Speramus- (We Hope!) Meliora

Reflections 10th Anniversary Year of Beatifications and Revealing of Third Fatima Secret! Fatima and Islam!

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:12:54 PDT

Reflections on the

10^th Anniv. Year of

The Beatifications of

Bls. Jacinta & Francisco

The 3rd Secret Revealed

The Silence of Our Shepherds

The Via Cucis of the Popes

Fatima & Islam

I recall with gratitude to God the grace he gave for me to be present at Fatima for the Beatifications of the little shepherds Jacinta and Francisco. Somewhere in the sea of humanity on the right side of the center and just behind the priests our little group spent a shivering night outdoors on the 12^th of May, 2000 in order to stake out our claimed spot for the Beatification Ceremony. Holding on to the spot took some maneuvering and Christian fortitude. As the hour for beatifications drew near we had be firm and steadfast not to have the Portuguese faithful rest it away from us. Being present for this occasion was a great consolation and something I will always be grateful to God for. The remembrance of all the graces from the Jubilee year gives courage to press forward when the crosses of life press more intensely.

Are things Better or Worse

Since the Great Jubilee 2000?

Have we taken advantage of the Graces afforded us during the Great Jubilee Year? The Holy Doors of Mercy opened to us by the Church? Have we passed through the Holy Doors in repentance for our sins and to make a new beginning? Or was it just a symbolic act because everyone else was doing it? I can’t help to think that the world is still plunging towards the final confrontation between Good and Evil. Immediately after the Great Jubilee year, in 2001 we have endured the 911 attacks and the rise of Islamic extremist groups some probably funded by left over Marxist groups in the former Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation. Today we live with the constant threat of Terror attacks on Christian and post-Christian West throughout world. Sadly, we are witnessing the effects of our own apostasy of the faith in the use of birth control, sterilizations and abortions. As a result Christian Europe is fast on its way to becoming Muslim. Christians are choosing a life of pleasure-seeking over procreation, faith and family.

The recent Global financial crisis of 2007, considered by many economists as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s still threatens us with the possibility of another world wide depression. “War is a punishment for sin!” Our Lady of Fatima told this to the shepherd children. She warned that God would punnish the world for its disobedience to His will through wars, hunger, and persecutions of the Church, the Pope, and the faithful. "If My requests are not granted,

Russia

will spread its errors throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father (Pope) will suffer much and various nations will be annihilated."

CARDINAL ANGELO SODANO made the following comment At the end of the Mass presided over by the Holy Father at Fatima announcing that the 3rd Secret will be made public: 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.

"Prophecy in the biblical sense does not mean to predict the future but to explain the will of God for the present, and therefore show the right path to take for the future.”

Benedict XVI June 26, 2000 Commenting on the third secret of Fatima as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

2001 Cover Soul Magazine-Artist Depiction of 3rd Secret

Seeing that the world is still restless with Wars and rumors of Wars why isn’t the three-fold cry for PENANCE in the third secret being shouted from every Catholic pulpit? Why are we not hearing this Cry of the Angel of the judgment of God proclaimed repeatedly by our Priests and Bishops? It is the Gospel message that Jesus says to his hearers

“I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish . Luke 13:1-9

Penance! Penance!

Penance!

THE PATH OF PENANCE AT FATIMA

PILGRIMS APPROACH THE SANCTUARY ON THEIR KNEES

Why are our Shepherds
Silent?

The shepherds silence while often injurious to himself

will always harm his flock!”

A recent Homily by St. Gregory the Great in the Office of Readings shed light for me on our present situation in the church and why the Message of Fatima with its cry for penance and conversion is not preached. St. Gregory writes: “Look about you and see how full the world is of priests, yet in God’s harvest a laborer is rarely to be found. Pray for priest that they may have the strength to work on our behalf! That their tongues may not grow weary of exhortation. That after they have accepted the office of preaching their silence may not condemn them before the just judge!—Frequently the preachers tongue is held fast on account of his own wickedness. On the other hand it also happens because of the peoples own sins. The Lord tells Ezekiel: ‘I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth so that you shall be dumb and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.’ He clearly means this: “The word of preaching will be taken away from you because as long as this people irritate me by their deeds, they are unworthy to hear the exhortations of truth! It is not easy to know for what reasons the preachers words were withheld his own wickedness or the peoples, but it is indisputable that the shepherds silence while often injurious to himself will always harm his flock!”

“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).

Fatima and Islam

Since the fateful day of Sept 11, 2001 we now see more clearly that the Muslims who also have God for their Father play an integral role in this final Mystery of Fatima in the battle between the forces of Good and the forces of evil. God the Father, Creator of all things visible and invisible, allowed the Mother of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, true God and true man, to be venerated with the same name as Mohammad’s daughter, Fatima! Imagine that! This is a great Mystery still buried in the Fatima Message! it undoubtedly will be made clear in the unfolding God’s providence over time and reveals his plans to men at the proper time and season. Muslims who also await the Day of Judgment with us, when God will render judgment to all those who await the Resurrection from the dead, should be treated by Christians with respect of having the same Father in Heaven who created us all!

The Apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima Portugal are intimately tied to the Islamic world. Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works.

The two great women of Islam are the Virgin Mary of Nazareth and Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. After the death of his daughter, Fatima, Mohammed wrote of her: "Thou shalt be the most blessed of all the women in Paradise, after Mary". God could have sent his mother anywhere else in the world but he chooses this plot of land called Fatima. The land was named such by a Christian leader who married a Muslim maiden named after Mohammed's daughter. She converted to the Christian faith and took the name Oureana she practiced great charity among the poor people surrounding the Castle of Ourem.

The Providence of God sending His Mother to Fatima and allowing her to be venerated with the name of Mohammad's daughter connected the Muslim People with the Mystery of Fatima.

Below the Castle of Ourem near the Fatima Apparition Site where
a Muslim Princess named after Mohammad's daughter Fatima
converted to the Christian Faith and took the christian name Ourana

History of the Place Called Fatima Where Our Lady Appeared in 1917

The legend of the name of the village of Ourem and Oureana the moorish princess is retold by Friar Bernardino de Brito in his Chronicle of the Order of Cister (1602): In a surprise attack on the St John's Day in 1158, a Christian knight, Gonçalo Hermigues and his companions kidnapped a Moorish princess with the famous Arab name of Fatima. The knight took Fatima to a small village of the recently-created Kingdom of Portugal, in the Serra de Aire hills. The princess fell in love with the Christian knight and decided to become herself a Christian, taking the name of Oureana. They got married and the princess received as prize the town which she called Ourém, after her name. She lived in the Castle and practiced great charity to the poor peasants living in the valley below. So beloved had she become a peasant who was the recipient of her charity named a parcel of his land after her birth name of Fatima. It was to this very small plot of land named after a Moorish princess that God sent his mother in 1917. The town of Fatima rose up on this land after the appearance of Our Lady in 1917. It was not to nearby Adjustral where our Lady appeared in August after the children were taken to jail that the apparitons took place.

She could have been called Our Lady of Adjustral. This act of Divine Providence, God sending Our Lady to Fatima, connected the Muslim Religion with the drama of Fatima.

An editorial for the Rosary Net published on line by Father Thomas Carleton made the following poignant comments that need to be prayed over and considered by Christians as we continue to meditate on the connection of the Fatima Message with those of the Muslim Faith.

“We have to make known that despite the accusation of violence so often made against Muslim extremists; they are not guilty of the terrible slaughter of innocent life in the womb that occurs with such lack of scruples throughout the western world. Likewise in Islamic countries they maintain a high respect for the dignity of true marriage between a man and a woman. The Holy Father, Benedict XVI after his speech at the Germany University, had an opportunity to re-affirm the Church's important teaching regarding the religion of the Muslims:

* ‘The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God,

living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven

and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to

even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam

takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge
Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin

Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the

Day of Judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been

raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God

especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting’" Benedict XVI-2006

At Fatima we learn that there is a price to be paid individually and collectively for the offenses committed against almighty God. We must do penance as individuals and as nations, to avoid the just punishments of God. All of humanity will suffer Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The good with the bad. In the third part of the secret of Fatima we see the intercessory role of Our Lady, saving the world from great apocalyptic suffering and destruction. She is able to forestall the punishments through the prayers: Rosaries and Communions of Reparations offered for God’s mercy to descend upon poor sinners.

Interpreting the 3rd Secret

The Vatican Information Service published a synopsis of the Commentary of Cardinal Ratzinger now Pope Benedict XVI on the third secret of Fatima. I am including the following excepts from the article published by the Vatican Information Service JUNE 26, 2000 (VIS) Pope Benedict XVI said, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, that the "key word" of the third secret of Fatima "is the triple cry, 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'

“The images of the secret: ‘The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgment which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: Man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.” Benedict XVI June 26, 2000 Commenting on the third secret of Fatima as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Sister Lucia had already given an indication for interpreting the third part of the “secret” in a letter to the Holy Father, dated 12 May 1982.

"Since we did not heed this appeal of the Message, we see that it has been fulfilled, Russia has invaded the world with her errors. And if we have not yet seen the complete fulfilment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides. If we do not reject the path of sin, hatred, revenge, injustice, violations of the rights of the human person, immorality and violence, etc.-And let us not say that it is God who is punishing us in this way; on the contrary it is people themselves who are preparing their own punishment. In his kindness God warns us and calls us to the right path, while respecting the freedom he has given us; hence people are responsible”.Sister Lucia 1982

“The vision (3rd Secret) then shows the power which stands opposed to the force of destruction the splendor of the Mother of God and, stemming from this in a certain way, the summons to penance. In this way, the importance of human freedom is underlined: the future is not in fact unchangeably set, the image which the children saw is in no way a film preview of a future in which nothing can be changed. Indeed, the whole point of the vision is to bring freedom onto the scene and to steer freedom in a positive direction. ... Its meaning is to mobilize the forces of change in the right direction. Therefore we must totally discount fatalistic explanations of the 'secret,' such as, for example, the claim that the would-be assassin of May 13 1981 was merely an instrument of the divine plan guided by Providence. ... Rather, the vision speaks of dangers and how we might be saved from them." Benedict XVI June 26, 2000 commenting on the third secret of Fatima as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Text of Third Secret

Immediately after the vision of hell the children beheld the following vision written by Lucia: “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 splendor 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. ….

The Via Crucis

of the Popes

A drawing from J. Gill illustrating the third part of the secret pf Fatima,

taken from the book of Sister Lucia of Fatima, “Calls from the Message of

Fatima”,Secção de Livraria, Cova da Iria 2496-908 Fatima, Portugal

"In the Via Crucis of an entire century, the figure of the Pope has a special role.

In his arduous ascent of the mountain we can undoubtedly see a convergence of different Popes. Beginning from Pius X up to the present Pope, they all shared the sufferings of the century and strove to go forward through all the anguish along the path which leads to the Cross. In the vision, the Pope too is killed along with the martyrs. When, after the attempted assassination on 13 May 1981, the Holy Father had the text of the third part of the 'secret' brought to him, was it not inevitable that he should see in it his own fate? He had been very close to death, and he himself explained his survival in the following words: '... it was a mother's hand that guided the bullet's path and in his throes the Pope halted at the threshold of death' (May 13 1994). That here 'a mother's hand' had deflected the fateful bullet only shows once more that there is no immutable destiny, that faith and prayer are forces which can influence history and that in the end prayer is more powerful than bullets and faith more powerful than armies.” Benedict XVI June 26, 2000 Commenting on the third secret of Fatima as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

My Immaculate Heart will Triumph!

In order that the faithful may better receive the message "I would like finally to mention another key expression of the 'secret' which has become justly famous: 'my Immaculate Heart will triumph.' What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The 'fiat' of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Savior into the world because, thanks to her 'Yes,' God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: 'In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world.' The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise." Benedict XVI June 26, 2000 Commenting on the third secret of Fatima as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Farewell Procession 13th of the Month

Message of Pope John Paul II for the Sick at Fatima May 13, 2000. Video Night Vigil

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:15:28 PDT

Pope John Paul II Arrives
at Fatima Sanctuary
To Beatify Jacinta and Francesco

I was going to do a similiar post back in May but the joy of the First visit to Fatima as pope of Benedict XVI the post on May 13 covered this historic event! I remember with joy the excitement in the sanctuary as the pope arrived seeing his helicopter fly over the sanctuary and knowing he was blessing all those present. I thank God for the grace he gave me to be present for this great moment in the church the long awaited beatifications of the shepherd children. This event taking place so soon after the Canonization of Sr. Mary Faustina Kowalska on Mercy Sunday April 30. God had given me the joy to also be present at this momentous occasion in the history of the church. I had a seat near her community on the balcony with the pope. Not because I was worthy or had done anything to merit it. No! On the contrary it was a gift of his great mercy to me, a soul who He has been truly merciful to and wanted to teach me the ways of Providence and Mercy! I am still learning! So many were so caught up in the News that the Pope was going to reveal the 3rd Secret with the members of the press that in some cases the Beatifications were overshadowed by some as an after thought.

The Crowds at the Night Vigil on May 12, 2000

Pope John Paul II sick himself gave a heartfelt message to the sick at Fatima during the Beatification Ceremonies I wish to share it once more for those who never read it!

Pope John Paul's

Greeting to the Sick

May 13, 2000

Dear Pilgrims to Fátima!

I would now like to offer a special greeting to the sick, who are present here in large numbers, but I also extend it to all who, at home or in hospital, have joined us in spirit. The Pope greets you with great affection, dear sick people, and assures you and those who are close to you of a special remembrance in prayer. I place the longings of each of you on the altar where Jesus continuously intercedes and sacrifices himself for humanity. I have come among you today as a witness to the risen Jesus. He knows what it is to suffer; he experienced the anguish of death, but by his death he destroyed death itself and is absolutely the first human being to have freed himself from its chains once and for all. He traveled man's whole journey to the heavenly homeland, where he has prepared a throne of glory for each of us.

Dear sick brother or sister!
If someone or something makes you think that you have reached the end of the line, do not believe it! If you know the eternal Love who created you, you also know that there is an immortal soul within you. There are various seasons in life; if by chance you feel winter approaching, I want you to know that it is not the last season, because the last one will be spring: the springtime of the Resurrection. Your whole life extends infinitely beyond its earthly limits: heaven awaits you.

Dear sick people!

I know that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom 8: 18). Take courage! In this Holy Year an abundance of the Father's grace is poured out on those who know how to receive it with the simple, trusting heart of a child. Jesus reminded us of this in the Gospel passage proclaimed earlier. Seek also to be numbered among these "little ones", dear sick people, so that Jesus will delight in you. In a little while he will draw near you to bless you personally in the Blessed Sacrament. He comes to you with the promise: "Behold, I make all things new" (Rv 21: 5). Have trust! Abandon yourselves to his provident hands, as did the little shepherds Francisco and Jacinta. They are telling you that you are not alone. The heavenly Father loves you.

Night Vigil Rosary Procession at Fatima

12th of each Month May-October

God Willing another post tomorrow on the 13th!

Our Lady of Knock 1879, LaSallette 1846, and Fatima - A Hidden Mystery in the Unfolding of History!

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:29:36 PDT

Knock 1879 LaSallette 1846

Knock and LaSallette Were 33 Years Apart the Age of Our Lord When He Died

Fatima, 1917
“’Do not offend Our Lord and God anymore,

because He is already so much offended!’

How loving a complaint, how tender a request!

Who will grant me to make it echo through the whole world"… Sr. Lucia

For two years now I wanted to put a post out on Our Lady of Knock on the anniversary of the apparition. This year again, I was overwhelmed with little duties so that it made it impossible for me to finish the post I was working on till now! I refuse to wait another year! So for better or worse here is my little contribution on the message of Our Lady at Knock. Placing these reflections on the Heavenly Vision that took place in 1879, in County Mayo, Ireland in the light of the messages of Our Lady at Fatima.

