Consecration to Mary! Lee, I pray you have a safe journey/pilgrimmage! What a wonderful opportunity to visit holy sites. I'm excited for you. Also, your total consecration to Our Lady will prove to be such a blessing. Even if this will be a sort of renewal of a previous consecration, the confidence and trust we place in Mary's maternal care are so powerful. I believe she and Therese have teamed up to turn me fully back to the Church and secure a deep faith in the hearts of my children. If you see any handsome, 6'5" Legionary of Christ brothers, dressed in a blacksuit/white collar roaming the streets of Rome, hey, you never know, one might be my son, Benjamin! Godspeed!
Mario, talk about a blessed family! You have one. Our Lady watches carefully for us. I had started the Consecration before a surgery and got so sick at the end of it I couldn't make it to mass to complete it. This time the timing is perfect and I so look forward to it. I once again did the Novena MARY UNDOER OF KNOTS about a month ago and the changes in my life were so dynamic there was no doubt her hand was on it. You know you should probably think about a trip to Rome yourself...wouldn't that be wonderful? Thanks for your prayers, they are always welcome. Lee
Darrell has requested me to join the forum. So here I am. My name is Chris, I live in Belgium, 25 km. near Brussels, in a little village called "Okegem". Today I just want to tell the other members that Darrell is just a wonderful and honest boy with a great belief. I hope he becomes one of my best friends. However I must correct him a bit: Chrissie is not a "she", but a "he".
OK. Now Darrell is very embarressed. Very sorry Chris. In defense, in the U.S., Chris can be either a male or female, but Chrissie would be female. Please accept my apology. Welcome to the forum! Darrell
Welcome on board! Chrissie, So good to hear from a brother on the other side of the pond. The surprise concerning your name is already stretching my American mindset. Your input bodes well for us all, already! Besides, the women have us outnumbered and you'll help to bring some balance (just kidding, ladies!) BTW, my mom was named Christine and my middle son is named Christopher. Darrell, with all that southern sun I doubt your blushing shows at all! In the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
Chris, I am looking forward to your insights. I read the link to your post on the dates of the Garabandal events and I am intrigued by the date you give for the warning. It seems a strong posibility especially since the miracle happens within a year of it. This is a question I have over Ron's dates as the miracle happens outside a year from the warning. We have not long to wait in any event. God bless Mary
"However, people must realize that the messages given by Our Lady come in the first place. Nothing is invented. For everything I referred to sources. The same conditions will never return. Our Lady gave the people some indications concerning the events to come. After all these years, it's wonderful how these indications can by analysed and to see how the Holy Spirit works." I agree Chris. I haven't been to Garabandal. My friend Stella has, and she says it is a very holy place. Chris, you mentioned over in the Medjugorje forum the fruits of Garabandal. What does everyone think about the fruits of Garabandal compared to Medjugorje? Darrell
Darrell, Honestly I think that there are many believers in Garabandal. You see it also on the Medjugorje forum. Most Medjugorje-believers also believe in Garabandal. Anyone who looks at the footage of Garabandal, must recognize that there happened something special. And how is it possible that 4 little children in 1961 already knew about the Great Sign, The Great Healing, The Warning? That's why I don't understand that anyone can be against Garabandal. The great problem is that at the time of Garabandal, there wasn't a John-Paul II. If there was a pope (with every respect for John XXIII en Paul VI) who had such a great devotion to Our Mother than John Paul II, the same would have happened in Garabandal as in Medjugorje. But I feel confident about Garabandal. Our Lord knows very well what He does. And something I found out today: do you know that Bishop Juan Antonio del Val Gallo, who was bishop of Santander during the years 1971-1991, and who did never condemn the apparitions, do you know that he was born on June 13 1916 and passed away November 13 2002? November 13th was also the last apparition day in Garabandal. Chris
Chris, More 13. Amazing. I also believe in Garabandal -- I am thinking I would like to take my whole family there for the Miracle. I wrote about various apparitions of Blessed Mary last year. http://darrellbowles-climbingthemountai ... chive.html I know many on the Medjugorje forum also believe, like my friend Stella. But there are a few that don't. I hope you didn't think my question meant that I doubted Garabandal. That's not the case. Rather, I was thinking of the incredible fruits that have come from Medjugorje, and I was wondering how to address those individuals who point to the seeming lack of fruits from Garabandal. Personally, I think of Garabandal as a kind of stepping stone between Fatima and Medjugorje. Or it might be better to say a last call to conversion in the language reflecting the way people at the time thought about God and understood their faith. At the time of Fatima, the technological revolution was in full swing, and this would bring great prosperity and material comfort to parts of the world over the coming century. Along with this material prosperity would come an increasing decline in morality and faith—the world would become increasingly secular, humanistic, individualistic, materialistic, relativistic, agnostic and atheistic. There seems to be an inverse relationship between affluence and faith (Blessed are the poor…For it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God). But at the time of Fatima, the world still very much believed in God, and Our Lady did not hesitate to show the little children a vision of Hell, where poor sinners go. The