The center panel depicts the first apparition when Our Lady was seated at the foot of the altar after an angel called Catherine from her sleep to come and kneel and converse with Mary for two hours on the evening of July 18th which stretched into July 19th. This is readily recognized as the "Virgin of the Chair." (1st arch).

   The second arch illustrates Catherine kneeling before Our Lady during the second apparition 4 months later on November 27th. During this apparition, St. Catherine was given two visions. In the first Our Lady appeared hovering above the altar, clouds surrounding her and standing on the globe of the world, crushing the serpent's head. (2nd arch) In her hands she held a glowing golden ball - or globe - radiating as she offered it to the Heavenly Father. The glowing golden ball represents all of mankind's goodness, which, with eyes uplifted, she offers to the Father as Advocate for us. In return the Beatific Vision radiates His Divine Mercy upon His little ones through His Beloved Daughter Mary. For on her hands are rings which diffuse the powerful graces and mercy God gives to His faithful ones, depicted by rays cascading on the globe beneath from the gems on her fingers. Our Lady confirmed to Catherine, "These rays symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask." It is a confirmation of her Divine Son Jesus' words in Matthew 7: 7 and Luke 11: 9, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you." It is also an affirmation that His Blessed Mother is the Advocate, Mediatrix and, working with her Divine Spouse the Holy Spirit in preparing for Christ's second coming, the Co-Redemptrix. It was in the first phase of the November 27th apparition where Our Lady conveyed the meaning of the "Virgin of the Globe" or "Virgin Most Powerful."

    In the final arch of the center panel, (3rd arch) Our Lady appeared above the tabernacle, still standing on the world, still crushing the serpent's head. The glowing golden globe - our gift to God - was now gone and her hands outstretched as she was extending God's gift to us through the rays of Divine Mercy radiating outward and covering the earth. This is the image Mary has always conveyed of her Immaculate Conception and much the same manner she appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous twenty-eight years later. This third arch is the way Our Lady is depicted on the medal that came to be known as the Miraculous Medal, though that was not the title Mary requested. Rather she had requested it be called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception. This was twenty-four years before Blessed Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception a Dogma of the Church.

    Therefore, to help Our Lady St. Catherine appeared to a now 56-year-old widow named Mary Kathyrn Johnson, a mother of two who has given her life to God as a committed third order member of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Institute, wearing always a white dress and the full-length rose-colored scapular. Also appearing to her were Our Lord, Saint Therese, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Faustina and an aborted child named Anthony. All had significance to her mission. Mary Kay calls herself, "the dustpan to St. Catherine's broom" in a humble reference to her role in the mission of Rue de Bac. Our Lady informed Mary Kay of the importance of her fiat on November 17, 1992, "I am the Immaculate Conception. I am Full of Grace. The world has forgotten. It needs to be reminded. Those who turn to me will receive the graces which flow from my hands. Let them know they do have recourse to me."

    On March 9, 1993, the Blessed Mother imparted to Mary Kay, "The medal portrays that I am 'Full of Grace.' The statue portrays that the world has 'recourse' to me. But to be complete, the two must be as one. Now is the time of fullness. The world must be reminded of these truths, for now is the time of the serpent and those who have confidence in me will fall under the protection of my mantle in these days of battle."

    Our Lady reminded Mary Kay on April 5, 1993 of how the "spiritual warfare" was intensifying and the need to have the proper armor to protect against the soul-piercing artillery of these times. See how the instruments of war have changed through the centuries. See how each change with the times, became more powerful. See that which is most powerful in this time and use it." The Blessed Mother reminded her obedient messenger of why Our Lady is depicted wearing the golden ball around her neck, such in the statue of Fatima: "This is my shield. It symbolizes the prayers of thoes consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, in whom I have great confidence. In Fatima, I called for consecration to my Immaculate Heart of countries, yes, but moreover, of each individual. When you present yourselves to me in this way, I present you before the throne of God." It was Jesus Who asked Mary Kay to look upon it the same way, "When you stand before men, know that this is where you will be. Look upon them as from My Heart."

