Ever since Jesus ascended into Heaven, Christians have been pondering on how He will come back and some even wonder how He will rescue His people during the tribulation.
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:4-14
Clearly some very faithful people preaching His name during that time will be put to death. Jesus said it and I believe it. But, the rapture is most definitely in the Bible. It’s just the timing that needs to be reviewed.
There are many rapture deceptions out there and many false teachers leading people astray.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Let’s examine the evidence and let Scripture test Scripture on the timing of the rapture as defined by Jesus and the Apostles.
In Rev 20:4 it says “They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
This is one area where it said those who are martyred during the tribulation will rise from the dead. This sounds like a reverse rapture. This reverse rapture is also supported by 1 Thessalonians 4:16 which says “And the dead in Christ will rise first.” If we are raptured before the dead in Christ rise first, then you have to wonder about the words St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and why he would deceive them. St. Paul did not deceive anyone but leaders today are deceiving people. And people are so easily swayed to believe this false doctrine.
Here’s a 10 minute summary presented from https://truthiscalling.us, which is a bible study group that provides livestream attendance on YouTube. Checkout their resources and short studies.
The Rapture Doctrine is a new interpretation of end time events. In this short video, our moderator discusses how this dangerous doctrine came about and examines the Biblical verses that Rapture enthusiasts use to support their false doctrine.
Here are some biblical sources talked about in the video. Always good to read the direct sources and ponder them in your heart.
Lastly in Matt 24:4,9 Jesus says “Take heed that no one deceives you… Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”
Let us pray that we may be counted worthy enough of martyrdom and death only to be raised again in Christ’s presence and to enjoy His Kingship on Earth, maybe even 1,000 years, before the New Jerusalem comes from Heaven.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
Revelation 21:1-3
Our hope as we see these things begin to happen is to lift up our heads fore our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28)
A Signal Grace is an extraordinary grace that moves the soul by the intellect and will.
In 1846 Our Lady appeared in France again. This time in LaSallete to give Melanie a Secret, a warning to the church, and the definition of a new Order in that church. The new Order is to be a help to Christians through the darkness of our present times.
On the 18th of September [1846], the eve of the holy apparition of the Holy Virgin, I was alone, as usual, watching over my master’s cows. Around eleven o’clock in the morning, I saw a small boy walking towards me. I took fright at this, for it seemed to me that everyone ought to know that I avoided company of all kinds. This boy came to me and said: “Little girl, I’m coming with you. I’m from Corps, too.”
Melanie of LaSalette
The two seers of LaSalette are a young boy, Maximin, and a young lady, Melanie. From the description above you can tell that Melanie is somewhat of an introvert and liked to be alone. A life long friendship started that day and the apparition that happened the following day would change their lives forever.
Renew your consecration to my Immaculate Heart. You are mine; you belong to me. At every moment you must be just as I would have you be; at every moment you must do just what I would have you do. Do not be afraid. I will always be near you! I am now preparing you for great things, but little by little as a mother does with her child… Look at neither the newspapers nor television; remain ever close to my Heart in prayer. Nothing else should be of interest or importance to you save living with me, and for me. The Marian Movement of Priests is now born, but it is so frail and small that, in order to grow, it has need of much prayer. You must live only for this. You will find relish and consolation in nothing else.
Marian Movement of Priests, Messages 1-2, July 7-8, 1973
Those were the words that Father Stefano Gobbi recorded when given the mission to start the Marian Movement of Priests. That movement still exists today and continues with a primary focus on the Prayer Cenacles Our Mother asked that all priests, and all families participate in during these final years of the battle of this present darkness.
This battle is not between flesh and blood “but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness.” Ephesians 6:12
“Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your wellbeloved Spouse.” (3x)
Our Catholic Study Session this week takes us into three organizations with a divine mission and purpose for the final days in this present church age; 1) Marian Movement of Priests, 2) Order of the Mother of God, and 3) Corps of Renewal and Charity (CORAC).
Order of the Mother of God
It is NOT the final days of the Earth but a transition between one Church age and another. The next church age will be peaceful, prosperous, and more will be living the Will of God in their lives than at any other time in the past 2,000 years. Clearly to get to that point from where we are today could possibly take a divine intervention, but either way, these organizations were destined to be a part of these times.
We start our research today with a study of what happened in LaSalette France during the 1840s. The full account can be found at https://houseofmaryomd.org. When the lady first appeared she said to Maximin and Melanie,
“Come, my children, fear not, I am here to proclaim to you great news!”
Our Lady of LaSallette
Melanie recounts that the soft and sweet words encouraged her to get closer to the Lady, in front of her and to the right. The Lady began to speak, and from her beautiful eyes tears also started to flow and She continued to weep all the time that She spoke:
“If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I will be compelled to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me down so much I can no longer keep hold of it. For how long a time I have suffered for the rest of you? If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to entreat Him incessantly. And the rest of you, you think little of this. No matter how much you pray, how much you do, you will never be able to repay the suffering I have taken on for you.Those who drive carts cannot speak without putting the name of my Son in the middle. If the harvest is spoiled, it is because of the rest of you. I made you see this last year with the potatoes. You took little account of this. On the contrary, when you found spoiled potatoes, you cursed, and you included the name of my Son. They will continue to go bad; by Christmas there will be none left.If you have wheat, don’t sow it. Whatever you sow, the beasts will eat it, and whatever comes up will fall to dust when you thresh it.A great famine will come. Before the famine comes, children under the age of seven will begin to tremble, and will die in the arms of those who hold them; others will do penance through hunger. The nuts will go bad; the grapes will rot.”
Our Lady of LaSallette
Melanie records in her diary, “At this point I was enthralled with the Lady’s beauty, I ceased to hear her for a time: nevertheless, I saw that she continued to move her lovely lips, as though speaking. Maximin was receiving his Secret.”
In the secret to Maximin the Lady says,
“France has corrupted the universe; one day she will be punished. The Faith will die out in France: three quarters of France will not practice religion anymore, or almost none, the other part will practice it without really practicing it. Then, after [that], nations will convert; the Faith will be rekindled everywhere. A great nation, north of Europe, now Protestant, will be converted; by the support of this nation all the other nations of the world will be converted. Before all that happens, great troubles will arise in the Church, and everywhere. Then, after, our Holy Father the Pope will be persecuted. His successor will be a pontiff that nobody expects. Then, after, a great peace will come, but it will not last long. A beast will come to disturb it.”
Our Lady of LaSallette
Both Maximin and Melanie received secrets from the Lady. When the secret was given to Melanie it contained a stipulation:
“Melanie, what I am about to tell you now will not always be secret. You can publish it in [18]58. The priests, ministers of my Son, the priests by their wicked manner of life, by their irreverence and impiety in celebrating the Holy Mysteries, by their love of money, love of honor and pleasures, priests have become cesspools of impurity. Yes, the sins of priests cry out for vengeance, and vengeance looms over their heads. Woe to those priests and persons consecrated to God, who by their infidelity and wicked lives, are crucifying my Son again!”
Our Lady of LaSalette
It is not certain whether the Lady is referring to priests at that time or in a future generation. Either way, this secret was not well received and many scoffed as if it was just made up by this simple shepherd girl. The Lady does refer to something that rings true today
“God will permit the old serpent to cause strife among the rulers, among all social bodies, and in every family. There will be physical and moral suffering. God will leave people to themselves and will send chastisements that will succeed one after another for more than thirty-five years. Italy will be punished for her ambition in wanting to shake off the yoke of the Lord of lords; hence she will be handed over to war; blood will flow on all sides, churches will be closed or desecrated; priests and religious will be driven out; they will be put to death, and to a cruel death. Some will abandon the Faith, and the number of priests and religious who will separate from the true religion will be enormous; among these there will even be bishops. Let the Pope beware of those who perform marvels, for the time will come when the most astounding prodigies will take place on the ground and in the air. Woe to the princes of the Church who will be busy only to pile riches upon riches, to preserve their authority and to dominate with pride. The Vicar of my Son will have much to suffer, because for a time the Church will be severely persecuted; this will be the time of darkness; the Church will undergo a harrowing crisis. Civil rulers will all have the same design, which will be to abolish and eliminate all religious principles, so as to make room for materialism, atheism, spiritism, and all kinds of vices. At the first stroke of his lightening sword, the mountains and all of nature will tremble with terror, because the lawlessness and the crimes of men will have pierced the vault of heaven. Paris will be burned and Marseilles engulfed; several great cities will be shaken and engulfed by earthquakes; it will be believed that all is lost; only homicides will be seen, only the sound of weapons and blasphemy will be heard. The righteous will suffer much; their prayers, their penance, and their tears will mount to heaven, and all the people of God will ask pardon and mercy, and will ask for my help and intercession. Then Jesus Christ by an act of his justice and his great mercy for the righteous, will command his Angels to put all his enemies to death.Suddenly, all the persecutors of the Church of Jesus Christ and all men given to sin will perish, and the earth will become like a desert. Then there will be peace, reconciliation between God and men; Jesus Christ will be served, adored and glorified; charity will blossom everywhere. The new kings will be the right arm of the Holy Church, which will be strong, humble, pious, poor, zealous, imitating the virtues of Jesus Christ. The Gospel will be preached everywhere, and mankind will make great progress in the Faith, because there will be unity among the workers of Jesus Christ, and men will live in the fear of God.“
Our Lady of LaSalette
Put yourself in the shoes of these two shepherd children. What would you be thinking now? I’ve only included a snippet of what the Lady said, and the full account can be found at https://houseofmaryomd.org.
