Miracles of Multiplication?

Of all the miracles of Jesus recorded in the Scriptures, only one is mentioned in all four Gospels. This is the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10 and John 6:1). There were other occasions when Jesus provided for the hunger or thirst of a multitude, but all involved merely multiplying quantities of food or wine. For those who believe the Fatima fairy tales, Catholic Mary's spirit did something much more impressive. Ghostly Mary's big day was August 19, 1917, when she made an unscheduled visit to the three Fatima kids as they were tending their flocks. At this time, the ghost told the children to: Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and to pray for them. - Anonymous, The Fatima Apparitions and Messages, (C) Love and Mercy.org Why do souls go to Hell? Is it because, since the Fall, we are born in sin and remain spiritually dead in sin unless and until we are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ? For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 So how are the lost spared the torments of Hell? According to this ghostly message, they can be saved by the prayers and sacrifices of the faithful. There is no doubting that intercessory prayer might move God to be merciful. Making sacrifices for the lost, however, is something else. It smacks of Old Testament rabbinical Judaism at best and paganism at worst. What sacrifices are we talking about here? Are we talking of hardships, such as the ghostly apparition mentioned during its first visit with the children? Or are we talking of building altars and sacrificing the blood and flesh of goats, calves, doves, grain, etc.? Or is it something more sinister, such as the bloody acts of flagellantes? Or weird and depraved acts such as practiced by mystics in the dark cloisters of convents and monasteries? Or perhaps darker deeds such as practiced by those who serve the Prince of this Age? Hard to tell what ghosts have in mind. Then, the ghostly visitor told her little friends that the next time she came to them, she was going to bring some other spirits with her. This promised to be something so special as to make the feeding of the five thousand almost insignificant by comparison. St. Joseph too will come with the Holy Child to bring peace to the world. Our Lord will also come to bless the people. Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows will come too. - Ibid. WIth that, the apparition lifted off in a cloud of light and vanished. When the programmed date for the apparition's October visit arrived, some 70,000 people reportedly had gathered at the site, no doubt in hopes of getting a peek at all the spiritual celebrities they hoped would show up. Think about it. The spirit of Joseph, stepfather to the Catholic Jesus, would be there and he would be bringing someone special. The Catholic Jesus would be there in two forms, as the Holy Child and also as Lord. Wow! That's a really impressive miracle of multiplication but the ghostly figure had promised something just as impressive. She would be there as Our Lady of the Rosary and as Our Lady of Sorrows. Another miracle of multiplication. At the appointed time, the spirit arrived with her entourage. At the conclusion of her chat with the kids, the ghostly figure pointed to the sun, which then put on a 12-minute light show for the crowd. This kept the crowd happy but the kids were treated to private show of their own. An estimated crowd of 70.000 people gathered in a rainstorm for the promised apparition. Among the crowd were many who did not believe and the members of the secular press who were there to report on the event. During the praying of the Rosary, Our Lady appeared and made Herself known as the Lady of the Rosary. She instructed the children to pray the Rosary every day and to build there a chapel in Her honour. She also said: “Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended”. Then, She opened her hands and made them reflect on the sun, and as she ascended, the reflection of her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself. During the miracle of the sun, many present fell in the mud and water, believing that the end of the world was taking place. Many later reported that despite being covered in mud, they were dry and free of mud when they arose. Rose petals fell from the sky only to dissipate upon being touched by those present. After Our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, the children beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When this apparition disappeared, the children saw Our Lord and Our Lady of Dolors. Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This vision also vanished, making place for the vision of our Lady of Carmel. - Anonymous Apparitions of Our Lady (C) 2005 World Apostolate of Fatima Reads like something that one might see on the Sci-Fi Channel, doesn't it? As is the case with most apparitions involving Catholic faithful, no one but the visionaries ever get to see the ghostly visitor. Everyone else must rely on the chosen ones' accounts of what transpired. One wonders what happens to reason when excess piety and religious zeal combine to cause people to foresake the teaching of Scripture and the witness of their own senses and instead cling to the fanciful and unverifiable reports of mystics? At this point, no doubt some will point to Hebrews 11:1 and mutter that " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The difference, of course, is that this teaching, and everything else in the Bible is the Word of God, validated by the witness of Christ Himself, or those closest to Him. Christ performed many miracles that, unlike the visits and conversations at Fatima and elsewhere, were acconmplished in the presence of doubters and believers alike. Miracles performed by the power of the Holy Spirit acting through prophets and Apostles were witnessed by great numbers, even thousands, as on the day of Pentecost. No secret vision only viewable by a few kids or other mystics. No, Sir. When Christ fed the five thousand, everyone held the miraculous food in their hands. When Christ resurrected Lazarus, it was done before a crowd of disbelievers. Someone might point to the alleged miracle of the sun or to the wonder that everything around the apparition site at Fatima was woundrously made dry after a soaking rain. Sure. That's what the stupified who were present claimed, but show me a report of the events that originated with someone other than a Catholic zealot. Betcha can't do it. On the other hand, even those who hated Jesus and denied His divinity acknowledged the wonders that He did. What it boils down to is this: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, or believe in the fantastic tales of mystics who see things the crowd never gets to see? I go along with the words of Joshua: JAnd if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. - oshua 24:15