Monthly apparition

From Children of Medjugorje:


Dear Children of Medjugorje
Praised be Jesus and Mary!

1. On September 2nd, Mirjana received her monthly apparition. The apparition was very peaceful, even joyful. At the end of the apparition, Mirjana said that Our Lady didn't give a classic message but started in this way: "You know that we have been gathering so that I may help you come to know the love of God."


Our Lady spoke to Mirjana about the future. Later she said:

"I am gathering you under my motherly mantle to help you to come to know God's love and His greatness. My children, God is great. Great are His works. Do not deceive yourselves that you can do anything without Him. Not even to take a step, my children. Instead set out and witness His love! I am with you. Thank you."


2 - The exaltation of the Cross

On August 30th 1984 Our Lady spoke about the Cross that was built in 1933 on what is now Mount Krizevac. She said, "Dear children! The cross was also in God's plan when you built it. These days, especially, go on the mountain and pray before the cross. I need your prayers..." On the 14th of this month, we celebrated the Exaltation of the Cross, a feast day that Croatians treasure in a special way. Local tradition holds that Christians ascend Mount Krizevac to venerate the Cross at the top and celebrate morning Mass there. Nobody misses it! As for me, because I arrived at the top a little early, I was able to witness a deeply moving scene. Coming from all over the country, crowds of Croatian pilgrims were climbing, some barefoot, all walking towards the Cross of Jesus!! They could be seen moving in clusters, coming from all over, through small paths, through big paths, roads and narrow ways between the vines; and all were converging toward the mountain of the Cross. What an extraordinary sight! How can we not think of the prophets in the Bible who saw all scattered peoples heading for Jerusalem and finding Salvation there!

Today, as the world is wondering with some anxiety where it is headed and what the future holds, if it hears the invitation of Jesus and decides to follow Him, it will find the answer and be saved! But the real Answer, the real Jesus, not the one of the New Age!

The real Jesus saves us by His death on the Cross and His Resurrection. New Age wants to throw away the cross in order to seduce souls, and so many believers fall into the trap. Fortunately, this is not the case with the Croatian people: they know that their attachment to the Cross has saved them from Communism and other evils; and they are not about to let go of their great treasure. One should see how the young and old respect and kiss the Cross! What an example for us in the Western world who have let pagans take away our Crucifixes, (even in Catholic institutions)! No wonder that we no longer know where Salvation will come from! No wonder that many enemies of Christ keep on making up more false means of Salvation - false cures, false ways of peace to give better change, to offer happiness without the Cross! If we dispose of the cross, Satan wins. He will be too happy to get rid of what precisely caused his defeat! Satan hates the Cross, at the foot of which Jesus conquered him, and he wants to make us hate it too by all means! This is why so many people, unconsciously infected with this virus of his, are afraid to come near the Cross of Jesus, or they create Crosses so crooked that they are on the verge of blasphemy!! Why are adoptees of satanic sects asked to trample the Cross before being admitted? Satan knows the power of the Cross!! But for us believers, what folly came over us to abandon the Cross as we have?

Many people know about the traditional Croatian marriage ceremony: At the moment of the Sacrament, when the bride and groom promise one to another, the priest offers them a Crucifix placed on his stole, and the spouses put their hands on Christ, the groom first, then the bride on top. Eventually, the Crucifix will be placed in a place of honor in their home and become the focus of prayer in their home. Thus divorces are rare among Croatian believers. Many foreign couples find out about this custom and are sorry not to have found out earlier before their own wedding! But with God it is never too late: at their wedding anniversary, they can have a mass celebrated during which they can renew their promises. They only need to ask the priest. After the liturgy of the Word, he comes to present them a crucifix on his stole and the spouses can renew their promises while putting their hands on Jesus crucified. From then on Jesus becomes like the cement of their love and union. Temptations, storms and conflicts of all kinds that may arise may be abandoned to Jesus, the Protector and Savior of their love. How many tortures and divorces could be avoided doing so!!

Put the blessed Crucifix back in your homes, in your bedrooms, living rooms, anywhere you live! With the Cross of Jesus, it is God's blessing that enters your homes, and don't we need it more than ever? Don't we need to see, touch, kiss and venerate the true Author of our Salvation, the One who never deceived us?

