Friday, January 29, 2010

July 2nd Continued . . .




During the apparition of this very day, July 2nd, 1961, "a shower of stars suddenly began to fall from heaven everywhere on earth," probably symbolizing the rain of graces from God of which Mary is the "depository." Simultaneously, "thirty-three large Spanish letters spelling out six Spanish words, "formed a halo all around Our Lady: the seers called these the "secret of the Angel." To this day, no book has yet spoken of this, and the visionaries did not reveal it either. According to us, it is very likely related to an ultimate Marian dogma, of which the mystery of the Visitation would be its biblical basis. MARIA DEPOSITORIA DE TODAS LAS GRACIAS, such might be the very concise and formal expression of this future "definition of faith" . . .

From Her first visit, the Blessed Virgin carried the Child Jesus in Her arms. His presence was not explicitly mentioned by Conchita in her Diary for that 2nd of July, but the visionary nevertheless described Him here, always in her very concrete, vivid, even sober usual way: "He is very very small, like a newborn babe, a round face, same color of complexion as that of the Blessed Virgin, a small mouth, rather long, curly, blond hair, tiny little hands, a dress like an azure-blue tunic. He is always smiling."

"The Blessed Virgin came wearing a white dress, a blue mantle, a gold crown decorated with 12 little stars. We could not see her feet. Her arms were open and she wore the Scapular on Her right arm. The Scapular was brown. Her hair was long, dark auburn and wavy, and parted in the middle. Her face was rather long. Her nose fine and long, a very beautiful mouth with slightly full lips. Her complexion was golden . . . Her voice was enchanting. It was a very special voice . . . No other woman is like the Blessed Virgin, neither in voice nor in any other way" (Conchita's Diary, p.35). [Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, pages 45, 49.]
Wow! There is so much to meditate on in these three paragraphs . . .
The falling stars remind me that at Fatima during Our Lady's apparitions, flowers fell from the sky like snow, disappearing before they hit the ground. This was witnessed by the people who came to the Cova de Iria to be with the three children . . .
It's interesting that Jesus appeared as a newborn, perhaps to remind us of the sacredness of life! One of the horrors about the millions of babies who have been slaughtered in their mother's wombs, is the fact that each child was destined to add to God's glory and better mankind on earth! How many great minds; doctors, scientists, priests, leaders, etc., etc., have not been allowed to be born to make this a better world . . .
Why can't Jesus have blond hair as a child? Believe it or not, I had long blond hair until I was about five years old. When I got my first haircut, it started to turn brown and now I'm all gray!!! Remember, Jesus was like us in all things, except sin . . .
Isn't that the most beautiful description on what Our Lady look like! I don't remember ever reading such a concise and elegant picture! The artist Isabel Daganzo painted this image, which is used by all the Garabandal promoters and in all their books . . .
Here are some deep thoughts: . . . Our Lady is the most beautiful creature ever created by God, in the image of God . . . Jesus the God-Man, was born of the Virgin Mary with only Her genes . . . therefore He looked just like Her . . . yet She was made in His image . . . What a mystery!
Deacon John

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Some Questions Answered: The Era of Peace & the Illumination (Warning)

Mark

 

On Heresies and More Questions


Mary crushing the serpent, Artist Unknown


First published November 8th, 2007, I have updated this writing with another question on the consecration to Russia, and other very important points. 
 
THE Era of Peace—a heresy? Two more antichrists? Has the "period of peace" promised by Our Lady of Fatima already happened? Was the consecration to Russia requested by her valid? These questions below, plus a comment on Pegasus and the new age as well as the big question: What do I tell my children about what’s coming?
Continue reading here: http://www.markmallett.com/blog/?p=539

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

SUNDAY, JULY 2, 1961:




On the Feastday of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary [traditional calendar], the two angels, who appeared one on each side of Our Lady, were St. Michael and St. Gabriel, the Angel of the Annunciation but also the Angel of supernatural dreams and prophetic revelations, more particularly those related to the divine and universal plan of the salvation of humankind. Gabriel appeared but once at San Sebastian de Garabandal.
[Isabel Daganzo, an artist painter, under Conchita's guidance, drew several sketches of these first apparitions. In one illustration of the Blessed Virgin with the two Angels, an "Eye" is drawn at the top.]

