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Apparitions of Mary "Messages from Heaven"

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Author Topic: Apparitions of Mary "Messages from Heaven"  (Read 2704 times)
Christian40
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« on: May 08, 2011, 12:05:11 am »



Tens of millions visit apparition sites hoping to encounter the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many believe that these increasing manifestations signal the advent of a new era. Thousands of messages from the apparition of Mary indicate that we are entering a critical moment in world history - cataclysmic changes may soon occur. Those who follow apparitions believe Mary has come to turn us back to God, while others insist that these events are either fabrications or the working of Satan. Does the Bible anticipate apparitions, signs and wonders in the last days? Does the Word of God reveal the origin of these phenomena? How might the apparition of Mary and other paranormal events transform the world in the third millennium?

For more info please see http://www.eternal-productions.org

Queen of Rome, Queen of Islam, Queen of All

« Last Edit: May 08, 2011, 06:53:36 am by Dok » Report Spam   Logged

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Mark
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« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2011, 06:15:12 am »

How the Catholic Church is using the apparitions of Mary to bring Islam and well all the worlds religions together.



According to the book of Revelation, a woman will reign over the kings of the earth in the final days. The apostle John marveled with great amazement when he saw the woman who says in her heart, "I sit as queen" (Revelation 18:7).

Who is this queen? Is she the Queen of Heaven? How could she possibly encompass nations and kingdoms? What will be her fate and the fate of those who follow her? Will signs and wonders associated with this "Queen of All" and her son (the Eucharistic Jesus) usher in the "Eucharistic Reign of Jesus" (also referred to many as the "Second Coming")?

Queen of Rome, Queen of Islam, Queen of All: The Marian Apparitions plan to unite all religions Under the Roman Catholic Church by Tetlow, Oakland and Myers, will provide biblical answers to these and other questions. The book documents who the "Queen" is and the role she plays to prepare the counterfeit bride for the counterfeit Christ.

Whole book.
http://www.eternal-productions.org/PDFS/Queen.pdf
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« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2011, 06:16:01 am »

THE SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA BECOMING AN INTERFAITH SHRINE.

The following articles point in the direction of an inter-faith, non-Christian, one-world religion. The attempt to build the $46 million building may have failed (at the present, because of the degree of protest), but there is no indication that interfaith meetings won’t continue there. Also, the first article makes it clear that pagans are already visiting Marian shrines.

Fatima to Become Interfaith Shrine!
[A Catholic website quotes the article from a Portuguese newspaper, with the quip “Read it and weep!”] http://www.dailycatholic.org/no110803.htm


Fatima to Become Interfaith Shrine? An Account from One Who Was There.
[this has pictures including one in Portuguese, a newspaper or magazine that says Fatima: Sanctuary of Various Creeds (in Portuguese)] [This article was written by a conservative Catholic who was appalled by it.] http://www.fatima.org/sprep111303.htm


Shrine Rector Confirms New Ecumenical Orientation at Fatima http://www.fatima.org/news020504.htm

Is a Sleeping Giant About to Awaken?
[Catholic outrage and interfaith plans for Fatima] [The picture at night shows the statue of Our Lady of Fatima being carried high up on a platform during a candlelight procession that may involve up to a million pilgrims] http://traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/g01htFatimaInterfaithShrineReaction.htm


Site of Fatima Apparitions to Become “Interfaith” Facility?
[from a Catholic organization that is protesting against it; they say that the rector has “ambiguously” denied the charges -- See the section “Ambiguous Denial” at http://www.fatima.org/prrel112503.htm


A commentary on all this by Roger Oakland, Understand the Times http://www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c19.shtml
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« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2011, 06:16:45 am »

Egypt's 1960s Remarkable Virgin Mary Sightings
By Amargi Hillier  (Cairo)



While all in America were watching the Chicago riots at the Democratic Convention, or viewing live war zone broadcasts from Vietnam or were being mesmerized by the Watergate hearings on television, the Mother of Jesus was appearing for tens of thousands to see in the land of the pyramids at a Coptic church constructed to commemorate the area in Egypt where she had come with Joseph and Jesus when they all fled from Herod. Starting in April, 1968, her apparitions of light changed the lives of thousands. Her appearances at Zeitun were astounding. She was seen by more than a million people. The apparitions were broadcast by Egyptian TV, photographed by hundreds of professional photographers and personally witnessed by Egyptian President Abdul Nasser. The apparitions lasted for three years with numerous unaccountable healings recorded by various medical professionals. The local police, who initially thought the apparitions were an elaborate hoax, searched a 15-mile radius surrounding the site to uncover any type of device that could be used to project such images. They were completely unsuccessful.



Today the cathedral of Zeitoun, a massive concrete bunker-like basilica, overflows with the faithful. Inside, priests in dark robes and boys in white gowns and scarlet sashes walk towards the hazy golden altar, bearing billowing incense and chanting the Coptic liturgy. The whole massive edifice was built to commemorate the fact that 25 years ago, the Holy Mother herself honored this spot with her presence. To some it was a blinding light, unlike anything on earth. To others she was unmistakable, the Virgin Mary, walking as if in the flesh, on the roof of the small chapel across from where the basilica now stands, looking like the paintings and icons they revered.



Her first visit was on the night of April 2, 1968. Two Muslim watchmen at a garage saw a woman walking the roof of the church across the street. Afraid she was going to jump, they ran out shouting at her not to take her life, summoning a crowd below. The priest of the chapel was the first to believe it was an apparition. The longest single appearance was on April 30, 1968, when the vision remained from 2:45 a.m. until 5 a.m. The nightly apparition attracted vast crowds of both Copts and Muslims, and was declared a genuine miracle by the Coptic Church.

During the year when apparitions visited the small church on Tamambay Street in Zeitoun, thousands came, saw and believed, from the humble to the highest bishops of the Coptic church. They describe in detail what they saw 25 years ago.

Father Butros Cayid, brother of Pope Shenouda, presides over the cathedral of Zeitoun. "I saw her with my own eyes. The apparition appeared four hours continually, and all the people were shouting, 'San Maria, San Maria! Our Holy Mother, our Holy Mother!'. Father Butros has described her many times, to the believers and the curious. "In a blue dress, glittering,"  adds Hermina Amin, deacon of the church. "Sometimes you could see every part of the body. Sometimes she appeared at the window, sometimes the whole figure." Others remember her as a light. "She came only at night," said La'ami Tawfia, volunteer director of church projects. "I saw her once. A light, that was weak. After a while, it grew brighter. She was completely white, her face, her robes, everything"



Saraim Wasily was one of the thousands of people who came during the year that the Virgin appeared. Unlike most, who were kept away from the site by police, he was able to watch from his brother's apartment a few dozen meters from the church. "I saw her twice. She was  very tall, and she did not stand on the ground. I watched her for more than two hours. She shone more than the moon, all completely white, sometimes with her arms together and sometimes with her arms outstretched. Every night there were doves, and doves, you know, do not fly at night."

Despite the police, the street was packed with the faithful and curiosity seekers. "If you wanted to go from this house to the church [across the street], you would take 20 minutes ... There were Muslims and Christians, and everyone was as one, one religion together." His wife interjects with a chuckle, "He was so scared, his hair stood on end." "Not from fear," Wasily responds, finger upraised, "from piety!" Word spread and the faithful came. Foreign visitors and high church officials visited the site and left believing they had seen the Virgin Mary.



For a year, the apparition appeared sporadically, never at the same time, accompanied by lights, doves, and stars. Miracles were reported. The Coptic Pope sent an official delegation of bishops to observe the appearances.

After seeing the vision walk the rooftops, they solemnly certified that the apparition was genuine. But after two years the visits became almost routine. Distinguished visitors could apply for permission with the patriarch to "Virgin-watch". As winter came, the crowds dwindled, the police re-opened the street, the appearances decreased to an odd star or pigeon, and soon they stopped completely. "She came to remind us that God is with us forever," said Father Butros, "and as a sign of peace, because she was bearing an olive branch. She told us that all the Egyptians will be safe and blessed forever."

