Publisher's Synopsis
This work was conceived as a collection of answers to the questions that one asks on the subject of contemporary Marian apparitions. Are they authentic? Should one wait until the local ordinary has made a favorable pronouncement? Generally, he will not do so until after the apparitions will have ceased. In the cases of Amsterdam, Montichiari, Ile Bouchard, Balestrino and Kibeho, the delays ranged from 20 to 57 years. Even in the case of Fatima, it took 13 years. Is there no interest in responding to the express invitation of Our Lady while she is personally present? Does one effectively wait to respond to the invitation to visit until the lady of the house has withdrawn to her chambers? Is it true that St. John of the Cross has counselled against believing in apparitions? Are there today too many of them to be believable? How could one know that they are not caused by the devil? Does prudence not counsel against having too much confidence in them? How does one reconcile public versus private revelations? What about conversions and healings? How credible are "visible signs," "messages" and "prophecies"? What is the eschatological significance of apparitions? Did the early Church Fathers and many mystics predict the "intermediary return" of Christ? Is the Apocalypse "the most important and most neglected" inspired book of our time? While the dechristianisation of our society is on-going, Marian apparition give us reasons for hope. Furthermore, should one not interpret these interventions of Heaven as the prelude to the triumph of the Immaculate Heart announced at Fatima?
