!? Melanie Calvat: 'Rome will become the Seat of the Antichrist' (1879)
Here is a very difficult issue to address: Melanie's 1879 version of the Secret of La Salette in which she says: 'Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.'
What is difficult about this is there is an official Church-issued decree dated 1915 that states it is ABOSLUTELY FORBIDDEN ON THE PAIN OF DEPRAVATION OF THE SACRAMENTS to comment on, discus or even make personal observations on the 1879 issue of Melanie's Secret. We can only read it. That's it. So, we're not even to make comments about it.
This decree came about because a huge furore broke out over statements regarding the Antichrist occupying Rome in the Secret, and the Church decided to uphold the Nihil Obstat given by the local bishop rather than revoke it.
I must point out Nihil Obstats and Imprimaturs are not set in stone, and in very rare cases they actually have been annulled before by the Church when errors have been discovered in writings after the Nihil and Imprimatur are given. But, for the sake of peace and to stop all arguments causing dissension between Catholics on the subject of the first published edition of the Secret in 1879, the excommunication order was put out, and has not be annulled as far as I know. It is still in effect.
The
thing is, I have to question: if we are not required to believe visions or private revelations to be saved and they are not dogma, is it lawful for the
Church to pass an edict saying we are not even allowed to discuss or
comment upon the 1879 version of the Secret which is still only a
private revelation?
Difficult path to tread.
However, in order not to be disobedient and risk schism / excommunication, I CAN say that we may make OTHER observations in general that is Church teaching that we may discuss, and then compare it to Melanie's own track record - then come to our own private conclusions:
It is TRADITIONAL CHURCH TEACHING that the Antichrist will rule from JERUSALEM, and NOT Rome. Note: to say 'seat' means choosing a place of rule, like a capital, or a primary base of power, so Melanie was saying that the Antichrist will literally rule from Rome and make it his capital. (!?)
It is true that the faith may weaken in Rome during the troubled times, we may have anti-popes again, and, we know that there will be precursor antichrists, St. John warned of precursors, the Church has taught there will be constant precursors through history, but the Antichrist himself will NOT rule directly from Rome as his capital seat.
The Scriptures indicate he will rule in or near the Temple when it is rebuilt, and the Fathers, Doctors, Saints and Blesseds and theologians of the Church have taught this. You can see a list of their quotes regarding this teaching, click here.
2) The Church teaches we must beware of anything that tries to contradict Church teaching. True visions or private revelations will NOT contradict Church teaching or give a new revelation that is not in Scripture or that is not in accordance with holy Tradition handed down by the Magisterium of the Church.
3) BUT, we also know La Salette still is an AUTHENTIC, APPROVED apparition. What happened? How are we to take this contradiction?
There is a problem with the seer herself, and this I may discuss.
Melanie entered a problematic phase after the apparition occurred. After she started getting attention as the 'seer' of La Salette, she began 'embellishing' her spiritual life after she learned to read. She devoured spiritual books about the lives of saints and mystics, also mystic prophecies. Some French sites meticulously show how her writings supposedly describing her inner spiritual life sound exactly like the spiritual books she was reading at the time, including the mystic experiences down to the very expressions used. Basically, plagiarism.
For instance, Melanie made claims that animals of the woods would come out and hold mystical processions with her on the mountain, with a wolf bearing a cross!
“During recreation (while she was a postulant at the convent of the Sisters of Providence at Corenc in 1850), she was surrounded by postulants and novices all pressing her to talk about about La Salette. One day, she told them that she sometimes missed her former life when she led her cows in the woods. (There were no woods in the mountains, author's note.) (…) Sometimes, she found herself surrounded by wolves, foxes, snakes and other wild dwellers in the woods and she led them in procession, chanting the praises of God. A wolf carried a cross during one of these processions. This tale was told by the girl who, until the apparition, had hardly ever entered a church, never said her prayers and mocked those who did.” (Source: 'The Sun Her Mantle', by John Beevers, The Richview Press, Dublin. 1953. This book received the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur of the Archbishop of Dublin in 1953).
