THE BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCES FOR PROPHECY OF THE VIRGIN MARY
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VIRGIN MARY APPEARANCES
The White Light in the Mirror
 On July 30th, 2001, I was sitting at my
computer working on a CD when
an apparition happened. The door to my bedroom was open, and
on the front of the door, the part facing the hallway, is a full-length
mirror. As I typed, I glimpsed out of the corner of my left eye
something white in the mirror and I turned my head slightly to look
in that direction. There in my mirror was a white light, but it was
not a reflection of anything in the room. It was thick white light,
long and thin, almost the length of the mirror. As I watched it I
realized it was a Being of Light. I hoped it would stay longer but it
disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. I continued to watch
the mirror in hopes of seeing it again.
As I watched and hoped, I heard an inner voice say, "Someone
wishes to speak with you." I am used to hearing inner voices.
Since that bright, white light went bang in my biofield in 1993, I
have seen visions and heard plenty of voices. This voice I
recognized as my spirit guide Sarasvati, Hindu Goddess of Art and Music. By the way, I wonder if
you notice that the first part of her name is a palindrome (word
spelled the same front to back and back to front)? The ancient
alchemists used palindromes in their writings as a secret code to
indicate that they understood and participated in the sacred
"within-without" reality. Within-without is another expression, and
a slightly different meaning, of the alchemical maxim, "as above,
so below." When you see a palindrome in spiritual writing and you
know what it means, the idea is that you have a secret
communication with that writer.
The word Vati means "water" in many languages. You can put the
two parts of her name together and get where she's coming from.
A variation of the spelling of her name, Sarras, is the sacred land
to which the Knights of the Round Table sailed on a river in
search of the Holy Grail. I sail around in that sacred land all the time and I found the Holy Grail, also. Or rather, it found me. Sarasvati tells me her name means "the
river within." Carl Jung would reply, "Of course, the collective
unconscious, the stream of consciousness." He might also add that
I am standing with both feet in that river. And he would be right.
I asked Sarasvati who wanted to speak with me, and she replied,
"Mother Mary." I sat up a little straighter, intuitively straightening
my spinal column so that Ida and Pingala, the braided nervous
system of my chakra system, might be more in alignment. I heard
Mary say. "Dear One, will you work with me?" "Of course," I
replied. "What do you want me to do?" She answered, "Prepare
for me a CD and I will visit you on my birthday." "When is your
birthday?" I asked. "August 13th," she replied. Then, she gave me
a new spiritual name, the 6th spiritual name I have received since
1993. Virgin Mary continues to work with me. She is the inspiration for the book I wrote in 2004, The Shadow Breakers.
I am learning that part of the alchemical marriage to spirit includes
taking the name of the spiritual being whom you "marry." It made
me happy that she gave me her name because it meant she was
going to merge with me. Some people call this a "walk-in"
experience. Others call it a "braid" experience, in which spirit and
human are braided. In the braid experience, the strands of human
DNA are "re-combined," as alchemists would say. It crossed my
mind that my DNA was going to be encoded or imprinted by and
with her. Or "sealed" by her, as the ancient Gnostics and
Revelationists would say. In fact, the Gnostics of the 1st to the 4th
century did say that when Mary acts in this capacity, she is called
Sophia, Queen of Heaven, her name being the Greek word for
Wisdom.
In a mystical process, Sophia seals the soul against the "powers of
Matter," and she does it with the virtue of Wisdom. Virtue more
or less trumps power, and Wisdom therefore trumps any powers
that Matter might produce, since Matter has no wisdom but must
seek within for enlightenment and wisdom. The powers of Matter
are the temptations of matter, usually money or power or other
strong desires and longings for the things of Matter. With this
gnosis in hand, with this basic understanding of what was
happening, I was happy to be merged with, walked-in on,
braided, re-combined or sealed, whatever the case may be.
While she was speaking with me, Mary sealed me. She gave me the name Maria
Saint Claire. My first thought was that the standards for sainthood
must have been lowered lately, but I accepted her new name. It
seals me, and somewhere on down or on up the road in this
lifetime or other realities, I will be able to trump some base power with
this virtuous name. I don't know when or how it will happen, but I
will be able to pull it from my deck of powers and virtues and I
will trump some force of lust or greed or longing that is tempting
me. "Get back, you force of Matter, for I AM Maria Saint
Claire!" Yes, I actually believe in this. In the meantime, I began
work on her CD.
As I researched and wrote the booklet on the CD, The
Beautiful Appearances for Prophecy of the Virgin Mary (the title
she asked me to use), I was amazed to discover some interesting
similarities of her numerous appearances throughout the last
century and her appearances to me. She is often seen as a
reflection in glass. This is mostly in Florida and in Illinois. I live in
Florida. Millions of people have traveled to Illinois and to Florida
to see her as a reflection in glass. She is also known to appear as
a reflection in a mirror.
Her favorite date for appearances is the 13th of the month. She
so often appears on that date, and she mentions it so much in her
prophecies, that the Pope observes the date, making all his public
prayers to her and his announcements about her on the 13th of
the month. Further, she has made a remarkable appearance as an
oval of thick, white light when she appeared publicly in front of a
crowd as a white-light paten on the tongue of a young girl. It reminds me of that ancient Hindu saying, "Lucky is the man on whose tongue Sarasvati sits."
I also learned that the groups who form to honor and mark her
appearances and prophecies are called Marian groups, giving me
an understanding about the name "Maria." Discovering this really
tied together some loose ends for me. For years I have been
hearing the inner voices of a group of archangels who tell me they
are the "Mariano Archangels," but I never knew what that meant.
I always thought it meant "Year of Mary." But the most amazing
thing I learned in my research was the discovery that, in
Rwanda where Mary was appearing to seven visionaries, one of the
visionaries was named Marie-Claire. It convinces me to adopt the
name she gave me and to use it when writing about her.
During one of Mary's appearances on the planet, she left behind
an artifact that has become a religious icon. This is the cape of
Juan Diego, on which she left an imprint of herself in 1531. This
famous cloth artifact, called the Virgin of Guadalupe, is at Mexico
City in the Basilica of Guadalupe. This is the thing that the
Catholic pilgrims approach on hands and knees, to get their
miracle healings. When I first read about it, I was reminded of the Shroud of Turin. The Virgin of Guadalupe and the Shroud of Turin are
similar in that both show images of deities on cloth, and in both
cases no explanation can be given as to how the images got there,
even though a lot of scientific testing has taken place.
The Shroud of Turin shows the image of man, apparently
crucified. His skin all over his body was sliced to ribbons by a
Roman flagrum, a kind of whip the Romans used on their
criminals, and in every place he was struck, white light can been
seen pouring through his skin. Scientists actually concluded,
believe it or not that scientists would say this, that this light coming through his skin is the
inexplicable result of "resurrection radiance" caused by a "burst of
radiant heat." I remember when I first read this that I thought I
had found an explanation for that bright, white light that went bang
in my biofield.
Last Tuesday the 8th, in a dream, Mary appeared to me as a 12
year-old girl. This is consistent with her appearances or
apparitions I have been researching, in which she is usually
described as a young girl of age 12 to 17. In my dream, she made
"friends" with me and she told me I could ride her horse whenever
I wanted to. I said, "Great! I want to ride your horse." She said,
"OK, next time we're together you can." I woke up feeling so
happy about having this young girl as a new friend. I have to
admit, though, I was a little disappointed that I was working night
and day, trying to create a CD for a young girl. In my mind, I was
working with the older woman, the mother of Jesus, the one with
the shrouded head and the imploring eyes. I didn't like to think I
was knocking myself out on behalf of a kid. Just as I was thinking
that, a friend of mine called, and I told her about the dream.
I said it reminded of a dream I had several years earlier, in which
I dreamed I was in Heaven and that I knew it had to be Heaven,
because no place could look like that and not be Heaven. In the
dream I took a tour of the place and then I was invited into a vast
mansion by an 8-year old kid whose name was "God," and who
gave me a silver and gold sword and wanted me to "play pirates,"
with him. So, I did. Never having had children, I loved it! My own little boy named God to play with. What a joy! We sword-fought for a while, jumping around
on the furniture and leaping in the air and running and playing from
room to room. Then I woke up, just amazed that I had been to Heaven and
talked with God and that he was only 8 years old. I told my
friend, "I'm beginning to get the impression that children are
running the Universe." My friend said, "Well, if you think about it,
in an odd way it all makes sense. Remember in the Bible, Jesus
says we can't get into the kingdom of Heaven unless we become
as 'little children.'"
Then, last Thursday, the 10th, just as I closed my eyes to sleep,
Mary appeared to me in my 3rd eye chakra as a beautiful young
woman of about age 17, and she was tinted powder blue all over,
her hair, her dress, her face. She looked like a light blue Alice in
Wonderland. Just as I saw her I experienced a jerk sensation all
over my body and I was physically jerked once. I had never had
that experience before with an inner vision, so I knew that
something had taken place in my body, maybe via the chakra
system since the vision occurred in the 3rd eye chakra. It could
mean I had experienced something deeply cellular.
If you consider that the chakra system is the subatomic particle
operating system of the body, then anything that happens via the
chakra system also effects the braided nerve strands and DNA
spirals of the body. This touches on some of the Atlantean
material in my book on CD, Lampoon Dictionary of Particle Fizz666.
Then, last night on August 13th, as I surfed the channels on TV, I
watched the first part of a silent film from 1912, called Cleopatra.
It was tinted green. I noticed that the woman who played
Cleopatra looked familiar and I watched a while. Then I surfed
on. Just before I turned off the TV, I had the inclination to go
back and look at that movie again. I surfed back to that channel
and saw that the movie was now tinted powder blue, and that
Cleopatra was tinted blue just like Mary was in my vision of her.
Then, the scene in the movie shifted to a scene of a man tied to a
wall. His shirt was off, his back was bare and he was being
whipped with a Roman flagrum. I watched for a few more
seconds and then I turned off the TV to give it some thought. It
seemed to me I had time traveled, which is not new to me. I time
travel frequently. But this was a minutely precise time travel
experience, I thought. To travel forward just to that moment in
time and to see less than one minute of a blue woman and a man
being whipped with a flagrum…well, it was a very precise thing.
Then I fell asleep, forgetting about Mary's promised visit. I dreamed I saw the Infant, a beautiful child just waiting for me,
her mother, to come and breast feed her. I kissed her head so
softly and tenderly, what a beautiful, sweet baby, and I knew for
the first time in my life how it feels to be the mother of a soft,
cuddly baby. And not just any baby, but the Divine Child, the
Holy Infant! Joyously, I took to that baby and circled it with my
body. I WAS the baby's mother, no doubt I was the baby's
mother, and I knew the deeply cellular satisfaction of being that
baby's mother. I fed the infant frothy white milk and we both
drank it, both feasting on this milk that comes from Mother Mary,
and I thought I could taste the baby.