The "Eye of God" ("ayin" in Hebrew, "ophtalmos" in Greek): what a theme! This word, or expression, in its singular form rarely used in the Bible, is then applied explicitly to the divine omniscience and providence. Given the four previous manifestations of the Shekinah, the eruption of this "Eye of God" who "alone probes the loins and the hearts" and who plunges down into everything and everyone, is not surprising.

The iconographic signal here is absolutely correct: in Holy Scripture, indeed, right prevails over left, and top over bottom. In the children's vision. the Eye, placed above Mary, effectively designates Yahweh, who dominates all creation, all times and History itself.

At Lourdes, during Her last apparition, July 16, 1858, Mary (the Immaculate Conception) manifested herself to Bernadette, "more beautiful than ever," and not without a profound reason, since it was the Feast of "Our Lady of Mount Carmel" . . .

At Fatima, it was the same, Mary having also appeared, for the fourth and the last time on October 13, 1917, under the title and the form of "Nossa Senhora do Carmo." These were undoubtedly prophetic signs of her later "manifestations" at Garabandal: consequently, a fulfilled rendezvous!
[Excerpted from "Garabandal" Book, pages 44, 45.]

As I said before, this was the link that made me believe in Garabandal immediately, "Our Lady of Mount Carmel." I started to wear the "Brown Scapular" around this time (1970) and have never taken it off! It's interesting about the two Angels appearing with Our Blessed Lady. At Fatima, just St. Michael appeared. I wonder if this was a first in the history of Marian apparitions? God has a purpose for everything so there must be a deeper meaning for this besides the fact that it related to the Feast Day! Theologians say that St. Gabriel inspires us with Godly thoughts and gives us the "Strength of God"! That's how we can combat the evil one. Of course we have to ask for these gifts, they don't just come to us. Try it! I do ask every day! But, of course, I am very devoted to the Angels anyway.
Deacon John

Monday, January 25, 2010

ST. MICHAEL ANNOUNCES . . .




SATURDAY, 1st OF JULY, 1961: THE ANGEL SPEAKS: HE ANNOUNCES THE "VISIT" OF "THE BLESSED VIRGIN OF MOUNT CARMEL" FOR THE NEXT DAY
 
The guardian angel of Portugal, St. Michael, came to Fatima three times in 1915 and three other times in 1916. At Garabandal, his manifestations were far more numerous. He is the one the little girls saw during the first nine days of the apparitions. He is the one who, later, often gave them the Eucharist; he again delivered the two famous Messages, etc.


Luca Giordano's painting of Archangel Michael ...Image via Wikipedia
Since the extraordinary grace that St. Joan of Arc brought to France, there have occurred no more comparable charismatic events involving St. Michael. Being the Archangel of the Apocalypse and of the gigantic battle that will oppose, in the end, the "powers of Light" to the 'powers of darkness,' here on earth, his presence at Garabandal is a sign of the real approach of the "last times," and even of the "end of times" which will be particularly mentioned with all the "facts" that are of interest to us here. Because the Archangel is the protector of the people of God, the second session of the Second Vatican Council in 1963 was opened on his Feastday, 29th of September.

On this Saturday, 1st of July, St. Michael, for the first time, broke the silence in which the ecstasies had been unfolding until then:
"Do you know why I have come?", he asked the children.
-- No, they replied.
"To tell you that tomorrow, Sunday, the Virgin Mary will appear to you under the title of "Our Lady of Mount Carmel."
Then he asked the visionaries this other question: "Do you know what is written on the placard (escritorio)?"
-- No!
"The Blessed Virgin will tell you."
[Excerpted from "Garabandal" Book, page 41.]

St. Michael is certainly one of my favorite friends and protector! I pray often his exorcism prayer and 'The Chaplet of St. Michael' daily . . . How many times has he come to my defense and rescue!!! I can't wait to see him and thank him in his presence for all he has done for me and my family and friends.
Deacon John
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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Garabandal still waiting


Climbing the hill to the Pines


From El Diario Montanes http://www.eldiariomontanes.es/ in Spain I read this interesting update on the Village of Garabandal. Below the Spanish copy is a translation from Google. If anyone can do a better job at translating please post a correction below in the comment box. Please use a name if you comment.
Thanks & God Bless+
 Deacon John



