THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT: NO ESCAPE

No one will escape The Punishment, as none of us escaped The Warning. Directly from God, it will encompass everyone. Both the bad and the good will suffer, for in some way we are all tainted by sin. The punishment will invade every corner of the planet. Many will die, and Our Lady recommends that all should beg God's forgiveness, and that all Catholics should go to confession. Obviously this means that when The Punishment is imminent, there will still be time for all to confess. We will know beforehand that it is coming. All should be ready to enter eternity in God's grace, should they suffer death in The Punishment.

The Punishment will not therefore be so selective as was, for instance, the punishment of God in Egypt on the first-born, when the sons of the Egyptians died and those of the Israelites were "passed over." In The Punishment, both good and bad will die. No indication whatsoever is given about how many, or what proportion of the world's population will survive. But the coming of the "Era of Peace" afterwards assures us that
some of us will pass through the fire of The Punishment unharmed. It would seem that the ones who are spared, whether they heeded The Warning and The Miracle or not, will certainly be finally converted by the trial of The Punishment. Every person who emerges from it alive will have no alternative but a new life. The old world will be gone. The results of the world's sinfulness will appear so abhorrent that people will want to reject sin completely. A New Pentecost will then become possible. The Era of Peace will blossom, the goodness of the Immaculate Heart of Mary will flourish in every heart in "triumph." The whole world will come into a reunited Church, and all nations will be at peace. If The Punishment comes, no one will escape it, but neither will anyone who lives after it fail to share the blessed peace that will renew the world.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT WILL NOT BE THE END OF THE WORLD

The Punishment will not be the end of the world, nor will it be a war. The Blessed Virgin told the visionaries of Garabandal that The Punishment will not be a war. It will be directly from God. It will not be humanity's own doing. But The Punishment cannot mean the end of the world either, since there is an unconditional promise from Our Lady
of Fatima that a "certain period of peace" will be given to the world after the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart, the consecration of Russia to that Heart, and Russia's conversion. Conchita did state that we would know, when we experience The Warning that we would be entering into the end of time. But that may not mean the end of time is very near in human estimation, nor would necessarily imply that The Punishment itself will end time. After all, the Era of peace is surely coming. Perhaps her statement might better be interpreted to mean that The Warning, The Miracle, and The Punishment will together usher in the final age of the world.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT WILL BE THE LAST

The Punishment will be the last of the punishments before the Era of Peace. God's work to bring the world to Himself will be done. Before the Gospel could be "preached to all the nations" "wars and rumors of wars" had to come, and many other calamities take place. The Warning and The Miracle had to happen to show the whole world that Jesus is Lord, so that all would abandon the errors which up to now have kept so many from embracing the Gospel and the Church. Only by The Warning, The Miracle, and either the threat of, or actual infliction of, the Punishment, could the world, the whole world, be made ready for the acceptance of the Good News of Jesus and His Way. For one hundred and fifty years the Mother of God had shown us that our afflictions were connected with our sins; we were being "punished" for them, both in this life and the next. The Punishment, if it comes, will be the utterly convincing evidence that her words have been true all along. There will no longer be any need for further punishment from God. The Punishment will effect a transformation of the world that will forever alter history. It will no longer be the way it was. The whole world will worship God and His Son Jesus Christ, come into the Church, and live lives worthy of Him. An era, a "certain period" of peace, will be given to the world.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT WILL PURIFY THE EARTH

The Punishment will purify the earth. Whether or not The Punishment actually occurs, the "Triumph" of the Immaculate Heart of Mary will unfailingly emerge "in the end," and an "Era of Peace" will be given to the world. The "Triumph" means that hearts on earth will become like hers in heaven---free from sin. Peace in our hearts, like the peace in her Heart in heaven, will bring peace to the whole world. If The Punishment does not come, it will be because the world, through The Warning and The Miracle, will have repented, receiving contritely the gift of "The Triumph" in the forgiveness of Jesus. Thus "there will be peace," and the earth will be purified, without The Punishment.

But if we do not heed The Warning or let the lesson of The Miracle touch us deeply enough to give up our sin, then God's only and last recourse is The Punishment. He Himself will directly intervene, after a century and a half of tearful pleadings from Our Blessed Mother have failed to move us, and will remove sin from the face of the earth by removing sinners themselves from it. By His patient delay of the drastic surgery implied in The Punishment, He mercifully gives more time to those who are "on their way to perdition," but He cannot wait any longer, since it has become evident that their hearts are so hardened that the Holy Spirit will never be able to convert them. Since the danger is very great that if their course is not terminated they will "take many souls with them," then, "for the sake of the elect, the time will be shortened," and The Punishment will come to them to take them away.

God could have acted in such a manner at any time in history if He wished. There is even an Old Testament story describing how the world became so sinful that God "repented" that He had made men, and He sent a flood that drowned everyone except His faithful servant, Noe, and his family, and animals of every kind. It teaches the people of God that
there is a limit to the lawlessness and degradation that the Lord will permit. God is holy and He is sovereign ruler; all creation must acknowledge Him. We must live according to His commandments, otherwise we will destroy ourselves and encounter the mysterious
"wrath" of God.

