Marian apparitions...are they for real or a hoax?

[Galilee63]

Albion,

In relation to this point, there have been many occurrences of which God The Most High did not state in His Old Testament nor Jesus in His New Testament one being when Jesus was suffering His Holy Stations of His Cross in agony with the worst wound of all - His Shoulder.

When Jesus appeared to Saint Bernard (one of God's Holy appointed priests) - Saint Bernard requested of Jesus:

"WHICH WAS HIS GREATEST UNRECORDED SUFFERING?", AND OUR LORD ANSWERED:

"I HAD ON MY SHOULDER WHILE I BORE MY CROSS ON THE WAY OF SORROWS, A GRIEVOUS WOUND WHICH WAS MORE PAINFUL THAN THE OTHERS, AND WHICH IS NOT RECORDED BY MEN. HONOR THIS WOUND WITH THY DEVOTION, AND I WILL GRANT THEE WHATSOEVER THOU DOST ASK THROUGH ITS VIRTUE AND MERIT. AND IN REGARD TO ALL THOSE WHO SHALL VENERATE THIS WOUND, I WILL REMIT TO THEM ALL THEIR VENIAL SINS, AND WILL NO LONGER REMEMBER THEIR MORTAL SINS."

PRAYER TO THE WOUND ON THE SHOULDER

O most loving Jesus, meek lamb of God, I, a miserable sinner,
salute and worship the most sacred Wound of Thy Shoulder
on which Thou didst bear Thy heavy Cross, which so
tore Thy flesh and laid bare Thy bones as to inflict on Thee
an anguish greater than any other wound of Thy most blessed body.
I adore Thee, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify Thee,
and give Thee thanks for this most sacred and painful
Wound, beseeching Thee by that exceeding pain, and by
the crushing burden of Thy heavy Cross, to be merciful to me, a sinner, and to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins, and
to lead me on toward Heaven along the Way of the Cross. Amen.

IMPRIMATUR: Thomas D. Beaven, Bishop of Springfield

When God The Most High appeared to His Apostles, priests and prophets BC, God The Most High made mention of the forthcoming Messiah's "Mercy". The Apostles within their writings of God The Most High did not state "Divine Mercy" - they stated "Mercy".

When Jesus Christ our Saviour delivered His "Divine Mercy" (Jesus is the unfathomable Divine Mercy Himself) and these are Jesus Christ our Saviour's Holy words Himself; Jesus stated "Divine Mercy" throughout His Holy Divine Mercy messages, including His Divine Mercy Chaplet and 9 Day Divine Mercy Novena, of which Pope John Paul II and the Vatican members have approved.

Instructions were given by Jesus Christ our Saviour for priests and the Catholic Church to spread Jesus' Divine Mercy, His Divine Mercy Chaplet and His Divine Mercy Holy messages of which were not done and with-held for 40 years by the Vatican - the RCC - until Pope John Paul II became Pope and approved Jesus' Divine Mercy and Jesus' Holy requests that His Divine Mercy Feast accompanied by Jesus' 9 Day Novena be approved and commenced during the week commencing Good Friday.

Man has with-held many Holy writings of Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's as a result of wars, destruction, the destroying of documents, lost documents/misplaced documents, the hiding and withholding of documents, the failure to "document the writings of Jesus" during those days, all sorts of reasons given the hard difficult times BC and AD as you would be aware.

Do not forget, Albion, that Jesus/God The Most High/The Holy Spirit always taught 'all things visible and invisible".

God The Most High made it clear to Esdra/Ezra that all things in Heaven are not known by mortals. There are many reasons why Jesus/God The Most High/The Holy Spirit have not disclosed to mortals what would be happening in detail in future years and generations. God The Most High said to Esdra/Ezra:

The Seventh Trumpet sounded:

"When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour".

"Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them".

"Another angel, with a gold incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the gold altar in front of the throne.

"3And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

"And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand".

"The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel's hand".

"The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were rumblings of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake".

Now Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit have spoken to my heart guiding me to the Seventh Sound of The Trumpets this evening, within the Revelations that Jesus/God The Most High/The Holy Spirit (God gave Esdra) Himself and His Holy Visions to Esdra, God The Most High has made it clear that God receives the prayers from all the Saints.

All the Glory and Honour are Yours dear God my Heavenly Father now and forever Dear Lord. Amen.

 

[justinangel]

I take that as an admission that you have no counter to the facts as presented.

You haven't presented any facts but only items based on your opinions and impressions. LOL!

Of course you first ask me for my answer...and then proceed to give me yours instead.

How could I possibly ask you for an answer when you all you have are objections and the annoying tendency to quibble and mince words?

And it's naturally going to be to try to turn the attention to the milder of the practices directed at Mary, rather than some of the more controversial devotions that have already been mentioned to you.

But all right...here are some of them again.

Far from Mary being seen as merely delivering our petitions to God, she is called the Co-redemptrix of mankind, dispenser of all graces, the one who must approve of anything the Father grants to us, guarantor of us having a happy and blessed death (if we say the right prayers to her in advance, of course). Those examples represent something far beyond merely being a saint who hands our petitions to the Father (as though that were even necessary)!

I've already explained these Catholic Marian doctrines either on this thread or another one in which you are a part of. (I don't feel like scrolling way back up to see if it's this particular thread.) But you choose to ignore what I've posted and just keep playing the same record over and over again. Yawn!


