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Something of this magnitude could not help escape the attention of the media, and church officials. Patricia, obedient to the Church, went to the Curia on the fifth of December to seek the authorization of the Bishop that the people might gather in an open place to pray the Rosary as Mary had requested.
The Bishop's help came in a way Patricia had not expected, for he told her that he would not sanction such a gathering, and would recommend that all priests and nuns in the diocese not attend. However, the "lay" people were free to come and pray without sanction of the Church. This was difficult for Patricia, but obedient to the Bishop, she followed his instructions.
In December of 1988, those family and close friends who were with her noted during an apparition something different. This time, Patricia began to speak, but without her, Cuencano accent. Later, to their amazement, they realized that it was not strictly Patricia speaking, but the Blessed Mother through her. When her ecstasy ended, Patricia was totally unaware of what had happened, and did not remember the words she had spoken.
From the beginning Patricia had made a small altar or shrine in her bedroom where she arranged pictures and statues. In January 1989, these pictures and statues began exuding oil, and droplets of blood formed on the crucifix. Regarding this phenomena, Our Lady told Patricia on February 1, 1989:
In 1989, Patricia and Bernardita Jerves de Ugalde, an older model who had been entrusted by Paci's mother to take her under her wing, began to look yet again for the place pleasing to the Blessed Mother where her little ones might gather. They traveled to El Cajas, high in the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 11,000 feet. Finding a place where there was a rock, they knelt in prayer, seeking a confirmation that this would be the place where Our Lady wanted the people to come. In prayer, Patricia felt the wind on her face, and looking up beheld the Blessed Virgin and was immediately in ecstasy. Our Lady said to Patricia:
Our Lady asked that the area be fenced off and that "the Garden" be reserved as a holy place, a sanctuary. She said the garden would be a little piece of Heaven, and only those she invited should come into it. On August 5th, Jesus appeared to Patricia, which was not the first time. He said:
All of the Blessed Mother's messages to Patricia exhort us to prayer and to conversion of heart. Over and over, Our Lady tells us that the secrets, the great chastisement which is set to befall the world, can be mitigated, part of it even stopped, but that this depends completely on our response to Her messages. God will never overstep our free will. Are we then willing to respond? Are we willing to review in our hearts where we stand? Are we willing to stand for the truth, to be true followers of Jesus Christ, or are we going to stand by mocking the apparitions and the messages, thus causing great sorrow to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
The many messages given through Patricia by the Blessed Mother are a clear, concise account of the sinfulness of our world, and the sure remedy to off-set satan's rule. They are the same messages as given to the visionaries in Medjugorje and to others throughout the world. Pray, fast, sacrifice and do penance. Convert our hearts. Receive the sacraments. Pray the rosary.
The messages are straightforward examples of the infinite Love of God for all of His children, and the love of His Mother for all mankind and of Her desire that we be united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Her Son. Over and over she pleads for us to return to the right path, and she weeps because we reject Her messages, scoff at the apparitions and at the chosen instruments of her words to all her children. Many signs have been given to authenticate the apparitions such as the scent of incense and roses, and the particularly striking change in Patricia's voice as the Blessed Mother speaks through her. The apparitions in Ecuador are particularly striking for the content of the messages, the "thoroughness" of Our Lady's words conveyed through Patricia to all her children.
While Patricia has signed a"vow of silence" as asked for by the Bishop, and is therefore unable to speak publicly about any of the messages, she is a living example of the very presence of Our Blessed Mother among us, and of the infinite Love and Mercy of God, for this beautiful young woman with a successful worldly career clearly awaiting her, has given her life to marriage, and to the service of the poor. Her life has changed completely. She is intensely spiritual and devoted to living the messages in her own life, being therefore an example to all of what Our Lady is asking and why.
The state of our world is such that those who are open to the Holy Spirit can surely see those grave dangers, which threaten us, and the growing evil, which spreads upon the earth. We must put aside the transitory things of this earthly life and concentrate on our souls, on eternal life with God in Heaven. Mary, our Mother, has come to lead us back into the Light, that we might be saved. Yet as Our Blessed Mother has said so often, "the choice is ours."
