Mary as the Mother of God - pope Francis

Taken from: https://www.popefrancis2024.sg/mary-the-mother-of-god-and-our-mother/#:~:text=Mother%20of%20us%20all&text=Who%20can%20fill%20our%20emptiness,our%20eyes%20to%20their%20fullness. Mary, the Mother of God, and our Mother Michelle Tan for The Catholic News Singapore “If we want to be Christians, we must be ‘Marians’, that is, ‘children of Mary’,” declared Pope Francis at the Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, on Jan 1, 2024, in Saint Peter’s Basilica. “The motherhood of Mary is the path leading us to the paternal tenderness of God, the closest, most direct and easiest of paths: this is God’s ‘style’ – closeness, compassion, and tenderness,” he said. “Indeed, the Mother leads us to the beginning and heart of faith, which is not a theory or a task, but a boundless gift that makes us beloved sons and daughters, tabernacles of the Father’s love. It follows that welcoming the Mother into our lives is not a matter of devotion but a requirement of faith.” Mother of God Pope Francis began his homily by explaining the meaning of Saint Paul’s words in the Second Reading: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman (Galatians 4:4). “In ancient times, time was measured using vases of water; the passage of time was marked by how long it took for an empty vase to be filled,” shared the Pope. “The phrase ‘fullness of time’ means that, once the vase of history is filled, divine grace spills over. God becomes man and He does so through a woman, Mary: she is the means chosen by God, the culmination of that long line of individuals and generations that ‘drop by drop’ prepared for the Lord’s coming into the world. It pleased God to turn history around through her, the ‘woman’.” The words ‘Mother of God’ are therefore a “dogma of hope” that express “the joyful certainty that the Lord, a tiny Child in His Mamma’s arms, has united Himself forever to our humanity, to the point that it is no longer only ours, but His as well” – a confession of God’s eternal covenant with humanity, he added. The Pope then called on the Church and every society to respect, defend, and esteem women “in the knowledge that whosoever harms a single woman profanes God, who was ‘born of a woman’”. Mother of us all “Just as Mary, the woman, played a decisive role in the fullness of time, she is also decisive in the lives of each of us, for no one knows better than a Mother the stages of growth and the urgent needs of her children,” observed the Holy Father. Referring to the Mary’s intercession for the wedding couple at Cana who had run out of wine (John 2:1-12), he said, “Mary knows our needs; she intercedes to make grace overflow in our lives and to guide them to authentic fulfilment. Brothers and sisters, all of us have our shortcomings, our times of loneliness, our inner emptiness that cries out to be filled. Who can fill our emptiness if not Mary, the Mother of fullness?” Pope Francis concluded his homily with the exhortation, “Let us entrust this coming year to the Mother of God. Let us consecrate our lives to her. With tender love, she will open our eyes to their fullness. For she will lead us to Jesus, who is Himself ‘the fullness of time, of every time, of our own time, of each one of us.”

