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Enter Jackson and his leftist ideals. As we mentioned last week it would get maximum press coverage. You just knew it was all pre-arranged. Don't tell this editor that Jackson walked in one day and the next Milosevic handed over the three POW's with no ulterior motive. We don't buy it, especially when you consider that the Vatican has been working behind the scenes with open diplomatic relations with all parties for well over two months. Like the movie "Wag the Dog" life imitates art. In the movie Dustin Hoffman created an enemy in the Balkans and created a hero the public could rally behind in the unsuspecting young girl. Fast forward to a month ago when mysteriously three young men were captured all too easily and showed up in Belgrade all too quickly. We wouldn't be surprised if Milosevic and William Jefferson Clinton didn't cook this up together way beforehand; Milosevic to resuscitate his grip on Serbia after many setbacks throughout the decade of the nineties, and Clinton to take the public's mind off the immoral actions he has committed. Remember we wrote about his obsession with the polls. Let's face it, there are just too many coincidences and forced formatting that it all fits too easily in place. Think about it and then think about what the Blessed Virgin Mary has said many, many times about the false peace and to beware. Milosevic would not have released the "hostages" if there were not something truly in the works for him. Don't buy the idea that he's running scared either. Russia has already committed to coming to Serbia's aid in the event of further aggression by NATO. NATO is not that strong; the aligning nations have contributed little except advice, leaving America with the burden and the bills as millions and millions of dollars have been spent on weaponry all for one purpose: destruction! Now consider something else if you don't buy into the fact that all these countries, leaders and agendas are in cahoots: Wouldn't you think our ol' friend Saddam Hussein would take advantage of America's involvement in the Balkans to start something, invade this country or that? But no, everything is strangely silent, almost like the nebulous and mysterious (for now) OWO (One World Order) great director has not given Saddam his cue yet. Remember, it's all in the script.
Something else that's in the script is all that Our Lady has prophesied. The world has been refocused, shifting to the left somewhat moving a couple thousand miles or so from the mideast to the Balkans. So what is happening in the mideast while all this is going on? Much that will be manifested in the near future, but for now, the mideast is still in the wings waiting. It's all in the script. Consider Our Lady's words at La Salette, Fatima and Garabandal. Then consider her pleading from this very area where the world is now focused. Ethnic cleansing is nothing new. It has happened many times before - in Bosnia and Serbia before Kosovo, and on every continent. Why then did Clinton choose to become the great liberator of human dignity now? It's in the script. For eighteen years the Mother of God is reported to have continued appearing in Medjugorje as the Queen of Peace in the village she personally calls her Oasis of Peace. When she first appeared on June 24, 1981 Clinton was just finishing his first term as Arkansas' governor and Yugoslavia was a year removed from the death of its notorious leader Marshal Tito. It would be nine more years before Milosevic would would become president of the Serbian republic. It was also in 1989 when the first problems arose in Kosovo when 29 died from riots prompted by Serbian intervention and attempts to end Kosovo's autonomous status. Kosovo's government would be dissolved the next year when all but Serbia and Montenegro would vote out communist candidates. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence and Serbia retaliated. The UN imposed an arms embargo against Serbia who was clearly labeled the "bad guy." In 1992 Macedonia declared its independence followed by Bosnia-Hercegovina, the region where Medjugorje is located. What ensued over the next three years would be civil war between the Muslims, Orthodox and Croat Catholics in Bosnia with Mostar and Sarajevo, two major cities in Bosnia, heavily hit. Yet through all the warfare, Medjugorje remained Our Lady's Oasis of Peace as the Blessed Mother continued to reiterate man's need to reconcile with God and his fellow man. Our Lady has emphasized that the only way to true peace is through her Divine Son. There is no other way! It's in the script...the sacred script.