Using the same principal set forth in a previous post: From Guadelupe to Fatima A Prophetic Mystery. Fatima is undoubtedly the most prophetic of all the modern apparitions over the past 500 years. If we understand the implications of this statement then it will lead us to meditate on each of our Lady's appearances in the light of the Fatima Message.

OUR LADY OF KNOCK HAS A CONNECTION TO HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
According to Susan Tassone author of several books about the Holy Souls, including major novenas, the marvelous appearance on the gable of the Knock Church came on the day when the parish priest, Archdeacon Cavanagh, finished offering, his 100th consecutive Mass for the suffering souls in purgatory! She wrote that a secret organization resorting to violence had threatened the pastor by letter for preaching against their tactics. They resented his condemnation of violence, which prevented them from gaining recruits in the Knock parish. In his distress, he turned to the suffering souls and called on his parishioners to fill the church for 100 days of these offered Masses. And what an answer he was given from Heaven!" As word spread of the apparitions of Knock miraculous healings also took place (the parish priest recorded 300 in the first three years).

Throughout the church’s history there have been supernatural apparitions and signs which, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of human history. There is a deep significance in each Church approved apparition in its historical context and a deeper hidden significance that may only be discovered through prayer and meditation. Rev. Gallagher wrote in the Knock Shrine Annual in 1938. “The apparition itself explains its own significance, declares its own meaning.”

Over time the church, with the help of the Holy Spirit, reflects on these appearances of Our Lady uncovering the hidden mysteries. Mysteries to be revealed at a latter time when they will be better understood after reflecting on them in the unfolding of history. They are not coincidences! God has a purpose in everything he does. There are mysteries in the timing of the appearances as well as within the historical context of the time religious persecution and famine. Further mysteries are gleaned in the providence of God as history unfolds. And the church looks back and reflects. All things; past, present and future lay open before the eternal gaze of God over man.

Remember that our Lord said to the Apostles: “The helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.” (John:14: 26) “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth”. (John 16.13). Through the guidance of this same Holy Spirit the church also discovers the finger of God in the events and symbols contained within each church approved Marian apparition.

SIMILARITIES OF KNOCK AND FATIMA

On the night of the apparition, those witnessing the apparition knelt for two hours in the pouring rain and prayed the rosary as they watched the vision unfold for over two hours. At Knock the entire area and the witnesses were also soaked from the rain, but the ground around the vision was dry! Fourteen witnesses from 6 years of age to 75 saw the apparition. One other person is documented as having observed the bright light over the church from half a mile away, but did not come to investigate.

Here how I could not help but think of another the similarity with Fatima. All the people who came and prayed the Rosary in the pouring rain as they were waiting for the promised miracle to take place on October 13, 1917. Men and women af all ages and faith experiences witnessed the Miracle. After the Great Miracle of the Sun the people and the ground drenched in rain were completely dry! Also at Fatima the miracle of the Sun was seen from a distance by people up to 70 miles away!

THE GREAT SILENCE OF KNOCK.

There is a deep meaning in silence. There is not enough time to relate all the aspects that surround the silence of Knock. Two people who love each other can sit together for hours and no words are said yet each knows what the other needs or is thinking. We leave to your meditation with the help of the Holy Spirit to uncover the deeper aspects of the Silence of Knock.

But for our purposes, truly here the silence has spoken! I wish to apply the following words from St. Augustine in his Confessions to the silence of the vision of Knock: “You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”

Another example to help explain this line of thought is gleaned from the apparition of Our Lady at LaSallet in 1846. Here there was a very lengthy message given to the seers together and individually. Our Lady at one point seated on a rock representing the church and papacy. Her face buried in her hands, she was weeping. Weeping for the people and the sins of the time. But, is it possible that she also weeping for us? At one point the children noted that as she stood up to leave she turned her face sorrowfully in silence towards Rome. Silence, no further words can be said, they are too painful to be spoken. The silence of the heart of a Mother who sees all the troubles and anxieties that are going to befall the people and the church over the centuries.

Could it be that Our Lady at Knock who already gave a lengthy message at LaSallette just 33 years previous came again in silence with a similar message for a future time in the symbols of the vision? Our Lady was in deep prayer throughout the length of the apparition at Knock. Was she peering for us once more into the future? Pondering all these things and keeping them in her heart? Pondering the past, present and future contemplated by her in the mind of God, yet hidden from us until the proper time. The Message of LaSallette had been given in 1846 and for all aspects understandably not accepted by the church at that time. The reasons are beyond the scope this post and must be left to another time if God wills. The message was ignored because the context was too hard to accept for the times that they were first given. But today looking back sadly….we can see the possible applications for our time.

Maybe our unwillingness to listen to what God has already spoken through the scriptures and his prophets. In previous approved messages from Heaven. God has decided to speak to those who will heed his voice. Those to whom today God wishes to revel his secrets. “I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones. Matthew: 11:25 These little ones who are given the gift to hear his voice in the silence because upon hearing they will obey.

THE INSTITUTION OF THE FEAST OF THE

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

The date of the apparition of Knock occurred, August 21, 1879. In 1944, August 21 became the vigil of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope Pius XII placed August 22 on the calendar as the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in response to the requests of Sr. Lucia of Fatima. The feast was moved in the new calendar to follow the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “Our Lady told Sr. Lucia that God wished to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart to save souls from hell.” If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”

THE APPARITION OF KNOCK TOOK PLACE NINE YEARS AFTER THE DECLARATION OF PAPAL INFALLIBILITY APPROXIMATELY 100 YEARS BEFORE THE CLOSING OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL.
Could the apparition of Knock also be an announcement for the upcoming Second Vatican Council? When the Holy Mass and the Blessed Sacraments the greatest treasure of the church came under attack! The Angels who surround the lamb on the altar protecting and defending the assaults that would take place by the powers of Hell on the Holy Mass and the Real Presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament!

PROVIDENTIAL DATES LINKING KNOCK TO FATIMA
In previous posts we have already indicated that the drama of Fatima could be pointing in time to the upcoming attacks on the papacy, the Holy Mass, and the Blessed Sacrament following the Second Vatican Council. See: The 3rd Secret of Fatima, 1960 and the Crisis in the Priesthood 1960 being the focal point when the secret was to be opened and read. Not earlier Sr. Lucia said it would be better understood then. Looking back we see many Historical Events that took place in the 1960s with regards to the Catholic Church, Fatima and the Conversion of Russia. The escalation of the Vietnam War to stop the spread of Communism; the Civil Rights Movement; the change in culture and the creation of a new counterculture that changed the world. The second Vatican Council opened and closed in the early 1960s and the Berlin Wall was built.

At Knock, the Angels hovered protectively around the lamb on the altar. Adoring what men would no longer adore! No sweet Angelic hymns were heard yet one can hear the thrice Angelic Hymn echoing powerfully throughout the vision ---“Sanctus! Sanctus! Sanctus! Dominus Deus Sabaoth! Holy, Lord God of Power and Might! Pleni Sunt Caeli et terra Gloria tua! Heaven and Earth are full of your Glory! Benedictus que venit in nomine Domini! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Saints have written much better than I meditations on the Angelic Hymn that is recited at every Holy Mass—The Lord God of Power and Might becomes the lamb that was slain! Later at Fatima an Angel taught the children and through them the church to make Eucharistic reparation for all the outrages sacrileges and indifferences by which he is offended in this august Sacrament

St. John was dressed in a bishop’s robe and miter. He had with an open book and was depicted as preaching yet one could not hear what was being said. He represented all bishops who remain faithful to Peter. This thought is especially striking, considering the rich symbolism of the Lamb, the altar, and the cross in this vision, all pointing to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! It would seem that the vision of Knock was to instill an increase of love and reverence for the Holy Mass! "Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10 Much can be said in the meditation of this verse from Psalm 46 in regards to the lamb on the altar!

In the silence of Knock Heaven was giving us an example on how to survive spiritually intact the upcoming upheavals in the wake of the council and attacks on the church. As the time grew closer Our Lord would once more send his Mother to Fatima with an Angel, verbal warnings and instructions and A Great Miracle the greatest supernatural event since Biblical times does not belong to Faith or Science it is an Historical event! This it seems has also has gone unheeded. Prayer of the Rosary everyday and Consecration to her Immaculate Heart with the wearing of the brown scapular as a sign of that consecration. Our Lady's motherly solicitude to the church over the centuries comforts and teaches us that the Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and Obedience to the bishops in union with the Pope are the means for us to live through and survive the assaults of hell on the church in the Holy Mass and the Eucharist. Her presence lets us know she is walking with us to help us if we place ourselves under her protection. Fullfilling the requests of Our Lady at Fatima is the means given by God for the Final Triumph of Good over Evil!

Through the years, the number of pilgrims visiting Our Lady of Knock Shrine has grown. In 1957, the Apparition Church at Knock became an affiliated with the church of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a Shrine. Three million pilgrims from all over the world visited the Shrine during the 100th Anniversary of the apparition in 1979. Pope John Paul II also came on pilgrimage to Knock Shrine to commemorate the centenary of the Apparitions on September 30, 1979, presenting the Golden Rose to this Shrine. His opening words at Knock were: ‘Here I am at the goal of my journey to Ireland: the Shrine of Our Lady at Knock...I am here then as a pilgrim, a sign of the pilgrim church throughout the world.”

Almost half a million pilgrims gathered at Knock on that day. On this occasion he presented a Golden Rose, to the Shrine of Knock which ranks among the world’s major Marian shrines with the full approval of the Church. Pope Paul VI and Pope Benedict XVI each presented a Golden Rose to the Shrine of Fatima.

Photo © Designed by Speramus-We Hope

Golden Rose Queen of Ireland

Music and Lyrics Dana (Rosemary Scallon)
See: End of Post for Video

There were people of all ages
gathered ‘round the gable wall
poor and humble men and women,
little children that you called
We are gathered here before you,
and our hearts are just the same
filled with joy at such a vision,
as we praise your holy name

Refrain:

Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland,

all my cares and troubles cease

as we kneel with love before you,

Lady of Knock, my Queen of peace!

Photo © Designed by Speramus-We Hope

Though your message was unspoken,

still the truth in silence lies

as we gaze upon your vision,

and the truth I try to find

Here I stand with John the teacher,

and with Joseph at your side

and I see the Lamb of God,

on the Altar glorified

Refrain: Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland,

all my cares and troubles cease

as we kneel with love before you,

Lady of Knock, my Queen of peace!

    Photo © Designed by Speramus-We Hope



                                                     And the woman clothed in the sun,

will shine Her light on everyone

and the lamb will conquer!

And the woman clothed in the sun,

will shine Her light on everyone

and the lamb will conquer!

Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland,

all my cares and troubles cease

as we kneel with love before you,

Lady of Knock, my Queen of Peace!

The 3rd Secret of Fatima --1960 -- and Today’s Clergy Abuse Crisis is there a Connection?

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:04:21 PDT

The 3rd Secret of Fatima --1960 --

Today’s Clergy Abuse Crisis

Is there a Connection?

I am attending a parish that allows the Tridentine Mass so I am secluded very much from all the shenanigans that take place in many of our more progressive parishes. Non-the-less there are times I have to attend Mass somewhere outside the protective arms of a faithful parish. I recently attended Mass at a Catholic Hospital in my Archdiocese and the chaplain gave me indications of his poor state of soul by his actions during the sacred mysteries. He stopped the Mass at various points to tell a joke and comment on our singing. Completely irrelevant to the sacred mysteries he was about to or had already conferred.
The last irreverent distraction from him took place after we sang the Agnus Dei Lamb of God he stopped the Mass to Joke about our singing! This happened at three different Masses I attended. The last time I was so upset I did not even pay attention to what he was saying just shook my head no as he was looking at me and smiling. I could not receive communion then because of the angry feelings I had and attended another Mass somewhere else that day. I did let him know before I left that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was not the time to do stand up comedy. Alas another place I cannot go for Mass!

I am astounded how this spirit attacking the church operated and permeated the entire church in less than one generation! Now the devil is using the members of the church to do his work in the open! Remember how Our Lord reprimanded St Peter: “Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, you Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’" Matthew 16:23

The recent attacks on the papacy by the liberal media this past year made me wonder if there was a connection with Fatima and the 3rd Secret.
See: Unprecedented Media Attacks on the Pope-Fueled by the
Devil? How could this crisis have happened? Evidence in light of this current crisis suggests that there is some infiltration into the church by a network; if not communists then homosexuals even those who practice the occult in order to destroy the church from within.

Reclaim and

Purify our Seminaries

Pray for the Means to Unmask the Deceivers!

This is an important reality for us to come to terms with. We cannot pretend it is not happening! We have to aknowledge the reality if we wish to reclaim and purify our seminaries from those who follow and promote ideologies incompatible with the tenants of the faith we profess! We must pray for the means to unmask the deceivers before they are ordained. Because we are dealing with principalities and powers some of the means must include spiritual discernment and prayer employing the rules of the saints and doctors of the Spirtual Life in the Church. Saints such as St. Ignatius of Loyola and his spiritual exercises with Rules for Discernment of Spirits. The works on Ascetical And Mystical Theology by Adolphe Tanqueray, Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Catherine of Siena should be studied with the same diligence as the works on Moral Theology, Philosophy, and Apologetics.

Our neglect of a rounded in depth instruction for future priests in the principals of Ascetical and Mystical Theology have left us with priests unequipped to guide their people into a deeper realtionship with God and protect them from the artifices of the devil. Keeping priests in the dark they themselves will find it difficult to to discover and walk the path to union with God that was revealed to his church through the saints.

Ignorance of the principals of Ascetical and Mystical Theology has blinded us to a common sense approach in the simple discernment of spirits in observing if individuals are fit for ordination.

For example: People influenced by an evil spirit will have great difficulties praying the Rosary and distaste for Eucharistic Adoration unable to stay in front of the Blessed Sacrament for long periods without feeling some sort of affliction or agitation ect. On the other hand the devil will allow them to celebrate or attend Mass and receive Holy Communion if they are in mortal sin and their Communions are sacriligious.

The Devil Mirrors the Communion of Saints

Recent events during the current clergy abuse crisis suggests to me that the evil spirit has a mirror for the communion of saints. For want of a better terminology I call it the communion of evil. It works like our communion of saints church triumphant in heaven and militant on earth. Only we have souls in hell and souls in this life in ddeliberate mortal sin who are under the power of the evil one. Much can be said about this but it will have to wait for another future post. We have an indication of this battle in the church in the Locution of Pope Leo XII when Satan was given permission by Jesus to try to destroy the church in a 100 years time. Some accounts state that the locution or vision took place on October 13, 1884 exactly 33 years to the day of the miracle of the sun at Fatima! See: Locution of Pope Leo XIII in Public Penance Project article.

I believe this was why the secret of Fatima was specifically asked to be opened in 1960. Sr. Lucia was told that at that time the secret would me more relevant.

In October 1943 the bishop of Leiria ordered Sr. Lucia to put the Third secret in writing. Lucia after much prayer in obedience to the bishop wrote the secret down and sealed it in an envelope not to be opened until 1960, when "it will appear clearer.” The text of the third secret was officially released by Pope John Paul II in 2000. Some like Fr. Gruner and the Fatima Crusader have made claims that it was not the entire secret revealed by Lucia, despite assertions from the Vatican to the contrary. I want to clarify that the secret was to be opened and read by the pope in 1960. Sr. Lucia never said that the secret was to be revealed to the entire church. Some like Fr. Gruener with the Fatima Crusader have maintaind that position. The decision was always up to the pope weather or not to make it public. The pope has the keys from Jesus and he was inspired not to reveal it at the time for good reason. I question anyone who puts his judgements over the popes. Please use the following link for the opposing side of the Fatima Consecration Controversy.

