Homily, 8-5-24; Monday of the 18th Week of Ordinary Time:
In our first reading today, we heard about the prophet Jeremiah and the prophet Hananiah. Jeremiah was a true prophet. Hananiah was a false prophet. People didn’t want to hear what Jeremiah had to say; they preferred listening to Hananiah’s message. God speaks through whom He wishes. He chose the prophets. They did not decide to be prophets on their own. They usually suffered greatly for proclaiming God’s word. It was not done for fame or glory.
God still speaks through prophets today with messages to bring back those who have gone astray. There are visionaries and locutionists who God chooses to receive messages from Jesus or from Mary. But today, as in the time of Jeremiah, we also have many false prophets claiming to be receiving messages sent from God. Some of the messages may be interesting and exciting, but be very careful. Make sure you discern carefully. Make sure they do not conflict with Church teaching, that they are reasonable.
There are many claiming to receive messages and many who follow them blindly receiving countless emails with instructions on how to prepare for the endtimes. It is concern of mine because, while God sends messages for those who are going astray, these messages often lead people astray. Back in the 1990s there was a great interest in John Leary from Rochester, New York who claimed to be receiving locutions about the end times and preparing for the tribulation. He sold many books under the title: Prepare for the Great Tribulation and the Coming Era of Peace. Many of my friends were followers of his messages, but when I read them they didn’t sit right with me, and so I was not surprised when his bishop concluded in 1999 that his messages had doctrinal errors and ruled that they were not of a divine nature. One of those who was on the commission studying the locutions commented: “Genuine prophets and visionaries often resist God’s call, pointing to Jeremiah and other biblical figures as examples. Yet Leary seemed to have a great desire to be such a prophet. There is no prophet who really wants to be a prophet.” Unfortunately, although his bishop did not allow him to speak in his own diocese about his purported messages, he was still invited by some followers to promote his messages in our archdiocese in recent years.
We should be reluctant to go chasing after private revelations until approved as acceptable by the Church. As God often performs miracles for those whose faith is weak, he also sends messages to bring back a people who have gone astray. The best plan is have strong faith and not to go astray. Then we won’t have to worry about chasing after miracles and messages. We all know what we should do as we are consistently taught in the Bible and through Church teachings. What we should do is reinforced by approved apparitions. And that is to pray, to obey the commandments ourselves, and to fast, make sacrifices, and do penances for the conversion of sinners. That should keep us plenty busy while we trust in God’s mercy to lead us to eternal happiness.