Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture Pt.1

Apparitional Phenomena 

12/5/19

An apparition is a vision or dream omitted by scripture to belief in the reality of a supernatural order. There has a been a decline in apparitional phenomena, but it may have other reasons. The increase the counter culture and even specific ecumenical reasons. In the medieval times, apparitions were widely accepted in their culture. They were every day experiences that most civilians saw. No one truly understand what they were and they didn't know to even record it until pilgrims were fully established. This seemed like the pilgrims were the people who established specific things into their culture and made them known to those across their land. They were very specific with the visions and apparitions they saw. Modern day technology, through the social sciences, say that these visions were irrational. There was no way that a mass of people saw the same things, but this wasn't the case. In my opinion, it made sense why different people experiences different apparitions. The visions that the pilgrims saw, was eventually passed from local, regional, and even patriotic. Catholics can not physically deny visions when a great number of people claim to see the same one. Many even believe that apparition today are interventions of Heaven. Since God himself has intervened (ex. Burning Bush), many believe that is what apparitions mean: a calling from God. The Catholic Church, however, says that you do not need to see apparitions in order to be 'approved' in the faith. I've never experienced any sort of visions, but my grandmother has. I feel like the closer you are to God, the more you get to see of Heaven and what it is like. 

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