In part one, I covered the urgent messages of our Lady over this past century which call us to conversion, warn us of the sad state humanity is in and the grave consequences if it does not turn back to God and heed the Gospel message.
Our Lady sees the sign of the times we're in and She feels obliged as a mother to guide humanity back to Her Son, Jesus...
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. [Our Lady at San Nicolas on May 13, 1989]
Right now, our Lady is preparing Her army for a great mission to lead souls back to salvation during a period of purification and a beautiful world renewal and era of peace that awaits us. As St. Louis de Montfort said...
We are given reason to believe that, towards the end of time and perhaps sooner than we expect, God will raise up people filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of Mary. Through them Mary, Queen most powerful, will work great wonders in the world, destroying sin and setting up the kingdom of Jesus her Son upon the ruins of the corrupt kingdom which is this great earthly Babylon. [St. Louis de Montfort, Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, n. 58-59]
If we consider the words of this holy Marian saint written centuries ago, it is no coincidence that our Lady has been appearing a lot more over this past century to rally together an army which will fight by means of the Rosary and consecration to Her Immaculate Heart. What is the ends of these means? Conversion of life to Christ Her Son. She is the pure and holy vessel by which this will happen.
...the Virgin has come… to unite a small group of souls called for a great future mission, which is already beginning. That is the evangelization of the world over again. [The Bridge to Heaven: Interviews with Maria Esperanza of Betania, Michael H. Brown, p. 107]
Today, many people are struggling to find security in their bank accounts, their stocks, their careers and positions of power and wealth, their material possessions and their loved ones, but ultimately these will not suffice...
We have been living in - and are still living in - a century of agony and pain from the consequences of our sin. Man thinks he is god; he makes God in his image and likeness rather than conforming himself the other way around into God's image and likeness. We are rebelling against God and mocking His ways. But fear not..
Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. [Galatians 6:7-8]
Our Lady gives us the secret to courageously living for Her Son: Devotion and consecration to her Heart and the praying of the Most Holy Rosary. This is something that Christ desires of every single person - not just Catholics.
Consecration to Mary and the Holy Rosary
If we look through Christian history, we will see how there has always been present among the faithful a strong reverence and love for our Mother. Even the initial Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther had a great devotion to our Lady and had written about it even after their break with the Church.
But what exactly is consecration to Mary?
Consecration to the Mother of God is a total gift of self, for the whole of life and for all eternity; and a gift which is not a mere formality or sentimentality, but effectual, comprising the full intensity of the Christian life - Marian life. This consecration tends essentially to union with Jesus, under the guidance of Mary. [Pope Pius XII]
Consecration to our Lady is when...
...by our consecration we promise to become dependent on Mary in all things: to offer all our prayers and oblations to God through Mary, and to seek every gift from God through Mary. And we do this with the greatest confidence. Since she is our mother, she knows our needs better than we; and since she is Queen of Heaven, she has immediate access to the infinite treasury of graces in the Kingdom of her Divine Son.
Mary is not only the Mother of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father; she is also Mother of all the Father's adopted children. As their Mother, she has been given the role of molding them into the likeness of Jesus.
Every work of grace, every increase of grace, is a work of the Holy Spirit; but as in the Incarnation of the Divine Word God used human instruments, so does He in the sanctification of each individual soul. As He chose Mary as the instrument through whom He would come to us, so He chose Mary as the instrument through whom we should go to Him. And both the mystery of God coming to us through Mary, and our being led to God through Mary, is a work of the Holy Spirit. So when we speak of Mary's unique role in our sanctification, she is but the instrument the Holy Spirit uses in sharing with us the divine life of grace. It is in this sense that Mary fashions us into the likeness of Christ.
To everyone who makes that consecration and sincerely tries to live it, the words of Our Lady to the child Lucia at Fatima would also apply: "I will never leave you; my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge, and the way that will lead you to God." [Rosary-center.org]
So just as people might seek spiritual direction and advice from others more holy and learned than them (and if we are serious about growing in holiness we should always have a spiritual director who is an orthodox, holy priest), or just as people may get involved with various programs or courses or Bible studies to help direct them closer to Christ, so Mary is the best way to grow in our devotion to our Lord. We certainly should be doing these others things to better grow in our knowledge and love of God, but nothing will surpass "the school of Mary" who works as the ever-most humble and hidden instrument of the Holy Spirit in our souls. The Church sees Mary not as the goal of this consecration to Her Immaculate Heart but as the guide who always leads us into deeper worship, adoration and honor of the Blessed Trinity.
In the spiritual diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann, of whose diary Cardinal Peter Erdo gave his
imprimatur in 2009 and has received an imprimatur from Archbishop Charles Chaput for the English translation, our Lord told her....