At the end of this week the Holy Father will jet over Croatia and parts of Serbia enroute to Romania and the first visit ever by a Roman Pontiff to an Orthodox country when he touches down in Bucharest. Romania borders the Ukraine on the north and east, a country Pope John Paul II will also be visiting later in the year and Romania borders Serbia on the west. Many speculated the Sovereign Pontiff would stop off in Belgrade as a show of support for Serbia's small Catholic population and alliance with the Orthodox in the campaign to end the bombing but, as Archibishop Franc Perko, head of the Belgrade Archdiocese, has pointed out: were the Pope to do this he would subliminally be condoning the actions of Milosevic. Even Popes have to be politically correct once in a while, yet the Holy Father follows the script from a higher source and we're not talking about a finite one. In his book there is a "ONE world order" and that is the Triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart as she promised at Fatima. Don't ever forget John Paul's great, undying devotion to her through his total dedication to her - Totus Tuus. That's the only "ONE world order" we care about for the Triumph will usher in the glorious Reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, referred to under other titles as well such as the New Advent, Era of the Eucharistic Presence, the Second Pentecost, and the Golden Age of Peace when all mankind will live in harmony with God's Will. After all, after two centuries of trying to buck the Divine Will in favor of man's own agenda the experiment has failed badly. Now it's time to get it right by adhering to what God wants. How do we know? It's in the Script!
Francesco had been born in Siena on May 29, 1439 during the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV. After receiving his doctorate from Perugia University, Pius II made him archbishop of Siena at only twenty-one and still just a deacon but remember this was the era of nepotism gone awry. On March 5, 1460 Pius made him cardinal deacon of San Eustachio and dispatched him a few years later to Ancona as a papal legage to lead the Crusade against the Turks that never materialized. Pius II's successor Pope Paul II appointed Cardinal Piccolomini cardinal protector of England and legate in Germany. Though a relative of the late Pius II, Cardinal Piccolomini was a worthy prelate and a good man who strove for holiness and obedience to the pontiffs but he had a very difficult time during the reigns of worldly men like Sixtus IV who followed Paul II, and Alexander who followed Innocent VIII. He basically stayed clear of Rome as much as possible after the death of Paul II. Even though he was obedient to Alexander VI when the latter sent him to meet with King Charles VIII of France in November 1494, Cardinal Piccolomini resented it greatly, not only because he didn't believe in the mission, but also because he had steadfastly refused to be swayed by the bribery of Alexander or his henchman Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, a notorious man who had ambitions himself and sought to rise to the top on Alexander's coattails. It was during this time that he contracted a severe case of the gout. In addition, it was Piccolomini's uncle Pius II who sternly rebuked Cardinal Rodrigo de Borgia who would become Alexander VI and Piccolomini knew Alexander's memory was long and feared the Pope was setting him up out of revenge for being rebuked by his uncle. Yet Piccolomini was not timid and spoke out strongly - though he was a lone voice in the wilderness along with all those cardinals who had been bought - against Alexander's crooked deals that signed papal territories over to his other illegitimate son Juan, duke of Gandia who was later murdered by Cesare.
Therefore, when the Conclave gathered in Rome to elect Alexander's successor, there was a bitter tug of war between Sforza, Alexander's enemy Cardinal della Rovere and Cesare Borgia. From September 16th to the 22nd, the cardinals maneuvered behind the scenes trying to get their favorite elected but when both camps realized they didn't have enough votes to swing their candidate, they compromised on Cardinal Piccolomini who was slow to accept the election because of his ill health and feelings of unworthiness for so high an honor which was still prestigious even after the sacriligeous reign of Alexander. Cardinal Piccolomini was elected on September 22, but was not coronated until October 8th. Thus his actual pontificate lasted only ten days. During this time his gout forced him to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass while seated. Finally, on October 18th he had no strength left and when those within the papal household went to find out why he did not respond to their call, they discovered he had passed on in his sleep. A two week period of mourning was designated and Rome, though they had not had the opportunity to get to know this man, sincerely felt sorrow at his passing for he had represented all the good that Alexander had not. As the College of Cardinals gathered in late October all within the conclave knew this time it would be either Sforza or della Rovere as the next Pope. The latter would win and with it the total demise of the Borgia influence but a worse influence would rise from Pope Julius II's weak reforms - rebellion against Catholic teaching as we shall see in the next installment.
Next issue: Pope Julius II: the militant Renaissance Pope whose obsession was to bury the Borgias
All of this has taken place in a relatively short period of time, yet to those who bear witness they have no sense of time for they have seen Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in all of His Glory ascend to Heaven.
My eyes are immediately drawn to the Blessed Mother. The two angels who had descended to stand with her now lift the Mother of God up. They do so effortlessly, as if she was a feather. Yet, I see our Blessed Mother still in her place, while my soul sees that she is being carried up into Heaven where her Divine Son has ascended.