Perhaps, with The Punishment, the story of Noe will acquire an apocalyptic significance that the author never envisioned, for The Punishment, like the Flood, may come upon an unheeding and scornful world to destroy its evil, while those who have cleansed their heart of sin and trusted in the Lord's mercy will be saved.

The survivors of The Punishment will be protected by the Lord for the Era of Peace, when the dove of the Holy Spirit will announce to us that the flood of wickedness has passed, and we can begin to live life anew, in the time of conversion when "all will love Our Hearts." In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, all men and women on earth will learn to be faithful, and they will fill the earth with love.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT: DIRECTLY FROM GOD

The Punishment will come directly from God. This is no doubt the most troublesome of all the prophecies of Garabandal, or for that matter, of all the Marian prophecies concerning the "punishment." It is easier to explain "punishment" if we construe it to be the result, even on the corporate or global level, of our loveless and selfish behavior. But if we believe in the all-merciful God who is Father, and that His love for us is unlimited and unconditional, then how could He directly punish the whole world in a dreadful way?

The answer to that question is really beyond us, yet somehow The Punishment is compatible with His mercy. What even the best of theologians cannot understand or explain, we cannot hope to elucidate with absolute clarity. Some will reject this part of the prophecies about The Punishment, seeing it as too harsh to blend with the image of a
merciful Father whom they know by personal experience. Yet The Warning we have just suffered has already accorded the Garabandal message irrefutable confirmation. The Warning itself was a direct intervention from God. We all felt it by immediate experience, and it was "like" a punishment. It was a momentary anticipation of The Punishment, and warns us what The Punishment will be like, if it comes, as a result of our sins. Because of our sin, we felt the searing pain of The Warning. The Punishment will be the full measure of The Warning. Both Warning and Punishment demonstrate that God acts to save the world, and that in this instance, He is intervening directly to tear us away from our sins. The Warning is the first world-wide intervention in history in which God directly warns each one of us of final and eternal punishment to come if we do not repent of our sin. The second world-wide intervention, The Punishment, flows from The Warning and is directly connected with it. Both come directly from God. So The Warning itself should convince us that God can, and does, and will directly punish the world for its sin if it does not change. The Punishment will mean change for us all, for it will be a catastrophe designed to change all of us. For some, it may mean eternal perdition, which they will freely choose in defiance of the Lord's insistence on repentance. Others will be saved "as if by fire." For the whole world, it will mean the end of and age, the "end of the times." The earth will never be the same again.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT AFTER THE MIRACLE

The Punishment, if it comes, will take place after The Miracle. Unlike the time-span between The Warning and The Miracle (these will occur less than a year apart), there is no indication given of how long the period will be after The Miracle occurs until the time of The Punishment, if the latter does come. Punishment will not happen if people do as Mary asks, amending their lives. Punishment can be delayed and moderated by good deeds and prayer. But it will ultimately descend upon us if there is no sincere amendment on our part. God, in His compassion, realizes we need time for the message to reach us. Even after we have heard, it takes time for us to comprehend and respond. So He gives us more time --- centuries if necessary --- to make up our minds. After all, the last choice we make is irrevocable: heaven or hell. Our Father will give us time to listen and to heed, to decide and to act. The time of delay will end only when it is no longer a mercy to hold off punishment. As a consequence, we will have time between The Miracle and The Punishment, just as He has given us time between The Warning and The Miracle. If we use the interval well that He is offering us, and accept the mercy of God calling us to repentance, The Punishment will never come. It will, however, arrive swiftly, if the world, having felt The Warning and seen The Miracle, decides not to change at all. It will then become unthinkable for Him not to intervene, in order to prevent that "even the elect" not be saved.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE PUNISHMENT

Chapter Four

The Punishment

As the second year of the apparitions at Garabandal began, on June 19th and 20th, 1962, while a novena in preparation for the Feast of Corpus Christi was in progress, the four children were led alone into the darkness outside the village. They instructed the people not to follow them. Shortly thereafter the townspeople heard them screaming with terror, pleading in prayer for God to spare the people, especially the children. Whenever the
people prayed, led by the priest conducting the novena, the wailing diminished, but it resumed when they ceased. The girls informed everyone later that they had witnessed "The Punishment" that would come if people, in the end, would refuse to amend their lives. Many years later, Mari Loli, one of the girls, elaborated somewhat on what she
knew of this mysterious calamity, saying that it would be like fire all over the world. Even the seas would be on fire, so that people would have nowhere to flee. The visionaries are still afraid today when they think of what they have seen in this vision. They fear for themselves, for all of us, and especially for their own children, for they are all mothers of their own families now. They are forbidden by the Blessed Virgin, however, to say anything more about it.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE WILL BE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

The Miracle will be for glory of God. God's glory is in our knowing Him as He is, and in our turning to Him in love. We will experience His glory in The Miracle, for we will know His mercy, His unmeasured love for us, His goodness. He who did not spare His only Son for us will let us understand His tender and most merciful love, through The Miracle. It will remind us of all His promises to forgive, to heal, to raise from the dead and to glorify us with His glory. We will also see how wonderful a Mother we have in Mary, and behold how marvelously the glory of God shines in her Assumption. We will comprehend the glory of God in the Church, signified in the people gathered around the mountain in Garabandal. When we return from the mountain, we shall have seen the glory of the Lord, and be eager to sound His glory to all the others. The glory of Sion, the glory of the New Pentecost prayed for by Pope John XXIII as he opened the Second Vatican Council and again by Pope Paul VI when he drew it to a close, will flow over the whole Church and the entire world. "And thus," as Jesus revealed to Conchita, "all will love our hearts."