    Mary Kay describes it thus,"The ball (golden ball), which is the symbol of her intercession, in offering to God what comes from the heart of man, can only be returned to her hands by the offering of that which is required for the whole world, but each must offer from his own heart, and the power of the whole will be constituted by the sum of the prayers and sacrifices of each individual." In other words, it's up to each and everyone of us to do our part. It's no time to be selfish! The Blessed Virgin Mary confirms this, "The out-pouring of graces is ever-present for those who ask. However, had I not insisted on the statue, only half of the story would have been told - even now, the world must be reminded, 'unto whom much is given, much will be required.' To be completed, the two must be as one. Now is the time of fullness."

    On the Feast of the Visitation in 1993, Our Lord imparted to Mary Kay Johnson, "Speak Truth only, for Truth is of Itself which is God. They may not honor you, but they will honor the Truth you speak." In these times when absolutes are suppressed and truths twisted in favor of ambiguities, it is more vital than ever that the Truths of the Deposit of Faith are upheld and spoken from the rooftops. Six years before Catherine Laboure was born, Pope Pius VII declared in his Dogmatic Constitution Dei Filius, "The doctrine of Faith that God has revealed, was not proposed to the minds of men as a philosophical discovery to be perfected, but as the divine deposit, entrusted to the Spouse of Christ that she might faithfully keep it and infallibly define it. Consequently, the meaning of the Sacred Dogmas which must always be preserved is that which our Holy Mother the Church has determined. Never is it permissable to depart from this in the name of a deeper understanding." (editor's emphasis). And six years before her death, Vatican I declared in the Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, "The Holy Ghost was promised to the successors of Peter, not that they might make known new doctrine by His Revelation but rather that, with His assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully explain the Revelation or Deposit of Faith that was handed down through the Apostles." Christ says "speak Truth only"; Saint Paul tells Timothy, to "Keep the deposit, the deposit of Faith" (1 Timothy 6: 20).

    In these times when ecumenism compromises Truth and the deposit of Faith through compromise rather than conversion, in these times when moral aversion, antipathy, and apathy erode the foundation of Holy Mother Church, Our Lady is coming once again to the rescue. All we need to do is ask. The Virgin of the Globe Medal - also called The Virgin Most Powerful Medal is an outward sign or symbol as Our Lady explained to Mary Kay on June 4, 1993, "The outward sign is a symbol of what lies within the heart - of confidence and trust. It is a visible means of communicating this to others and thereby propagating that which lies within, that might otherwise remain hidden. The Two Hearts worn about the neck, close to the heart, is a symbol of the unity thereof. Man asks for signs. God also asks for signs. This sign is a token of the hearts and the unity of the hearts is miracle working. I am the 'link' God has chosen. Man asks for gifts and graces and God offers freely to those who love Him; man must do the same for the unity of the hearts to be complete. I am Mediatrix, I offer to man what comes from the Heart of God and to God what comes from the heart of man. God has poured out His graces upon the whole world. It is essential now, that those who have received, return what is required for the whole world. Each must offer from his own heart."

The Medal from Rue de Bac

  

  The medal above left is from the first phase. 162 years after that first phase in 1830, Our Lady requested that it finally be cast. This request was fulfilled by her humble messenger Mary Kathryn Johnson in 1994. Our Lady confirmed to Mary Kay Johnson on October 13, 1992 that "There will be great protection for those who will wear this medal in these days of battle." In an excellent video by Bob Pladek from Catholic Focus Productions, (and available at the address below) Mary Kay explains her mission with her spiritual director Father Stephen Valenta, OFM. He is the same wise and serene Franciscan who also served as one of our spiritual directors for several years in the early 90's. Father Stephen and Mary Kay share that the battle is growing much more intense.

    The cup is filling up and will soon spill over and the hand of God's Justice is ready to strike. Yet, at the eleventh hour our Heavenly Mother begs her Divine Son to stay the Father's hand for just a little longer as she endeavors to save as many of her children as possible. For those who refuse her help, who refuse to follow God's Will and His laws, who seek to please man rather than God...she weeps and her tears, mixed with the blood of the martyrs - including the millions and millions of aborted babies - help purify their souls and soften the hearts of all her children who are willing.