I understand that an angel has taken her form, so as not to disturb anyone in the crowd.
I am permitted to see interiorly that Mary, Mother of God, is carried before the Throne of God where she prostrates herself before The Most Blessed Trinity. I hear her prayer of pure love flow to the Trinity. A prayer of love, of thanksgiving for all the graces given unto her, and for the fulfillment of the Divine Will.
In these timeless moments Mother and Son gaze upon one another. Their hearts truly are united. The Mother of God is asked by the Father if she, who is truly His beloved daughter, would remain with her Son, for her total humility and loving obedience have won the Heart of the Trinity, who as One will give to Mary whatever she would ask.
The Mother of God does not hesitate. Though her ecstatic gaze remains transfixed upon her Divine Son, she offers her response in prayer of petition.
"May You be highly praised, Most Holy Trinity for Your goodness to Your lowly servant. Yet, I petition You to give yet more assistance to Your children in their exile. Bless Your lowly servant and allow one so lowly to return to earth, so that the Gospel of my Divine Son may take root and flourish. Your Will always be done, O my God. I am Thy servant."
And the angels of Heaven raise their voices to praise the selflessness of the Virgin Mother of God. Jesus comes forward and blesses His Mother.
"You will ever be in My Sacred Heart, O Mother most pure. Yes, go not to those who have heard My call, You will guide them as a true mother. You will prepare them as only My Mother could, for all that is yet to come."
Mary, her face more radiant than I have ever seen it, looks at Jesus and would reach out to touch Him Whom she bore, but even in this she is humble and does not permit her heart this satisfaction. I cannot explain how it happens, but in an instant, even less, the Virgin Mother of God is back upon earth and the angel who had assumed her appearance takes flight to Heaven.
It is at this time - have only a few seconds passed? I do not know - that the crowd who gazes upwards beholds a messenger from God, appearing in the exact spot where Jesus had stood. This man is dressed all in white, and as he gazes over the assembled people, he is joined by yet another heavenly messenger. To all assembled they look perfectly normal, and it is thought by many that they are passersby who have been drawn to the spot by the large gathering.
But these two messengers speak, and their voices blend as one. Their words reach to every person present.
"Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to Heaven? This Jesus Who has been taken up from you into Heaven shall come in the same way as you have seen Him going up to Heaven."
Then these messengers are gone, and the full meaning of their words sinks in to the minds and hearts of each person. It is John, whose pure love has allowed him to 'see' in his soul and understand in his soul's intellect much more than any other, except the Mother of God.
"Come, Holy Mother. We will return now to the house."
"Yes," answers the ever-gentle mother, "there we must offer prayer to the Most High for all the graces He has bestowed."
"O, Holy Mother, you will help us to pray as one should, with love from the heart," says Mary of Magdala. "We will learn from you so that at all times we may always remain faithful to the Master."
And so it is that the Mother of God, escorted by St. John, leads the way back into the city and into the sanctuary of the House of the Last Supper.
I note that more than one of the Apostles and disciples look back to the spot where they have last seen Jesus, and there escapes from their lips a sigh from their heart. He is gone from the sight of their mortal eyes, but He remains in their souls who long for Him with greater and greater ardor.
There again are no comments from the citizens, for the angels of God still stand guard until the last person has entered the home and the door is shut and the inside bolt is slid into place. My interior vision ends here.
NEXT INSTALLMENT: Part three: Our Lady's Meditation The Ascension of Jesus
1038 A.D.
Death of Saint Gothard, also known as Godehard. Born in 962, he became a Benedictine monk and then bishop of Bavaria. St. Gothard Pass in the Swiss Alps derives its name from the chapel built there to honor this saint who was canonized in 1131 by Pope Innocent II.
1471 A.D.
Death of Prince Edward of England when Queen Margaret, also of England, is defeated at Tewkesbury Edward IV in the War of Roses. Twelve years later on the same date Edward's son Edward V would march into London and a new regime would begin in the British Isles. Both sides were loyal to the Church so Rome showed no favorites.
1493 A.D.
In honor of his great discovery, Christopher Columbus is granted an official Spanish Coat of Arms by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. On this same day Pope Alexander VI, a Spanish native, sets a line of demarcation 100 leagues west of the Azores between Spanish and Portuguese interests of exploration. Since it naturally favored Spain, it would be altered at the Treaty of Tordesillas a year later.