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE WILL BE A WARNING

The Miracle will be a warning. Once The Miracle happens, the human race must change, or face the most terrible catastrophe the world has ever seen: The Punishment. Blessing as The Miracle will be, it will make evident, even if only by the fact that it will be so stupendous, that this is our last chance. There will not be another miracle like this one. It will be very great because of the great needs of the world. But this time, unless the people heed the message, The Punishment will surely come. Even though an "Era of Peace" finally awaits us, unless the people amend their lives now, The Punishment will come. There will be no escape from it. The Miracle will have set the fuse. Unless we extinguish its burning by repentance, The Punishment will come.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE: SACRAMENTAL

"Filled with the Holy Spirit"

The Miracle will be sacramental. The healings and conversions at Garabandal will come through experiencing The Miracle. It will not be just a spectacle --- something to look at and talk about when we return home. The Miracle will be filled with power, and we who are fortunate enough to behold it will take power home with us. We will be like the witnesses at Pentecost. God will send us home to tell people all over the world of the great mercy and love that He has for us. We will be transformed by the graces of The Miracle into apostles filled with the Holy Spirit, bold with a message that is crucial for the world's salvation.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE WILL CONVERT

The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

The Miracle will convert the whole world. This assertion was made by Our Lord Himself to Conchita. He answered a question of hers about Russia's conversion by assuring her that The Miracle was not only for the "conversion of Russia," but "for the conversion of the whole world," and that "thus, all will love our hearts" (the hearts of Jesus and Mary). It would seem by His words that somehow the Miracle will show us all how closely the hearts of Jesus and Mary are united, as a symbol of the kind of peace ---that should unite our hearts. Perhaps the two hearts on the reverse side of the "Miraculous Medal" were a prophecy as well as a lesson, foretelling an age ahead where all hearts will be reconciled as are the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Reconciliation of hearts is what conversion is all about, and it would seem that all the Marian appearances concern themselves with it. God wants to unite all hearts in His Church. The Miracle will make that plain to everyone, and it will summon us together from the four winds to make it clear that we belong to each other. By the power of The Miracle, we will be bound together in the same fiery love that forges perfect communion between the hearts of Jesus
and Mary.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE: MARIAN

The Miracle will be Marian, that is, it will in some way so assert the glory of the Mother of God that all Christians will know that God is commanding that they give up their objections to her role in the Body of Christ and that they pay her the honor that God Himself gives her. The message of Fatima will be brought into high relief, namely, that only when the world gives the Immaculate Heart of Mary the honor and devotion due her, and only when we consecrate our hearts to that Heart as individuals and as nations, will peace at last spread through the world. Through this great Miracle, all will learn to love "Holy Mary, Mother of God."

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE: ECCLESIAL

Pius XII Saw "Miracle of the Sun"

Handwritten Note Reveals Pope's Experience
By Antonio Gaspari

ROME, NOV. 4, 2008 (Zenit.org).- According to his own testimony, the Pope who declared the dogma of the Assumption saw the "miracle of the sun" four times.

The Miracle will be ecclesial, that is, it will support the truth that through the Body of Christ which is the Church, Head and members, all graces come, and that all men and women are called not only to follow Jesus personally, but also to enter His Church and to submit to its discipline, teaching and sacraments. For this reason, The Miracle will happen in connection with a "great ecclesiastical event." God's timing is the Church's timing, and the Church's authority will be reinforced and authenticated by the fact that the "ecclesiastical event" and The Miracle will occur on the same day, perhaps at the very same instant. Also, the Pope, the visible head of the Church, will see The Miracle from wherever he is.

[To be continued . . .]

MORE PROPHECY FROM MARK MALLETT:

Mark Mallett

—Spiritual Food For Thought—

The Great Storm

We cannot hide the fact that many threatening clouds are gathering on the horizon. We must not, however, lose heart, rather we must keep the flame of hope alive in our hearts. For us as Christians the true hope is Christ, the Father’s gift to humanity. … Only Christ can help us build a world in which justice and love reign. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Catholic News Agency, January 15th, 2009

THE Great Storm has arrived at the shores of humanity. It is soon to pass over the whole world. For there is a Great Shaking needed to awaken this humanity.