See: Yes, RUSSIA IS CONSECRATED! THE FATIMA CONSECRATION CHRONOLOGY

What was so Important about 1960?
~

Looking back we see many Historical Events took place in the 1960s with regards to the Catholic Church, Fatima and the Conversion of Russia. The escalation of the Vietnam War to stop the spread of Communism; the Civil Rights Movement; the change in culture and the creation of a new counterculture that changed the world. On July 13, 1960, another Fatima date the Democratic convention nominated John F. Kennedy as its candidate for president and he became America's 35th president and the first Catholic president. He served until his assassination November 22, 1963. We are still dealing with the effects of the social and political problems that arose during his short administration.

Events during Kennedy's administration include:

The Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961, an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, (known as The October Crisis in Cuba) advanced to a critical confrontation between the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States. The Kennedy administration held a slim hope that the Kremlin would agree to their demands, and expected a military confrontation. On the Soviet end, Nikita Khrushchev wrote in a letter to Kennedy that his quarantine of "navigation in international waters and air space to constitute an act of aggression propelling humankind into the abyss of a world nuclear-missile war."

The building of the Berlin Wall, Summer of 1961, Berliners awoke to a makeshift barricade separating the two sides of the city. The first barbed wire fences were rapidly followed by even more sinister concrete structures, isolating Berlin’s symbol, The Brandenberg Gate.
The Space Race with Russia: An on going technological war, The Civil Rights Movement as well as the beginning of the Vietnam War all took place during John Kennedy's administration.

Second Vatican Council

During this time of political and social upheavel prepartaions were underway for the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church was in progress. The second Vatican Council opened under Pope John XXIII on October 11, 1962, and it was closed under Pope Paul VI on December 8, 1965.

1968 Humanae Vitae
~

A Sign of Contradiction

"So controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future."

Pope Benedict XVI

Three years after the closing of the Second Vatican Council On July 25, 1968. Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae Vitae on Human Life. Subtitled "On the Regulation of Birth", the encyclical re-affirmed the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church regarding abortion, contraception, and other issues pertaining to human life. The encyclical has been controversial because of its prohibition of all forms of artificial contraception, and did not set will with the new cultural revolution taking place. Pope Paul VI did not issue any additional encyclicals in the remaining ten years of his pontificate. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI called this topic "so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future." Humanae Vitae became " a sign of contradiction but also of continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition... What was true yesterday is true also today.

Undoubtedly these historical events taking place during were a great cause of concern for all those who read the contents of the secret of Fatima at that time. Knowing that Our Lady warned that several nations may be anhillated. It is no wonder why the popes were hesitant to make it public during years of the cold war!

We are suffering in our time the fruits of the bad seeds that were sown during these historical events. Their coinciding togethor during the same period and analyzed in the light of Our Lady's appearances at Fatima is a wonder for us who have lived through them. The finger of God writing in Providence through an Angel in 1916 and a beautiful Lady in 1917 asking for prayers for the conversion of Commuist Russia from spreading her atheistic errors throughout the world.
See: A Call to Eucharistic Reparation Fatima Begins and Ends with the Eucharist!

The Anti-Priests?

The following book exposing the infiltration of the church is titled the Anti-Priests. I read the book in the early 1980s and dismissed it. But in light of the priest abuse crisis I think the contents of the book have merit for us to consider today. I did not want to give the on line link for the book below because I disagree with some of the comments made by the editors who reprinted the book on line. They are stating that the Consecration of Russia still has not been accomplished. It is disheartening to see all these divisions in the body of Christ. Everywhere that God Performs a Miracle or Work of Grace, the Devil is at Work to Defuse, Confuse and Disillusion!

THE ANTI-PRIESTS
(Communism in the Church) WORLD TRENDS - December 1972
Postal Address: P. 0. Box 180,
Hawthorn, Vic. 3122, Australia.
Editor & Publisher, Y. L. Dupont

It is a diary of a Communist agent who became a Catholic priest to better destroy the Church. He was ordained in the early forties, and died in the late sixties, and his confessions survived him. He had overlooked one very important fact, however, that no man is master of his own life. He died in hospital as the result of a car accident. His papers were found in his briefcase, and read by the Catholic nurse who looked after him.

His diary indicated that as early as 1938, there were over one thousand Communist agents ordained as Catholic priests or studying for the priesthood. They formed an efficient network of Anti-Priests whose main function was the infiltration, subversion and control of the Catholic press and Publishing Houses with the aid of Soviet money. New ideas were to be spread; a new religion was to be promoted. How well they have succeeded can be seen in a comparison of their avowed aims with the state of the Church since the Council. The reader will be able to judge for himself. Today looking back we can see the enemies within the church were in their places hard at work decades before 1960. We can also take consolation in knowing that...

God also saw this Crisis in the Church!

He Sent His Angel and Mother

to Fatima as the Remedy!

A Communist/Homosexual Subversion?

Sadly, the state of the Catholic Church today in light of the abuse scandals shows the success of some sort of Communist/Homosexual subversion. Incredible as the current crises may have seemed some 30 years ago, it is here now! An open book for everyone to see. God also saw this crisis in the church and sent his angel with his Mother to Fatima as the Remedy. Knowing this gives us courage!

We can and must take Hope

(Speramus)!

Are we doing our part to heal the rifts or are we tearing away at the wounds by our own lack of fidelity to the truth? Let us follow the simple requests of Out Lady and pave the way for the triumph of the Heart of Mary? When Mary’s Heart triumphs it will reflect the triumph for the Blessed Sacrament so ardently desired by saints such as St. Peter Julian Emyard. He obtained permission for his order to have a feast in honor of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in 1868 on May 13. Then on May 13 in 1917 the Holy Trinity sent Our Lady for her first apparition at Fatima. Is not the voice of God speaking again in His providence? The triumph of Mary’s Heart will also be the Triumph of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus! Let us pray! See: Fulfilling the requests of Our Lady of Fatima

"He that wants to be with God,

must be with Pope." Sr.Lucia

"He who is not with the Pope Is not with God!

Disobedience to Church Authority Tool of Devil Causing Controversy and Confusion Within Church and its Members.

In disobedience we repeat the first sin of pride by the fallen Angels and later by Adam and Eve. The video below depicts another flagrant act of disobedience another slap in the face for Christ in his passion. The excerpt below is a portion of a homily by a Fr. Pfleger from the Chicago Archdiocese that was given on Divine Mercy Sunday April 11, 2010. Fr. Pfleger openly calls for female ordinations and for female bishops and cardinals. The Video below gives an excerpt from the homily he delivered on Mercy Sunday 2010. The priest is seen parading back and forth in the sanctuary. In case you cannot make it out he is saying in this segment..."That's why there should be woman priests! That's why there should be married priests! That's why there should be woman Bishops and women Cardinals!" Note some members of the congregation were holding their hands over their heads and clapping. You may view entire homily if you can stomach it by clicking on video and follow link to U-tube.

An Anti-Priest?
Rev. Pfleger Calls for Women Priests
(From 4/11/10 Sermon)

Oremus! Let Us Pray!

Adeamus ad Thronum Gratciae-Our Lady Mother of Divine Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:38:41 PDT

Mater Divinae Gratiae

Mother of Divine Grace

Adeamus ad Thronum Gratciae

"Let us proceed to and approach the throne of grace" (Hebrews 4).

Holy Mary, Virgin

Mother of Divine Grace

***

This Carmelite Feast Day, on July 23, concludes the octave of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. We honor Mary as Our Lady, Mother of Divine Grace since she is the Mother of the Son of God, the Author of all Grace.

'The Blessed Virgin Mary was eternally predestined, in the context of the Incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. As decreed by divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving Mother of the divine Redeemer, His associate, uniquely generous, and the Lord's humble servant. She conceived, bore, and nourished Christ; presented Him to the Father in the Temple; and was united with Him in His suffering as He died on the cross. In a completely unparalleled way she cooperated, by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity, with our Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is Mother to us all in the order of grace' (Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, 61).

Prayer to Our Lady Mother of Grace

by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.

Mary, Mother of God, I believe that divine grace is absolutely necessary for the performing of any act that is meritorious for eternal life. I am grateful to your divine Son for this priceless gift of God, for by His Passion and death He not only reinstated us in the friendship of His heavenly Father, but also purchased for us all the graces we stand in need of to attain eternal life.

I also believe that grace is a free gift of God, and I have no claim to it except as a member of His holy Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. Whoever abides in this Church will bring forth much salutary fruit; whereas they who willingly separate themselves from it must wither away spiritually. How strongly Jesus reminded me of this: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remain on the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15, 4).

Help me to be deeply grateful for God's generosity toward me. I have been especially blessed as a Catholic, for God has given me graces which He has not given to everyone else. The Catholic Church the Gospels, the sacraments, the Mother of Divine Grace as my advocate—these are among the special blessings with which I am favored. I know that much will be required from those to whom much is given. Help me to make good use of the graces given me by God. May my faith influence my conduct. May the instructions I receive increase the love of God in me and strengthen my determination to serve Him with greater zeal. May I derive all the beneficial results the holy sacraments are to produce in my soul.

Mary, My Mother, I realize that I have not always corresponded faithfully with these graces. I will not be discouraged, but rather go with confidence to you, the throne of grace. Even though my past sinfulness may have made me unworthy to appear before God, I trust that you will appeal to God in my behalf as the Mother of Divine Grace. Through your prayers you will obtain forgiveness for my past negligence. You will obtain for me grace to be faithful to God during the rest of my life.

Above all, I beg of you to secure for me in the our of death the grace of final perseverance: that triumphant grace which crowns the measure of God's rifts here below and which is followed by the possession of God in heaven.....
For Complete Prayer

Will the Mission of the Prophet Elijah culminate in the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima?

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:48:45 PDT

Subjects in this post:

1. Will the Mission of the Prophet Elijah culminate in the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima?

2. Another Hidden Meaning for the Brown Scapular?

3. Triumph of Mary or the Annihiliation of Nations its up to us!

4. Fatima gives the specific formula “to save mankind from self-destruction.” Pope John Paul II

5. Through the Rosary and scapular Our Lady will prepare us for the Second Advent of Christ!
6. Clouds are symbols for the Holy Spirit. The clouds signifying the first and second Advents of Mary.
7. Important events have taken place with God on or within the clouds.

Conclusion: It appears that the mystery of Lourdes and Fatima, in the providence of God, have a symbolic connection with the Prophet Elijah in his decisive battle with the prophets of Baal!

Our Lady of Mt Carmel

and The Prophet Elijah

at Fatima and Lourdes

God choose in his providence that the Queen of Heaven and Earth was to make her last apparition at Lourdes on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16th 1858, and in the last public vision of Fatima, Our Lady also appeared as Our Lady of Mt Carmel on October 13, 1917. At Fatima she was holding the Rosary and the scapular out to a subdued and frightened crowd as they beheld the Miracle of the Sun. Many in the crowd were terrified because they thought during the time it was the end of the world.

The Prophet Elijah

Founder of the Carmelites

Lourdes and Fatima belong to a long line of Approved Marian Apparitions leading back to the founding of the Carmelite Order on Mt Carmel by the Prophet Elijah. Here Elijah battled 450 priests of Baal in a public spiritual contest which led to their defeat and ruin. He challenged the people to stop hobbling first on one foot and then on the other but to choose who is God in Israel Yahweh or Baal. According to the story, which can be found in the First Book of Kings, chapter 18, Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven and proved to the people that Yahweh was the true God. Is it possible God is sending his Mother the Queen of prophets to help us defeat the prophets of Baal resurrected in our own time.
Prophet Elijah Founder of the Carmelite Order

Statue by Agostino Cornacchini, 1727

Located in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican

Feast Day - July 20

In the book of Malachi Elijah's return is prophesied to take place "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." He is a forunner in both advents of the Messiah.

It seems that Heaven has confirmed Our Lady at Fatima in the same mission of the prophet Elijah. Our Lady at Fatima appearing in her Carmelite habit with a similiar fire from Heaven during the miracle of the sun. The stupendous Fatima Miracle is the Greatest Supernatural Event of the 20th Century and does not belong to faith or science it is an Historical Event! The Miracle of the Sun authenticated Fatima as supernatural in origin and also is a prefigurement or warning of a future catastrophe if the simple requests made at Fatima by our Lady are not heeded. See: Fulfilling the requests of Our Lady at Fatima the means given by God to obtain the final Victory of Good Over Evil.

"Surely the day is

Coming as Fire...

...in a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty. 4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. Malachi 4:1-5

Picture Depicts the Prophet Elijah as
Fire From Heaven Consumes the Sacrifice
James Tissot (1836-1902 French)

The Cloud that Prefigured

the First Advent of Our Lady

Elijah ascended Mount Carmel to pray to God for the salvation of the Israel which was suffering a terrible drought at that time. Elijah "Casting himself down upon the earth he put his face between his knees." 1 Kings 18:42. He sent his servant seven times higher up the mountaintop to look for rain. Elijah, never wavered in his confidence, and received the good news on the seventh try. Elijah saw the cloud as a symbol of the Virgin who would become the mother of the Messiah. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” Genesis 3:15

"Behold a little cloud arose

out of the sea like a man's foot."

1 Kings 18:44

View of the north Etzba Ridge on Mount Carmel.

Note a little cloud on top right portion of photo

Soon thereafter, torrential rains fell upon the parched land and the people of Israel were saved. Later an austere community of hermits followed Elijah and prayed in expectation of the advent of a Virgin-Mother who would bring salvation to mankind. They also saw the cloud as a symbol of the Virgin who would become the mother of the Messiah and made it their spiritual mission to pray for the advent of the Virgin.

In previous posts concerning Our Lady of Guadalupe we began to dialogue on how Heaven speaks to us in signs and symbols in the various Marian apparitions. More often these signs and symbols are heard louder than the spoken words in the apparitions. See: From Guadalupe to Fatima A Prophetic Mystery

No words Were Heard During

The Apparitions of Knock

Volumes Were Written on the Event

For example in the Apparition of Our Lady of Knock, in Ireland. Our Lady was seen with St. Joseph among a choir of Angels adoring Our Lord during the offering of the Holy Mass by St. John the Apostle. No word was ever spoken but volumes can and have been written on the figures and events surrounding the apparitions. Most authentic apparitions are not wordy but direct and to the point. Men have free will to choose to believe or not. Heaven does not usually say the same message innumerable times in different ways creating muddled, waters. Clarity of words direct and to the point is a good sign that God is behind an apparition. Later as men sit back to reflect and meditate deeper hidden meanings can be discovered in the manifestations and applied to particular periods in the providence of God.

It appears that the mystery of Lourdes and Fatima, in the providence of God, have a symbolic connection with the Prophet Elijah in his decisive battle with the prophets of Baal!

Clouds are Symbols

of the Holy Spirit

The symbolic uses of clouds in scripture are many; they are often used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit because clouds provide life-giving water to a parched earth and thisrtiing humanity awaiting the waters of baptism. In the Old Testament, God's presence is made manifest and His glory shown forth in a cloud. God often leads his people with a cloud or appears to them in a cloud. (Exodus 16:10) The image of a cloud is often combined with the image of light to symbolize the God who is hidden and mysterious but also revealing and luminous.

At Lourdes

The last apparition of Lourdes occurred on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16, 1858. From this we may conclude that Heaven wished to bring Lourdes into the same mystery of Mt. Carmel and the prophet Elijah who prayed for the Advent of the Immaculate Virgin who would bear the Messiah. Here at Lourdes, Our Lady called herself the Immaculate Conception, confirming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus December 8, 1854. The woman foretold in the book of Genesis; who would crush the head of the serpent deceiver of mankind.

Important Events

Have Occurred with God

On or Within Clouds

The apparitions at Lourdes, symbolic for the cleansing waters of baptism and often take place in foggy damp weather. The clouds descend on the mountain surrounding the cave and Bernadette sometimes seemed to enter the cloud in order to converse with Mary. Similar to Moses who entered the meeting tent after the cloud descended upon it and on Mt. Horeb entered the cloud and received the 10 Commandments.