After giving Melanie the secret, the Lady continues with
“Melanie, what I am going to say to you now will not be a secret. This is the Rule that you will make my daughters, who will be here when the Rule will be approved by the superiors, follow exactly. My Missionaries will follow the same Rule. The members of this Order of the Mother of God will love God above all things and their neighbor as themselves for the pure love of God…“
Our Lady of LaSalette
And so the Rule is described in great detail and the religious included in this order are required to be humble, subservient, unbounded charity, and bear the suffering of everyone. After Melanie receives the Rule she records these thoughts:
“While the Most Holy Virgin was giving me the Rules and speaking about the Apostles of the Last Times, I saw an immense plain, dotted with small hills. My eyes could see everything. I do not know if I saw with my bodily eyes. But it would be closer to the truth if I said that I saw the world beneath me, so that I saw the whole universe and its inhabitants, going about their business, each according to his or her state (not always out of justice, but mainly out of ambition. And by a just chastisement from God, they were at war with themselves). I saw the Apostles of the Last Times in their habit. They had a [black] cassock, not very fine, with fasteners instead of buttons, on the [hooded, pilgrim] cape as well as the cassock. Their hats were rather rough, with [three] well-formed corners. In other places, I saw Disciples of the Apostles of the Last Times. I understood quite clearly that these gentlemen, that I have called the Disciples, were part of the Order. These were unattached men, young people who did not feel themselves called to the priesthood, yet wanted to embrace a Christian life, achieve their salvation by accompanying the Fathers on some of their missions and working with all their might for their own sanctification and for the salvation of souls. They were very holy and very zealous for the glory of God. These Disciples were at the side of the sick who did not wish to confess their sins; and at the side of the poor, the wounded, in attendance at meetings, in prisons, with sects, etc., etc. I even saw some of them eating and drinking with the impious and those who did not wish to hear about God or priests. And these terrestrial angels endeavored, by all imaginable means, to speak to them and lead them to God, and save these poor souls, each one of whom has been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ, who is madly in love with us. Oh! If I could die not once, but a thousand times a day, to win souls for our good Lord! Oh, love, love. I saw that the Sisters were fully occupied in all sorts of spiritual and corporal works, and, like the Missionaries, spread across the earth. With them there were women and girls filled with zeal, who helped the religious carry out their works. These widows and girls were persons who did not wish to bind themselves by religious vows, but desired to serve the Good God, to work out their salvation, and to lead a life apart from the world.”
Melanie of LaSalette
This Rule will include both religious “Apostles” and laity “Disciples”.
Thus is the goal of Sister Anne, “To Promote the Rule of Mary.”
Marian Movement of Priests
Sister Anne has lay members, Theotokans, who help promote the Rule by recording the messages received from various credible and approved apparitions. Their introduction for what happened in Milan Italy is
For twenty-five years, from 1973-1997, an Italian priest named Father Stefano Gobbi said that he received locutions from the Blessed Mother. In these messages She spoke of our times and reiterated the requests she made at Fatima. Although her messages are for everyone, in these messages She particularly asks priests for greater holiness, and to be more active in promoting consecration to her Immaculate Heart. Fr. Gobbi’s spiritual director urged him to write down the messages that came to him. In due time they were published with multiple imprimaturs as thousands of priests, bishops and cardinals eagerly asked for translations in many languages.
The worldwide membership of the M.M.P. now numbers at least 400 cardinals and bishops, more than 100,000 priests, and millions of religious and faithful around the world. They hold weekly prayer cenacles that include praying the Rosary and reading an applicable passage from the Book inspired by the Lady and Fr. Gobbi’s Spiritual Director.
In the early messages, Mother Mary makes it clear the Marian Movement of Priests are the Apostles of the last times and are there to “pray without ceasing.” Above all, though, Mother Mary wants to explain the Word made Flesh in her maternal womb.
Do not let your heart be troubled. Have confidence in Jesus, risen and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He has already prepared a place for each one of you.
Beloved sons, have confidence also in your heavenly Mother. My plan is enclosed within the Heart of the Blessed Trinity.
I am the Virgin of Revelation. In me, the masterpiece of the Father is realized in such a perfect manner, that He can shed on me the light of his predilection. The Word assumes his human nature in my virginal womb, and thus can come to you by means of my true function as Mother. The Holy Spirit draws me, like a magnet, into the depths of the life of love between the Father and the Son, and I become interiorly transformed and so assimilated to Him as to be his Spouse.
Through me, the great plan hidden in the very mystery of God is made manifest. My Son Jesus is the manifestation of this mystery. In Him alone dwells the fullness of the divinity. Through Him, all humanity is led back to full communion with the divine nature itself. Only with Him, can the great plan of the Father be accomplished. Have confidence, beloved sons! In these present times, so dense with darkness and threats, look to your heavenly Mother. I will reveal to your souls the secret of the Word, become flesh in my maternal womb.
I will bring you to the full understanding of Sacred Scripture. Above all, I will read to you the pages of its last book, which you are living. In it, everything is already predicted, even that which must still come to pass. The battle to which I am calling you is clearly described, and my great victory is foretold. For this reason, I repeat: do not fear; have confidence! In my Immaculate Heart, you will experience the joy and the peace that, even today, my risen Son gives to all of you.
MMP Message 198: Have Confidence – April 24, 1980
Mother Mary is preparing the priests to understand the full extent of the Book of Revelation so that they can see and interpret for the rest of God’s people the events unfolding in the world today. But, the real thrust for families that have a heart for the Lord, is to engage in the battle through prayer cenacles.
This decisive time of the purification and the great tribulation is the time of the Holy Spirit. And so I renew again today my invitation to multiply the cenacles of prayer, which I have asked for, with such motherly insistence. Let these cenacles be spread among the priests, my beloved sons. Surrender to me your concerns and your many occupations. Do not give in to the easy seductions of the world. Return to the spirit of simplicity, of humility, of littleness. Recollect yourselves in prayer in the cenacle of my Immaculate Heart, and then you will be able to see, with your own eyes, the wonder of the second Pentecost.
Let children come together in cenacles, because their innocent prayer, united to mine, has today a great power of intercession and reparation. From how many evils you have already been spared, because of the prayer of these little children of mine!
I want to gather young people together in cenacles, so that they may experience my motherly presence, the presence of a Mother who loves them, protects them from the great dangers to which they are exposed, and who leads them with gentle firmness, along the road of goodness, of love, of purity and of holiness.
The cenacles which I have asked of families are a precious gift to them, so that in them they may experience the joy of my presence, the comfort of my assistance, and the help offered against the grave evils which threaten their very existence. In these cenacles, the Holy Spirit will come down to lead you to the second Pentecost.
It is necessary, above all in these last times, that the Church and all humanity be transformed into a continuous cenacle of prayer, made with me and through me. Then the Holy Spirit will come down as a comfort upon the mourning of your days, in which the great trial has already come.
Amidst the mourning of a humanity without God, there will come down the comfort of the Holy Spirit, who will lead the whole world to the perfect glorification of the Heavenly Father, bringing about a new marriage of love between a renewed humanity and its Lord who has created, redeemed and saved it.
Amidst the mourning of a divided, darkened and wounded Church, there will be felt the comfort of the Holy Spirit, who will clothe it with fortitude and wisdom, with grace and holiness, and with love and light, in such a way that it may give its full witness to Jesus, living in it until the end of the world.
Amidst the mourning of souls, made slaves of Satan, immersed in the shadow of sin and death, there will alight the comfort of the Holy Spirit, who will give the light of the presence of God, the life of divine grace, and the fire of love, so that in them the Most Holy and Divine Trinity will be able to take up its permanent dwelling.
Amidst the mourning of the great trial, there will come down the comfort of the divine presence of the Spirit of the Lord, who will lead you to live — with confidence, courage, hope, serenity and love — through the events, which are awaiting you.
Then, in the midst of fire, you will feel his refreshment; in the cold, his heat; in the darkness, his light; in mourning, his comfort; in fear, his courage; in weakness, his strength; in great suffering, his divine solace. And so today, I invite you to unite your prayer to mine, so that the Spirit of the Lord may come down upon you, with all his gifts.
Come, O Holy Spirit.Come, and change the face of the earth. Come, quickly. Come, in these last times. Come, now that the great trial has arrived. Come, and bring us your second Pentecost, so that our eyes may see your greatest miracle, that of the new heavens and new earth.
MMP Message 496: Comfort Amidst Mourning – May 30, 1993
The international director of the organization releases yearly letters. The one released in 2021 included this:
“The glorious reign of Christ will coincide with the triumph of the Eucharistic reign of Jesus, because in a purified and sanctified world, completely renewed by love, Jesus will be made manifest, above all, in the mystery of his Eucharistic presence. The Eucharist will be the source from which will burst forth all his divine power, and it will become the new sun, which will shed its bright rays in hearts and souls and then in the life of individuals, families and nations, making of all one single flock, docile and meek, whose sole shepherd will be Jesus. Your heavenly Mother is leading you on toward these new heavens and this new earth, the Mother who is gathering you today from every part of the world, to prepare you to receive the Lord who is coming”
505 j-l, November 21, 1993
The Eucharistic reign is also discussed in message 421:
Thus the Eucharist becomes a sign of Jesus who, still today, loves you to the end, because He is leading you to the end of these times of yours, to introduce you into the new era of holiness and of grace, toward which you are all journeying and which will begin at the moment when Jesus will have restored his glorious reign in your midst.
MMP messge 421: He Loved Them to the End – April 12, 1990
To make it through this present crisis into the glorious Eucharistic reign of Christ, His Mother requests prayer cenacles. She is a loving mother and She has been shown the truth through Her beloved Spouse, the Holy Spirit. She has been appointed the General to lead us through this battle with the evil one and bring the renewed church into the Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart and the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus.
In this short update John-Henry adds details about what has been discovered in Russian news sources in recent days. This places the spotlight on the discussions with the seers of Garabandal. In the article on the interview with the seers, you can find this reference to the events preceding “The Warning” or what some call the “Illumination of Conscience.” Here are excerpts from those interviews.
Q. Do you remember what the Blessed Mother said about the communist tribulation that is to precede the Warning? A. It would look like the communists would have taken over the whole world and it would be very hard to practise the religion, for priests to say Mass or for people to open the doors of the churches.
Q. Is that what you meant when you said that it would seem as though the Church had disappeared? A. Yes.
Q. It would be because of the persecution and not because the people would stop practising their religion? A. Yes, but I guess a lot of people will stop. Whoever practises it will have to go into hiding.
Q. You said that it would be very difficult for priests to say Mass. Was this something that the Blessed Mother told you or was it something that you thought yourself because of the communist tribulation? A. From what I remember, it was something she said. Q. And the Virgin said that it would seem as though the Church had disappeared? A. Yes. Q. Did the Blessed Mother ever say anything about the Holy Father having to leave Rome at the time of the Warning? A. No, but what it looked like to me — maybe at this time I was confusing in my mind what I was seeing and what the Blessed Mother was saying to me because it’s been so many years — but what it looked like to me was that the Pope couldn’t be in Rome either, you know what I mean, out in the open. He was being persecuted, too, and had to hide just like everybody else.
Q. You’re the only one who knows the year of the Warning. Did you ever tell it to anyone else, like a priest for example? A. No.
October 19, 1982 Interview with MARI-LOLI, https://usralls.org/the-warning-and-miracle-interview-with-the-seers/
The pope scheduling a visit to Russia should not be a surprise to most who follow the prophecies of Garabandal. In December 2021 Ding Cervantes reported “ABOARD the homebound papal plane from Greece, Pope Francis announced plans to visit Moscow, the capital of Russia, in the near future.”.