In the dream, the baby was in a bed and I WAS Mary and the
baby was Mary, just born, a newborn infant on her birthday, and
I experienced being the mother of Mother Mary, the whole
experience being that of spiraling embeddedness. Does conception get any more immaculate than that? And can you tell me,
please, what is the difference in being the mother of a baby and in
having the cellular memory and experience of being the mother of
a baby? My analytical mind may know the difference, but my
physical body does not, and that may be the key to many things
yet to come, to many realities yet to be experienced.
But, I think no more about that and just keep on working. I give
thanks to the God/dess who tends to me so well that she sees my
needs, she feels my longings, and she sees to it that my Soul shall
not go hungering. Wisdom is in your knowing that,
no matter what the temptations and glories the powers of Matter
may offer, nothing is ever so divinely beautiful and peaceful as the
realm of Heaven, where a little boy named God awaits you, where a baby becomes yours and where you become the mother you never experienced being in your lifetime. That is Wisdom; Virtue is in understanding why.
Nothing is ever so sublime than a God who fulfills your every
need, including that of being the God you need for him to be: the little boy you never had, the one you wanted to play pirates with. Thank you, God, for being there for me. And thank you, Goddess, for mothering me like the child that I AM.
Peace and Love on the Feast Day of St. Mary the Virgin,
Maria Saint Claire
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MARY APPEARS ATOP CATHEDRALS
Immaculate Conception
(This section is collected from various sources on the Internet and in many cases rewritten by me.)
Mary (Virgin Mary), mother of Jesus Christ, is revered by Christians since apostolic times (1st century). Shrines and places of pilgrimage devoted to Mary are found throughout the world. The Gospels give only a fragmentary account of Mary's life, mentioning her chiefly in connection with the beginning and the end of Jesus' life. As early as the 2nd century, Christians venerated Mary by calling her Mother of God, a title that primarily stresses the divinity of Jesus. In 431 the Council of Ephesus solemnly affirmed that Mary is to be called theotókos (Mother of God); the title has been used since that time in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
Closely related to the title Mother of God is the title Virgin Mary, which stresses the belief that God, not Mary's husband Saint Joseph, was the true father of Jesus. Mary was also referred to as the aieiparthenos (ever-virgin), and by the middle of the 7th century the understanding of that title included the conviction that Mary remained a virgin for the whole of her life. The passages in the New Testament referring to the brothers and sisters of Jesus have been explained accordingly as references to relatives of Jesus or to children of Joseph by a previous marriage.
In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, various Christian writers began to express the belief that, because of her intimate union with God through the Holy Spirit in the conception of Jesus (Luke 1:35), Mary was completely free from any taint of sin. During the late Middle Ages (13th century to 15th century), devotion to Mary grew dramatically. Preaching and the arts of this period particularly stressed Christ's divinity; and as Christ became a more awe-inspiring, judgmental figure, Mary came to be depicted as the one who interceded for sinners. Her prayers and pleas were seen as the agency that tempered the stern justice of Christ.
 The principal theological development concerning Mary in the Middle Ages was the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine maintains that Mary was conceived without original sin. In 1854 Pope Pius IX issued a solemn decree defining the Immaculate Conception for all Roman Catholics, but the doctrine has not been accepted by Protestants or by the Orthodox churches.
According to the Roman Catholic dogma of Immaculate Conception, from the first instant of its creation, the soul of the Virgin Mary was free from original sin; this doctrine is not to be confused with that of the Virgin Birth, which holds that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin mother. Despite divergent scholarly opinions, the Roman Catholic church has consistently favored belief in the Immaculate Conception; a festival of that name, the significance of which is now indefinite, was celebrated in the Eastern church as early as the 5th century and in the Western church from the 7th century.
Opposition to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was conducted in the 12th century by the French monastic St. Bernard of Clairvaux and in the 13th century by the famous Italian philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas. Among those who supported the doctrine was the 13th-century Scottish theologian John Duns Scotus. The theological controversy over the Immaculate Conception gained momentum in the 19th century. Finally in 1854, Pope Pius IX issued a solemn decree declaring the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma essential for the belief of the universal church. Under the title Immaculate Conception, the Virgin Mary is invoked as the patron of the United States, Brazil, Portugal, and Corsica. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8.
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MARY ATOP THE CATHEDRALS
The Cape of Juan Diego
Throughout the fall of 1999, a digitally recreated image of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe toured southern California. The exhibition traveled around the Southland and was shown in nearly 60 churches. The image, which is an exact duplication of the image in the Basilica in Guadalupe, was received in Los Angeles with a large celebration at Olvera Street Plaza. The final showing was December 11, 1999, with a rally and festival at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. What is this image and why do so many people want to view it? The story behind it is an amazing one.
In 1531 when the Spanish conquistadors were imposing their rule and their Roman Catholic religion on the remaining population of the Aztec Indians, the Virgin Mary appeared for the first time in Guadalupe, Mexico. She chose to leave an imprint of herself on the cloth cape of a Mexican peasant rather than on the shining metal of the uniform of a general. Perhaps she did so to combat the harsh actions of the Spanish Catholic Conquistadors against the Indians and the subsequent destruction of faith in the Divine. 469 years later, the imprint is still there and like the Shroud of Turin, in which the body of Jesus is said to be imprinted, the image is perfectly preserved and has become a religious icon on display for all to see. The image was digitally recreated and put on tour in southern California.
From all parts of the world pilgrims come to view the image of Mary on the Cape of Juan Diego. As brilliant as it ever was, the image on the cape marks the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Unlike the Shroud, which is usually locked away, the cape is always on display, perhaps to give us hope that all is not lost despite the inhumanity of our species and despite the brutal actions of conquering armies. The message of the image seems to be that the Virgin Mary appears wherever she likes and without the assistance of an army. The image may also prophesy the numerous appearances of the Virgin that would follow. But as the centuries rolled by, bringing more war and destruction, it was not Mary, pure of heart, who became the darling of the media, but it was war that captured the interest and imagination of the world's population, and thus the media's heart. And although millions continue to see these beautiful appearances of Mary, the media still denies an interest in them. How the image got onto the cape is the story of a miracle and well worth the telling.
In 1531 Juan Diego lived in a small village that would become Mexico City as a result of the appearance of the Virgin. Today, Mexico City has the largest population of any city in the world and also the poorest population. In many respects, it is a den of thieves but it also holds one of the most beautiful shrines on the planet. This shrine has become the center of miraculous healings and cures. In popularity, it rivals the Vatican as a sacred place of the heart of Mary. And to this day, pilgrims approach the shrine on their knees, crawling in humility for miles to reach the place and to view the image on the cape.
 On December 9, Juan Diego had his first private revelation as he was out walking in the hills on a chilly afternoon. As defined by the Cardinals of the Vatican, a private revelation is one in which the Virgin appears to a person in a private way and is not seen by anyone else. A public revelation is one in which she appears to more than one person or to a group, in which most or all of the group sees her. Just before Juan Diego saw Mary, he heard the singing of the heavenly choir. Centuries later, when Mary began making appearances in 1984 to crowds gathered near a grotto in the hills in Betania, Venezuela, there were many reports of invisible choirs singing just before her appearances. She also has appeared in the open woods to crowds at Fatima, Portugal and at Medjugorje, Bosnia, where she first appeared on a mountain. That day in 1531, Juan Diego saw her appear on a hill.
The voices of the heavenly choir heard by Juan Diego seemed to be coming out of the sky above the hill. Just as he finished his climb to the top of the hill in search of the voices, the choir stopped singing and instead of his seeing a heavenly choir, he saw a golden cloud of light. A similar golden cloud of light would appear out of a grotto opening in the mountain village of Lourdes, France centuries later in 1858, but Juan Diego was not thinking about that. In fact, he was not thinking about anything at all but was standing as an amazed witness to a heavenly event.
 In Lourdes, on February 11, 1858, the 14-year-old girl named Bernadette was out in the woods like Juan Diego on a chilly afternoon. She was gathering firewood near the banks of a river. As she watched in amazement, from out of a grotto opening appeared a golden cloud and from out of the cloud appeared a beautiful young lady of 16 or 17 dressed in a white gown with a blue ribbon and with roses on her feet. The lady wore a veil and held a rosary of white beads on a golden chain. Bernadette had the realization that she was seeing the Virgin Mary. But as Juan Diego watched in amazement 327 years before Bernadette, out of his golden cloud emerged a beautiful Mexican girl who actually spoke to him in living voice and told him her name - the Virgin Mary. She told Juan Diego of "the true God who gives life and maintains it in existence." Then, she instructed him to tell the priests of the village to build a chapel on the very site where she appeared.
Juan Diego, following the instructions of the Virgin Mary, told the priests of the village about her request that a chapel be built on the place of her appearance to him. But he met with disappointment, and it was with great sadness that he returned to the place to tell Mary of their refusal to follow her wishes. He suggested that she oblige him with some kind of sign so that they would believe him. She agreed to do it if he would promise to return with the local priest and a bishop. Juan Diego made her the promise. It was early December and the trees were barren and cold, but as the Virgin Mary turned toward the hillside, a miracle occurred. Suddenly, hundreds of beautiful red roses began to blossom on the barren hill. Mary instructed Juan to pick them and place them in his cape and to carry them to the priest and the bishop as a sign. Juan followed her directions explicitly and took them the flowers in his cape.
The priest and the bishop were waiting for Juan Diego as he was ushered into the room. Ceremoniously and with much anticipation, Juan Diego unwrapped the roses and presented them to the two clerics. But no one looked at the flowers. All eyes were on the cape. The priest and bishop fell on their knees and began to pray. Then, Juan Diego saw what they were looking at. On his cape where the roses had been was a beautiful image of the Virgin Mary. 13 days later a simple chapel was built on the site as requested by Mary, and the miracles of Guadalupe began with the healing of Juan Diego's uncle, who was suddenly and miraculously saved from his deathbed. The cape resides in the Basilica Guadalupe and the Virgin was coronated in 1945 as Queen of Wisdom of the Americas.
The images on the cape are astonishing. Among the images are the stars that surround the Virgin Mary, representing the known constellations. In Cairo, Egypt in 1967, the Virgin appeared surrounded by stars. Millions saw it on television. In Menufiya, Egypt on August 13, 1997, she appeared to the faithful amidst falling stars. Even more astonishing than the stars on the cape are her eyes, whose corneas are a mirror reflecting a detailed image of everyone who was in the room that day in 1531 when the cape was first seen. In this respect the cape is like the Shroud of Turin, which shows a double image, one the negative mirror image reversal of the other positive image and both the imprint of a man who apparently was crucified. Also like the Shroud, which was miraculously saved from fire when the church in which it was housed burned down, the cape escaped destruction by fire when the church in which it was housed was nearly destroyed by a dynamite blast. And like the Shroud, the cape has undergone scientific tests to determine how the image could have been imprinted on it. The only determination that can be made is that it definitely was not painted on the cape. But these scientific studies are of no interest to the faithful, who come to receive healings and cures that are said to be an everyday occurrence at Guadalupe.