At Fatima

The identification with the Mystery of Mt. Carmel is even more apparent. Mary came transported upon a cloud from the east similar to the the cloud rising from the ocean that Elijah saw that eventually inundated the earth with life giving rain ending a severe draught. Could this, along with other mysteries still hidden within the drama of Fatima, Signify a Second Advent with Mary? Fatima seems to announce the Second Advent Mary as seen in the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation: The woman clothed with the sun the moon under her feet, and who with the help of God, prepares the church to meet Christ in his second advent his glorious second coming.

Through these (Rosary & Scapular)

Our Lady Will Prepare the World

For the Second Advent of Christ

The Brown Scapular was Our Lady’s last loving appeal to souls to wear as a sign of Consecration to Her Immaculate Heart and is endowed with many privileges from the church including the Sabbatine Privilege. Lucia of Fatima said that "Our Lady never looked as beautiful as when she appeared at Fatima during the Miracle of the Sun in Her Carmelite Habit and the very fact that she was holding the Brown Scapular tells us that she wants us to take it and USE IT!” Sr. Lucia said: "OUR LADY WANTS EVERYONE TO WEAR THE BROWN SCAPULAR: IT IS THE SIGN OF CONSECRATION TO HER IMMACULATE HEART!!"

The devils revealed to Francis of Yepes, the brother of St. John of the Cross that three things especially tormented them The first is the NAME OF JESUS; the second, the NAME OF MARY; and third, THE BROWN SCAPULAR OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL. "Take off that habit," they cried to him, "which snatches too many souls from us. All those clothed in it die piously and escape us." God will perform great wonders for his church when he ushers in the Triumph of Mary through the devout wearing of the Brown Scapular.

Another Hidden Misson for

the Brown Scapular ?

The Brown Scapular may also have a similiar symbolic mission as the blood over the doors of the Jews during the Passover. Our Lady held out the scapular to the crowd during the Miracle of the sun which foreshadowed a purification and a need for protection. This is offered to all who are consecrated to her and place themselves under her mantle of protection. When the church passes through the period of purification leading to the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the scapular will identify us in this future battle as Children of Mary, under her mantle of protection. It will protect us from the destroying angels of the future Apocalypse and their various manifestations during the prolonged period of trial. We must be marked as a child of Mary wearing her brown scapular and fulfilling the Simple requests of Fatima to arrive at the Triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart. It doesn not mean we will not suffer! Just the contrary, we are called to Imitate the Life of Christ in this conflict with the church who also must walk the steps of her founder. It means that we will have the strength as our Lord did from the Father to accomplish God's will for each of our lives, with Mary at our side as she walked beside the Lord during his Passion and Death.

Triumph of Mary or

Annihilation of Nations?

Fatima Gives the Specific Formula

“to save mankind from self-destruction.” Pope John Paul II

A drawing from J. Gill illustrating the third part of the secret pf Fatima, taken
from the book of Sister Lucia of Fatima, “Calls from the Message of Fatima”,
Secção de Livraria, Cova da Iria 2496-908 Fatima, Portugal

The means given to us by God in obtaining the final triumph of Mary "The Woman Clothed in the Sun" can be gleaned from meditation on the events of Fatima along with the other Marian Apparitions APPROVED BY THE CHURCH in the light of the Fatima Message.

The urgency of our response can be seen by the fact that Pope John Paul II decided to make the secret known in June 2000, with the comment that: “AS WE APPROACH THE NEW MILLENNIUM IT SEEMS THAT THE WORDS OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA ARE NEARING THEIR FULFILLMENT.”

Later the Vatican document explaining the Third Secret of Fatima clarifies that: “The Angel with the flaming sword” recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. Images that represent the threat of judgment over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire is no longer pure fantasy. Man, himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.”

“Before releasing this last secret of Fatima, Pope John Paul II asked Sister Lucia for her interpretation. She replied that the visions (of the Angel of Justice, the mountain of corpses, the ruined city, etc.) referred to the part of Our Lady’s message, which ended with the words: “SEVERAL NATIONS WILL BE ANNIHILATED.” She added: “If we have not yet seen the complete fulfillment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides.”

Lucia’s comments seemed to indicate that the world is almost inexorably proceeding to self-destruction. The Pope also appeared to share this view in his Fatima letter of October 13, 1977, in which His Holiness said, the greatness of Fatima is that it gives the specific formula “to save mankind from self-destruction.”

Through the centuries Our Lady of Mount Carmel kept a constant watch over her children, ever solicitous to intercede for them and lead them to Her Divine Son. Amidst the sea of chaos, confusion and impiety raging in the world today, may Our Lady of Mount Carmel grant us strength and fortitude so we may all remain faithful to Her Son and His Holy Church. For More Info and to view clips of the 13th Day

The Pope Blessing Sick @ Fatima Joins Our Lady in inviting them to be Redeemers in the Son with Her.

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 10:08:29 PDT

"The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of my law!" Jesus to Sr. Lucia

The Pope calls all to be Redeemers in the Son with Mary. Repeating the Heart of the Fatima Message given by Our Lady's in her first visit on May 13 to the three shepherds. She asked them this question; "Will you offer yourselves to God, and bear all the sufferings He sends you? In atonement for all the sins that offend Him? And for the conversion of sinners?" The children replied; "Yes, we are willing." Our Lady continued; "Than you will suffer much but the grace of God will be your comfort." In this first question to the children Our Lady is also asking each of us through them the same question.

It was in this same spirit that the Angel spoke to the children in 1916 preparing them for this moment: "Offer up everything in your power as a sacrifice to the Lord in reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners . . . More than all else, accept and bear with resignation the sufferings that God may send you."

After the apparitions ended Sr. Lucia explained "Many persons feeling that the word penance implies great austerities, and not feeling that they have the strength for great sacrifices, become discouraged and continue a life of lukewarmness and sin." Then she said Our Lord explained to her: "The sacrifice required of every person is the fulfillment of his duties in life and the observance of My law. This is the penance that I now seek and require."

The pope's message to the sick teaches us all the ways that we can be Redeemers with the Redeemer and by doing so we are answering Our Lady's call at Fatima. This is the call of the Gospel message. To imitate St Paul and the Apostles, to fill up in our flesh with our individual afflictions what is left in the sufferings of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church. Colossians 1:24

God will not go against the free will of man. He invites Our Lady asked the children if they were willing to suffer for poor sinners. She also asks us the same question through them. What is your answer to the Call of Fatima? The Call to penance and reparation.

The Pope Giving Benediction

Dear Brothers and Sisters

Who Are Sick

Before I walk among you carrying the monstrance containing Jesus present in the Eucharist, I would like to offer you a word of encouragement and hope, a word which I extend to all those following us on television and radio, and to those without even such means, but who are united to us by the deeper bonds of the Spirit, that is, in faith and prayer.

Suffering which is lived

with Jesus assists in

The Salvation of Souls.

My dear brother and sister, in the eyes of God you are “worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer with man in an utterly real way — in flesh and blood — as is revealed to us in the account of Jesus's Passion. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God's compassionate love — and so the star of hope rises” (Spe Salvi, 39). With such hope in your heart, you can leave behind the quicksand of illness and death and stand on the firm rock of divine love. In other words, you can overcome the feeling of the uselessness of suffering which consumes a person from within and makes him feel a burden to those around him when, in reality, suffering which is lived with Jesus assists in the salvation of your brethren.

As you embrace Your Cross

the Salvific Meaning of

Suffering will be Revealed

How is this possible? Because the spring of divine power rises in the midst of human weakness. This is the paradox of the Gospel. Therefore, the divine Master, instead of explaining the reasons for suffering, preferred to call everyone to follow him, saying: Take up your cross and follow me (cf. Mk 8:34). Come with me. With your suffering, take part in the work of salvation which is realized through my suffering, by means of my cross. As you gradually embrace your own cross, uniting yourself spiritually to my cross, the salvific meaning of suffering will be revealed to you. In suffering, you will discover an interior peace and even spiritual joy.

You will become redeemers

with the Redeemer

Dear friends who are sick, welcome the call of Jesus who will shortly pass among you in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and entrust to him every setback and pain that you face, so that they become - according to his design – a means of redemption for the whole world. You will be redeemers with the Redeemer, just as you are sons in the Son. At the cross… stands the mother of Jesus, our mother.
Greetings for English Pilgrims

I welcome the English-speaking pilgrims present today who have come from near and far. As we offer our fervent prayers to our Lady of Fátima, I encourage you to ask her to intercede for the needs of the Church throughout the world. I cordially invoke God’s blessing upon all of you, and in a particular way upon the young and those who are sick.

The Lord, our great hope, is with us. In his merciful love, he offers a future to his people: a future of communion with himself!...God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the same here, in Fatima...Our Lady asks: “Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?” May the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

Video Homily Mass at Porto

The Broken Heart of Jesus, the Merciful Saviour-----------------------History of the Sacred Heart Badge

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 08:22:56 PDT

On the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Try to attend Holy Mass, and renew or make your Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus . Also recite some of the prayers of reparation below to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us try to make reparation for the lack of love and reverence for the Heart of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Sacred Heart of Jesus on fire with love for us in the Blessed Sacrament---Thy Kingdom Come!

Prayer to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus

“O Jesus, a soldier opened Your side with his lance, so that, through the gaping wound, we might know the charity of Your Heart, which loved us unto death, and that we might enter into Your unutterable love through the same channel by which it came to us. Approach, O my soul, the Heart of Christ, that magnanimous Heart, that hidden Heart, that Heart which thinks of all things and knows all things; that loving Heart, all on fire with love. Make me understand, O Lord, that the door of Your Heart was forced open by the vehemence of Your love. Allow me to enter into the secret of that love which was hidden from all eternity, but is now revealed by the wound in Your Heart”
(St. Bernardine of Siena).

Pope Benedict XVI on the Sacred Heart

In speaking about the Heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict stated, “In biblical language, heart indicates a person's center, seat of his feelings and intentions. In the Heart of the Redeemer, we adore God's love of humanity, His will of universal salvation, His infinite mercy. Worship of the Sacred Heart of Christ means, therefore, worship of that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by the spear, and from the cross on high, shed blood and water, inexhaustible source of new life” (Angelus, 5 June 2005).

Act of Reparation to
~
the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee.

The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus!

The more impiety endeavors to extinguish our hope of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole Hope of mankind!

The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus!

The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and ignored, the more we shall delight to observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most generous Heart of Jesus!

The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavor to practice them, O Heart, model of every virtue!

The more the devil labors to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!

The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavor to be her faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more will we honor him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus!

O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in thee!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, protect our families.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Saint Joseph, friend of the Sacred Heart, pray for us!

The Sacred Heart Badge

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque always kept a Badge with her and inspired her novices to do the same. She made many Badges and often said this practice was very pleasing to the Sacred Heart. In the beginning, only the nuns of the Visitation were allowed to wear the Badge.

It was later spread by Venerable Ana Magdalena Remuzat, a religious of the Visitation who died in the odor of sanctity (1696-1730). Our Lord told this nun that a serious epidemic would afflict the French city of Marseilles in 1720, and that its inhabitants would receive a marvelous help through this devotion to His Sacred Heart.

Holy Father Pius IX
~

on the Sacred Heart Badge
~

In 1870, a Roman lady wishing to know the opinion of the Holy Father Pius IX about the Badge of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, presented him with one. Touched by the sight of this emblem of salvation, the Pope approved the devotion forever, and said, "This, Madam, this is an inspiration from Heaven. Yes, from Heaven."

After a short moment of silence, he added," I am going to bless this Heart and want all Badges made after this model to receive the same blessing, so that in the future it will not be necessary for the blessing to be renewed by a priest. And I want Satan to be unable to cause any harm to those who wear this Badge, symbol of the Adorable Heart of Jesus."

Wishing to foster the pious habit of wearing the Badge, in 1872 the Blessed Pope Pius IX granted one hundred years' indulgence to all who wear this emblem and pray daily one Our Father, one Hail, Mary, and one Glory be.

PRAYER OF BL. POPE Pius IX
~

"Open Thy Sacred Heart, O Jesus! Show me its beauty and unite me with It forever. May the throbbing and all the movements of my heart, even during sleep, be a testimony of my love and tell Thee unceasingly, 'Yes, Lord Jesus, I adore Thee...accept my poor good actions...grant me the grace of repairing the evil done...so that I may praise Thee in time and bless Thee for all eternity. Amen."

Mother Remuzat, helped by her sisters in the convent, continued to make thousands of Sacred Heart Badges, and distributed them throughout the city where the plague was rampant.

Soon afterward, the epidemic stopped. As if by a miracle, many Badge wearers were not infected and even people who got sick experienced extraordinary help through the Badge. Analogous events happened elsewhere. From then on, use of the Badge spread to other cities and countries.

The news of the graces obtained through the Badges reached the French court. Maria Lescyznska, the wife of King Louis XV, became devoted to the Badge. In 1748, she received several Badges from Pope Benedict XIV as a wedding gift. Among the various presents sent by the Pontiff were "many Badges of the Sacred Heart made of red taffeta and embroidered in gold," the records say. For a free Sacred Heart Badge and for more information on the History of the Sacred Heart Badge click here.

--Posted By Speramus (We Hope!) at 6/10/2010 12:50:00 PM

Posted via email from Speramus's posterous

Let Us give thanks on Solemnity of Corpus Christi for the Greatest Treasure of the Catholic Church.!

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:06:07 PDT

THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

OUR HIDDEN JESUS!

Above Photo Eucharistic Benediction at Fatima

The Children at Fatima often referred to Jesus in the Eucharist as the Hidden Jesus. Francisco knowing that he was going to die soon preferred to spend his school time praying to the “Hidden Jesus” in the Tabernacle. His great concern was to console His sorrowing Lord and the Heart of His Mother.

The following prayer of petition I came across to the Hidden Jesus is a beautiful testimony of love and devotion to the Hidden Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The author is unknown to me at this time. I wanted to post this for Corpus Christi to share these beautiful thoughts of Our Humble Hidden God in the Blessed Sacrament. May these words prayed from loving hearts console our Hidden Lord and inflame our hearts to follow him wherever he goes! If anyone recognizes the prayer and the Saint who composed the words please let me know.

O JESUS, HIDDEN GOD,
I CRY TO THEE!

O JESUS, HIDDEN LIGHT,

I TURN TO THEE!
O JESUS, HIDDDEN LOVE,
I RUN TO THEE!
WITH ALL THE STRENGTH
I HAVE, I WORSHIP THEE;
WITH ALL THE LOVE
I HAVE, I CLING TO THEE;
WITH ALL MY SOUL,
I LONG TO BE WITH THEE,
AND FEAR NO MORE TO FAIL,
OR FALL FROM THEE.

O JESUS DEATHLESS LOVE WHO SEEKEST ME,

THOU, WHO DIDST DIE FOR LONGING LOVE OF ME.

THOU, KING IN ALL THY BEAUTY COME TO ME,

AND GO NO MORE DEAR LORD AWAY FROM ME.

O GOD, MOST BEAUTIFUL,
MOST PRICELESS ONE;
O GOD, MOST GLORIOUS,
UNCREATED ONE:
O GOD, ETERNAL BEATIFIC ONE;
O GOD, O INFINITE AND HIDDEN ONE;
O GOD, IMMENSE, O GOD THE LIVING ONE;

THOU, WISDOM OF THE EVERLASTING ONE;

THOU, EVER LOVED, AND EVER LOVING ONE.

MAKE ME, O HOLY GOD THY TREASURED ONE;

MAKE ME, O GLORIOUS LOVE, THY PRECIOUS ONE;

MAKE ME, O HIGHEST GOOD, THY LONGING ONE;

MAKE ME, O BLESSED LIGHT, THY CHOSEN ONE;

MAKE ME, FOREVER MORE, THY LOVING ONE.

MY SOUL IS DARK, AWAY FROM THEE, MY OWN.

MY EYES ARE DIM IN SEEKING THEE, MY OWN

MY FLESH DOTH PINE AWAY FROM THEE, MY OWN.

MY HEART LEAPS UP WITH JOY TO THEE, MY OWN.

MY SPIRIT FAINTS RECEIVING THEE MY OWN.