Others have put the Virgin in her context. She came at a period of crisis in Egyptian history, the 1967 war having vitiated Nasser's pan- Arab appeal. Mary's coming coincided with the  return of veiling, the sprouting of beards, and the other signs of the Islamist renaissance. She helped to cement the advent of spiritual over secularist politics.

Some anthropologists suggest that Mary's popularity in Egypt is a vestige of the Isis cult, itself an incarnation of primeval mother - goddess worship. Virgin sightings may be among paganism's contributions to monotheistic mysticism. But to Father Butros and his flock, the appearance of the Mother of Jesus in their humble church in Zeitoun, dressed like an icon so that there would be no mistake as to her identity, was heaven's endorsement of  all they believed.




http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/vmary.htm
 
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« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2011, 06:26:01 am »

Apparitions!

          She appears as a living, breathing, three-dimensional lady enveloped in exquisite light. Visionaries and seers describe a beautiful, young woman glowing in radiant splendor. Seers, while describing her as brilliant to behold and arrayed with every splendor, admit that the "Queen of Heaven" transcends human description.

Marian followers also report seeing strange lights and glorious visions that often accompany an apparition. Visions of angels, glowing orbs, tongues of fire, mysterious solar phenomena, and peculiar luminous clouds have been sighted. Because of the tremendous pleasure and joy experienced by visionaries during an apparition, the term ecstasy[1] is the word most often used to describe this event. Those who have witnessed her, admit that they are paralyzed and enraptured by her beauty and charm.

Numerous healings and miracles have been reported at apparition sites around the globe. In addition, the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary has repeatedly announced that her most significant signs and wonders are yet future! She admits that she has not yet revealed her full glory to the world. She predicts heavenly signs and wonders that the whole world will soon witness. Consider the following messages received by three separate visionaries:

My sign is emerging. God wills it thus. Only my children recognize it, as it reveals itself in secrecy, and they praise the Eternal One for it. Today I cannot reveal my power to the whole world. I must withdraw with my children. In secrecy I will perform miracles on the souls until the number of sacrifices has become full. ?Then I can reveal myself to the whole world?[2]

Soon, I will come, my children! Soon, I will be in your midst with a great light. I will enlighten the entire world. Many souls will cry because they did not listen to my call. ?I will pass above everyone in a cloud and everyone will see me. What will become of those who insulted me and made a laughing stock of me? ?I will come soon, my sons, to travel through the entire world. I will give a great sign in the sky for those who will still want to be saved. All those who have recourse to me, who have a look of repentance, this will be sufficient to save them.[3]

I wish to also tell you that before my apparitions end completely, I shall be seen by every denomination and religion throughout this world.  I will be seen among all people, not for just a moment, but everyone will have a chance to see me. As I appeared in Zeitoun, I shall appear again so everyone may see me.  Pray and help my plans to be realized, not just here, but throughout the world.[4] 

The Numbers are Staggering

          Consider that 15 to 20 million Marian followers visit a single shrine in Guadalupe, Mexico, every single year! The shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared in 1531 to seer Juan Diego. On December 12, 1999, the anniversary of the Virgin Mary's appearance, five million pilgrims visited the shrine to pay honor to Our Lady.[5] In addition, 1999 marked the first time in church history that the feast of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated by all bishops and priests in the Western Hemisphere. In an apostolic exhortation delivered during his visit to Mexico in 1999, Pope John Paul II elevated December 12 to a holy day for the Catholic Church.[6]

In war-torn Bosnia, an estimated 30 million pilgrims have visited Medjugorje since the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary began in 1981.[7] Besides the six visionaries who regularly receive messages from the Virgin, thousands of pilgrims claim to see signs and wonders; experience healing; and hear the voice of Mary at Medjugorje. Visiting Medjugorje is a painstaking task involving many hours by bus over war-torn roads. The millions of pilgrims who venture to Medjugorje do so with the knowledge that their pilgrimage will be difficult and dangerous -- yet they continue to come in droves.

In Conyers, Georgia, seer Nancy Fowler has received up to 100,000 visitors to her farm on a single day.[8] The pilgrims come from all over, many traveling great distances to hear the most recent message from the Blessed Mother. At the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, attendance has increased to 500,000 per year.[9]

Marian Apparitions Everywhere

Marian apparitions from almost every state in America are being reported -- many of these sites are drawing thousands. From New York City to San Francisco numerous reported visitations from the Queen of Heaven have been documented.[10] The sheer number of Marian followers and their determination to hear from the Virgin reveals that these individuals are not merely curious sightseers, but rather a huge, growing flock of Marian disciples.

Five and one-half million pilgrims visit a single apparition site in Lourdes, France annually.[11] Poland's Marian shrine Our Lady of Czestochowa (a favorite of the late Pope John Paul II) draws an estimated five million pilgrims a year.[12] A single apparition site in Knock, Ireland, has drawn millions who come to pray to Our Lady of Knock and visit the Apparition Gable. This Marian shrine has been honored by four popes during the 20th century, including Pope John Paul II, who went on pilgrimage to Knock, Ireland in 1979.[13]

In Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, a location where the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared more than 50 years ago, multiplied thousands of religious devotees come from all over the world. The site has become so popular that preparations are underway to construct a statue of the Virgin twice as high as New York's Statue of Liberty. A local newspaper reports that:

The grand scale heroic statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, part of the projected 500-acre Mystical City complex, will top at 1,500 feet. It will have room inside to contain radio and TV stations, various chapels, apartments, a food court, conference rooms and an observation deck.[14]

At the famous apparition site in Fatima, Portugal, pilgrims numbering more than one million are in attendance during the October 13th anniversary of the 1917 apparition. Total annual attendance at Fatima is estimated to be 4.5 million, and growing.[15] The list of major apparition sites goes on and on.

Thousands gather every year in Amsterdam to celebrate the International Day of Prayer of the Lady and Mother of All Nations. Scores of priests, bishops and cardinals preside over the event, where thousands of participants from over seventy countries and six continents converge to honor the Lady of All Nations.[16]  This apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to visionary Ida Peerdeman numerous times. Her main message was that she wants unity. This unity will come only when the Church and pope officially proclaim the Lady of All Nations as Co-Redemptrix.[17]  To date, millions of faithful Marian advocates have petitioned Rome to officially name her Co-Redemptrix.[18]

Growing Worldwide Popularity

The popularity of the apparitions and her messages has grown to mammoth proportions. Marian historians are quick to point out that apparitions of Mary have been recorded throughout the centuries, but never in the history of Marian apparitions has she appeared with such consistency and frequency as in our day.

In 1997, Newsweek ran a cover story on the Virgin Mary. In the article they write: "In many ways, the 20th century has belonged to Mary. From almost every continent, visionaries have reported more than 400 'apparitions' of the Virgin -- more than in the previous three centuries combined.... Taken together, these visions point to what the Marian Movement believes is a millennial 'Age of Mary.'"[19]

We might expect this phenomenon to occur in countries that are predominately Catholic, but apparitions are being reported from Japan to Africa, from Korea to Australia, from Iraq to Israel, from Egypt to Syria. Whether looking deep within the former Soviet Union or among the peoples of India, one thing is found in common -- they are all allegedly being visited by a woman who calls herself Mary, the Queen of Heaven, Our Lady. Father Robert Faricy, quoted in the book Queen of the Cosmos, states:

 Never in the history of Christianity has the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to so many people over so long a period of time with such regularity. Moreover, it seems that the apparitions at Medjugorje have ushered in a new Marian age. There are reports of her appearing everywhere.[20]

 In his book Call of the Ages, author Thomas W. Petrisko writes: "Millions and millions on all continents of the globe have heard and responded to the Virgin Mary's apparitions and messages. Indeed, there is a significant upswing in attendance at Marian shrines everywhere."[21]

The Rev. Charles Dickson, Ph.D., a Lutheran minister, reported this trend in Queen Magazine: "People around the world are traveling enormous distances to demonstrate in person their veneration of the Mother of Our Lord."[22] He goes on to state that France alone has 937 pilgrimage shrines and that at the most popular Marian shrine in France, attendance has increased ten percent in two years.