PAX

 

[Albion]

I've already explained these Catholic Marian doctrines either on this thread or another one in which you are a part of.

Actually, I'd be interested in having you address them frankly--on this thread or that other one that is related to it. That isn't what you've done.

Your replies have been of two different types. Either you go on and on about how much Mary is valued by the RCC or else you reiterate your church's views relating to the mildest of devotions (like asking Mary's intercession) while pretending that the issues I specifically addressed as extreme or excessive hadn't been raised. Yes, I'd appreciate a serious give and take on the real issues, if you were willing. That suggestion bores you, I see from your last post; but I'm still interested in these things, and maybe someone else will continue where you are unwilling to go.

 

[Albion]

Albion,

But my point remains valid. IF Mary were the human above all humans and endowed with powers we normally associate only with God--the Bible would certainly reflect that fact. It does not appear to do so.
[/I]

That is MY point. To treat her as though she were divine or semi-divine or anything close to it is wrong...and we know that it is wrong because the Bible gives us no opening for treating her that way (which fact you have just admitted to above!).

 

[Galilee63]

"And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. So a third of the sea became blood.

A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from heaven. It fell on a third of the rivers and springs of water.

The name of the star is Wormwood, and a third of the waters became wormwood. So, many of the people died from the waters, because they had been made bitter.

The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.

I looked again and heard an eagle flying high overhead, crying out in a loud voice, "Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth, because of the remaining trumpet blasts that the three angels are about to sound!"


When Jesus and The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Sister Faustina on countless occasions during the 1930s, every one of Jesus Christ our Saviour's Holy Divine Mercy messages directly reflects Revelations (God The Most High's Holy Word) and Jesus' Holy Word within His New Testament including the Our Father Prayers and Hail Mary Prayers that Jesus/God gave mankind to pray.

 

[Galilee63]

Albion,

That was your point below my post of which I was responding.

its been deleted now to avoid any confusion to other Christians.


Albions post:
But my point remains valid. IF Mary were the human above all humans and endowed with powers we normally associate only with God--the Bible would certainly reflect that fact. It does not appear to do so.
[/i]

 

[barryatlake]

My mistake.

 

[Albion]

Albion,

That was your point below my post of which I was responding.

its been deleted now to avoid any confusion to other Christians.

Thanks, Galilee. I see now what happened.

 

[justinangel]

Actually, I'd be interested in having you address them frankly--on this thread or that other one that is related to it. That isn't what you've done.

Your replies have been of two different types. Either you go on and on about how much Mary is valued by the RCC or else you reiterate your church's views relating to the mildest of devotions (like asking Mary's intercession) while pretending that the issues I specifically addressed as extreme or excessive hadn't been raised. Yes, I'd appreciate a serious give and take on the real issues, if you were willing. That suggestion bores you, I see from your last post; but I'm still interested in these things, and maybe someone else will continue where you are unwilling to go.

In the thread 'The Snare of Devotion to Mary' in which you have posted replies I've generally explained what Catholics mean by calling Mary co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Dispensatrix to show that there is nothing there that smacks of excessive devotion. But obviously these designations still don't agree with your religious persuasion, so you just keep harping about them as being unscriptural without really showing how they are just that. What bores me are bald statements and generalisations. You're the one who has been unwilling to adequately explain your objections to Catholic Marian doctrines.

PAX

 

[Galilee63]

The Holy Word of God The Most High to Esdra in relation to "Signs" given in the last days of which many have been given through Jesus Christ our Saviour and The Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God (for indeed Jesus Christ our Saviour appeared to Saint Faustina on countless occasions during the 1930's delivering His Divine Mercy before appearing here on Earth soon thereafter for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and at that time will be too late for unrepentant sinners):


Esdra 9:

"He answered me and said "Measure carefully in your mind and when you see that some of the predicted signs have occurred, then you will know that it is the very time when The Most High is about to visit the world that He has made. So when there shall appear in the world earthquake, tumult of peoples, intrigues of nations, intrigues of nations, wavering of leaders, confusion of princes, then you will know that it was of these that the Most High spoke from the days that were of old, from the beginning.

For just as with everything that has occurred in the world, the beginning is evident, and the end manifest, so also are the times of The Most High: the beginnings are manifest in wonders and mighty works, and the end in penalties and in signs".

 

[justinangel]

Did I really say "the Church has 'elevated' Mary above all other human beings in the order of divine grace."?

You fail to see that it is because of the grace of God Mary is what Catholics correctly perceive her to be.

PAX

 

[Galilee63]

Ezdra 14 - God The Most High's Holy Word to Esdra:
"On the third day, while I was sitting under an oak, suddenly a Voice came out of a bush opposite me and said, "Ezra, Ezra!", And I answered "Here I am Lord" and I rose to my feet. Then He said to me "I revealed Myself in a bush and spoke to Moses when My people were in bondage in Egypt; and I led him up on Mount Sinai; where I kept him with me many days. I told him the secrets of the times and declared to him the end of the times. Then I commanded him saying:
"These Words you shall publish openly, and these you shall keep secret".

"And now I say to you: "Lay up in your heart the signs that I have shown you, the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations that you have heard, for you shall be taken up from among humankind, and henceforth you shall live with My Son and with those who are like you, until the times are ended.

The age has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old. For the age is divided into twelve parts, and nine of its parts have already passed, as well as half of the tenth part, so two of its parts remain, besides half of the tenth part.