    Just as Our Lord conveyed to Saint Faustina of His Divine Mercy depicted by blood and water flowing from His Most Sacred Heart, so also Mary is the receptacle - the chalice which holds her Divine Son's blood mixed with water - the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar which is the most magnificent of God's graces. Mary Kay likens these times to an eclipse that is inevitable. When the moon is completely blotted out by the absence of grace - the dark souls of unrepentant sinners engulfed by the prince of darkness, then God's Mercy will end and His Justice will be meted out. Our Lady conveyed to Mary Kay on July 10, 1993, "Think of the moon as the lantern of Mercy and the time has begun for the eclipse by the Sun of Justice. It has indeed begun, but is not yet full. There is still time for many to prepare for the darkness. Great shall be the protection of those who wear this medal about their neck, and recite, with confidence, the words of the prayer: 'O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee'."

    To protect us from these cancerous times of immorality, corruption and apostasy, Our Lady invites us to wear this medal of the Virgin Most Powerful, wear it close to our hearts so that we can be united with the Two Hearts. These are depicted on the back of the medal. Whereas the original Medal of the Immaculate Conception had the two hearts touching, later castings separated the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On the Medal of the Virgin Most Powerful the Hearts are again touching. Also the "M" is depicted more as the intended mantle overlapping a crossbeam below the cross. This base of the cross beam or "centerbeam" represents the Sanctifier - the Holy Ghost and establishes firmly that Our Lady and her Divine Spouse are working closely together for the salvation of all for Christ left us His Spirit and His Mother to guide us and protect us. The mantle rests on the altar of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered perpetually. For some reason modern castings of the Miraculous Medal omit the altar. Considering the rise of freemasonry and modernism within the Church over the last half of this past century, it is a blessing that the altar is back - just as it was in the medal cast in 1854 when Blessed Pius IX proclaimed the Dogma. The emergence of the Novus Ordo where the altar - as the Church has always considered it - was removed, only heightens the need to return the altar to its proper place and the medal reaffirms this. With this Medal of the Virgin Most Powerful - the Virgin of the Globe - the altar is back and the Two Hearts connected again. The mantle is much more pronounced as well. There are still 12 stars encircling the medal as on the original medal.

The Message of Rue de Bac Today

  

    The photo to the right is of our son Kevin Cain reading in the chapel of Rue de Bac during Mass last summer with the Virgin of the Globe statue behind him. There is a closer shot in the photo above to the right of the side altar to the right of the main altar. Here jutting out of the wall in relief is the stunning image of the Virgin of the Globe, Mary Most Powerful. Below the altar is the glassed-encased coffin of the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure, which was placed there in 1933 after her body had been exhumed from her grave 57 years after her death. At this time Church officials discovered - to everyone's amazement and confirmation of her sanctity - that her body was purer than the day she died. God had allowed her earthly remains to be returned to the height of her temporal beauty - a fact that cannot be denied in the argument for supernatural preservation, commonly called "incorrupt."

Put on the Armor of God's Protection

   Can you afford to allow your soul to become corrupt? While the medal cannot protect you in and of itself just as armor cannot protect one completely, yet it still is an excellent deterrent to the alternative. Protect yourself and loved ones, friends, and your neighbor - even, as Christ says, "Love your enemies". What better way to "love your enemies" than smiting them with the love of God and His Heavenly Mother through this powerful, protective medal in which Our Lady has promised, just as she did with the Rosary and Scapular, that "There will be Great Protection for those who will wear this medal in these days of battle." Put on the Armor of God (cf. Ephesians 6: 10-18) and don't forget your medal.

    Again, you may order these protective medals at one dollar each, and already blessed, as well as the book on St. Catherine Laboure and her mission plus the booklet by Mary Kathryn Johnson "The Rest of the Story", the booklet explaining the importance of the Medal of the Virgin of the Globe, and the video "Fulfilling the Mission of Saint Catherine Laboure - the Complete Story" at the websites www.VirginOfTheGlobe.com    or     www.HeartsToHeart.com or you may order by mail:

Father Stephen Valenta, OFM Conv.
Hearts to heart/Divine Will Ministries
400 Todt Hill Road
Staten Island, NY 10304

Or you may order by credit card through the toll-free number 888-378-2536 or New York residents can call 718-981-2168.



Rue de Bac www.DailyCatholic.org