As we noted in our debunking of the July pretend message, Gianna Sullivan's ability to issue her rambling dribblings allegedly given to her by Mary, the Blessed Mother, unchallenged is over.

The August pretend message clearly displays Gianna's Modus Operandi - which is to stick her foot in her mouth, and then when the troops get upset, to take refuge in pious platitudes for a few months, waiting for the storm to blow over. Her latest 'foot in mouth' prophecy, issued in June, about the Earth getting smacked by another cosmic body, is straight out of a B-rated science fiction movie.

Now we could waste hours debunking her latest message, but we have better thing to do.  Instead we'll let the words of Father Peter Joseph, Chancellor of the Maronite Diocese of Australia do the talking for us:

"The abundance of alleged messages and revelations in the past forty years makes ever more necessary the traditional caution and discernment of spirits. Amid today’s confusion and spiritual wasteland, many Catholics are seeking contact with the supernatural via new private revelations, regardless of whether or not they have been approved, or even whether or not they are in accordance with the Faith."

"In the face of the fallen angels’ power to deceive, it is no wonder that the Church is always very slow to declare a miracle or message authentic.

The devil has superhuman intelligence and is very clever, and to pretend that you can definitively judge in favour of something’s authenticity, without help, is presumptuous."

Signs of the diabolical spirit

"…[S]ince the devil may disguise himself as a good spirit and even cause what appears to be authentic mystical phenomena, it is helpful to mention briefly the various signs of the diabolical spirit.

1. Spirit of falsity. The devil is the father of lies, but he cleverly conceals his deceit by half-truths and pseudo-mystical phenomena. (Such as the Pious Fluff Gianna fills her pretended messages with...)
    
2. Morbid curiosity. This is characteristic of those who eagerly seek out the esoteric aspects of mystical phenomena or have a fascination for the occult or preternatural. (Hum ... this sounds an awful lot like he is referring to the end notes on each of Gianna's pretend prophecies, i.e.; 'Brilliantly colored rays of graces flowed from Our Lady's hands onto the entire crowd, and Gianna's ecstatic smile reflected ...')
    
3. Confusion, anxiety, and deep depression. (Gianna's multiple predictions on the world coming to an end would surely meet this criteria...)
    
4. Obstinacy. One of the surest signs of a diabolical spirit. (Obstinacy?  Lets see, it's been over 8 years since the church said there was nothing supernatural going on and banned Gianna for continuing here show on church property ... so we would have to say Gianna definitely meets this criteria...)
    
5. Constant indiscretion and a restless spirit. Those who constantly go to extremes, as in penitential exercises or apostolic activity, or neglect their primary obligations to do some personally chosen work. (Extreme apostolic activity?  Yep, Gianna's got that nailed down flat...)
    
6. Spirit of pride and vanity. Very anxious to publicize their gifts of grace and mystical experiences.  (Funny ... the message below answer this by its very own title - 'Private Message'  If it's private, why is it all over the internet?  All her other messages are labeled 'Public Messages' but this one is supposedly Private.  The only reason we can think of to release a Private message is to publicize Gianna' pretend  mystical experiences...)
    
7. False humility. This is the disguise for their pride and self-love. (We heard a story that when the former video recorder parted ways with Gianna and threatened to throw the tapes out - she had them retried because they would be need for 'her canonization.'  Canonization?  Now I think that would fit the bill for false humility.)

"Catholics ought be very cautious in giving credence to visions and messages before they have received approbation from the Church. The devil has raised up many false mystics in recent years. People ask: "Why would the devil be behind a revelation which encourages people to pray and fast and do penance? That would be Satan divided against himself.

Why would he do it?  For a number of reasons: to distract people from the genuine private revelations; to lead them into exercises not blessed as such by God; to bring private revelations into complete disrepute; to cause disenchantment and even a crisis of faith when a seer is later plainly seen to be false; and, worst of all, subtly to lead some people out of the Church altogether. The devil is willing to lose a lot, if he can gain in the long run.

The devil rejoices when Catholics reject the tried and true means of spiritual growth to chase after the extraordinary and the unapproved. The Church is extremely careful before approving a private revelation, for she knows how "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14). She must avoid both credulity and unfounded scepticism. "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything," directs St Paul (1 Thess 5:19-21). And St John warns, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God" (1 Jn 4:1). Some spirits are quite easy to discern; others very difficult. Priests in particular must be examples of prudence and obedience in this area."

"It is forbidden, as well as sinful, to propagate private revelations which have received a negative judgement from the local Bishop, the conference of Bishops, or the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Some people say, "I’m going to follow it until the Pope says it’s false." This is a useless guide for action in this matter - very rarely does the Pope make a pronouncement for or against a revelation."