In his book Garabandal, Finger of God, author Albrecht Weber, a German who was involved with Garabandal since the early years (he is now deceased and buried in Garabandal), quoted visionary Conchita as having said: “The Pope will go to Russia, to Moscow. As soon as he returns to the Vatican, hostilities will break out in different parts of Europe.”
On June 19, 1962, the seers of Garabandal were given a vision of the tribulations to follow, making them scream in fear for several minutes. When asked the Blessed Mother about it, she replied that communism, led by Russia, would unexpectedly take over many parts of democratic countries where Christians would be persecuted. At the height of such an event, God would send to the whole world the Great Warning which will simultaneously penetrate, in the manner of the Holy Spirit, the consciences of each living person on earth, both believers and unbelievers.
Another hint from seer Conchita was her statement that the prophecies of Garabandal would begin to unfold after a “Vatican synod.”
On October 10, 2021, the Pope announced a two-year project for the Catholic Church called “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.” This synod will run from 2021 to 2023.
“If you are not allowed to tell me the exact year [of the Warning], perhaps you could tell me approximately when it will happen.”
Mari Loli: “Yes it will be that time when the world will most need it.”
Christine:“When is that?”
Mari Loli: “When Russia will unexpectedly and suddenly overrun and overwhelm a great part of the free world. God does not want this to happen so quickly. In any case the Warning will come when you will see that Holy Mass cannot be celebrated freely anymore; then it will be that the world will most need the intevetnion of God”
For our further reflection, keeping in mind that prophecy is a charism of the papacy, is this quote from Blessed Pius IX: “There will come a great sign that will fill the world with awe. But this will occur only after the triumph of a revolution during which the Church will undergo ordeals which are beyond description.”
The pope will go to Russia, to Moscow. As soon as he returns to the Vatican, hostilities will break out in different parts of Europe.” We don’t know when all this will happen, but Albrecht Weber’s book contains this statement attributed to Conchita: [The source for this information was also requested: Mr. Weber responded: “Conchita said this in a long conversation at her house on November 14, 1965.”]
In summary, the Australian Garabandal Apostolate believe that after the “communist takeover led by Russia will appear to have succeeded” and in the midst of a “persecution of the Church” (priests will have to go into hiding, the churches boarded up, the faithful will find it difficult to practice their religion); then, after that persecution, an era of peace will be granted to humanity.
To Sum It Up
A worldwide communist takeover led by Russia will appear to have succeeded and in the midst of this frightful aggression will be a harrowing persecution of the Church. Priests will have to go into hiding, the churches boarded up and it will become very difficult for the faithful to practice their religion. It will seem as though the Church had disappeared. The duration of this persecution is not known but it will take an act of God, the Warning, to stop it. To close on a positive note, we again quote from Fr. Brennan’s 1983 article:
“As a result of all this there will be a turning to God that will match the apostasy from God that preceded it, with the result, as Our Lady said at Fatima, that “an era of peace will be granted to humanity.“
This will be a peace such as the world has never known.
Imagine a first century Christian seeing in a vision a flying creature. That creature spew flames of fire from its mouth. It’s head was like a man but had teeth like a shark.
Imagine this plane in the air engaged in battle over Las Vegas Nevada, home of the Red Flag Operation for the US Military. The Apostle John relied heavily on imagery in “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Could this type of an image be something he saw?
Knowing who Jesus was, I can only imagine what the Apostle John might have thought if he saw a “bishop dressed in white” bring a pachamama idol onto the very altar where God is reminded of His promise in the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son.
What could have been John’s words to describe this event? Would he have gone back to the book of Daniel and said “Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.”
After the supposed highest ranking official in the Catholic Church performs this worship ceremony of an idol, a virus is unleashed on the public and this “bishop in white” coming as an image of Christ halts the very Sacrifice of the Mass which takes “away the continual burnt offering” the Catholic Church celebrates.
A very well known bishop in the Catholic Church was Bishop Fulton Sheen. Speaking on the Devil, the Antichrist and the antichurch he said the Antichrist will come disguised as a Great Humanitarian and that he obviously would not be called an Antichrist lest he have no followers at all. No, Our Lord tells us that he will be so much like Himself that he would deceive even the elect. Surely one posing as a vicar of Christ might deceive even the elect.
The new era into which we are entering is what might be called the religious phase of human history. From now on the struggle will be not for the colonies and national rights, but for the souls of men. There will be no more half-drawn swords, no divided loyalties, no broad strokes of sophomoric tolerances; there will not even be any more great heresies, for heresies are based on a partial acceptance of truth. The battle lines are already being clearly drawn and the basic issues are no longer in doubt. From now on men will divide themselves into two religions-understood again as surrender to an absolute. The conflict of the future is between the absolute who is the God-man, and the absolute which is man-God; the God who became man, and the man who makes himself God; brothers in Christ and comrades in Antichrist.
The Antichrist will no be so called; otherwise he would have no followers. He will not wear red tights, no vomit Sulphur, nor carry a trident nor wave an arrowed tail as Mephistopheles in Faust. This masquerade has helped the Devil convince men that he does not exist. When no man recognizes, the more power he exercises. God has defined Himself as “I am who am,” and the Devil as “I am who am not.”
Nowhere in Sacred Scripture do we find warrant for the popular myth of the Devil as a buffoon who is dressed like the first “red.” Rather is he described as an angel fallen from heaven, and as “the Prince of this world,” whose business it is to tell us that there is no other world. his logic is simple: if there is no heaven there is no hell; if there is no hell, then there is no sin; if there is no sin, then there is no judge, and if there is no judgement then evil is good and good is evil. But above all these descriptions, Our Lord tells us that he will be so much like Himself that he would deceive even the elect-and certainly no devil ever seen in picture books could deceive even the elect. How will he come in this new age to win followers to his religion?
The pre-Communist Russian belief is that he will come disguised as the Great Humanitarian; he will talk peace, prosperity and plenty not as means to lead us to God, but as ends in themselves. He will write books on the new idea of God, to suit the way the people live; induce faith in astrology so as to make not the will but the stars responsible for sins; he will explain guilt away psychologically as inhibited eroticism, make men shrink in fame if their fellow men say they are not broad-minded and liberal; he will be so broad-minded as to identify tolerance with indifference to right and wrong, truth and error; he will spread the lie that men will never be better until they make society better and thus have selfishness to provide fuel for the next revolution; he will foster science. but only to have armament makers use one marvel of science to destroy another; he will foster more divorces under the disguise that another partner is “vital”; he will increase love for love and decrease love for person; he will invoke religion to destroy religion; he will speak of Christ and say that He was the greatest man who ever lived; his mission, he will say, will be to liberate men from the servitudes of superstition and Fascism, which he will never definer; he will organize children’s games, tell people whom they should and should not marry and unmarry, who should bear children and who should not; he will benevolently draw chocolate bars from his pockets for the little ones, and bottled of milk for the Hottentots.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Communism and the Conscience of the West (1948), page 18-21
Most certainly the conditions of modern day are ripe for an Antichrist to appear.
He will tempt Christian with the same three temptations with which he tempted Christ. The temptation to turn stones into bread as an earthly Messiah will become the temptation to sell freedom for security, making bread a political weapon which only those who think his way may eat. He wants mass organization through propaganda where only a common man directs the idiosyncrasies of common men. Opinions not truth, commentators not teachers, Gallup polls not principles, nature not grace-to these golden calves will men toss themselves from their Christ. The third temptation in which Satan asked Christ to adore him and all the kingdoms would be His, will become the temptation to have a new religion without a Cross, a liturgy without a world to come, a religion to destroy a religion, or a politics which is a religion-one that renders unto Ceasar even the things that are God’s.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Communism and the Conscience of the West (1948), page 20-21
Another characteristic of this man that Our Lord said would imitate Him in appearance is that he has a great secret, “he will not believe in God” 1
Because his religion will be brotherhood without the fatherhood of God, he will deceive even the elect. He will set up a counter church which will be the ape of the Church because he, the Devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be the mystical body of the Antichrist that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Communism and the Conscience of the West (1948), page 21
Knowing that an Antichrist with these characteristics is coming, all Christians should be on watch for any cleric who promotes fraternity over Eucharistic Adoration, who supports brotherhood over veneration to Our Lady, who supports welcoming the faith of others over instilling the belief of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and the sacred liturgy of the eternal mass over a watered down Catholicism where the sign of peace to your brother is more important than bending a knee to the Agnus Dei.
References
Communism and the Conscience of the West (1948) Sheen, Fulton J.
In his article, “Pope Gregory the Great in the Time of Plague,” Msgr. Steenson says that “Gregory the Great was indisputably amongst the greatest popes to lead the Church (AD 590-604), and he did so as his world was crumbling around him. The Roman Empire in the West had fallen, the infrastructure of Rome lay in ruins, the Tiber was constantly flooding, and famine and the bubonic plague were decimating a population already in steep decline. And the plague had just taken the life of Pope Pelagius II in February of 590.” 1
After becoming Pope, Gregory led a Eucharistic procession of clergy and lay faithful through the city’s streets, chanting “Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy)” as they called the people to repent and prayed for God to alleviate the plague. This wasn’t without casualties as some 80 people died during that procession. As Msgr points out, “(In later medieval tradition, a miracle had occurred then at Castel San Angelo, where the Archangel Michael appeared, halting the spread of the plague, as the procession approached, bearing the famous icon of Mary the Mother of God, Salus Populi Romani, the salvation of the people of Rome.)” Some reports said they could see Archangel Michael sheath his sword, indicating the plague had ended, as they crossed the bridge.
In the eschatological calendar of the Church, there is to come a time where all nations will recognize and worship Christ in the form of the Eucharist. That age is closer than most people think.
Listen to Fr. Theo discuss Corpus Christi Sunday and what it means for the Church.
28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;54he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”
John 6:28-34, 48-58, Revised Standard Version Catholic edition
The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian faith. In Greek, eucharistia means thanksgiving and we thank God for allowing us to abide in Him so that He may abide in us until He comes again.