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Lo! Calamity stalks from nation to nation; a great storm is unleashed from the ends of the earth. (Jeremiah 25:32)

As I pondered over the terrible disasters which are unfolding rapidly around the world, the Lord brought to my attention the response to them. After 911 and the Asian Tsuanmi; after Hurricane Katrina and the wildfires of California; after the cyclone in Mynamar and the earthquake in China; in the midst of this current economic storm—there has barely been any lasting recognition that we need to repent and turn from evil; no real connection that our sins are manifesting in nature itself (Rom 8:19-22). In an almost astonishing defiance, nations continue to legalize or protect abortion, redefine marriage, genetically modify and clone creation, and pipe pornography into the hearts and homes of families. The world has failed to make the connection that without Christ, there is chaos.

Yes… CHAOS is the name of this Storm.

Is it not clear that it will take much more than a hurricane to awaken this generation? Has God not been fair and patient, long-suffering and merciful? Has he not sent us wave after wave of prophets to call us back to our senses, back to Himself?

Though you refused to listen or pay heed, the LORD has sent you without fail all his servants the prophets with this message: Turn back, each of you, from your evil way and from your evil deeds; then you shall remain in the land which the LORD gave you and your fathers, from of old and forever. Do not follow strange gods to serve and adore them, lest you provoke me with your handiwork, and I bring evil upon you. But you would not listen to me, says the LORD, and so you provoked me with your handiwork to your own harm. (Jeremiah 25:4-7)

LIFE IS SACRED!

The biblical formula of chastisement is the "sword, famine, and pestilence" (cf. Jer 24:10)—the very labor pains Christ spoke of—and the central judgments of Revelation. Once again, China comes to mind… how long can that nation endure its man-made and natural disasters before there is no room left for its people to be displaced? Let it be a warning to Canada and America, the lands of plenty where water, land, and crude oil abound. You cannot abort your children and lead the world in destroying the traditional family without reaping what you sow!

Is anyone listening?

I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man’s conversion, that he may live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! (Ezekiel 33:11)

The end of this era is upon us. It is a merciful judgment, for God will not allow man to completely annihilate himself, nor His Church.

Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster upon disaster! See it coming! An end is coming, the end is coming upon you! See it coming! The time has come, the day dawns. The climax has come for you who dwell in the land! The time has come, near is the day: a time of consternation, not of rejoicing… See, the day of the LORD! See, the end is coming! Lawlessness is in full bloom, insolence flourishes, violence has risen to support wickedness. It shall not be long in coming, nor shall it delay. The time has come, the day dawns. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath shall be upon all the throng… (Ezekiel 7:5-7, 10-12)

Can you not hear it in the wind? A new Era of Peace is dawning, but not before this one ends.

ANATOMY OF THE STORM

Based on the Early Church Fathers and ecclesiastical writers, and illumined by authentic private revelation and the words of our contemporary Popes, there are four distinct periods to the Storm which has arrived. How long these phases last is something we cannot be certain of, or even if they will be completed within this generation. However, events are unfolding very rapidly and I feel the Lord telling me that time is very, very short, and that it is urgent that we continue to stay awake and pray.

Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets… I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away… ((Amos 3:7; John 16:1)

FIRST PHASE

The First Phase is part of history already: the time of forewarning. Particularly since 1917, Our Lady of Fatima forecast that this Storm would come if there were not sufficient repentance by earth’s inhabitants. St. Faustina further wrote words Jesus gave her, that He was "prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners" and that this was a "sign for the end times." God has continued to send our Lady, who has either spoken to us directly, or through chosen individuals: mystics, seers, and other souls exercising the ordinary prophetic office, who have warned of an approaching Storm which will conclude a time of grace.

The world is now experiencing collectively the first winds of this Great Storm. Jesus called these the "labor pains" (Luke 21:10-11). They do not signal the end of time, but rather the approaching end of an era. This part of the Storm will grow in ferocity before the Eye of the Storm reaches humanity. Nature is going to shake us, and worldly comfort and security will fall to the ground like figs from a tree (Jeremiah 24:1-10).

SECOND PHASE

With calamity having struck many regions of the world, the Eye of the Storm will suddenly appear overhead. The winds will cease, silence will cover the earth, and a great light will shine into our hearts. In an instant, everyone will see themselves as God sees their souls. This is the great Day of Mercy which will offer the world an opportunity to repent and receive the unconditional love and mercy of God. The response of the world at this time will determine the severity of the Third Phase.

THIRD PHASE

This period will bring about the decisive end of this era and the purification of the world. The Eye of the Storm will have passed, and the great winds will begin again in a fury. I believe an Antichrist will arise during this phase, and for a brief time he will eclipse the Sun, bringing a great darkness over the earth. But Christ will break through the clouds of evil and put the "lawless one" to death, destroying his earthly dominion, and establishing a reign of justice and love.

But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come… sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bring in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day. —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Fragments, Book V, Ch. 28, 2; from The Early Church Fathers and Other Works, published in 1867.

FOURTH PHASE

The Storm will have purified the earth of evil and, for an extended period of time, the Church will enter into a time of rest, unprecedented unity, and peace (Rev 20:4). Civilization will be simplified and man will be at peace with himself, with nature, and above all with God. Prophecy will be fulfilled, and the Church will be prepared to receive her Bridegroom at a time appointed and known only by the Father. This return of Christ in glory will be preceded by a final satanic rising, a deception of the nations by "Gog and Magog" to conclude the Era of Peace.

