Queen of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Jackson shared a Q&A with Pastor Tim MacDonald in the Oct. 11 parish bulletin. 

Fr. MacDonald explained that apparitions are sometimes authenticated by the Church.

"There are modern day occurrences where people claim they have been or are being visited by Jesus or Mary," MacDonald said in the bulletin. "Most often, the Church does not authenticate such visions until they have stopped occurring or until the death of the visionary." To date, 26 apparitions of the Blessed Virgin have been approved by the Vatican.

At a minimum, the visions must not contradict scripture, faith or morals; but, of course, the investigation is very in-depth. 

MacDonald, who spent time with Mother Teresa, remarked that she said many memorable things in her life. 

"She did tell us that she and her sisters were filling up Heaven with the poor from the streets of Calcutta," he said.

One concerning stumbling block for many Catholics is the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. MacDonald explained that this was also a challenge when Christ was on earth. 

"At the end of John 6, some of the disciples stopped following Jesus because they refused to believe in his Real Presence in Holy Communion," MacDonald said. "There are plenty of Catholics who believe what Protestants do with regard to Holy Communion, i.e. that it's a symbol, a metaphor, a remembrance."

Christ did not mince words when he spoke about his presence in the Eucharist, though. 

"Jesus reveals himself to everyone, but forces no one to believe in him," MacDonald said.

He ended stating that Respect Life Month was going on through Nov. 1 at Planned Parenthood.

"Help honor Respect Life Month by taking an hour a week to come out and stand up for the unborn," Fr. MacDonald said.