apparitions at Garabandal happened during the early sixties—a cusp it seems to me. The peace and advances in technology of the post world-war fifties had brought an unprecedented material prosperity to the western world which was now entering the era of “sex, drugs and rock and roll”. Blessed Mother appeared in this time of transition, again calling the world to conversion. The world hadn’t forgotten there was a God and still remembered what it meant to have faith and to lead good lives, the meaning of penance and sacrifice, understanding what it means to believe in Authority. It was the call to turn back from the path leading to a Godless world. The messages sounded very similar to those at Fatima, and in her final message, Our Lady said, “Think of the passion of Jesus.” Sounds like the Blessed Virgin Mary to me. In Medjugorje, Our Lady’s first words were, "I have come to tell the world that God exists" Indeed, much of the world had forgotten. Europe was quickly on the road to rejecting its Christian heritage. In the United States, everyone was busy pursuing the American dream, trying to create Heaven on earth. Less and less time was spent in prayer and going to church; more and more time was spent watching sports and pursuing other leisure and recreational activities. We were becoming a culture of “It’s all about me,” and “I owe it to myself,” and “If it feels good, do it.” People no longer wanted to hear about sacrifice and selflessness or a God that allowed suffering or the possibility of eternity in Hell. And so the words in the messages of Our Lady in Medjugorje are very different: they focus on God’s love and mercy; they tell us not to live in fear, and urge us to put God in the first place in our lives. They are still very much a call to conversion, but the language is different. The people of our rebellious and secular generation would balk at the same words used at Fatima and Garabandal. I don’t think most would understand them, because our generation is further away from God. So Our Lady uses language that we her children of this age will respond to—more that of a loving Mother. Rare are the stern tones of Fatima and Garabandal, and when there is a reference to chastisement, some people say, “That doesn’t sound like the other messages from Our Lady in Medjugorje,” and they doubt them. I think they do sound like Our Lady; they are just more reminiscent of Fatima and Garabandal. Anyway, these were my thoughts as I was pondering on this today. I would like some feedback from this group. Does this even make sense? Do you think I'm off the mark anywhere? Darrell
Step by step. Hi Darrell, You did well in summarizing the cultural attitudes of the generation associated with each apparition. In the first partial quote above, you point out the hardness of heart and the spiritual deafness of the current generation. There is more of a wllingness to listen to that portion of Our Lady's message that offers hope. Perhaps that tone prevails in the monthly messages to the world, but if one were to listen honestly to the multitude of messages over these last 25 years, he would hear many a time something like the following: November 6, 1982 ...it is not possible to avoid entirely the chastisement. Go on the streets of the city, count those who glorify God and those who offend Him. God can no longer endure that. The word of warning is clear for those who listen. I believe in the authenticity of all three: Fatima, Garabandal, and Medjugorje. The uniqueness of Mary's message in Spain includes the sad fact that the clergy were leading many astray: smoke had entered the Church, itself. A few years later, open rebellion against Humane Vitae proved her point. Now, in Medjugorje, Our Lady states that these will be the last of her apparitions. Look how long the Good Lord has allowed our Mom to stay with us. It is a great mercy- over a quarter of a century! What I fear most is that my flesh will consider all this as monotony and I will slip into lukewarmness. This is why our fellowship is important. We strengthen and encourage one another so that we may go out into the byways and spread the word. One last note: I recently watched a video of a 1980 interview with Conchita. She had been in NYC for 10 years, was married and had four little children. At one point Conchita expressed sorrow, knowing what struggles her little ones would experience in the future chastisement. It is mind-boggling to come to grips and realize how significant are the times in which we live! Come Lord Jesus!
I think Our lady's message in Garabandal relating to the clergy was obscure at the time and was the reason why the message was ignored by the church. Poeple could not accept that the many priests and bishops were on the road to perdition and taking many souls with them. Obviously this is now crystal clear. In a way Garabandal helps us to deal with the scandals in that Our lady has pre warned us and it helps us to maintain our faith and I think we should be praying for priests a lot more. Also will the great miracle be in Garabandal only and the sign manifested in the other sites? What do you think? Mary
"Also will the great miracle be in Garabandal only and the sign manifested in the other sites?" I really don't know anymore than you do, Mary. The visionaries say a permanent sign will be left in Medjugorje, and I think this will be the same as at Garabandal. So I think there will be miraculous healings and signs left at many sites of genuine Marian apparitions. I think it is important to keep these things in mind so as to inspire us to live our faith better every day. I do like to think about the prophecies, but living our faith day in and day out should be our main focus. Darrell
More 13 and 18: "“At that moment, a ray of light illumined my soul, and I saw the whole abyss of my misery. In that same moment, I nestled close to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus with so much trust that even if I had the sins of all the damned weighing on my conscience, I would not have doubted Gods mercy…” --Saint Faustina Kowalska Divine Mercy in My Soul 1318 Darrell
