APPEARANCES

Blog 233

February 14, 2022

MIRACLES NEVER CEASE!

Robert Wise explores the world of divine interventions from an objective point of view. An Archbishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches with a Ph.D., Rev. Wise relates his interviews with persons who experienced the touch of God.

APPEARANCES

In these blogs I made no distinction between Protestants, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Jews. My quest is to discover the miraculous. The stories are simply what they are regardless of where they happened or to whom. Along the way I discovered that God has no favorites and blesses all groups, even those that distrust and hate each other. Heaven doesn’t operate on prejudice.

Along the way, I also discovered a distinction between miracles (instantaneous explosion of grace) and divine interventions (more gradual and on-going expressions of empowerment). All of which it is to say we have to accept what God does on His terms, not ours. His methods remain His ways.

That’s particularly true of unexpected angelic appearances. For 2,000 years, Christians said the Apostle’s Creed with the phrase the “communion of the saints.” For Traditionalists that meant a continuing relationship with the departed, the saints. For Protestants, it tended to mean having a monthly church fellowship supper. Sorry. The creed was always about the possibility of connecting with eternity.

One of the expressions of this belief is that saints have continued to intervene. Sometimes, the appearance is angelic, other times spiritual giants from the past spoke. For example, last summer I was in Rouen, France where Joan of Arc (the patron saint of France) was burned at the stake. Her crusade began through the visitation of Saint Catherine, Saint Michael, and Saint Margaret when they appeared to her in her father’s garden.

History has recorded such experiences through the last two millennium. Perhaps, the most striking have been the appearances of the Virgin Mary, often call the ‘apparitions of Mary.” Such happened at Guadalupe that began the conversion of Mexico. The appearance of Mary to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France created the healing water of Lourdes where to this day people receive remarkable healings.

The appearances of Mary at Fatima in 1917 contained important vital messages. While the Communist revolution was exploding, Mary instructed the visionaries (and everyone) to pray for its removal and spiritual renewal to follow. Decades later this occurred in December 1991. Mary also gave insight into the attempt to execute a Pope which happened to John Paul II.

In the second half of the 20the century, I became aware of similar appearances of Mary at Medjugorje. Interestingly enough, she appeared to children from a poor village in Yugoslavia, then a Communist country. You might note that the above assorted appearances were all to innocent children or poor people in adverse circumstances. (Gives you something to think about living in affluent America) When I was in Hungary, I attempted to go to Medjugorje but the Bosnian War only got me down to the Adriatic Sea where I had to turn back.

Anyone interested in miracles and divine interventions will find the story of Medjugorje important. Interestingly enough, one of the most insightful accounts is by a Lutheran Protestant Wayne Weible. He was there on a number of occasions and became close to the visionaries. Medjugorje: The Message published in 1989, Paraclete Press can be ordered through your book store. You will be moved by how Weible’s life was affected and changed by his discoveries. Read it.

How did the appearances of Mary happen? Some actually saw her. Others heard her voice in their minds. All were immediately and decisively moved. They were not the same again.

Is Mary and other saints still speaking to people today? The record says yes. Next week I will share an amazing story of how a person was healed through such an encounter. In the meantime, get out there and order Medjugorje: The Message. You will be encouraged.

Remember to expect the unexpected.

I have a new book coming out.

MAN ON FIRE can be ordered on Amazon or at your local book store.