"Even should the local Bishop mistakenly disapprove of a genuine revelation, obedience to the Church remains paramount. It is a sin to propagate a private revelation disobediently, but it can never be a sin not to propagate one. This applies both to claimed seers and to followers. In fact, if an alleged visionary disobeys a legitimate order from the Bishop, and claims God’s backing for the action, this is a sure sign that the message is not from God. Even if a genuine private revelation has been given, not even God Himself would want or command a seer to spread it against a lawful decree of a Bishop to desist."

"Satan may really promote good things for a while, provided that he gains in the long run. The revelations of Necedah, Wisconsin, seemed to have good fruits, yet were false. Rosaries were said to change to gold. Similarly for Bayside. But disobedience showed them false."

"After error itself, the mark of a false mystic is willfulness and disobedience. I love this quote from Saint Faustina Kowalska: "Satan can even clothe himself in a cloak of humility, but he does not know how to wear the cloak of obedience." (Diary, par. 939). Genuine mystics, like Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), are models of obedience. They never pretend to set up Christ against His Church."

"The simple fact is that most claimed revelations are false. It is extremely foolish, therefore, to devote oneself to propagating a disapproved or dubious message, which might actually come from the Father of Lies. If one day you see its falsity for yourself, you will regret it enormously, and be unable to undo the harm done to others. On the other hand, there are more than enough approved messages to spread, if you want to spread them. It is better to keep to what is countenanced by the Church, than to go it alone and risk being a dupe of the devil."

Now with the above in mind, lets read the August 17 pretend message.

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Private Message from Our Lady of Emmitsburg
through Gianna Talone Sullivan (Or so she claims!)

Again, if its a private message, why is it all over the internet other then to attract attention to Gianna? (criterion #6)

August 17, 2008

My dear little children, praised be Jesus! ("The Devil may disguise himself as a good spirit")

Little ones, thank you for being my children, holy and pure. The blessing of the Triune God is upon you. Receive the Holy Spirit with all joy! (We were struck by the term 'Triune God.'  While like most of her messages , this message is written at a level understandable by a 2nd grader, the use of the term 'Triune God' is not.  As pointed out by the author of the article on Gianna's Plagiarism of the work of Thomas à Kempis "It's easy to see tell when she's plagiarizing for her (Giana's) words go from simple pious fluff to coherent."   So why use the term 'Triune God?' 

The answer is  simple. it's Gianna's tried and true Modus Operandi as noted in the article 'An Insider's Perspective of the Our lady of Emmitsburg Cult' in which the author noted "after Gianna had a dispute with someone, .... the following week's message contain(ed) a seemingly personal rebuke?" 

In this case, the dispute in question is the article that appeared on the our web site just before this message was issued entitled Truly “From Above?” in which the author questioned Gianna's understanding of the Trinity.  So to prove she understood the meaning of the Trinity of God, and to send a shot back across the author's bow, she slips this term in.  Just like she has done countless times before.  In short, this is not Mary's chosen term, nor is the rest of the message from Mary, but it's the work of the fraud Gianna.)

Dear children, live your faith fully! Do not be afraid. Take courage. Even in persecution, know that you are in a good way and that you are not alone. With all your heart, praise God, love Him and desire what He wants. You will be so happy and free! (Persecution?  Hum, I guess Gianna isn't happy that she's being challenged for propagating private revelations which have received a negative judgment from the local Bishop...)

If you pray and you ask God for something of your desire, pray fervently, trust Him, and offer Him prayers of thanksgiving for listening to you. Then simply be at peace, and accept what God in His Divine Plan has for you. ("... Pray ... for something of your desire, pray fervently???? What ever happened to just praying because it's the right thing to do?  Can any one honestly believed Mary want' us to pray for material things?)

I am your Mother of Joy! My angels surround me giving you their joy in prayer. Praise God, for you are not alone! Have faith, and trust with all your heart. I am here with you, and I take all of your petitions. I will present them to God's Holy Throne. (God's Holy Throne????)

Peace to you. Receive His blessing of Love and good charity. Be loyal children. You will never regret it. Peace. Thank you for responding to my call.  ('Be loyal children. You will never regret it ...?" In other words, ignore what the Catholic Church has told you about Gianna and here false messages. Ignore the teachings of worthy priests, ignore your better judgment and continue to believe and propagate these false massages.)

Sound like the trappings of a message from Satan to us!

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'For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths" 2 Timothy 4:3-4 - "False messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform signs and wonders in order to mislead, if that were possible, the elect" Mark 13: 22 - "The smoke of Satan has entered the Church" Pope Paul VI'

"If one day you see its falsity for yourself, you will regret it enormously..."

Have your own stories or thoughts about the Our Lady of Emmitsburg Cult?
If so, send them to us as cultwatch@emmitsburg.net