There are over 1500 Marian pilgrimage shrines in Italy, which account for 85% of all their shrines.[23] These are not backyard grottos, but rather significant shrines where Marian followers pilgrimage to! And while devotion to Mary is most noticeable in Catholic countries, Marian devotion is attracting an enormous following from every religion, race and nation.

Concerning the growing number of apparitions worldwide, noted Catholic Marian author Michael Brown wrote: "[During the second half of the 20th century Marian apparitions] grew to remarkable proportion ? if every daily or weekly apparition is counted in cases where a seer had more than one, the number would not be calculable....the French periodical Le Monde once estimated twenty-one thousand apparitions between 1976 and 1986!"[24]

Our Lady's Ecumenical Peace Plan

A consistent message given by the thousands of apparitions currently manifesting worldwide is one of peace, unity, and tolerance. At Medjugorje, the apparition of Mary has stated:

Dear children, today I invite you to peace. I have come here as the Queen of Peace and I desire to enrich you with my Motherly Peace.... I invite you to become carriers and witnesses of my peace to this unpeaceful world. Let peace rule in the whole world.[25]

In another message, Mary told the seers: "Tell this priest, tell everyone, that it is you who are divided on earth. The Muslims and the Orthodox, for the same reason as Catholics, are equal before my Son and I. You are all my children."[26] Mary's message of peace, unity, and tolerance is one that a distressed and perplexed world craves.

Her reported messages in Betania, Venezuela typify her words of hope given around the world: "My children, I am giving you a piece of Heaven.... Betania, Venezuela. It is for everyone, not only Catholics.... My message is of faith, love, and hope. More than anything, it brings reconciliation between people and nations. It is the only thing that can save this century from war and eternal death."[27]

          According to Charles Dickson, author of A Protestant Pastor Looks at Mary, Mary transcends our cultural and even religious boundaries:

A Muslim student visiting Rome wants especially to see the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Surprised? The poetry of a Syrian mystic is replete with Marian devotion. Surprised? Martin Luther recommended prayer to Mary. Surprised? An American Pentecostalist minister begins to visit shrines of Marian apparitions. Surprised? Muslims refer to Mary as il-Sittneh, or Our Lady. Surprised? A chapter in the Koran is named after her. Surprised? Mary's deep kindness as a mother is portrayed in Chinese art. Surprised? And now a presbyterian minister has written a book recommending praying the rosary. Still surprised? ? a closer investigation of both past history and current events points out that Mary has a universal appeal that transcends our cultural, geographical, and even religious boundaries.[28]

Let the Walls Come Down

          In 2005, Time Magazine featured an image of Mary as The Mother of God on the cover with the title "Hail, Mary -- Catholics have long revered her, but now Protestants are finding their own reasons to celebrate the mother of Jesus." The article explains the stunning trend of the growing Marian devotion among Protestant churches:

In a shift whose ideological breadth is unusual in the fragmented Protestant world, a long-standing wall around Mary appears to be eroding?Mary is also gaining popularity at Protestant divinity schools, where her icons adorn future pastor's walls.[29]

          The article cites examples that were previously unimaginable. For instance, in a Methodist church on Chicago's South Side, flanking the altar are two Mary statues with fresh roses at their feet, and hanging from the hands of the baby Jesus is a Rosary. The altar cover presents the church's most stunning image: Mary again, this time totally surrounded by a multi-colored halo.

          R. Albert Mohler, Jr. -- president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary -- makes the following comments concerning the Time Magazine article on Mary:

The Time cover story is part of a larger phenomenon, with many mainline Protestants turning to a reconsideration of Mary and incorporating the veneration of Mary into personal devotions and corporate worship. Some are going so far as to acknowledge Mary as an intercessor, addressing prayers to her as well as to other saints. Surprisingly enough, some Protestants now argue that believers should pray to Mary, and should request her intercession.[30]

The Queen Promises Unity

Almost all of the apparitions have stated that Mary is going to usher in a new era of peace and unity. Under her mantle all people will gather in peace and solve the problems facing the world. Her emphasis on unity and ecumenism has increasingly garnered attention from the media. The Los Angeles Times reported in an article entitled "Mary's Rising Popularity Goes Beyond Faith" that:

A growing number of Americans from all Christian denominations are reaching out to the Virgin Mary as a comforting conduit of spirituality and a symbol of peace in troubled times.... Reported sightings of Mary have steadily increased across the globe in recent years.... Her maternal gaze seems to have an ecumenical appeal.... It's not just Roman Catholics who are interested in Mary and following the apparitions.... Each day, thousands of people bring their troubles to the sites where the Virgin is claimed to have appeared.[31]

One of the best witnessed series of apparitions occurred at a Coptic Orthodox church in Zeitoun, Egypt, a suburb of Cairo. People from many countries and of varied religious backgrounds witnessed the apparitions from 1968 to1973. It is estimated that the total number of witnesses numbered in the millions! Moslems, Copts, Roman Catholics, Protestants, and others were united in their adoration of the Lady who seemed to be composed of light. Moslems chanted from the Koran: "Mary, God has chosen thee. And purified thee; He has chosen thee above all women." At Zeitoun, as well as countless other sites around the globe, the phenomenon draws together people from every conceivable background.

The following message from the "Lady and Mother of All Nations" states her clear mission:

Try to understand the reason for My coming on this day. The Lord Jesus Christ has selected this great day for "the Lady of All Nations." Her mission is to establish unity among Her nations. She is sent to make one great Community of Her nations. To gather all nations into one Community, that is the task set before the world in this present time, which I have heralded repeatedly.[32]

The Queen's Appeal

In 1996, Life Magazine featured Mary on the cover and asked these questions: "Why are two billion Hail Marys said daily? Why did five million people, many non-Christian, visit Lourdes this year to drink the healing waters? Why did more than 10 million trek to Guadalupe to pray to Our Lady??Why the apparitions? Why are Mary hymns creeping into Methodist songbooks??What is it about Mary?"[33] The Life article goes on to list numerous apparitions and to quote various statistics. For instance, Life notes that "In Italy, 50 weeping Madonna statues have been reported in the past two years." 

Life explains that Mary's popularity is not just among Catholics: "One of the intriguing aspects of the latest rise of Mary is this: The emotional need for her is so irresistible to a troubled world that people without an obvious link to the Virgin are being drawn to her. It's not news that Muslims revere Mary as a pure and holy saint -- she's mentioned 34 times in the Koran, ?but to see large numbers of Muslims making pilgrimages to Christian Marian shrines is a remarkable thing. Interdenominational Marian prayer groups are springing up throughout the world."[34]

There can be no doubt that her ecumenical messages and her maternal appearances attract multitudes. In addition, there is another aspect to the apparitions that is also drawing many. Reported miracles, signs, and wonders have risen sharply in recent decades. In a world that seeks interaction with the supernatural, it is no surprise that many flock to the miraculous. These miracles, if true, would rival the miracles performed in Moses' day. Consider the phenomenon known as "the Miracle of the Sun" commonly reported at sites around the globe.

Miracle of the Sun

At the Fatima apparition site, on October 13, 1917, 70,000 people witnessed the sun fall from the sky. These eyewitnesses said that they watched as the sun fell from heaven toward the crowd and then return to its normal position in the sky. Many thought this was signaling the end of the world and were sure they would perish. Here is a brief recount of the events at Fatima:

Just when it seemed that the ball of fire would fall upon and destroy them, the miracle ceased and the sun resumed its normal place in the sky, shining forth as peacefully as ever. When the people arose from the ground, cries of astonishment were heard on all sides. Their clothes, which had been soaking wet and muddy, now were clean and dry. Many of the sick and crippled had been cured of their afflictions.[35]

The Miracle of the Sun is a common, albeit fantastic, event at many apparition sites. At dozens of locations, literally millions have reported the sun miracle. It happened before a crowd of 100,000 in Puerto Rico on April 23, 1991, which was the 38th anniversary of the apparitions there.[36] It happened again in the Philippines on March 5, 1993, in front of a crowd of 300,000.[37] In El Cajas, Ecuador 120,000 pilgrims were in attendance when the miracle of the sun occurred there in the late 1980's. Similar events have been recorded at such apparition sites as Medjugorje, Bosnia; Denver, Colorado; Lubbock, Texas; and Conyers, Georgia.