References 1 – Pope Gregory the Great in the Time of Plague, by Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson May 26, 2020 at https://chnetwork.org/2020/05/26/pope-gregory-the-great-in-the-time-of-plague/
The apparitions of Garabandal ended in 1965. The visionaries Conchita, Mari-Loli and Jacinta have, from time to time, granted interviews revealing what they are able to say about the coming worldwide Warning and great Miracle. The source text for these interviews can be found at https://www.garabandal.us/pdfs/The-Warning-and-the-Miracle.pdf
THE WARNING
CONCHITA
MARI-LOLI
September 14, 1965 Q. Will the Warning be a visible thing or an interior thing or both? A. The Warning is a thing that comes directly from God and will be visible throughout the entire world, in whatever place anyone might be. Q. Will the Warning reveal personal sins to every person in the world and to persons of all faiths, including atheists? A. Yes, the Warning will be like a revelation of our sins-as como si revelase nuestros pecados, and it will be seen and experienced by believers and non-believers and people of any religion whatsoever. Q. Is it true that the Warning will cause many people to remember the dead? A. The Warning is like a purification for the Miracle. And it is a sort of a catastrophe. It will make us think of the dead, that is, we would prefer to be dead than to experience the Warning. Q. Will the Warning be recognized by the world as a direct sign from God? A. Certainly – claro, and for this reason I believe it is impossible that the world could be so hardened as not to change. October, 1968 Q. We have heard that some say the Warning may be a natural phenomenon but will be used by God to speak to mankind. Is this true? A. The Warning is something supernatural and will not be explained by science. It will be seen and felt. Q. Conchita,can you explain the statement that during the Warning we will know ourselves and the sins we have committed? A. The Warning will be a correction of the conscience of the world. Q. What about the many people who do not know Christ; how will they understand the Warning? A. For those who do not know Christ (non-Christian) they will believe it is a Warning from God. 1973 Q. What will occur on the day of the Warning? A. The most important thing about that day is that everyone in the whole world will see a sign, a grace, or a punishment within themselves — in other words a Warning. They will find themselves all alone in the world no matter where they are at the time, alone with their conscience right before God . They will then see all their sins and what their sins have caused. Q. Will all feel it at the same time? A. Yes, at the same time. Q. How long will it last, a half hour, an hour? A. I really don’t know. I think that five minutes would be an adequate time. Q. How will we feel it? A. We will all feel it differently because it will depend on our conscience. The Warning will be very personal; therefore, we will all react differently to it. The most important thing will be to recognize our own sins and the bad consequences of them. You will have a different view of the Warning than me because your sins are different from mine. Q. Will something happen to me because of my sins? I mean will physical harm come upon me as a result of them? A. No, unless it’s something that results from the shock, for example, a heart attack. Q. So then it will bring no physical harm but will consist of facing God alone with my sins. How about the good things; will I see them also? A. No. This will be only a Warning to see what you have done with your sins. It will be like a purification before the Miracle to see if with the Warning and Miracle we (meaning the whole world) will be converted. Q. So this Warning can occur any day now? A. Yes, but I don’t know the date when it will occur. February, 1977 Q. When did you learn about the Warning and from whom? A. The only thing that I remember well is that it was the Virgin who told me of it. Q. Would you repeat for us what you know about the Warning? A. What I remember now is that the Virgin told me that before the Miracle God will be sending us a Warning so as to purify us or prepare us to see the Miracle and in this way we may draw enough grace to change our lives toward God. She told me what the Warning will consist of but not the date. I am not able to say what it consists of but I am able to say what it will be like, more or less. It is a phenomenon which will be seen and felt in all the world and everywhere; I have always given as an example that of two stars that collide. This phenomenon will not cause physical damage, but it will horrify us because at that very moment we will see our souls and the harm we have done. It will be as though we were in agony but we will not die by its effects but perhaps we will die of fright or shock to see ourselves. May the Virgin forgive me if I do not explain it the way it is, but I am trying to tell you … after knowing what the Warning will be like that day. Q. Did you ‘see ‘or ‘hear ‘about the Warning? A. The Virgin told me of its coming. Q. If the Warning only lasts a short time, will the world remember it as coming from God or will it only appear to have been a dream or an illusion? A. I have never said that the Warning will be a short moment. What I have said is that even if it were a moment it will be very impressive and terrible. No one will have doubts of it being from God, and of its not being human. I, who know what it is, am very much afraid of that day. Q. Many years ago you told us the event of the Warning begins with the letter “A. ” Since Our Lady never told you not to reveal it, can you now mention it? A. She did not forbid it, but I don’t know why I haven’t said it and I don’t feel as though I should say it now. Q. You once said to Fr. Marcelino Andreu, (When you see the Warning you will know we have opened up the end of time. ” Can you explain what you meant by this? A. The Virgin told us that the Warning and Miracle will be the last warnings or public spectaculars that God will give us. This is why I believe that after them we will be near the end of time. Q. Do you have any words of advice for the people in order that they might prepare for this event? A. We must always be prepared for our souls in peace and not tie ourselves down so much to this world. Instead, we must think very often that we are here to go to heaven and to be saints. August, 1980 Q. It (the Warning) is not going to hurt you? A. No. To me, it’s like two stars… that crash and make a lot of noise and a lot of light but they don’t fall… It’s something that’s not going to hurt us but we’re going to see it. In that moment, we’re going to see our conscience. You’re going to see everything wrong that you’re doing. Q. You ‘re going to see everything wrong that you are doing? A. Yes. And you’re going to see the good that you’re not doing.
July 27, 1975 Q. You have said that you know the year of the Warning. Can you tell us if it will occur in the next few years or is still distant in the future? A. No. I can’t say anything. Q. Did the Blessed Mother tell you not to speak about the Warning? A. No, she didn’t, but, because the Warning and the Miracle are within the same year, I feel it inside not to say anything. Q. How do you know the Warning and the Miracle are within the same year? A. During an apparition — I don’t remember just when—the Blessed Virgin told me. Q. Reportedly, you have said that when the Warning occurs everything will stand still, even planes in the sky. Is this true? A. Yes, but just for a few moments. Q. You mean that everything will stop at a given moment and at that moment the Warning will occur? A. Yes. Q. When was this information revealed to you? A. During an apparition the Blessed Virgin told me all this. Q. Was all the information given you during one apparition, or did Our Lady tell you this over several apparitions? A. She told me all of this during one apparition. I don’t remember now if she spoke about the Warning during any other apparition. Q. Do you know how long the Warning will last? A. Just a few minutes. Q. Are you afraid of the Warning? A. Yes. Like everyone else.I have faults, and the Warning will show me my faults and this makes me afraid. Q. Can you tell us anything else about the Warning? A. All I can say is that it is very close and that it is very important that we prepare ourselves because it will be a terrible thing. It will make us feel all the wrong we have done. February, 1977 Q. Have you ever discussed with Conchita the dates of the Warning of which you know the year, and the Miracle which she knows? A. I have never talked to Conchita about these dates. Q. Have you any words of advice for the people in order that they might prepare for this event? A. To do much penance, make sacrifices, visit the Blessed Sacrament every day that we are able to, and to pray the holy rosary daily. September 29, 1978 Q. Since you are the one who knows the most about the Warning will you tell us if this event is to take place before the Miracle promised through Conchita Gonzales? A. … Everyone will experience it wherever they may be, regardless of their condition or their knowledge of God… It will be an interior personal experience. It will look as if the world has come to a standstill, .. .no one will be aware of that as they will be totally absorbed in their own experience. Q. About the nature of the Warning, how do you sense it? A. It is going to be something like an interior feeling of sorrow and pain for having offended God. God will help us to see clearly the harm we are causing Him and all the evil things we do. He will help us to sense this interior pain because often when we do something wrong we just ask the Lord’s forgiveness with our lips, but now (through the Warning) He will help us sense physically that deep sorrow. October 19, 1982 Q. Do you remember what the Blessed Mother said about the communist tribulation that is to precede the Warning? A. It would look like the communists would have taken over the whole world and it would be very hard to practise the religion, for priests to say Mass or for people to open the doors of the churches. Q. Is that what you meant when you said that it would seem as though the Church had disappeared? A. Yes. Q. It would be because of the persecution and not because the people would stop practising their religion? A. Yes, but I guess a lot of people will stop. Whoever practises it will have to go into hiding. Q. Will this only be in Europe or do you think it will be here in the United States as well? A. I don’t know because for me at that time, Europe was the whole world. I just assumed it was that way. The Blessed Mother didn’t specify in what place. To me it looked like it was everywhere. Q. Approximately 67% of the earth’s land is now dominated by communism. Do you think that’s sufficient to fulfil Our Lady s prophecy? A. I really don’t know. It sounded to me like it would be more than that. Q. In other words you think it will be worse than it is now? A. That’s what I thought from what she said but I really don’t know exactly. To me it looked like it was every place out there, the places I saw in my mind. In a lot of countries in Europe you can still practice your religion. Q. So, the situation in the world is not bad enough for the Warning to happen? A. The Warning is not going to happen yet so it’s probably going to get worse. Q. You said that it would be very difficult for priests to say Mass. Was this something that the Blessed Mother told you or was it something that you thought yourself because of the communist tribulation? A. From what I remember, it was something she said. Q. And the Virgin said that it would seem as though the Church had disappeared? A. Yes. Q. Did the Blessed Mother ever say anything about the Holy Father having to leave Rome at the time of the Warning? A. No, but what it looked like to me — maybe at this time I was confusing in my mind what I was seeing and what the Blessed Mother was saying to me because it’s been so many years — but what it looked like to me was that the Pope couldn’t be in Rome either, you know what I mean, out in the open. He was being persecuted, too, and had to hide just like everybody else. Q. You said that when the Warning comes, the planes would stop in the air and that all engines would stop. Is this what the Blessed Mother told you? A. She said that everything, everywhere, for a moment would stop and the people would just think and look inside themselves. Q. Will there be any noise with the Warning like a wind blowing? A. The way I saw it at the time, it was more like a big silence, like a sense of emptiness. Everything was very silent. That’s the way I saw it. Q. Seven years ago you said that the Warning was soon. Many people thought that it would have happened by now. What would you say today? A. It is soon. Everything looks soon to me because time goes by so fast. Q. You’re the only one who knows the year of the Warning. Did you ever tell it to anyone else, like a priest for example? A. No. Q. Will people be fighting with one another when the Warning comes? A. (no answer) Additional interviews in the 1990s by Michael Brown can be found at this address: https://spiritdaily.org/blog/archives/mari-loli-death
JACINTA
August 17, 1975 Q. Did Our Lady ever speak to you about the Warning? A. Yes, she spoke to me about it but she never told me the year… February, 1977 Q. Can you tell us what the Warning will be like? A. The Warning is something that is first seen in the air everywhere in the world and immediately is transmitted into the interior of our souls. It will last for a very little time, but it will seem a very long time because of its effect within us. It will be for the good of our souls, in order to see in ourselves our conscience, the good(1) and the bad that we’ve done. Then we’ll feel a great love toward our heavenly parents and ask forgiveness for all our offences. Q. Will the Warning be felt by all people regardless of their beliefs? A. The Warning is for everybody because God wants our salvation. The Warning is for us to draw closer to Him and to increase our faith. Therefore, one should prepare for that day, but not awaiting it with fear because God doesn’t send things for the sake of fear but rather with justice and love and He does it for the good of all His children that they might enjoy eternal happiness and not be lost. August, 1979 Q. Do you recall anything about a great tribulation, communism…? A. Yes, it was an invasion, well, something that was a great evil in which communism played a great part, but I no longer remember which countries or what region was stricken. The Blessed Virgin insisted in telling us to pray (that it be averted). These difficult events will take place before the Warning because the Warning itself will take place when the situation will be at its worst.
