Apparitions today at Knock Mayo
About 15 people said they saw the Blessed Virgin Mary appear in a great
light flanked by St Joseph and supposedly St John at the gable wall of the
Roman Catholic Church in Knock on the 21st August 1879. A lamb standing on
an altar was also reported. A cross was standing behind the altar.
Knock hit the headlines in October 2009. Clairvoyant Joe Coleman predicted
that Mary would appear to him and others there. Thousands gathered into
Knock to witness the visions. Thousands ignored an invitation to attend Mass
in the basilica because they wished to stay outside looking at the sun in
the hope of a sign instead. The fact that those people showed more
enthusiasm for "visions" predicted by somebody engaging in the sin of
clairvoyance than for the allegedly true visions at Knock in 1879 and for
the Mass raises the question of, "How Catholic are those people?" A genuine
Catholic would not believe that Mary would give messages to a practicing
clairvoyant. The Knock "Catholics" preferred signs to Masses and believing
the Church that clairvoyance is wrong. It is certainly a testament to the
fact that most people who are into religion are only after spiritual thrills
and pleasures. And many did report seeing things in the sun at Knock.
If miracles happen too often and if they are absurd like people seeing the
sun turn blue etc such as at Knock they cease to be impressive. They also
cause trouble. They appeal to people who need to believe they saw something
so that they can feel special and chosen. The fact that the bishop who
appeared at Knock in 1879 carried a gospel book shows that the apparition
was evil or a fraud. How? Because it indicates approval for the gospels
which report that Jesus did many miracles - many of them totally unnecessary
just to get a following. Jesus gave a really bad example.
If I go to Knock and see something strange such as the sun turning blue and
apparently spinning, that is obviously a false sign and wonder like the ones
Jesus talked about. If it is a real sign, then there is no way to tell false
signs apart from real ones. If seeing the sun change is not a false wonder
then what is? To suggest somebody who already believes needs such a useless
sign is an insult to God. Is God more interested in showing off with his
miracle power instead of helping some sick person? It encourages those who
run to fraudulent apparition sites and who imagine they see the sun change.
A new false sign happening at an established apparition site may indicate
that the original apparition is a hoax or from Satan. If the sign is an
illusion, Satan the deceiver has had something to do with it at least
indirectly. Satan would not do any sign, even a bad one, that seems to
attract attention to a real apparition from God. Would he do a false sign to
make it seem that the apparition must have been from him even though it was
not? That would not be a very good way of discrediting an apparition. A
miracle or sign you see yourself is more important than a miracle or sign
that has been reported by others. A miracle is so out of the ordinary that
you should only believe in it if there is no doubt that it is real. If you
experience a miracle that is absurd and which purports to support a claim
made by someone else that they had an apparition, then you will certainly
disbelieve in the apparition if you have any sense. The sign is that some
deceiving miraculous power is trying to fabricate evidence for the
apparition and draw attention to it.