The Miracle of the Sun is one of many supernatural wonders reported at apparition sites around the globe. Here is an abridged summary of the miracles reported at just one apparition site:

The appearances of the Mother of God in Medjugorje have been accompanied by a number of miracles, including physical healings (now numbered at 360), reports of the sun dancing or spinning in the sky, rosary links and medals that apparently change from silver to gold, and other phenomenon....Just as Christ worked miracles during his earthly life to authenticate his teaching and ministry, so Our Lady of Medjugorje seems to be using them to validate her presence and messages, which, as always, direct us to her Son.[38]

Queen of All

          While the title of this book may seem presumptuous, as we continue to document, it will become clear that the Queen of Heaven is truly gathering a massive, global following from ever religion and race. The many books on Marian apparitions express that there is a growing consensus that the world is looking for a heavenly Mother -- one who is tender, merciful, and non-judgmental, with the power and influence to solve our problems. Global peace, unity, and tolerance are repeatedly heralded by the Queen of Peace -- as she is often called. This is a common reason for the Marian apparition's universal appeal. The Lady and Mother of All Nations -- a title she ascribed to herself at a popular apparition site -- presents herself as kind and approachable, while at the same time claiming heavenly access and authority.

          In addition to maternal charm, the apparitions draw millions due to the numerous reported signs, wonders, and miracles. The testimony of pilgrims to a physical or emotional healing has proven irresistible to people from all walks of life. This combination of qualities that the apparitions put forth -- a caring Mother, a powerful intercessor, a bridge-builder, and a miracle worker -- has proved successful in bringing together multitudes who would not normally associate. In these difficult days, when our global problems seem insurmountable, a growing number are turning to the Queen of All as perhaps the world's best advocate.


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« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2011, 06:51:22 am »

Through the Demon Queen of Heaven known today as Mary, she is bringing all faiths together for the end time one world interfaith religion.

Mary and Other Religions

The maternal and sympathizing figure of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is so close to the human heart - of any human heart - whatever its culture, its time, its religion that the Blessed Virgin is loved and venerated beyond the Christian world!

The Virgin is universally honored as being pure; she is the Mother who is able to understand the human heart and man's need for love which is always the same on every horizon.

Thus for example, in Buddhism or Hinduism, religions so remote from the Christian Revelation, Mary is perceived as a Mother full of love whose tenderness is matched only by her courage to defend her beloved Son.

For this reason, many followers of these non-Christian religions are attracted to the Mother of Jesus and go to extent of even praying to her, as they would to their own mother.


Mary and Islam

Mary is known and respected - she is even prayed to at times - in Islam.
Mary is well-known in Islam because she is mentioned on several occasions in the Holy Qur'an, and in particular in the Sourate 19, as a virgin and mother - by divine intervention - of the Prophet Jesus.

Mary is venerated in Islam primarily for her virtues: her virginal purity, her humility and her piety, which makes of her a model for believers.

Muslims do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God

But Mary is not regarded as the Mother of God because the Muslims don't recognize Jesus as the Son of God incarnate, as God Himself. However, in Islam Jesus is just a great prophet, born by miracle, of an exceptional virgin.

Actually, the main point of convergence between Islam and Christianity is the recognition of a common Patriarch, Abraham from whom the Muslims, like the Jews and the Christians, hold their monotheist faith (belief in only one God).

But in spite of common references among the figures in the Bible who can be found again in the Qur'an, the Muslim and the Christian faith differ on the question of the origin of Mary herself because of a confusion in the Qur'an between Mary - Mother of Jesus - and Myriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, who lived in the 13th century B.C. 

Mary in the Holy Qur'an

What does the Holy Qur'an say about Mary and Jesus? (1)

And mention Marium in the Book when she drew aside from her family to an eastern place;
So she took a veil (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our spirit, and there appeared to her a well-made man.

She said: Surely I fly for refuge from you to the Beneficent God, if you are one guarding (against evil).

He said: I am only a messenger of your Lord: That I will give you a pure boy.

She said: When shall I have a boy and no mortal has yet touched me, nor have I been unchaste?

He said: Even so; your Lord says: It is easy to Me: and that We may make him a sign to men and a mercy from Us, and it is a matter which has been decreed.

So she conceived him; then withdrew herself with him to a remote place.
And the throes (of childbirth) compelled her to betake herself to the trunk of a palm tree. She said: Oh, would that I had died before this, and had been a thing quite forgotten!

Then (the child) called out to her from beneath her: Grieve not; surely your Lord has made a stream to flow beneath you;

And shake towards you the trunk of the palm tree, it will drop on you fresh ripe dates:

So eat and drink and refresh the eye. Then if you see any mortal, say: Surely I have vowed a fast to the Beneficent God, so I shall not speak to any man today.

And she came to her people with him, carrying him (with her). They said: O Marium! surely you have done a strange thing.

O sister of Haroun! your father was not a bad man, nor, was your mother an unchaste woman.

But she pointed to him. They said: How should we speak to one who was a child in the cradle?

He said: Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet;

And He has made me blessed wherever I may be, and He has enjoined on me prayer and poor-rate so long as I live;

And dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me insolent, unblessed;
And peace on me on the day I was born, and on the day I die, and on the day I am raised to life.

Such is Isa, son of Marium; (this is) the saying of truth about which they dispute.

It beseems not Allah that He should take to Himself a son, glory to be Him; when He has decreed a matter He only says to it "Be," and it is.

And surely Allah is my Lord and your Lord, therefore serve Him; this is the right path.

But parties from among them disagreed with each other, so woe to those who disbelieve, because of presence on a great.

How clearly shall they hear and how clearly shall they see on the day when they come to Us; but the unjust this day are in manifest error.

And warn them of the day of intense regret, when the matter shall have been decided; and they are (now) in negligence and they do not believe.

Surely We inherit the earth and all those who are on it, and to Us they shall be returned.

(Verses 16-40 of chapter 19 "Marium" from the Holy Qur'an)
 
- (1 ) It is interesting to note, while reading these passages, that Mary, although she is recognized by the text to be a virgin and the mother of Jesus, she is not considered to be the Mother of God. She is simply the mother of a prophet. In the Qur'an, Jesus is not considered to be the Son of God incarnate, but merely a simple prophet.

Do Muslims Believe that Mary Can Intercede for Men?

The Qur’an speaks of Mary in respectful, even admiring terms, and frequently invites the faithful to “remember her”: yes, “mention Mary” (Qur'an 19: 76). The common sight of Muslim men and women in Marian shrines invites one to ponder: Does Islam teach anything about Mary’s intercession like the Catholic Church (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 62 or 69)?

An example from Algiers

In Algiers, Algeria, the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa wasn’t Islamized during the recent push of Islamism, but has remained a place of pilgrimage. In the apse of that sanctuary is the inscription:

“Our Lady of Africa, pray for us and for the Muslims!”

This is a prayer written by Christians, accepted and tolerated by Muslims.

An example from Mozambique

In 1948, in Nampula, a delegation of Muslims interrupted a procession for Our Lady of Fatima, and their president, Galamussen R. Bangy, delivered an address to the Virgin by reading the following declaration:

 

“The Islamic community of S. A.Aga Khan, from the province of Niassa, united in the veneration of Our Lady of Fatima, cannot fail to pay its most sincere homage to the venerable Pilgrim statue who, from the Cova da Iria is being carried throughout the world and who, in this moment of historic importance, gives us the great honor and privilege of coming to us.”

 

O Our Lady of Fatima, bless our city

O Our Lady of Fatima, bless the whole human race, so that it may follow a path of peace, human fraternity and spiritual elevation.

O Our Lady of Fatima, grant concord to all men on earth.

O Our Lady of Fatima, allow us to pay you this homage, although insignificant, which comes directly from our hearts full of veneration and true love.[1]

 

This speech could partly be one suited for the occasion, to entertain local conviviality. We can’t dismiss the possible confusion for the Muslim audience between “Our Lady of Fatima” and “Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet” either. The fact remains that what you have here is an expression of the Muslims’ popular trust in Mary’s intercession. This Muslim prayer is a blessing for peace that could take root – although indirectly – with the surah of Mary, where the son of Mary is described as a non-violent being on whom Peace rests (Qur’an 19 : 33).

The Teaching of Islam

The Qur’an teaches that intercession is possible, but does not say who can intercede. Some verses warn that at the last Judgment, no one will be able to intercede before Allah, who will remain the only patron (surah 2: 48 or surah 6 : 51). (Cf. what has been said about determinism.)

 

In particular, there won’t be the possibility of intercession for those who will not have recognized in Muhammad the messenger of Allah (Surah 9 : 80).

Popular faith expects a certain intercession from Muhammad

 


Muhammad is the only one who can intercede because all others have sinned:


Adam ate of the fruit of the tree,


Noah did not take care of those who were sent to perdition,


Abraham argued about the religion agreeable to God,


Moses killed a man,


Jesus and his mother were adored as if they were gods. [2]

 

In such a context, speaking objectively of an intercession from Mary, whether in favor of Muslims or non-Muslims, doesn’t make a lot of sense in Islam.

An example that happened in Jordania

A monk from the abbey of Latroun in Israel shared a story he heard from the very mouth of Father Joseph, pastor of Anjara:

 


Nasser, a young Muslim serving as a paratrooper for the Jordanian army in Amman, was bedridden after making a bad landing and hurting a vertebra. He wasn’t recovering. Nasser’s fiancée was a young Muslim girl, raised by the Sisters of the Rosary. The young people felt a great sadness about the future. Nasser was sent to London where an unhappy injection left him paralyzed for life. Back at the military hospital of Amman, he learned that his fiancée’s parents wanted to break off the engagement and he himself agreed.


However, a friend of the girl, Sister L. of the Rosary, went to visit Nasser through an inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and gave him a Miraculous Medal. He kissed it and accepted to wear it. Sister L. told him: "What the doctors can’t do, God will do and heal you."


That night, Nasser heard a voice telling him: "Nasser, you are healed now, get up."


He answered: "It’s impossible, I am paralyzed for life."


A second time the voice said: "Nasser, you are healed now, get up."


Same answer.


The third time, the voice said: "I am the Mother of Jesus, in his Name, I have healed you, get up." At that moment, he felt two strong hands pulling him up. He was healed. Exulting with joy, truly healed, he woke up the whole hospital. Doctors and nurses couldn’t believe their eyes.


The next day, he asked for a certificate stating that his recovery was miraculous. He only received a certificate attesting that his recovery was humanly unexplainable. No matter, Nasser became an apostle of Mary and proclaimed everywhere that “Sittna Mariam,” Our Lady Mary, healed him. He attended a Mass of thanksgiving with his fiancé. Now nothing prevented their marriage. And Bishop Sinnaan, the bishop the Amman, was informed of the fact and of Nasser’s desire to become a Christian. [3]

 

Sister L. entrusted the paralyzed man to Mary’s intercession. This was the meaning of her gesture when she had given Nasser a Miraculous Medal. However, the Muslim faith does not teach that Mary intercedes for men.

 

This is where another revelation came in for the young Muslim, which occurred in a private manner, through a voice he heard (it is of little relevance here how he heard it, interiorly or exteriorly).

 

To remain a Muslim wasn’t for Nasser the coherent and harmonious thing to do while he had gained this new consciousness of Mary’s intercession; so he decided to become a Christian.

 

 

________________

[1] P. Demoutiez – M. T. Pereira da Cunha, Nossa Senhora de Fatima, Peregrina do Mundo, Lisboa 1953,- cité da E. Oggé, La Madonna Missionaria, Edizioni Missioni Consolata, 2° editino, Turin 1968, p. 333.

[2] (SMITH J. AND HADDAD Y., The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, Albany 1981, p. 80)

[3] Article de "Message et Messagers" #163, 1984, - Told in "Recueil marial" (1986) by Brother Albert Pfleger, Marist

OUR LADY AND ISLAM: HEAVEN’S PEACE PLAN
 Fr Ladis J. Cizik, Blue Army National Executive Director

OUR LADY AND ISLAM: HEAVEN’S PEACE PLAN
Fr Ladis J. Cizik, Blue Army National Executive Director

Islam Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims (also: Moors, Turks, and Moslems) and, just as Jews and Christians, believe in only one God. Yet, over the centuries, Muslims have engaged in tremendous wars with Christians and Jews. It would seem that there is little hope for peace. However, Heaven's Peace Plan, involving Our Lady, is evidenced at Fatima, Portugal as well as other places around the world.

Fatima

The Moors once occupied Portugal. The village of Fatima was given the Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of Ourem. She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and converting to Catholicism. Baptized with the Christian name of Oureana, she was named at birth "Fatima," like many other Moslem girls, in honor of the daughter of Mohammed. Of his daughter, Fatima, the founder of Islam, Mohammed, said: "She has the highest place in heaven after the Virgin Mary."

It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's Shrine in Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems. God is writing straight with crooked lines, as we will see. Fatima is a part of Heaven's Peace Plan. It is hope for the world.

The Koran

In the Koran, the holy name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is mentioned no less than thirty times. No other woman's name is even mentioned, not even that of Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. Among men, only Abraham, Moses, and Noah are mentioned more times than Our Lady. In the Koran, Our Blessed Mother is described as "Virgin, ever Virgin." The Islamic belief in the virginity of Mary puts to shame the heretical beliefs of those who call themselves Christian, while denying the perpetual virginity of Mary. Make no mistake about it, there is a very special relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Moslems!

The Holy Land

The Holy Land has been a real battleground between the Islamic peoples and Christianity over the centuries. Evidence of this are the numerous churches and basilicas that have been built by the Church, destroyed by, the Moslems, rebuilt by Catholic Crusaders, leveled again by the followers of Islam, and so on over the course of history. However, there is one remarkable exception: the Basilica of Saint Anne in Jerusalem.

The Crusaders built this church and named it in honor of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Crypt of St. Anne's Basilica, a statue of the Infant Mary is venerated on what is believed to be the exact spot where Our Lady was born. Their great reverence for Our Lady precluded the Moslems from destroying her birthplace. The foundation for Heaven's Peace Plan at Fatima, Portugal, can be found in the Land of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spain

As the Moslems swept through Spain in the 8th century, a great religious treasure was buried for safe-keeping in the earth, high in the Estremadura Mountains. It was a much venerated statue of Our Lady holding the Divine Child Jesus that was a gift of Pope Gregory the Great to Bishop Leander of Seville. After the overthrow of Moorish occupation, the image was uncovered in the year 1326, subsequent to a vision of Our Lady to a humble shepherd by the name of Gil. Our Lady's very special statue was enshrined in a nearby Franciscan Monastery next to the "Wolf River."

The Moslems, during their Spanish occupation, had actually named the river. The Islamic term for Wolf River is "Guadalupe" (Guada = River; Lupe = Wolf). Hence, the famous Catholic image in Spain has been known, since the 14th century, by the Islamic name of "Our Lady of Guadalupe."

Mexico

In the fullness of time, we can be sure that Almighty God knew that the Islamic religion would pose a serious threat to Christianity. God also knew that the Spanish missionaries would face grave resistance in the "new world" from the mighty Aztec Indians. The Aztecs worshipped an evil stone "serpent god" that demanded human sacrifice. It was extremely difficult to win souls for Christ from these bloodthirsty savages. However, with God all things are possible. Our Lady appeared to a humble Aztec Indian convert by the name of Juan Diego in 1531. When asked her name by Juan Diego, at the request of the local bishop, Our Lady's response, in the Aztec language, included the words "te coatlaxopeuh" (pronounced: "te quatlasupe") and meant "one who crushes the head of the stone serpent."

To Juan Diego and his fellow Aztecs, this revelation had great meaning, coupled with the miraculous image of Our Lady standing on top of a "crescent," the symbol of this evil serpent god. A tidal wave of conversions to Catholicism ensued. However, Bishop Zumarraga, who was from Spain, made what was no doubt a "heavenly mistake" that one day may lead to the mass conversion of Moslems. To the Bishop's Spanish ears, Our Lady's Aztec name of "Te Quatlasupe" sounded just like the name of the revered Madonna from Spain with the Islamic name, "Guadalupe." Hence, the bishop named the Mexican Madonna "Our Lady of Guadalupe." It is interesting that the "crescent" is also the symbol for Islam and that America's Shrine to Our Lady has an Islamic name.