Infused Hope needed for us to remain unshakable in the face of World War III

“HOPE - is a divine infused virtue by which, with certain confidence, relying on God’s goodness and promises, we expect to attain eternal life, and the means to attain it. This virtue enables us to live the Christian life without the uncertainty and inconstancy of human hope, but with the unshakable support of God on Whom we rely. While faith gives light, hope gives confidence. It eliminates discouragement from faults, temptation and aridities found in every life. The more one advances in the Christian life the stronger hope must be, for the struggles become more difficult, the sacrifices greater, and the operations of grace more difficult to understand. This virtue is brought to its highest perfection by the Gift of Fear of the Lord”. Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P. Pope Francis has designated next year, 2025, to be a Holy Year. He wants the coming Jubilee Year 2025 to be lived as a “year of hope,” very symbolic in times when the world’s wars seem to be unending and multiplying. We read of this at: https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/the-jubilee-year-2025-a-holy-year-of-hope/ The Jubilee Year 2025 – a Holy Year of Hope Pilgrims to Rome — and “spiritual pilgrims” — can receive special graces during the coming Jubilee By Anna Artymiak This year on Christmas Eve, 2024, Pope Francis, like Pope John Paul II in 1999, will open the Holy Door to begin a Jubilee Year in 2025. It will be an ordinary holy year — in accordance with the tradition of the Church to celebrate such a year every 25 years, to give every generation a chance to experience that special time of grace and mercy in their life. Those who participate in a Holy Year pilgrimage are granted a plenary indulgence; those who are unable to attend in person for concrete reasons are invited to participate spiritually, “offering up the sufferings of their daily lives, and participating in the Eucharistic celebration.” The last ordinary holy year, the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, which took place under John Paul II, was one of the biggest events in the history of mankind. The Holy Father Francis wants the coming Jubilee Year 2025 to be lived as a “year of hope,” very symbolic in times when the world’s wars seem to be unending and multiplying. Catholic tradition refers back to the Jewish tradition of the “jubilees” present in the Bible (cf. Leviticus 25:8-13), although in Rome it was started simply for pilgrims. In preparation for the coming holy year, Pope Francis has decided to dedicate the year 2024 to prayer in its personal and community dimension. The term “Jubilee” comes from the name of an instrument, the yobel, the ram’s horn, used by Jews in Biblical times to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). …. Whilst not being overly pessimistic or negative, we live in a generation that is on par with that of Noah, or that of Jesus Christ, as a “wicked and adulterous generation” (Matthew 16:4). Neither one of these ended well. Despite the conditional warnings at Fatima in 1917, we have plunged from one war into another, “the world’s wars seem to be unending and multiplying”, and we can no longer justifiably expect to avoid the last predicted woe, “certain nations will be annihilated”. July 13. 1917 ‘To prevent this, I shall come to the world to ask that Russia be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart, and I shall ask that on the First Saturday of every month Communions of reparation be made in atonement for the sins of the world. If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, then Russia will spread her errors throughout the world, bringing new wars and persecution of the Church; the good will be martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer; certain nations will be annihilated. But in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and the world will enjoy a period of peace ...’. Stay in God’s grace. The Psalmists expressed an abundance of Hope when they exclaimed (Psalm 45:3-5 Douay; 46:2-3 NIV): Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Virulent anti-Catholic, Alphonse Ratisbonne, converted through the Miraculous Medal

“Have you the courage to submit yourself to a very simple and innocent test? Only to wear a little something I will give you; look, it is a medal of the Blessed Virgin. It seems very ridiculous, does it not? But, I assure you, I attach great value and efficacy to this little medal. [Also] you must say every night and morning the Memorare, a very short and very efficacious prayer which St. Bernard addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. Theodore de Bussieres https://aleteia.org/2017/08/14/how-a-radical-atheist-became-a-catholic-priest How a radical atheist became a Catholic priest Philip Kosloski - published on 08/14/17 He hated the Church until one event changed his life forever … and his story would later impress Maximilian Kolbe. Born into a wealthy Jewish family in France in 1814, Alphonse Ratisbonne was set to become part of his uncle’s large banking firm. At first Ratisbonne was a nominal Jew, but when his older brother converted to the Catholic faith and became a priest, a hidden rage woke within him. Ratisbonne wrote, “When my brother became a Catholic, and a priest, I persecuted him with a more unrelenting fury than any