LES ÉPIPHANIES DE MARIE [“The Epiphanies of Mary”] (1967, 352 pages)
LES ÉPIPHANIES DE MARIE [“The Epiphanies of Mary”] (1967, 352 pages)
“Les Épiphanies de Marie” and the Press
- Published by the “Éditions Beauchesne”, Les Épiphanies de Marie brings together texts on Mary’s apparitions which Raoul Auclair wrote for the O.R.T.F. [the French Radio and Television Network]. The author was the first to highlight the eschatological character of the Virgin Mary’s great apparitions. That book, published shortly before the Marian International Congress celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Fatima, merited him the privilege of being one of the few lay people invited to participate in it.
- “This we must thoroughly understand, of this we must be thoroughly convinced: the apparitions of Mary are not simple matters linked to circumstances, though they do take their form within the framework of events and lean upon the circumstances of the moment. Closely tied in with the facts of history, they only become clear when seen against the diuturnity of history; apparently locked in on a particular time, they enter into the mystery of the times; looking to a precise event, they yet point out to us the great Event which is the great Advent.”(Raoul Auclair, Les Épiphanies de Marie, p. 13)
- “I think that the filial care exercised by Raoul Auclair – most particularly in his book, ‘Les Épiphanies de Marie’ – in delving into the seven great apparitions duly recognized by the Church since 1830, has made it possible for him to read, in a new light, a multitude of texts from our Holy Books, and to draw from them some very important points which classical theology is far from having made a part of itself up to now.” (André Richard, priest and editor-in-chief of L’Homme Nouveau, Paris)
A book has just been published by Beauchesne which has an undeniable literary value, of a powerful originality, and an intrepidness which remains, however, within the rigors of dogma. The author, Raoul Auclair, is neither a theologian nor an exegete by profession. He is a layman who eats, masticates and ruminates over the bread of Scripture, in the manner of a Claudel, as can the humblest of Christians, without being scornful of theologians or professional exegetes, but with the freedom of a child of God and in the spirit of the Church.
Moreover, and with an equal freedom, each one will be able to dispute this or that interpretation or extrapolation which he puts forth. However, it seems to me that the element of major interest in this work is that it draws attention to the remarkable and new character of what the author calls “the epiphanies of Mary”.
His analysis and the attentive meditation of all the elements of the last seven great apparitions –Paris, La Salette, Lourdes, Pontmain, Fatima, Beauraing, Banneux –, had allowed Raoul Auclair to project a new and striking light on a fact which in itself has the same certainty as the very reality of the apparitions. If the Mother of Jesus, Incarnate Wisdom, came and spoke, each of her words must be weighed against that of divine Wisdom. In effect, these words of the Virgin in our time, words so very simple and so very little in appearance, words which have fallen in history with an almost imperceptible sound, contain such a fullness of meaning that they provoke an irrepressible wave-like movement which expands until it reaches the confines of our space –universal time.
Contrary to what we usually think, Mary’s interventions in our time are not the repetition of a simple lesson on the moral doctrine of the Gospel, but an Annunciation and a Visitation with a view to the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Virgin did not come simply to say to us: “Penance!”, but to confirm to us that “God’s reign is near”.
In fact, the presentation of the seven apparitions by Raoul Auclair in an extremely vivid style is aimed at helping us grasp their eschatological dimension. “To understand Mary,” he says, “is to enter into History; it is to find again, to restore, to revive, the Sense of History which Satan stole. It is to penetrate into the depths of, and into all that was predestined by, God’s action on earth: eschatology.”
Eschatology is God’s plan of love for the entire universe, a plan that is nurtured and precipitated toward an ineffable success. Because the times are particularly evil, Mary of the Assumption comes to help and reassure us herself, while creation groans under the pains of childbirth.
Thus, Raoul Auclair can provide an introduction to allow us to penetrate immediately and more deeply into the theme which will be dealt with at Fatima: “Mary’s interventions in our human history” and to grasp it striking timeliness.
Father André Richard, Paris, France
L’Homme Nouveau, Paris* * *
A convinced believer, apostle, thinker and writer, Raoul Auclair synthesizes within himself the best elements of Bloy, Bernanos and Claudel. He has the fulness of the apocalyptic vision of the first, the vigorous and terse style of the second and the deep biblical knowledge of the third.
All of these elements are to be found drawn together in Les Épiphanies de Marie, a powerful yet contained book.
Les Épiphanies de Marie is a stimulating book capable of invigorating those who are currently suffering from a spiritual vitamin deficiency, in a society which has relegated all supernatural realities to the status of myths.
In his original way of presenting the Marian manifestations of Paris (rue du Bac), La Salette, Lourdes, Pontmain, Fatima, Beauraing and Banneux, the author demonstrates that this is divine continuity. His account, in the form of dialogue between some authentic characaters and other fictious ones, faithfully respects the historical facts surrounding the event but sheds new light on it. The author excels particularly in actualizing even the best-known texts and in buttressing them with biblical quotations. This Work is not merely a pious endeavor. It is an extremely captivating literary work which “France-Culture” has widely publicized.
Henri-M. Guindon, S.M.M., Ottawa
Le Droit, Ottawa, December 16, 1967* * *
Les Épiphanies de Marie published by the Éditions Beauchesne relates the Virgin's apparitions in Paris, La Salette, Lourdes, Pontmain, Fatima, Beauraing and Banneux....
Not only does the author intensely experience these manifestations but he also gives us their mystical and eschatological significance, in a spirit of complete freedom, of course, but always within the Church's line of thought.
These apparitions came about as though by design at difficult periods of our history in order to warn Christian people and to revive their faith.
Whoever wishes to know and understand, but also and more particularly, whoever loves Mary, must read this work in which Raoul Auclair put not only all his talent, but also his heart....
Paul Bazan
© 1998 - Tous droits réservés : PAVILLON RAOUL AUCLAIR INC. Québec, Canada