Cuando llegas a San Sebastián de Garabandal nada hace pensar que en aquel pueblo han pasado tantas cosas. De hecho, parece uno de esos muchos pueblos de media montaña a los que los domingos se va de paseo y comida. Asuntos sin la menor trascendencia. Otra cosa es cuando decides dar un paseo. Al ratito ya sabes que, que la Virgen decidiera en 1962 aparecerse a María Dolores Mazón, Mari Cruz, Conchita y Jacinta González, no sólo las iba a dejar a ellas estupefactas, sino que cambiaría, aunque suene a frase muy sobada, el curso de su historia.
Aquello no sólo fue determinante para las niñas, sino para cientos de miles de personas que desde entonces, de una u otra forma, tienen en San Sebastián de Garabandal su referente espiritual. Eso, mientras esperan un aviso y un milagro que se está haciendo de rogar, porque entre una cosa y otra, han pasado ya 47 años.
Sólo unos metros antes de entrar en el pueblo, a mano izquierda, hay una escultura de una mujer que mira a los montes. Es el 'Monumento a la Madre del Emigrante'. Eso parece explicar que antes de que la Virgen decidiera buscar sosiego entre aquellas gentes, muchas otras se fueron a buscar sustento fuera del valle. Ahora, al menos en invierno, lo cierto es que Garabandal no tiene ni muchos vecinos ni ambiente. Ni siquiera religioso, porque sólo los segundos domingos de cada mes se congregan allí oficialmente los devotos de aquella virgen que decidió un verano pasar un tiempo entre aquellas niñas.
Han pasado más de cuarenta años desde que el fenómeno Garabandal se extendió como la pólvora entre algunos colectivos religiosos. Los autobuses ya no hacen cola para entrar en el pueblo un día sí y otro también, y posadas y apartamentos que se construyeron en los años setenta con la idea de ser, además de creyentes, hospitalarios, están prácticamente vacíos.
Las cosas han cambiado mucho, pero eso no quita para que con la ausencia de barullo estén encantados los que han optado por que Garabandal sea su refugio.
Testigos
María es médico. Una especialista en anatomía patológica que ha pasado más de la mitad de su vida en Holanda y que lleva catorce años viviendo en Garabandal. Cuenta que un buen día, en el año 1995, alguien le habló cuando viajaba en autobús a Alemania de las apariciones. La suya fue una especie de conversión flechazo, porque dice que comenzó a leer sobre Garabandal y que en 1996 compró una casa «que me costó un dineral» y se instaló allí para siempre. Ella es de las que cree. De las afortunadas que se saben en el buen camino y les importa un pimiento lo que les digan. Aún así, lamenta lo que pasa en el mundo -«nadie tiene fe en España»- y cree con todas sus fuerzas y un enorme respeto por quien no sabe ni de que va el asunto, que las profecías de las niñas, el anuncio de la Virgen, se cumplirá. «Primero habrá un aviso. Algo malo, terrible, va a pasar. Luego, después de esa señal, llegará el milagro».
También Lucía, que hace años volvió al pueblo de sus padres para instalarse y vive en una casa de piedra increíblemente bonita, está contenta con que la gente se mueva por devoción y fe. Ella es testigo de hasta qué punto mueven a algunos, porque en casa, que es una posada, tiene hace un año alquiladas unas habitaciones a un alemán que pasa la semana en Garabandal y los viernes se marcha a Alemania. «Primero a Santander, luego a Londres y desde allí a su país, porque han quitado el vuelo que había directo». Lucía habla del trajín que se trae su huésped con toda naturalidad. «Este es un pueblo muy tranquilo, muy sano y aquí se vive muy bien».