Battle of Lepanto

On October 7, 1571, a great victory over the mighty Turkish fleet was won by Catholic naval forces primarily from Spain, Venice, and Genoa under the command of Don Juan of Austria. It was the last battle at sea between "oared" ships, which featured the most powerful navy in the world, a Moslem force with between 12,000 to 15,000 Christian slaves as rowers. The patchwork team of Catholic ships was powered by the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material disadvantage, the holy pontiff, St. Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory.

We know today that the victory was decisive, prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe, and evidenced the Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory, St. Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance: "The Christian fleet is victorious!" and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.

What you may not know is that one of three admirals commanding the Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now enshrined in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge warship lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of Lepanto. In Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the Doges' Palace in Venice, Italy, one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is now a trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the Victory. At Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St. Pope Pius V, one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the Battle, until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended friendly token of concord.

The Rosary

At Lepanto, the Victory over the Moslems was won by the faithful praying the Rosary. Even though they had superior numbers, the Turks really were overmatched. Blessed Padre Pio, the Spiritual Father of the Blue Army, said: "The Rosary is the weapon," and how right he was!

The Battle of Lepanto was at first celebrated liturgically as "Our Lady of Victory." Later, the feast of October 7th was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1716 (who canonized Pope Pius V in 1712).

And with that we are back to Fatima, Portugal where Our Lady, when asked her name, said: "I am the Lady of the Rosary." At Fatima, Our Lady taught us to pray the Rosary every day. Heaven presented its peace plan at Fatima and truly gave us hope for the world. Conversions were promised at Fatima: the conversion of sinners; the conversion of Russia; and what also appears to be the conversion of Islam. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

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« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2011, 06:51:59 am »

Mary and Other Religions

The maternal and sympathizing figure of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is so close to the human heart - of any human heart - whatever its culture, its time, its religion that the Blessed Virgin is loved and venerated beyond the Christian world!

The Virgin is universally honored as being pure; she is the Mother who is able to understand the human heart and man's need for love which is always the same on every horizon.

Thus for example, in Buddhism or Hinduism, religions so remote from the Christian Revelation, Mary is perceived as a Mother full of love whose tenderness is matched only by her courage to defend her beloved Son.

For this reason, many followers of these non-Christian religions are attracted to the Mother of Jesus and go to extent of even praying to her, as they would to their own mother.


Mary and Hinduism

Since ancient times, goddesses have been both well known and revered in India. Thousands of images of women that were found in the North-West of India in the ruins of the Indus Valley civilization (around 2500-1500 B.C.) show that goddesses played an important role in the religion of this culture, even though male divinities dominated the written traditions.

Goddess worship is very developed in Hinduism

The daily worship of goddesses in Hinduism is visible at a village level, where goddess worship occupies a key role. Although in the minds of the villagers goddesses are part of literature and tradition, many of them in fact only have a regional or local reputation. These village goddesses care for the existence, interests and well-being of the community. They are particularly associated with fertility – both of the crops as of the human – as well as illnesses.They are usually revered by all the members of one village and identified with that specific village.

The existence of a Great Goddess...

Some Hindu theologians believe in the existence of a Great Goddess who appears in different forms.  Numerous goddesses in the Hindu tradition represent a unifying cosmic principal, powerfully fecund, active and female in gender. Although this character has many names, she is generally known as Devi (Goddess) or Mahdevi (Great Goddess). She is often called Sakti, which means “power” and hints at her wide and unending powers of creation. This Great Goddess is fundamentally an active divinity, attentive to the stability of the world and to the needs of her worshippers.

…which reminds us of the Virgin Mary without being comparable to her

The dark, destructive, blood-thirsty side of the Great Goddess is seen as a natural part of a certain sense of order given that she covers all things and affirms a positive and necessary interaction in the cosmos between life and death, creation and destruction, strength and rest. The devotion of Hindus and other Indian religions towards the Blessed Virgin Mary should be put into this context of worship of the Hindu goddesses.

If we were able to speak to them convincingly of the real greatness of Our Lady as Immaculate Mother of our Redeemer...

The popular concept of the Hindu goddess cannot be applied to Our Lady, even though she has many of the attributes of Hindu goddesses.  She is respected and venerated by Indians in popular tradition like a holy woman who answers their prayers for material and spiritual needs. However if we were able to speak to them convincingly of the real greatness of Our Lady as Immaculate Mother of our Redeemer, they might grow to respect and venerate her as she deserves.

Mary and Buddhism

Buddhism, strictly speaking, does not evoke God, and therefore understandably has no reason to include a figure such as the Blessed Virgin Mary in the picture of salvation.

As goes an ancient Sutra (sacred Buddhist text): “Like a mother loves and protects her beloved son with her very life, you too, Buddhist monks, must cultivate without limit the virtue of kindness and pity toward all living things.”

With time, the concept of Kannon-Bosatsu (in Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara) as the Mother Buddha - with boundless pity - appeared and expanded in Mahayana Buddhism (most common type of Buddhism in Japan, Korea and China). The devotion to Kannon-Bosatsu quickly spread throughout China, Korea and Japan. The numerous of temples dedicated to this Kannon has become popular destinations for Buddhist pilgrimages.

An interesting detail in Japan’s history:

From the time when Tokuwaga was shogun (governor), Christians were persecuted for three centuries. The persecuted Catholics remained faithful with the help of small statues of Mary-Kannon (Kannon was a goddess of pity worshipped by the Buddhists).

Some of these statues, apparently depicting Kannon, were in actual fact venerated as the Blessed Virgin Mary (often with the Infant Jesus in her arms). This allowed Catholics to escape the scrutiny of the authorities.

Nowadays, many Buddhists – particularly Buddhists from Japan – choose Lourdes as their favorite place of pilgrimage when they come to Europe. The image of Mary, mother and refuge of a wounded and ailing humanity, draws the hearts of many Buddhists to her, as they have not forgotten Kannon. In October 2000, Phra Sommai, the head Buddhist priest of the Kaew Praew temple in northern Thailand, friend of the Catholic Focolari movement, took part in the Pope’s Wednesday Public hearing, after which he visited the Focolari centers of Rocca di Papa and Loppiano.

Mother of Love, serene face, you hold the universe in your arms…

Bearing in mind the Buddhist saying that “being a mother means being a loving presence that welcomes and creates a home”, he wrote the following poem while contemplating the holy image of the Madonna of the Light of Tonadico (this is my translation):

“O Mother of love, you hold the universe in your arms. As you look down, your serene face seems sad, but you are full of tenderness, of kindness, of endless pity. Your hands together in prayer bless us from the heart.

In times of loneliness, turning towards you, I have felt the warmth of your close presence.

For he who errs, you bring real comfort; in anxiety you bring us guidance and light. You give us happiness and rest.

From you we obtain everything, and then with complete detachment you ask for nothing in return.”
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« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2011, 06:52:31 am »

Nowadays many non-Christians see Mother Mary as an expression of the feminine face of God, another form of the Great Mother, whom humans have worshipped for 25.000 years.

To Catholics Mother Mary is not a goddess yet more powerful than any goddess or any saint. She is hailed as the Mother of God and of all humans, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Queen of Peace, the Queen of the Apostles, the Queen of the Angels, the Seat of Wisdom, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit…. The Bible describes her as the "woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars". (Revelation 12,1) She is said to share the throne of Christ and to have been "divinized", i.e. to have become inseparably one with God in complete "divine, mystical union", to have "inherited the kingdom of God" as Paul would call it. Hence Pope Benedikt XVI called her "divine mother" at Pope John Paul II’s funeral.

These pilgrimages are not about who is objectively right, but about who Mary is meant to be for you personally. And only you can determine that. We can help by taking you to her holy sites and sharing her public messages with you, but you will have to find out yourself what she is saying in your heart.