Now therefore set your house in order and reprove your people, comfort the lowly among them, and instruct those that are wise and now renounce the life that is corruptible and put away from you mortal thoughts, cast away from you the burdens of humankind and divest yourself now of your weak nature, lay to one side the thoughts that are most grievous to you, and hurry to escape from these times.

For evil worse than those that you have now seen happen shall take place hereafter.

For the weaker the world becomes through old age, the more shall evils be increased upon its inhabitants. Truth shall go further away and falsehood shall come near. For the eagle that you saw in the vision is already hurrying to come".

Esdra 14:37
The restoration of The Scriptures - God The Most High's Holy Word to Ezra/Esdra:
"So I took the five men as He commanded me and we proceeded in the field and we remained there. And on the next day a voice called me, saying "Ezra, open your mouth and drink what I give you to drink". So I opened my mouth and a full cup was offered to me, it was full of something like water, but its colour was like fire. I took it and drank and when I had drunk it, my heart poured forth understanding and wisdom increased in my breast, for my spirit retained its memory, and my mouth was opened and was no longer closed. "Moreover, The Most High gave understanding to the five men, and by turns they wrote what was dictated, using characters that they did not know. They sat forty days; they wrote during the daytime; and ate their bread at night. So during the forty days, ninety-four books were written. And when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying "make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first, and let the worthy and the unworthy read them, but keep the seventy that were written last, in order to give them to the wise among your people, for in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge".

"And I did so".

God's Holy Word above relates to some of His Holy Word being kept private (not for the public eye) when delivering to Moses and Ezra - not all of God's Holy Scriptures were delivered to mankind through His Apostles. Therefore, many of God's Holy Words, Holy Wisdom, Holy Actions, Holy Decrees, Holy Enlightenment and Revelations of God The Most High's were not contained within His Old Testament nor within Jesus Christ our Saviour's New Testament including in Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit's Holy Will - the mentioning in detail or at length of our Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God. - within His Holy Will and Holy Decrees. Regardless of this fact, it was nevertheless made known to mankind through Jesus Christ our Saviour's Disciples and Apostles, that The Blessed Virgin Mary was present with Jesus' Disciples when The Descent of The Holy Spirit filled them all (including The Blessed Virgin Mary) gifting them all with The Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. This was the second or third occasion that The Blessed Virgin Mary had received The Holy Spirit. The first or second time was when The Holy Spirit through Archangel Gabriel visited Her and Jesus was conceived without sin by His Virginal Mother of Whom was The Blessed Virgin Mary. It is my feeling in my heart our Blessed Virgin Mary would have been Baptized by Abraham or Moses as an infant or Child.

God The Most High/The Holy Spirit released His Revelations in His Visions, His Holy Words to Moses, Daniel and many of His Apostles of our Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God including through Jesus Christ our Saviour with Jesus/God/The Holy Spirits Holy appearances to hundreds of Saints (priests/nuns/Sisters/Catholic/Catholic Religious/Catholic Children) and The Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God for centuries "to date".

Love and kindest wishes your sister in Jesus Christ our Saviour

 

[Galilee63]

Yesterday I came across a tree "bleeding" within its trunk and never before have I seen this. Sap at times, yet not "blood" within a tree branch or its trunk. I recalled previously reading God The Most High's Holy Word on 'blood in trees' seen in His Holy Words to Ezra.

"Now concerning the signs lo, the days are coming when those who inhabit the earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith. Unrighteousness shall be increased beyond what you yourself see, and beyond what you heard of formerly. And the land that you now see ruling shall be a trackless waste, and people shall see it desolate. But if The Most High grants that you live, you shall see it thrown into confusion after the third period.:

and the sun shall suddenly begin to shine at night,
and the moon during the day,
Blood shall drip from wood,
and the stone shall utter its voice,
the peoples shall be troubled,
and the stars shall fall".

These and many signs have already occurred just as God The Most High foretold through His Apostles and through His Disciples.

We are in the last days and as such, people should be turning to Jesus Christ our Saviour and to our Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God for Her Loving Holy intercession praying from our hearts in trust, repenting our sins from our hearts in genuine remorse and receiving Jesus' Blessed Holy Eucharist/Host weekly while obeying His Commandments and having in our hearts His Love, compassion and mercy for all others.

Love and kindest wishes your Sister in Jesus Christ our Saviour

 

[Galilee63]

When Jesus Christ our Saviour and The Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God appeared to Saint Sister Faustina during the 1930's

www.divinemercy.com

on countless occasions in Her cell/room in the Convent in Poland, Jesus delivered His 9 Day Divine Mercy Novena to Saint Faustina for mankind to pray commencing Good Friday and on Divine Mercy Sunday Jesus' Divine Mercy Feast Day. Within Jesus' own Holy Words of His 9 Day Novena are the following:

Ninth Day

"Today bring to Me souls who have become luke warm and immerse them in the Abyss of My Mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My Soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of luke warm souls. They were the reason I cried out: "Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your Holy Will".For them the last hope of salvation is to run to My Mercy".

Revelations CHAPTER 1

Greeting
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
The First Vision
9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:
and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write;

These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Jesus states to mankind within His Divine Mercy through Saint Faustina:
"When you go to Confession, know this, that I am waiting for you in the confessional. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in the soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of Mercy. From this Fount of Mercy souls draw Graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My Generosity".

Fifth Day - Jesus' request within His Divine Mercy 9 Day Novena:

"Today bring to Me the souls of those who have separated from My Church and immerse them in the ocean of My Mercy. During My Bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with The Church, My Wounds heal, and in this way, they alleviate My Passion".