other member of my family. We were completely sundered; I hated him with a virulent hatred, though he had fully pardoned me.” Furthermore this hatred for his brother was broadened to include all Catholics, and Ratisbonne explained how it “made me believe all I heard of the fanaticism of the Catholics, and I held them accordingly in great horror.” This also affected his personal beliefs and he came to no longer believe in God. Ratisbonne was too busy following worldly pursuits to worry about his Jewish faith and his deep hatred for Catholicism only pushed him further away from any type of religion. He eventually began to feel the void in his heart, but at first sought to cure it through marriage. Ratisbonne was betrothed to his niece, but because of her young age the wedding was postponed. During this time of waiting Ratisbonne decided to travel without any singular purpose. His trip started out by traveling to Naples, where he stayed for about a month. After that Ratisbonne wanted to go to Malta, but took the wrong boat and arrived in Rome. He stayed there, making the best of it, and ran into an old friend. One day when visiting his friend Ratisbonne encountered a Catholic convert, Theodore de Bussieres, who knew Ratisbonne’s priest-brother. While this made Ratisbonne hate the man, he enjoyed conversing with him because of his knowledge. Later Ratisbonne visited de Bussieres again. They had a heated discussion about Catholicism and de Bussieres made a wager with Ratisbonne. Have you the courage to submit yourself to a very simple and innocent test? Only to wear a little something I will give you; look, it is a medal of the Blessed Virgin. It seems very ridiculous, does it not? But, I assure you, I attach great value and efficacy to this little medal. [Also] you must say every night and morning the Memorare, a very short and very efficacious prayer which St. Bernard addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. While at first Ratisbonne protested at wearing the medal (which was the Miraculous Medal), he decided to put it around his neck and say the prayer each day. He figured that it couldn’t do any harm and would prove to all the ridiculous nature of Catholicism. Ratisbonne lived up to his side of the bargain, finding it easy to recite the Memorare. Then one day he was traveling in the city with de Bussieres and they stopped at the church Saint Andrea delle Fratte. When Ratisbonne entered the church it appeared to be engulfed in a marvelous light. He looked to an altar from where the light was coming and saw the Virgin Mary, appearing as she did on the Miraculous Medal. He left the church in tears, clutching his Miraculous Medal. Several days later he was received into the Catholic Church. After returning to Paris his betrothed was shocked and rejected him and his new religion. Ratisbonne then entered the Jesuits and was ordained a priest. This amazing story of conversion would later influence Saint Maximilian Kolbe to found the Militia Immaculatae and convinced him of the power of the Miraculous Medal. He firmly believed in Mary’s role in bringing the world to Christ. Read more: “Life for Life” and the living memory of Maximilian Kolbe

Fatima revelations and the message of Divine Mercy

“Sr. Lucia and St. Faustina, who were contemporaries, were each given a mission to spread the same message, though different in aspect. While Our Lady of Fatima gave Sr. Lucia a warning of divine judgment and the need for penance, Our Lord came to St. Faustina to encourage souls to implore his mercy as a final recourse to be saved from this impending judgment”. Gretchen Filz The Connection Between St. Faustina and Fatima Jul 05, 2017 by Gretchen Filz https://www.catholiccompany.com/magazine/st-faustina-fatima-6087 What do the private revelations of St. Faustina Kowalska have in common with the events at Fatima? Visions of a destroying angel and of the Holy Trinity, the 13th day, a call to penance, and a fervent prayer for mercy. The Blessed Virgin Mary chose to appear at Fatima in 1917 on the 13th day of the month from May to October, for the purpose of warning the world of its need for penance, and the impending dangers it faced if it did not—the first of which was a second world war. In the years leading up to World War II, a related message was given to a young Polish nun named Sister Faustina Kowalska. On the 13th of September in 1935, St. Faustina received a vision in her convent cell. Similar to the earlier vision given to the three shepherd children at Fatima, Faustina's vision was of an angel, who was ready to execute God's wrath in punishment for the sins of mankind, and of the Holy Trinity. St. Faustina earnestly prayed for mercy as she beheld the destroying angel ready to unleash the impending judgment on the world. It was on this 13th day of the month that Our Lord revealed a prayer to St. Faustina known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. As written in the Diary of St. Faustina: "[The angel] was clothed in a dazzling robe, his face gloriously bright, a cloud beneath his feet. From the cloud, bolts of thunder and flashes of lightning were springing into his hands; and from his hand they were going forth, and only then were they striking the earth. When I saw this sign of divine wrath which was about to strike the earth, and in particular a certain place, which for good reasons I cannot name, I began to implore the angel to hold off for a few moments, and the world would do penance. But my plea was a mere nothing in the face of the divine anger. Just then I saw the Most Holy Trinity. The greatness of Its majesty pierced me deeply, and I did not dare to repeat my entreaties. At that very moment I felt in my soul the power of Jesus' grace, which dwells in my soul. When I became conscious of this grace, I was instantly snatched up before the Throne of God. Oh, how great is our Lord and God and how incomprehensible His holiness! I will make no attempt to describe this greatness, because before long we shall all see Him as He is. I found myself pleading with God for the world with words heard interiorly. As I was praying in this manner, I saw the Angel’s helplessness: he could not carry out the just punishment which was rightly due for sins. Never before had I prayed with such inner power as I did then. The words with which I entreated God are these: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world; for the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us. The next morning, when I entered chapel, I heard these words interiorly: Every time you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer which I taught you yesterday.' When I had said the prayer, in my soul I heard these words: 'This prayer will serve to appease My wrath . . ." Sr. Lucia also had a vision of both a destroying angel ready to inflict God's punishment on the earth, and, years later, of the Holy Trinity. In her account of the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima on July 13, 1917, the message of which was part of the Third Secret, Lucia writes: "After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'" On the 13th day of June in the year 1929, Sr. Lucia received this vision of the Holy Trinity as she was making a Holy Hour: "Suddenly the whole chapel was illumined by a supernatural light, and above the altar appeared a cross of light, reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light on the upper part of the cross, could be seen the face of a man and his body as far as the waist, upon his breast was a dove also of light and nailed to the cross was the body of another man. A little below the waist, I could see a chalice and a large host suspended in the air, on to which drops of blood were falling from the face of Jesus Crucified and from the wound in His side. These drops ran down on to the host and fell into the chalice. Beneath the right arm of the cross was Our Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate Heart. (It was Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns and flames). Under the left arm of the cross, large letters, as if of crystal clear water which ran down upon the altar, formed these words: ‘Grace and Mercy.’ I understood that it was the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which was shown to me, and I received lights about this mystery which I am not permitted to reveal . . ." During this vision of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady proceeded to make her request, as foretold in 1917, for the consecration of Russia in order to prevent the calamities that were ready to sweep over the world. In the vision recounted above, Sr. Lucia beheld both blood and water emanating from Christ, similar imagery to the Divine Mercy vision that was later revealed to St. Faustina. Was the light of this mystery, which Sr. Lucia was not permitted to reveal, the mystery of the Divine Mercy which was soon to be given to St. Faustina? Read next Everything You Need to Know about the Divine Mercy Devotion Sr. Lucia and St. Faustina, who were contemporaries, were each given a mission to spread the same message, though different in aspect. While Our Lady of Fatima gave Sr. Lucia a warning of divine judgment and the need for penance, Our Lord came to St. Faustina to encourage souls to implore his mercy as a final recourse to be saved from this impending judgment. Sr. Lucia made known that the message of Fatima, namely, the Third Secret, was connected to the frightful global judgments found in the Book of Revelation. Our Lord, in light of these future punishments for mankind's sin, said to St. Faustina, "Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy." The prayers taught interiorly to the two nuns were also similar. The prayer the Angel of Peace taught to the three children of Fatima prior to Our Lady's appearances: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You for the conversion of poor sinners." And the Divine Mercy prayer given to St. Faustina: "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world." Both nuns would also pray for God's mercy on the world while standing with arms extended out to their sides, in the same manner as Our Lord suffered on the cross. They also both prayed earnestly for the spiritual conversion of their home countries; Lucia for Portugal, and Faustina for Poland. May we let the example of Sr. Lucia and St. Faustina be a call to respond to the urgent need for prayer and penance during the evil times in which we are now living, namely for the temporal protection of our countries and the eternal salvation of souls. Do you want to learn more about the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima? Subscribe to our 30-day content series at GoodCatholic.com.

A deeper meaning in Pilate’s message nailed on the Cross?