When the tempest passes, the wicked man is no more; but the just man is established forever. (Prov 10:25)

TIME OF PREPARATION IS ENDING

Brothers and sisters, as the Holy Father said above, a storm is here, I believe, the Great Storm anticipated for centuries. We must be ready for what is coming without losing hope. Simply, that means living in a state of grace, fixing our eyes upon His love and mercy, and doing the Lord’s will moment by moment as if today were our last day on earth. God has arranged, for those who have responded in this time of grace, places of refuge and spiritual protection which, I believe, will also become great centers of evangelization as well. Again, this time of preparation which is drawing to a close is not a self-help manual for self-preservation but is to prepare us for proclaiming the Name of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, something the Church is called to do at all times, in every age, and in every place.

Two very clear goals remain ahead of us: The first is to gather as many souls as possible into the Ark before the Third Phase; the second is to completely surrender with childlike trust to God, who watches over and cares for His Church as a Groom for His Bride.

Be not afraid.

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. (Hos 8:7)

FURTHER READING:

• Eye of the Storm

Published in: DAILY JOURNAL, THE GREAT TRIALS | on January 17th, 2009 |

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE: EUCHARISTIC

The Miracle will be Eucharistic. The emphasis on devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist is so strong at Garabandal that a Eucharistic theme for The Miracle would be in perfect consonance with everything that happened in the village during the apparitions. We can also expect a Eucharistic event because it has been revealed that The Miracle will take
place at 8:30 on a Thursday evening (about the same time as the Last Supper), and that on the day of The Miracle the Church will be celebrating the Feast of a young Martyr of the Eucharist. We must be ready to receive an unmistakable proof from God, through The Miracle, that the Holy Eucharist is the center of our life in the Church, and that Jesus is truly present to us in the Eucharist, in His living Flesh. We are to avail ourselves of this Sacrament as frequently as we can.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE: GOD'S MERCY

The Miracle will be a clear revelation of God's mercy. We must prepare ourselves for this, so that when it happens we will fully grasp it significance and absorb its power. Even now we can begin to meditate fruitfully on the information already offered us by Our Lady about The Miracle. These hints are for our benefit, so that we will be more ready to fully appreciate The Miracle when it happens.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE WILL BE A REVELATION

The "Pines"

The Miracle will be a revelation. The Marian visitations, like biblical events, are
revelatory in every respect. They convey a message, not only in the verbal communications of the Mother of God, but in the events themselves, the persons
involved, the circumstances, the surroundings. The symbolism, for instance, of The Spring at Lourdes obviously presents a Baptismal message, a revelation that reinforces the Church's teaching on that Sacrament. God's healing power is clearly evident in the many miracles that occur at the grotto. The Rock of Lourdes is the Church in which Mary dwells and from which the living waters flow, giving life to the whole world. Study of the Marian events uncovers so much meaning hidden away in what at first glance may appear inconsequential.

[To be continued . . .]

FROM MARK MALLETT: - SPIRITUAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT -

Mark has written another great insight about the Illumination (The Warning) which I thought you might like to read:

The Present and Coming Transfiguration

Carl Bloch, The Transfiguration

First published June 13th, 2007.

WHAT is this great grace that God will give to the Church in The Coming Pentecost? It is the grace of the Transfiguration.

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

But if God gives His secrets to His prophets, it is for them, at the appointed time, to announce them. So too, Christ has been revealing in these days His plans, just as He did prior to His Transfiguration.

The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised… If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it... Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. (9:22-24, 28)

I have written extensively here about the many signs of a present and coming persecution of the Church. But before that, I believe the Church will experience, for a brief moment, an interior transfiguration of the soul, an "illumination of conscience."

As he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. (29)

Those who have heeded the call to "prepare" in these days will, I believe, see their soul in an anticipated union with God (as well as those things which are present obstacles to that union. This will occur for everyone on earth at that time.) At the same time, we will also be given the prophetic understanding of what is to come, and the strength to persevere in it—symbolized by the prophet Elijah, and Moses, the fearless leader of the Israelites:

And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. (30-31)

For those in the Church who have been less prepared, and those in the world who have fallen into a heavy sleep of sin, the light of this illumination will be both painful and confusing.

Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him… Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah" — not knowing what he said. (32-33)

THE MOMENT OF DECISION

The illumination of souls will be for a small number in the Church like a "new" Pentecost, releasing new charisms, holy boldness, and Apostolic zeal, while infusing at the same time a general understanding of the coming Passion. For others, it will be a moment of decision: to either accept the sovereignty of Christ, and the authority of His Church built upon Peter, the Rock—or to deny it. In essence, to choose whether or not to listen to the Father speaking through the Holy Spirit. It will be a time of evangelization when the Church will make a "last call" to this present age to heed the Good News.

