Angelik claims that he has visions from Our Lady and passes on Her messages to us. There are priests who support him. The Church has neither denied nor confirmed them yet. Sceptics say it is all in his mind or perhaps to draw attention to himself. Other denominations say that it is the devil talking to Angelik. He is under attack so much right now that I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, apart from the fact that the experience itself must be so overwhelming for him.
I do not know if the apparitions are real. However, what I know is that God chose many people in the bible to convey His message. He appeared to many people and most of them where ordinary people. Abraham, Moses and so many others. Abraham, as far as I know, was a herdsman. He was not an intellectual. He had one thing that made him stand out from the rest… He was open to God and he had extreme faith in Him… blind faith. ‘Faith’ not as in just believing, ‘faith’ as in trusting; and to trust he had to love God… blind love. ‘Faith’ as in true submission to God.
Who are we to tell God whom he has to choose to pass on His message? Are we, by chance, greater than God? We cannot put God in a box, and tell Him what to do. God is the creator, not a created being. He is way above everything, anything, or anyone in the world. So how can we, mere created beings, dictate to Him the Creator, what to do or whom to choose to pass on His message?
The three main criteria one has to use to ponder if the apparitions are really happening are 1) are the experiences building or destroying the person concerned? 2) are the experiences building or destroying the people present? 3) the message conveyed, is it beyond the intellect of the person concerned? In my opinion, the answers concerning these three questions are that Angelik himself and the people who go there, are being built spiritually and emotionally. Without hurting anyone, the message is beyond his intellect.
Other denominations say that it comes from the devil, to keep us away from Jesus. Again, please consider that the experiences are building people both emotionally and spiritually. They are bringing people closer to Jesus. Also, Our Lady, in the apparitions, always urges us to open our hearts to Jesus. Would the devil do that?
Since people are being inspired emotionally and spiritually, and positivity emerges from the experiences, psychological effects and the devil, in my opinion, can basically be ruled out.
Why does the Church take so long and why do other denominations appear to have more mystic experiences than us Catholics, thus appearing to be more open to the Spirit? The Church is very cautious about accepting such apparitions as it must be 100 per cent sure; it must be absolutely positive that these experiences and apparitions are really happening. The Church is very careful about such proclamations, as it does not want people to be misled. Thus the experiences have to be examined with a fine-tooth comb, and the person concerned has to undergo long procedures of discernment. This is not an easy process for the person concerned, it is not an easy process for Angelik and it is so much easier for him to back up than to pass through these processes. Regarding other denominations, they just instantly accept the visions without asking many questions. In plain words, there are many people in the Catholic Church who have such experiences but are listed as private revelations and cannot even be made public; while in other denominations, the experiences happen and they are made public without them being properly investigated.
Why Angelik? Well God chooses whom He pleases basically. It is not for us to decide whom He chooses; we cannot dictate to the Creator. Mysticism is a gift, and a gift is given freely. No one deserves a gift from God; no one is fit enough in the face of pure perfection. A gift is not earned but is freely given. God decides to give a ‘gift’ to whomever He pleases. All Angelik did was to be open to God, to His message, to His love and open to accept this gift… Angelik did nothing out of the ordinary. God just chose him and who are we to question God’s choice?
Teresa Pace
PEMBROKE