WHERE, IN THE HEIGHT OF HEAVEN, IS LIGHT LIKE THEE?

WHERE, IN THE BREADTH OF HEAVEN, IS BLISS LIKE THEE?

WHERE, IN THE DEPTH OF HEAVEN, IS PEACE LIKE THEE?

WHERE, IN THE HOME OF LOVE, IS LOVE LIKE THEE?

WITH ALL MY HEART I GIVE MYSELF TO THEE;

AND WAITING WAIT, O KING AND SPOUSE FOR THEE;

TILL I AM ONE FOREVER MORE WITH THEE.

O SWEETEST JESUS, BRING ME HOME TO THEE.

FREE ME, O DEAREST GOD, FROM ALL BUT THEE,

AND BREAK ALL CHAINS THAT KEEP ME BACK FROM THEE;

CALL ME. O THRILLING LOVE, I FOLLOW THEE;

THOU ART MY ALL, AND I HAVE NOUGHT FOR THEE.

O HIDDEN LOVE, WHO NOW ART LOVING ME.

O WOUNDED LOVE, WHO ONCE WAS DEAD FOR ME,

O SUN CROWNED LOVE, WHO ART ALIVE FOR ME.

O PATIENT LOVE, WHO WEARIEST NOT OF ME.

O BEAR WITH ME, TILL I AM LOST IN THEE.

O BEAR WITH ME, TILL I AM FOUND IN THEE.

PUBLIC PENANCE PROJECT

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:18:36 PDT

A PUBLIC PENANCE PROJECT

On Pentecost Sunday I posted another Post on the need to make reparation for the Sacriliges occuring daily against the Blessed Sacrament. Describing them in more detail and linking them in providence to the Fatima Message and the call to Eucharistic Reparation. The post was up for only 3 days and during that time I made a few minor corrections and then I lost a large portion of the post into cyberspace. My notes and extra copies that Blogger sends to your e-mail inbox also disappeared. All I had left were the tweets on twitter that highlighted the topics. I was very discouraged because I am not an accomplished writer and the whole post for me was quite a feat to be able to put what was in my heart in writing and hope that people in authority who could make changes would read it and take action to make necessary corrections.

I surmised I made the devil mad swallowed my pride and tried to remind myself that God is very capable of using other better means to accomplish his will. I spent some time offering it up knowing I will never be able to replace it in its original format. But my faith said that God can use my Acceptance however imperfect to bring about a greater good than my words will ever be able to do.

Fatima Sacrifice Prayer

So I prayed the Fatima Sacrifice Prayer taught by the Angel to the children however hard and bitter it felt in my heart and on my lips: "O my Jesus it is for Love of you in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary and for the conversion of poor sinners!" Now it took Faith and Hope that God will bring good out of my poor efforts and my apparent failures.

A Necessary Work

Public Atonement

The following days I came across the following post and this also is a good work, an important work a necessary work. A call to make public atonement for the sins of some of the members of the church in order to appease the justice of God for the failures of some of the members of the church.

We Hold Our Future in our Hands
We will accept and do penance or
God will do it for us!

They agree with the message of Fatima that we hold our future in our hands. It is up to us what happens. If we follow the simple requests of Our Lady do penance and pray we shall save our souls and others. If we do not, I believe we are headed towards the a divine chastisement and annihilation of nations. These are prophesied in symbols during the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima. The people at that time thought it was the end of the world and begged pardon for their sins. The chastisement will come in order to purify us for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the new spring time in the church that John Paul II saw. We will accept and do penance or God will do it for us! Is it possible that our inability to Cap Gulf Oil haemorrhage and another future world economic collapse is part of the beginnings of these cleansings. Men do not need God until they are on their knees.

The Following Articles Merit Consideration

First Catholic News Service CNS published an article below on a special period of Eucharistic adoration to be held at the Vatican in reparation for the abuse scandals and for the healing of this wound within the church.

Then ALWAYS Catholic Blog started a Public Penance project also below.

This is what Our Lady of Fatima would want. This is also the root of the Eucharistic Sacriligies occuring daily today. Infiltration of our seminaries by unfaithful priests many ordained who did not have a vocation. Others attacked after wards by the evil spirit who has a greater power over souls today who give themselves to him by mortal sin. See the vision of Pope Leo XIII and the inclusion of the St. Michael Prayer after Low Mass

Locution of Pope Leo XIII

Different versions but all agree that the Pope after appearing in shock and shaken up said that he suddenly heard voices- one kind and gentle, the other guttural and harsh. They seemed to come from near the tabernacle. As he listened, he heard the following conversation: The guttural voice, the voice of Satan in his pride, boasted to Our Lord: "I can destroy your Church." The gentle voice of Our Lord: "You can? Then go ahead and do so." Satan: "To do so, I need more time and more power." Our Lord: "How much time? How much power?" Satan: "75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service." Our Lord: "You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will."

Eucharistic Adoration at Vatican

In Reparation for Abuse

CNS Post May 27, 2010 by John Thavis

(CNS photo/Michael Alexander, Georgia Bulletin)

VATICAN CITY- The Vatican is hosting two hours of eucharistic adoration “in reparation for abuses committed by priests and for the healing of this wound within the church

The service in St. Peter’s Basilica this Saturday will feature an hour of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, an hour of prayer and meditation, and a solemn blessing at the end.

The unusual initiative was organized by Catholic university students in Rome. Sources said the event was originally planned for the small Church of St. Anne inside Vatican City, but that it was moved to St. Peter’s at the suggestion of Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who is archpriest of the basilica.

So far, however, the Vatican has not publicized the event. Invitations have been forwarded by email and spread by word-of-mouth.

The hour of prayer and meditation will be led by Msgr. Charles Scicluna, an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who deals directly with cases of priests accused of abuse of minors.

Msgr. Scicluna's Address
Prayer Service for Priests

"The Child Image of Innocence"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the meditation delivered Saturday by Msgr. Charles Scicluna, promoter of justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, during a morning of adoration of the Most Blessed sacrament to pray for the sanctification of priests at St. Peter's Basilica in
Rome.

Do not be an obstacle in their way to me!
Do not Hinder their Spiritual Progress!
Do not let them be Seduced by Evil!

Accepting the kingdom of God like a child is to accept with a pure heart, with docility, abandonment, confidence, enthusiasm, and hope. All this reminds us of the child. All this makes the child precious in God's eyes, and in the eyes of a true disciple of JesusInstead, how barren and sad the world becomes when this beautiful image, when this holy icon is crushed, broken, muddied, abused and destroyed. The deep cry that comes from the heart of Jesus echoes: "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them" (Mark 10:14). Do not be an obstacle in their way toward me, do not hinder their spiritual progress, do not let them be seduced by evil, do not make children the subject of your impure greed.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42).

After having taken a Profession of Holiness, Anyone who Destroys others through Words or Deed would have been better off if their Misdeeds had caused them to Die in Secular Dress!
+
Gregory the Great says this about those severe words of Jesus: "Mystically expressed in the millstone is the hard and tedious rhythm of secular life, while the deep sea signifies the most terrible curse. Thus, After having taken a profession of holiness, anyone who destroys others through words or deed would have been better off if their misdeeds had caused them to die in secular dress, rather than, through their holy office, being imposed as an example for others in their sins. Without a doubt, if they had fallen all by themselves, their suffering in Hell would be easier to bear. "

But the Lord, who does not enjoy the loss of his servants and does not want eternal death for his creatures, immediately adds a remedy for condemnation, a drug for the disease, relief from the danger of eternal damnation. His are the strong words of the Divine surgeon that cuts to heal, amputates to cure, prunes so the vine bears much fruit: And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off" (Mark 9:43). "And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off" (Mark 9:45). "And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out" (Mark 9:47).

Several Holy Fathers interpret "the hand," "the foot," and "the eye" as a friend dear to our heart with which we share our life, to whom we are bound by ties of affection, harmony and solidarity. There is a limit to this relationship. Christian friendship submits to the law of God. If my friend, my companion, a person dear to me is for me an occasion of sin, a stumbling block for me in journey, I have no other choice. According to the criterion of the Lord, this relationship must be cut. Who would deny the agony of such a choice? Is this a cruel amputation? Yet the Lord is clear: It is better for me to go alone in the Kingdom (without a hand, without a foot, without an eye), than to go with my friend "into hell, into unquenchable fire" (Mark 9:43; cf. Mark 9: 45,47). ....

'Whoever is near me, is near the Fire'

"A Father of the Church, Origen, in one of his homilies on Jeremiah, reports a saying attributed to Jesus, not contained in the sacred Scriptures but perhaps authentic, which he puts thus: 'Whoever is near me, is near the fire' (Homilies on Jeremiah, L. I [III]). In Christ, in fact, there is the fullness of God, who in the Bible is compared to fire. We just observed that the flame of the Holy Spirit burns but does not destroy. And nevertheless it causes a transformation, and it must for this reason consume something in man, the waste that corrupts him and hinders his relations with God and neighbor.

  This effect of the Divine Fire, Frightens Us

"This effect of the divine fire, however, frightens us, we are afraid of being 'burned,' we prefer to stay just as we are. This is because our life is often formed according to the logic of having, of possessing and not the logic of self-giving. Many people believe in God and admire the person of Jesus Christ, but when they are asked to lose something of themselves, then they retreat, they are afraid of the demands of faith. There is the fear of giving up something nice to which we are attached; the fear that following Christ deprives us of freedom, of certain experiences, of a part of ourselves. On one hand, we want to be with Jesus, follow him closely, and, on the other hand, we are afraid of the consequences that this brings with it.

Be Touched by the Fire of the Holy Spirit!

    The Suffering it Causes is Necessary

      For Our Transformation!

"Dear brothers and sisters, we always need to hear the Lord Jesus tell us what he often repeated to his friends: 'Be not afraid.' Like Simon Peter and the others we must allow his presence and his grace to transform our heart, which is always subject to human weakness. We must know how to recognize that losing something, indeed, losing ourselves for the true God, the God of love and of life, is in reality gaining ourselves, finding ourselves more fully. Whoever entrusts himself to Jesus already experiences in this life peace and joy of heart, which the world cannot give, and it cannot even take it away once God has given it to us.

"So it is worthwhile to let ourselves be touched by the fire of the Holy Spirit! The suffering that it causes us is necessary for our transformation. It is the reality of the cross: It is not for nothing that in the language of Jesus 'fire' is above all a representation of the cross, without which Christianity does not exist. Read More....

         A Grass Roots Call for Public Penance

In several recent statements, Pope Benedict has said the response to the sex abuse crisis in the church will require openness, adoption of new measures to protect children and spiritual reparation.

In a letter to Irish Catholics earlier this year, he asked that eucharistic adoration be set up in every diocese, so that “through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm.

A PUBLIC PENANCE PROJECT

To Make Spiritual Reparation

PUBLIC PENANCE PROJECT

Posted May 29 by Always Catholic Blog

Please everyone, talk to all you know, especially your Bishops and priests … a movement is beginning. We need to beg mercy and call down grace to strengthen and sanctify the clergy and faithful. With all the scandal for so long in the Church along with the progressives and liberals, we need to act quickly and storm heaven to mitigate what will surely befall us shortly from our complacency and arrogance.

Beginning with Bishops to lead by example and backed up by all clergy and faithful; we need to begin a movement of at least a quarter hour a week of PUBLIC PENANCE. 15 minutes of CONTRITE PROSTRATE PRAYER in front of the Blessed Sacrament. If we do not beg mercy and grace for strength, conversions and in reparation …. our future will be our own doing.

In Fatima, the Blessed Virgin invites everyone to regard earth as the place of our pilgrimage to our final homeland, which is heaven.

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sun, 23 May 2010 17:32:32 PDT

+

Fatima a Message centered on Prayer, Penance and Conversion, that is Projected Beyond the Threats, Dangers and Horrors of History, Inviting Mankind to Trust in the Action of God!

In His Wednesday General Audience on May 19, 2010 the Pope Benedict XVI summarized his apostolic journey to Fatima. A touching experience rich with Many spiritual gifts was how the Holy Father described his recent trip to Portugal! He said that the Mass at the Fatima Shrine on May 13 with over 500,000 people was the culmination of his visit and the almost palpable presence of the Virgin Mary is present there with an atmosphere of authentic mysticism that characterizes the city.

The images of this unforgettable trip, the warm and spontaneous welcome and the enthusiasm of the people remain fixed in my mind and heart, I give praise to the Lord because Mary, appearing to the three shepherd children, opened in the world a privileged space to find the divine mercy that heals and saves. A message centered on prayer, on penance and conversion, that is projected beyond the threats, dangers and horrors of history, inviting mankind to trust in the action of God, to cultivate great hope, to experience the grace of the Lord so as to fall in love with Him, source of all love and peace."

In Fatima, the Blessed Virgin invites everyone to regard earth as the place of our pilgrimage to our final homeland, which is heaven. We are all pilgrims and we all need our Mother who guides us. “With you (Mary) we walk in Hope, Wisdom and Mission was the motto of my apostolic trip to Portugal, and in Fatima the Blessed Virgin Mary invites us to walk with great hope, letting ourselves be guided by ‘the wisdom from above,’ which was revealed in Jesus -- the wisdom of love.

Pope Benedict also said that for the duration of his four days in the nation he felt "spiritually sustained" by his "beloved predecessor," Venerable John Paul II. The late Pope had gone to Fatima three times during his pontificate, giving thanks to Our Lady particularly for the "'invisible hand' that freed him from death" during the assassination attempt in 1981.

The Holy Father ended with a request for the people to join him in prayer: “Let us also pray that, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, the Holy Spirit may render this apostolic trip fruitful, and enliven in the whole world the Church’s mission, founded by Christ to announce to all peoples the Gospel of truth, peace and love.” Read more...

Pope Benedict XVI Farewell Procession @ Fatima on 93rd Anniversary Our Lady’s Appearance!

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sun, 16 May 2010 14:08:04 PDT

93rd Anniversary Our Lady’s Appearance

10th Anniversary Beatification

Bl. Jacinta and Francisco!

The Lord, our great hope

Offers a Future to His People!

Our Lady, Mother of all men and women, I come before you as a son visiting his Mother, and I do so in company with a multitude of brothers and sisters. As the Successor of Peter, to whom was entrusted the mission of presiding in the service of charity in the Church of Christ and of confirming all in faith and in hope, I wish to present to your Immaculate Heart the joys and hopes as well as the problems and sufferings of each one of these sons and daughters of yours who are gathered in the Cova di Iria or who are praying with us from afar. Mother most gentle, you know each one by name, you know each one’s face and personal history, and you love them all with maternal benevolence that wells up from the very heart of Divine Love. I entrust and consecrate them all to you, Mary Most Holy, Mother

"You are Crowned not only with

The Silver and Gold of our Joys

But also with the 'Bullet' of

All our Anxieties and Sufferings!"

The Venerable Pope John Paul II, who visited you three times here in Fatima and thanked the "unseen hand" that rescued him from death in the assassination attempt on 13 May in Saint Peter’s Square almost thirty years ago, wanted to offer to the Shrine of Fatima a bullet which gravely wounded him and was placed in the crown of the Queen of Peace. It is a profound consolation to know that you are crowned not only with the silver and gold of our joys and hopes, but also with the "bullet" of our anxieties and sufferings.

Pope Consigns the Golden Rose

Entrusting all God's People to Her!

The Popes Prayer of Thanksgiving

I thank you, beloved Mother, for the prayers and sacrifices that the shepherd-children of Fatima offered for the Pope, led by the sentiments that you inspired in them in the apparitions. I also thank all those who, every day, pray for the Successor of Peter and for his intentions, that the Pope may be strong in faith, bold in hope and zealous in love. Beloved Mother of us all, here in your Shrine at Fatima I consign the Golden Rose that I have brought from Rome I am sure that the shepherd-children of Fatima, Blessed Francisco and Jacinta and the Servant of God Lucia of Jesus, are united with us at this hour of prayer and jubilation.