Jesus' primary Holy Divine Mercy message (Jesus is the unfathomable Divine Mercy Himself with His Holy Rays of Divine Mercy) - Jesus explains:
"The Rays represent the Blood and Water which gushed forth from the depths of My Mercy when My agonizing Heart was pierced on the Cross. The pale Rays symbolise the water, which cleanses and purifies the soul: the red Rays represent the Blood, which gives new life to the soul. These Rays will shield the soul before the justice of My Father. Fortunate are those who live in this shelter, for the justice of God will not reach them there".

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

To Smyrna

8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write;

These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

First Day - Jesus' Divine Mercy 9 Day Novena requested by Jesus.
"Today bring to Me all mankind especially all sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My Mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me".

To Pergamum

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write;

These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Jesus stated within His Divine Mercy for mankind:
"if a soul does not exercise mercy in some way or other it will not obtain My Mercy on judgement day. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasures for themselves, they would not be judged, because even the strongest faith is of no avail without works of mercy, for they would forestall My judgement with Mercy".

24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine,
and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron;
as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:
even as I received of my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.
29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

To avoid satan and its clutches at the time of death/dying, we require Jesus' Mercy - Divine Mercy.

Jesus states within His Divine Mercy to Saint Sister Faustina during the 1930s to mankind the following;

"I desire the confidence of My people. Let not even the weak and very sinful fear to approach Me; even if their sins be as numerous as the sands of the earth, all will be forgiven in the fathomless pit of My Mercy".

Feast of The Divine Mercy (Jesus Himself as Divine Mercy Itself) the Sunday after Easter (Jesus' Holy Words):

"My Daughter, speak to the world of My inexhaustible Mercy. I desire that this Feast be a refuge and a shelter for all souls, especially for poor sinners. The very depths of My Mercy will be opened on that day. I will pour out a sea of Graces upon those souls that will approach the Fount of My Mercy on this day".

The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy

Friday, September 13, 1935.

In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw an Angel, the executor of divine wrath. He was clothed in a dazzling robe, his face gloriously bright, a cloud beneath his feet. From the cloud, bolts of thunder and flashes of lightning were springing into his hands; and from his hand they were going forth, and only then were they striking the earth. When I saw this sign of divine wrath which was about to strike the earth, and in particular a certain place, which for good reasons I cannot name, I began to implore the Angel to hold off for a few moments, and the world would do penance. But my plea was a mere nothing in the face of the divine anger. (...) At that very moment I felt in my soul the power of Jesus' grace, which dwells in my soul. When I became conscious of this grace, I was instantly snatched up before the Throne of God. (...).

I found myself pleading with God for the world with words heard interiorly. As I was praying in this manner, I saw the Angel's helplessness: he could not carry out the just punishment which was rightly due for sins. Never before had I prayed with such inner power as I did then.

The words with which I entreated God are these:

"Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us". (Diary, 474-475)

The next morning, when I entered chapel, I heard these words interiorly: Every time you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer which I taught you yesterday. When I had said the prayer, in my soul I heard these words: This prayer will serve to appease My wrath. (476)

First of all, you will say one OUR FATHER and HAIL MARY and the I BELIEVE IN GOD. Then on the OUR FATHER beads you will say the following words: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world." On the HAIL MARY beads you will say the following words: "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world." In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world." (476)

"On that Day the very depths of My tender Mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of Graces upon those souls who will approach the Fount of My Mercy. On that Day all the Divine floodgates through which Graces flow are opened".

"Let no soul fear to come to Me, even if its sins be so scarlet. This Feast emerged from the bosom of My Mercy and is founded in the depths of My Mercies. I desire that it be celebrated with great solemnity on the First Sunday after Easter".

"Unceasingly recite this Chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as a last hope of salvation. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. Oh, what great Graces I will grant souls who will recite this Chaplet. By means of it, you can ask and obtain anything, if what you ask for, will be compatible with My Will...I want the whole world to know My Infinite Mercy, I want to give unimaginable Graces to those who trust in My Mercy".

"Mankind will have no peace until it turns to My Mercy".

"Write that when they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge, but as the Merciful Saviour".

"Write this down, that before My coming as judge, I shall come first as the King of Mercy. Before the coming of that day of justice, there will be a sign in the heavens. All light will be extinguished in heaven and earth. There will be the Sign of The Cross. From each of the Wounds on My Hands and Feet will shine forth a light that will for a brief time brighten the earth. This will be a short time before the last day".

(All of what Jesus Himself has stated above directly reflects Revelations in God's Old Testament and Jesus' New Testament).

On the Feast of The Annunciation in 1936, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Sister Faustina also, declaring:
"I gave the world a Saviour, You must make known His Mercy and prepare the world for His Second Coming. He will then come, not as a Merciful Saviour, but as a just Judge. Oh how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice. Angels tremble before it. Speak to souls of His great Mercy while there is still time. If you remain silent now, you will have to account for a great number of souls on that final day. Be faithful to the end".

www.catholictradition.org/Classics/secret-rosary.htm

 

[Albion]

You fail to see that it is because of the grace of God Mary is what Catholics correctly perceive her to be.

PAX

Now, what's the point of saying something like that? It's more like footstomping than anything constructive.