March 25,1997 the Gospa said: "Dear children! Today, in a special way, I invite you to take the cross in the hands and to meditate on the wounds of Jesus. Ask of Jesus to heal your wounds, which you, dear children, during your life sustained because of your sins or the sins of your parents."


3. A medical dotor, Bernard, came to Medjugorje for the first time this week. Even though he was baptized, Bernard violently rejected God and his faith at the age of 12. In 1998, thanks to some Catholic friends, a move toward conversion took root in his heart but his spiritual life remained cloudy.

A couple of days ago, he went by himself to Apparition Hill. Seeing some trash thrown around here and there, he decided to clean up the area. He began by picking up the rubbish and putting it in a bag. All at once, he was overwhelmed by the feeling that Our Lady was calling him to pray in front of her statue. But he ignored the call and continued cleaning up. A thought then came clear and loud in his mind: "It is fine to pick up trash, but I'd better take care of the "trash" in my own heart and put it at the foot of Mary." The call became so strong and irrepressible that finally Bernard fell to his knees in front of the statue.

As soon as he began to pray, horrible scenes from his past, that he had forgotten a long time ago, came back to him! The name of a woman came very clearly to his mind and wouldn't leave him. It was the name of a patient, one among the thousands he had encountered during his medical career. This name in particular was from 35 years ago! As he prayed, he could see himself that night as a young medical student working in the hospital. He was placed in the ward for terminally ill patients. Without consulting the patient or asking anyone else for permission – something that was against the rules – he injected her with a high dose of morphine. He was well aware of the enormous risk for the patient, but because of the hardness of his heart and his selfish desire to try a new experiment, he did not hesitate one second. The next morning the woman was dead.

In front of Mary's statue, Bernard saw himself the way he was long ago, stuffed with pride and committing the most heinous sins. Each sin came up from the depths of his heart and was shown to him very clearly. Bernard was indeed cleaning up his own garbage; he was even mystified by the experience! He never thought he was holding within him such a pile of garbage! However, under the loving and non- judgmental gaze of Mary, in this most anointed encounter with his heavenly Mother, Bernard did not lose hope. On the contrary, filled with a sincere repentance, he decided to throw all of those horrors into the heart of Jesus so that He could burn them forever. Bernard ran to confession and received the gift of a very profound interior peace, a peace he had been searching for and that had been eluding him for so long! This is the gift that Mary, Mother of Peace, had in store for this very dear son of hers, here in Medjugorje!

This example shows us very clearly how the Mother of God works:
- She attracts to her the sheep damaged by evil,
- She casts a light of grace onto them with gentleness and tremendous power,
- And, through her beautiful, merciful gaze she gives them the desire to purify themselves,
- And then she brings them to her sons - our priests!


A sinner who throws himself into the hands of Mary does not remain stuck to his sins for very long! Furthermore, a priest who works with Mary is a happy priest and never jobless in the confessional: he collects the lost sheep from the hands of
Mary and brings them to Jesus!



Dearest Gospa, we place ourselves under your maternal gaze.
Please help us purify and change our lives!
Rescue us from the oppression of sin, so we may have life!

Sr. Emmanuel +

"Trumpets of Warning! — Part V"

From Mark Mallet:


IT has been nearly a year since I met with a team of other Christians and Fr. Kyle Dave of Louisiana. From those days, Fr. Kyle and I received strong prophetic words and impressions from the Lord which we eventually wrote in what is called The Petals (read them here).
At the end of a week together, all of us knelt in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and consecrated our lives to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As we sat in an exquisite peace before the Lord, I was given a sudden "light" as to what I heard in my heart about the coming "parallel communities."

