Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia
Date:         Tue, 25 Aug 1992 19:53:51 EDT
From:         JEK@NIHCU.BITNET
Subject:      Messages from Mary?

Elizabeth has posted some statements said to have been made by the
Blessed Virgin Mary to a certain Miss Caine(?). One of them says:
"... I have come briefly to bring my Son...." This has distressed
some listmembers by suggesting that Jesus is under His mother's
command.
     I am not writing to defend the authenticity of the messages, of
which I am doubtful. (Since I am not a Roman Catholic, that ought to
surprise no one.) However, I suspect that too much is being read
into the word "bring." I understood it in the sense of "proclaim,
introduce, prepare the way for, announce...." And I see no grounds
for objection to this.

     It may be objected that the word "bring" is not the best
possible choice of words here, and I am disposed to agree.  However,
I see several possibilities, depending on who is responsible for the
wording of the speech.
     (1) God is responsible for the wording. If so, I have no
criticism of His choice of words, and it only remains for me to
figure out what He meant, and to believe it.
     (2) Mary is responsible for the wording. If so, I note that
English is not her native language.
     (3) Miss Caine is responsible for the wording, but the message
is genuine.  It is put into her head as an idea, and her mind
expressed it in accordance with her usual way of talking. If so, I
note that she slipped here.
     (4) The whole message is a product of Miss Caine's imagination.
If so, it does not follow that she is a fraud (she may be mistaken)
or heretical (she may have made a careless choice of words).


One listmember objects that when Jesus comes again, He will be
visible to the whole world (Matthew 24). In other words, between His
Ascension and His return in Judgement, there will be no private
appearances. But there WERE private appearances (Acts 7:56;
9:4-6,10; 22:17-21).  Hence, this objection falls.

Another listmember was concerned because the messages included the
advice to "pray and do penance." This calls for some comment.

The verb "ought" in English is a defective verb. That is, it does
not have all the forms that a normal verb has. "You ought" equals
"You are morally obliged." But there is no "ought" form that
corresponds to "you will be morally obliged" or "you were morally
obliged" or "being morally obliged is a serious business." The Latin
verb "poenitet" (meaning "repent") is similarly a defective vverb.
It has, for example, no imperative. When St. Jerome was translating
the Bible into Latin, he could not write "Repent ye, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand." The word was not there. He settled for,
"Agite poenitentiam," which is usually translated into English as
"do penance." Early Roman Catholic translations of the Bible into
English, being made from the Latin, wrote "do penance." An
instructed Roman Catholic knows that this is an idiom for "repent."
If I hear someone speaking in a Roman Catholic context and saying,
"pray and do penance," I take it to mean, "pray, and consider
carefully in what ways you are falling short of walking as God would
have you walk, and ask God's help in coforming your will more
closely to His, and then set out to live accordingly." Now, it is
possible that some hearers would take "do penance" to mean, "make
frequent use of the grace available to you through Confession." And,
of course, if you are trying to scrutinize your life to bring it
more and more into conformity with the will of God, frequent
consultation with other Christians can be a valuable aid. That is
one reason why the Methodist Church, for example, has historically
attached such importance to frequent confession (the class system).

 Yours,
 James Kiefer
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU