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The misogynist Septuagint Council thoroughly edited the female
principle from the first official edition of the New Testament, with
the exception of a few polite mentions of Virgin Mary and Mary
Magdalene
(who may well have been Jesus’ wife; the "heretical" 1970s
paperback book The Jesus Scroll makes that assertion).
The Mother is
not so easily suppressed by ignorance, however, and she has appeared
to her devotees many times throughout Church history, albeit at
irregular intervals. She often makes appointments for her next
visit.
She usually appears within a globe of white light, wearing a
dress and scarf, her feet in a cloud, sometimes holding the infant
Jesus.
Lightning and thunder, clouds of unusual shapes, and angels
sometimes accompany her manifestations. There were over 300 reported
apparitions of Mary in the 20th century alone.
The visitations
reviewed here (in "chronological" order) include interesting
prophecies, some of which have come to pass. |
1. Mary of Agreda
The Venerable Mary of Agreda, who lived in the 17th century, left
this Marian message for us today:
"It was revealed to me that through the intercession of the Mother
of God, all heresies will disappear. This victory over heresies has
been reserved by Christ for His Blessed Mother...Before the Second
Coming of Christ, Mary must, more than ever, shine in mercy, might
and grace in order to bring unbelievers into the Catholic Faith."
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2. Our Lady of La Salette
The shepherdess Melanie Calvat (1831-1940) was the daughter of a
stonemason in La Salette, France. On September 19, 1846, Melanie,
then 14 years old, and Maxime Giraud, age 11, were approaching a
mountain stream near when they saw a ball of light downhill from
them, looking "as though the sun had fallen there. A beautiful lady,
all light and flowers," appeared in the brilliant light and sat
crying on a stone. Then she levitated before Melanie and Maxime and
delivered a prophetic warning of a terrible future:
"France, Italy, Spain and England will be at war. Blood will flow on
the streets, Frenchmen will fight Frenchmen and Italian against
Italian and in the end will come a war that will be terrible.
"For a period of time God will not remember Italy or France for they
will have forgotten the Gospel. The evil ones will display all their
malice and there will be murders even in houses. At the first blow
of the sword of God which will fall, like lightning on humanity, the
mountains and all nature will tremble because the disorder and the
misdeeds of man will rise to the vault of heaven.
"Paris will be destroyed by fire and Marseilles will be inundated by
the sea, other great cities will be destroyed by fire and razed to
the ground. The just will have to suffer much: their prayers,
penitence, and tears will rise to heaven; all the people of God will
pray for pardon and sing misericords, and they will come to Me for
My intercession and My help... There will be reconciliation between
God and man and peace. They will serve, adore, and glorify Jesus
Christ: love will blossom everywhere. The new rulers will be the
right arm of the holy Church, which will be strong, humble, pious,
poor, fervent, and a perfect imitator of the virtue of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel will be preached everywhere and men will make great
progress in the faith because there will be union between the
workers for Jesus Christ and all who live in the fear of God.
"But this peace will not last for long; twenty-five years of plenty
will be almost forgotten and the sins of men will be the cause of
all the punishment which will once again be meted out to Earth.
"A forerunner of Antichrist will marshal an army drawn from all
nations, united under his banner. He will lead them in a bloody war
against those still faithful to the living God. He will shed much
blood in eradicating the cult of the living God and by taking His
place. Then there will be seen many types of punishment on Earth
besides the diseases and hunger which will be universal. Wars will
follow wars and the final one will be led by one of the ten kings of
Antichrist who will have only one will and will be the only ones to
rule in the world.
"Before this event the world will have apparent peace and people
will think of nothing but pleasure and the bad ones will commit sins
of all kinds. But the sons of the Holy Church, the Sons of Faith, My
perfect imitators, will grow in the love of God and in all virtue,
under the guide of the Holy Spirit. I will fight on their side until
they arrive at the fullness of time.
"For the evil done by men even Nature will cry out and earthquakes
will occur in protest even against those who have committed crimes
on Earth. The Earth will tremble and you yourself will also tremble
of you, who are dedicated to the service of Christ, yet inside only
admire yourselves. Tremble! The Lord is on the point of giving you
into the hands of your enemies, inasmuch as the holy places are
contaminated by corruption. Many convents are no longer the houses
of God, but pastures of "Asmodeus," that is of the devil, impurity,
and their followers.
"Thus the time will be reached in which the Antichrist will be born
of a Jewish nun, a false virgin who will have intimate relations
with the ancient serpent, the master of luxury. His father will be a
bishop. As soon as he is born he will have teeth and pronounce
blasphemies; in a word he will be a born devil. He will emit fearful
cries, work miracles and wallow in luxury and impurity. He will have
brothers who are demons incarnate as he will be, but sons of evil,
and at the age of twelve years they will distinguish themselves in
brilliant victories. Almost all of them will be the head of an armed
force, supported by the infernal legions.
"The seasons will change their characteristics, the Earth will be
lit with a fiendish red light; the water and the fire will cause
terrible seismic movements which will engulf mountains and cities.
"Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist. The
demons allied to Antichrist will operate on Earth and in the sky and
Humanity will become worse. But God will not give up his truly
faithful servants who are men of good will. The Gospel will be
preached everywhere to all the people and the nations will know the
truth.
"I make an urgent appeal to the whole universe; I call the true
disciples of God who lives and reigns in the sky! I use my voice as
the perfect imitator of the Word Incarnate, Christ, the only Savior
of men. I warn my sons, those truly devoted to me, who are faithful
to Me because they lead me to My Son, whom I carried in My arms and
Who lives always in My Spirit. Lastly, I appeal to the apostles of
the last days, the disciples faithful to Jesus Christ who wait for
the rule Melanie will receive for them, who lead a life despising
the world and themselves and who live in sight of a world in poverty
and humility, in silence and in self-effacement, in continual prayer
and in mortification, in love and in union with God in concealment
and in suffering.
"The time has come that you should show yourselves to lighten the
world. Go and show yourselves, my beloved sons. I am with you and in
you. While your faith is the light which will help you in these days
of disappointment, your zeal will give you fame in the glory of
Christ.
"Fight, Sons of light, you small number who see, because the time of
times, the final end, is near.
"The Church will be in the dark, the world will be convulsed, but in
this confusion Enoch and Elijah will appear full in the spirit of
God. They will preach, and in their words will be the power of God,
and men of good will believe in God, and many spirits will be
consoled, in virtue of the Holy Spirit they will make great progress
and condemn the diabolical errors of Antichrist.
"Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth. There will be
sanguinary war,
hunger, pestilence and epidemics, terrible rains of insects, thunder
which will shake entire cities, earthquakes which will make entire
regions uninhabitable. Voices will be heard in the air, and men will
strike their heads against the wall, wishing for death, but this
will bring them, for their part, terrible torture. Blood will flow
everywhere. Who could ever report victory unless God shortened the
time of trial?
"Enoch and Elijah will be put to death; pagan Rome will be destroyed
and fire will fall from heaven destroying three cities. The sun will
be blackened and only the Faith will survive.
"The time is at hand. The abyss is opening: the king of darkness is
watching, the beast is watching with his subjects who will proclaim
him "savior of the world." He will rise into the air superbly to
reach the sky, but the breath of Archangel Michael will kill him. He
will fall back and the earth will shake without ceasing for three
days. It will then open its womb full of fire and the best and his
followers will be allowed into the eternal abyss of inferno. Then
water and fire will purify the earth to destroy all human pride and
everything will be renewed.
"If humanity is converted, stones and rocks will become fertile and
produce grain, and the fields will give abundant harvest."
Another account of the apparition adds the following admonitions:
"Come near, my children; do not be afraid. I am here to tell you
great news.
"If my people refuse to submit, I will be forced to let go the arm
of my son. It is so strong and so heavy, I can no longer hold it
back. How long a time I have suffered for you! If I want my son not
to abandon you, I am obliged to plead with him constantly.
"All nature will tremble because of the disorder and the misdeeds of
men, which will rise to the very heavens. During the period of the
hollow peace, the seasons will change.
"The peace among men which will set in after the great scourge [WWII
?] will be only an ostensible peace. During this period the earth
will shake because of manifold concussions and convulsions. Mankind
will experience continuous wars, which finally will lead to the last
great war.
"A period of peace will follow (WWII implied) but only for the space
of twenty-five years. The forerunner of the Antichrist will assemble
an army of men drawn from many nations united under his banner. He
will lead them in a bloody war against those still faithful to the
living God.
"The seasons will be altered, the earth will produce nothing but bad
fruit; the stars will lose their regular motion; the moon will only
reflect a faint reddish glow. Water and fire will give the earth's
globe convulsions, and terrible earthquakes which will swallow up
mountains and cities.
"If you have wheat, you must not sow it. Anything you sow, the
vermin will eat, and whatever does grow will fall into dust when you
thresh it. A great famine is coming. Before the famine comes,
children under seven will be seized with trembling and die in the
arms of those who hold them. The rest will do penance through the
famine. The walnuts will become worm-eaten; the grapes will rot.
"Melanie, what I am about to tell you now will not always be a
secret. You may make it public in 1858. The priests, ministers of my
son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and
their impiety in the celebration of the holy mysteries, by their
love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, the priests have
become cesspools of impurity. Yes, the priests are asking vengeance,
and vengeance is hanging over their heads. Woe to the priests and to
those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked
lives are crucifying my son again!
"May the Pope guard against the performers of miracles. For the time
has come when the most astonishing wonders will take place on the
earth and in the air. Evil books will be abundant on earth and the
spirits of darkness will spread everywhere. They will have great
power over Nature: there will be churches built to serve these
spirits. People will be transported from one place to another by
these evil spirits, even priests. On occasion, the dead and the
righteous will be brought back to life. Everywhere there will be
extraordinary wonders, as true faith has faded and false light
brightens the people. Woe to the princes of the Church who think
only of piling riches upon riches to protect their authority and
dominate with pride.
"The Vicar of my Son will suffer a great deal because for a while
the Church will yield to large persecution and will witness a
frightful crisis. Spiritual faith having been forgotten, each
individual will want to be on his own and be superior to people of
same identity. They will abolish civil rights; all order and all
justice would be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate,
jealousy, lies and dissension would be seen, without love for
country or family.
"The Holy Father will suffer a great deal. I will be with him until
the end and receive his sacrifice. The mischievous would attempt his
life several times to do harm and shorten his days, but neither he
nor his successor will see the triumph of God. All the civil
governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to
abolish and do away with every spiritual principle, making way for
materialism and vice of all kinds.
"The earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds in addition to
plague and famine which will be wide-spread. There will be a series
of wars until the last war, which will then be fought by the ten
Kings of the Antichrist, all of whom will have one and the same plan
and will be the only rulers of the world. Before this comes to pass,
there will be a kind of false peace in the world. People will think
of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to
all kinds of sin. But the children faith will grow in their love for
God and in all precious virtues. Blessed are the souls humbly guided
by the Holy Spirit! I shall fight at their side until they reach a
fullness of years.
"The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay. Woe to
the inhabitants of the earth! There will be bloody wars and famines,
plagues and infectious diseases. It will rain with a fearful hail of
animals. There will be thunderstorms which will shake cities,
earthquakes which will swallow up countries. Voices will be heard in
the air. Men will beat their heads against walls, call for their
death, and on another side death will be their torment. Blood will
flow on all sides. Who will be the victor if God does not shorten
the length of the test? All the blood, the tears and the prayers of
the righteous: God will relent. Enoch and Eli will be put to death.
Pagan Rome will disappear. The fire of Heaven will fall and consume
three cities. All the universe will be struck with terror.
"The earth, which will have been in a continuous series of
evolutions for three days, will open up its fiery bowels; and then
water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of
men's pride, and all will be renewed. God will be served and
glorified."
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3. Our Lady of Lourdes
The Immaculate Lady appeared on February 11, 1858 to Bernadette
Soubirous, her sister Marie and a friend, Pancho. The children were
gathering firewood when Bernadette heard sounds coming from the
nearby grotto of Massabielle. Bernadette went to investigate, and
found a rosebush moving as if it was being windblown (the air was
calm). A young, beautiful Lady appeared from a golden cloud in the
interior of the grotto and stood above the rosebush. She beckoned to
Bernadette to approach, and they prayed together. Bernadette met
Mary 18 times during the next 6 months, but she did not know who she
was until the last visitation, when Mary said:
"Que soy era Immaculado Conceptiou" (I am the Immaculate
Conception).
Mary instructed Bernadette to dig a hole at a certain spot and to
drink and bathe in it. The hole became a spring, and Mary promised
that it would heal those who used its water. Thousands of cures have
occurred among the millions of visitors to Lourdes since then.
Mary requested that a chapel be built in honor of her appearances
there, but the local pastor refused to believe that the apparitions
were genuine. He accused Bernadette of lying, and demanded that the
apparition perform a miracle by making the rosebush bloom. The
apparitions were determined to be genuine in 1862, and the site has
become one of the major pilgrimage sites of Christians.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous (Sr. Marie-Bernarde, The Sleeping Saint
of Nevers) died April 16, 1879. Her body now lies incorrupt in the
chapel of the convent of St.Gildard Sisters of Charity at Nevers.
The Lady of Lourdes promised Bernadette in 1858:
I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next".
In September 1988. Father Don Stefano Gobbi received the following
messages by the Blessed Virgin Mary concerning a period of 10 years
of tribulation:
"Today you are corning from every part of France to the foot of this
rock upon which I appeared as the Immaculate Conception, to hold
your great cenacle of prayer and fraternal sharing and to renew
together the act of consecration to my Immaculate Heart.
“From here I bless my Movement; from here I bless each one of you;
from here I bless the Church and all humanity. You have entered into
my times. On this day, I am asking you to consecrate to me all the
time that still separates you from the end of this century of yours.
“It is a period of ten years. These are ten very important years.
These are ten decisive years. I am asking you to spend them with me
because you are entering into the final period of the second Advent,
which will lead you to the triumph of my Immaculate Heart in the
glorious coming of my Son Jesus.
“In this period of ten years there will come to completion that
fullness of time which was pointed out to you by me, beginning with
La Salette all the way to my most recent and present apparitions.
“In this period of ten years there will come to its culmination that
purification which, for a number of years now, you have been living
through and therefore the sufferings will become greater for all.
“In this period of ten years there will come to completion the time
of the great tribulation, which has been foretold to you in Holy
Scripture, before the second coming of Jesus.
“In this period of ten years the mystery of iniquity, prepared for
by the ever increasing spread of apostasy, will become manifest.
“In this period of ten years all the secrets which I have revealed
to some of my children will come to pass and all the events which
have been foretold to you by me will take place.
“Therefore I am asking you today to consecrate to me all this period
of time, as though it were a more extended and continuous Marian
Year. Open to me the doors of your hearts and let me work in you.
Open to me the doors of your families, of your parishes, of your
religious houses and let the immaculate light of my presence enter
in.
“Multiply your cenacles of prayer and live in the greatest trust and
filial abandonment to me, without allowing yourselves to be seized
by vain curiosity to know what is awaiting you.
“May the water of divine mercy purify you of every sin and make of
you new buds for the era of grace and of holiness which, in my
Immaculate Heart, I am preparing for you each day.
“From this most venerated shrine of mine, I bless you all."
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4. St. John Bosco
"St. Giovanni Bosco (1815-1888), the patron of editors and homeless
children, founded the religious order of the Salesians (Society of
St. Francis de Sales) in 1859. Don Bosco, as he was better known,
was devoted to serving homeless children. He was ordained in 1934.
He was also devoted to the Virgin Mary ("The August Queen of
Heaven"), who graced him with some prophecies. St. John, however,
said:
"Do not call me a prophet until the things I have foretold have come
to pass."
His predictions especially concern the Catholic Church and the
Papacy, which will be forced to evacuate Rome when "Cossack horses
will drink from St. Peter's fountain." The following is his most
famous prophecy:
"War comes from the south, peace from the north. French laws no
longer recognize the Creator, but the Creator will make himself
recognized and will visit her thrice with the rod of his wrath. In
the first visit he breaks her pride by conquest, plundering ruined
harvest and butchery of men and beasts.
"In the second visit the great prostitute of Babylon, which makes
decent people sigh and call the Brothel of Europe, will be left
without a leader and will be a victim of disorder.
"Paris! Paris! Instead of arming yourself in the name of the Lord,
you fortify with Houses of Immorality. They will be destroyed by you
yourself. Your idol, the Pantheon, will be burnt to ashes in order
that this may come true: "violence, uttereth lies against me." Your
enemies will reduce you to want, to hunger, to fear, and will make
you the abomination of nations. Ah, woe to you, if you do not
recognize the hand that strikes you! I want to punish immorality,
the despising of, and the contempt for My Law, says the Lord.
"In the third visit you will fall into the hands of foreigners. Your
enemies standing afar off will behold your palaces in flames. Your
homes will become a heap of ruins with the blood of your heroes who
are no more.
"But there will come a great warrior from the North carrying a
banner and on the right hand that supports it is written: "The
Irresistible Hand of the Lord." At that very moment there went out
to meet him the Venerable Old Man of Lazio, holding aloft a
brilliantly glowing torch. The banner then increased in size and
turned from black to snow-white. In the middle of the banner, in
letters of gold, there was written the name of Him who is able to do
all things. The warrior with his men bowed and shook hands with the
Venerable Old Man.
"Now Heaven's voice is addressed to the Shepherd of shepherds. You
are now in conference with your advisors. The enemy of the good does
not stand idle one moment. He studies and practices all his arts
against you. He will sow discord among your consultors; he will
raise up enemies amongst my children. The powers of the world will
belch forth fire, and they would that the words be suffocated in the
throats of the custodians of my law. That will not happen, they will
do no harm but to themselves. You must hurry. If you cannot untie
the knots, cut them. If you find yourself hard pressed, do not give
up but continue until the head of the hydra of error is cut off.
This stroke will make the world and Hell beneath it tremble, but the
world will be safe and all the good will rejoice. Keep your
consultors always with you, even if only two. Wherever you go,
continue and bring to an end the work entrusted to you. The days fly
by, your years will reach the destined number; but the great Queen
will ever be your help, as in times past, so in the future She will
always be the exceeding great fortress of the Church.
"Ah, but you, Italy, land of blessings! Who has steeped you in
desolation! Blame not your enemies, but rather your friends. Can you
not hear your children asking for the bread of faith and finding
only those who smash it to pieces? What shall I do? I shall strike
the shepherds, I shall disperse the flock, until those sitting on
the throne of Moses search for good pastures and the flock listens
attentively and is fed.
"Of the flock and over the shepherds My hand will weigh heavy.
Famine, pestilence, and war will be such that mothers will have to
cry on account of the blood of their sons and of their martyrs dead
in a hostile country.
"And to you, Rome, what will happen! Ungrateful Rome, effeminate
Rome, proud Rome! You have reached such a height that you search no
further. You admire nothing else in your Sovereign except luxury,
forgetting that you and your glory stands upon Golgotha. Now he is
old, defenseless, and despoiled; and yet at his word, the word of
one who was in bondage, the whole world trembles.
"Rome! To you I will come four times.
"The first time, I shall strike your lands and the inhabitants
thereof.
"The second time, I shall bring the massacre and the slaughter even
to your very walls. And will you not yet open your eyes?
"I shall come a third time and I shall beat down to the ground your
defenses and the defenders, and at the command of the Father, the
reign of terror, of dreadful fear, and of desolation shall enter
into your city.
'But My wise men have now fled and My law is even now trampled
underfoot. Therefore I will make a fourth visit. Woe to you if My
law shall still be considered as empty words. There will be deceit
and falsehood among both the learned and the ignorant. Your blood
and that of your children will wash away your stains upon God's law.
War, pestilence and famine are the rods to scourge men's pride and
wickedness. O wealthy men, where is your glory now, your estates,
your palaces? They are the rubble on the highways and byways.
"And your priests, why have you not run to "cry between the
vestibule and the Altar," begging God to end these scourges? Why
have you not, with the shield of faith, gone upon the housetops,
into the homes, along the highways and byways, into every accessible
corner to carry the seed of My word? Know you that this is the
terrible two-edged sword that cuts down My enemies and breaks the
Anger of God and of men?
"These things must come one after another. They are inexorable.
"Things are happening too slowly.
"But the August Queen of Heaven is present.
"The power of the Lord is in His hands. He scatters His enemies as a
cloud.
"The Venerable Old Man attires himself in all his ancient raiment.
"There will come a violent hurricane.
"Iniquity is consummated. Sin will have its end. And before two full
moons of the month of flowers will have run their course, the
rainbow of peace will rise above the earth.
"The Great Minister will see the bride of his King arrayed in
festive fashion.
"Throughout the world the sun will appear so luminous that the likes
of which never has been seen since the tongues of fire descended on
the Cenacle until this day, nor will such a sun ever be seen again
until the very last of days.
"It was a dark night. Men could no longer tell which way to take in
order to return to their homes. Suddenly there appeared in the
heavens a very bright light that illuminated the steps of the
travelers as though it was midday. At that moment there was seen a
host of men and women, of young and old, of nuns, monks and priests
with the Holy Father at the head. They were going out from the
Vatican and were arranging themselves in line for a procession.
"And then there came a furious storm which clouded that light
somewhat and made it appear that light and darkness were engaged in
battle. In the meantime they arrived at a little square covered with
dead and wounded, some of whom cried aloud and asked for help.
Very many were dropping out of the line of procession. After having
walked for a time that would correspond to two hundred risings of
the sun they realized that they were no longer in Rome. Struck with
fear they all ran to the Holy Father to defend him personally and to
attend to his wants. Instantly two angels were seen carrying a
banner; they presented it to the Holy Father and said:
"Receive the banner of He Who fights and scatters the strongest
armies of the world. Your enemies are dispersed. Your children with
tears and sighs beg you to return."
Looking at the banner one could see written on one side, "Queen
conceived without sin," and on the other side, "Help of Christians."
The Holy Father joyfully took the banner, but looking closely at the
small number of those who remained with him, he became very sad. The
two angels add:
"Go quickly and console your children. Write your brothers dispersed
throughout the world that there must be a reform in the morals of
men. That cannot be obtained except by distributing to the people
the bread of the Divine Word. Catechize the children, preach the
detaching of the heart from the things that are of the earth. The
time has come," concluded the two angels, "when the poor shall
evangelize the people. Vocations will come from among those working
with the spade, the ax, the hammer to the end that they fulfill the
words of David: God has raised up the poor from the land in order to
place them on the thrones of the princes of His people."
Having heard that, the Holy Father began the march. The farther he
went the greater did the procession behind increase. When finally he
set foot in the Holy City, he wept bitter tears for the distress in
which he found the people and the large number now missing. As he
entered St. Peter's he intoned the "Te Deum" to which a choir of
angels replied singing:
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good
will."
With the end of the hymn there came an end to the thick darkness and
the sun shone with a brightness all its own. The cities, the towns,
and villages were thinly populated. The land had been leveled down
as if by a hurricane, by a tempest, and a hailstorm. People went
from one to another saying in tones of great emotion:
"There is a God in Israel."
"From the beginning of the exile until the singing of the 'Te Deum',
the sun rose in the East two hundred times. The time that passed for
the fulfilling of these things corresponds to four hundred risings
of the sun."
The following prophecy (excerpted from a longer version) was given
to St. Bosco by the Queen of Heaven:
"In the midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short
distance apart, soar high into the sky. One is surmounted by a
statue of the Immaculate Virgin, at whose feet a large inscription
reads Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians). The other, far
loftier and sturdier, supports a Host of proportionate size, and
bears beneath is the inscription Salus credentium (Salvation of
believers).
"The flagship commander -- the Roman Pontiff -- standing at the
helm, strains every muscle to steer his ship between the two
columns, from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks
linked to chains. The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and
sink the flagship at all costs. They bombard it with everything they
have: books and pamphlets, incendiary bombs, firearms, cannons. The
battle rages ever more furious. Beaked prows ram the flagship again
and again, but to no avail, as unscathed and undaunted, it keeps on
its course. At times, a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole in
its hull, but immediately, a breeze from the two columns instantly
seals the gash.
"Meanwhile, enemy cannons blow up; firearms and beaks fall to
pieces; ships crack up and sink to the bottom. In blind fury, the
enemy takes to hand-to-hand combat, cursing and blaspheming.
Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded. He is instantly helped
up, but struck a second time, dies. A shout of victory rises from
the enemy, and wild rejoicing sweeps their ships. But no sooner is
the Pope dead than another takes his place. The captains of the
auxiliary ships elected him so quickly that the news of the Pope's
death coincides with that of his successor’s election. The enemy's
self-assurance wanes.
"Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship
safely between the two columns; first, to the one surmounted by the
Host, and then the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At
this point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and
disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other.
"Some auxiliary ships, which had gallantly fought alongside their
flagship, are the first to tie up at the two columns. Many others,
which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still,
cautiously waiting until; the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the
waves. Then they too head for the two columns, tie up at the
swinging hooks and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A
great calm now covers the sea."
St. John Bosco reiterated his prediction in 1862:
"There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century, after
which there will be chaos in the Church. Tranquility will not return
until the Pope succeeds in anchoring the boat of Peter between the
twin pillars of Eucharistic Devotion and Devotion to Our Lady. This
will come about one year before the end of the century."
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