April 16, 1983 Q. In the 1979 interview (above), you said in describing the communist tribulation that “it was like an invasion. ” Did you see scenes of this invasion? A. Sometimes I confuse an invasion with a persecution. Q. You have also said that when things were at their very worst then the Warning will happen. How do you know this? Did the Virgin tell you or did you see it in a vision? A. The Virgin said that the Warning would come when conditions were at their worst. It wouldn’t be just the persecution either because many people will no longer be practising their religion. Q. When the Warning comes it will be seen and felt by everyone on earth. Does this include little children who have not yet reached the age of reason? A. Yes. That’s why we felt sorry for them because it was such a terrifying experience. Q. Can you tell us anything about what the world will be like when the Warning comes? A. Bad.
THE Miracle
JACINTA
MARI-LOLI
February, 1977 (Jacinta was never told about the Miracle by the Blessed Virgin. She said that whenever she questioned Our Lady about the Miracle, the Virgin simply replied, “Everyone will believe.”)
February, 1977 Q. Were you told about the Miracle in an apparition and, if so, by whom? A. The most Holy Virgin told me. Q. What do you know about the Miracle? A. All I know is that it will take place within a year after the Warning. Q. Will you and your family go to Garabandal for the Miracle? A. If it is God’s will. Additional interviews in the 1990s by Michael Brown can be found at this address: https://spiritdaily.org/blog/archives/mari-loli-death
CONCHITA
1973 Q. What is going to happen on that day (of the Miracle)? A. I will tell you all that I can just as the Virgin told it to me. She told me that God was going to perform a great Miracle and that there would be no doubt about the fact that it was a miracle. It will come directly from God with no human intervention. A day will come — and she told me the day, the month and the year so I know the exact date. Q. When is that day? A. It is coming soon but I can’t reveal it until eight days before the date. Q. What exactly is going to happen on that day? A. I am not permitted to say exactly what is going to happen. What I can reveal is that the Virgin said that everyone who would be there (in Garabandal) on that day would see it. The sick who are there will be cured no matter what their disease or religion. However, they have to be there. Q. On the day of the Miracle, did you say that those present would be converted? A. The Virgin said that everyone present would believe. They would see that this was coming directly from God. All sinners present would be converted. She also said that you would be able to take pictures and televise it. Also, from that moment on, there would be a permanent sign at the Pines that everyone would be able to see and touch but not feel. I can’t explain it. Q. On the day of the Miracle there will be an extraordinary sign not made by human hands? A. Yes. And this sign will remain until the end of time. Q. Did you say that this sign could be televised and photographed but not felt by touching? A. It will be like smoke. You can touch it but not feel it. Q. With respect to the sick people… the Virgin mentioned one particular person, a blind man called Joe Lomangino. What did she say about him? A. She said that on the day of the great Miracle he will recover his sight. She also talked about a paralytic boy whose parents come from my town (Garabandal). This boy will also be cured. These are the only two people she mentioned. Q. Can you tell us something about Fr. Luis Andreu? A. Yes. This priest came frequently to the village to see if the apparitions were real or not. After a while he believed in them. Once, while we were in ecstasy at the Pines, he began to shout, “Miracle, Miracle, Miracle.” When this happened the Virgin said, “At this moment the priest is seeing me and the Miracle that will occur.” Q. Fr. Luis was actually seeing the Miracle? A. Yes. That same day on his trip back home he said to his friends, “This is the happiest day of my life. What a great mother we have in heaven. The apparitions are true.” As he said these words he died. Q. Didn’t the Virgin say that something would occur on the day after the Miracle concerning Fr. Andreu? A. Yes, she said that on the day after the Miracle his body would be found incorrupt. February 7, 1974 Q. Will you take the baby(2) to the Miracle? A. I don’t even know if I’m going. (Asked to expand on her answer, Conchita said): Surely I want to go, but I don’t know if circumstances will permit. It is not necessary (for the occurrence of the Miracle) that I be there. Q. You have said that the Miracle of Garabandal will coincide with a great event within the Church. Did Our Lady tell you what that event will be, and can you add anything to what you have already said about this matter? A. Yes, I know what the event is. It is a singular event in the Church that happens very rarely, and has never happened in my lifetime. It is not new or stupendous, only rare, like a definition of a dogma — something like that in that it will affect the entire Church. It will happen on the same day as the Miracle, but not as a consequence of the Miracle, only coincidentally.
February 7, 1974 (cont) Q. How will you announce the Miracle? A. I don’t know exactly. Most definitely at midnight (eight days before the Miracle) I will call Joey (Lomangino), radio, television, and anyone else in the world that I feel can help to spread the word rapidly. I am not worried. I know that if the Blessed Mother wants you there, you will be there. Q. Joey has said that he will go to Garabandal immediately after the Warning. Do you know how much time will pass between the Warning and the Miracle? A. For Joey to go to Garabandal is a good idea, but I don’t know how long will pass between the Warning and the Miracle. Q. Do you think of the day of the Miracle often, and are you anxious for the Warning and the Miracle to come? A. Sometimes I think of it as so imminent, sometimes far away. It seems so near when I think that people are not answering the Message, because after the Miracle there may come the punishment. I am anxious, yes. I wait. The Blessed Mother never lies. For the words of the Blessed Mother to be complete, there must be the Warning and the Miracle. It is all one message. Q. During the two occasions that Our Lady spoke to you about Joey, did she say anything in addition about his eyes? A. Concerning Joey, the only thing I remember now is that the Blessed Virgin said to me that at the moment of the Miracle Joey will have new eyes, and he will see permanently after that. February, 1977 Q. Did you ‘see’ the Miracle or were you told about it? A. The Virgin told me of it and made me understand exactly what it will be. Q. Were you alone or with the other girls when Our Lady told you about the Miracle? A. I don’t remember.(3) Q. What will the Miracle be like? A. Even if I would try to explain it, I wouldn’t be able to do it well. It is better that you wait and see it. Q. Would you please restate the information concerning the span of months during which we may expect the Miracle? A. March to May. Q. It is said by some people that the way you will announce the Miracle will be a ‘miracle’ in itself. Can you explain this? A. I believe that the way in which it will be said will be another miracle because it is a very great responsibility for me and I will need a miracle to say it. Q. If I am situated far from the village in the mountains, but I am able to see the Pines, will I see the Miracle clearly? If I am sick will I be cured at that distance? A. You will be able to witness the Miracle clearly, and if God wills it you will be cured. Q. Some people have said that in other places in the United States and Europe people could visit Marian shrines and be cured on that day. What do you know about this? A. The Virgin didn’t tell us anything about this. Q. Will those who are firm believers in the coming Miracle but unable to attend because of their state in life, for example, cloistered priests and religious, receive any special graces on that day? A. I don’t know personally. It depends on those people; of their wishes, or their faith, or their sacrifice or their obedience. Q. Did Our Lady ever say anything about the vast sea of people who plan on being in Garabandal several days before-hand? Many are concerned as to how they will manage for their food and toilet facilities. Do you have any comment? A. Leave that in God’s hands. Do what you can and for the rest remember, ‘God performs miracles.’
(Endnotes) 1 Conchita says we will only see the bad. 2Conchita was expecting her first child when this interview was conducted and gave birth to little Conchita (Conchitina) the following April. 3 Ed. Note: According to the notes of Fr. Valentin Marichalar, pastor of Garabandal during the time of the events, Conchita was alone when she received this communication.
An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory Ludovico Carracci, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Biblical references are KJV unless otherwise noted.
You will sometimes hear it said that the word ‘Purgatory’ is not to be found in Holy Scripture, and it is true that the word itself did not come into common use until the Middle Ages, but the doctrine whereby souls are detained prior to their entry into Heaven is proved by references to the dead in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Councils of Florence and of Trent and by Tradition. 1
Biblical verses discussing a purge by fire:
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. ” (1 Cor 3: 11-15)
“For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble— each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3: 11-15, RSVCE)
Didache Bible commentary on 1 COR 3:15 – As through fire: Some whose works fall short of the requirements of the Gospel will still be saved but will undergo purification to become worthy of eternal life. Fire consumes flammable materials, but it also tests and refines metal so that it can be purified, reshaped, and perfected. The Church sees this verse as a reference to Purgatory in which the souls of those who died in God’s grace but have not reached the appropriate level of holiness will undergo a painful purification before entering Heaven. The Church’s teaching on Purgatory is based on Sacred Scripture and the immemorial tradition of both Jews and Christians of praying for the dead. (2 Mc 12:39-45) 2
“For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” -2 Machabees 12:44-46, RSVCE
Figure 1. Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory
As indicated in Figure 1, those held in Purgatory have only one destination and that is Heaven. If you were found deficient to gain admittance into Heaven, you do not end up in Purgatory. You can not do evil and pray your way to Heaven. On the contrary, if you are in Purgatory, your suffering by the purging process, is with full knowledge that your final destiny is with God in Heaven.
The temporal punishment due to sin, even after the sin is pardoned by God, is scriptural.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers 20:12)
“Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord; and Nathan answered, The Lord has given thy sin quittance, thou shalt not die for it. But thou hast brought on the Lord the contempt of his enemies, and the son that has been born to thee is doomed to die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)
“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” (Matt 12:31-32)
In Matthew 12:31-32 we see that Jesus refers, indirectly, to a possible forgiveness of sins in this world or forgiveness in the world to come. Just not the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. St. Augustine said “that some sinners are not forgiven either in this world or in the next would not be truly said unless there were other [sinners] who, though not forgiven in this world, are forgiven in the world to come” (City of God XXI.24)
Purgatory is not the same as hell when hell is used in the general sense. Specific translations use the word Gehenna to refer to the abode of the damned. Hades is another term in other translations used to represent the abode of the damned.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna (Mark 9:45, NCB)
“The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ “ (Luke 16:22-24, RSVCE)
Those in Purgatory suffer in the same way as those in Gehenna or Hades, but they know it is a temporal event and their final destination is Heaven.
Besides a reference to the eternal fire as a part of hell or more specifically Hades or Gehenna, a part of hell is a place where creatures go awaiting the final judgment. There is no fire there in that part of hell, but chains of darkness.