There is more disturbing evidence from the same book,'The Sun Her Mantle'. The author notes the Bishop of Grenoble at the time did not permit Melanie to make her profession with the Sisters of Providence at Corenc where she told this tall tale. No doubt word of her seeking adulation from these private 'mystic experiences' caught his attention for he noticed she was becoming the object of a cult with all the attention showered on her and he declared she had become “inclined to hold fast to her own opinions.” In other words, she was lacking in humility and decided not to let her take her vows right away, that she would have time to practice “that humility and Christian simplicity which are certain and necessary safeguards against the illusions of the interior life.” ('The Sun Her Mantle', p. 83-84)
The author of the book also notes the Bishop personally spoke to her about this, but, instead of taking his correction humbly, Melanie assumed the Bishop had become her enemy, and “she repaid this quite imaginary enmity with a very real venom, a venom which grew to embrace all ecclesiastics except those who showed some sympathy with her visions and prophecies.” ('The Sun Her Mantle', p. 84)
This has been well noted, anyone who doubted her so-called private visions after La Salette she treated as though they had become her personal enemy, even Bishops and priests, which is a terrible character flaw as we are not required to believe in private revelations or visions for salvation.
She did not mend her character flaw, but continued to spin tall tales to get more attention.
She next tried to enter the Sisters of Charity in Vienne, and she was treated as would be expected of one entering a convent – with kindness, but no flattery or adulation. Humility, self effacement and common sense was the order of the day. She was told right then by the Reverend Mother of the Sisters of Charity: “The Daughters of St. Vincent have neither ecstasies, visions nor extraordinary temptations and spiritual disturbances. But if they ever do have any trouble, they endure it and only God knows of it and He never fails them. Before everything, they strive for uniformity with the other Sisters and conceal everything which is in any way singular and peculiar to themselves.” (Sun Her Mantle, p. 84)
Of course, we know there were mystics of that order who had visions, no doubt this remark was meant as a spiritual test to see if Melanie was ready to obey her superiors.
Melanie then said if she hoped to be a sister there: “I see that I shall have to start by a complete reformation of myself.” But, she soon missed the adulation she received at Corenc in the other convent, and even grew hysterical – she went on a hunger strike for forty-eight hours and then went on a screaming rampage until it drew a crowd outside. She then tried to bite the Reverend Mother! ('The Sun Her Mantle', p. 84-85)
A Priest named Abbé Doublier managed to calm her down and gave his assessment of this strange and bewildering conduct to the Bishop of Grenoble. He noted she was not suffering from a demonic possession or oppression, or from a mental illness, but this flaw for seeking attention was coming from herself, stating;
“I do not think there is anything diabolical in her behaviour, nor do I think her reason is affected. I believe that this child has been given, in all innocence and doubt, spiritual direction which has led her astray from the sure way of humility and obedience. Her words and deeds are now the expression of wounded self-love. She is furious because no one here shares her conviction that she enjoys supernatural favours.” ('The Sun Her Mantle', p. 85)
So, we can see she suffered from a lack of obedience, and humility, and wounded self love, throwing tantrums like a child because no one was giving her attention over her so-called private revelations apart from the vision of La Salette.
Melanie then went to a third convent in England, the Carmelites in Darlington in England to try her vocation there after things did not work our with the Sisters of Charity. However, she had not changed and once again was telling extravagant mystic tales, gaining adulation and attention with no proof other than her word, but one of her 'mystic experiences' catches her in a lie again, for she told one of the sisters at Darlington, “when she was very young, she was lost in the snow and Our Lord appeared to her, He fastened a chain around her body which entered into her flesh. She still carried it and it caused her great suffering.” ('The Sun Her Mantle', p. 86.)