Where do the healings originate, from within the faithful who seek them or from the cape and image left behind by the beautiful Virgin Mary and Juan Diego? Could the healings possibly be the result of the heavenly partnership of both - the interior faith of the person and the exterior symbol of it as displayed by the cape? As humans, will we ever be able to understand it? And what difference does it really make, as long the miracle is there and the person is healed? These are questions we need to ask ourselves, whether we can produce the answers or not. This writer believes we build our faith and thus ourselves from the inside out and from the outside in. On the inside we build a strong sense of self-worth and confidence in our own future and, on the outside, we discover clues and encouragements of the sacredness of our inner-outer relationship with reality and of our relationship with ourselves and with each other. Is this is the recipe for a miracle? Take some faith and hope and add to that just a touch of God, and we create for ourselves the salvations we seek.
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VIRGIN MARY
Where She Appears and What She Wears
 It was in 1915 when Mary first combated Marxism with public revelations. She appeared when an atheistic, Marxist government ruled the country of Portugal. She appeared out in the countryside to three small children who were tending sheep. They lived in the nearby village of Fatima, Portugal. In 1915, Portugal was verging on totalitarianism after the revolution of 1910. The revolution had decreed a sharp separation of Church and state, Church property was being confiscated, and religious congregations had been ordered to dissolve. The intelligentsia and ruling classes were anti-religious and anti-clerical. They were contemptuous of traditional religious beliefs that they considered to be mere superstition. They controlled the media and pervaded it with their errant wisdom that no good could ever come from feeling religious. Everyone was affected by church closings and became careful not to be effusive with their religious sentiments. Any display of ardent faith was becoming punishable by law. Despite this, strong religious faith still could be found among the peasants of the rural areas.
It was in this socially and politically repressed environment that Mary chose to manifest, and perhaps it was her success at Fatima that encouraged her to take on Nasser in Egypt fifty-three years later. At Fatima she appeared to three young children, Lucia dos Santos, age nine, and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who were tending sheep in the fields. One of the children, Lucia, thought she saw a translucent cloud that seemed to be shaped in the form of a human body. It moved across a clear sky and finally hovered above a pine grove.
A year later, in the summer of 1916, the children were guiding sheep to a meadow when they were caught in a sudden rainstorm. Taking shelter at a nearby cave, they ate lunch and waited until the rain stopped before collecting their herd. They said the Rosary, and then the rain stopped suddenly. Within moments of leaving the cave, they felt a strong wind blowing across the pines. 58 years earlier, Bernadette had a similar experience when she saw a strong wind blow a rose bush outside the opening of a grotto. When Bernadette turned in the direction of the rose bush she saw a golden cloud, but when the three children turned in the direction of the wind, they saw a translucent cloud like the one Lucia had seen the year before. This time the cloud moved toward them and finally became a transparent young man about 14 years old who spoke to them in living voice and told him he was the Angel of Peace. He gave them several prophecies.
On May 13, 1917 the Virgin appeared once more to the three small children, her appearance heralded by a huge burst of lightning in the sky. The children were instructed by the Virgin in living voice to return to the site on the 13th day of each month, and she gave them a prophecy in three parts. Word spread about the appearances at Fatima, but the atheistic Marxist government began a campaign to ridicule and discredit the children. Nonetheless, the children returned every month on the 13th day, as instructed by Mary. Once again she asked that a church be built on the site of her appearance. The Virgin Mary's request for a church on the site was finally fulfilled when the Basilica at Fatima was built.
The three children, who had suffered ridicule and threats, asked the Virgin for a miracle, for some sign that would prove that they had actually been visited. The Virgin agreed and specified the date for the sign as October 13. By now, the Marxist government could not stop the people from believing in the appearances of Mary, and on October 13, 1917, 70,000 people gathered in hopes of seeing this sign given by Mary. According to the accounts of the journalists and reporters in attendance, the sun behaved very oddly that day. First, the rain stopped suddenly, as it had the first day the children witnessed the Virgin at Fatima. As the clouds parted and the sun appeared, many people noticed that their wet clothes suddenly became miraculously dry. Then, the sun turned a strange silver color. It altered shape from a sphere to a disc and began to spin on its axis, shooting luminous colors from spokes into the sky. Then, the sun stopped spinning, and everyone thought it was over. Suddenly, the sun began plummeting to the earth, and all thought the end of the world had arrived. Most of the 70,000 fell to their knees and prayed.
Are we to believe this really happened? What if the Phaistos Disk is an historical record in clay of this same kind of event in the Mediterranean Bronze Age? The disk has spirals on both sides and its terra-cotta color might be the artist(s) attempt at duplicating the sun's color. The spiral could indicate "spin." An image is concealed on the Phaistos Disk that might be meant to show a spinning sun. This image is a star inside a heptagram inside a heptagon. If the star represents the Sun then, given the spiral that underlies it and the action implied by the heptagram-heptagon, the idea could be spinning sun. As extraordinary as it seems, this fits with my belief that the disk contains an ancient prophecy of the birth of Jesus.
 
Sixty-seven years later in 1984 at Betania, Venezuela, witness would again observe the spinning sun. In 1986 at Medjugorje, Bosnia the sun is said to have danced, moved and whirled and become so pale that one could look directly at it with the naked eye. Other accounts of an oddly behaving sun can be found in Gnostic literature of the 1st to the 4th century C.E., when the sun is said to have reversed itself and gone backwards on the day Jesus was crucified. At Fatima, witnesses saw the sun turn to all the colors of the rainbow. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the sun stopped spinning and returned to its proper place in the sky. All accounts of the Fatima event were exactly the same, but interpretations varied by a few whom had not been there but who read about it. They suggested that the manifestation all had witnessed was really the display of a UFO. However, none of the 70,000 witnesses reported anything like a UFO, and many reported being healed of their medical problems. Although the behavior of the sun was the most extraordinary thing 70,000 people had ever seen, ultimately it was eclipsed by the significance placed on the Third Secret of Fatima, the most famous of the Marian prophecies and the last one to be revealed. The child Lucia, to whom the prophecy had been given and who first saw the transparent cloud, became Sister Lucia and the sole caretaker of the Third Secret of Fatima until 1944, when she wrote the secret down and gave it to a local bishop. He in turn gave it to the Pope for safekeeping. The Secret has remained inside the Vatican until it was revealed on May 13, 2000.
Physical phenomena of nature seem to mark the appearances of the Virgin Mary, and perhaps none more startling than the occurrences at Menufiya, Egypt on August 13, 1997, 80 years to the day after the fantastic events at Fatima. At Menufiya, the Virgin's appearances before the people of Egypt were preceded by fire in the sky. There were incredible bolts of lightning, glowing falling stars, incredible fireballs and rings of fire around the cross at the Coptic Church named for the Virgin. In Menufiya the startling visions of the Virgin were followed by the appearance of two large white doves, almost magically suspended in air as they flapped their wings. Finally, a beautiful light appeared in the bell tower, and within seconds she appeared. The Virgin Mary was described as beautiful, wearing a crown and a blue gown. She moved about, praying and making motions as if blessing the crowd. She is said to have transformed into a huge silver dove and flown away. Sixteen years earlier in 1981 at Medjugorje, Bosnia, she appeared not as a silver dove but wearing a silver gown. Later, at Medjugorje, someone noticed up in the sky two small clouds shaped in the form of a cross. The sky was completely clear except for this cross of clouds. Later, the cross turned into a perfect shape of a dove. Miracles followed her appearances in Menufiya, Egypt and Medjugorje, Bosnia.
 
Place Mary atop the church.
Sixteen years after her appearances on the dome of the Coptic Church in Cairo, the Virgin began to make her appearances in 1983 in Shoubra, Egypt, a suburb of Cairo. It was observed that a woman clothed in light was seen above the roof of the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. Damian. Once again, word spread and thousands assembled at the church every evening to witness the startling appearance, which sometimes lasted five hours. The appearances became even more frequent during the ensuing years into the 1980's. The Virgin, who was bathed in light and who hovered above the church, was very similar in appearances to the Virgin at El-Zoutin, also in the suburbs of Cairo. A commission established by the head of the Coptic Church investigated the appearance. Results of the investigation were released in 1987, referring to the appearance as a phenomenon for which thanks was given to the Lord. In addition, the commission thanked the thousands of people who had come to pray each evening for their calm and civil behavior as they "receive the blessing of the Virgin." Once again, the shining light of the vision above a Coptic Church in Egypt had brought together thousands of people of all faiths in prayer and thankfulness.
On the evening of August 21, 1982, one year before her appearances in Shoubra, Egypt, the Virgin Mary appeared in a Coptic Orthodox Church named after her in Edfu, Egypt. The church, which is located in El-Gomhourya Street in Edfu, was the scene of continuing appearances that lasted three months until the end of November. As news of the appearances spread throughout Egypt and the crowds grew with every passing day, and clergy began responding and investigating the situation. Finally, HG Bishop Hedra of Aswan confirmed the appearances.
Not only does nature behave unnaturally when in the presence of the Virgin Mary, but also crosses and statues take on unusual characteristics. In public revelation in Schio, Italy, the wooden cross in the church gives off the scent of roses. In Medjugorje, Bosnia, a 14-ton cross disappears into a clear night and then reappears with lights emanating from it and no connection to any electrical devices. In Akita, Japan between 1973 and 1975, a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary bled, wept and sweated. In Akita, the Virgin Mary appeared to the visionary Sister Agnes Sasagawa, beginning on June 12, 1973 and continuing until 1975. Like many mystics before her, a brilliant light, often called "the light too bright to behold" or "the light of the mystic," visited Sister Agnes. The Virgin appeared wrapped in light in Betania, Venezuela, Menufiya, Egypt and Shoubra, Egypt. In the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, this vision of light is not described as the light of the mystic but as the visionary moment. In Akita, brilliant rays of light emanated suddenly from the tabernacle on that momentous day in June, and then the event occurred twice again on the two days that followed. When Sister Agnes saw the light she received a prophecy from the Virgin. On August 3, she received another prophecy and then on October 13, she received the final prophecy.
