Do we listen to Our Lady and take her warnings seriously?

[Note: at about the 6 minute mark, Fr. makes a verbal slip when he misquotes Our Lady's words saying "more souls go to heaven for sins of the flesh than any other reason." Of course, he meant go to hell.]

None of us should be surprised at the crisis we face both in the state and the Church. We have brought it on ourselves by our sinfulness, laziness, and tepidity. I think of myself and all the time I waste on frivolous things, how little time I spend in prayer and sacrifice. What's wrong with the world? I am. 

Will We Listen to Our Lady's Warnings as We Recall her Apparitions?

The time is late. Will you listen to the messages of Our Lady?

It is surely fitting on the eve of the 100th anniversary of Fatima to recall Our Lady's warnings and respond to her appeals. Sin will bring on WW III if we fail to listen and convert.

Note that the final appearance of Our Lady during each of these apparitions was October 13th, the anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima, when the sun plunged toward the earth. Many thought it was the end of the world.

Are we on the verge of an apocalyptic event on the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun? I don't know, but I do know the time is late!

Please, if you aren't praying the rosary every day, start now. Plead with Our Lady for her intercession. Make peace with your family and friends. Pray for the conversion of sinners and do penance. Our Lady, Queen of the Holy Rosary, pray for us.

May each of us listen to Mary's motherly warnings and respond in love.

Guest Post: The Queen of Heaven Clothed with the Stars

The Heel of Our Lady

of Guadalupe upon the Global Serpent

By David Martin

The first and perhaps greatest prophecy given after the fall of our first parents is contained in Genesis 3:15, where God speaks to the serpent: "She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." This verse of scripture references the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception and the great power she would exert over the devil, especially in the latter times.

The Virgin's appearance at Guadalupe is certainly no exception to this. The word "Guadalupe," derived from the Aztecan word quatlasupe, providentially means "to crush the head of the serpent," which was precisely the work of the Blessed Virgin in her apparition to St. Juan Diego on December 9, 1531. She appeared on the hill called Tepeyac outside of Mexico City, which formerly was the site of the Aztec temple dedicated to the idol Tonotzin. Her mission was to dispel the magic and indigenous practice that had bewitched that part of the world, and bring the One True Universal Faith to the people. Some 9,000,000 Mexican Indians were converted to the Catholic Faith through her intercession, assisted by the clergy of Mexico. She truly stood upon the hill and conquered the serpent!

What Is Our Lady Asking of Us? Prayer and Penance!

Four hundred years ago, Our Lady of Good Success appeared to a Spanish nun, Sr. Mariana de Jesus Torres,  in Quito, Ecuador and warned about a crisis in the Church arising at the end of the 19th century and becoming even worse after the middle of the 20th century. I'm going to be studying this approved apparition and sharing about it, not to frighten anyone, but to show how crucial it is to listen to Our Lady and respond to her call for her children to pray and sacrifice. The only solution to these evils is for faithful Catholics to grow in personal holiness and commit to lives of prayer and penance to help make up for "what's lacking in the suffering of Christ." What could possibly be lacking in the suffering of Christ? Our cooperation in his act of redemption. He won't force it, but wants us to offer it by conforming our will to His. What better time to embrace Christ's cross of suffering than during the holy season of Lent? Listen to our Blessed Mother and imitate her "Yes!"

Should This Make Us Nervous?

Taiwan Aims Missiles at China

Update: According to Donal Foley, Akita is controversial. I thought it was among the approved apparition sites, but apparently the Vatican has never given approval, which, I guess, puts it in the same category as Medjugroje. Go here for more. 

The first thing I thought of when I read this was the scenario that began World War II. Great Britain stayed out of things until Hitler invaded Poland, their ally. Hitler's invasion of Poland marks the first armed attack of the war in Europe and his blitzkrieg defeated the nation within hours. A mounted horse cavalry was hardly an effective deterrent to Nazi tanks.

Well, we have an agreement to defend our ally Taiwan in case of attack by Beijing which continues to aim at reunification of the island nation with mainland China. What will happen if China attacks Taiwan? Not a happy thought is it. But Mother Teresa predicted that the fruit of abortion would be WW III. I see no indications that the countries of the world are becoming more moral. In fact, comparing our behavior to the end of WW II, we are more depraved in every area and in every one of the seven deadly sins. This is surely a time to listen to the Blessed Mother's call for repentance and penance. The messages of Akita should send all Christians to their knees.

The Blessed Mother gave us this prayer during her apparitions. Please pray it every day:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Thy Heart, being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father pleading for the coming of his Kingdom. Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as Thou wilt for the glory of the Father and salvation of souls. Most Holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Thy Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Thy special child. Amen

Our Lady of Akita, pray for us. 

The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

When Mary appeared to the two young shepherds at LaSalette in France in 1846, she wept over the sins of the people, particularly because they did not keep Sunday holy. When she appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 at Lourdes, the Blessed Lady urged people to pray the rosary and she left a miraculous spring where people in pain could come to be cured, sometimes physically, more often spiritually. In 1917, Mary appeared again, this time to three little shepherds at Fatima where she urged them with the words: "Penance, penance, penance" and showed them a terrifying vision of hell where souls fell into the flames "like snowflakes."

In 1932 with Europe immersed in sins of the flesh and moving toward another world war she appeared to four young people in Beauraing, Belgium and promised, "I will convert sinners." At Akita Japan in 1973 Our Lady brought a more urgent message:

With my Son I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering Him the sufferings of the Son on the Cross, His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a cohort of victim souls. Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father's anger.

In 1980 Mary appeared in Cuapa, Nicaragua to the church sacristan Bernardo Martinez warning once again that if the people did not change they would experience serious suffering.

Ask for faith in order to have the strength so that each can carry his own cross. The sufferings of this world cannot be removed. Sufferings are the cross which you must carry. That is the way life is. There are problems with the husband, with the wife, with the children, with the brothers. Talk, converse so that problems will be resolved in peace. Do not turn to violence. Never turn to violence. Pray for faith in order that you will have patience.

Always Mary comes like a loving mother warning her children and urging us to repent and reform our lives. She brings us a message from her Son. "Reform your lives." Her message is consistent. "Pray the rosary." As we see our country immersed in the depravity of abortion, pornography, same-sex marriage, greed, class envy, violence and murder...Isn't it time to turn to Our Lady of Sorrows? Stand at the foot of the cross with her. Accept your sufferings and offer them in atonement for the sins of the world.