 

[Galilee63]

Saint Dominic prayed to The Blessed Virgin Mary (as indeed hundreds of priests, Nuns/Sisters have done during those years with Jesus and The Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to them), during the year 1208.

IT IS ALMOST impossible to do real credit to the victories that Count Simon de Montfort won against the Albigensians under the patronage of Our Lady of the Rosary. These victories are so famous that the world has never seen anything to match them. One day he defeated ten thousand heretics with a force of five hundred men and on another occasion he overcame three thousand with only thirty men. Finally, with eight hundred horsemen and one thousand infantrymen he completely put to rout the army of the King of Aragon which was a hundred thousand strong, and this with the loss on his side of only one horseman and eight soldiers!

Our Lady also protected Alan de Lanvallay, a Breton Knight, from great perils. He too was fighting for the Faith against the Albigensians. One day when he found himself surrounded by enemies on all sides Our Lady let fall one hundred and fifty rocks upon his enemies and he was delivered from their hands. Another day when his ship foundered and was about to sink, the Blessed Mother caused one hundred and fifty small hills to appear miraculously above the water and by means of them they reached Brittany in safety.

He built a monastery at Dinan for the religious of St. Dominic, in thanksgiving to Our Lady for all the miracles that she had worked on his behalf in answer to his daily Rosary. Having become a religious himself he died a holy death at Orleans.

Othèrs was also a Breton soldier, from Vaucouleurs, and he often put whole companies of heretics or robbers to flight unaided, wearing his Rosary on his arm or carrying it on the hilt of his sword. Once when he had beaten them his enemies admitted that they had seen his sword gleam and that another time they had noticed a shield on his arm which had pictures of Our Lord and Our Lady and the Saints upon it. This shield made him invisible and gave him the strength to attack well.

Another time he defeated twenty thousand heretics with only ten companies and without losing a single man. This so impressed the general of the heretics' army that he came to see Others afterwards, abjured his heresy and declared publicly that he had seen him surrounded by flaming swords during the battle.

The Secret of the Rosary - Part 1

The Secret of the Rosary

In another passage Cathagena says:

"Blessed Alan said Our Lady revealed to him that after she had appeared to Saint Dominic, her Blessed Son Jesus appeared to him and said:

'Dominic, I rejoice to see that you are not relying upon your own wisdom and that, rather than seek the empty praise of men, you are working with great humility for the salvation of souls".

'But many priests want to preach thunderously against the worst kinds of sin at the very outset, failing to realize that before a sick person is given bitter medicine he needs to be prepared by being put in the right frame of mind to really benefit by it.

'This is why, before doing anything else, priests should try to kindle a love of prayer in people's hearts and especially a love of my Angelic Psalter. If only they would all start saying it and would really persevere, God, in His mercy, could hardly refuse to give them His grace. So I want you to preach my Rosary.'

In another place Blessed Alan says:

"All priests say a Hail Mary with the faithful before preaching, to ask for God's grace. They do this because of a revelation that Saint Dominic had from Our Lady.

"My son,' she said one day 'do not be surprised that your sermons fail to bear the results you had hoped for. You are trying to cultivate a piece of ground which has not had any rain. Now when Almighty God planned to renew the face of the earth He started by sending down rain from heaven - and this was the Angelic Salutation. In this way God made over the world.

'So when you give a sermon, urge people to say my Rosary, and in this way your words will bear much fruit for souls.'

"Saint Dominic lost no time in obeying, and from then on he exerted great influence by his sermons." [/I]This last quotation is from the "Book of Miracles of the Holy Rosary" (written in Italian) and it is also to be found in Justin's works (143d Sermon).

Then Jesus Christ our Saviour stated to Saint Dominic and The Blessed Alan De La Roche when delivering The Holy Rosary to Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan during 1214 and 1260appearing to them both and with The Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to Blessed Alan (a priest).

www.rosary-center.org/secret.htm


Blessed Alan began this great work in 1460 after a special warning from Our Lord, Who wished to spur him on to preach the Holy Rosary, spoke to him in the Sacred Host: "How can you crucify Me again so soon?" Jesus said. "What did You say, Lord?", asked Blessed Alan, horrified. "You crucified Me once before by your sins," answered Jesus, "and I would willingly be crucified again rather than have My Father offended by the sins you used to commit. You are crucifying Me again now because you have all the learning and understanding that you need to preach My Mother's Rosary, and you are not doing so. If you only did this you could teach many souls that right path and lead them away from sin - but you are not doing it and so you yourself are guilty of the sins that they commit."

The point made here is that when The Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God has appeared and appears to many hundreds and thousands of people around the world; Jesus/God/The Holy Spirit are within our Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God and often The Blessed Virgin Mary is with Jesus Christ our Saviour Himself and/or Holding Baby Jesus Christ our Saviour in Her Holy Arms. Many of the priests/nuns/sisters/Saints/Catholic Children and Adults have reported these occurrences.