Excerpts from Pope's Homily

Mass on the 13th of May

In God I embrace all their sons and daughters, particularly the afflicted or outcast, with the desire of bringing them that great hope which burns in my own heart, and which here, in Fatima, can be palpably felt. May our great hope sink roots in the lives of each of you, dear pilgrims, and of all those who join us through the communications media. Yes! The Lord, our great hope, is with us. In his merciful love, he offers a future to his people: a future of communion with himself.

This holy place is the proof of it. In seven years you will return here to celebrate the centenary of the first visit made by the Lady “come from heaven”, the Teacher who introduced the little seers to a deep knowledge of the Love of the Blessed Trinity and led them to savour God himself as the most beautiful reality of human existence. This experience of grace made them fall in love with God in Jesus, so much so that Jacinta could cry out: “How much I delight in telling Jesus that I love him! When I tell him this often, I feel as if I have a fire in my breast, yet it does not burn me”. And Francisco could say: “What I liked most of all was seeing Our Lord in that light which Our Mother put into our hearts. I love God so much!” (Memoirs of Sister Lúcia, I, 42 and 126).

We would be Mistaken to Think That

Fatima’s Prophetic Mission is Complete

We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete. Here there takes on new life the plan of God which asks humanity from the beginning: “Where is your brother Abel […] Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!” (Gen 4:9). Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end… In sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: “Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?”

At a time when the human family was ready to sacrifice all that was most sacred on the altar of the petty and selfish interests of nations, races, ideologies, groups and individuals, our Blessed Mother came from heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her the Love of God burning in her own heart. At that time it was only to three children, yet the example of their lives spread and multiplied, especially as a result of the travels of the Pilgrim Virgin, in countless groups throughout the world dedicated to the cause of fraternal solidarity. May the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

On Fatima’s Prophetic Mission

Interview on Vatican Radio with Fr. Federico Lombardi May 13, 2010

Pope Benedict said that we would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete, how should we interpret this statement?

“The Pope is telling us that Fatima is a place in which Our Lady and seers, their tradition, help us read the story of our times, the great difficulties of our times, in the light of Faith. There is the action of God, there is His Providence, in the goodness of the Virgin Mother but then there is also the responsibility of humanity, which often closes in on itself and because of sin we then have wars, difficulties and suffering. In the midst of all this there is the key of prayer, penitence and conversion to open up the path to good. This is the prophetic message of Fatima, it helps us to read history, even the history of today and tomorrow, in the light of God.

Farewell Procession at Fatima

13th of each Month!

"It was not the church that imposed Fatima but it was Fatima that imposed itself on the Church!"

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:18:41 PDT

Pope on Fatima: Heaven Opened

Over Portugal - Like a Window of

Hope God Opened When Man

Closed the Door to Him!

"It was not the Church

that Imposed Fatima,

Rather, it was Fatima that

Imposed itself on the Church!"

Arriving in Lisbon, Pope Benedict declared, "I come as a pilgrim to Our Lady of Fatima, invested from on high with the mission of confirming my brothers and sisters as they advance on their own pilgrimage towards Heaven. Heaven itself was opened over Portugal - like a window of hope that God opens when man closes the door to him heaven.

The Virgin Mary came from heaven to remind us of the truths of the Gospel which for humankind—lacking in love and without hope of salvation—represent a source of hope. - in order to refashion, within the human family, the bonds of fraternal solidarity based on the mutual recognition of the one Father, this was a loving design from God; it does not depend on the Pope, nor on any other ecclesial authority: "It was not the Church that imposed Fatima", as Cardinal Manuel Cerejeira of blessed memory used to say, "but it was Fatima that imposed itself on the Church!"

On the plane the pope was asked by reporters:

"If the message of the secret could be

extended, beyond the assassination

attempt against John Paul II to

other sufferings of the popes?

The pope responded; "Here too, beyond this great vision of the suffering Pope, which we can initially circumscribe to John Paul II, other realities are indicated which over time will develop and become clear. Thus it is true that beyond the moment indicated in the vision, (concerning the 3rd secret) one speaks about and sees the necessity of suffering by the Church, which is focused on the person of the Pope.

The Pope stands for the Church,

and Therefore the Sufferings

of the Church are Announced.

The Lord told us that the Church will always be suffering in various ways, up to the end of the world. In terms of what we today can discover in this message, attacks against the Pope or the Church do not only come from outside; rather the sufferings of the Church come from within, from the sins that exist in the Church. This too has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way:

The Greatest Persecution of the Church

Does not Come from Enemies

on the outside, but is Born from

the Sin Within the Church.

The Church therefore has a deep need to re-learn penance, to accept purification, to learn on one hand forgiveness but also the need for justice. Forgiveness is not a substitute for justice. In one word we have to re-learn these essentials: conversion, prayer, penance, and the theological virtues.

That is how we respond, and we need to be realistic in expecting that evil will always attack, from within and from outside, but the forces of good are also always present, and finally the Lord is stronger than evil and the Virgin Mary is for us the visible maternal guarantee that the will of God is always the last word in history. Read More

The Pope will participate in a similiar

Candelight vigil on Wednesday night

the eve of the Fatima apparitions

Pope Benedict XVI Ist Visit to Fatima as Pope! Theme of Pilgrimage "With You We Walk In Hope!"

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:37:06 PDT

Theme for Papal Trip to Fatima May 11-14

With You We Walk In Hope

Pope Benedict XVI will make a two-day stop in the historic city of Fatima during a visit to Portugal this week. This trip will be the Popes 15th apostolic journey abroad in his five years and his first to Portugal as pope. He will be in Portugal Tuesday through Friday. Benedict XVI will be the third Pope to visit the Fatima shrine, after Pope Paul VI in 1967 and Pope John Paul II's three trips in 1982, 1991 and 2000.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi presented the program of the Pope's 15th apostolic visit outside Italy. Fatima is "a Marian shrine in which events occurred with which Benedict XVI has been personally concerned in a very profound way, also from the point of view of theology and spirituality." As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he wrote a document on the event, published in 2000. We will be just one month before the conclusion of the Year for Priests and the context is very appropriate," he explained. the emphasis this trip will give to the world of the clergy in the celebration of vespers with priests, religious, seminarians and deacons in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity of Fatima, and the meeting with bishops in Lisbon-More

World Wide Fatima Rosary on May 13

Join Catholics around the world with the Pope to pray the Rosary on Thursday, May 13th to honor Our Lady of Fatima and to beg her to intervene in the world, to stop the growing spiral of sin, and violence. The driving force behind the Worldwide Fatima Rosary on May 13 is the thought that Our Lady will be pleased to see one million people praying the Rosary all together on May 13th, which is the very day She pleaded: “Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world!”

Pope Invites All To Go With him to Portugal!

"Dear friends, in the heart of this Marian month, I will have the joy of going in the forthcoming days to Portugal. I will visit the capital, Lisbon, and Porto, the country's second city. The principal objective of my trip will be Fatima, on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Beatification of the two little shepherds, Jacinta and Francisco. For the first time as Successor of Peter I will go to that Marian Shrine, so dear to the Venerable John Paul II. I invite everyone to accompany me on this pilgrimage, participating actively with prayer: with only one heart and one soul we invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary for the Church, in particular for priests, and for peace in the world."... Read More

Pope John Paul II at Fatima 2000

Fatima a Place to

Extend One's Gaze

for a Meditation on History!

Pope to Reveal God's Action in History

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office,Comments on Pope's Fatima Visit: "John Paul II wanted the 'third secret' of Fatima to be revealed on the occasion of the beatification of the two little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta, during the Jubilee of 2000, transition between two millenniums," said Father Lombardi. "A century was ending characterized by great sufferings, on which in fact the visions of Fatima gave at once a dramatic and luminous interpretation: time of war and of martyrdom, in which the Church and the Pope himself shared profoundly the sufferings and thirst for salvation of the whole of humanity. To two ignorant children, in an insignificant place -- as is characteristic of great Marian events -- was entrusted a message that in its simplicity, that released a spiritual force able to surmount borders and to be transmitted beyond the grave circumstances of history of humanity," Father Lombardi wondered what the Fatima message can tell us, now that the secret has been revealed-Read More

Action of God, Lord of History,

and Co-responsibility of Man

Fr. Lombardi, continued and recalled the comment of the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the conclusion of the publication of the text of the "secret," which stated: "Action of God, Lord of history, and co-responsibility of man, in his dramatic and fecund liberty, are the two bases on which the history of humanity is built. The Virgin who appeared in Fatima is calling us to return to these forgotten values, to this future of man in God, of which we are an active and responsible part." Father Lombardi concluded: "We need pure and innocent eyes to read the path of the new millennium and to understand where its risks and truest hopes are. The message of Fatima retains all its seriousness vis-à-vis history."

Is it not an overwhelming thought that an Angel admonished the Fatima Children for playing when the need for prayer and sacrifice was so great?

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sat, 08 May 2010 09:47:22 PDT

1916 Apparitions

The Angel at Fatima

The first apparition of the Angel took place on the side of a hill called Lopa do Cabeço in the spring of 1916. Although the children had previously seen a nebulous figure of light, this was the first time they could definitely perceive the Angel and hear him speak. The Angel then knelt, bowing low with his head touching the ground. The three children, impelled by a supernatural impulse, did the same, and then repeated after him: "My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love Thee. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love Thee." Having repeated this prayer three times, the Angel rose and said: "Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to your supplications."

Lucia later told Canon Galamba

About this visit of the Angel

"The supernatural atmosphere which enveloped us was so intense that, for a long time, we were scarcely aware of our own existence, remaining in the same position and repeating the same prayers. "So intimate and intense was the feeling of the presence of God, that we did not even attempt to speak to one another. The next day we could still feel the holy atmosphere. It began to disappear only very slowly. We said nothing about this apparition... it seemed to impose silence on us. It was of such an intimate nature that it was not easy to speak of it at all."

The next apparition of the Angel took place in the heat of midsummer, while the children were playing near a well not far from Lucia's home.

Suddenly they saw the Angel descending towards them and heard him ask: "What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs upon you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High." "How are we to make sacrifices?" Lucia asked. The Angel replied: "Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of poor sinners. Bring peace to our country in this way. I am its Angel Guardian, the Angel of Portugal. Especially accept and bear with submission the sufferings sent you by Our Lord."

VALUE OF SACRIFICE

"These words," commented Lucia, "made a deep impression on our minds, like a light making us understand Who God is, how He loves us and desires to be loved, as well as the value of sacrifice, how pleasing it is to Him, and how, on account of it, He grants the grace of conversion to sinners.

For this reason, from that moment we began to offer such mortifications as daily befell us... and to remain for hours with our forehead touching the ground, repeating the prayer the Angel had taught us." The experience of this apparition overwhelmed the children, and for days they remained silent and in a spirit of deep reflection. Jacinta said: "I can't speak, nor play, nor sing; I have no strength for anything." "Nor do I," replied Francisco, "But what does it matter? The Angel is more important than anything! Let us think about him."

Is it not an overwhelming thought to consider that an Angel sent by God admonished these little children who were only nine, eight, and six years old, for spending their time playing when the need for continual prayer and sacrifice was so great?

Is that need any less today than it was then? How many parents coddle and pamper their children, never teaching these little souls entrusted to them by God the importance of prayer and sacrifice.

We underestimate the capacity of children for prayer and sacrifice! When children are taught by example they are generous in their response to the good. Very often the children's unreserved "offering of self" far surpasses the half-hearted offering of adults, who are overly imbued with self-love and attachment to material wealth, prestige, security, and comfortable living.

Remember that Our Lord set a little child before the apostles who were arguing over who would be most important in the Kingdom, solemnly assuring them, that unless they were converted and made like little children, they could not enter his kingdom. Children, when very young, do not desire authority, do not regard outward distinctions, are free from malice, are teachable, and willingly dependent on their parents. Granted It is true that they soon begin to show other unfavorable dispositions due to concupiscence from original sin but these are marks of childhood, and render them proper emblems of true Christians. Surely we need to be daily renewed in the spirit, that we may become simple and humble, as little children, so that we may enter Gods Kingdom.

Bl. Jacinta and Francesco Marto, and Sr. Lucia little shepherds of Fatima, and confidants of Our Lady and the Angels pray for us that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.

Above Photo copyrighted by the Real Presence Association you are invited to visit their web page for a complete listing of Vatican approved Eucharistic Miracles. Posted via email from Speramus's posterous

ITE AD JOSEPH! -- GO TO JOSEPH!

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:48:30 PDT

Did You know that St Joseph was also present at the last Apparition of Fatima in October? The children beheld him Blessing the world with the Child Jesus in his arms during the Miracle of the Sun.
During the Miracle of the Sun, the three children were witnessing other apparitions. Sr. Lucia writes: "Our Lady having disappeared in the immensity of the firmament, we saw, beside the sun, Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady clothed in white with a blue mantle. Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world with gestures which they made with their hands in the form of a cross. Soon after, that apparition having ceased, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady, Who gave me the impression of being Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Lord seemed to bless the world in the same manner as Saint Joseph. That apparition disappeared and it seemed to me that I saw Our Lady again, this time as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

These three visions taken separately in meditation have their own messages for us that will have to be taken up in some future post. All the visions taken togethor are connected to the dominant message of Fatima: the Holy Rosary. Our Lady asked that the Rosary be prayed in all six of her apparitions at Fatima. Even saying that Francisco before he will be taken to Heaven that "he must first say many Rosaries." The three visions during the miracle of the sun reflect the mysteries of the Holy Rosary at that time. The Luminous Mysteries were not yet given to the church.

With the vision of the Holy Family and St Joseph we find the Joyful mysteries; the Sorrowful mysteries are represented by the vision of Our Lord and Our Lady of Sorrows; and the Glorious mysteries are represented in the vision of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

When the visions had disappeared and the sun was again normal, Lucy was placed on the shoulder of a man in the crowd and carried safely through the masses to the road. As she was moving past the people, she cried out to them, pleading one of the important themes in the Fatima Message: to convert, return to God and to flee sin. Her exact words were: "Do penance! Do penance! Our Lady wants you to do penance!"

Prayer to

St. Joseph

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so prompt, so strong, before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son

all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most Loving of Fathers. Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me and Ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departed souls - pray for me that I may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

The above prayer was found in the fiftieth year of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In 1505 it was sent from the Pope to Emporer Charles, when he was going into battle. Whoever shall read this prayer or hear it, or keep it about themselves, shall never die a sudden death or be drowned, nor shall poison take effect on them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy, or shall be burned in any fire or shall be overpowered in any battle. Say for nine mornings in a row for anything you may desire. It has never been known to fail.

Back of prayer card Imprimatur: September 25, 1950 Hugh C. Boyle, Bishop of Pittsburgh.

Another Efficacious

Prayer to St. Joseph

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from almighty God. To work peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking through weariness or difficulty. To work above all, with purity of intention, having unceasingly before my eyes the hour of my death and the account I have to render to God of time lost, talents unused, of good not done, and my empty pride in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity." - Pope Pius IX

I have turned to St. Joseph in all my needs as I live the life of a Secular Carmelite in the world. He has answered many prayers in desperate moments that have arisen over the years and I wish to thank him today on his Feast for the many graces and blessings he has obtained for me spiritual and temporal.

I thank him along with Jesus and Mary who provided for my needs through St Joseph's powerful intercession. I am grateful and recommend perseverance with the above prayers or any prayer to this saint so close to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for yourselves your families and the needs of the universal church in this battle we are presently engaged against the powers of darkness. ITE AD JOSEPH! --GO TO JOSEPH!