Exactly sixteen days after these the emanations of brilliant light in Akita, a wound in the shape of the cross appeared in the palm of Sr. Agnes's left hand. It bled freely and was painful to her. Then, on July 6, Sister Agnes heard the living voice of the Virgin Mary coming from the three-foot-tall, wooden statue of the Virgin Mary in the chapel. Several of the other sisters of the Order saw drops of blood coming from the statue's right hand, mirroring the blood that flowed from the left hand of Sister Agnes. On four occasions to follow this blood was seen coming from the wound of the Virgin's hand on the statue. The wound was visible until September 29, when it vanished. Just as the wound vanished, the statue began to sweat, most notably on the forehand and the neck. Two years later on January 4, 1975, the statue of the Blessed Virgin began to weep and continued weeping at intervals for the next six years and eight months. The statue wept on 101 occasions.
 Between the years of 1981 and 1989, during the time Mary began appearing in Medugorje, Bosnia and Betania, Venezuela, she also was appearing to seven visionaries in Kibeho, Rwanda, to whom she gave apocalyptic visions and prophecies. She has also appeared in Tung Lu, China. Since 1966, the Virgin has been appearing in the United States. In Hartford, Connecticut in July of 1999, she appeared as an image in a tree, imprinting an image of herself into the tree like onto the Cape of Juan Diego. A shrine was built to her on that site but the city moved it. Seventy-nine years earlier in 1917, at Fatima, Portugal, a small white cloud formed around the trunk of the tree where her appearances had occurred. On May 5, 1999, in Stretor, Illinois, a woman snapped three photographs of a statue of the Virgin Mary, and upon having it developed discovered the image of Jesus appearing in three stages along side the Virgin. Thousands of people have traveled to the site to see the statue that is the subject of the photographs. In Streator, miracles of healings and cures are associated with her appearances. In December of 1996 at Clearwater, Florida, she appeared as a reflection in the glass of an office building several stories tall. Millions of people have traveled to see it. In July 17, 1999 in Joliet, Illinois, she appeared in the glass of the attic window of an abandoned house. Thousands have traveled to see it and a group of Marian devotees is trying to buy the house and make it a shrine to Mary. Television crews are often on hand in case she appears so they can film it. And on July 30, 2001 she appeared to me in a bedroom mirror.
August 13 is the date the Virgin appeared on the roof of the church in Menufiya, Egypt and it also is the date of the publication of this account of the Virgin's appearances, as she requested. In her private revelation to me, she asked that a record of her appearances be compiled. Although I knew little about her appearances, I was chosen by Mary for the assignment and instructed that the date of August 13, 2001 be set for the publication of the CD containing this literature about her. She showed herself in a mirror, manifesting as a long oval of pure, white light that was somehow in the mirror but not reflecting anything in the room. Then, she gave me the spiritual name Maria Saint Claire, which she said was given in love and was to be used when writing about her. I accepted the spiritual name and began work on Mary's behalf, being much surprised to discover in her subsequent researches that a visionary in Kibeho, Rwanda named Marie-Claire was visited by the Virgin many times between the years 1981 and 1989.
The Virgin Mary, who exists exclusively, except for private and public revelations, in the timeless realm of spirit does not obey the conventions of linear time as we do. It is my observation that Mary's appearances seem to be calculated to occur, not in a linear way, but in a phenomenal way. For example, like a true Goddess she seems less concerned with time and more concerned with things feminine, such as what color gown to wear, whether to wear a ribbon and whether to appear in a cloud of light. She decides whether to wear her crown or to appear in the midst of stars. She chooses her colors of appearance and decides where her roses shall be placed. She chooses whether to come with angels or with doves of the holy spirit and she has power over the weather, deciding whether to be preceded by wind, lightning, thunder, rain, a spinning sun, mists or clouds. She chooses whether to send her Angel of Peace ahead of her or whether to come guarded by the Archangel Michael, as she did in the Marxist country of Portugal. She comes when she desires to come and not before or after.
She chooses whether to appear out in a field, or near a grotto, or inside or on top of a church. She appears on television if she chooses and does not appear when requested but only on dates that she sets. She appears both publicly and privately to those lucky enough to receive her, and she prefers the number 13 and likes to appear on the 13th day of the month. She observes our political conventions but combats them with churches built at her request, and she marks her appearances with impressions and designs that she leaves behind as momentos. She acknowledges the presence of witnesses and even touches their belongings. She seems to do all this easily and without strain, and we are grateful to her for her presence on our planet and in our lives. The Virgin Mary is a beautiful Lady of Light to whom we give the utmost devotion and love.
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Prophecies of Mary at Akita, Japan From 1973 to 1975
    
"The Cause of Her Sadness"
July 6, 1973
"My daughter, my novice, you have obeyed me well in abandoning all to follow
me. Is the infirmity of your ears painful? Your deafness will be healed, be
sure. Does the wound of your hand cause you to suffer? Pray in reparation for
the sins of men. Each person in this community is my irreplaceable daughter. Do
you say well the prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist? Then, let us pray it
together."
"Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in Holy Eucharist, I consecrate
my body and soul to be entirely one with Your Heart, being sacrificed at every
instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father pleading
for the coming of His Kingdom."
"Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as You will for the
glory of the Father and the salvation of souls."
"Most holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your Divine Son.
Please defend and protect me as Your Special Child. Amen."
When the prayer was finished, the Heavenly Voice said:
"Pray very much for the Pope, Bishops, and Priests. Since your Baptism you
have always prayed faithfully for them. Continue to pray very much...very much.
Tell your superior all that passed today and obey him in everything that he will
tell you. He has asked that you pray with fervor."
August 3, 1973
"My daughter, my novice, do you love the Lord? If you love the Lord, listen
to what I have to say to you."
"It is very important...You will convey it to your superior."
"Many men in this world afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him to
soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and ingrates."
"In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is
preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With my Son I have
intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented
the coming of calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross,
His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a cohort of victim
souls. Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father's anger.
I desire this also from your community...that it love poverty, that it sanctify
itself and pray in reparation for the ingratitude and outrages of so many men.
Recite the prayer of the Handmaids of the Eucharist with awareness of its
meaning; put it into practice; offer in reparation (whatever God may send) for
sins. Let each one endeavor, according to capacity and position, to offer
herself entirely to the Lord."
"Even in a secular institute prayer is necessary. Already souls who wish to
pray are on the way to being gathered together. Without attaching to much
attention to the form, be faithful and fervent in prayer to console the Master."
After a silence:
"Is what you think in your heart true? Are you truly decided to become the
rejected stone? My novice, you who wish to belong without reserve to the Lord,
to become the spouse worthy of the Spouse, make your vows knowing that you must
be fastened to the Cross with three nails. These three nails are poverty,
chastity, and obedience. Of the three, obedience is the foundation. In total
abandon, let yourself be led by your superior. He will know how to understand
you and to direct you.
October 13, 1973
"My dear daughter, listen well to what I have to say to you. You will inform
your superior." After a short silence:
"As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will
inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater
than the deluge, such as one will never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky
and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing
neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate
that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be
the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the
Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests."
"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way
that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The
priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their
confreres...churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who
accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls
to leave the service of the Lord."
"The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God.
The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins
increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them."
"With courage, speak to your superior. He will know how to encourage each
one of you to pray and to accomplish works of reparation."
"It is Bishop Ito, who directs your community."
And She smiled and then
said:
"You have still something to ask? Today is the last time that I will speak
to you in living voice. From now on you will obey the one sent to you and your
superior."
"Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you
from the calamites which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will
be saved."
Akita - The Tears and Message of Mary and The Meaning of Akita
By Fr. Teiji Yasuda, O.S.V.
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VIRGIN MARY
Update From the Pope - May 2000
UPDATE FROM THE POPE - MAY 2000
"ASSASSINATION OF POPE PROPHESIED"
VATICAN DISCLOSES 'THIRD SECRET' OF FATIMA
May 14, 2000 - NY Times - Portugal
Pope John Paul II spoke yesterday with Lucia de Santos, 93, a Carmelite nun,
who believers say was the main recipient of prophecies from the Virgin Mary that
included the spread, and then the collapse, of Communism.
The Vatican today disclosed the so-called third secret of Fátima, which for
decades has kept this shrine of the Virgin Mary at the center of conspiracy
theories and doomsday cults. The Vatican described the secret as a vision of the
1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state, explained that the
one concealed part of the prophecies said to have been revealed to three
Portuguese shepherd children by an apparition of the Virgin in 1917 was a vision
of an attempt to kill a pope.
The "bishop clothed in white," who is the pope, "makes his way with great
effort toward the cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred," Cardinal
Sodano said as he described what he called an interpretation of the vision to
600,000 pilgrims gathered at the sanctuary where John Paul II had just beatified
two of the shepherd children, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and thanked the
Virgin for saving his life on May 13, 1981.
"He too falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire," the
cardinal said.
Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, shot the pope as John Paul drove through a
crowd in St. Peter's Square in 1981 on the anniversary of the 1917 apparition.
Among the explanations the gunman gave prosecutors at a trial in 1985 was that
his attempt was "connected to the third secret of the Madonna of Fatima."
The cardinal's announcement was an effort by the Vatican to put an end to the
kind of fevered speculation that has at times overshadowed the shrine's
spiritual importance to hundreds of millions of Catholics.
Versions of the secret, broadcast on hundreds of websites (usually under
headlines like, "Third Secret Revealed!") range from worldwide nuclear
annihilation to deep rifts in the Roman Catholic Church that lead to rival
papacies.
The following are excerpts of the statement by Secretary of State Cardinal
Angelo Sodano revealing the so-called third secret of Fatima:
"On the solemn occasion of his visit to Fatima, His Holiness has directed me
to make an announcement to you. As you know, the purpose of his visit to Fatima
has been to beatify the two "little shepherds." Nevertheless, he also wishes his
pilgrimage to be a renewed gesture of gratitude to Our Lady for her protection
during these years of his papacy. This protection seems also to be linked to the
so-called "third part" of the secret of Fatima.
"That text contains a prophetic vision similar to those found in the sacred
scripture, which do not describe with photographic clarity the details of future
events, but rather synthesize and condense against a unified background events
spread out over time in a succession and a duration which are not specified. As
a result, the text must be interpreted in a symbolic key.
"The vision of Fatima concerns above all the war waged by atheist systems
against the Church and Christians, and it describes the immense suffering
endured by the witnesses to the faith in the last century of the second
millennium. It is an interminable Way of the Cross led by the Popes of the 20th
century.
"According to the interpretation of the "little shepherds," which was also
recently confirmed by Sister Lucia, the "Bishop clothed in white" who prays for
all the faithful is the Pope. As he makes his way with great effort towards the
cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred (bishops, priests, religious
men and women and many lay persons), he too falls to the ground, apparently
dead, under a burst of gunfire.