For if God spared not the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment; (2 Peter 2:4)
And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great Day— (Jude 1:6)
At the beginning of the Reformation there was some hesitation especially on Luther’s part (Leipzig Disputation) as to whether the doctrine of Purgatory should be retained, but as the breach widened, the denial of purgatory by the Reformers became universal, and Calvin termed the Catholic position “exitiale commentum quod crucem Christi evacuat . . . quod fidem nostram labefacit et evertit” (Institutiones, lib. III, cap. v, 6). Modern Protestants, while they avoid the name purgatory, frequently teach the doctrine of “the middle state,” and Martensen (“Christian Dogmatics,” Edinburgh, 1890, p. 457) writes: “As no soul leaves this present existence in a fully complete and prepared state, we must suppose that there is an intermediate state, a realm of progressive development, in which souls are prepared for the final judgment” (Farrar, “Mercy and Judgment,” London, 1881, cap. iii). 3
The book of Sirach has references to the belief that praying for the dead is of benefit to them as they complete that journey from Purgatory into Heaven:
“Rather, with all thy soul fear God, and to his priests give their due; with gift of the consecrated shoulder clear thyself of what is owing. The priests must have their share, by law prescribed, of first-fruits and of offering for transgression; even if thou hast committed a fault in ignorance, a little is claimed for thy cleansing. The gift of the consecrated shoulder thou must make to the Lord, and the offering of all that is dedicated, and the holy first-fruits; moreover, thou must open thy hand to the poor; so thy atonement shall be perfect, and perfect thy blessing. No living man but is thankful for the gift given; and it is ill done to withhold thy favours even from the dead. Fail not to comfort the distressed, let the mourner have thee for his escort. Never tire of visiting the sick; no surer way of winning thy neighbour’s love. Remember at all times what thou must come to at the last, and thou shalt never do amiss.” (Sirach 7:33-40, RSVCE )
Another reference, albeit a little subtle, is the discussion in 2Timothy about Onesiphorus:
“The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.” (2 TIM 1:16-18)
With the reference to Onesiphorus separate from his family and the specific in reference to the day of judgement, “in that day,” leads one to believe Onesiphorus is dead and yet St. Paul is praying for him.
Why would St. Paul encourage us to pray for the dead unless there is some remedial effect that can come from that prayer?
Besides St. Paul, what did the early church fathers say about praying for the dead and what biblical references were used to support their position?
First you must define what constitutes a father of the church and by what authority we should hold their teachings.
When it comes to credible witnesses to the teachings of Jesus, no group holds more spiritual weight than the Apostles themselves. Certainly those trained by the Apostles were the first to be taught the spiritual tongue of fire that was given to the Apostles during Pentecost. Those Disciples trained by the Apostles are called the Apostolic Fathers and exhibited 4 qualities that distinguished their credibility as early Church Fathers: 5
Sound Doctrine
Holiness of life
Church approved
Antiquity
Even those Fathers through the Council of Nicea and the formulation of the creed in 325 AD should provide as credible witnesses to the purest faith that Jesus passed to His disciples. These are referred to as the Ante-Nicene Fathers who led the Christians till the fourth century and the Nicene Fathers guiding the Church through the fourth century.5
Sts Titus and Clement were trained by the Apostle Paul. Sts Polycarp and Ignatius were trained by the Apostle John. St Irenaeus was trained by St. Polycarp. But other credible witnesses in the early church included Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius, Ambrose, Cyril of Jerusalem, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine of Hippo, and Gregory the Great (the Pope that stopped the plague of the 6th century by leading a Eucharistic procession through Rome).
In the fourth century, Christian thought concerning the fate of the soul after death was based mainly on the vision of Daniel (Dan 7:9) and on a passage from Paul (1 Cor 3:10-15), and less frequently on Tertullian’s idea of refrigerium and Origen’s concept of a purifying fire….Lactantius (d. after 317) believed that all who died, including the righteous, would be tried by fire, but not until the Last Judgment [cites Instit 7:21 Migne PL 6:800]. Ambrose (d. 397), and Jerome (d. 419/420) had ideas on the fate of the soul after death that make them heirs of Origen. 4
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” Daniel 7:9
[Ambrose] also clearly stated that the prayers of the living could help to relieve the suffering of the dead, that suffrages could be of use in mitigating the penalties meted out in the other world…[cites Ambrose on the Emperor Theodosius]…. (page 60) 4
Origen took the notion that fire is a divine instrument, and from the New Testament the idea of baptism by fire (from the Gospels) and the idea of a purificatory trial after death (from Paul). The notion of fire as a divine instrument comes from commonly cited interpretations of Old Testament passages [ e.g. Lev 10:1-2; Deut 32:22; Jer 15:14; cf. Luke 3:16] 4
“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” Lev 10:1-2
“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.” Deut 32:22
“And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.” Jer 15:14
“John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” Luke 3:16
And Tertullian writes “All souls, therefore; are shut up within Hades: do you admit this? (It is true, whether) you say yes or no: moreover, there are already experienced there punishments and consolations; and there you have a poor man and a rich…Moreover, the soul executes not all its operations with the ministration of the flesh; for the judgment of God pursues even simple cogitations and the merest volitions. ‘Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.’ Therefore, even for this cause it is most fitting that the soul, without at all waiting for the flesh, should be punished for what it has done without the partnership of the flesh. So, on the same principle, in return for the pious and kindly thoughts in which it shared not the help of the flesh, shall it without the flesh receive its consolation. In short, inasmuch as we understand ‘the prison’ pointed out in the Gospel to be Hades, and as we also interpret ‘the uttermost farthing’ to mean the very smallest offence which has to be recompensed there before the resurrection, no one will hesitate to believe that the soul undergoes in Hades some compensatory discipline, without prejudice to the full process of the resurrection, when the recompense will be administered through the flesh besides.” (A Treatise on the Soul 58 [c. AD 210] or ANF III:234-235)4
Lactantius writes, “But also, when God will judge the just, it is likewise in fire that he will try them. At that time, they whose sins are uppermost, either because of their gravity or their number, will be drawn together by the fire and will be burned. Those, however, who have been imbued with full justice and maturity of virtue, will not feel that fire; for they have something of God in them which will repel and turn back the strength of the flame.” (Divine Institutes 7:21:6 [c. AD 307] or ANF VII:217)4
St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote “For I know that there are many who are saying this: ‘If a soul departs from this world with sins, what does it profit it to be remembered in the prayer?’…[we] grant a remission of their penalties…we too offer prayers to Him for those who have fallen asleep though they be sinners. We do not plait a crown, but offer up Christ who has been sacrificed for our sins; and we thereby propitiate the benevolent God for them as well as for ourselves.” (23 [Mystagogic 5], 8, 9, 10 [c. 350 AD] or NPNF2 VII:154-155)4
St. Ambrose of Milan said in the 4th century, “Give, oh Lord, rest to Thy servant Theodosius, that rest Thou hast prepared for Thy saints….I love him, therefore will I follow him to the land of the living; I will not leave him till by my prayers and lamentations he shall be admitted unto the holy mount of the Lord, to which his deserts call him.” (De Obit Theodosii [c. AD 395] or Migne PL 16:1397)4
St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in the late 4th century (392) “’Lord, rebuke me not in Your indignation, nor correct me in Your anger’ [Psalm 38:1]…In this life may You cleanse me and make me such that I have no need of the corrective fire, which is for those who are saved, but as if by fire…for it is said: ‘He shall be saved, but as if by fire’ [1 Cor 3:15]. And because it is said that he shall be saved, little is thought of that fire. Yet plainly, though we be saved by fire, that fire will be more severe than anything a man can suffer in this life.” (Explanations of the Psalms 37:3 [c. AD 392])” 4
A final word should be mentioned of the extreme mercy that Jesus wants to grant Christians who live in the times we are in. He shared this mercy with St. Faustina in the 1920s. We all know that Jesus is Our Redeemer and grants us admission into Heaven. But the temporal punishment of our sin is not forgiven, not even during confession. There will be a purging by the fire. But Jesus wants us to know His loving Mercy is being spread with abundance on this generation. St. Faustina writes these words from Jesus:
“I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.” Diary 699
“I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy.” Diary1109 6
The Church adopted the Divine Mercy Sunday as the Sunday following Easter by proclamation of Pope John Paul II in the year of our Lord 2000. A person who receives Holy Communion in a state of grace (right after confession), will not only be saved from those sins, redeemed, but even the temporal punishment, the fire, required of those sins will be removed.
Our Catholic Study Session this week focuses on false prophets in general and The False Prophet from the book of Revelation.
Let us start our session with the sign of the faith.
This last week I ran across an article by Fr. Frank Unterhalt is a German diocesan priest. He recently wrote an article for LifeSite laying out the many prophesies and visions made by Catholic saints and mystics regarding the end times. These saints and mystics include Sr. Lucia from Fatima, Padre Pio, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, and Melanie from LaSalette among others.
Cardinal Burke had a very appropriate summary of our times and discusses very briefly the False Prophet in this homily during the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In the approved apparition of LaSalette, Mother Mary said this to Melanie about the time of the Antichrist:
So it will be around the time when the Antichrist is born of a Jewish religious woman, a false virgin who will be in league with the old serpent, the master of fornication. His father will be a bishop. When he is born he will spit blasphemy; he will have teeth; in a word, this one is the devil incarnate. He will break out into a terrible scream; he will work miracles, he will only feed on fornication. He will have brothers who, although not devils incarnate like him, are children of evil. By the age of twelve they will be distinguished by the brilliant victories they have achieved. Soon each of them will be at the head of an army, supported by legions of Hell. The seasons will change. The earth will only produce bad fruit; the stars will leave their regular orbits. The moon will only reproduce a faint reddish light. Water and fire will cause terrible earthquakes and great tremors on earth, which will sink mountains and cities.
https://www.marianisches.de/la-salette/
It was right after this quote that she said
Rome will lose faith and become the seat of the Antichrist. The demons of the air will work great miracles with the Antichrist on the earth and in the air, and people will get worse and worse. God will provide for His faithful servants and people of good will.
https://www.marianisches.de/la-salette/
We discussed in our Land Beast post about how the Land Beast teaches things other than the true teachings of Jesus and as such can be considered a false prophet. What else has Mother Mary had to say to Fr. Gobbi about the false prophet(s)?
I have announced to you many times that the end of the times and the coming of Jesus in glory is very near. Now, I want to help you understand the signs described in the Holy Scriptures, which indicate that his glorious return is now close. These signs are clearly indicated in the Gospels, in the letters of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and they are becoming a reality during these years.