So, she claimed to have a mystic chain of pain tied around her from when she was little, which means before La Salette, and still had it up to the time she went to Darlington.
We know this vision marking her as a 'victim soul' as a child is false, for she would have surely grown in spiritual obedience and humility, which all her superiors up to that point noted she lacked. She did not even know her catechism when she was young, had hardly entered a church, and mocked those who prayed before the apparition of La Salette occurred, and she didn't go to Mass the Sunday after the apparition, even after Our Lady warned about those who offended God by missing Mass. Also, if Mélanie was used to mystic apparitions, why did she try to attack the Lady with a stick? She did not know her prayers, and in her latter re-tellings of what happened at La Salette, she admitted she used to say a superstitious chant with her knife to 'chase' the devil from her bread before eating it. And, she claimed she had this 'chain' even when she saw Our Lady at La Salette if she 'still carried it' since the time it was given her? So this 'vision' of Our Lord appearing to her when she was little is a complete fabrication, similar to the 'animal procession' in the non-existent 'woods' of La Salette.
Since we see this 'vision' of Christ appearing to her is false, we see her then try to lie directly to one of the sister at Darlington. Since Melanie claimed the chain went into her flesh, it is possible she was claiming a stigmatic mark, but she refused to show this chain. The sister then told her, 'You will not be able to be a Carmelite with that. You must pray to the Blessed Virgin to remove it.' Melanie made a show of kneeling before a statue of Our Lady and asking Our Lady to take it away. She then went to the sister and said: "It's done. The Blessed Virgin has taken the chain away." ('The Sun Her Mantle', p. 86). Since we know this whole chain vision was a farce, Melanie was good at putting on a show of having supernatural favours.
After she entered the Carmelites, she then sent out a spew of letters with so called prophecies and condemnations of the clergy, but at this point are they credible? The author of the 'Sun Her Mantle' writes: “These condemnations never came from her until after the Bishop of Grenoble had refused to allow her to be professed at Corenc. As it became evident that she had no vocation for the religious life within a convent, she attacked religious houses equally with priests.” (p. 88)
She seemed to calm down after she could send out these letters, but then grew restless again, and then acted oddly once more, proving she was not cut out for life in a convent. She missed France and wanted to be released from the order, but instead of doing things through the proper channels and request to be released, she started tossing notes over the wall as the postman was passing demanding her liberty!
In all and, was obviously not cut out for the religious life, and it is disturbing she would lie about receiving constant private revelations and favours to gain attention.
In all it appears Melanie had problems, she craved attention, she misused her spiritual readings to garner more attention whenever it began to wane. Every time she entered a convent, and was told she had to be humbly hidden like the rest of the sisters for the convent life, no celebrity status, she balked and found some way to be released from the order, only to try and find her way into another order somewhere else if and when she could. Obviously, she was not cut out for the religious life, and, she had serious temperamental issues, especially as she tried to scratch and bite one of her Mother Superiors!
*) Next observation: we NOW HAVE THE ORIGINAL 1851 VERSION of the Secret sent to Bl. Pius IX which was discovered in the Vatican archives in 1999 / 2000. Remember: Melanie wrote this version before she entered the troublesome phase in her spiritual life when the 'embellishments' started to appear in her other writings. The only statement I dare say is there is no mention of the Antichrist taking his seat in Rome ACCORDING TO THE ORIGINAL 1851 VERSION OF THE SECRET. Click here to read about La Salette and the original secrets of 1851.
When asked if she had revealed everything in her secret to the pope, she said YES - everything was in what she sent to the pope, and there is no mention of the Antichrist taking his seat in Rome.
But, we then see a bunch of additional details come out in 1879?
So, come to your own conclusions - Melanie was an old hand at making up tale tales and embellishments regarding her spiritual life by the time the 1879 Secret was published. The celebrity status of being a famous visionary obviously went to her head. Did she go too far to keep the excitement going?
Other than that, I dare say no more.
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