Throughout the centuries Mother Mary has been appearing to people across the globe. She started in the year A.D. 40 and never stopped. (See Roy Abraham Varghese’s book "God Sent: A History of the Accredited Apparitions of Mary") Since 1981 the Mother of God has been appearing daily in Medjugorje, Bosnia, which is now her most powerful holy place. There she has been affirming that she is the Mother of all humans of all faiths and that God is the King of all Religions. She says that all her children are equal in the eyes of God and his Mother, and that we are the ones who like to divide, not God. Hence all are welcomed to come before her, no matter what their faith and opinion.

 On these pilgrimages we will go and see what the Queen of Heaven herself has said about who she is. For example in Rome she appeared in 1947 as Our Lady of the Revelation, saying: "I am the one that is of the Divine Trinity: daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, and Spouse and Temple of the Holy Spirit." (See: Brother Francis Mary Kalvelage, "Marian Shrines of Italy". A highly recommendable book in preparation for this pilgrimage.)
 

Our Lady of Revelation dressed in: Green: The Creative love of the Father;
White: The Saving Love of the Son; Pink: The Sanctifying Love of the Spirit


We will also discuss what the Blessed Mother has communicated in other apparitions, whose sites we will not get to. For example: in Paris in 1830, she demanded that a medal be crafted and widely distributed, depicting the cross of Jesus permanently anchored in her initial M and their two hearts underneath it, perfectly equal in size.
 


In Fatima, Portugal, she said: "Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her." (See: "Our Lady of Fatima’s Peace Plan from Heaven" , p.10)


What to expect on these pilgrimages:

You will be on a traveling meditation retreat, a true pilgrimage, but with the modern comforts of public transportation and skipping the sack and ashes!

More than studying the power of the Blessed Mother in the course of Christian history, you will experience it for yourself through prayer and meditation at her holy places. You will be encouraged and supported in doing what she recommends for the sake of the earth and our own peace and illumination: First, to pray in silence, word, and song three times a day for one hour each. Second, to fast on bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays or at least to make some kind of sacrifice and offering on those days. (e.g. no alcohol, meat or TV) Our Lady often says that prayer and fasting can stop wars and prevent natural catastrophes, not to mention the spiritual graces it confers.

Don’t worry about this. Experience shows that the rewards of answering her call to fast are so great that one often looks forward to the next opportunity. If you do these practices at her sacred shrines and on her holy mountains, you will surely receive many blessings from the Queen of Heaven and she will let you know herself who she is for you. She herself will be your guide

Read the rest to see what you get on the trips and where they go
http://www.interfaithmarianpilgrimages.com/pages/pilgrimages.html
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« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2011, 10:43:26 am »

this is bad because americans are, hm, outnumbered, and an apparition of Mary in the sky can say anything "they" want -- viewers or projectors alike, LOL

i am scared 'cause i saw her on a candle yesterday (cheap imported religious thing), wondered what would befall us if they mexis got super mad and whacked out.

that is the danger of not worshiping the invisible God, the things we look at start to blind us @@
eek!!!!

thank you for posting this, we thought of it kind of on the same day, it is a real worry not just pie in the sky.
the weak kill the strong, and those who know keep those who do not, in the dark
we should not use religion to kill but to save,

we miss the point and we might miss the boat too
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« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2016, 04:48:44 pm »

It's Official: Major Apparitions of Mary Are Approved
Bishop Call Apparitions of Mary in San Nicolas, Argentina, Supernatural and Worthy of Belief

Holy Trinity Sunday, May 22, was a banner blue-letter day — blue for our Blessed Mother — as Bishop Hector Cardelli of San Nicolas, Argentina, officially declared that the apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary in his diocese are of “supernatural character” and worthy of belief.

The apparitions took place in this city over 100 miles from Buenos Aires from Oct. 13, 1983 to Feb. 11, 1990. Our Blessed Mother appeared to a housewife named Gladys Herminia Quiroga de Motta nearly daily, giving 1804 messages. Gladys also received 68 visits and messages from Jesus.

Notice Oct. 13 was the anniversary of the last vision at Fatima and Feb. 11 is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes — a powerful providential sign.

Bishop Cardelli thoroughly studied everything according to Vatican guidelines during the last 12 years. At the time of the apparitions, his predecessor Bishop Domingo Salvador Castagna often presided over the processions and celebrated Mass for tens of thousands who gathered every 25th of every month to commemorate the Blessed Mother’s first appearance to Gladys on Sept. 25, 1983.

That happened while Gladys was in her room praying the rosary. It was a brief appearance. Mary was wearing a blue dress, carried the Child Jesus in her arms and held a rosary, but did not speak that time.

As in other apparitions, Mary appeared to a simple, humble woman. Married with two daughters, Gladys had only four years of elementary education.

The Blessed Virgin spoke for the first time on Oct. 13 — the anniversary of the last apparition at Fatima. “Do not be afraid,” were her first words. Jesus said the same to the women after his Resurrection (Matthew 28:10). Mary gave Gladys a Bible reference: Ezekiel 2:4-10. During apparitions Mary regularly referred Gladys to particular Scriptures.

On Oct. 25, a month after the first apparition, as Gladys was praying in the cathedral in the town of Rosario, the Blessed Mother appeared, gave her a white rosary, and said, “Receive this Rosary from my hands and keep it forever and ever. You are obedient; I am happy because of it. Rejoice, for God is with you.”

Warning and Guiding

The messages are full of hope and motherly direction on how all must return to God, trust in him, in his love, in the maternal love of Mary. As a good mother does when her children are in danger, Mary doesn’t hesitant to warn us in these times as the world forgets God, attacks Christianity, and idolizes materialism, science and technology. How relevant these warnings are now.

Among Mary’s several warnings: “In the large cities of the world, atheism and a complete indifference toward God reign. The evil one is rising in a turmoil: his wickedness guides and controls weak souls. The Lord wants to alert us.”

“Men are in the process of falling. Their self-destruction progresses.” She refers to Sirach 17:25-26.

“The young find themselves facing a corrupt, horrifying world…Do not allow yourselves to be taken in by the calamities which you have before your eyes. Do not forget that they lead to perdition by subjecting you to evil. Pray so that you become a youth dedicated to the Lord: a youth who is looking for peace.”

“The majority [of youth] do not…love God…God wishes to stay among them.”

“Are you orphans? Do you not have a God? Do you not have a heavenly Mother? It is time to purify yourselves, my dear children!”

“That is why I ask you to reflect. Do not delay, for time begins to end, and there will be no more room for him who would be late.”

“The coming of the Savior is imminent...”

“It would be only necessary for them to look toward the Mother of God, their Mother, and she would lead them to God. It would be necessary for them to introduce themselves into the heart of the Mother, in order to listen to the voice of the Lord. I do not hide myself; let no one avoid me!”

On a May 13, a Fatima anniversary, Mary warned: “My daughter, as previously in Fatima, today my visits are renewed on Earth. They are more frequent and more prolonged, because humanity is passing through very dramatic times. Has man not understood that he must be uniquely at the service of God? If he resists, his soul is going to perish.”

Again, “Many hearts do not accept my invitation to prayer and to conversion. That is why the work of the devil is growing and expanding. My dear children, it is only through prayer and conversion that you will return to God. May he not find your hearts dry.”

“The Lord wants all to be able to enter into His Kingdom. Here then is what I say to all who have moved away from Him: Come, draw near, for Jesus Christ is within your reach. Amen! Announce Him! Read Hebrews 4:12-16.”

But Mary gives plenty of encouragement and positive directions on what we need to do.

The Woman of Revelation

When Gladys asked Our Lady if she wanted to be called Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás, she answered, “So it is that you must say. My wish is to be among you, to fill you with blessings, with peace, joy and to bring you closer to God Our Lord.”

When Jesus appeared to Gladys he referred to Mary as “my Ark.” Jesus emphasized this major identification again. Gladys first saw the ark of Moses, then the ark of Noah. Jesus said: “In the past, the world was saved by the Ark of Noah. Today my mother is the Ark. It is through her, that souls will be saved, because she will lead them to me. He who rejects my mother, rejects me.”

Mary also announced this title: “God gives complete freedom and he allows each one…to make his own choice: to purify oneself or to live in sin, grow in Christ or be annihilated. I advise my children to stay away from the somber night, for the dawn is going to appear soon. While you wait, let yourselves be prepared by this mother. Introduce your hearts into the Ark which Jesus has sent. Read Galatians 4:3-11.”