"After the assassination attempt of 13 May, 1981, it appeared evident to His
Holiness that it was a "motherly hand which guided the bullet's path," enabling
the "dying Pope" to halt "at the threshold of death." On the occasion of a visit
to Rome by the then Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, the Pope decided to give him the
bullet which had remained in the jeep after the assassination attempt, so that
it might be kept in the shrine. At the behest of the bishop, the bullet was
later set in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
"The successive events of 1989 led, both in the Soviet Union and in a number
of countries of Eastern Europe, to the fall of the Communist regime which
promoted atheism. For this too His Holiness offers heartfelt thanks to the Most
Holy Virgin. In other parts of the world, however, attacks against the Church
and against Christians, together with the burden of suffering which they
involve, tragically continue. Even if the events to which the third part of the
Secret of Fatima refers now seem part of the past, Our Lady's call to conversion
and penance, issued at the beginning of the 20th century, remains timely and
urgent today.
"In order that the faithful may better receive the message of Our Lady of
Fatima, the Pope has charged the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith with the
making public the third part of the secret, after the preparation of an
appropriate commentary."
Fatima fanatics have held hunger strikes - one even hijacked a plane - to try
to force the Vatican to disclose the secret. During John Paul's first visit to
the shrine in 1982, on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt, a
knife-wielding Spanish priest tried to kill the pope, but was wrestled to the
ground by security officers.
John Paul has always credited the Virgin of Fatima with saving his life.
After he visited the shrine in 1982 to give thanks for his survival, a bullet
extracted from his body was placed alongside diamonds in a gold crown worn by a
statue of the Virgin.
In 1991, on the 10th anniversary of the attack, he returned again to give
thanks for his life as well as for the collapse of Communism, which believers
say the Virgin of Fatima also predicted in 1917.
The cardinal said the secret in its entirety would soon be published by the
Vatican "after the preparation of an appropriate commentary."
The pope did refer to the prophecies today, speaking of "Fátima, where these
times of tribulation were foretold," but he made no mention of the "third
secret." Instead, he once again gave thanks "for the goodness of God toward me,
when severely struck on that May 13, 1981, I was rescued from death."
The pope first learned of the secret a few days after he was elected in 1978,
the Vatican said. He did not announce it himself today, said his spokesman, Dr.
Joaquín Navarro-Valls, because he was "personally involved." Vatican officials
did not say why the secret was not revealed sooner after the assassination
attempt in 1981.
In a new tribute at a prayer service at the shrine on Friday night, the pope
donated to the shrine the ring given to him by Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the
late primate of Poland. Cardinal Wyszynski, whose long fight against Communism
in Poland inspired the present pope and millions of their countrymen, told John
Paul after his election in 1978 that he would lead the church into the new
millennium.
Dr. Navarro-Valls dismissed speculation that the gift was a signal that the
pope was set to resign as "150 percent wrong." He described the ring as "one of
the pope's most precious possessions," given as an offer of thanks.
The fact that the pope put the two dead witnesses to the Virgin's apparitions
on the path of sainthood today was another sign of his devotion to Fátima. The
two, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, are the first children ever beatified by the
Roman Catholic Church who were not martyrs. Beatification, which is bestowed
only on the dead, is the penultimate step before sainthood.
Before the ceremony, the pope, who turns 80 on Thursday, met privately inside
the basilica near the children's tombs with the third surviving witness to the
apparition, Lucia de Jesus dos Santos, 93, a Carmelite nun, who believers say
was the main recipient of prophecies from the Virgin about 20th century
debacles. The Vatican said that it had consulted with Sister Lucia before making
its announcement today.
The Virgin of Fátima was said to have appeared before three shepherd children
on May 13, 1917, and on five later occasions. Lucia was 10. Her cousins,
Francisco and Jacinta, who were 8 and 7, died in the influenza pandemic a few
years later. Believers say two of the Fátima secrets were revealed in writing by
Lucia in the 1940's. The third secret was put in a sealed envelope and sent to
Rome more than 40 years ago.
Interpretations of the secrets vary, but generally believers think that the
first foretold the end of World War I and the start of World War II, and that
the other predicted the spread, then the collapse of Communism and the
conversion of Russia.
The latter prophecy, which came with a request that the church consecrate
Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, made Fatima an ideological shrine for
anti-Communists during the cold war. John Paul II finally consecrated the whole
world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984.
Fatima, like the rest of Portugal, also had fascist links during World War
II, when Portugal was neutral under the right-wing dictatorship of António
Salazar but traded with the Nazi regime. This month, the rector of the
sancutary, Luciano Guerra, confirmed news reports that in 1976 Fátima received
Nazi gold bars bearing the Third Reich insignia looted from Jews during the war,
and sold them in 1982 and 1986 to finance construction at the sanctuary.
Today, many pilgrims, some wearing baseball hats emblazoned with the names of
Jacinta and Francisco, cheered after Cardinal Sodano delivered his message.
"It's wonderful that the pope knew the prophecy and survived it," said Lucia
Dias, 31, a lawyer from Sintra, who added that she had once believed that the
third secret was a prophecy of World War III. She made her own prediction about
the pope: "I think now he will die soon."
Until today, besides John Paul and Sister Lucia, the only other living person
believed to be privy to the secret was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the head of
the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In 1996, he told Portugal's main Catholic radio station that there was
nothing worrisome in the message, and that it remained secret because the
Vatican wanted to avoid "confusing religious prophecy with sensationalism."
Whether today's announcement will appease some of the more fanatical devotees
of the "third secret" mystery is unclear. Some of those believers, who choose to
view the reforms of the Second Vatican Council as heresies predicted by the
Virgin of Fatima, may dismiss the Vatican's announcement as a cover-up.
Even some who attended Mass today seemed let down. "What they said all
happened in the past," Julio Estela, 33, a car salesman from northern Portugal,
said after the cardinal spoke. "This isn't a prediction. It's disappointing. I
think there's more."
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VIRGIN MARY
Words of the Virgin and Message of Angel of Peace at Fatima
".....I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for
salvation all those who, on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months,
confess, receive Holy Communion, pray the Rosary, and keep me company for a
quarter of an hour meditating on the fifteen mysteries with the intention of
offering me reparation." (Blessed Virgin Mary to Sr. Lucia in 1925)
This time
the cloud moved toward them and finally became distinguishable as a transparent
"young man" about fourteen years of age. The young man identified himself to
the astonished children,
"Don't be afraid. I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me."
He then knelt on the ground, bending forward until his forehead touched it,
and prayed:
"My God, I believe, I adore, and I love You! I beg pardon of You for those who
do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!"
He said this prayer three times. When he stood he then said to the children:
"Pray thus. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your
supplications."
Saying that, he vanished from sight. The children were overwhelmed and in a
state of ecstasy. They repeated this prayer for a long time as the angel had
done - on their knees.
The children decided not to tell anyone of their experiences fearing ridicule
and censure by their parents and friends. Several weeks later, the angel
appeared again and requested that they pray a great deal, offer sacrifices to
the Most High and accept whatever sufferings which the Lord sent to them. In
his third and final appearance in October, the angel brought with him a Chalice
and suspended above it, a Host. Before offering the Host to Lucia, the only one
who had received First Communion, he prostrated himself on the ground and said:
"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly and offer
You the most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present
in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges, and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And through the
infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I
beg of You the conversion of poor sinners."
He repeated this prayer three times and then rising up, lifted the Host before
his eyes and said: "Take and drink the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ,
horribly insulted by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and
console your God." With this, he gave the Host to Lucia and let the other
children drink from the Chalice.
As all this was occurring in Portugal, World War I was raging across Europe. In
the fall of 1914, Pope Benedict XV pleaded with the leaders of Europe to stop
the bloodshed but to no avail. After a number of such pleas, on May 5, 1917,
the Pope directed that the invocation
Queen of Peace, pray for us
be permanently included in the Church's litany of prayer to Mary. He also
noted:
To Mary, then, who is the Mother of Mercy and omnipotent by grace, let loving
and devout appeal go up from every corner of the earth - from noble temples and
tiniest chapels, from royal palaces and mansions of the rich as from the
poorest hut - from every place where a faithful soul finds shelter - from
blood-drenched plains and seas. Let it bear to her the anguished cry of mothers
and wives, the wailing of innocent little ones, the sighs of every generous
heart; that her most tender and benign solicitude may be moved and the peace we
ask for be obtained for our agitated world.
In Fatima, the children continued to pray and offer whatever sacrifices they
could as the angel had requested. On May 13th - eight days after the Pope
directly asked for heaven's intervention - the little shephards were moving
their flocks to the meadows of the Cova da Iria when they were startled by a
very bright flash. Thinking it was lightning, they ran for the nearest cover
they could find near a large oak tree. A second bright flash once again
frightened them and they ran from the tree toward the east seeking better
shelter. They were startled to see a bright globe of light hovering over a
small evergreen that stood directly in their path. At the center of the light
stood a Lady dressed in brilliant white, holding her hands against her breast
in a prayerful repose; in her right hand she held a Rosary.
The Lady spoke to them in a soft, melodious voice,
"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you!"
Lucia asked the Lady where she came from, to which she replied,
"I am from heaven."
Hearing this, Lucia asked the Lady what she wanted of her. The Lady replied,
"I come to ask you to come here for six months in succession, on the thirteenth
day at this same hour. Then I will tell you who I am, and what I want. And
afterwards I will return here a seventh time."
Lucia then asked if she would go to heaven, and the Lady responded,
"Yes, you will."
She then asked if Jacinta and Francisco would go to heaven also. The Lady
responded,
"Also. But Francisco will have to say many Rosaries!"
After Lucia asked about the state of two girls who had died recently, the Lady
spoke again,
"Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the suffering
that He may please to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by
which He is offended, and to ask for the conversion of sinners?"
The children replied, "Yes, we do." The Lady then told them that they would
have much to suffer, but that God's grace would be their comfort.
Jacinta, the youngest of the children, was struck by the gentleness and beauty
of the Lady. When the apparition ended she kept on repeating, "Oh, such a
pretty Lady".
Even though they had agreed not to talk to anyone about her appearance at
the Cova, Jacinta could not resist telling her mother about the "pretty Lady"
she had seen. Her mother was at first skeptical of her story but her father's
response, after hearing both his children describe the events at the Cova, was
succinct, "Well, if the youngsters did see a lady dressed in white...who could
it be but
Our Lady?
"
The following morning, Lucia met one of her sisters, Maria, who greeted her,
"Oh Lucia, I hear you have seen Our Lady at Cova da Iria! Is it true?" Lucia
could only respond, "Who told you?" Maria didn't believe the story nor did the
rest of Lucia's family. Her mother, Maria Rosa, was particularly hard on Lucia
thinking the young girl was lying about the whole affair.