— The first sign is the spread of errors, which lead to the loss of faith and to apostasy. These errors are being propagated by false teachers, by renowned theologians who are no longer teaching the truths of the Gospel, but pernicious heresies based on errors and on human reasonings. It is because of the teaching of these errors that the true faith is being lost and that the great apostasy is spreading everywhere. (Mt 24:4-5, 11; 2 Thes 2:3; 2 Pt 2:1-3)
Marian Movement of Priests To My Beloved Sons, Message #485 The End of the Times, December 31, 1992
Mother Mary also spoke of how the Daily Sacrifice is the Daily Mass in this same message.
— The fourth sign is the horrible sacrilege, perpetrated by him who sets himself against Christ, that is, the Antichrist. He will enter into the holy temple of God and will sit on his throne and have himself adored as God. (2 Thes 2:4,9-10; Mt 24:15)
Beloved children, in order to understand in what this horrible sacrilege consists, read what has been predicted by the prophet Daniel. (Dn 12:9-12)
The Holy Mass is the daily Sacrifice, the pure oblation which is offered to the Lord everywhere, from the rising of the sun to its going down.
The Sacrifice of the Mass renews that which was accomplished by Jesus on Calvary. By accepting the Protestant doctrine, people will hold that the Mass is not a sacrifice but only a sacred meal, that is to say, a remembrance of that which Jesus did at his Last Supper. And thus, the celebration of Holy Mass will be suppressed. In this abolition of the daily Sacrifice consists the horrible sacrilege accomplished by the Antichrist, which will last about three and a half years, namely, one thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Marian Movement of Priests To My Beloved Sons, Message #485 The End of the Times, December 31, 1992
Mother Mary finishes the message with “My beloved ones and children consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, I have wanted to teach you about these signs, which Jesus has pointed out to you in his Gospel, in order to prepare you for the end of the times, because these are about to take place in your days.”
Our Catholic Study Session this week focuses on the Mark of the Sea Beast. To help understand scripture I refer to the beast from the sea that starts chapter 13 as the Sea Beast. It’s also discussed in the Blue Book as the Black Beast. As we continue in chapter 13 after the first beast, the beast that arises from the sea, we read of another beast. One that arises from the earth. I will call that the Land Beast. With that in mind, here is the scripture from chapter 13 with clarification of which beast is being discussed:
Then I saw another beast[, Land Beast,] which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast[, Sea Beast,] in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast[, Sea Beast], whose mortal wound was healed. It[, Land Beast,] works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; and by the signs which it[, Land Beast,] is allowed to work in the presence of the beast[, Sea Beast], it[, Land Beast] deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast[, Sea Beast,] which was wounded by the sword and yet lived; and it[, Land Beast] was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast[, Sea Beast,] so that the image of the beast[, Sea Beast,] should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast[, Sea Beast,] to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast[, Sea Beast] or the number of its name.
Revelation 13:11-17
In case you haven’t read the previous post, the insight there is going to be very needed as we tackle the discussion about the mark of the Sea Beast.
“Sister Anne” discusses the Mark of the Beast in the post on her website with a reference to the video below.
One essential tool “Sister Anne” has with most of her posts is the transcript with the video. I will be pulling snippets from her post and will italicize and highlight in the majestic color of gold to give credit to the her study and her website as the source of most of my understanding of the book of Revelation imagery and actors. She also discusses the significance of 666 that Mother Mary shared with Fr. Gobbi and I would recommend reviewing at least the first half of her video above as we continue in our discussion. “Sister Anne” opens with “There are some people, perhaps not a few, who attend Bible study classes on the Apocalypse because it’s a fun challenge to try to discover the meaning of all the symbols. It can’t be argued that it’s a great story embedded in a big puzzle. It’s fun to work a puzzle.”
What a great way to view Revelation. So much abstraction that treating each abstract as a piece of the puzzle gives you a method to attack the completion of the overall picture. By unveiling the meaning behind each piece and identifying adjoining pieces you start seeing the picture become familiar.
Some people attend Bible study classes on the Apocalypse because it’s a fun challenge to try to discover the meaning of the symbols. Today it seems that an entire generation of frogs sitting in a pot of water that’s been heating up incrementally. Scarcely anyone realizes that they are in imminent danger of being scalded to death. Mary wants us to be on our guard. The main feature of this Apocalyptic era is “deception.” Mary wants you to see yourself as personally engaged, like Jesus was, in this valiant contest. Beginning through 27:45
On November 12th, 2020, the Marian Movement of Priests held a prayer cenacle that discussed message #406 (The Beast like a Lamb), June 13th, 1989.
https://youtu.be/DXUzojpK8fA?t=2335
38:55 through 48:40
And so what do we already know about chapter 13 from the previous posts:
Sea Beast – Freemasonry. Land Beast – Ecclesiastical Freemasonry. Great Red Dragon – Figuratively Communism. Dragon – Literally, “ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.” Satan works through the actions of Communist and Marxist nations.
With that understanding let’s review what Mother Mary has said about the Mark of the [Sea Beast] in message #410 (The Mark on the Forehead and on the Hand), September 8, 1989.
These are the times when the followers of him who opposes himself to Christ are being signed with his mark on the forehead and on the hand.
The mark on the forehead and on the hand is an expression of a total dependency on the part of those who are designated by this sign. The sign indicates him who is an enemy of Christ, that is to say, the sign of the Antichrist. And his mark, which is stamped, signifies the complete belonging of the person thus marked to the army of him who is opposed to Christ and who fights against his divine and royal dominion.
The mark is imprinted on the forehead and on the hand.
The forehead indicates the intellect, because the mind is the seat of the human reason.
The hand expresses human activity, because it is with his hands that man acts and works.
Nevertheless it is the person who is marked with the mark of the Antichrist in his intellect and in his will.
He who allows himself to be signed with the mark on his forehead is led to accept the doctrine of the denial of God, of the rejection of his Law, and of atheism which, in these times, is more and more diffused and advertised. And thus he is driven to follow the ideologies in mode today and to make of himself a propagator of all the errors.
He who allows himself to be signed with the mark on his hand is obliged to act in an autonomous manner and independently of God, ordering his own activities to the quest of a purely material and terrestrial good. Thus he withdraws his action from the design of the Father, who wants to illumine it and sustain it by his divine providence, from the love of the Son who makes human toil a precious means for one’s own redemption and sanctification, from the power of the Spirit who acts everywhere to renew interiorly every creature.
He who is signed with the mark on his hand works for himself alone, to accumulate material goods, to make money his god, and he becomes a victim of materialism.
He who is signed with the mark on his hand works solely for the gratification of his own senses, for the quest of well-being and pleasure, for the granting of full satisfaction to all his passions, especially that of impurity, and he becomes a victim of hedonism.
He who is signed with the mark on his hand makes of his own self the center of all his actions, looks upon others as objects to be used and to be exploited for his own advantage, and he becomes a victim of unbridled egoism and of lovelessness.
Message #410d-n The Mark on the Forehead and on the Hand – September 8, 1989
We see that Mother Mary indicates the mark is more abstract than physical. It’s what’s in your heart and mind that matters. It’s what you support that matters. If you have a heart for worship of Jesus, you will resist any movement from the anti-Church, from Ecclesiastical Masonry, to deny Him that worship. If you believe Jesus is not just a way, but THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, then you will not receive the mark of the Sea Beast.
Mother Mary also had this to say in that same message about being sealed with the sign of Christ:
If my Adversary is signing, with his mark, all his followers, the time has come when I also, your heavenly Leader, am signing, with my motherly seal, all those who have consecrated themselves to my Immaculate Heart and have formed part of my army.
I am imprinting my seal on your foreheads with the most holy sign of the Cross of my Son Jesus. Thus I am opening the human intellect to receive his divine word, to love it, and to live it. I am leading you to entrust yourselves completely to Jesus who has revealed it to you. And I am making of you today courageous witnesses of faith. Against those signed on the forehead with the blasphemous mark, I am opposing my children signed with the Cross of Jesus Christ.
And then I am directing all your activity to the perfect glorification of the Most Holy Trinity. For this, I am imprinting upon your hands my seal which is the sign of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. With the sign of the Father, your human activity becomes directed towards a perfect cooperation with the plans of his divine providence, which still today arranges all things for your good. With the sign of the Son, all your actions become profoundly inserted into the mystery of his divine redemption. With the sign of the Holy Spirit, everything you do becomes open to his powerful force for sanctification, which breathes everywhere like a powerful fire, to renew from its foundations the whole world.
My beloved children, allow yourselves all to be signed on the forehead and on the hand with my motherly seal…
Message #410o-r The Mark on the Forehead and on the Hand – September 8, 1989
Father Cortese said in the cenacle that Mother Mary is the General leading this battle to defeat Satan. How humiliating it is for the great satan to be removed by such a humble women. If the devil was defeated by Jesus himself, that would not be humiliating since he would be defeated by the Son of God. But to be defeated by a mere women, is disgraceful. But then again, Mother Mary is no mere women. She is the daughter of God, the mother of the Son, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. No other man or women in history even comes close to those credentials. Ave Maria!!
Q&A
Can you explain when Masonry or Freemasonry might have suffered a mortal wound?
What does the Land Beast represent?
How does the Land Beast lead unknowing participants along a path counter to God?
What is the difference between the mark and the seal?
In my previous post “The Sea Beast and the Land Beast” I talked very briefly about the Sea Beast, the beast rising out of the sea. The description in Revelation contains so much more and it’s time to unpack the mysteries of the heads, horns, diadems, and blasphemous names written on the heads.
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads.
Revelation 13:1
Why should Christians be concerned about this beast? Because that is the beast that is allowed to make war with Christians, to conquer them, and to kill them.
Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.
Revelation 13:7-8
The beast is so powerful that all those whose name IS NOT written in the book of life will worship it? Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” Rev 13:4
If you are interested in making sure your name is written in the book of life, take heed. If you are interested in making sure you DO NOT worship the beast (or the dragon), take heed. Understand this beast above all others in Revelation.
Virgen_del_Apocalipsis_-_Miguel_Cabrera
I am the Virgin of Revelation. In me, the masterpiece of the Father is realized in such a perfect manner, that He can shed on me the light of his predilection. The Word assumes his human nature in my virginal womb, and thus can come to you by means of my true function as Mother. To My Beloved Sons, message 198, April 24, 1980
The Holy Spirit draws me, like a magnet, into the depths of the life of love between the Father and the Son, and I become interiorly transformed and so assimilated to Him as to be his Spouse.
I will bring you to the full understanding of Sacred Scripture. Above all, I will read to you the pages of its last book, which you are living. In it, everything is already predicted, even that which must still come to pass. The battle to which I am calling you is clearly described, and my great victory is foretold. For this reason, I repeat: do not fear; have confidence! In my Immaculate Heart, you will experience the joy and the peace that, even today, my risen Son gives to all of you.