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" (35)

What a moment this will be! The world will be turned upside down, and everything hidden in its pockets will fall to the ground. How much sin and rebellion will then be picked up and put back into the soul is dependent, in part, on free will… and contingent upon the intercessory prayer of the Church during this present time of grace.

It also seems to me that this Transfiguration has already begun in many souls—a slow awakening—and will culminate in this single event. I like to think of the Triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem as the peak of this Illumination of Conscience when there is a joyful recognition by the many that Jesus is the Messiah. At the same time, of course, there were also those who began to plot His death…

This will not be the final nor definitive coming of the Holy Spirit. It will be but the beginning of an outpouring of the Spirit which will culminate in the Second Pentecost—the beginning of a new and universal Era of Peace.

The internal experiences of several 20th century mystics describe the pneumatic coming as a new presence of the Holy Spirit in the human spirit revealed exponentially at the threshold of the third millennium. —Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, The Splendor of Creation, p. 80

The young have shown themselves to be for Rome and for the Church a special gift of the Spirit of God… I did not hesitate to ask them to make a radical choice of faith and life and present them with a stupendous task: to become "morning watchmen" at the dawn of the new millennium. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millenio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12)

FURTHER READING

• Paralyzed by Fear—Part II

THE WARNING: THE MIRACLE

Only one person has seen The Miracle, in vision. His name was Father Luis Andreu, a Jesuit seminary professor who came to the village in 1961 less than a week before the Feast of the Assumption. He never returned home from his visit to examine the situation. He was unexpectedly swept into the children's vision of Our Lady, and then caught up by himself into the experience of the coming Miracle. Of course, this convinced him of the authenticity of the apparitions. His heart was so full of joy that it overcame him. On the way back to the seminary, in the early morning hours of the next day, he quietly expired. He did not live to describe The Miracle.

The Blessed Virgin assured the children that "nothing bad would happen" on the day of The Miracle. Presumably this is an assurance that no one else will die from seeing it, as Father Luis did. But his experience of such joy and the remarks he made afterwards about what he saw, taken together with statements by the other visionaries which repeat what Mary told them about The Miracle, reveals that it will be a glorious manifestation of God's love and mercy for us all.

Millions will be able to see it on that day, for Garabandal is perched among hills forming a broad natural amphitheater well able to accommodate the vast multitude which will journey to that remote place when it happens. Somehow, despite the fairly primitive circumstances, their needs will be provided for. A great assembly will converge on the village from everywhere, and all who manage to reach its environs will behold the same vision of joy that sent Father Luis to heaven.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: TOMORROW

To be read as though the Warning had just come . . .

Chapter Three

The Miracle

Since we have not yet experienced The Miracle, we know only what the Blessed Virgin told us about it. She has revealed enough for us to prepare for this world-shaking occurrence, which will take place at Garabandal within a year of The Warning. We can therefore expect it to happen soon, since we have already felt and seen The Warning. The Miracle is only a short time away from us.

Its exact date is not known, except by Conchita, who knows the day, the date, and the year. She has been forbidden by the Blessed Virgin to disclose it until eight days before it is to happen. At that moment she will announce it to the whole world. She has never revealed the date to anyone.

For twenty years we have waited for the "greatest miracle the Lord has ever worked for the world," during which "the sick" who are at the site "will be cured" and the "unbelievers will be converted." This long waiting-period strikingly distinguishes Garabandal from Fatima, where the predicted miracle of the sun was worked during the course of those apparitions. Also, there was no promise of wholesale healing and conversion at Fatima, but at Garabandal this promise is made.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: GARABANDAL

Garabandal: 1961

Lucy of Fatima has testified that Our Lady appeared to her a "seventh time" at the Cova da Iria, where the sun had whirled in the sky. Our Lady of the Rosary was fulfilling a promise she had made to her during the apparitions of 1917, when there were the three of them, Lucy, Francisco, and Jacinta. But now the latter two had gone "to heaven," as the Lady had promised they would, and Lucy was leaving Fatima for school and a new life. She visited each of the sacred places where they had met their heavenly visitors, the Angel of Peace and Our Lady. It was night, and that very morning, before the sun rose, she would leave Fatima for good. When she at last reached the "Cova" Our Lady kept her promise. Lucy saw her there a seventh time. It was June 18th, 1921.

Forty years later to the very day, on the evening of June 18th, 1961, the apparitions of Garabandal began. As at Fatima and Paris, an angel prepared the way. In this case he identified himself as Saint Michael the Archangel. Soon Our Lady of Mount Carmel arrived, on July 2nd, the Feast of the Visitation.

It was time to remind us of the message again. After forty years of tumult in history and in the life of the Church, Fatima was failing to keep the interest of the new generation. Our Lady of Mount Carmel repeats herself with dramatic intensity in a little village in the hill country of Spain. She calls these "the last warnings," and foretells catastrophe if, in this, the final hour, the world still refuses to listen.