Hay quienes cuentan su experiencia pero no quieren decir cómo se llaman. También sus historias son poco comunes: Joven preparada con un gran trabajo y un mejor futuro profesional que un día se da de bruces con un libro 'Se fue con las prisas a la montaña' (Editorial Círculo. Eusebio García de la Pesquera) y decide atravesar media España para pasar unos días en Garabandal. Una vez allí, la fortuna de entender que en ningún otro lugar puede estar mejor, así que, a hacer las maletas, despedirse del trabajo, regalar «los cientos de cosas que acumulamos y no necesitamos para nada», y encontrar una paz que muchos morirán sin saber que existe y que a ella le estaba esperando precisamente allí, entre aquellas montañas.
Luego están los más mayores, los que fueron testigos de excepción de aquellos controvertidos acontecimientos. Matilde tiene 90 años. Cualquiera que la oiga hablar y la vea moverse sabe que si es cierto que la Virgen estuvo allí hace cuarenta y siete años, Matilde le cayó bien y le dedicó la mejor de las bendiciones. Da gusto verla y tiene historia para rato. «Yo vivía en la casa ante la que el ángel dio la comunión a Conchita el 18 de julio de 1962. Ella era la que tuvo después más relación con la Virgen», dice.
«Fueron unos tiempos distintos. En aquellos días, cada noche, las niñas pasaban por las casas del pueblo y hacían una cruz sobre las camas. También la gente les daba rosarios para que los bendijesen y ellas les devolvía a cada uno el suyo después de besarlos.
Subían a los pinos y bajaban de rodillas y de espaldas el camino y no tenían ni marcas en las piernas. Casi todo el tiempo estaban en éxtasis». Eso lo cuenta Matilde sin inmutarse.
Luego están los jóvenes del pueblo como César. Él ha oído hablar cientos de veces de lo que ocurrió . «Mi abuela y mi madre siempre dijeron que habían pasado cosas raras». Él dice que los peregrinos siguen visitando el pueblo, aunque reconoce que ya no tanto como antes. También César repite continuamente que su madre y sus tías, que eran de la edad de las niñas a las que la Virgen se les apareció, estuvieron un tiempo en permanente éxtasis.
Esos testimonios son los de vecinos y creyentes a los que no les importa hablar de tema, pero los hay que no quieren ni mencionar el asunto con extraños. En el pueblo hay un bar, 'La salud'. Allí ni palabra de la Virgen, las apariciones o algo del estilo. En realidad, ni del tiempo. Tampoco en la posada Amelia, que es de una hermana de una de las videntes, quieren contar cosas.
El último aviso
La última vez que se produjo una avalancha de peregrinos realmente seria en Garabandal fue en el mes de abril de 2002. Nadie sabía exactamente cómo, pero una serie de noticias difundidas a través de Internet por un grupo belga, hicieron prever a quienes creen firmemente en Garabandal que en la tarde-noche del jueves 11 de abril ocurriría un milagro.
Ese día, desde primera hora de la mañana decenas de creyentes se agolparon en el pueblo a la espera de que la Virgen que ya se le apareciera a María Dolores Mazón, Mari Cruz, Conchita y Jacinta González en el año 1962, volviera a dar señales de vida. Pero nada.
El caso es que decenas de americanos, belgas, holandeses, irlandeses, incluso filipinos, además de los de aquí de siempre, están locos con la historia creada alrededor de aquellas niñas. Vamos, que si hay algo indiscutible es el carácter internacional del fenómeno. Y si no, que se lo pregunten a los vecinos, crean o no crean, porque lo saben mejor que nadie. Dicen, que una vez estuvo el rey Balduino.

