www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Matthew Kelly on "LIght of the East"

There were certainly apparitions before and after the ones in Yugoslavia. In fact, the Yugoslavian Bishops Conference decreed the Medjugorje apparitions not worthy of belief. I have mentioned before the little lady in the RC church where I play, who would leap into her car and drive cross-country if Mary were seen on a cereal box. I don't understand it. We have everything we need to know from scripture and Church teaching, and apparitions can add nothing to that. We live, I think, in an age where emotion prevails over logic, and reason is no longer prized. I call it the Oprahization of America. Saints have taught that seeking signs and wonders is a danger to spiritual well-being, and can result in being led astray.

There are many Roman Catholics who believe that Medjugorje is demonic. Look for the Crisis article for more information.

Jennifer:

It is not within the province of the laity, including writers and commentators, to judge whether visions or apparitions are supernatural.

First hand, the local Bishop conducts the "inquiry" and issues judgment. Then, its up to the next level of authority to concur or disagree.

Otherwise, we have "charlatans!"

Amado

In case anyone wants more information about the Medjuogre see the following link:

http://www.culturewars.com/CultureWars/Archives/cw_feb98/surmanci.html

Rolling Stones writer now Roman Catholic convert(as a result of his experiences wihile writing the book) Randall Sullivan wrote a very interesting book about the Papal "miracle detectives", and wrote about his experiences in Medjugorje. It is called Miracle Detectives and is very, very interesting. He had mixed feelings aobut the apparitions.

Matthew Kelly's books include two books I enjoyed immensely: The Call to Joy and ,oops, I can't remember the name of the first one right now, but it deals with how to reinvigorate Catholicism by living it and truly understanding the teachings. I thought they were particularly valuable for young people ,those that have fallen away from the church, and those who know little about the Church.Yes, some of the language soulds like self-help books, but he is firmly grounded in Roman Catholic theology. I higly recommend his books to all.

Yeah, I think(but I"m not positive) he had apparitions when he was younger, but he does not promote them at all.

Peace

Dear Indigo:

Could be either "Rediscovering Catholicism. . ." or "Mustard Seeds . . .?"

Amado

I am not sure what I think about Medjugorge, but referencing E Michael Jones as an authority is a joke, I hope. I knew a professor of philosophy who assigned Jones' book on the apparitions, with the instructions to find all the logical errors as a final exam in his logic class. Jones has a long history as a muckraker, and lately has become involved in anti-Jewish conspiracy theories as well.
Daniel

However, it IS up to the laity to use good judgment and discernment. The proper procedure when one has a vision is to bring it to their pastor. It is up to the bishop to decide whether it is valid or not.

These people who have 'visions' and promulgate them over the internet without the express endorsement of their bishops are not submitting themselves to the authority God has placed over them. In my mind, this automatically makes the vision suspect.

Even worse than Medjugorje is that guy in Canada who says Jesus and Mary told him the Rapture is coming and we all have to be in some place called Asylum City to be saved. Then when the prophesied date came and went, he said Jesus was just testing him to make sure he was obedient. He needs an asylum, all right.

Tammy

Well, now that we are all thoroughly confused; I am not sure if the Matthew Kelly who had the vision is the same Matthew Kelly who writes self-help books, and I seem to recall a Matthew Kelly in the 80s who was a gay Trappist monk [yes, Virginia, things are weird].
I do know that there are clearly fraudulent [or worse] visions, legitimate visions, and a wide world of those that are harder to discern....
-Daniel

Amadeus,
"Rediscovering Catholicism. . ." Yes, that's the book. Thanks for jogging my memory.

Iconophile, the Matthew Kelly of this thread is in his 30's, so that safely rules out the 80's monk.

Peace,
Indigo

indigo- Thanks be to God!
Daniel

Dan,
I thank you for the Light of the East link. I listened to the program for the first time yesterday and I really enjoyed it! Matthew Kelly was as inspiring as I had hoped he'd be. I'll be sure to listen to the other programs and send in a donation.

Daniel,
I hope you check it out too. I think you will be relieved of your fears!

Peace,
Indigo

Matthew Kelly of the "self-help" books and Matthew Kelly of the 1990s "apparitions" in Australia (about which one can seemingly find nothing on the web, other than the year of same and that they occurred in New South Wales) appear to be the same person. Neither of these facts makes Kelly a bad person; as Indigo has noted, he doesn't seem to use his books to promote the "locutions" which he is said to have experienced.

My question remains - what relevance has he to Eastern Catholicism?

Many years,

Neil

Was the topic of "who is Matthew Kelly?" resolved as of yet? In his books, he relays that God spoke to him when he was 19 in 1993. He is from Australia, so that Matthew Kelly listed on the false apparitions list, is the same person. What does that mean? The bishop does not believe that this happened to him?

Jennie-O
"a newbie"

Jennie-O,

I wonder if one is nineteen and hasn't seen something wondrous if that person is really looking. Be that as it may, I think the list only means that the Church has no opinion on it one way or the other. Imagine if the Church had to make some official pronouncement about every vision everyone ever had. It would be an impossible task.

I gather that it is the same Matthew Kelly but I've never heard him speak on the subject. He will be at Annunciation Church in Homer Glen on Dec. 4.

Dan L