As promised, Mary appeared to the children on the 13th day of each month for
six months. The children did have much to suffer. In her July apparition, the
Blessed Mother promised to perform a miracle in October so that all those
coming to the Cova would truly believe that she was present there. She also
asked them to pray:
"Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and repeat often, especially
whenever you make a sacrifice for them: 'O Jesus, it is for love of You, for
the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the sins committed against
the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'"
In her appearances at Fatima, Mary told the children to ask people to pray,
convert their lives to God and honor her appearances there. During the July
apparition, Mary gave the children three
Secrets
which were not to be revealed until she authorized their disclosure. She also
promised a miracle at the end of her appearance in October that would assist
everyone in believing in her visits to Fatima. After giving them the Secrets,
she said:
"When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: 'O my Jesus,
forgive us, save us from the fire of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who are most in need.'"
The apparitions were beginning to draw unwelcome attention to this rural part
of Portugal which the mayor did not like, so in August, just before the next
scheduled apparition, he kidnapped them, interrogated them, had them thrown in
the local jail, and threatened them with execution. All this in response to
their refusal to change their story about the beautiful Lady in white and their
refusal to reveal the
Secrets
entrusted to them by her several weeks earlier.
The Apocalypse
"End of World Prophesied"
One of the earliest and most
frightening of the rumors, it suggests that the Blessed Virgin detailed
the coming of the end of the world. In that description, She spoke of
horrifying trials and tribulations resulting from natural and cosmic
cataclysms. As part of Her prophecy she urged mankind to turn to prayer
and peace as the only means of salvation.
Fatima Prophecies
On May 13, 1917 a luminous Apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to three
peasant children and delivered a prophecy that would change the world.
Investigations into the Fatima event have proved that the miracle of October
13, 1917 was seen over an area of 32 miles by 20 - an area of over 600 square
miles.
The three children - Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco took their flock of sheep
to a natural hollow in the ground known as the Cova da Iria to graze, just
outside the town of Fatima in Portugal. While the sheep were grazing the
children began to play. Suddenly there was a flash of lightening. The children
looked up, bewildered into the sky. The day was quiet pleasent and there was no
sign of a storm. They started to gather the sheep thinking a storm was brewing
in the distance when there was a second flash that caused total concern.
A few metres away stood a Lady of dazzling light. Their eyes were unable to
comprehend the lady's brilliance and beauty.
The children smelled rose.
"Where are you from?" Lucy managed to ask.
"I am from Heaven".
"What do you want of us?" asked Lucia.
"I came to ask you to come here on the thirteenth day for six months at the
same time, and then I will return here a seventh time."
After several other messages the lady asked finally for them to recite the
Rosary daily before she rose in a cloud of light and glided away into the
eastern sky. Lucia warned her cousins to say nothing of what they had seen out
of fear of disbelief, but Jacinta was too excited. Predictably Jacinta told her
parents about the Apparition and there was a general reaction of disbelief.
Lucia`s mother was convinced that her child was lying and punished her
continually when she refused to deny her story. Other children laugthed at them
and even spat at them.
The Secrets
Lucia said the first secret shown to them by Mary began with a terrifying
vision of hell. Mary then indicated that the war would soon end, as World War I
did in the following year.
But Mary foresaw that a "night illuminated by an unknown light" would precede
a "worse war" in which "The good will be martyred" and "The Holy Father will
have much to suffer." On January 25, 1938, a remarkable display of aurora
borealis was visible across Europe, the year before World War II began.
The second secret involved the future of Russia. Lucia says Mary revealed
that Russia would "spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars," and
that "Various nations will be annihilated." Many believe this is a direct
prophecy of the spread of communism. "I shall come to ask for the consecration
of Russia to My Immaculate Heart," continues the account of Mary's revelation.
"If people attend to My requests, Russia will be converted and the world will
have peace." Some interpret Pope John Paul II's 1984 consecration of Russia as
fulfilling the prophecy, and paving the way for the subsequent collapse of the
Soviet Union as the "conversion" of Russia.
Lucia wrote down the third secret, sealed it, and entrusted it to Portugal's
Bishop of Leiria, with instructions that it was not to be read until 1960. The
Bishop turned the envelope over to the Vatican. Pope John XXIII reportedly
opened the envelope when 1960 arrived, but refused to divulge its contents,
saying, "This prophecy does not relate to my time." Pope John Paul II is said to
have also read it, and refuses to reveal it on the grounds that its true
spiritual message has been obscured by sensationalism.
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VIRGIN MARY AND JESUS
Prophecies at Kibeho, Rwanda, Africa
"In November 1981, apparitions began in Kibeho, Rwanda, Africa, to seven
visionaries: Alphonsine, Emmanuel, Anathalie, Marie-Claire, Stephanie, Agnes,
and Vestine. Three of them were boarders in a college administered by nuns in
a poor area, and three others live in the bush. Our Lord appeared
independently to a young pagan, Sagstashe, who has since taken the Christian
name Emmanuel. Our Lord taught him the Our Father and gave him instructions on
the faith. Emmanuel was given the following message from the Blessed Mother:
'There isn't much time left in preparing for the Last Judgment. We must change
our live, renounce sin. Pray and prepare for our own death and for the end of
the world. We must prepare while there is still time. Those who do well will
go to Heaven. If they do evil, they will condemn themselves with no hope of
appeal. Do not lose time in doing good and praying. There is not much time
and Jesus will come.'
Although the apparitions ended for six of the visionaries by 1983, Alphonsine
continues to receive apparitions almost every year on November 28. Her last
apparition was on November 28, 1989. In these apparitions, Our Lady calls
herself the 'Mother of the Word.' She emphasizes the importance of the rosary
and prayer and to love ourselves and others. Jesus told Emmanuel,
'Too many people treat their neighbors dishonestly. The world is full of
hatred. You will know my Second Coming is at hand when you see the outbreak of
religious wars. Then, know that I am on the way.'
The Blessed Mother told them,
'I have come to prepare the way for my Son for your good and you do not want to
understand. The time remaining is short and you are absent-minded. You are
distracted by the goods of this world which are passing. I have seen many of
my children getting lost and I have come to show them the true way.'
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VIRGIN MARY AND JESUS
Medugorje, Bosnia Prophecies,
Interview with the Seers
Published Dec. 18, 1985
From: "The apparitions of Our Lady at Medjugorje,"
by Svetozar Kraljevic, O.F.M.
Interview with Mirjana Dragicevic,
By Fr. Tomislav Vlasic Medjugorje, January 10, 1983
T: Mirjana, we have not seen each other for some time, and I would like you to tell me about the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and especially with the events that are connected to you. M: I have seen the Blessed Virgin Mary for eighteen months now, and feel I know Her very well. I feel she loves me with Her Motherly love, and so I have been able to ask Her about anything I would like to know. I've asked her to explain some things about Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell that were not clear to me. For example, I asked Her how God can be so unmerciful as to throw people into Hell, to suffer forever. I thought: If a person commits a crime and goes to jail, he stays there for a while and then is forgiven - but to Hell, forever? She told me that souls who go to Hell have ceased thinking favorably of God - have cursed Him, more and more. So they've already become a part of Hell, and choose not to be delivered from it. Then she told me that there are levels in Purgatory: Levels close to Hell and higher and higher toward Heaven. Most people, she said, think many souls are released from Purgatory into Heaven on All Saints' Day, but most souls are taken into Heaven on Christmas Day. T: Did you ask why God allows Hell? M: No, I did not. But afterward I had a discussion with my aunt, who told me how merciful God is. So I said I would ask the Madonna how God could...... T: According to what you've said, then; It's simple as this: People who oppose God on earth just continue their existence after death, and oppose God in Hell? M: Really, I thought if a person goes to Hell....Don't people pray for their salvation? Could God be so unmerciful as not to hear their prayers? Then the Madonna explained it to me. People in Hell do not pray at all; instead, they blame God for everything. In effect, they become one with Hell and they get used to it. They rage against God, and they suffer, but they always refuse to pray to God. T: To ask Him for salvation? M: In Hell, they hate Him even more. T: As for Purgatory, you say that souls who pray frequently are sometimes allowed to communicate, at least by messages, with people on earth, and that they receive the benefits of prayers said on earth? M: Yes. Prayers that are said on earth for souls who have not prayed for their salvation are applied to souls in purgatory who pray for their salvation. T: Did the Madonna tell you whether many people go to Hell today? M: I asked her about that recently, and She said that, today, most people go to purgatory, the next greatest number go to Hell, and only a few go directly to Heaven. T: Only a few go to Heaven? M: Yes only a few - the least number - go to Heaven. T: Did you ask about the conditions for a person to enter Heaven? M: No I didn't; but, we can probably say what they are. God is not looking for great believers but simply for those who respect their faith and live peacefully, without malice, meanness, falsehood. T: This is your interpretation, your understanding? M: Yes. After I talked to the Madonna, I came to that conclusion; No one has to do great miracles or do great penance; merely live a simple, peaceful life. T: Well, besides Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, is there anything else new recently? M: The Madonna told me that I should tell the people that many in our time judge their faith by their priests. If a priest is not holy, they conclude that there is no God. She said: "You do not go to church to judge the priest, to examine his personal life. You go to church to pray and to hear the word of God from the priest." This must be explained to the people, because many turn away from the faith because of priests. Today, as it was a long time ago, the Virgin told me God and the devil conversed, and the devil said that people believe in God only when life is good for them. When things turn bad, they cease to believe in God. Then people blame God, or act as if he does not exist. God, therefore, allowed the devil one century in which to exercise an extended power over the world, and the devil chose the twentieth century. Today, as we can see all around us, everyone is dissatisfied; they cannot abide each other. Examples are the number of divorces and abortions. All this, the Madonna said, is the work of the devil. T: This behavior of people - they're under the influence of the devil. But the devil does not have to be in them? M: No, no. The devil is not in them, but they're under the influence of the devil, although he enters into some of them. To prevent this, at least to some extent, the Madonna said we need communal prayer, family prayer. She stressed the need for family prayer most of all. Also, every family should have at least one sacred object in the house, and houses should be blessed regularly. She also emphasized the failings of religious people, especially in small villages - for example, here in Medjugorje, where there is separation from Serbians (i.e., Serbian Orthodox) and Moslems. This separation is not good. The Madonna always stresses that there is but one God, and that people have enforced unnatural separation. One cannot truly believe, be a true Christian, if he does not respect other religions as well. You do not really believe in God if you make fun of other religions. T: What, then, is the role of Jesus Christ, if the Moslem religion is a good religion? M: We did not discuss that. She merely explained, and deplored, the lack of religious unity, "especially in the villages." She said that everybody's religion should be respected, and, of course, one's own. T: Tell me where the devil is especially active today. Did she tell you anything about this? Through whom or what does he manifest himself the most? M: Most of all through people of weak character, who are divided within themselves. Such people are everywhere, and they are the easiest for the devil to enter. But he also enters the lives of strong believers - sisters, for example. He would rather "convert" real believers than nonbelievers. How can I explain this? You saw what happened to me. He tries to bring as many believers as possible to himself. T: Can we suppose, then, that one of you might say that three secrets would be revealed before the great sign appears; then the rest of the secrets will be revealed, one by one? Is there anything to that? M: Nothing like that, but something like this. First, some secrets will be revealed - just a few. Then the people