PROLOGUE: THE COMING "SPIRITUAL HURRICANE"
Recently, I felt compelled to get in the car and just drive. It was evening, and as I drove over the hill, I was greeted by a full red harvest moon. I pulled over the car, got out, and just listened as the warm winds whipped across my face. And the words came…
The winds of change have begun to blow again.
With that, the image of a hurricane came to mind. The sense I had was that a great storm was beginning to blow; that this summer was the calm before the storm. But now, that which we have seen coming for a long time, has finally arrived—brought about by our own sinfulness. But more so, our pride and refusal to repent. I cannot express adequately how sad Jesus is. I have had brief interior glimpses of His sorrow, felt it in my soul, and can say, Love is being crucified again.
But Love will not let go. And so, a spiritual hurricane is approaching, a storm to bring the entire world to the knowledge of God. It is a storm of Mercy. It is a storm of Hope. But it will also be a storm of Purification.
For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. (Hos 8:7)
As I have written previously, God is calling us to "Prepare!" For this storm will have thunder and lightning as well. What that means, we can only speculate. But if you look upon the horizons of nature and human nature, you will already see the billowing black clouds of what is coming, beckoned by our own blindness and rebellion.
When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:54-56)
See! Like storm clouds he advances, like a hurricane his chariots; Swifter than eagles are his steeds: "Woe to us! we are ruined." Cleanse your heart of evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved… When the time comes, you shall fully understand. (Jeremiah 4:14; 23:20)

THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE
When I saw in my mind this coming whirlwind, it was the eye of the hurricane that caught my attention. I believe at the height of the coming storm—a time of great chaos and confusion—the eye will pass over humanity. Suddenly, there will be a great calm; the sky will open up, and we will see the Sun beaming down upon us. It’s rays of Mercy will illuminate our hearts, and we will all see ourselves the way God sees us. It will be a "warning", as we will see our souls in their true condition. It will be more than a "wake-up call".
St. Faustina experienced such a moment:
Suddenly I saw the complete condition of my soul as God sees it. I could clearly see all that is displeasing to God. I did not know that even the smallest transgressions will have to be accounted for. What a moment! Who can describe it? To stand before the Thrice-Holy-God! —St. Faustina; Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary
If mankind as a whole is soon to experience such an illuminating moment, it will be a shock that awakens us all to the realization that God exists, and it will be our moment of choice—either to persist in being our own small gods, denying the authority of the one true God, or to accept divine mercy and live fully our true identity as sons and daughters of the Father. —Michael D. O’ Brien; Are We Living in Apocalyptic Times? Questions and Answers (Part II); September 20, 2005
This illumination, this break in the storm, will no doubt produce a tremendous time of conversion and repentance. A day of Mercy, a great day of Mercy! …but it will also serve to sift, to further separate those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus from those who will refuse to bend their knee to the King.
And then the storm will begin again.

STORM CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON
What will occur in the final part of those purifying winds? We continue to "watch and pray" as Jesus commanded.
There is a crucial passage in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which I have quoted elsewhere. Here I want to focus on one element of it (highlighted in italics):
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. (CCC 675)
As quoted in The Second Petal: PERSECUTION as well as Parts III and IV of "Trumpets of Warning!", John Paul II called these times the "final confrontation". However, we must always be cautious, discerning the "signs of the times" doing no more or no less than what our Lord Himself commanded us: "Watch and Pray!"
It appears the Church is heading toward a great purification at least, primarily through persecution. It is clear from the number of public scandals and open rebellion among religious and clergy in particular, that even now the Church is passing through a necessary but humiliating purgation. Weeds have grown among the wheat, and the time is approaching when they will be more and more separated and the grain will be harvested. Indeed, the separating has already begun.
But I want to focus on the sentence, "religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems."
There is a rapidly growing totalitarianism in the world, enforced not by guns or armies, but by "intellectual reasoning" in the name of "morality" and "human rights". But it is not a morality rooted in the sure teachings of Jesus Christ as safeguarded by His Church, nor even in the moral absolutes and rights derived by natural law. Rather,
A dictatorship of relativism is being built that recognizes nothing as definite, and which leaves as the ultimate measure only one’s ego and desires. Having a clear faith, according to the credo of the Church, is often labeled as fundamentalism. Yet, relativism, that is, letting oneself be tossed and ’swept along by every wind of teaching’, appears the sole attitude acceptable to today’s standards. —POPE BENEDICT XVI (then Cardinal Ratzinger), Pre-conclave homily, April 19th 2005
But for relativists, it is no longer enough that they disagree with orthodox and historical practice. Their disordered standards are now being legislated with penalties for simple dissent. In what may be the most foreboding advance of this coming "dictatorship" is the legislation just passed in California: "The Nondiscrimination in State Programs and Activities Act".
The bill will punish any entity or program that accepts any state assistance unless it accepts homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality. […It] has no religious exemption and violators face having their [government] funding cut off. The legislation allows the state to threaten childcare centres and Christian schools that accept childcare vouchers and state college grants. The act also covers state services such as food stamps, financial aid, and police and fire protection. —LifeSiteNews.com, August 30th, 2006
No fire protection for those who won’t teach their children bisexuality? Is anyone listening?
But this isn’t localized to just the United States. Spain, Britain, Canada, and other countries have moved toward punishing "thought crime": expressing an opinion differing from the state-sanctioned "morality". The United Kingdom now has a police "Minorities Support Unit" to arrest those who oppose homosexuality. And in Canada, non-elected "Humans Rights Tribunals" have the power to penalize anyone they deem guilty of "hate crime". Several Christians have been fined or penalized already. And in many nations, agenda driven judges are continuing to "read into" constitutional law, creating a "new religion" as the "high priests" of modernism. Freedom of speech is vanishing.
These trends have not gone unnoticed by Pope Benedict who recently warned that such "tolerance" threatens freedom itself:
…values detached from their moral roots and full significance found in Christ have evolved in the most disturbing of ways…. Democracy succeeds only to the extent that it is based on truth and a correct understanding of the human person. —Address to Canadian Bishops, Sept 8, 2006
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, may have been speaking prophetically when he said,
"…speaking in defense of the life and the rights of the family, is becoming in some societies a type of crime against the State, a form of disobedience to the Government…" and warned that someday the Church may be brought "in front of some international Court". —Vatican City, June 28, 2006; Ibid.