Ask My sons to arouse courage in the souls. Tell them how much the ones who fight are dear to Me. May the souls never give up, because the ceaseless fight increases in you My graces. Send them to My gentle Mother. [The spiritual diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann]
Gathering Up an Army
Our Lady has been calling together an army to fight in these desolate and apocalyptic-like times most "clearly" and "loudly" over this past century through her apparitions. It is of great importance, too, how She echoes the necessity of daily prayer, conversion, reading Scripture - God's living Word, receiving the Eucharist, fasting, and going to Confession. But on top of this, there is another means necessary for a bold and uncompromising Christian life today in the present darkness and deception: The Rosary and consecration to Her.
Let's see how loud and clear this has been through her many apparitions...
My child, yesterday it was Lourdes, today it is here, but it is always good for the mother to be in search of her children. I expect of them prayer, fasting, conversion. They will find salvation if they do not flee from the Lord, if they accept the Lord. [Our Lady at San Nicolas, messages received from1983-1990]
...
You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pius XI. [Our Lady of Fatima, 1917, Second part of the secret] (This prophecy of our Blessed Mother was fulfilled when World War II broke out)
The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests. [Our Lady of Akita to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa, Japan, October 13, 1973]
Our Lady of Kibeho appeared to three young people in the remote village of Kibeho, Africa in 1981. According to Bishop Augustin Misago, the local Ordinary who wrote a 2001 declaration on Kibeho, a few of the central messages of Mary are an urgent call to repentance ("Convert while there is still time!"), the necessity of praying always and single-heartedly, and having a Marian devotion expressed through a sincere and daily praying of the Rosary. Our Lady begged repentance in order that lives and souls might be saved and to avoid a bloody massacre which would occur if people did not change their ways. However, messages were unheeded thus leading to the bloody 1994 Rwandan genocide of 800,000 people in a 100-day period which She prophesied if people did not change and live according to Her Son's ways. She said that this message was not just for the people in Rwanda but for the whole world so that people may repent, turn to Her Son and pray the Rosary to help avert future catastrophes that loom over mankind due to the consequence of its obstinate sin. Our Lady said the Rosary is one of the most powerful tools in the world to defend us against temptation and evil.
Our Blessed Mother is always reminding us of the necessity...
...for conversion and then consecration to my heart as Mother…I will respond to your consecration with my protection...Prayer is both the means and the weapon, the primary one being the Rosary...Recite the Holy Rosary, and let the Lord see that with it goes your conversion. The Sacred Heart of Jesus will give you abundant blessings...The Holy Rosary is the weapon which the enemy fears. It is also the refuge of those who look for relief for the sufferings, and it is the door to enter into my heart. [Our Lady at San Nicolas, messages received from 1983-1990]
Constantly, like the good Mother she is, she is calling us back to Her Son...
My dear children, I assure you that you will not be far from my dear Son, if you succeed in trusting in Him… Invoke the Holy Spirit and he will save you.... Bless the Lord, King of the Universe. Praise God Our Father. All of you know that He is merciful. In Him is pardon, and He loves you above all things, know that his kingdom is eternal; just as His love which He proves for his children is eternal. He claims only your faith, and He wants to see you live according to his Word. [Our Lady at San Nicolas, messages received from 1983-1990]
And Her Son wants us to understand the fullness of the Christian life in Him that we are ALL called to with and in His Mother. One of our Lord's messages at San Nicolas:
Today I warn the world, for the world is not aware: souls are in danger. Many are lost. Few will find salvation unless they accept me as their Savior. My mother must be accepted. My mother must be heard in the totality of her messages. The world must discover the richness she brings to Christians. The children of sin will grow up in sin if their unbelief increases. I want a renewal of the spirit, a detachment from death, and an attachment to life. I have chosen the heart of my mother, so that what I ask will be achieved. Souls will come to me through the means of her Immaculate Heart. [Our Lady at San Nicolas, messages received from 1983-1990]
Live for Jesus in and with Mary!
The key to experiencing the fullness of the Christian life is found in our Lady. St. Louis de Montfort expressed this most beautifully in his Treatise on True Devotion to Mary which is a must-read for every single Christian. The Rosary is not just a "nice" pious act. The Rosary is not something that's just for old ladies to pray. It's not just for Catholics. It's necessary if you wish to save your soul in this time of great diabolical deception that we are living in and if you wish to be completely given over to Christ.
But again, is anybody listening to our Mother?
Do you seek to sincerely repent of your sins, daily, and convert your entire life to Christ?
Do you pray every day with sincerity and humility to God and practice mental prayer?
Do you go receive Holy Communion and frequent the Sacrament of Confession?
Do you give and entrust all things to our Lady, every day?
Have you consecrated yourself and your family to Mary? I recommend St. Louis de Montfort's 33 Day Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary or Father Michael Gaitley's 33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration. Make the day of consecration on a Marian feast day.
Do you pray the Rosary daily?
Do you wear a Brown Scapular - a sign of our Lady's protection?
Let us begin! And when we grow lukewarm, let us beg the Holy Spirit for fervor and ardent zeal!