Padre PIO:

"In order to attract us, the Lord grants us many graces that we believe can easily obtain Heaven for us. We do not know, however, that in order to grow, we need hard bread: the cross, humiliation, trials and denials." Padre Pio

www.catholic.org › Saints & Angels


Biography
Padre Pio was born May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, a small country town located in southern Italy. His parents were Grazio Mario Forgione (1860-1946) and Maria Guiseppa de Nunzio Forgione (1859-1929). He was baptized the next day, in the nearby Castle Church, with the name of his brother, Francesco, who died in early infancy. Other children in the family were an older brother, Michele; three younger sisters: Felicita, Pellegrina and Grazia; and two children who died as infants. Pietrelcina, Italy

Religion was the center of life for both Pietrelcina and the Forgione family. The town had many celebrations throughout the year in honor of different saints and the bell in the Castle Church was used not for ringing the hour, but for daily devotional time. Friends have described the Forgione family as "the God-is-everything-people" because they attended Daily Mass, prayed the Rosary nightly and fasted three days a week from meat in honor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Although Padre Pio’s grandparents and parents could not read and write, they memorized Sacred Scripture and told the children Bible stories. It was in this lovely family setting that the seeds of Faith were nurtured within Padre Pio.

From his early childhood, it was evident that Padre Pio had a deep piety. When he was five years old, he solemnly consecrated himself to Jesus. He liked to sing hymns, play church and preferred to be by himself where he could read and pray. As an adult, Padre Pio commented that in his younger years he had conversed with Jesus, the Madonna, his guardian angel, and had suffered attacks by the devil.

Padre Pio’s parents first learned of his desire to become a priest in 1897. A young Capuchin friar was canvassing the countryside seeking donations. Padre Pio was drawn to this spiritual man and told his parents, "I want to be a friar… with a beard." His parents traveled to Morcone, a community thirteen miles north of Pietrelcina, to investigate if the friars would be interested in having their son. The Capuchins were interested, but Padre Pio would need more education than his three years of public schooling.

Padre Pio at Age 14 In order to finance the private tutor needed to educate Padre Pio, his father went to America to find work. During this time, he was confirmed (September 27, 1899), studied with tutors and completed the requirements for entrance into the Capuchin order. At age 15, he took the Habit of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin on January 22, 1903. On the day of his investiture, he took the name of Pio in honor of Saint Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina, and was called Fra, for brother, until his priestly ordination.

A year later, on January 22, 1904, Fra Pio knelt before the altar and made his First Profession of the Evangelical Counsels of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Then, he traveled by oxcart to the seventeenth-century friary of St. Francis of Assisi and began six years of study for the priesthood and continued his development in community life toward the profession of his solemn vows. After three years of temporary profession, Padre Pio took his final vows in 1907.

Then on August 10, 1910, the much-anticipated day finally arrived. The twenty-three year old Fra Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Four days later, he celebrated his first Mass at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels.

Within a month of his ordination, (September 7, 1910), as Padre Pio was praying in the Piana Romana, Jesus and Mary appeared to him and gave him the wounds of Christ, the Stigmata. For Padre Pio’s doctors, the wounds created much confusion. He asked Jesus to take away "the annoyance," adding, " I do want to suffer, even to die of suffering, but all in secret." The wounds went away and the supernatural life of Padre Pio remained a secret...for a while.

On November 28, 1911, Padre Agostino, who was a contemporary, friend, and confidant, was advised that Padre Pio was ill. He rushed into Padre Pio’s room to care for him. Padre Agostino observed what he thought was a dying man and rushed to the chapel to pray. When he finished praying, he returned to Padre Pio’s room and found his friend alert and full of joy.

This was the beginning of Padre Pio’s documented ecstasies – all of which were "edifying, theologically correct and expressed a deep love for God. "

Due to Padre Pio’s on-going ill health, he was sent home to recuperate and was separated from his religious community from the end of 1911 – 1916. During this time, the Capuchin Constitution required a friar who was sent home because of illness had to maintain his friar life as much as possible. Padre Pio did this. He said Mass and taught school.

On September 4, 1916, Padre Pio was ordered to return to his community life and was assigned to San Giovanni Rotondo, an agricultural community, located in the Gargano Mountains. Our Lady Of Grace Capuchin Friary was approximately a mile from town and was not easy to reach. The Capuchins had a reputation for their holiness and simple life. When Padre Pio became a part of the community at Our Lady of Grace, there were seven friars.

With the outbreak of the war, only three friars stayed at Our Lady of Grace; the others were selected for military service. At the beginning, his responsibilities included teaching at the seminary and being the spiritual director of the students. He spent his free time reading the Bible and handling correspondence. When another friar was called into service, Padre Pio became in charge of the college.

 

[Galilee63]

Padre Pio and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

by Most Rev. Paola Carta, Bishop Emeritus of Foggia

I wish to consider Padre Pio in the light of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as our Lady revealed it to the three children of Fatima. Having meditated on the personality, spirituality and work of Padre Pio in connection with the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us try to penetrate as far as possible with the grace of the Holy Spirit into that marvelous world of the spirit where Padre Pio's heart appears in full harmony with the heart of our Heavenly Mother. For our mutual edification we will meditate on the love and trust Padre Pio placed in Mary Most Holy, on his personal reply to the message of Fatima and on the visit of Our Lady of Fatima to Padre Pio, concluding, as we did yesterday with a confidential talk with the Padre.



Padre Pio - Our lady of Grace

I - Love and trust of Padre Pio for our Lady

To understand the love and trust Padre Pio had for our Lady, it would be enough to tell you, my very dear brethren, to look around you! This splendid shrine is a hymn, a poem which sings and praises Padre Pio's devotion to Mary Most Holy! Each stone of this magnificent temple will repeat his name in centuries to come! He wanted this shrine! He succeeded in its incredible realization! People from all parts of the world replied to his moved and moving call for necessary funds to erect this palace to the Queen of Heaven and Earth, honoured as Our Lady of Grace! And permit me to remind you of Padre Pio's joy on the day - 1 July 1959 - when, according to his wishes, I had the honour and immense joy of consecrating this church with a solemn rite which lasted exactly four hours!