To My Beloved Sons, message 198, April 24, 1980
What did the “Virgin of Revelation” tell Fr. Gobbi about the beast that rose out of the sea? In message 405 she explains with the care of a mother and the confidence that the victory is already foretold.
In 1917 Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima said “in the end my Immaculate Heart with triumph.” In message 405 to Fr. Gobbi she says “my Immaculate Heart becomes today the sign of my sure victory, in the great struggle which is being fought out between the followers of the huge Red Dragon and the followers of the Woman Clothed with the Sun.” message 405b
“In this terrible struggle, there comes up from the sea, to the aid of the Dragon, a beast like a leopard.” message 405c
To Fr. Gobbi on June 3, 1989,Our Lady continues, “If the Red Dragon is Marxist atheism, the Black Beast is Freemasonry. The Dragon manifests himself in the force of his power; the Black Beast, on the other hand, acts in the shadow, keeps out of sight and hides himself in such a way as to enter in everywhere. He has the claws of a bear and the mouth of a lion, because he works everywhere with cunning and with the means of social communication, that is to say, through propaganda.”message 405c
It is very sobering to reflect on the fact that in 1989 we were told that the social communication would become the propaganda of our times. With Fake News leading the charge towards a great schism in the USA, is it no wonder so many are deceived. Even the church today is going through the struggles of a great schism, even greater than the schism of 1517 where a German monk took 9M from the church and led them into heresy.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24
From what happened in 1517 we can see that a false prophet arose from within the ranks of the church to lead astray even the elect, if that were possible. Are those that followed that German monk part of the elect?
Yet, I digress, back to the Black Beast and Freemasonry… What are the characteristics of the Black Beast, the beast that arises from the sea?
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads.
Rev 13:1
Are the ten horns, ten diadems and seven heads important? Are those symbols used in anyway to pull the children of God away from the true faith? The number seven is significant in the bible because it represents completion. God created all things in seven days. In message 405 to Fr. Gobbi, Our Lady reveals the meaning of the seven heads, “the seven heads indicate the various masonic lodges, which act everywhere in a subtle and dangerous way.”
She also explains the ten horns in this way. “Masonry rules and governs throughout the whole world by means of the ten horns. The horn, in the biblical world, has always been an instrument of amplification, a way of making one’s voice better heard, a strong means of communication.” Is it possible that many if not most of today’s media sources are ruled by Freemasons?
How high in the Catholic hierarchy are Freemasons? One person reached the pinnacle of Freemasonry by being elected the Grand Master. He describes how his life changed and he began following Jesus Christ to the Catholic Church in his podcast series here. He, above all other Catholics, understands Freemasonry and has done extensive research into those in the Catholic ranks who promote the ideals of Freemasonry.
He wrote a piece recently on why Pope Francis could be considered the “THE FREEMASON’S POPE” ?
And what did Our Lady say about the “blasphemous name upon its heads”?
The aim of Masonry is not to deny God, but to blaspheme Him. The Beast opens his mouth to utter blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his dwelling place, and against all those who dwell in heaven. The greatest blasphemy is that of denying the worship due to God alone by giving it to creatures and to Satan himself.
To My Beloved Sons, message 405, June 3, 1989
The error of humanism is that it places onto the creature the worship due to God alone. Compassion is important and all are expected to abide by the corporal works of mercy. But the concern for the compassion of others could lead you to believe that it is more important make people feel comfortable about where they believe they are in their journey with Christ rather than helping to instruct them by providing slight corrections known as “admonishing the sinner” which is one of the seven spiritual works of mercy. Even worse would be to teach Catholics they do not need to attend Sunday Mass but watching in their homes is all Christ wants or is expecting. Christ expects us to hunger for Him above our own lives, and to receive “our daily bread,” the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith. Humanism places concern for the creature above concern for the worship of God.
Mother Mary continues in message 405 by discussing the ten horns in contrast with God’s ten commandments.
If the Lord has communicated his Law with the Ten Commandments, Freemasonry spreads everywhere, through the power of its ten horns, a law which is completely opposed to that of God.
To the commandment of the Lord: ‘You shall not have any other gods but me,’ it builds other false idols, before which many today prostrate themselves in adoration.
To the commandment: ‘You shall not take the name of God in vain,’ it sets itself up in opposition by blaspheming God and his Christ, in many subtle and diabolical ways, even to reducing his Name indecorously to the level of a brand-name of an object of sale and of producing sacrilegious films concerning his life and his divine Person.
To the commandment: ‘Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day,’it transforms the Sunday into a weekend, into a day of sports, of competitions and of entertainments.
To the commandment: ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ it opposes a new model of family based on cohabitation, even between homosexuals.
To the commandment: ‘You shall not kill,’ it has succeeded in making abortion legal everywhere, in making euthanasia acceptable, and in causing respect due to the value of human life all but disappear.
To the commandment: ‘You shall not commit impure acts,’ it justifies, exalts and propagates every form of impurity, even to the justification of acts against nature.
To the commandment: ‘You shall not steal,’ it works to the end that theft, violence, kidnapping and robbery spread more and more.
To the commandment: ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ it acts in such a way that the law of deceit, lying and duplicity becomes more and more propagated.
To the commandment: ‘You shall not covet the goods and the wife of another,’ it works to corrupt in the depths of the conscience, betraying the mind and the heart of man.
In this way souls become driven along the perverse and wicked road of disobedience to the laws of the Lord, become submerged in sin and are thus prevented from receiving the gift of grace and of the life of God.
To My Beloved Sons, message 405, June 3, 1989
How much truer today are these words than when they were spoken in 1989? Have we seen recently where people “prostrate themselves in adoration” to false idols like Mother Earth, aka Pachamama? Have we heard people using God’s name as an exclamation as their favorite team scores a touch down or using “oh my” before God’s name as if it should be used improperly and without grace. Have we seen a new family model being setup based on cohabitation or accepting unions even between homosexuals? Have we seen more Catholics vote in 2020 for a candidate who openly supports abortion for any reason, restricting religious liberties from organizations like the Little Sisters of the Poor, and aiding the most aggressive communist country ever known, aka China? And they did that to the demise of the one leader who has fought more aggressively for pro-life issues than any other in the past 20 years.
It does appear the Sea Beast (the Black Beast) in cooperation with the huge Red Dragon, are winning the current battle between the dragon and the women clothed in the sun.
Message 405 to Fr. Gobbi is one of the longest because Mother Mary had much to cover. After describing the ten horns and the assault on the ten commandments by Freemasons, She then describes the “blasphemous name upon” the seven heads by describing the seven virtues and Freemasons seven capital vices.
To the seven theological and cardinal virtues, which are the fruit of living in the grace of God, Freemasonry counters with the diffusion of the seven capital vices, which are the fruit of living habitually in the state of sin. To faith it opposes pride; to hope, lust; to charity, avarice; to prudence, anger; to fortitude, sloth; to justice, envy; to temperance, gluttony.
Whoever becomes a victim of the seven capital vices is gradually led to take away the worship that is due to God alone, in order to give it to false divinities, who are the very personification of all these vices. And in this consists the greatest and most horrible blasphemy. This is why on every head of the Beast there is written a blasphemous name. Each masonic lodge has the task of making a different divinity adored.
The first head bears the blasphemous name of pride, which opposes itself to the virtue of faith and leads one to offer worship to the god of human reason and haughtiness, of technology and progress.
The second head bears the blasphemous name of lust, which opposes itself to the virtue of hope and brings one to offer worship to the god of sexuality and of impurity.
The third head bears the blasphemous name of avarice, which opposes itself to the virtue of charity and spreads everywhere the worship of the god of money.
The fourth head bears the blasphemous name of anger, which opposes itself to the virtue of prudence and leads one to offer worship to the god of discord and division.
The fifth head bears the blasphemous name of sloth, which opposes itself to the virtue of fortitude and disseminates the worship of the idol of fear, of public opinion and of exploitation.
The sixth head bears the blasphemous name of envy, which opposes itself to the virtue of justice and leads one to offer worship to the idol of violence and of war.
The seventh head bears the blasphemous name of gluttony, which opposes itself to the virtue of temperance and leads one to offer worship to the so highly extolled idol of hedonism, of materialism and of pleasure.
To My Beloved Sons, message 405, June 3, 1989
Virtue Fruit of living in the grace of God
Vice Virtue opposed by the blasphemous name on a head of the beast
Faith
Pride
Hope
Lust
Charity
Avarice
Prudence
Anger
Fortitude
Sloth
Justice
Envy
Temperance
Gluttony
Table 1, The list of Virtues and Vices
Again, it does appear the Sea Beast (the Black Beast) in cooperation with the huge Red Dragon, are winning the current battle between the dragon and the women clothed in the sun.
Mother Mary concludes her message to Fr. Gobbi with hope and the assurance that victory is imminent.
Now you understand how, in these times, against the terrible and insidious attack of the Black Beast, namely of Masonry, my Immaculate Heart becomes your refuge and the sure road which brings you to God. In my Immaculate Heart there is delineated the tactic made use of by your heavenly Mother, to fight back against and to defeat the subtle plot made use of by the Black Beast.
For this reason I am training all my children to observe the Ten Commandments of God; to live the Gospel to the letter; to make frequent use of the sacraments, especially those of Penance and Eucharistic Communion, as necessary helps in order to remain in the grace of God; to practice the virtues vigorously; to walk always along the path of goodness, of love, of purity and of holiness.
Thus I am making use of you, my little children who have consecrated yourselves to me, to unmask all these subtle snares which the Black Beast sets for you and to make futile in the end the great attack which Masonry has launched today against Christ and his Church. And in the end, especially in his greatest defeat, there will appear in all its splendor, the triumph of my Immaculate Heart in the world.“
To My Beloved Sons, message 405, June 3, 1989
For those wanting to research further the consecration to Jesus, through Mary, may want to purchase the book by Fr. Gaitley, The 33 days to Morning Glory. Or listen to what St. Maximilian Kolbe defined in his 9 day devotion.
With this knowledge about the details of the beast that arose from the sea, we can now move on to what the Mark of the Beast represents. If the beast is Freemasonry, what could the mark on the hand or forehead represent?
The Dragon manifests himself in the force of his power; the Black Beast, on the other hand, acts in the shadow, keeps out of sight and hides himself in such a way as to enter in everywhere. He has the claws of a bear and the mouth of a lion, because he works everywhere with cunning and with the means of social communication, that is to say, through propaganda.”message 405c
For those wanting to research further the consecration to Jesus, through Mary, may want to purchase the book by Fr. Gaitley,