The Garabandal apparitions continued for four years in a great profusion of phenomena never seen before in previous visitations she had made. At last the visions became less frequent, until they ceased in 1965. A final message was given in that year to the world, again on that mysterious date, June 18th. Some estimate that during those years there were about 2000 meetings between Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the four young seers: Conchita, Loli, Jacinta, and Mary Cruz. The Lady was very beautiful, according to their reports, and quite motherly, kissing the children on each occasion that she visited them, especially whenever she bid them goodbye. She taught them to pray, guiding them in the recitation of the Rosary, chided them about their conduct, chatted, and played with them
as a mother with her young children, and she even allowed them to play with the Infant Jesus, whom she frequently carried with her. She affirmed in various ways those doctrines and devotions that would shortly come under attack or be abandoned, such as the devotion to herself that had long been traditional, love for the Eucharist and visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the importance of prayer, the validity and power of blessings, particularly of religious articles, which she kissed and gave back to their owners to take home. She also stressed the importance of frequent, even daily reception of Holy Communion, the power and dignity of priests and the Mass, the necessity of obedience to Church authority (emphasized as a key point), and belief in and reliance on the ministry of angels and saints. Above all, she repeated the injunction to repent of our sins and seek forgiveness, especially in confession. She recommended we perform much penance, and
make many sacrifices. She said we should sacrifice ourselves more. She warned of
punishment to come, worse than any that had yet been experienced, if we did not amend our lives.

Many all over the world received the faith to believe in the visions and the message of Garabandal, and sincerely reformed their lives. The religious articles carried from town to town after having been "kissed" by the vision wrought healings and conversions.

For those who felt Our Lady's kiss touch them in the power of her love, the reality of the appearances and the importance of the message have never been in doubt.

But Our Lady of Mount Carmel had also revealed that confusion would assail the
Church, and that "in the end, few would believe." This statement of hers seems to have been amply fulfilled at the time we are writing this book (1982). It appears that all the visitations and the messages of Mary have been practically forgotten or are ignored by most Catholics, including the clergy. Until The Warning stuck us, confronting us relentlessly with the truth of her words, we seem to have put them all aside as past and pointless history.

The Warning pulls the veil of Satan's deception away from our eyes. God now demands that we listen. Up to now we have not chosen to do so, especially when Mary has called on us to change our lives. The Warning is God's mercy to us, showing us that we must change, we must repent, we must listen --- or we perish.

The finality of the Garabandal series of apparitions is underlined by her words to the visionaries, "You are now in the last warnings!" Garabandal recapitulates all the previous Marian apparitions as it focuses in on the "end of the times." Her self-designation there as Our Lady of Mount Carmel digs back into history over 730 years to her meeting with Saint Simon Stock. She gave him the Brown Scapular, since then a traditional symbol associating salvation with her protection. Guadalupe (Mexico: 1531) presents her as the one who crushes the serpent's head. Her intercession releases grace for world conversion. The Miraculous Medal given in 1830 depicts her as "Mary, conceived without sin," and
again recommends seeking graces from her intercession in order to battle the sinful times we were then entering. LaSalette in 1846, Lourdes in 1858, Fatima in 1917 each explicitly identify sin as the source of the "troubles" the Virgin predicted to Saint Catherine Laboure would afflict the "whole world." When she begins to appear again at Garabandal, she reminds us of all the lessons she taught in foregoing ages, and then applies them precisely to current evils soon to infect the Church's life. The high point of these encounters at the tiny mountain village of Garabandal is a mid-night rendezvous in 1962 between Conchita and the Archangel Michael, who gives her Holy Communion in the street, in pitch darkness. It is July 18th, 1962, the very anniversary of Saint Catherine
Laboure's first visit with the Blessed Virgin in 1830. The Eucharist is visible on her
extended tongue and luminous, so that the bystanders, huddled around her in the dark, can see the miraculous host. Again Mary reiterates the teaching that the Eucharist is the light that conquers the darkness engulfing the world, repeating what had been indicated to Saint Catherine Laboure, brought to the altar in the brightly illuminated chapel at midnight.

[To be continued . . .]

THE WARNING: FATIMA

Fatima: 1917 May 13 to October 13, the thirteenth of each month

Again it is to children that the Virgin reaches out, on this occasion, in Fatima, Portugal. An angel first visits them in 1916, to prepare their hearts to commune with the Mother of God. When the Lady arrives, brighter than the sun in her beauty, she introduces them into the secret of her Immaculate Heart, which she offers as the solution to the problems the world is suffering. In her Heart there is no sin, and therein lies the victory that she predicts, "My Immaculate Heart will triumph!" She points out to the children (and to us) the consequences of sin, and shows them "Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go." This vision displays to their innocent eyes a sea of fire in which they behold the damned. A dire prophecy follows foretelling what will happen on earth if people will not amend their lives: famine, wars and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father, the martyrdom of many good people, and even the annihilation of some nations. Russia will continue to spread her errors throughout the world. But, she asserts with authority, "If people will do as I ask, there will be peace." She declared to the children that the peace of the world has been confided into her hands. And, despite what may befall humanity if we refuse to listen she announces that, "In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and an Era of Peace will be given to the world."