Garabandal is snowed in
Garabandal still waiting
The people each year see how low the number of pilgrims who come seeking a personal spiritual retreat 
It's been 47 years since it was known of the first apparitions of the Virgin and the announcement of a miracle 
When you get to San Sebastian de Garabandal nothing indicates that in that town so much has happened. Indeed, it seems one of those many mid-mountain villages to which Sunday is going for a walk and lunch. Cases without the slightest importance. Another thing is when you decide to take a walk. At little while you know that the Virgin appearing decided in 1962 to Maria Dolores Mazon, Mari Cruz, Jacinta Gonzalez and Conchita, not just going to leave them stunned, but he would change, although it may sound very sobada sentence, the course of its history. 
That was decisive not only for girls, but for hundreds of thousands of people since then, one way or another, have in San Sebastian de Garabandal its spiritual reference. That, while awaiting a notice and a miracle that is being asked twice, for between one thing and another, 47 years have passed. 
Just a few meters before entering the village, on the left, a sculpture of a woman looking to the mountains. It's 'Monument to the Mother of Migrants'. That seems to explain that before Virgin decided to seek peace among the people, many others went to look for food outside the valley.Now, at least in winter, it is certain that Garabandal does not have many neighbors and environment. Not even religion, for only the second Sunday of each month is officially devotees congregate there for this virgin who decided one summer to spend time among these girls. 
It has been more than forty years since the phenomenon Garabandal spread like wildfire among some religious groups. Buses will no longer queue up to enter the town one every other day too, and inns and apartments that were built in the seventies with the idea of being, besides faithful, hospitable, are virtually empty. 
Things have changed a lot, but that does not detract from that with the absence of noise are delighted that they have chosen to Garabandal is his refuge. 
Witnesses 
Mary is a doctor. A specialist in pathology who has spent over half his life in Holland and has fourteen years living in Garabandal. He tells that one day in 1995, someone told him while traveling by bus to Germany of the apparitions. His conversion was a kind of sight, which he said began reading about Garabandal, and in 1996 bought a house "that cost me a fortune" and settled there for good. She is among those that believe. Of the lucky ones who are known in the right direction and they give a damn what they say. Still, he regrets what is happening in the world - "no one has faith in Spain '- and believes with all his strength and great respect for who does not know that the matter is, that the prophecies of girls, the announcement of Lady, be fulfilled. "First there will be a warning. Something bad, terrible will happen. Then after that signal, will the miracle. 
Also Lucia years ago returned to the village from their parents to settle and live in an incredibly beautiful stone house, is happy that people moving out of devotion and faith. She is witness to how to move some, because at home, which is an inn a year ago has rented rooms to a German who spends the week in Garabandal and Friday is leaving for Germany. 'First to Santander, then to London and from there to your country, because they had taken the direct flight. Lucy talks about the grind that comes naturally with its host. "This is a very quiet town, very healthy and live very well here." 
Some people talk about their experiences but do not want to say their names. Their stories are also rare: Young prepared a great job and a better professional future one day at odds with the book 'It was in the rush to the mountain' (Editorial Circle. Eusebio Garcia de Pesquera) and decides across half of Spain to spend some days in Garabandal. Once there, the good fortune to understand that in no other place can be better, so to pack, leave work, give "the hundreds of things we accumulate and do not need for anything", and find a peace that many die without knowing it exists and that she was waiting right there between those mountains. 
Then there are the older generation, who witnessed the exception of those controversial events.Matilda is 90 years old. Anyone hear about the move and see knows that if it is true that the Virgin was there for forty-seven, Matilda liked him and gave him the best of blessings. It's nice to see her for awhile and has history. "I lived in the house before which the angel gave communion to Conchita on 18 July 1962. She was the one who had more respect after the Virgin, "he says. 
"Those were different times. In those days, every night, the girls went through the houses of the village and made a cross on the beds. Also, the people gave them that bless rosaries for them and they returned to each his own after kissing them. 
They went up to the pines and down on his knees and shoulders the way and had no marks on the legs. Most of the time were in ecstasy. " That tells Matilde unperturbed. 
Then there are the young men as Caesar. He has heard hundreds of times what happened. "My grandmother and my mother always said weird things had happened. He says that pilgrims continue to visit the town, while acknowledging that not as much as before. Caesar also continually repeated that his mother and aunts, who were of age for girls to whom the Virgin appeared to them, were a time permanent ecstasy. 
These testimonies are the neighbors and the believers who do not care about the subject, but there are some who do not even want to mention the matter with strangers. In the village there is a bar, 'Health'. There no word of the Virgin's apparitions or something like that. In fact neither time. Nor Amelia at the inn, which is a sister of one of the visionaries, they want to count things.
The final warning 
The last time there was a rush of pilgrims at Garabandal was really serious in April 2002.Nobody knew exactly how, but a series of news reports over the Internet by a Belgian group, who were expected to strongly believe in Garabandal in the evening of Thursday, April 11 there would be a miracle. 
That day, from early morning dozens of believers flocked to the village waiting for the Virgin appeared to him and Maria Dolores Mazon, Mari Cruz, Jacinta Gonzalez and Conchita in 1962, returned to give signals of life. But nothing. 
The fact is that dozens of Americans, Belgians, Dutchmen, Irish, including Filipinos, in addition to the usual here are crazy with the story created around those girls. Come on, that if one thing is indisputable is the international character of the phenomenon. And if not, let them ask the neighbors, believe it or not believe, because they know better than anyone. Say, who was once King Baldwin.

