Marian Apparitions Today - Why So Many ? Fr. Edward D. O'connor, Csc

Fr. Edward D. O’Connor (1935-2016) was a theologian and former professor at The University of Notre Dame; he was an expert on Marian apparitions, and was involved in the charismatic movement.

He wrote in the Preface to this 1996 book, “This book has arisen out of talks given on various occasions, not originally intended to come together in one work… For the present edition, all the essays have been modified and adapted in order to fit together coherently.”

He wrote in the first chapter, “Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin and kindred phenomena are being reported more frequently today than ever before in the history of the Church… And the number of people who claim to have experienced private encounters with Our Lady in their personal lives is countless. This can be disconcerting. Pastors worry about people who have a thirst for the extraordinary instead of the solid staples of the spiritual life. Theologians are concerned about the danger of replacing the solid teachings of the Gospel with new ideas based on private revelations. Sociologists speculate that the anxiety of our age may be driving people to wishful thinking… Even those deeply devoted to Mary sometimes feel a certain distress at trying to find place in their lives for devotions to Our Lady under all these titles.” (Pg. 1-2)

After recounting briefly a number of modern apparitions, he observes, “Many other apparitions have been reported in the past decade and a half which cannot be dealt with here. Some have been deliberately passed over because they seem evidently spurious. Others I am not well enough informed about to judge. There are simply too many claims for a person to investigate them all carefully… Their meaning I have summed up in three points. First, Mary comes as the smiling Madonna to comfort, encourage, and heal her children. Secondly, she comes as an anxious mother, weeping as she warns us that our Father is weary of our wickedness, that he is about to punish us severely if we do not repent. Finally, she offers her Immaculate Heart as a refuge from the dangers that threaten, and as the place where we can best learn to do the Father’s will.” (Pg. 33)

He advises, “we need to be cautious about the claims of extraordinary supernatural phenomena. But all of the apparitions discussed [in this book] have very serious grounds of credibility… Even authentic apparitions and prophecies are not to be put on the same level as Sacred Scripture. Though divinely inspired , they are not always immune from error… If there is weighty reason to believe that the Mother of Jesus has appeared and spoken in our world, we had better take her seriously… the principal theme of Mary’s message is neither the chastisement, nor the blessed age that is to follow it but her Immaculate Heart.” (Pg. 35)

He observes, “Despite the prominence of apparitions in the life of the Church today, theologians and pastors have been reluctant to pay much attention to them. In the past, such things were usually treated in ‘spiritual theology’ under the heading ‘extraordinary phenomena’ of the mystical life.. The great majority of theologians, however (including Mariologists), seem not to give it serious attention… Some may suppose that such matters are properly the concern of those who have pastoral responsibility in the Church, rather than of theologians as such. However, most pastors… are likewise very chary of taking a stand on such phenomena when these are reported in their dioceses…” (Pg. 67)

He explains, “The caution that is naturally called for when there is a question of supernatural phenomena is often reinforced… by an attitude which is the fruit of the Reformation and the Renaissance… When the Renaissance turned into the Enlightenment, this skepticism was reinforced by a new confidence that Reason is adequate to discover any truth… Many of the psychological systems arising out of this rationalistic mentality have inherited its skepticism towards ‘the supernatural’… But radical skepticism about v is irreconcilable with the fundamental place they hold in the Christian religion.” (Pg 79-81)

He cautions, “What makes apparitions and locutions particularly difficult to judge is the fact that very often we have to deal with something that is neither completely false or totally authentic, but a mixture of both… it is my impression that, where Marian apparitions are concerned, there are not many cases of deliberate and outright fraud. More and more frequent are people deluded through wishful thinking or fanaticism… Furthermore, genuine apparitions sometimes stir up false imitations that can compromise them… A believing Christian therefore needs to approach such reports with an open mind, but also with caution.” (Pg. 104-105)

This well-illustrated book will be of great interest to those seeking a sympathetic (if cautious) overview of modern Marian apparitions.

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