“Yes, we know that the chief priests did not want to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews, but there may have been something much deeper that alarmed and stirred them to even greater concern”. Shari Abbott Taken from: https://reasonsforhopejesus.com/pilate-proclaimed-jesus-god/ Did Pilate Proclaim Jesus to be God? A Remez on the Cross by Shari Abbott, Reasons for Hope* Jesus …. There was a message nailed to the cross of Jesus. It’s not easily seen, but it’s there. What did Pilate write? He wrote more than what you know. Did Pilate intentionally write the message and have it nailed to the cross? Of course, we know what’s really important. Nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ was every sin we have committed, or ever will commit. Jesus took upon Himself our sins and paid for them with His blood, opening the way of salvation for all who come to Him in faith. But there is also another message, nailed to that cross. It was written on a piece of wood, placed above the head of the Lamb of God, and it proclaimed Jesus not only to be The King of the Jews but also to be the Great I Am. A Hidden Message Written in Wood This message is a remez. A remez, in Jewish hermeneutics (the study of Scripture), is the hint of a hidden message or a deeper meaning. It’s something “below the surface” or “behind the words” that reveals another message or a deeper understanding. We find a remez in the piece of wood that Pilate commanded to be nailed to the cross of Jesus. It’s really amazing what Pilate commanded to be written on it. The Scripture tells us that Pilate asked Jesus the question, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” We are also told that Jesus confirmed Pilate’s words with, “Thou sayest it.” (Luke 23:3) Next, we are told that Pilate offered to release one of the prisoners to the people and he used the title “The King of the Jews” in referring to Jesus: John 18:39 “But you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” The Jews did not accept this offer, but instead cried out, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). So Pilate sentenced Jesus to be crucified. The Titlon It was customary for the Romans to put a sign on each cross. This sign labeled the person being crucified with the crime for which they had been charged. The sign was called a titlon and it was an official announcement from the presiding government official. Pilate wrote the inscription and had it nailed to the top of the cross of Jesus. John 19:19 Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This greatly angered the chief priests of the Jews, who demanded of Pilate…. John 19:21 …“Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.”‘ Pilate responded with, John 19:22 “What I have written I have written.” In the Greek, Pilate answered the chief priest using the perfect tense, which is understood to mean, “What I have written will always remain written.” And so it has remained written–not only on the cross that day but throughout the pages of history from that time forth. What Made The Chief Priests So Angry? Here’s where we find the remez or hidden message. Yes, we know that the chief priests did not want to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as the King of the Jews, but there may have been something much deeper that alarmed and stirred them to even greater concern. The following information is something I learned from the Bible study teachings of Chuck Missler (1934-2018). I present it for your consideration and I encourage you to search the Scripture to see if this be so (Chuck Missler would have said to do the same). It’s very interesting and has merit. There’s definitely a message, but whether Pilate intended it to be so we do not know. We also do not know if this roused the anger of the chief priests, but there is reason to believe they would have seen the message on the titlon and understood what it proclaimed. An Epitaph Above Jesus’ Head Pilate may not have understood what he was doing when he gave instructions for the words to be inscribed on the titlon placed above Jesus’ head. He required that the words, Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews, be written in all three languages of the day. Hebrew was the native language of the people of Jerusalem, the land in which Jesus was being crucified. Greek was the common language used during that time. And Latin was the official language of the governing power of the day, Rome. John 19:19-20 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The remez is found in understanding the inscription written in Hebrew. Remember that the Hebrew language is written from right to left, so it would have read: The message is found in the acrostic that is formed by these words. An acrostic is a form of writing in which the first letters of each word, line or paragraph are strung together to spell a word or message (we call this an acronym). Acrostics are found throughout Hebrew writings, including in the books of Lamentations, Esther, Leviticus, Proverbs 31, and numerous psalms—most notably the longest psalm, Psalm 119, which is divided into subsections with each section beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The acrostic formed by the first letters of each word in the inscription on the titlon (reading right to left) is YHVH. Therefore, above Jesus’ head, written in an acrostic, was revealed “YHVH,” which is Yahweh or Jehovah. This is the covenant name of God, given to His people. It is also known as the Tetragrammaton, the unpronounceable name of God, and the Great I Am. (image: khouse.org) Who knew? Did Pilate know what he was writing? We have no way of knowing for certain, but had Pilate written these words in any other sequence or with additional or fewer words, it would not have revealed the same message. Did the Jews know what Pilate had written? We do have good reasoning to suspect so, because Jews of that time understood and recognized acrostics from their common use in so many of their writings. Did the chief priests and Pharisees know that Jesus was God? Again, we don’t know for certain, but there is reasoning to think they did. We know that they felt threatened by Jesus and they took seriously the threat that Jesus’ committed followers would pose to their system of religion. This is clear when the chief priests and Pharisees requested that the tomb be secured and gave reason that Jesus had said He would rise again from the dead (Matthew 27:62-64). They expressed concern that His body might be stolen by His followers. Pilate agreed to their request to secure the tomb, and he did so by “sealing the stone and setting a watch” (Matthew 27:65-66). In doing so, Pilate provided further evidence of the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. No human man could have moved that stone, nor escaped past those guards. Jesus, The Nazarene, The King of The Jews = Yahweh It’s fun to find a remez. It’s the revealing of a deeper mystery that gives us one more reason to rejoice in the Lord and all that He has revealed in His Word. It is a reminder of the divine nature of inspiration on every page of the Bible and that, in His Word, God has revealed to us all that we need to trust in Him in all things. ….