Addendum: Let us remember our Holy Father today as St Joseph is also his Patron Saint. Pope Benedict XVI was Baptized Joseph Ratzinger

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:43:08 PDT

Let us Rejoice in the Lord Celebrating a Feast Day in Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Good Counsel on whose Soleminty the Angels Rejoice and Give Praise to the Son of God! Introit

According to tradition, in 1467, during festivities for the Feast of Saint Mark, the townfolk suddenly heard "exquisite music." A mysterious cloud was then said to have descended and obliterated an unfinished wall of the parish church. In front of the populace, the cloud dissipated and a beautiful fresco no thicker than an egg shell and no more than eighteen inches square, of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child was revealed. The venerated icon is drawn on a thin scale of wall-plaster little thicker than a host, and was observed to hang suspended in the air without the slightest apparent support. Early tradition, tells how one might have passed a thread around the image without touching it. Many miracles are said to have occurred in the portrait's presence, and it was widely believed that it had been miraculously transported from a church in Albania on whose wall a blank section with the exact deminsions of the icon in Italy is visible. This thin layer of porcelain or plaster the thickness of an eggshell, could not have been removed from its original surroundings by human hand. To this day it stands upright without any support of any kind except for a narrow ledge on which it rests. All of Italy came to visit the blessed image. Whole cities and towns came in pilgrimage and many miracles have taken place over the centuries that were recorded in a register that was opened April 28, 1467 two days after the event took place.

Remember, O Virgin Mother

to Speak Good Things Before God's

Face in our Behalf, so that He May

Turn Away His Anger from us.

Offertory Prayer

Our journey through life is beset with many dangers. Often we are in need of direction in our difficulties and trials. We must remember when we have no one to turn too Jesus gave us a Counselor who will never fail us. Let us go to Our Lady with childlike trust and abandonment. Entrusting ourselves to her prudent guidance,for she is indeed Our Mother of Good Counsel.

May the Intercession of your Glorious Mother, Mary ever Virgin, Mother of Good Counsel, help us we beseech you O Lord, that those on whom she has lavashed unceasing favors may percieve what they ought to do and strength to perform it. Amen Post Communion Prayer

In 1630 Pope Urban VIII went to Genazzano on a pilgrimage, as did Pius IX in 1864. In 1682, Innocent XI had the picture crowned with gold by the Vatican Basilica. In 1727 Benedict XIII granted the clergy of Genazzano an Office and Mass of Our Lady for 25 April, the anniversary of the apparition, elsewhere the feast was observed a day later so as not to conflict with that of St. Mark the Evangelist. The numerous miracles at the shrine increased the cult of Our Lady of Good Counsel over the centuries. On April 22, 1903, Pope LEO XII included the invocation "Mater boni consilii" in the Litany of Loreto and In 1939 Pope Pius XII placed his pontificate under the maternal care of Our Lady of Good Counsel and composed the following prayer to her.

Prayer to Our Lady

of Good Counsel

Holy Virgin, moved by the painful uncertainty we experience in seeking and acquiring the true and the good, we cast ourselves at thy feet and invoke thee under the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel. We beseech thee: come to our aid at this moment in our worldly sojourn when the twin darknesses or error and of evil that plots our ruin by leading minds and hearts astray.

Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the victims of doubt and of error so that they may not be seduced by evil masquerading as good; strengthen them against the hostile and corrupting forces of passion and of sin.

Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from thy Divine Son the love of virtue and the strength to choose, in doubtful and difficult situations, the course agreeable to our salvation. Supported by thy hand we shall thus journey without harm along the paths taught us by the word and example of Jesus our Savior, following the Sun of Truth and Justice in freedom and safety across the battlefield of life under the guidance of thy maternal Star, until we come at length to the harbor of salvation to enjoy with thee unalloyed and everlasting peace. Amen.

Photo of Original Fresco

The miraculous image is still suspended in the air by itself.
One can pass a thread around the image and not touch it!

Our Lady of Good Counsel original fresco

from the church at Genazzano

about 25 miles southeast of Rome.

The image is a fresco executed on a thin layer

of porcelain no thicker than an egg shell.

O God You have given us the Mother of of your beloved Son to be Our Mother, and you have been pleased to give honor to her beautiful picture by a wonderful sign; grant, we beseech You, that by always adhering to her counsels, we may be able to live after your own heart and happily win our heavenly country. Mass Prayer

Anniversary of Election of Pope Benedict XVI-Fatima Message Embraces the Holy Father in Prayer and Sacrifice!

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 07:30:48 PDT

April 19 is the 5th Anniversary

Election of Pope Benedict XVI

The Fatima Message and the Pope

The Message Fatima revolves around and is concerned for the welfare of the papacy. Those who follow Our Lady of Fatima join with the shepherd children Bls. Jacinta and Francisco and Sr. Lucia in praying and sacrificing for the the Holy Father. The eruption of the scandals in the priesthood and the scourge it has released upon the church and the papacy is undoubtedly a source of grief to the Holy Father. A grass roots effort was begun to gather the catholic faithful togethor in support of the pope and the papacy A new website and Facebook page SUPPORT THE POPE is a gesture of reassurance for Pope Benedict XVI. The site provides individuals with a way to pledge their love, prayers, and support for Pope Benedict XVI, as well as our bishops and priests, in the hopes that if it gains enough momentum, and he will hear of our sentiments.

Sign the Pledge to Support the Pope Today!

"He who is not with the Pope

Is not with God!

He that wants to be with God,

must be with Pope." Sr.Lucia

Did you know that the last Pope who bore the name Benedict was the reigning Pontiff when Our Blessed Mother visited Fatima for the first time in 1917? During World War I, when Pope Benedict XV saw that all human efforts had failed to end the war he adjured Our Lady to show him the way to peace. Eight days later, Our Blessed Mother came to Fatima with Her Message of peace for mankind! We can Hope that our present holy father Pope Benedict XVI will be the pope to help usher in the final triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

At the balcony, Benedict XVI first words to the crowd were given in Italian before he gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing in Latin, were: “ Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with insufficient instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. In the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us, and Mary, His Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you. The crowd responded by chanting “Benedict! Benedict!

Benedict XVI explained his choice of name during his first General Audience in St. Peter's Square, on April 27, 2005: “ Filled with sentiments of awe and thanksgiving, I wish to speak of why I chose the name Benedict. Firstly, I remember Pope Benedict XV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war. In his footsteps I place my ministry in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples. Additionally, I recall Saint Benedict of Nursia, co-patron of Europe, whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe. I ask him to help us all to hold firm to the centrality of Christ in our Christian life: May Christ always take first place in our thoughts and actions!

The Holy Father on way to Inaugral Mass April 24, 2005

On Sunday morning, 24 April, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Holy Mass for the faithful in St Peter's Square as part of the beginning of his Petrine Ministry. During the liturgy, the Pontiff received the Pallium and Fisherman's Ring, ancient symbols of his inauguration, and explained the deep significance of both, and of his own role as Successor of PeterAccording to a commentator, during the Inaugural Mass, the core of the Pope's message, the most moving and famous part, is found in the last paragraph of his homily where he referred to both Jesus Christ and John Paul II. After referring to John Paul II's well-known words, "Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!", Benedict XVI said: “Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us?...And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation....When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.

Friendship with Jesus Christ" is a frequent theme of his preaching stressing that on this intimate friendship, "everything depends." He has also said: "We are all called to open ourselves to this friendship with God... speaking to him as to a friend, the only One who can make the world both good and happy... That is all we have to do put ourselves at his disposal...is an extremely important message. It is a message that helps to overcome what can be considered the great temptation of our time: the claim, that after the Big Bang, God withdrew from history." Thus, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, his main purpose was "to help foster the growth of a living relationship" with Jesus Christ.

He also took up this theme in his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est. In his explanation and summary of the encyclical, he stated: "If friendship with God becomes for us something ever more important and decisive, then we will begin to love those whom God loves and who are in need of us. God wants us to be friends of his friends and we can be so, if we are interiorly close to them."

The World is Redeemed
by the Patience of God!

It is destroyed by the Impatience of Man

I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord Psalm 116:13

Towards the end of the papal Homily during the Inauguration Mass the following text seems to dimly forshadow the present crisis that has spewed over the papacy and the church as the 5th year of the his pontificate begins.

"We Suffer on Account

of God's Patience!"

The symbol of the lamb also has a deeper meaning. In the Ancient Near East, it was customary for kings to style themselves shepherds of their people. This was an image of their power, a cynical image: to them their subjects were like sheep, which the shepherd could dispose of as he wished. When the shepherd of all humanity, the living God, himself became a lamb, he stood on the side of the lambs, with those who are downtrodden and killed. This is how he reveals himself to be the true shepherd: "I am the Good Shepherd... I lay down my life for the sheep", Jesus says of himself (Jn 10:14ff.) It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God's sign: he himself is love.

"How often We wish that God

Would Show Himself Stronger,

that He Would Strike Decisively,

Defeating Evil and Creating

A better World!"

"All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way: they justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. We suffer on account of God's patience. And yet, we need his patience. God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God; it is destroyed by the impatience of man.."

"Feeding Means Loving,
and Loving also means
Being Ready to Suffer!"

"One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. "Feed my sheep", says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, he says it to me as well. Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God's truth, of God's Word, the nourishment of his presence, which he gives us in the Blessed Sacrament."

"My dear friends, at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me that I may learn to love more and more his flock: you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another."

We can hope that Pope Benedict XVI will be the Pope who will have the grace and strength from the Holy Spirit to reveal the wolves clothed as sheep hiding within the church itself. And help pave the way for the church to usher in the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady's Heart will triumph, she said it would! But the enemy of God has planted itself within the church before we recive such a grace a purification awaits us as God cleans his temple once more.

Unmasking the wolves in Sheeps Clothing

a Blessing to Pave the Way for the

Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

In a sense this current scandal although deeply humiliating is a blessing for the church because it exposed some of the wolves within. My hope is for the church to enact new legislative laws to prevent such scandals from ever happening again as well as laws governing the discipline of the individuals involved and those who covered up. Care must also be taken to secure justice and protection to the accused from false accusations.

"It is time to Reaffirm the importance of Prayer in the Face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in Charitable Work." Pope Benedict XVI

We need to pray more!

The final triumph of Our Lady will come if we continue to pray for one another and fulfill the requests made at Fatima. It is a spiritual war and it is beyond the capability of men to rectify on our own. A Divine intervention is needed! We need to do all we can help the Pope at this time with our prayers and sacrifices to keep the wolves at bay till God intervenes! In order to do this the pope himself has said more than once prayer is "urgently needed...It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work."

Is Benedict XVI the pope in the Vision of Bl. Jacinta at the well in the summer! The Holy Father was was alone suffering insults. He was persecuted and was weeping! Is it this pope? Jacinta cried out to Lucia Did you see the Holy Father. Lucia replied No and Jacinta said: "I saw the Holy Father! He was in a very big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him."

It is God's Church and he will help her if we humbly admit our need for his help as Benedict XV did in 1917. He prayed and God sent his mother to Fatima. Let us do what we can to beg pardon for the wrongs we have done and do penance. All of us have contributed by our own personal sins and our omisions for the state of the church and the world today! Pray very much for the Pope and the church uniting your prayers with the prayers of the shepherds of Fatima. With God there is no time and all prayers past, present and future are before him in eternity. The consequences for humanity if we do nothing are depicted in the Miracle of the Sun! I can’t wait until the Triumph of Our Lady comes!

Pray for me!

Is Pope Benedict XVI the Pope who was alone and weeping in Jacinta's Vision of the Holy Father?

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:41:54 PDT

New Additions to this post below

unprecedented Media Attacks

on the Holy Father!

Are they Fueled by the Devil?

Scroll Down for Recent News Articles Condemning Church and Holy Father!

Remember to Pray the Novena Prayer for the Pope Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Click on the photo of the pope in side bar!

Jacinta’s Vision of the

Pope He was Weeping,

Insulted and Persecuted

One day, Lucy said, we spent our siesta down by my parents' well. Jacinta sat on the stone slabs on top of the well. Francisco and I climbed up a steep bank in search of wild honey among the brambles in a nearby thicket. After a little while, Jacinta called out to Lucia: "Didn't you see the Holy Father?" "No I did not see him." Lucia said.

"I saw the Holy Father!" Jacinta continued. "He was in a very big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him."

Some experts believed that this mysterious vision applied to Pope Pius XII. But it is more probable that this prophetic vision concerned the future. I believe it is this Pope! No pope in the history of the Fatima Revelation has suffered such revilement by the press to the point of publishing articles that libel him and asking for his resignation!

Unprecedented Media Attacks

On Pope Fueled by the Devil?

"Strike the shepherd and

the Sheep will Scatter" Zechariah 13:7

April 12, 2010: 'Journalists abandon standards to attack the Pope'. Damian Thompson is Editor of Telegraph Blogs and a journalist specialising in religion. There are times when another blogger says something so much better than I could that I reproduce a whole post. Here is Phil Lawler, distinguished American Catholic commentator and director of CatholicCulture.org. "We're off and running once again, with another completely phony story that purports to implicate Pope Benedict XVI in the protection of abusive priests. The 'exclusive' story released by AP yesterday, which has been dutifully passed along now by scores of major media outlets, would never have seen the light of day if normal journalistic standards had been in place. Careful editors should have asked a series of probing questions, and in every case the answer to those questions would have shown that the story had no 'legs' "

April 12, 2010: What Next! Unbelievable but it is a true story! Pope Benedict XVI faces a legal ambush by two leading atheist campaigners who are planning to have him Arrested during his state visit to England for 'crimes against humanity'. Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens - have both written books promoting atheism - and have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

April 12, 2010: The Catholic Herald Britains Leading Catholic Newspaper publishes a narrative account of the furore that engulfed Pope Benedict XVI after claims that he covered up clerical abuse The Pope and the abuse scandal: A guide for perplexed Catholics: Comments on The Munich Case.April 11, 2010 GOING FOR THE VATICAN JUGULAR: The CATHOLIC LEAGUE for Religious and Civil Rights Responds to Recent accusations against the Vatican with a full page ad in the New York Times.

April 8, 2010: C-Fam Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute article: Judge Says Pope Should be Prosecuted at International Criminal Court-Susan Yoshihara, Ph.D. A high ranking United Nations (UN) jurist called on the British government to detain Pope Benedict XVI during his upcoming visit to Britain, and send him to trial in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “crimes against humanity.”

March 31, 2010 Washington Post Article and Video: Victims point finger at Pope. Victims of priest abuse at a school for the deaf in Milwaukee are pointing the finger at Pope Benedict for doing nothing at the time. Allen Pizzey reports from Vatican City. (CBS News)

March 30, 2010: The Catholic League president Bill Donohue accuses MSNBC of libeling Pope Benedict XVI: the headline was eventually changed.

March 30, 2010, National Catholic Register Blog Cardinal Ratzinger an Evil Monster? The level of vitriol being directed at Pope Benedict by the mainstream media right now is truly extraordinary. It’s primarily drive by desire for cash (scandal sells), followed closely by hatred, along with a hefty dose of ignorance.

March 29, 2010: CBS News Article: The Turkish man who shot Pope John Paul II says Pope Benedict XVI should resign over the Catholic Church's handling of clerical sex abuse cases. This my friends made the News all over a man once condemned the media goes to for advice!

It is very trying to see the atheists, agnostics, homosexuals and devil worshippers on the internet Blogs and Twitter #Pope #Priest #Vatican railing our faith and the Holy Father what can we do?

When he was installed as Pope five years ago, the Holy Father requested our prayers.
“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another.”

Pray, Pray very much for the Pope and for the church! Unite your prayers with the Children of Fatima who may have been praying for this very pope in their vision. With God there is no time and all prayers are
present to him.

Support The Cardinal

Newman Society Spiritual

Bouquet for the Pope

The father of our family, ‘il papa,’ needs our love, support, and prayers,” as Archbishop Dolan has pleaded. Catholics nationwide are praying for Pope Benedict, Please sign your name on the Spiritual Bouquet for the Pope today! ---Viva il Papa.

A Prayer for the Pope

Written by Pope Leo XIII

O Lord, we are the millions of believers, humbly kneeling at Thy feet and begging Thee to preserve, defend and save the Sovereign Pontiff for many years. He is the Father of the great fellowship of souls and our Father as well. On this day, as on every other day, he is praying for us also, and is offering unto Thee with holy fervor the sacred Victim of love and peace.

