Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. [Matthew 26:41]
If we are watching (being vigilant about these times we are in) and praying (entering into daily intimacy with God through prayer), it doesn't take rocket science to see the grave situation humanity is in.
Are we watching the signs of the times and being attentive to what's happening around us
as the world falls now at a rapid pace into an ever-deepening abyss of sin and destruction? Are we aware of the "operation of error" that has spread throughout the world, sweeping souls along who are willing to be deceived because they do not sincerely want to know the truth?...
And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying: That all may be judged who have not believed the truth, but have consented to iniquity. [2 Thessalonians 2:10-11]
Are we aware of the intense battle going on right now - a global and institutionalized
spiritual battle that has infected the media, our government, the medical industry, the education systems, universities, music, movies, news, and the like? Are we aware how these industries - by and large - have become perpetuators and participants of grave sins that are aimed at attacking the very nature of the human person, his dignity as a child of God, and his eternal destiny? Are we seeing how the vast majority, even those who call themselves Christian, have been swept away by the wave of apostasy - perhaps not by word but by the worldly way they live - and have willingly believed the lies that are contrary to the truth of God? Are you "watching and praying," being attentive and vigilant?
Why? Why have so many fallen to the flesh and this "operation of error" - even Christians who, despite their good intentions and resolutions to follow Christ, often resemble the world no different than the atheist?
Why?
...Because people do not pray. Or, if we do, our prayer is shallow, lacking heart and an ability to humbly listen to God and submit to the Church - Christ's visible authority and voice here on earth.
He who neglects mental prayer, needs not a devil to carry him to Hell, but that he brings himself there with his own hands. [St. Teresa of Avila]
If we see the world spiraling downward into a dark abyss, it's because we are not first and foremost people of prayer in the spiritual battle we face daily. For...
A soul arms itself by prayer for all kinds of combat. [St. Faustina]
If we are not praying daily, it's an indication we are losing the battle for souls, including our own.
This is why when Our Lady of Fatima showed Lucia the first vision; it was a vision of "a multitude of souls falling into hell 'like snowflakes' because there was no one to pray and sacrifice for them." (Do you see how we play our part in redeeming other souls too, as well as our own? ...through our prayer and sacrifices). In this first vision it was shared that...
Our Lady opened Her hands, as during the previous apparitions, and the light that was God streamed forth. In this light they were given, on this occasion, a vision of Hell so horrible and gruesome that the children shrieked aloud with fear. After showing them Hell Our Lady said to the children: "You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace." [The Revelation of the Immaculate Heart at Fatima, EWTN]
There's been a lot happening over these past couple months which is why I haven't posted in about that time. A lot with just trying to keep up with things through the first trimester of pregnancy which was a lot tougher this time around, homeschooling and research involving that, keeping tabs on the election and current events, trying to put together our yearly family video (which is very time consuming), etc... And we recently had a sad family event which took us by surprise. So, needless to say, I've put blogging on hold and just let it fall by the wayside for a while.
But one thing that's been on my heart over these past couple months is to take a "big picture look" at our Lady's Church-approved apparitions over this past century and some of the central messages that are a part of them. And as I've been listening to talks about them and reading about them, the question comes to my mind, "Is anybody listening??"
A Mother who is Concerned for us
Our Mother in heaven is very concerned for our salvation and she labors intensely at it through her prayers and intercession. Since, too, no one is listening to Christ through reading His living Word - Sacred Scripture, since many do not allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate into their hearts and souls, for...
...the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. [Hebrews 4:12-13]
...Since many neglect the Sacraments, and since many do not listen to the Catholic Church, His visible authority and voice here on earth...
Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me. [Luke 10:16]
...since many do not do these things, and humanity keeps walking further and further into an abyss, it beckons our Blessed Mother to come to us to give us urgent messages lest we peril.
As a side note, if you are unsure and doubt our Blessed Mother's role in our salvation and how her Divine role is to bring us to Her Son, Jesus, I would encourage you to first to read "Why Mary...?" Many think a devotion to her is "unbiblical" or is something which is "stealing Christ's thunder" but this is far from the truth. Even the Blessed Mother herself would demand that we...