She added a companion identification: “Gladys, mankind is in the process of falling in to a progressive self-destruction. That it is why it is necessary, now, to disseminate the words of the Mother. The Lord has marked this time with a sign: the Woman clothed with the sun (Revelation 12:1). She represents the hope to which her children must cling. The Mother has looked on you. It is up to you to set your eyes and your heart on God.”

Father René Laurentin, an expert on Marian apparitions, noted in his book, An Appeal from Mary in Argentina, “the key to the messages is found in Revelation 11:19-12:17. Mary appears to Gladys as the Woman clothed with the Sun and the Ark of the New Covenant…God wants to renew the covenant with his people, through Mary, His Ark of the Covenant,” and again, “Mary comes to restore the faith.”

Direction for Boarding the Ark

Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, tells us how to return to God which she wants spread worldwide.

“I want the conversion of the world, No longer disobey God. My dear children, pray so that it may be so,” she said.

“Everywhere in the world where my messages have been given, it would seem that one preached in the cemeteries. The response which the Lord expected was not there. That is why your people were chosen. Preach, so that your brothers may answer the call of the Lord Our God.”

“It is from here that I invite the world to look for the Living Fountain, the Fountain of Peace, the Fountain of grace. I want to cure my children from this illness which is materialism; an illness which makes many suffer. I want to help them discover Christ, and I want to make it known to them that Christ prevails over everything.”

As dire the situation is today, the messages emphasis hope and confidence and give clear directions from Mary who asks her children “for conversion and then consecration to my heart as Mother…I will respond to your consecration with my protection.”

Mary explains two ways to save the soul are through prayer and conversion. “Prayer is both the means and the weapon, the primary one being the Rosary.”

“Recite the Holy Rosary, and let the Lord see that with it goes your conversion. The Sacred Heart of Jesus will give you abundant blessings.”

Again, “The Holy Rosary is the weapon which the enemy fears. It is also the refuge of those who look for relief for the sufferings, and it is the door to enter into my heart.”

Conversion is the companion of prayer. In one message the Blessed Mother referenced Lourdes, “My child, yesterday it was Lourdes, today it is here, but it is always good for the mother to be in search of her children. I expect of them prayer, fasting, conversion. They will find salvation if they do not flee from the Lord, if they accept the Lord.

Many souls lack peace. If the soul looks for peace, it will find God.”

Jesus told Gladys: “If this generation will not listen to my mother, it will perish. I ask everyone to listen to her. Man’s conversion is necessary...”

Conversion comes with penance, Early on, Mary called for reconciliation, forgiveness, conversion and the sacrament of penance. We’re told love makes penance light. “Near God, suffering bitterness, and even defeat do not exist.”

With prayer, the Rosary, conversion, penance, comes the Eucharist, the Word, fraternal love, and consecration to her, noted Father Laurentin.

Many times Mary speaks of the Holy Eucharist and the importance of receiving and adoring the body and blood of Christ. “The soul must unite itself to Christ each day, and for that, there is nothing better than Holy Communion: the Food of the soul for life.”

Mary also leads to the Bible with her constant references to Scripture verses related to her messages.

Signs from Mary

Our Blessed Mother gave three signs of her continuing presence: her statue, a new sanctuary, and a medal.

“I will settle in your midst,” Mary said on Nov. 27, the feast of the Miraculous Medal, shortly after apparitions began.

That same day Father Carlos Perez at the Rosario cathedral called Gladys to see the statue of the Queen of the Rosary he found in the belfry. It had been blessed by Pope Leo XIII and placed in the cathedral when it opened in 1894. Later it was damaged and put in the tower. No one remembered it until the priest learned of it that day. Right away Gladys recognized the statue as how Mary looked in the apparitions. Behind it was a stained glass window with the Holy Trinity and angels, then the Blessed Mother appeared to her, telling her, “I want to settle on the bank of the Parana…[local river].”

Mary wanted a sanctuary built for her and told Gladys to tell the bishop. Mary asked for the sanctuary several times. Bishop Castagna, who spoke about the apparitions more than once with St. John Paul II and gave his "Imprimatur" for a Spanish edition of the Messages of Our Lady, soon laid the cornerstone for the sanctuary on the third anniversary of the apparitions. On Palm Sunday, Mar. 19, 1989, he moved the statue of Our Lady venerated in the cathedral to the section of the new Sanctuary of Mary of the Rosary of San Nicolás section already completed under her direction.

Then, Mary asked for a Medal with her image and the words, “Mary of the Rosary of San Nicolás,” and on the reverse the Holy Trinity with seven stars. She explained the stars represent “the seven graces my Son Jesus is going to grant those who wear it on their chest.”

Mary talked several times about the coming victory, yet not without a spiritual struggle, but “Jesus Christ will win the great battle, my child…”

A Sure Guide

Trust in God, in His love, in the maternal love of Mary run through the messages.

“My dear children, I assure you that you will not be far from my dear Son, if you succeed in trusting in Him…”

“Invoke the Holy Spirit and he will save you.”

“Bless the Lord, King of the Universe. Praise God Our Father. All of you know that He is merciful. In Him is pardon, and He loves you above all things, know that his kingdom is eternal; just as His love which He proves for his children is eternal. He claims only your faith, and He wants to see you live according to his Word. In exchange, he recommends to you salvation of the soul, and complete liberation.”

Jesus said: “My Heart wishes the salvation of all souls and loves them, even those who are in sin.”

Again he said, “He who listens to my words will find salvation. He who puts them into practice will live forever. Those who hope in God do not hope in vain.”

“My daughter,” Mary said, “when a heart opens to the heart of the mother, it stays there. When a heart abandons itself to the heart of a mother, she will shape it and guide it to her Son. In this heart will be found purity, love, humility…”

Jesus wants it that way. In 1987 he said, “Today I warn the world, for the world is not aware: souls are in danger. Many are lost. Few will find salvation unless they accept me as their Savior. My mother must be accepted. My mother must be heard in the totality of her messages. The world must discover the richness she brings to Christians. The children of sin will grow up in sin if their unbelief increases. I want a renewal of the spirit, a detachment from death, and an attachment to life. I have chosen the heart of my mother, so that what I ask will be achieved. Souls will come to me through the means of her Immaculate Heart.”

In her last public message on Feb. 11, 1990, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Mary said: “My dear children, I suggest you follow my instructions step by step. Pray. Make reparation, have faith! Blessed are those who look for refuge for their souls in prayer. Blessed are those who make reparation for the grave offences which my Son receives. Blessed are those who have faith in the love of this mother. All those who have faith in God and in Mary will be saved. Glory to God. Preach it.”


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/its-official-major-apparitions-of-mary-are-approved/#ixzz49zQ8IWwa
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« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2016, 04:33:40 pm »

ANOTHER JESUS? The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization

Full book in PDF
http://www.buzzardhut.net/AnotherJesus.pdf

Pope John Paul II has called for a new evangelization focused on the Eucharistic Christ. According to Roman Catholic teaching, the Eucharist is the central component of the Mass and the source and summit of Christianity. It is believed that when a priest consecrates the Communion bread, the wafer is no longer bread, but the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Rome teaches that Jesus is literally and bodily present wherever a consecrated Host is found. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of Catholic churches claim that Jesus is present in their eucharistic tabernacle or monstrance.

How might this peculiar belief lead to the evangelization of the world into the Roman Catholic religious system? Is transubstantiation taught in the Bible? Does Bible prophecy give insight into these global, ecumenical end-time events? What did Jesus mean when He warned that many would claim that Christ was in the "inner rooms" in the last days (Matthew 24: 23-27)? Why did Jesus warn that these false appearances of counterfeit christ's would be accompanied by "great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect"?

Another Jesus? The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization, explores these topics from a biblical perspective - exhorting all to heed the Bible's warnings. By chronicling the growing cult of eucharistic adoration and the increasing trend of eucharistic evangelization, Roger Oakland points readers back to a "more sure word of prophecy" and the true Jesus of the Bible.

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