"WATCH AND PRAY"
Jesus may have described the first part of this storm before we reach the eye of the hurricane:
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor pains. (Matt 24:7-8)
And immediately following this period, perhaps divided by "the warning", Jesus says,
Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. (9-13)
Jesus repeats several times that we are to "watch and pray!" Why? In part, because there is a deception coming and is already here, in which those who have fallen asleep will fall prey to.
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the lasttimes some will turn away from the faith by paying attention todeceitful spirits and demonic instructions through the hypocrisy ofliars with branded consciences (1 Tim 4:1-3)
I have felt compelled in my own preaching the past three years to warn about this spiritual deception which has already blinded not only the worldly, but many "nice" people. See The Fourth Petal: THE RESTRAINER regarding this deception.

PARALLEL COMMUNITIES: HURRICANE OF PERSECUTION
This is what I seemed to "see" all at once while praying before the Blessed Sacrament that day.
I saw that, in the midst of the virtual collapse of society due to cataclysmic events, a "world leader" would present an impeccable solution to the economic chaos. This solution which would seemingly cure at the same time economic strains, as well as the deep social need of society, that is, the need for community. (I immediately perceived that technology and the rapid pace of life have created an environment of isolation and loneliness — perfect soil for a new concept of community to emerge.) In essence, I saw what would be "parallel communities" to the Christian communities.
The Christian communities would already have been established through "the illumination" or "warning" or perhaps sooner. (They would be cemented by the supernatural graces of the Holy Spirit, and protected beneath the mantle of the Blessed Mother.)
The "parallel communities", on the other hand, would reflect many of the values of the Christian communities—fair sharing of resources, a form of spirituality and prayer, like-mindedness, and social interaction made possible (or forced into being) by the preceding purifications which would compel people to draw together. The difference would be this: the parallel communities would be based on a new religious idealism, built on the footings of moral relativism and structured by New Age and Gnostic philosophies. AND, these communities would also have food and the means for comfortable survival.
The temptation for Christians to cross-over will be so great… that we will see families split, fathers turned against sons, daughters against mothers, families against families (see Mark 13:12). Many will be deceived because the new communities will contain many of the ideals of Christian community (Acts 2:44-45), and yet, they will be empty, godless, evil structures, shining in a false light, held together by fear more than by love, and fortified with easy access to the necessities of life. People will be seduced by the ideal—but swallowed by the falsehood.
As hunger and incrimination escalate, people will face a choice. They can continue to live in insecurity (humanly speaking) trusting in the Lord alone, or they can choose to eat well in a welcoming and seemingly secure community. (Perhaps a certain "mark" will be required to belong to these communities—an obvious but plausible speculation).
Those who refuse these parallel communities will be deemed not only outcasts, but obstacles to what many will be deceived into believing is the enlightenment of human existence—the solution to a humanity in crisis and gone astray. (And here again, terrorism is another key element of the enemy’s present plan. These new communities will appease the terrorists through this new world religion thereby bringing about a false "peace and security", and hence, Christian’s will become the "new terrorists" because they oppose the "peace" established by the world leader.)
Even though people will have by now heard the revelation in Scripture regarding the dangers of a coming world religion, the deception will be so convincing that many will believe Catholicism to be that "evil" world religion instead. Putting to death Christians will become a justifiable "act of self-defence" in the name of "peace and security".
Confusion will be present among believers. All will be tested.