"Do whatever He tells you." [John 2:5]
These were her last uttered words in Sacred Scripture.
The article "Why Mary...?" covers many non-Catholic objections, inviting people to the fullness of life in Christ found with Mary. What good son would not want his mother loved and honored?
So my point is to not focus on the apologetical aspect here, but, assuming we understand how much our Lord loves us to send His Blessed Mother on His behalf to "draw us back into the fold" to salvation, I want to focus on some major apparitions over this past century that have received ecclesiastical approval from the Magisterium of the Church and share central themes.
Here I will focus on a few of her central messages to us in two parts...
1. Conversion of our life to Christ
2. Her concern for the sad moral state of humanity
3. Consecration to her Immaculate Heart and the daily recitation of the Rosary
1. Conversion of life to Christ
Here, our Lady echoes the words of our Lord when He began His public ministry....
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." [Matthew 4:17]
Many historians and theologians are in consensus that this past century has been the bloodiest and cruel century in history. That of course can be up for debate, but considering the methods of mass warfare that have been used, both world wars, the genocide and martyrdom of millions, the bloodshed of abortion (which certainly contributes to the cruelty of this century), the victims of Communist oppression (which is still spreading its errors today and is present in our very nation), and the countless shootings and riots that seem to have no real "rhyme or reason" behind them, this would make sense and at the least, help us see the gravity of it all.
St. Paul reminds us that...
"The wages of sin is death." [Romans 6:23]
If we are shocked by the world falling apart around us, by chaos, by corruption, by death, cruelty and violence we need to look at its first cause: Sin.
Has sin increased in our world over this past century? I would say absolutely. It's gone so far as to be institutionalized and globalized, as I mentioned above. It's systematically taught through media, institutions, and governments that are supposed to have our best interests in mind. And even more terrible is the corruption and scarring of innocent children at the youngest ages thanks to an ever-growing exposure to mass media. Our Lord has particularly strong words of warning for those who corrupt the youth by exposing them to sin...
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of things that cause sin! Such things must come, but woe to the one through whom they come! [Matthew 18:6-7]
Who cannot deny the horrors our youth face today as we try to raise them as faithful disciples in Christ?
And here, our dearly beloved Mother calls to us and warns us of the sin and corruption that is all around...
"The majority of mankind has allowed itself to become contaminated and as a result the world is under a warning...The young find themselves facing a corrupt, horrifying world…Do not allow yourselves to be taken in by the calamities which you have before your eyes. Do not forget that they lead to perdition by subjecting you to evil. Pray so that you become a youth dedicated to the Lord: a youth who is looking for peace.” [Our Lady of San Nicolas, Argentina]
Further, She goes on...
My daughter, as previously in Fatima, today my visits are renewed on Earth. They are more frequent and more prolonged, because humanity is passing through very dramatic times. Has man not understood that he must be uniquely at the service of God? If he resists, his soul is going to perish.”
Again, “Many hearts do not accept my invitation to prayer and to conversion. That is why the work of the devil is growing and expanding. My dear children, it is only through prayer and conversion that you will return to God. May he not find your hearts dry.”
“The Lord wants all to be able to enter into His Kingdom. Here then is what I say to all who have moved away from Him: Come, draw near, for Jesus Christ is within your reach. Amen! Announce Him!
Our Blessed Mother came at Fatima to call us conversion and in that, to pray and offer sacrifices for the souls of others...
I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not continue to offend Our Lord, Who is already too much offended...
...Pray, pray a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and pray for them. [The Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, EWTN]
Our Lady in these messages focuses especially on her concern for the souls of consecrated and religious who have become lukewarm and are too concerned over worldly things. She begs our prayers and sacrifices for them as well.
The messages of Our Lady of Akita given to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa in Japan in 1973 also echo the events and messages of Fatima, particularly the concern over priestly and religious souls.
The demon will be especially implacable against the souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of My sadness. [Our Lady of Akita, EWTN]
In a 1957 interview Sr. Lucia - one of the seers at Fatima - had with Father Augustine Fuentes, she said,
The devil knows that religious and priests who fall away from their beautiful vocation drag numerous souls to hell....He tries to corrupt them in order to lull to sleep the souls of lay people and thereby lead them to final impenitence.