Instead of a spring such as she left for us at Lourdes, "Our Lady of the Rosary" (for that is how she identifies herself) promises, months ahead of the event, that on October 13th, at the last appearance, she herself will work a great miracle, "so that all will believe." When the day arrives, 70,000 pilgrims are assembled at the "Cova da Iria," a natural amphitheater seemingly designed for such a spectacle. At noon, sun-time, the clouds part after an all-night rainstorm, and every eye is able to view the sun directly without strain. Shafts of rainbow-like light spin from its orb, dazzling and delighting the onlookers. But suddenly the multitude is appalled as the sun seems to lose its moorings in the heavens; it lurches downward, threatening everyone with obliteration. They are convinced it is the
end of the world. Their relief when the sun bounds back to its ordained place in the firmament is beyond expression. But express it they did. There are those still living who were present at that wonder, who continue to render their moving testimony. Not all were professed believers who saw, but even the confirmed skeptics were compelled to speak. The secular and atheistic chronicles of the time recorded in print the witness of those who came to scoff and went home stunned by what had happened at the Cova da Iria.

Fatima is pivotal. It plunges the message of Mary into the sphere of world-wide events. No longer is it only France or some other particular country that receives specific attention. The whole world must listen. In the course of the Second World War, Fatima prophecies were released which, in 1917, had predicted that conflict; soon afterwards the now famous Pilgrim Virgin statues began to travel to every corner of the globe. In the late fifties, the Western World was hearing the message of Fatima from every side. A major motion picture on the subject was distributed. Television programs highlighted the story of Our Lady of Fatima. All waited with anticipation for the "secret" of Fatima to be revealed, for there were tales of a letter sealed with a secret that could not be disclosed until 1960.
[Editors note: The 3rd part of the Secret was revealed by the Vatican on May 13, 2000. Here is the official text: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html ]

By the time the Fatima events had become known throughout the Catholic world, the Second World War was already in progress. No further proof of their authenticity was necessary, for that war had been foretold as a punishment, and we were right in the middle of it. It was clear that we were not amending our lives according to her requests. There was not enough response in prayer and penance to bring about the peace Our Lady of the Rosary had promised, "If people do as I ask." Peace had not come. The war ended with the explosion of two mighty bombs which introduced us into the nuclear age of annihilation. The situation was deteriorating rather than improving, and the moral fabric of society began to disintegrate badly. Great fissures opened up between the "Third World" and the rich nations, and Communism continued to "spread her errors throughout the world."

What did the "Secret of Fatima" contain? [See link to Vatican above. Ed.] The curiosity of so many was disappointed when Pope John XXIII, according to the story, opened the sealed letter from Lucy (the sole remaining visionary of Fatima) in 1960, and chose not to reveal what was written in it. Just a year previously he had announced, on January 25, 1959, the convocation of an Ecumenical Council at the Vatican. As this history making gathering of the world's bishops unfolded, the Fatima "secret" was gradually forgotten, and somehow, despite the solemn exhortation of the Council Fathers to maintain devotion to the Mother of God, and even though Pope Paul VI proclaimed her as "Mother of the Church" (with the immediate acclamation of the Council), not only did devotion to the Blessed Mother decline; a general disappearance of expressed love for her ensued, as changes in theology, liturgy, and devotional practice flowed from the Council.

[To be continued . . .]

The Warning: Lourdes

Lourdes: 1858

In 1854, Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Four years later, Bernadette Soubirous, a fourteen-year-old girl whose family was the poorest in Lourdes, France, declared she had seen a Lady in the village dump, where she and two other girls had been gathering firewood. The vision had issued from the heart of a massive rock formation next to the river Gave, in a place called "Massabielle," which literally means "old rock." After several visits, the Lady asked Bernadette to return fifteen times, which she faithfully did, whereupon she and the whole world received a message and a gift. The message was simple and direct: "Repentance! Repentance! Repentance!"
The gift was a beautiful clear spring, coming forth from the base of the rock at a point where Bernadette had obediently dug with her bare hands in the mud, for the Lady had directed that she drink at The Spring. The waters soon displayed miraculous healing properties, and pilgrims began their journeys to Lourdes to bathe in the water and drink at The Spring. Ever since The Spring appeared, countless millions have found living waters at this spot where the Blessed Virgin spoke to a little girl of no account. When Bernadette at last asked the beautiful Lady who she was, the vision confessed, with awesome simplicity, "I am the Immaculate Conception!" Free from sin from the beginning, she showed what the Lord wants for us at the end. Her battle is ours, a fight against sin. If we would only repent of our sins, the calamities that threaten the human race would never
occur. There would be healing and peace that issues from the heart of God, like water from The Rock. Like Mary, we dwell within the "old rock" of the Church, the Rock of Christ. The waters flowing from it in the mystery of Baptism would cleanse us and refresh us with grace.

The miracles at Lourdes continue until today to confront us with the message of Mary and the constant availability of God's healing and forgiveness. The Spring is a reminder that the springs of "living water" are waiting for the people of the world, that they may come and "drink freely, without pay." The weight of sin upon us will be lifted, its stain washed away. The message grows more emphatic with Lourdes. Sin is the core of the problem. The world must change. The Darkness is gathering.

[To be continued . . .]