will be convinced that the Madonna was here. They will understand the sign. When Jakov said that the mayor will be the first one to run to the hill, he meant that generally people of the highest social class will understand the sign as a place of occasion to convert. They will run to the hill and pray, and they will be forgiven. When I asked the Madonna about unbelievers, She said: "They should be prayed for, and they should pray." But when I asked again, recently, She said: "Let them convert while there is still time." She did not say they should be prayer for. T: You can say nothing specifically until the moment the Madonna says you can? M: Yes T: What does the Madonna say? Can we prepare ourselves for what will happen? M: Yes, prepare! The Madonna said people should prepare themselves spiritually, be ready, and not panic; be reconciled in their souls. They should be ready for the worst, to die tomorrow. They should accept God now so that they will not be afraid. They should accept God, and everything else. No one accepts death easily, but they can be at peace in their souls if they are believers. If they are committed to God, He will accept them. T: This means total conversion and surrender to God? M: Yes T: After these ten secrets, after these eighteen months of apparitions, what do you tell the people they should do? What do you say to priests, to the Pope and Bishops, without revealing the secrets? What does the Madonna want us to do? M: First, I would like to tell you how it was for me at the end, and the..... T: All right. M: Two days before Christmas, the Madonna told me Christmas day would be the last time she would appear to me. (I didn't quite believe this.) On Christmas Day, she stayed with me for forty-five minutes and we talked about many things. We summarized everything that had been said between us. On behalf of many people, I asked what they should do. Then She gave me a very precious gift. She said She would appear to me on my birthday every year for the rest of my life. Also, independently of the sign - and anything else - She said She will appear to me when something very difficult happens - not some everyday difficulty, but something quite grievous. Then, She will come to help me. But now, I have to live without Her physical presence, without Her daily personal visits. I say to all people: Convert! - the same as She said. "Convert while there is time!" Do not abandon God and your faith. Abandon everything else, but not that! T: What is the greatest danger to mankind? What does it come from? M: From godlessness. Nobody believes - hardly anybody. For example, the Madonna told me that the faith in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria is very weak. The people in those countries model themselves on their priests, and if the priests are not good examples, the people fall away and believe there is no God. When I was in Askona I heard of a priest to whom a rich man had left money to build a home for old people, but instead, the priest built a hotel. Now all the people in that city have turned their backs on the faith, because how could a priest not fulfill the last wish of a dying man and, instead, build a hotel and make money for himself? Nevertheless, people must understand that they shouldn't scrutinize a priest's private life, but listen to what he says through God - God's word. T: Before we finish this interview, is there anything you would like to add? M: She said some things that are for me personally. She advised me on various matters. Then She said: "Go in God's peace!" T: Did She talk to you about the other visionaries and further apparitions? M: She told me I am - well, more mature than the others and therefore I must help them, spend time with them and talk with them. This will make things easier for them and for me. We are to understand each other and stay together - united. T: She did not mention further developments or apparitions, either individually or to all of you as a group? M: I think that when each individual learns the tenth secret, she will cease appearing to that person.
Interview with Ivanka Ivankovic, By Fr. Svetozar Kraljevic February, 1983 S: Ivanka, you and Mirjana were taking a walk together that day. Why were you walking together? I: We regularly walked together in that area. We had been at my house; then we decided to take our walk. S: Who was with you besides Mirjana? I: At first, just Mirjana and myself. When we returned to my house, Milka, Marija's sister, asked us to go with her to get the sheep and bring them home. S: So the two of you went with Milka to get the sheep? I: The first time, Mirjana and I were walking alone, and as we were returning to the village I happened to look toward the hill - and I saw a figure of the Madonna, bright and shining. I said to Mirjana: "Look, the Madonna!" Mirjana dismissed what I said with a wave of her hand, as if I'd been joking, and she said: "It's not very likely that the Madonna would appear to us." So we continued to walk toward the village. Mirjana did not even look where I pointed to the hill. When we got to Milka's house, Milka said: "Help me get the sheep and bring them home." So we turned around and started walking back to the fields. This time, all three of us saw the Madonna. We knelt down and prayed; then we got the sheep and chased them home. Later, Vicka and Ivan and the other Ivan joined us. S: On that first day, you saw the Madonna twice? I: Yes. The first time when Mirjana and I were walking back to the village, and the second time when we went with Milka to get the sheep. S: Who saw the Madonna first? I: I did. S: What did you say when you saw her? I: I said: "Look, Mirjana, the Madonna!" S: Then what did you do? Where did you go? I: We went to Milka's. We stopped in front of her house and she asked us to help her get the sheep. Then the three of us went to get the sheep to bring them home. When we passed the hill, I saw the Madonna again, this time holding the Baby Jesus in her hands. Mirjana and Milka also looked, and they too saw the Madonna. S: What did seeing the Madonna mean to you? I: It meant everything in the world! S: When you talk with the Madonna in your visions, we cannot hear you speak. I: We speak out loud, the same as now. S: Let me put it this way. Do you speak with the Madonna mentally - that is She understands what you think - or do you speak to her in a low voice, a whisper, so we cannot hear you? Or is your conversation miraculous - beyond our power to hear and understand? I: I speak with Her normally, the same as I'm speaking now. Also, I hear Her voice and words in the normal way, as well as what the others say. S: In your visions, have you ever asked favors for anybody? I: I have, in the beginning, I asked a favor for little Daniel. S: What did the Madonna say? I: She says the same thing She always says: Strong faith and prayer will help. S: What do you mean, "strong faith and prayer"? For what? I: To believe and pray for a healing. S: Did you ever ask for anybody in your family who had passed away? I: Yes, I asked for my father not long ago, and she said the same thing. S: What did Our Lady say? I: She said my mother is with her, and that I should obey and not worry. S: You were saddened by your mother's death, and because of that the Madonna came to comfort you. I: I don't know; but I don't think so. We asked her why, of all people, She appeared to us. She said She does not always seek out the best people. S: To whom are the Madonna's messages sent? I: To the whole world. S: What are the messages? I: Peace, Conversion, Fasting, Penance, Prayer. S: Which is the most important?  I: Peace.
S: Why peace? I: When everyone in the world is at peace, everything is possible. S: You mentioned prayer. Tell me honestly, how do you pray? I: When I get up in the morning, I pray seven Our Fathers and the Credo. At noon, I pray the Angelus. In the evening, I pray seven Our Fathers and the Credo, and sometimes the rosary. When we are all home together, we pray an evening prayer. S: It is known that the Madonna recommended that all of you enter a convent. I: She told us it is Her wish that we enter a convent - but only those who have such a wish. She does not want anyone to disgrace the faith and the Church. S: I believe that everyone is free to choose, and you are free as well. Have you decided what to do in this connection? I: To tell you the truth, as I feel right now, I do not want to enter the convent. I can live a Christian life, the same as a nun, raising....... S: Bearing in mind what you know about the future, tell me if the Madonna of Medjugorje will reconcile the world even more. I: I think She will. S: Will the "Great Sign" help in achieving this? I: Yes, when the time comes. More believers will come to church. S: Will the sign appear very soon, or later? I: It will appear at the proper time. S: Ivanka, are you in any way fearful of being able to do what the Madonna expects of you in this life? I: Why should I be afraid when God is with me? God gives me whatever strength I need. S: You speak to the people of the Madonna's messages, but some do not believe you. In that case what do you do? I: I pray for them, that God will enlighten them. S: Can you do anything else? I: I will go on trying to persuade them. They will be convinced, once they ... S: I believe that, but in the meantime people become nervous. It is difficult to wait for that day. What should people do? I: Pray that God will give us the strength to endure. S: There are those who are opposed to the Madonna. What would you tell them? I: I'd tell them: Convert! There is a God. That is it! S: Can those who oppose the Madonna frustrate Her plans in the world? I: You mean the great sign S: Yes. I: No. All their armaments and explosives could not destroy it. S: Can they do harm to the souls of the people and to the Madonna's plans for the people? I: No. S: Does that mean that the Madonna is stronger than they? I: Normally She is. It is Jesus who decides - God. Not the Madonna. S: Tell me about this. I: I think that God has sent Her here. When we asked Her for a sign, I think She asked Jesus and He gave Her a sign. Then She promised to give us a sign. S: That means She can not act independently on Her own. She must do the will of God, as she always has. I: I believe so. S: It is important that people of good faith, regardless of denomination, not be turned against each other. But tell me more about this. What did the Madonna say about this? I: The Madonna said that religions are separated in the earth, but the people of all religions are accepted by Her Son. S: Does that mean that all people go to Heaven? I: It depends on what they deserve. S: Yes, but many have never heard about Jesus. I: Jesus knows all about that; I don't. The Madonna said, basically, religions are similar; but many people have separated themselves, because of religion, and become enemies of each other. S: I thank you, Ivanka, for this conversation and testimony!
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CATHEDRAL CROSSES
First and Second Part of the "Secret"
According to the Version Presented by Sister Lucia
in the "Third Memoir" of 31 August 1941
for the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima
(original text)
... This will entail my speaking about the secret, and thus
answering the first question.
What is the secret? It seems to me that I can reveal it,
since I already have permission from Heaven to do so. God's
representatives on earth have authorized me to do this several times and
in various letters, one of which, I believe, is in your keeping. This
letter is from Father José Bernardo Gonçalves, and in it he advises me to
write to the Holy Father, suggesting, among other things, that I should
reveal the secret. I did say something about it. But in order not to make
my letter too long, since I was told to keep it short, I confined myself
to the essentials, leaving it to God to provide another more favourable
opportunity.
In my second account I have already described in detail the
doubt which tormented me from 13 June until 13 July, and how it
disappeared completely during the Apparition on that day.
Well, the secret is made up of three distinct parts, two of
which I am now going to reveal.
The first part is the vision of hell.
Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be
under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form,
like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished
bronze,floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air
by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great
clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge
fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain
and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons
could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to
frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision
lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind
heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first
Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have
died of fear and terror.
We then looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so kindly and
so sadly:
"You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To
save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate
Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there
will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease
offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius
XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is
the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for
its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of
the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration
of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the
First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and
there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the
world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be
martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will
be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy
Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a
period of peace will be granted to the
world".(7)
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BELLS OF ST. PETER
Third Part of the "Secret"
(original
text) (translation) (8)
"J.M.J.