Our Lady at Garabandal, who manifested herself as Our Lady of Carmel to four young mountain girls between 1961-1965, sadly warned...
Many cardinals, many bishops, and many priests are on the path of perdition and they take many souls with them. To the Eucharist, there is given less and less importance.
But, is anyone listening? Are we truly living our entire life - every thought, every word, every action, every decision - ALL for Christ? Are we truly repenting of our sins and trying to amend our lives and change the path of sin we're on? Or do we presume on God's mercy and think there is no urgent need to repent? Are we weeding out even - what we might consider our "little sins" - the enjoyment of unnecessarily talking about the business and gossip of others, impatience, idle use of time and words and the like? Or are they "no big deal, at least I'm not killing people or hurting anyone"? Are we praying and sacrificing for our priests and religious who lead the flocks? They have much to be accountable for before the Lord!
Again, is anyone listening?
2. Her concern for the sad moral state of humanity
Our Mother is concerned for the souls of we, her children. The modern notion is that once a person dies, they go right to heaven - regardless of the state of their soul and how they lived their lives in (or not in) entire fidelity to the Gospel. We forget that before a soul is given their eternal reward or condemnation, that they are first judged according to their deeds...
By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. [Romans 2:6-8]
And...
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil. [2 Corinthians 5:10]
The good deeds and works of good are a manifestation of our cooperation with the Gospel and God's grace. The reward: heaven. But for those who refuse to repent of their sins, who continue in willful acts of disobedience to the truths of God, they have earned and chosen hell.
This is why our Blessed Mother is concerned. Elizabeth Kindelmann was a lay woman who received messages from our Lord and our Lady from 1961-1982. These messages are meant to be an echo of Fatima and have been blessed by Pope Francis. The main focus of her messages is the Flame of Love which is meant to "blind Satan" in these times we live in. Jesus states explicitly in the Gospel of St. John that Satan clearly has power over the "world of sin"... And can we not see this "world of sin" manifesting itself all around us?
In these messages, our Blessed Mother laments that many souls are choosing the path of hell...
"Only a mother can understand my anguish. How many of my children will be condemned? I collapse beneath the weight of this sorrow." [The Flame of Love, p. 67, Spiritual diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann, Imprimatur Archbishop Charles Chaput & approval of Cardinal Peter Erdo, Local Ordinary]
"Due to a lack of faith, earth is entering into darkness..." [The Flame of Love, p.61]
Our Lord also lamented...
"Souls created in my Father's image and likeness fall into Satan's hands and he drags them to hell." [The Flame of Love, p. 63]
At Fatima, Jacinta, one of the seers of Fatima who received the messages from the Blessed Mother, said the same thing about souls falling into hell and that souls go to Hell because of the sins of the flesh than for any other reason [Fatima, Brother John Raymond]
And Our Lady at San Nicolas...
"Mankind is in the process of falling in to a progressive self-destruction." [Our Lady of the Rosary at San Nicolas]
Because we continue to ignore our Lord, we fall deeper and deeper into sin. Our destruction is on account of our sin and we have chosen this path of destruction because we refuse to repent and live authentic Christian lives. Among all of these apparitions are also warnings of chastisement (Fatima, Akita, our Lady to Maria Esperanza in Betania, our Lady to Elizabeth Kindelmann), and a world-wide calamity that will shake all people. No future preparations we choose to make will really prepare for the imminent danger in which mankind hangs...
You must be warned, children, the plague is big. At these moments all humanity is hanging by a thread. My children, the senseless person is dead, even if alive, because he does not fear the justice of God, nor fears not fulfilling of His commandments. He wants to ignore the fact that the Lord’s day and his judgment will arrive. Blessed are those who fear God’s judgment.”