(As a point of clarification, my overall sense was that the Christians were banded together more geographically. The "parallel communities" would also have geographic closeness, but not necessarily. They would dominate the cities… the Christians, the countrysides. But that is just an impression I had in my mind’s eye.)
I believe the Christian communities will begin to form out of the coming "exile" (see Part IV). And again, here is why I believe the Lord has inspired me to write this down as a "trumpet of warning": those believers who are presently being sealed with the sign of the Cross will be given discernment as to which are the Christian communities, and which are the deceptions. (For further explanation on the sealing of believers, see Part III.)
There will be tremendous graces in these genuine Christian communities, despite the hardship which will befall them. There will be a spirit of love, simplicity of life, angelic visitations, miracles of providence, and a worship of God in "spirit and truth."
But they will be smaller in number—a remnant of what was.
The Church will be reduced in its dimensions, it will be necessary to start again. However, from this test a Church would emerge that will have been strengthened by the process of simplification it experienced, by its renewed capacity to look within itself. …the Church will be numerically reduced. —God and the World, 2001; Peter Seewald, interview with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

FORETOLD—PREPARED
I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them. (John 16:1-4)
Did Jesus foretell the persecution of the Church so as to fill us with terror? Or did He warn the Apostles of these things so that an inner light would guide Christians through the darkness of the coming storm? So that they would prepare and live now as pilgrims in transitory world?
Indeed, Jesus tells us that to be citizens of the eternal kingdom means to be strangers and sojourners—aliens in a world we are merely passing through. And because we will reflect His light in the darkness, we will be hated, for that light will expose the works of darkness.
But we will love in return, and by our love, win the souls of our persecutors.
If the word has not converted, it will be blood that converts. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, from poem, "Stanislaw"
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult… The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalm 46:1-3, 11)

CONCLUSION
We will never be abandoned in this journey, no matter what it brings. What has been said in these five letters of "Trumpets of Warning" are what has been laid on my heart, and the hearts of many believers throughout the world. We cannot say when, nor even for sure if these things will come to pass in our time. God’s Mercy is fluid, and His wisdom is beyond our understanding. To Him a minute is a day, a day a month, a month a century. Things could go on yet for a very long time. But this is not an excuse to fall asleep! Much depends on our response to these warnings.
Christ promised to remain with us "to the end of time." Through persecution, hardship, and every tribulation, He will be there. You should find such comfort in these words! This is not a distant, generalized patronization! Jesus will be there, right there, near as your breath, no matter how difficult the days may become. It will be a supernatural grace, sealed in those who choose Him. Who choose eternal life.
I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile? The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. The confiscation of our goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it… I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence. —St. John Chrysostom
The greatest weakness in an apostle is fear. What gives rise to fear is lack of confidence in the power of the Lord. —Cardinal Wyszyñski, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way by Pope John Paul II)
I hold each of you in my heart and prayers, and ask your prayers. As for me and my family, we shall serve the Lord!

Mark MallettSeptember 14th, 2006Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, and eve of the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Pope's speech

Here we have an excerpt from the Pope's speech:

Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.


Click here for the entire speech.

God Bless America!

Let's not forget and let's pray for those who died and those who suffered so much from this attack!