Friday, January 22, 2010

CHRIST MANIFESTS HIMSELF TO JACINTA






We continue our story of Garabandal . . .
TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1961
It was 8:30 p.m. when the Angel appeared to the four girls . . . When she slightly turned her eyes to the side, Jacinta saw Christ appear before her, a little above the ground: He was of an unparalleled majesty, "the most handsome of men," would the visionary say eventually. His gaze pierced her through "as if He were going to
wrench my soul from my body," Jacinta pointed out. She added that she would have been unable to bear this vision for more than a few moments it seems to have lasted.
(Christ) JESUS, "Yahweh saves," is the fourth visible manifestation of the Shekinah, the very "Face of God," the refulgence on His glory (Heb. 1: 1-4) in the "divine Word made flesh," supreme expression of God's commitment in the history of the world and of each one of us.
Christ, as He revealed Himself to Jacinta, was wearing a white tunic, and a wide, bright red "sash of dignity" was falling from His right shoulder (cf. Is. 9:4). . . Such a charismatic appearance of Christ was given only in Garabandal, just as in the whole previous history of Christian iconography and hagiography there seems to have been only one other apparition of Jesus wearing such vestments of dignity. It occurred with the "Miracle of Bordeaux," on Sunday, February 3, 1822: during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, some ten faithful suddenly saw, instead of the Host in the middle of the monstrance, a bust of Christ dressed in this way. Several persons even heard at the same time, these words: "I Am He who is"!
Shortly after the revolution, the Venerable Servant of God [Who should soon be beatified.] Fr. Pierre Noailles (1793-1861) founded, in 1820, with his sister, Mother of the Trinity, the "Institute of the Holy Family of Bordeaux." He was not there personally when the miracle occurred in the very modest chapel of his community. But the fruits soon came . . . Today, the Congregation has spread to twenty-two countries, one of his Houses being in . . . Santander!
The mystery of the Church sheds light on Garabandal in a fundamental and constant way. It was in this month devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but yet more precisely on the very day of the solemn Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, that Christ appeared to Jacinta wearing the colors of His supreme authority. With His left hand He pointed to His Heart. It was, notably, not encircled with thorns nor surmounted with a cross, but from it there emanated white and golden rays, the colors of the Pope, Vicar of Christ on earth, and of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. What a significant and distinctive trait on this 29th of June, as had been the case of the previous original great manifestations granted to St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque and St. Sister Faustina. It was then at Garabandal, in fact, that Christ, the Lord of Glory, meant to manifest Himself as the Spouse of His people and Leader of all Shepherds. The One, who, henceforth, is the "Master of times and history," who constantly sends His spirit of holiness for the sanctification and salvation of the world, and thus continues His mission in and through His Church - through its ministers and the faithful themselves. These are perspectives that will be confirmed, even explained in several subsequent moments, truly remarkable ones, more particularly ecclesial ones of great impact (see, for example, August 1, 1961, the exceptional "addition" that the four young visionaries in ecstasy made in the "profession of Christian faith" - the CREED). Let us add this last detail that neither the Angel not the Virgin of Carmel were within Jacinta's sight during the three manifestations of Christ that she would be given at San Sebastian de Garabandal: once more, a profound spiritual "logic!"
[Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, pages 40, 41.]


I originally typed this on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, so it is a wonderful revelation that Jesus appeared to Jacinta with His Heart all aglow! At Fatima, Our Lord didn't appear until the last apparition on October 13, 1917. At Garabandal, He appeared even before Our Lady appeared for the first time on July 1st! Again it seems to be a connection . . . Fatima first, then Garabandal . . .
Deacon John

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 1961: A MYSTERIOUS "NOTICE" AT THE FEET OF THE "ANGEL"






They had barely reached the calleja when the Angel showed himself to the girls with a placard (escritorio) at his feet. The visionaries deciphered only the first two words of the firstlive, "Hay que" (It is necessary that . . ."), and the last line of Roman numerals, "XVIII - MCMLXI". . . The children were soon to learn from the Blessed Virgin that this was a Message. 

The term "Message" was never formally used at Lourdes nor at 
Fatima, where only "the words pronounced by the Blessed Virgin", her "exhortations," even, "symbolic actions," were mentioned. On the contrary, at Garabandal, the word "Message" was clearly used by the Angel, by Our Lady, by Christ Himself, to designate, as in the Bible, the "word of God (Yahweh) to His people." 