But apart from this, the whole of Padre Pio's life was lit up with the gentle light of our Lady.

In a letter of 6 May 1913, he gives vent to a delicate filial gentleness, writing: "Here we are at last in the month of our beautiful Mother once again.... This dear Mother continues to lavish her maternal care upon me, especially during the present month. She takes care of me to an exceeding degree.... I am all aflame although there is no fire. I feel myself held fast and bound to the Son by means of this Mother.... I'd like to fly off to invite all creatures to love Jesus and Mary."

The Council and Pope Paul VI proclaimed and acclaimed Mary as Mother of the Church and Padre Pio will continue to repeat for centuries to the faithful who flock here from all the Churches scattered in the world that they must grow in the love of the Mother of the Church.



II - Reply to the message of Fatima

To be our Advocate, our Help, our Mediatrix, our Sign of certain hope and consolation our Lady wanted to manifest her Immaculate Heart to the world. She appeared to three children at Fatima, exactly 80 years ago. It is a beautiful story. It is a story, not a legend. This was confirmed by the pilgrimage of Paul VI, years ago, for the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions, with the participation of an immense crowd and Lucia, the survivor of the three small seers, still alive today, a nun in the Convent of Saint Teresa at Coimbra in Portugal with the name of Sister Lucia of the Immaculate Heart.

At Fatima our Lady gave a message, a message from Heaven, a message of salvation, that is included in the story of salvation as a new divine intervention of salvation. The summary is contained in these precise words heard by the three children during the apparitions from May to October 1917: "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them our Lord wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. Pray a lot and make sacrifices for sinners. Take note that many souls go to hell because there is no one who prays or makes sacrifices for them. Do you wish to offer yourselves to God, ready to accept all the sufferings He wishes to send you in reparation for the sins with which He is offended and to obtain the conversion of sinners? Say the Rosary every day. The most holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary listen to your petitions."

This message of Fatima called for a reply on behalf of the whole church; a reply of prayer and sacrifice, animated also with a spirit of reparation for sins.

I think I can assert that in the half century which followed, no one in the Church has given a more complete reply than Padre Pio. The maternal anxiety of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the souls going to hell had profoundly and completely invaded the heart of Padre Pio, who made of his whole life a great sacrifice to our Lord to snatch souls away from eternal damnation.

1) Our Lady of Fatima asked especially for the prayer of the Rosary. And who could count the hours Padre Pio spent in prayer for the conversion and salvation of sinners? And who more than he held the rosary in his hand, night and day, filling all the free moments of the day with the most devout recital of the Rosary? And with how much loving insistence did he not recommend the Rosary to everyone as a means of salvation!

One day one of his penitents said to him: "Padre, today they say the Rosary is out of date, that it is no longer in fashion. It is no longer said in many churches." He replied: "Let us do what our fathers did and all will be well with us." "But Satan rules the world." Padre Pio replied: "Because they make him rule; can a spirit rule by itself if it is not united to the human will? We could not have been born in a more depraved world. The one who prays a lot saves himself. The one who prays little is in danger. The one who does not pray loses his soul."

"Padre, say something to us."

"Love our Lady, make others love her. Always say your Rosary and say it well. Satan always tries to destroy this prayer, but he will never succeed. It is the prayer of her who triumphs over everything and everyone."

And two days before he died, he repeated: "Love our Lady and make her loved. Recite the Rosary and recite it always. And recite it as much as you can."

2) Our Lady of Fatima also asked for sacrifices, acts of mortification, penances and sufferings accepted or spontaneously embraced to save souls from hell.

How well did our dear Padre Pio understand this need! In fact he said: "Souls are not given as gifts; they are bought. You do not know what they cost Jesus. Now they still have to be bought always with the same coin."

And Padre Pio paid and bought souls at a most high price: with heroic penance, with food, with sleep, with rest, with the martyrdom of fifty-eight years in the ministry of confession; with sufferings derived from misunderstandings and prohibitions and serious disciplinary measures taken against him at various times of his life, through no fault of his; with enormous difficulties to overcome to build the Home for the Relief of Suffering; and above all with the crucifixion which lasted exactly half a century with open wounds. A victim completely sacrificed for sinners. And that was Padre Pio's reply to the message of Fatima.



III - Our Lady of Fatima visits Padre Pio

This heroic reply of Padre Pio's deserved a sign of maternal pleasure from our Lady. And the sign was marvelous.

Towards the end of April 1959 a statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that had come specially from Fatima was traveling all over Italy by helicopter, stopping at the provincial capitals. But San Giovanni Rotondo is not a provincial capital, and on the other hand, Padre Pio could not go to Foggia where at that time I was bishop of that dear and beautiful diocese and had prepared a triumphal reception for the traveling Madonna. Amongst other things he could not come because just when the statue arrived in Italy, Padre Pio was struck down by a bad attack of pleurisy, that made it impossible for him to even celebrate Mass from 5 May onwards. And the illness continued so that he was still prostrate when our Lady arrived in Puglia.

But could the Mother with an Immaculate Heart so sensitive and delicate not visit her dearest son, Padre Pio? And the extraordinary exception, the change of schedule was granted!

