A friend gave me something to ponder. As we were discussing Our Blessed Mother being a Jew, my friend wondered why Mary never appeared to a Jew, a Baptist, or any other religion. She asked me what I thought about that and I had no answer.

I told her I would bring it to the Catholic forum and someone more educated in these matters than I, would certainly come up with an answer for me.

We both agreed that it could be a powerful conversion if Mary appeared to a rabbi, or a person of the Jewish faith, and told them about Jesus being the Son of God. I wonder why Mary never did appear to anyone other than Catholics?

Is it sinful to even think along these lines? If so, I need to confess this conversation. I don't think it is sinful, just something to ponder.

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.com), March 07, 2004

Answers

Here is a link which describes a Marian apparition in Zeitun, Egypt where the Virgin Mary appeared to Coptic Christians and Muslims.

http://members.aol.com/bjw1106/marian7.htm

-- J. Fernandes (goananda@hotmail.com), March 08, 2004.

There it is again, this time from Norma: the Incarnation disconnection.

This is Lutheranism, and the essence of all Protestantism. Externally, there's the obvious breaking away from Catholicism, the schism; but internally, heretically, it's an attempted severing of the Incarnation.

The Word became flesh, becoming the principle of salvation. The Blessed Virgin was the handmaiden of the Lord and the point of connection between Heaven and Earth.

The enemy wishes to severe this connection; he wants to nix the Mother of God from the salvation equation, and wants to severe the concept of the saving blood of Christ from the Eucharist.

It seems to me that all attacks on the Catholic Church from can ultimately be reduced to two prongs: one against the Mother of God, and the other against the Blessed Sacrament. Both these in turn seem to be an attack on one principle of salvation: The Incarnation.

-- Emerald (emerald1@cox.net), March 08, 2004.

my friend wondered why Mary never appeared to a Jew, a Baptist, or any other religion

Check the archives, we have talked about this before. Mary has appeared before many who were not Catholic.

In Christ,
Bill

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), March 08, 2004.

Not only to Catholics! Our Lady appeared in Taiwan in the XX century to a group of non believers.

In Cordibus Jesu Et Mariae

A friend

-- A Friend (never@mind.tv), March 08, 2004.

Marylu,

That is not a sin. You just asked a question and know you have something to tell your friend that they didn't know.

-- - (David@excite.com), March 08, 2004.

Just last week on EWTN, I was listening to 'The Journey Home' and one of the guests was talking about when he and his wife were still Protestants she got sick. At the hospital a woman appeared to her. Later she went home and told her husband, "I don't know how, but I know it was Mary." To which he responded, "But, we don't believe in Mary."

Dano

-- Dan Garon (boethius61@yahoo.com), March 08, 2004.

Thank you so much for all of your answers. I had no idea that Mary appeared to muslims. Your answers certainly will lead to further discussion on this fascinating topic.

I, personally, am going to look into this further, based on all of the informative answers you have given me.

God bless and have a great day - each and everyone of you. You truly contribute to my spiritual journey. You are great educators!

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.com), March 08, 2004.

A lot of it has to do with a person being open to supernatural phenomena. From my experience most europeans and north americans have closed their hearts and minds to the idea of the supernatural. It is very different in non-western cultures.

-- J. Fernandes (goananda@hotmail.com), March 08, 2004.

What would be the point of Mary appearing to someone who has already decided that the saints CANNOT hear us, CANNOT interact with us, CANNOT speak to us, CANNOT intercede for us, and that any apparition claiming to be a saint MUST be satanic in origin?? Like Jesus, Mary comes to those who are open to her coming.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), March 09, 2004.

I don't know who wrote the last answer on March 11 using my name..but, it is a good answer and the right answer to the previous post..so, I thank you.

MaryLu

-- (mlc327@juno.com), March 11, 2004.

moderator,

the above post does not represent a question about our faith or lead to more understanding of the catholic perspective of the life of holiness. therefore it is not in keeping with the mission of this forum and i ask that you delete it and this one.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), March 16, 2004.

paul h. the writer is merely pointing out his belief that Mary was human like us all, and needed Jesus' redemptive healing in order to be saved. He obviously doesn't believe that Mary was without sin. While we may disagree, his comment certainly seems to be about our Faith and what we believe. I think he was replying to comments made by Paul M. I see no reason to remove the post. Now, were he to continue this sort of comment post after post, thread after thread, then I might have to act because of our rules concerning monopolization and spamming of threads, since he's made his point already.

-- Ed (catholic4444@yahoo.ca), March 16, 2004.

1 john 4:1-3 says to test the spirits. next time "mary" appears to ask her if she acknowledges christ came in the flesh.

-- rj (thaclipse77@yahoo.com), March 20, 2004.

rj,

i dont know how familiar you are with the apparations, but testing has been done to the extreme on the messages of all of them.

-- paul h (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), March 20, 2004.

Since Mary was the one who, by cooperating in God's plan of salvation, made possible Christ's coming in the flesh, she above all others would "acknowledge" the fact of His Incarnation. Every time she has appeared she has urged us to follow her Son and to do his will.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), March 20, 2004.

I remember reading that the Virgin appeared to some children in a Calvinist village. And She also appeared to Alphonse Ratisbonne, who was Jewish, atheist, and very anti-catholic... and converted him! She does appear to non-Catholics...

-- Alantua (elroquen@hotmail.com), March 28, 2004.