Pope John Paul II may have been the “spark” from Poland spoken of by Jesus to Sister Faustina

“Write this for the many souls who are often worried to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permission or storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment”. Jesus to Sister Faustina Kowalska Today (22nd October 2024) is the feast day of John Paul II ‘the Great’ The following is taken from: https://feastofmercy.net/blogs/prayers-devotions/saint-faustina-you-will-prepare-the-world-for-my-final-coming Saint Faustina, "you will prepare the world for My final coming" by Tim McAndrew Who is this Saint Faustina that Our Lord asks to prepare the world for His final coming? Sister Faustina Kowalska is known today as the Apostle of the Divine Mercy. She was the third of ten children born into a poor pious family in Glogowiec, Poland. When she was only seven, she already sensed in her soul the call to embrace the religious life. Sister Faustina tried hard to ignore this Divine call; however, by a vision of the suffering Christ and by the words of His approach, “How long shall I put up with you and how long will you keep putting me off?” Sister Faustina was born August 25, 1905 and passed on to the Lord on October 5, 1938 in Krakow, Poland. At the age of 20 years she joined a convent in Warsaw, Poland, was later transferred to Płock, and then to Vilnius where she met her confessor Father Michał Sopoćko, who supported her devotion to the Divine Mercy. Faustina and Sopoćko directed an artist to paint the first Divine Mercy image, based on Faustina's vision of Jesus. Sopoćko used the image in celebrating the first Mass on the first Sunday after Easter. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II established the Feast of Divine Mercy on that Sunday of each liturgical year. Her entire life was spent striving for an even fuller union with God and on self sacrificing in cooperation with Jesus in the work of saving souls. This simple uneducated but courageous woman, was consigned the great mission by Our Lord Jesus to proclaim His message of mercy, to the whole world and to prepare the world for His final coming. His message was recorded in a diary kept by Saint Faustina. Our Lord Speaks: “I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My merciful heart.” (Diary 1588) “You are secretary of My mercy; I have chosen you for office in this and the next life.” (Diary 1605)... “To make known to souls the great mercy that I have for them, and to exhort them to trust in the bottomless depth of My mercy.” (Diary 1567) Our Lord words to Saint Faustina about Divine Mercy Sunday: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls; especially for poor sinners.” (Diary 699) “I am giving them the last hope of salvation. That is, recourse to My mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity.” (Diary 965) Saint Faustina’s Vision of Hell Sister Faustina recorded in the diary a vision of Hell: “I, Sister Faustina Kowalska, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of Hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But, I noticed one thing, that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a Hell. Today I was led by an angel to the chasms of Hell. It is a place of great tortures; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kind of tortures I saw: “The first torture that constitutes Hell is the loss of God. The second is perpetual remorse of conscience. The third is that one’s condition will never change. The fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it. A terrible suffering since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God's anger. The fifth torture is a continual darkness and a terrible suffocation smell, and despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own. The sixth torture is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies; indescribable sufferings. There are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable suffering related to the manner which it has sinned. "No one can say there is no Hell. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity on those senses which he made use of to sin". (Diary 741) "You will prepare the world for My Final Coming" However much we’re wary of overly apocalyptical prophecy … there’s no doubting that one such prediction came from a recently canonized saint. That was St. Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Divine Mercy revelations, who was canonized in 2000. …. “Speak to the world about My mercy… it is a sign for the end times. After it will come the day of justice (Diary 848)…Souls perish in spite of My bitter passion…I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of Mercy. If they will not adore My Mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near” (Diary #965). Keep in mind that we’re not obligated to accept them these messages; while Faustina was canonized, her prophecies have not been officially sanctioned (such messages, even from a saint, rarely are). But they are certainly worth close scrutiny, and they indicate that God is serious about purification despite those who have tended to focus only on His mercy. Our Lord Speaks: “Write this for the many souls who are often worried to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permission or storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy.” (#1317) Our Blessed Mothers words to Saint Faustina regarding her Son’s second coming: “Oh, how pleasing to God is the soul that follows faithfully, the inspirations of His grace! I gave the savior to the world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for His Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while there is still time for granting mercy, if you keep silent now, you will be answering for a great number of souls on that terrible day. Fear nothing, be nothing, be faithful to the end. I sympathize with you.” (Diary # 635) In one entry Saint Faustina said, “‘As I was praying, I heart Jesus’ words: ‘I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My Will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming.(Diary 1732)’ ”The land of death from the World War's" would become the birthplace of the modern Divine Mercy devotion. Was this a reference to John Paul II? We all know the Pope is from Poland, and he ended up having a pivotal role in the recognition of Divine Mercy — culminating with his canonization of Faustina. Even if the “spark” refers to the fall of Communism, which started in Poland, this too is inextricably linked to John Paul, who was a secret force behind Solidarity (the union that overthrew Communist rule).

Paradigm shift in way Church views women

[Pope Francis] repeated his frequent refrain about women being the “fertile” nurturers who complement men, and that regardless “the church is woman.” …. Francis heard a similar call from the French-speaking campus, where students staged a reading of an articulated critique of his landmark environmental encyclical “Praised Be” in which they called for a “paradigm shift” in the way the church views women. They noted that the encyclical virtually ignores women, cites no female theologians and contributes to women’s “invisibility” in the church and society. Women have long complained they have a second-class status in the church, barred from the priesthood and positions of power despite doing the lion’s share of the work educating the young, caring for the sick and passing on the faith. Francis, an 87-year-old Argentine Jesuit, said he liked what they said. But he repeated his frequent refrain about women being the “fertile” nurturers who complement men, and that regardless “the church is woman.” We read at: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-03/pope-francis-highlights-womens-role-in-church-and-society.html#:~:text=%22The%20Church%20needs%20to%20keep,collaboration%20to%20achieve%20this%20goal. Pope Francis highlights women's role in Church and society Pope Francis addresses an international conference on women in the Church, and emphasises the importance of recognising women's contributions while calling for unity and education to promote women's rights and dignity. By Francesca Merlo In his address to the participants of the International Conference titled "Women in the Church: Builders of Humanity," Pope Francis extended a warm greeting to all attendees, expressing gratitude for their presence and the organisation of the event. "The Church needs to keep this in mind, because the Church is herself a woman: a daughter, a bride, and a mother," said the Pope. He highlighted the significance of recognising and valuing women's contributions within the people of God, and he called for unity, discernment, and collaboration to achieve this goal. The conference, which gathers individuals from all over the world, focuses on highlighting the exemplary holiness of ten women: Josephine Bakhita, Magdeleine de Jesus, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Mary MacKillop, Laura Montoya, Kateri Tekakwitha, Teresa of Calcutta, Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, and Daphrose Mukasanga. Pope Francis underscored the significance of their charitable, educational, and prayerful initiatives, which exemplify the unique reflection of God's holiness through the feminine genius. "The contribution of women is more necessary than ever," emphasised Pope Francis, acknowledging the challenges of hatred, violence, and ideological conflicts in today's world. He spoke about the urgent need for women's contributions, which he said are characterised by tenderness and compassion, in order to foster unity and restore humanity's true identity. On the topic of education, Pope Francis commended the collaboration between the conference and various Catholic academic institutions. "Every effort to present students with testimonies of holiness, especially of feminine sanctity, can encourage them to aim higher," he said, stressing the importance of presenting role models to inspire future generations. Pope Francis concluded his address by highlighting the ongoing struggles faced by women worldwide, including violence, inequality, and injustice. He called for concerted efforts to address