Marian apparitions. 3 questions to theologian Élyane Castalonga on faith and signs

Thousands of pilgrims come to the shrines, waiting for signs of God’s grace. How do they strengthen their faith?
The faith shared in the sanctuaries allows us to grasp what the Church is, the Body of Christ. But the search for signs, which is very human, is to be distinguished from faith. If we have faith, God is fully within us, he lives in our life. We just need to turn to him with confidence. “It is confidence, nothing but confidence that must lead us to love,” writes Thérèse of Lisieux. The need for external signs is due to our weakness. God uses pedagogy with us from this, but he calls us to live a relationship at the level of our soul, because it is the human spirit that needs to purify itself. Also, for Saint John of the Cross*, visions and revelations are of no use in progressing in faith, in union with God.

Can the search for “signs” lead to a dead end?
To attach oneself to visions, to particular revelations, risks not leading us to Christ, of confusing the sign with God. But if one can be mistaken in the interpretation of a sign, one is not mistaken in putting one’s faith in the Word of God, in practicing the sacraments. The only sign that is given to us is Christ, true God and true man.

What criteria can be used to assess possible supernatural phenomena?
Saint John of the Cross states the effects on those who benefit from it: peace, serenity, humility, gentleness, love and inclination towards God. If the vision gives sufficiency or contempt for the interpretation of the Church, it is proof that it is the devil. On the other hand, adherence to God leads to letting oneself be transformed into him.

* Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), doctor of the Church, known as “the mystical doctor”.