The third part of the secret revealed at the Cova da
Iria-Fatima, on 13 July 1917.
I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so
through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy
Mother and mine.
After the two parts which I have already explained, at the
left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword
in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they
would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the
splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing
to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice:
'Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an
immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a
mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had
the impression that it was the Holy Father.' Other Bishops, Priests, men
and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there
was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark;
before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in
ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and
sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having
reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross
he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him,
and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops,
Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different
ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two
Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered
up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were
making their way to God.
Tuy-3-1-1944".
Interpretation of the "Secret"
Letter of his Holiness Pope John Paul II
To Sister Lucia (original text)
(translation)
To the Reverend Sister
Maria Lucia
of
the Convent of Coimbra
In the great joy of Easter, I greet you with the words the
Risen Jesus spoke to the disciples: "Peace be with you"!
I will be happy to be able to meet you on the long-awaited
day of the Beatification of Francisco and Jacinta, which, please God, I
will celebrate on 13 May of this year.
Since on that day there will be time only for a brief
greeting and not a conversation, I am sending His Excellency Archbishop
Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, to speak with you. This is the Congregation which works most
closely with the Pope in defending the true Catholic faith, and which
since 1957, as you know, has kept your hand-written letter containing the
third part of the "secret" revealed on 13 July 1917 at Cova da Iria,
Fatima.
Archbishop Bertone, accompanied by the Bishop of Leiria, His
Excellency Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, will come in my name
to ask certain questions about the interpretation of "the third part of
the secret."
Sister Maria Lucia, you may speak openly and candidly to
Archbishop Bertone, who will report your answers directly to me.
I pray fervently to the Mother of the Risen Lord for you,
Reverend Sister, for the Community of Coimbra and for the whole Church.
May Mary, Mother of pilgrim humanity, keep us always united to Jesus, her
beloved Son and our brother, the Lord of life and glory.
With my special Apostolic Blessing.
IOANNES PAULUS PP. II
From the Vatican, 19 April 2000
Conversation
with Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart
The meeting between Sister Lucia, Archbishop Tarcisio
Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, sent
by the Holy Father, and Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, Bishop
of Leiria-Fatima, took place on Thursday, 27 April 2000, in the Carmel of
Saint Teresa in Coimbra.
Sister Lucia was lucid and at ease; she was very happy that
the Holy Father was going to Fatima for the Beatification of Francisco and
Jacinta, something she had looked forward to for a long time.
The Bishop of Leiria-Fatima read the autograph letter of the
Holy Father, which explained the reasons for the visit. Sister Lucia felt
honoured by this and reread the letter herself, contemplating it in own
her hands. She said that she was prepared to answer all questions
frankly.
At this point, Archbishop Bertone presented two envelopes to
her: the first containing the second, which held the third part of the
"secret" of Fatima. Immediately, touching it with her fingers, she said:
"This is my letter," and then while reading it: "This is my
writing."
The original text, in Portuguese, was read and interpreted
with the help of the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima. Sister Lucia agreed with the
interpretation that the third part of the "secret" was a prophetic vision,
similar to those in sacred history. She repeated her conviction that the
vision of Fatima concerns above all the struggle of atheistic Communism
against the Church and against Christians, and describes the terrible
sufferings of the victims of the faith in the twentieth century.
When asked: "Is the principal figure in the vision the
Pope?", Sister Lucia replied at once that it was. She recalled that the
three children were very sad about the suffering of the Pope, and that
Jacinta kept saying: "Coitadinho do Santo Padre, tenho muita pena dos
pecadores!" ("Poor Holy Father, I am very sad for sinners!") Sister
Lucia continued: "We did not know the name of the Pope; Our Lady did not
tell us the name of the Pope; we did not know whether it was Benedict XV
or Pius XII or Paul VI or John Paul II; but it was the Pope who was
suffering and that made us suffer too."
As regards the passage about the Bishop dressed in white,
that is, the Holy Father—as the children immediately realized during the
"vision"—who is struck dead and falls to the ground, Sister Lucia was in
full agreement with the Pope's claim that "it was a mother's hand that
guided the bullet's path and in his throes the Pope halted at the
threshold of death." (Pope John Paul II, Meditation from the Policlinico
Gemelli to the Italian Bishops, 13 May 1994).
Before giving the sealed envelope containing the third part
of the "secret" to the then Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, Sister Lucia wrote on
the outside envelope that it could be opened only after 1960, either by
the Patriarch of Lisbon or the Bishop of Leiria. Archbishop Bertone
therefore asked: "Why only after 1960? Was it Our Lady who fixed that
date?" Sister Lucia replied: "It was not Our Lady. I fixed the date
because I had the intuition that before 1960 it would not be understood,
but that only laterwould it be understood. Now it can be better
understood. I wrote down what I saw; however it was not for me to
interpret it, but for the Pope.
Finally, mention was made of the unpublished manuscript
which Sister Lucia has prepared as a reply to the many letters that come
from Marian devotees and from pilgrims. The work is called Os apelos da
Mensagem de Fatima, and it gathers together in the style of catechesis
and exhortation thoughts and reflections which express Sister Lucia's
feelings and her clear and unaffected spirituality. She was asked if she
would be happy to have it published, and she replied: "If the Holy Father
agrees, then I am happy, otherwise I obey whatever the Holy Father
decides." Sister Lucia wants to present the text for ecclesiastical
approval, and she hopes that what she has written will help to guide men
and women of good will along the path that leads to God, the final goal of
every human longing.The conversation ends with an exchange of rosaries.
Sister Lucia is given a rosary sent by the Holy Father, and she in turn
offers a number of rosaries made by herself.
The meeting concludes with the blessing imparted in the name
of the Holy Father.
Announcement made by Cardinal Angelo Sodano
Secretary of State
At the end of the Mass presided over by the Holy Father
at Fatima, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Secretary of State, made this
announcement in Portuguese, which is given here in English
translation:
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord!
At the conclusion of this solemn celebration, I feel bound
to offer our beloved Holy Father Pope John Paul II, on behalf of all
present, heartfelt good wishes for his approaching 80th Birthday and to
thank him for his vital pastoral ministry for the good of all God's Holy
Church; we present the heartfelt wishes of the whole Church.
On this solemn occasion of his visit to Fatima, His Holiness
has directed me to make an announcement to you. As you know, the purpose
of his visit to Fatima has been to beatify the two "little shepherds."
Nevertheless he also wishes his pilgrimage to be a renewed gesture of
gratitude to Our Lady for her protection during these years of his papacy.
This protection seems also to be linked to the so-called third part of the
"secret" of Fatima.
That text contains a prophetic vision similar to those found
in Sacred Scripture, which do not describe photographically the details of
future events, but synthesize and compress against a single background
facts which extend through time in an unspecified succession and duration.
As a result, the text must be interpreted in a symbolic
key.
The vision of Fatima concerns above all the war waged by
atheistic systems against the Church and Christians, and it describes the
immense suffering endured by the witnesses of the faith in the last
century of the second millennium. It is an interminable Way of the
Cross led by the Popes of the twentieth century.
According to the interpretation of the "little shepherds,"
which was also confirmed recently by Sister Lucia, "the Bishop clothed in
white" who prays for all the faithful is the Pope. As he makes his way
with great difficulty towards the Cross amid the corpses of those who were
martyred (Bishops, priests, men and women Religious and many lay people),
he too falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a hail of
gunfire.
After the assassination attempt of 13 May 1981, it appeared
evident that it was "a mother's hand that guided the bullet's path",
enabling "the Pope in his throes" to halt "at the threshold of death"
(Pope John Paul II, Meditation from the Policlinico Gemelli to the
Italian Bishops, Insegnamenti, XVII, 1 [1994], 1061). On the
occasion of a visit to Rome by the then Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, the Pope
decided to give him the bullet which had remained in the jeep after the
assassination attempt, so that it might be kept in the shrine. By the
Bishop's decision, the bullet was later set in the crown of the statue of
Our Lady of Fatima.
The successive events of 1989 led, both in the Soviet Union
and in a number of countries of Eastern Europe, to the fall of the
Communist regimes which promoted atheism. For this too His Holiness offers
heartfelt thanks to the Most Holy Virgin. In other parts of the world,
however, attacks against the Church and against Christians, with the
burden of suffering they bring, tragically continue. Even if the events to
which the third part of the "secret" of Fatima refers now seem part of the
past, Our Lady's call to conversion and penance, issued at the start of
the twentieth century, remains timely and urgent today. "The Lady of the
message seems to read the signs of the times—the signs of our time—with
special insight... The insistent invitation of Mary Most Holy to penance
is nothing but the manifestation of her maternal concern for the fate of
the human family, in need of conversion and forgiveness" (Pope John Paul
II, Message for the 1997 World Day of the Sick, No. 1,
Insegnamenti, XIX, 2 [1996], 561).
In order that the faithful may better receive the message of
Our Lady of Fatima, the Pope has charged the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith with making public the third part of the "secret", after the
preparation of an appropriate commentary.
Brothers and sisters, let us thank Our Lady of Fatima for
her protection. To her maternal intercession let us entrust the Church of
the Third Millennium.
Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix!
Intercede pro Ecclesia. Intercede pro Papa nostro Ioanne Paulo II.
Amen.
Fatima, 13 May 2000
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VIRGIN MARY
(1) From the diary of John XXIII, 17 August 1959:
"Audiences: Father Philippe, Commissary of the Holy Office, who brought me
the letter containing the third part of the secrets of Fatima.I
intend to read it with my Confessor".
(2) The Holy Father's comment at the General Audience of 14
October 1981 on "What happened in May: A Great Divine Trial" should be
recalled: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, IV, 2 (Vatican City,
1981), 409-412.
(3) Radio message during the Ceremony of Veneration,
Thanksgiving and Entrustment to the Virgin Mary Theotokos in the Basilica
of Saint Mary Major: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, IV, 1
(Vatican City, 1981), 1246.
(4) On the Jubilee Day for Families, the Pope entrusted
individuals and nations to Our Lady: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo
II, VII, 1 (Vatican City, 1984), 775-777.
(5)
(6) In the "Fourth Memoir" of 8 December 1941 Sister Lucia
writes: "I shall begin then my new task, and thus fulfil the commands
received from Your Excellency as well as the desires of Dr Galamba. With
the exception of that part of the Secret which I am not permitted to
reveal at present, I shall say everything. I shall not knowingly omit
anything, though I suppose I may forget just a few small details of minor
importance".
(7) In the "Fourth Memoir" Sister Lucia adds: "In Portugal,
the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc.
...".
(8) In the translation, the original text has been
respected, even as regards the imprecise punctuation, which nevertheless
does not impede an understanding of what the visionary wished to
say.
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