We recommend you read "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF THE FAITH" by Sister Isabel Bettwy from Franciscan University Press (from where the photos in the graphics version of today's front page were taken) and then make your choice once again, for this superbly written book clearly sets forth the urgency of our times and the need we all have to convert our hearts.
He was among those selected by the Holy Father in the Consistory of November 26, 1994 when he received his red-hat and the titular church of the Most Holy Trinity on Monte Pincio. As a member of the College of Cardinals he also serves membership on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Congregation for Catholic Education. At age sixty-five, Cardinal Eyt is the youngest of the five French cardinals and most inexperienced among his colleagues, which is not to say he is a neophyte but rather one who is overshadowed in such elite company as Cardinals Etchegaray, Poupard and Lustiger to name a few.
Unfortunately, the politically correct thing today is to downplay hell and the devil, to play up that God is all merciful and will allow anything. Wrong. True He is all merciful and will forgive anything, but He will not allow anything. This is where we have to be on our guard. Too many are advocating that this is okay, or that is okay. Turn the clock back thirty years. What would we have said if we heard there was nudity and illicet sex in the movies, even on TV? Would our stomachs be turned with all the violence on the tube or on the Hollywood celluloid today? What would our reaction be to the idea of advocating abortion and condoms, of embracing homosexuality as normal...even to accepting same-sex unions which they brazenly call "marriage?" We would be indignant and in shock. Then why aren't we reacting the same way today? Because it's not politically correct to correct others. We can't rock the boat...just let bygones be bygones and all that garbage psychobabble that is definitely taking our society into a Sodom and Gomorrah-like culture...the culture of death as Pope John Paul II calls it. The Holy Father is one pillar who is not afraid to go against the wave and rock boats the world over. And we need to follow his example and join him for his way is Christ's way...the only way! True that way leads straight to the Way of the Cross but that's what being Catholic is all about. It's not the rewards and adulation of this life that counts, but the acceptance and pleasing of God that highlights our itinerary as we map out our Heavenly destination.
But this rendezvous with Christ and His Church Triumphant can only be achieved if we take seriously our role as the Church Militant and speak out against atrocities and apathy toward God's Laws and His Holy Church which has become the prime target for bashing in the late 90's. We must ask ourselves when confronted with this movie or that song, this person or that situation, would Jesus and Mary approve? Would they sit and watch it with us? If not, what are we doing there? When we give in to the world's ways, when we blame everyone but ourselves we are contributing to the purse that betrayed Christ. We make ourselves no better than the Iscariot. Let us not be the ones whom like Judas said "Surely it is not I, Rabbi" and then hear the fateful words of Jesus confirming our worst fear: "It is you who have said it" (Matthew 26: 25).
Jesus used bread for He is the "Bread of Life" (cf. John 6:35) and wine for He is the "true Vine" (cf. John 15:1). The fruit of the vine becomes the fruits of Redemption, made possible by Christ's death, a death which totally made it possible for every one of God's children to be redeemed. The only difference between the Sacrifice of the Cross and the Sacrifice of the Mass is that on the former Jesus physically shed His Blood, while in the latter there is no physical shedding of blood nor physical death because Christ has already been immolated once. By His death He gained for us the merit and, through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, applies to us that merit and reward of His Bloody Death through the unbloody oblation of His Body and Blood during Mass. It is very similar to what one would see on video tape. What was taped happened at the moment it was being filmed. When it is being played over and over, no matter how many times, it is a re-enactment of the event. Though it cannot happen again, we are reliving it as though it were. So also the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for Jesus continues to offer Himself as a Sacrifice in order to unite us with Him, to give us a gift worthy to be offered to God (cf. Mal 1:11), "a clean oblation" and allow us the opportunity to share in the merits of His eternal sacrifice on the Cross. The fruits of attending Mass worthily and in the state of grace are that He not only answers our heartfelt prayers, but we gain even more of the merits of Christ for our souls as well as gaining temporal blessings.
When we consider these things, isn't it sad that so few attend Daily Mass? Isn't it even sadder that so many Catholics attend Sunday Mass without truly realizing what they are partaking in? We need to re-emphasize the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to instill in all the Catholic faithful the value of the Mass which is infinite because it is the renewal of Christ's death. Therefore to attend Mass devoutly is the greatest prayer we can offer. There is no more holy and divine act that can be performed here on earth than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We need to let all our brothers and sisters know that all who participate in the Mass, both here on earth and in Purgatory, reap the general fruits since the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered for everyone. This not only includes all who are present, or assist, especially the priest who represents Christ, but also the person for whom it is being offered as well as the souls in Purgatory - the Church Suffering.