In Scripture, the angels and the prophets are called "Messengers
 of God." Here, the fact that an Angel came to bring a Message is most significant. 

Thus this apparition occurred on the Feast of St. John the Baptist 
for profound and obvious reasons. Vested with "the power and spirit of Elijah," John the Baptist was indeed the one who had already, at least in some way, proclaimed the Gospel, that mega-Message. Elijah, for his part, represented the "mystery - past and future - of Carmel!" These two major figures embodied the two summits of biblical prophetism. This dimension was to reveal itself as essential to Garabandal, where the Blessed Virgin, "Queen of Angels and Prophets," was to appear precisely under the form and title of "Our Lady of Mount Carmel." 

[Excerpted from "Garabandal" Book, page 36.]
 


And of course, for me, this was the great link between Fatima and 
Garabandal: In the last apparition at Fatima on October 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared in the sky clothed as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding out the Brown Scapular to the world. When Our Lady appeared at Garabandal, as we shall hear later on, she came under the title "Our Lady of Mount Carmel," with the Brown Scapular hanging from her wrist! I immediately saw the connection and believed! Sort of makes me like St. John the Apostle, (ha-ha) when he looked into the empty tomb, where Jesus was lain, saw the burial clothes, and believed in the Resurrection!
Deacon John

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

From Mark Mallett:


The Last Effort

Jesus:Mary crossover2.055
The Last Effort, by Tianna Mallett



IMMEDIATELY after Isaiah’s beautiful vision of an era of peace preceded by a purification of the earth, which leaves a remnant, he writes a brief prayer in praise and thanksgiving of God’s mercy—a prophetic prayer, as we will see:
You will say in that day… Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. You shall draw waters with joy out of the savior’s fountain… (Isaiah 12:1-2)



THE LAST EFFORT
At the very moment in history when Satan began to sow the philosophical lie of deism, which turned God into a cold, distant creator, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690 A.D.). He revealed to her His flamingSacred Heart, burning with love for His creation. More than that, He was revealing His counter-plan to the dragon’s lies:



I understood that devotion to the Sacred Heart is a last effort of His Love towards Christians of these latter times, by proposing to them an object and means so calculated to persuade them to love Him.Margherita_Sacro_Cuore.jpg  St. Margaret Mary, Antichrist and the End Times, Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, p. 65
This devotion was the last effort of His love that He would grant to men in these latter ages, in order to withdraw them from the empire of Satan which He desired to destroy, and thus to introduce them into the sweet liberty of the rule of His love, which He wished to restore in the hearts of all those who should embrace this devotion. St. Margaret Mary,www.sacredheartdevotion.com
And so, at the height of that philosophical era, God began sending His Mother more frequently into the world to continually call her children back to His Sacred Heart. In the lesser known apparition at Pontmain, France, Mary said to the visionaries:
…My Son lets His heart be touched. —January 17th, 1871,www.sanctuaire-pontmain.com
Jesus wants His heart to be touched… for the flames of His love and mercy to penetrate and melt the hearts of men grown cold in these last centuries through philosophies which have led Him far away from His Creator.
And thus, even against our will, the thought rises in the mind that now those days draw near of which Our Lord prophesied: "And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold" (Matt. 24:12). —POPE PIUS XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor, Encyclical on Reparation to the Sacred Heart, n. 17
How? How would His "last effort" to convert mankind before a great purification of the earth be achieved?
In a powerful vision, St. Gertrude the Great (d. 1302) was allowed to rest her head near the wound in the Saviour’s breast. As she listened to His beating Heart, she asked St. John, the beloved Apostle, how it was that he, whose head had reposed on the breast of the Savior at the Last Supper, kept complete silence about the throbbing of the adorable Heart of his Master in his writings. She expressed regret to him that he had said nothing about it for our instruction. The saint replied to her:
My mission was to write for the Church, still in its infancy, something about the uncreated Word of God the Father, something which of itself alone would give exercise to every human intellect to the end of time, something that no one would ever succeed in fully understanding. As for the language of these blessed beats of the Heart of Jesus, it is reserved for the last ages when the world, grown old and become cold in the love of God, will need to be warmed again by the revelation of these mysteries. —Legatus divinae pietatis, IV, 305; "Revelationes Gertrudianae", ed. Poitiers and Paris, 1877


