourishing faith, hope and love, which are for everyone the permanent path of salvation.
...
In short, by the work of the Holy Spirit and under the guidance of the magisterium, the Church hands on to every generation all that has been revealed in Christ.
...
The criterion for judging the truth of a private revelation is its orientation to Christ himself...Private revelation is an aid to this faith, and it demonstrates its credibility precisely because it refers back to the one public revelation.
...
Certainly, as the Synod Fathers stated, “dialogue, when we are speaking of revelation, entails the primacy of the word of God addressed to man ”. The mystery of the Covenant expresses this relationship between God who calls man with his word, and man who responds, albeit making clear that it is not a matter of a meeting of two peers; what we call the Old and New Covenant is not a contract between two equal parties, but a pure gift of God. By this gift of his love God bridges every distance and truly makes us his “ partners ”, in order to bring about the nuptial mystery of the love between Christ and the Church. In this vision every man and woman appears as someone to whom the word speaks, challenges and calls to enter this dialogue of love through a free response.
...
If it leads us away from him, then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit, who guides us more deeply into the Gospel, and not away from it. (14)...After reflecting on God’s final and definitive word to the world, we need now to mention the mission of the Holy Spirit in relation to the divine word. In fact there can be no authentic understanding of Christian revelation apart from the activity of the Paraclete. This is due to the fact that God’s self-communication always involves the relationship of the Son and the Holy Spirit, whom Irenaeus of Lyons refers to as “ the two hands of the Father ”.
...
All this helps us to see that, while in the Church we greatly venerate the sacred Scriptures, the Christian faith is not a “ religion of the book ”: Christianity is the “ religion of the word of God ”, not of “ a written and mute word, but of the incarnate and living Word ”

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/bened ... ni_en.html

[Denise]

No, Donal is not saying that the Rosary is needed for salvation. You should ask him if in fact that is what he is saying and he will tell you no.

When my spiritual director was alive (he was a great theologian) a Baptist preacher asked me to explain why we prayed the Rosary at funerals. After a long explanation that Father O gave me to give to the preacher he added that "no one" is "required" to ever pray not one Rosary for the salvation of their soul but it is very wise to do so because what you are doing is meditating on Our Lord.

You can call Donal obsessed if you like, but I don't agree as I said before. He loves Our Lady and is only trying to stress what she stressed at Fatima.

Let me ask you a question. Do you have something against those who propagate the rosary? Something against those who love and respect the Mother of God and her motherly love for us, being concerned about our souls? If you don't like the Rosary and what it stands for, or those who propagate it, then just leave them alone. But, I don't think it is a very wise idea to slam anyone who loves Fatima, Our Lady, and the Rosary...not here anyway.

For my part, Donal is my friend and I really take offense that you accuse him of being obsessed. You might want to rethink the definition of the word. Even if he is obsessed with Our Lady and Fatima, there are a lot worse things in this world that he could be obsessed with that would send his soul straight to Hell if he died without those obsessive sins on his soul being forgiven. I feel pretty confident that, if he is obsessed with Fatima and the Rosary and died in that obsession, hell wouldn't be a destination for his soul. Why? Because he was obsessed with the Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ whom without, no one will ever behold the Face of God.

[Google [Bot]]

No, Donal is not saying that the Rosary is needed for salvation. You should ask him if in fact that is what he is saying and he will tell you no.

When my spiritual director was alive (he was a great theologian) a Baptist preacher asked me to explain why we prayed the Rosary at funerals. After a long explanation that Father O gave me to give to the preacher he added that "no one" is "required" to ever pray not one Rosary for the salvation of their soul but it is very wise to do so because what you are doing is meditating on Our Lord.

Which is why the Magisterium recommends it along with other forms of Marian devotion. It is not the best devotion. It is just one devotion.

You can call Donal obsessed if you like, but I don't agree as I said before. He loves Our Lady and is only trying to stress what she stressed at Fatima.

Let me ask you a question. Do you have something against those who propagate the rosary? Something against those who love and respect the Mother of God and her motherly love for us, being concerned about our souls? If you don't like the Rosary and what it stands for, or those who propagate it, then just leave them alone. But, I don't think it is a very wise idea to slam anyone who loves Fatima, Our Lady, and the Rosary...not here anyway.

For my part, Donal is my friend and I really take offense that you accuse him of being obsessed. You might want to rethink the definition of the word. Even if he is obsessed with Our Lady and Fatima, there are a lot worse things in this world that he could be obsessed with that would send his soul straight to Hell if he died without those obsessive sins on his soul being forgiven. I feel pretty confident that, if he is obsessed with Fatima and the Rosary and died in that obsession, hell wouldn't be a destination for his soul. Why? Because he was obsessed with the Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ whom without, no one will ever behold the Face of God.

I am sorry I offended you. I only intend to defend, not offend. Perhaps it is my pride that blinds me to a more charitable form of communication.

[Google [Bot]]

I asked Dolan what he meant by "priority" when he said, in reply to my comment, "Our Lady asked us to pray the rosary every day at Fatima, so I think that is a priority now."

No reply yet to my question. Not that I deserve an answer, since I have been gall, but, I hope Dolan is not as obsessive as I think.

[Google [Bot]]

Er...Donal, not Dolan.

Stupid Aspergers.

[KevinSymonds]

Donal is a friend.

He is not obsessed with Fatima.

[Google [Bot]]

Hi Kevin

I apologize for my rash judgment to you, to Donal and to Denise.

God bless!