Finally, to end, I just want to share a beautiful grace I was given a few years ago that directly involved our Blessed Mother. I want to share this just to show you Her prominent role in our spiritual formation and how the more that we become devoted to Her, the more we actually become devoted to Christ.
Here was my experience that I wrote down three years ago...
I recently have come to understand more fully through my own experience in my relationship with Mary just exactly how incredibly important she is in the spiritual life of a Christian.
When the month of May began, I decided that I wanted to more fully give myself over to Jesus through Mary. I desired to have a stronger relationship with the Blessed Mother so that I may have a stronger relationship with Christ and a deeper thirst for Him. Being that in our Catholic tradition May is the month in which we place a special emphasis on her, I decided to use this as a time to grow closer to Mary....
...At the beginning of May, I began reading a book called “In the Shadow of Our Lady: Sharing Mother Teresa’s Mystical Relationship with Mary.” What a grace this book has been! Now, the Blessed Mother is someone whom I’ve always loved since my coming back to the Faith and I love praying the Rosary and trying to better live my consecration to Her. However, this time it was different and I decided to follow the wisdom of the saints and just wholeheartedly and in ALL things, go to Mary. (I will admit, I always had a little part of me that feared this “wholehearted devotion” because I thought it might take a little bit away from my relationship with Jesus). The great saints have always been “totally Mary’s” and have written extensively on their relationship with Mary and how she’s deeply increased their love for Jesus (St. Louis de Montfort known best for this and His treatise “True Devotion to Mary”). But I guess honestly, there was always this part of me that thought in my head, “That doesn’t quite make sense to me…If you go to Mary all the time, when you are going to Jesus?” Those were my exact thoughts.
And the big lesson for me was that as Christians, sometimes rather than trying to figure it all out in our heads we need to just move forward and experience it with our hearts. I began this whole-hearted devotion to Mary. I want everyone to understand that this is how she desires to help EVERYONE grow closer to Jesus.
Mother Teresa always told her sisters to “rest in the Immaculate Heart of Mary” when you begin prayer. So I began doing that. I began inviting the Blessed Mother into my prayer to show me how to be open to the Holy Spirit like she was; how to listen to her Son like she does; and I asked her how to just be with her Son and love Jesus like she does. I just began always casting myself into her motherly arms, placing people who need prayers in her heart, turning to desperately beg her for help in my frustration when my patience was zero with my kids, asking her to arrange certain situations for me so things would work out. EVERYTHING.
And you know what she did in response to my devotion to her?....
….I have noticed how much more deeply I thirst for Christ. I have noticed how my heart just rests with Jesus throughout the day. I have noticed how my heart is stirred with spontaneous flames of love, adoration and thanksgiving for Him. I desired to spend more time in prayer just so I could be with Jesus in a silent and tranquil way.
How does this make sense when one is going to Mary?
THIS is how it makes sense: She silently, subtly, and discreetly in her great humility, steps out of the picture and turns our gaze entirely on Christ. Of course I notice our Lady’s presence, but I have grown to understand much more deeply by this experience that in her own gentle, tender, humble and discreet and subtle way, she turns our hearts toward Jesus, toward her beloved Son. She helps us. She is the humble "handmaid of the Lord" whose "soul magnifies the Lord and whose spirit rejoices in God her Savior" (see Luke 1:38, 46-55).
Now I always knew this was her role ever since coming back to my faith some years ago, and I’ve read the books saints have written about her, have been praying the Rosary, sought to grow in my understanding of her, etc… But this was different and a much more of a profound understanding of who she is and what her role is in our sanctification and salvation. And by her help, I can sense that I’ve grown much more deeply these past few weeks in my desire and thirst for Christ – more than I know I would have on my own over a period of months and years! And this is exactly what St. Louis de Montfort says about those who belong entirely to Mary...
We advance more in a brief period of submission to Mary and dependence on her than in whole years of self-will and self- reliance. [True Devotion to Mary, paragraph #155]
As Christians, we need the Blessed Mother to come to know Jesus more deeply and fully and to love Him the way He deserves to be loved. We need to get back to the basics - repentance, sincere and humble prayer, fasting, frequenting the Sacraments, and daily conversion. And we need to pray the Rosary to bring peace once again to this world and to stand strong, firm and uncompromising against the diabolical and satanic deceptions that are manifest all around us and will only get worse.
Our Lady is gathering together an army for Her Son...is anybody listening?
“The man who burns with the fire of divine love is a son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and wherever he goes, he enkindles that flame; he deserves and works with all this strength to inflame all men with the fire of God’s love. Nothing deters him; he rejoices in poverty; he labors strenuously; he welcomes hardships; he laughs off false accusations; he rejoices in anguish. He thinks only of how he might follow Jesus Christ and imitate him by his prayers, his labors, his sufferings, and by caring always and only for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.”
~ St. Anthony Mary Claret