Our Lady is constantly reminding us of the importance of Holy Mass, always drawing us closer to her Divine Son Who is ever present in the Tabernacle but never closer to us than during Mass and at Holy Communion for this sacrifice is accomplished at this special time when the species of bread and wine, now Our Lord's Body and Blood are consumed just as His Sacrifice was accomplished when He cried out, "It is Consummated!" and then expired on the Cross. It is so vital to remember that the Mass is not a remembrance or memorial of His death as our protestant brethren assume, but an actual renewal, in the separate consecration of the bread and wine, of the death of Jesus - the separation of His Body and Blood. Isn't it interesting that our protestant brethren waited sixteen centuries before denying the true presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. They denied it and introduced a different doctrine, one which goes against all that Christ intended. We can't help but wonder how, then, they can explain the powerful meaning of Christ's Own words in John 6: 54-59.
That is also the principle of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist for the word "sacrament" signifies a means unto holiness. "A Sacrament," the Catechism tells us, "is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace." Of all the Sacraments, the Holy Eucharist is the most outward sign instituted by Jesus and which we can receive daily. Shouldn't that prompt us to commit to receiving Him more frequently? After all, it is the greatest Sacrament. That's why the Holy Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, Soul and Divinity, is called the "Blessed Sacrament!"
Tell my children I weep because I see their sufferings, and I intercede for all of them, but they do not respond with humble hearts. I cannot help you if you remain cold, proud, and attached to the things of this world.
Dear children, as God chose to bestow the Savior of the world, His Only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, through the lowliness of His Handmaid by the Incarnation of the Holy Spirit, so now in these end times I come among all mankind as the Mother of the Second Advent. I come to offer anew the Savior, but again I find no room for Him in hearts that are as stone, where faith is little more than an ember.
I solemnly tell you that the world faces greater chastisements which will culminate in God's Justice, unless all men come to my Divine Son with humble, contrite hearts and goodwill. In this way pride is crushed, the flame of faith bursts forth, and the soul is enriched, transformed by the working of the Holy Spirit.
Little children, for these many years I have come to you. I have beseeched, urged, pleaded for you to convert your hearts, pray from your heart. And my sorrow is great because many who once believed have fallen prey to idleness and have been ensnared by satan's ploys.
Soon my words to you shall be completed. Then shall come the fulfillment of all I have spoken. Seek God now while yet there is Mercy. Let your hearts beg for Mercy, which God desires to give to you in abundance that you may arrive home in His embrace.
The hour draws near, yet still you question, you grumble, you pray from your lips and not your heart. I cannot enfold you in my Immaculate Mantle when you do this.
Therefore, I say to all my children - Arouse in your hearts great humility. Do penance and seek the Mercy of God. Look with the eyes of your soul at the signs given. Discern with the Holy Spirit and you shall understand. You shall eagerly embrace me, for I am the Lady of Refuge for all the world, for I lead all to my Divine Son.
Strengthen yourselves through Holy Mass and the Sacraments. Be a source of light and strength to all.
I love and bless you. I mark each of you with the Sign of my Son's Cross. Pray! Pray! Pray!
Thank you for responding to my Call!
I desire all of my little ones to realize that they must live holy lives, filled with God and in penance and reparation for the sins of the world.
I desire my beloved priest-sons to know that today the greatest starvation is not to the body, but to the soul. My little ones hunger to hear, live and receive the Truth, the Word of God. That is why I gather many across the world to come together as community where their faith might be deepened, their trust made absolute and their love raised above all human emotions. These are my faithful ones, who having been given the grace, have abandoned all to make my Divine Son their all, for He is All!
Dear children, I beseech you, abandon sin and all its trappings and do not permit yourself to fall prey to temptation. Go frequently to Mass and worthily receive my Divine Son. Go to confession every week that you may be strengthened. Pray from your heart and heed my words, for time is so short.
I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!