“God’s warning is over the world. Those who stay in the Lord have nothing to fear, but those who deny what comes from him do. Two-thirds of the world is lost and the other part must pray and make reparation for the Lord to take pity. The devil wants to have full domination over the earth. He wants to destroy. The earth is in great danger.” [Our Lady at San Nicolas, messages received from 1983-1990]
You might be aware of the bloody massacre of 800,000 people in Rwanda over a period of 100 days in 1994. That amounted to 6 people being killed and chopped to pieces every second of every day over that 100 day period. Our Lady of Kibeho had been warning her people there for 12 years to repent in order to avert this catastrophe. No one listened. And yet the Blessed Virgin told one of the seers, Marie-Clare Mukangango,
"The Rwandan genocide is a warning and a precursor to what could come to all of humanity [if people do not repent]. ...When I tell you this, I am not addressing myself strictly to you, child, but I am making this appeal to the world. Today, man empties things of their true value. Those who are continually committing sins are doing so without any acceptance that what they are doing is wrong....The world is in revolt against God...and is on the edge of catastrophe...The world hastens to its ruin, it will fall into the abyss… The world is rebellious against God, it commits too many sins, it has neither love nor peace. If you do not repent and do not convert your hearts, you will fall into the abyss." [Our Lady of Kibeho, messages received 1982-1989]
Maria Esperanza, a devout wife and mother from Betania, Venezuela who was bestowed many spiritual gifts and whose messages received Church-approval, stated the same...
Maria was told by the Virgin that we are living the "hour of decision for humanity." The world will face a "very serious moment" soon. “A great moment is approaching," the Virgin told Esperanza, “A great day of light!" Maria Esperanza does not foresee the end of the world. She sees a coming purification. “The moment has arrived in which mankind must awaken”, says Esperanza, “we must awaken to the love of God. In the coming years a new light from heaven will illuminate hearts, but before it does there will be hardship”. She forsees war, societal problems, and natural disasters. But she also sees a cleansing that will restore humankind. However, it seems that much of what will happen depends on mankind’s reaction (or lack of reaction) to the events that God disposes. In other words, a portion of what is to come is “conditional” based on humanities reaction to the events that God will put into place. “Difficult times will arrive, but in the end, it will make us better people” says Esperanza. The world will improve. It will solve many of its problems. It will draw closer to Heaven. The Virgin Mary has come to Betania as the “Reconciler of Peoples and Nations.” People and nations reconciled not only among themselves, but more importantly reconciled to God, through the heavenly intercession of Mary. This is the Blessed Virgin Mary’s message through Maria Esperanza---It is a message of hope given through the one who’s name, "Maria Esperanza", literally means “Mary Hope.” [Maria Esperanza: Modern day mystic and messenger of hope]
The cause of all of this is that "the majority of mankind has allowed itself to become contaminated" (Our Lady at San Nicolas). We willfully disobey God. As St. John Paul II reminded us in his message about Fatima...
“…man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.” [The Message of Fatima, Pope John Paul II
We are creating our own punishment. We reap what we sow.
In a letter Sr. Lucia of Fatima wrote to Pope John Paul II about the third part of the Fatima secret: "The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated"....
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” [Sr. Lucia’s letter to Pope John Paul II, dated May 12, 1982]
The Lord also told St. Faustina...
"Today I am sending you [Sr. Faustina] with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy."... "I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation." [Diary of St Faustina Kowalska, paragraphs 1588 and 1160]
God's justice always serves His mercy. In His mercy and great fatherly love for us, He desires our eternal salvation. A good Father must sometimes allow his children to "learn the hard way" when we get hard-headed. The hard way, in our case, is to suffer the fallout and consequences from this massive accumulation of sin we have been obstinately living by, believing, and supporting in our world....
My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?...At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. [Hebrews 12:6-7, 11]
Some of the other messages are a bit eschatological in regards to these end times we are in, this time of purification and era of lawlessness. I feel it is beyond me to discuss those aspects but I know there are good and holy souls who are reading the signs of the times, if, again, we are "praying and watching."
So is anybody listening? Is anybody aware of the grave danger humanity is in? Do we truly understand just how terribly mankind has entrenched itself in sin?
Yet in God's infinite mercy and love for us, He offers to us a remedy and protection for the dark times we are in and that passes by way of His Mother.
I will continue that in part two...