Wherefore, O Lord, turn thyself toward us with eyes of pity; for we are now, as it were, forgetful of ourselves, and are praying above all for him. Do Thou unite our prayers with his and receive them into the bosom of Thine infinite mercy, as a sweet savor of active and fruitful charity, whereby the children are united in the Church to their Father. All that he asks of Thee this day, we too ask it of Thee in unison with him.
Whether he weeps or rejoices, whether he hopes or offers himself as a victim of charity for his people, we desire to be united with him; nay more, we desire that the cry of our hearts should be made one with his.

Of Thy great mercy grant, O Lord, that not one of us may be far from his mind and his heart in the hour that he prays and offers unto Thee the Sacrifice of Thy blessed Son. At the moment when our venerable High Priest, holding in His hands the very Body of Jesus Christ, shall say to the people over the Chalice of benediction these words: "The peace of the Lord be with you always," grant, O Lord, that Thy sweet peace may come down upon our hearts and upon all the nations with new and manifest power. Amen.

"He who is not with the Pope is not with God, he that wants to be with God, must be with Pope." Sr.Lucia

Yes, Russia is Consecrated! Anniversary of the Collegial Consecration of Russia + March 25th,1984

noreply@blogger.com (Speramus (We Hope!)) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:21:31 PDT

Yes Russia Is Consecrated!

Everywhere that God

Performs a Miracle or

Work of Grace, the Devil

is at Work to Defuse,

Confuse and Disillusion!

I was going to do a post on individual and personal consecrations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary today the DeMontfort or Kolbean Consecrations is one better than the other? But within 2 weeks of this post I came across several people on line and in my parish who were confused on weather or not the Collegial Consecration of Russia had taken place. Imagine that! After all that has taken place, people are still asking: Is the Consecration done? Today is the 26th anniversary of the Collegial Consecration of Russia. March 25, 1984. It is also the anniversary of my DeMontfort Consecration to Our Lady. When I made my consecration I had just returned to the practice of the faith. I was so new to the faith I did not at the time understand the significance of a historic event taking place at the same time in Rome. The pope was consecrating Russia!

The signs given of Heavens Intervention in the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the fact that so many people still question the authenticity of the 1984 Collegial Consecrations indicated that I should comment on the on going controversy surrounding the Collegial Consecration of Russia and Fr. Nicholas Gruner.

Fr. Nicholas Gruner, publisher of "The Fatima Crusader" Magazine and Director of an Apostolate entitled: "The International Fatima Rosary Crusade". Still portrays himself as a persecuted victim of the Vatican bureaucracy, and pretends to his listeners that his case is still being reviewed by the Pope, himself. This claim leaves his readers to believe that he is still a priest with faculties to offer the Mass and the Sacraments. Vatican Perfect Cardinal Hose Sanchez issued an official statement informing everyone that Fr. Gruner was at Fatima in 1992 without faculties to minister in the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima. His numerous web pages and links are still up and misleading many people who come across them when they do searches for information on the Fatima Message

Fr. Gruener’s entire Apostolate is based on the consecration of Russia and he still argues that the consecration was never made properly. He had made it the heart of his magazine that Russia would be converted to the Catholic Faith in a miracle right after the consecration. Since this did not happen as he thought he began to maliciously attack the Pope, himself saying that Lucia was a prisoner of the Pope and he even went so far as to say that she would lie for the Pope. This became his entire Apostolate for many years. Sadly many souls still believe his rhetoric.

In 1994 the new bishop of Avellino issued a decree declaring Gruner a vagus priest. He was without faculties. Faculties are required for preaching and to say the Mass. Preaching is not just verbal but includes writing Newsletters or Magazines like the "Fatima Crusader". Fr Gruener did find a Bishop in Brazil In 1994 who offered him incardination until Cardinal Sepe of Rome informed him that he had no authority to do so unless Fr. Gruner lived in Brazil!

An article in the Wanderer, Sept. 2003

confirms the church’s highest court the
Apostolic Signatura upheld Fr. Gruner’s

suspension from his Priestly Faculties as
far as I know this has not been revoked!

News of this suspension was made public in an official press release which in part stated: ‘The Congregation for the Clergy, upon the mandate from a higher authority, wishes to state that Rev. Nicholas Gruner is under a divinis suspension, which has been confirmed by a definitive sentence of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura’.

For a detailed History on Fr. Nicholas Gruner and the confusion he has caused please read an article by Rick Salbato on Father Nicholas Gruner documenting the confusion and errors he has disseminated for the past 20 years.

When I returned to the church in the early 1980’s I was blessed that my first pastor, now called to his eternal reward, was a great Fatima devotee. I owe my grounding in the faith to his preaching, and his example. Fr. Gruners apostolate was very active in the 1980s and 1990s and the Fatima Crusader was often planted in the vestibule of the church back then. He had many financial supporters to publish such an expensive magazine and literally give them away. My former pastor always warned us not to follow Fr. Gruner and tossed all the magazines along with the beautiful pictures sometimes as many as twenty or thirty in the trash. I noted then that the magazine always said something different than what my pastor preached and the bishops said. Unbelievably almost 30 years later in my present parish some soul still plants the Fatima Crusader and I toss them in the trash with my present pastors blessing.

Pope Benedict XVI in a recent address:

“The word obedience has disappeared

from our vocabulary in our contemporary

world. The reality of obedience is

anathemized.”

Sadly, Fr. Gruner is just one of many individuals and groups who have rebelled against church authority and allowed the devil to use their pride to rob them of their common sense and Catholic Faith. Everyone today is his own authority judge and lawgiver. When the church gives her pronouncement instead of humbly accepting the church we proudly and loudly rebel and become the instrument of the devil.

The following links are notes and Letters from Sr. Lucia in response to the controversy raised by Fr. Gruner.
Copy of Letter from Sr. Lucia to Fr. Fox of the Fatima Family Apostolate

For additional notes and Letters of Sr. Lucia on the Consecration

The Fatima

Consecration

Chronology

The history of the Consecration of Russia goes back to the apparition in Tuy Spain in 1929 When Our Lady came to fulfilled her promise of July 13, 1917. Appearing to Sr. Lucia in Tuy she told her: "The moment has come when God asks the Holy Father in union with all the bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to my Heart, promising to save it by this means. It wasn’t until 1940 that Lucia was finally given permission to write the pope, Pius XII requesting the consecration. Translation of this letter may be viewed at the end of this post.

Pope Pius XII and the popes after him in subsequent years consecrated and reconsecrated the world and later Russia but never in union with all the Bishops of the world. Our Lord stipulated this condition so the world would know that this grace came from the Immaculate Heart of his Mother. Even the pope has to be exactly obedient to a higher authority when it is requested by God.

On May 13 1981
Pope John Paul II is shot in St. Peters Square on May 13. During the long months of suffering and recuperation in Gemelli Hospital, the Holy Father requests and studies more deeply documents relating to Fatima. His determination to consecrate Russia with bishops of the world grows stronger. In leaving the clinic he remarks: I have come to understand that the only way to save the world from war, to save it from atheism, is the conversion of Russia according to the message of Fatima.

May 13, 1982
Pope John Paul II invites the bishops of the world to join him in consecrating the world and with it Russia to the Immaculate Heart. Many Bishops do not receive the invitation in time for the Pope's trip to Fatima, where he accomplishes the consecration. Sr. Lucia later says it did not fulfill the conditions.

October, 1983
Pope John Paul II, at the Synod of Bishops, renews the 1982 Consecration. This also did not fulfill the conditions as many bishops were not present and were not asked.

March 25, 1984
Finally Pope John Paul II, has the statue of Our Lady in the little chapel brought to Rome and in advance sends invitations to every bishop to join him on this date "united with all the pastors of the Church in a particular bond whereby we constitute a body and a college, "consecrates" the whole world, especially the peoples for which by reason of their situation you have particular love and solicitude." shortly thereafter Sr. Lucia tells the papal nuncio to Portugal that the Consecration is fulfilled.

Note: This was also 100 years after the Vision of Pope Leo XIII on October 13, 1884. Pope Leo XII had a locution hearing Satan and Jesus conversing. Satan boasted to Jesus he would destroy his Church and was granted 100 years to try and destroy God’s Church. It was after this that the pope composed the prayer to St. Michael, which was prayed after each Mass at the foot of the altar.

What Happened

After the Consecration?

Those who follow Fr Gruner still argue that Russia was, not converted and the consecration was never made. These people are misleading many from the truth and into disobedience and possible loss of their Catholic faith to disobey legitimate church authority.

In Fact, Russia was converted

from Communism to relative

Freedom of Religion.

Its conversion is ongoing and free. God respects the free will of men. They have freedom to convert or reject the faith. Our Lady never said that Russia would be converted to Catholicism. She said, simply, that it would be converted and a period of peace would be given to the world. If you examine the Historical Events that took place leading to the final dissolution of the Union of Soviet Union It would be impossible for you not to see that God’s hands were involved in the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Beginning on May 13, 1984 just two months after the pope made the consecration in Rome, an explosion took place at the naval base in Russia! Read the timeline below.

Historical Events

Leading to Dissolution

of the Soviet Union

May 13, 1984
One of the largest crowds in Fatima history gathers at the shrine to pray the Rosary for peace.

May 13, 1984
An explosion at the Soviets’ Severomorsk Naval Base destroys two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets’ Northern Fleet. The blast also destroys workshops needed to maintain the missiles as well as hundreds of scientists and technicians. Western military experts called it the worst naval disaster the Soviet Navy has suffered since WWII. Again in the same year on Dec 13. An explosion in Siberia destroyed Russia’s largest ammunition base.

December 19 1984
Soviet Defense Minister Marshal Ustinov, mastermind of the invasion plans for Western Europe, suddenly and mysteriously dies. Three days later December 22 Marshal Sodolov, the 2nd Minister of Defense died.

March 10, 1985
Soviet Chairman Konstantin Chernenko dies

March 11, 1985
Soviet Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev elected

April 26, 1986
Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident.
A little known fact Chernobyl in Ukrainian is translated as Wormwood.
Rev. 8:10-11: The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water-- the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

May 12, 1988
Fatima Vigil An explosion wrecked the only factory that made the rocket motors for the Soviets’ deadly SS 24 long-range missiles, which carry ten nuclear bombs each.

August 29, 1989
Sr. Lucia affirms that the consecration "has been accomplished" and that "God will keep His word." correspondence http://www.fatimaconference.org/documents/SisterLuciaresponse.pdf

November 9, 1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall the picture below is a portion of the Berlin Wall donated to the Fatima Sanctuary as part of a thanksgiving for Our Lady of Fatima's role (and many, many rosaries being prayed) in helping bring about the fall of Communism.

Nov-Dec 1989
Peaceful revolutions in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania

1990 East and West Germany are unified

August 19, 1991 -
74th Anniversary of Our Ladys fourth apparition at Fatima - Communist coup attempts overthrow of Gorbachev who contributed largely to dismantling of Soviet Empire.

August 22, 1991
Feast of the Queenship of Mary -The attempt of Communist coup to return to hard Communism is defeated.

October 12 - 13, 1991 -
First Russian Pilgrimage to Fatima: Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Roman Catholic Archbishop from Moscow leads first Russian pilgrimage group to Fatima. It is televised in Russia on 150 stations and 350 radio stations. Fr. Robert Fox director of Fatima Family Apostolate is asked to be present in Fatima with the Russian group.

December 1991 -
Gorbachev meets the Pope in the Vatican a second time; diplomatic relations were opened between the Vatican and Russia and Latin-rite churches were opened.

December 8th, 1991
Feast of the Immaculate Conception. There begins the Commonwealth of Republics, the end of the USSR. Twelve days later Yeltsin of Russia met with the Pope at the Vatican.

December 25, 1991
Dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Communist flag is taken down for the last time over the Kremlin in Moscow. Gorbachev resigned and sent a letter to Pope John Paul II. Fifteen republics were freed from Communism.

December 30, 1991
Sister Lucia is reported saying that the defeat of Communism was through Marys intercession.

In Conclusion the Church has suspended Fr. Nicholas from his priestly faculties and as far as I am aware this suspension has not been revoked. In following the Fátima message one must choose between Fr. Gruner’s example of disobedience to legitimate ecclesiastical authority, or Sr. Lucia’s heroic example of obedience to the Church during a difficult time in Church history.

"He that is not with the Pope is not with God, and he that wants to be with God, has to be with the Pope." -Sr. Lucia

Letter of Sr. Lucia to Pope Pius XII

Requesting the Consecration of

The World and Russia to

The Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Tuy, Spain, 2nd of December of 1940
Most Holy Father,

Humbly prostrated at your feet, I come as the last sheep of the fold entrusted to you to open my heart, by order of my spiritual director.

I am the only survivor of the children to whom our Lady appeared in Fátima (Portugal) from the 13th of May to the 13th of October 1917. The Blessed Virgin has granted me many graces, the greatest of all being my admission to the Institute of Saint Dorothy. (To here this is copy of the sketch the Bishop sent me.)

I come, Most Holy Father, to renew a request that has already been brought to you several times. The request, Most Holy Father, is from our Lord and our good Mother in Heaven.

In 1917, in the portion of the apparitions that we have designated "the secret," the Blessed Virgin revealed the end of the war that was then afflicting Europe, and predicted another forthcoming, saying that to prevent it She would come and ask the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart as well as the Communion of reparation on the first Saturday. She promised peace and the conversion of that nation if her request was attended to. She announced that otherwise this nation would spread her errors throughout the world, and there would be wars, persecutions of the Holy Church, martyrdom of many Christians, several persecutions and sufferings reserved for Your Holiness, and the annihilation of several nations.

Most Holy Father, this remained a secret until 1926 according to the express will of our Lady. Then, in a revelation She asked that the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of five consecutive months be propagated throughout the world, with its conditions of doing the following with the same purpose; going to confession, meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary and saying the Rosary with the aim of making reparation for the insults, sacrileges and indifferences committed against Her Immaculate Heart. Our good Heavenly Mother promises to assist the persons who practice this devotion, in the hour of their death, with all the necessary graces for their salvation. I exposed the request of our Lady to my confessor, who tried to have it fulfilled, but only on the 13th of September 1939 did His Excellency the Bishop of Leiria make public in Fatima this request of our Lady.

I take this opportunity, Most Holy Father, to ask you to bless and extend this devotion to the whole world. In 1929, through another apparition, our Lady asked for the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, promising its conversion through this means and the hindering of the propagation of its errors.

Sometime afterwards I told my confessor of the request of our Lady. He tried to fulfill it by making it known to Pius XI.

In several intimate communications our Lord has not stopped insisting on this request, promising lately, to shorten the days of tribulation which He has determined to punish the nations for their crimes, through war, famine and several persecutions of the Holy Church and Your Holiness, if you will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with a special mention for Russia, and order that all the Bishops of the world do the same in union with Your Holiness. I truly feel your sufferings, Most Holy Father! And, at much as I can through my humble prayers and sacrifices, I try to lessen them, close to our Lord and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Most Holy Father, if in the union of my soul with God I have not been deceived, our Lord promises a special protection to our country in this war, due to the consecration of the nation by the Portuguese Prelates, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; as proof of the graces that would have been granted to other nations, had they also consecrated themselves to Her.

Now, Most Holy Father, allow me to make one more request, which is but an ardent wish of my humble heart; that the feast in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary be extended throughout the whole world as one of the main feasts of the Holy Church.

With the deepest respect and reverence I ask for the Apostolic Blessing. May God protect Your Holiness.
Maria Lucia de Jesus
Tuy, Spain, 2nd of December of 1940.

From Novos Documentos de Fátima, Fr. Anthony Mario Martins, SJ (Oporto: 1984). English edition: Documents on Fatima & Memoirs of Sr. Lucia. (Alexandria, SD: Fatima Family Apostolate, 1992).
Letter of Sr. Lucia to Pope Pius XII