The arrival of the Marian statue was fixed for 5 August. The people had to be prepared to receive our Lady with great fervour, with immense joy, with filial love and abundant spiritual fruits. And it was Padre Pio who from his sick bed spoke with a loud speaker to the faithful gathered in the church for a novena.

I now give some edifying particulars from a biography of Padre Pio.

On 27 July Padre Pio announced the beginning of the novena "for the visit the Heavenly Mother wants to make" and he exhorted to prepare for it with Christian renewal. Every evening he reminded them of the joy, the good fortune, the "very special grace" of this visit and the obligation of a worthy welcome above all with the practice of some virtues. On the evening of 4 August he announced that "the visit of our Mother" would be within a "few hours" and it was necessary not to be found "with empty hands." On 5 August he announced with emotion: "In a few minutes our Mother will be in our house... Open your heart." Finally on the evening of 6 August, he urged them to give thanks, to commit themselves "enthusiastically... permanently just as our Mother's eye is permanently on us."

During the morning of 6 August, the Padre was able to go down to the church. He stopped in front of the statue of our Lady — but had to sit down because he was exhausted — and he gave her a gold rosary. The statue was lowered before his face and he was able to kiss her. It was a most affectionate gesture.

Between two and three in the afternoon of 6 August the helicopter carrying the statue of our Lady rose from the terrace of the Home for Relief of Suffering headed for Sicily. It did three turns over the crowd gathered on the square in front of the church and flew away.

From a window Padre Pio watched the helicopter fly away with eyes filled with tears. To our Lady in flight Padre Pio lamented with a confidence that was all his own: "My Lady, my Mother, you came to Italy and I got sick, now you are going away and you leave me still ill."

At that instant he felt a shudder in all his person. As long as he lived he repeated. "In that very instant I felt a sort of shudder in my bones which cured me immediately." His Spiritual Father confirmed it saying: "In a moment the Padre felt a mysterious force in his body and said to his confreres: 'I am cured'." He was healthy and strong as never before in his life.

Informed about an article that appeared in Foggia, which asked why Our Lady of Fatima had gone to San Giovanni Rotondo and not the shrine of Saint Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo, Padre Pio explained with enchanting simplicity: "Our Lady came here because she wanted to cure Padre Pio."

I like to add that she also came because the example of Padre Pio's ardent devotion and his prodigious recovery would rouse in Italy and the world a fervent increase of love and confidence towards the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

And from this marvelous episode we must make a holy resolution to grow always in this devotion with a generous reply to the message of Fatima, reciting fervently the Rosary every day, praying and offering our sufferings for the conversion of sinners, receiving Communion on the first Saturdays of the month in the hope that the consoling words will come true for us: "I promise salvation to all those who practice devotion to my Immaculate Heart. These souls will be most dear to God, and like flowers I will place them before his throne." Like this we can even look to the future of the Church and humanity with serenity, trustful in the prophetic word of Mary who in her third apparition of 13 July 1917 announced: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

Padre Pio - Praying in the Choir Loft

Conversing with the Padre

Allow me to conclude this meditation with a confidential talk with the Padre.

Beloved Padre Pio, I remember an episode that took place one day during a civil war. On the facade of a church someone had written in large letters this appeal: "Fratelli, armatevi!" (Brothers, arm yourselves!"). A woman, a mother who had gone to church to pray fervently for peace, saw that writing, was profoundly struck and afflicted. Then she had a bright and marvelous idea. She went up to the word "armatevi" (arm yourselves) and cancelled the letter R. And the appeal was transformed. No longer: "Fratelli, armatevi" but Fratelli amatevi!" (Brothers love each other).

Beloved Padre you know that today in Italy there are those who spread in various ways this fratricidal appeal: "Fratelli, armatevi." And in fact how many young men belong to armed groups, how many go around with weapons ready to shoot! And how many acts of violence, how many murders have stained with blood the streets of Italy in these last years! And how many mothers in tears, how many brides, widows, how many orphaned children.

Dear Padre Pio, listen to me. Now that you contemplate our Lady in the brightness of her celestial beauty, you who see her sitting at the right side of her Son, who refuses her nothing, pray to her so that she intervenes with her Immaculate Heart, with her Mother's Heart and from the word "armatevi" cancel the R so that the cry "Fratelli, amatevi, amatevi!" is taken up by all and echoes from one end of Italy to the other.

Yes, dear Padre, I recommended the whole world to you for the triumph of the Civilization of Love. Today I ask for the salvation of Italy in particular, in this grave hour of its history. You who have so loved and honoured it with the splendour of your sanctity, see to it that Italy faithfully fulfils the mission given it by Divine Providence of announcing from Rome the message of the Gospel of Christ, from Assisi the Franciscan message of Peace and Good and from San Giovanni Rotondo your message of love for our Lady!

[From the Voice of Padre Pio, July 1997, Friary of Our Lady of Grace, 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo, (FG), Italy. Used with permission of: The National Center for Padre Pio, 2213 Old Route 100, Barto, PA 19504, through which a subscription may be obtained.]

 

[justinangel]

Now, what's the point of saying something like that? It's more like footstomping than anything constructive.

Are you serious?

PAX

 

[Albion]

Are you serious?

Certainly--but I take it from your incredulousness that you missed the point entirely.

 

[Jonathan95]

Yes, dear Padre, I recommended the whole world to you for the triumph of the Civilization of Love. Today I ask for the salvation of Italy in particular, in this grave hour of its history.

What nonsense. Only Jesus is our Savior, not Padre Pio.