THE LANGUAGE OF THESE BLESSED BEATS
The image of Jesus pointing to His Sacred Heart is one that has spread throughout the world. Statues, icons, and paintings adorn the walls of many cathedrals and churches, not to mention many of our grandparents homes. But as the morning star heralds the dawn, this image was the herald of a language—a message timed by God towards the latter days to move the hearts of men. That message is the revelation of Divine Mercy through St. Faustina, calculated to become known in our times. The Sacred Heart, one could say, has passed through the prism of St. Faustina, and exploded into a language of light and love. The last effort of God is the message of Mercy, and more specifically, the Feast of Divine Mercy:
Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near. —Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, n. 965

THE SAVIOR’S FOUNTAIN
Isaiah prophesied that, before the ‘day’ of justice there would be offered to mankind ‘the savior’s fountain.’ That is, the Heart of Jesus.

For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain… From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls. Speak to the whole world about My mercy.—Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, n.1485, 1190
And so, my brothers and sisters, you who have been waiting together in The Bastion of our Mother’s Heart—do you hear the essence of your mission now?
Speak to the whole world about My mercy.
You too are now part of God’s "last effort". Whether we live to see the Era of Peace is of none of our concern. Right now the earth is trembling, literally—a sign that the "fault-line" in the souls of men is reaching critical mass. Soon, the hearts of mankind will be rent open, and we will be called to be vessels through which the mercy of God will be poured into those who would receive it.
The day is coming—the last effort of God…

When the Church, in the days immediately succeeding her institution, was oppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars, a young Emperor saw in the heavens a cross, which became at once the happy omen and cause of the glorious victory that soon followed. And now, to-day, behold another blessed and heavenly token is offered to our sight-the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising from it and shining forth with dazzling splendor amidst flames of love. Herein must all hopes be set, from hence must the salvation of men be sought and expected. —POPE LEO XIII,Annum Sacrum, Encyclical on Consecration to the Sacred Heart, n. 12
May it come about… [that] the Sacred Heart of Jesus and its sweet and sovereign kingdom be extended more widely to all in every part of the world: the kingdom "of truth and life; the kingdom of grace and holiness; the kingdom of justice, love and peace." —POPE PIUS XII, Haurietis Aquas, Encyclical on Devotion to the Sacred Heart, n. 126

FURTHER READING:
I strongly recommend to all my readers, old and new, to read the following two items regarding this time of preparation:




    PUBLISHED IN: DAILY JOURNALTIME OF GRACE | ON JANUARY 19TH, 2010 | COMMENTS OFF

    Monday, January 18, 2010

    WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 1961: VISION OF A MOST ASTONISHING "CUADRO LUMINOSO"





    On that day, the children had a very mysterious vision. "It is something like a red light or fire, that forms a frame inside of which there is a triangle, an eye and a notice. Letters also are written, unknown, in an Eastern or Arabic style, as it were. . ." (Cuarderno major of the Fathers Luis and Ramon Maria Andreu, S.J., pp. 12 and 13).
     

    "Yahweh," the Name of God par excellence, such is certainly the translation of the inscription that was incomprehensible to the girls and which they saw inside the triangle. We are now before the third visible manifestation of the Glory of God: the revelation of His Name. This vision was unique in the history of the great Marian apparitions, even in the history of Christian spirituality and hagiography. Characteristic of a non-anthropomorphic theophany, it refers us back to the event of the Burning Bush, to the revelation of the Judeo-Christian God, One and Triune.
     

    "Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God" (Matt 5:8) . . . How, on this 21st of June, not point out also the connection between the children and the liturgical Feast of the Patron Saint of youth celebrated on that day: St Aloysius Gonzaga, honored precisely for his total purity of heart? (cf Mt 5:8)?
     

    After the frame of fire disappeared, the Angel came.
    [Excerpt from 'Garabandal' Book, page 31.]


    What's different here from Fatima is that these manifestations of God came before Our Lady's first appearance . . . There were many signs at Fatima each time Our Lady appeared: the lightning; the murmuring or buzzing noise as Our Lady spoke; the branches on the holm tree bent down where Mother Mary stood; a sound like a rocket as She left with the branches leaning eastward; a little cloud going eastward, that the people saw, as Our Lady left; and this is not counting all the signs of October 13, 1917, which we will comment on later . . .
    Deacon John