these issues, emphasizing the transformative power of education for girls and young women in promoting overall human development. Bringing his address to a close, Pope Francis entrusted the outcomes of the conference to the Lord and imparted his blessing upon the participants before urging continued commitment to the advancement of women's rights and dignity. …. “In this sense the Marian dimension of the Church is antecedent to that of the Petrine, without being in any way divided from it or being less complementary. The Immaculate Mary precedes all others, including obviously Peter himself and the Apostles”. Pope John Paul II The Marian and Petrine Principles Annual Address to Roman Curia H. H. John Paul II December 22, 1987 On Monday, 22 December, in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Rossi, conveyed the Christmas greetings of the assembled cardinals and officials of the Roman Curia to the Holy Father, who delivered the following address in reply. Your Eminences, Revered Brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood, My dearest Laity, I sincerely thank the Cardinal Dean for his greeting; he has interpreted your personal desires in this traditional and always pleasant gathering before Christmas. His message has focused our common attention on the particular significance which current circumstances contribute to our annual meeting. We meet near the Eve of Christmas in the Marian Year. Every year on this occasion we are moved by the expectation of him who is born in Bethlehem of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, and it is our mutual desire to experience as deeply as possible this central event of history by extending a welcome to the Incarnate Word. In this Marian Year our meeting has a special significance and brings a new emphasis to our Christmas reflection. The Marian Year, in fact, prepares us to approach Christ in this Advent of the third millennium in order to relieve the mystery of his Incarnation, following Mary who precedes us in this journey of faith. She was the first “minister” of the Word. As members of the Roman Curia we are conscious of serving the Mystery of the Incarnation from which the Church as a “Body” originated. In Mary, as St. Augustine noted: “the only-begotten Son of God was pleased to unite to himself human nature, so that to the immaculate head he associated the immaculate Church, (Serm 191.3; PL 38, 1010). From Mary is born Christ the Head who is indissolubly united to the Church, his Body. The “whole Christ” is born. As servants and ministers of this Mystical Body, daily nourished with the Eucharistic Body of Christ, we manifest this year the particular presence of the Mother of God in the Mystery of Christ and of the Church in which we are aware of participating in a particular manner. 2. We well understand that Vatican II effected a great synthesis between Mariology and ecclesiology. The Marian Year adheres to such a synthesis and conciliar inspiration so that the Church may be everywhere renewed through the presence of the Mother of God who, as the Fathers taught, is a model of the Church. The Council offers an enlightening interpretation of the presence of the Virgin in the divine plan of salvation. Because she is the instrument and privileged channel of the Incarnation of the Word in human nature and of his presence among us, Mary is “intimately united with the Church: the Mother of God is a figure of the Church, as Saint Ambrose had earlier taught, in the order of faith, of charity and of the perfect union with Christ” (Lumen Gentium, 63). Developing this teaching, I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater: “ the reality of the Incarnation finds a sort of extension in the mystery of the Church – The Body of Christ. And one cannot think of the reality of the Incarnation without referring to Mary, the Mother of the Incarnate Word” (no. 5). Mary united to Christ, Mary united to the Church. And the Church united to Mary finds in her the most refined and perfect image of its own specific mission which is simultaneously virginal and maternal. The Fathers and the Teachers of the early Church have underlined this double aspect: for example, St. Augustine brilliantly comments, Hic est speciosus forma prae filiis hominum, sanctae filius Mariae, sanctiae sponsus Ecclesiae, quam suae genitriit similem redditit: nam et nobis eam matrem fecit, et virginem sibi custodit” (Serm 195.2; PL 38:1018). The Virgin Mary is the archetype of the Church because of the divine maternity; just like Mary, the Church must be, and wishes to be, mother and virgin. The Church lives in this authentic “Marian profile”, this “Marian dimension”; thus the Council, gathering together the patristic and theological voices, both eastern and western has noted this phenomenom: “The Church, moreover, contemplating Mary’s mysterious sanctity, imitating her charity, and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will, becomes herself a mother by accepting God’s word in faith. For by her preaching and by baptism she brings forth to a new and immortal life, children who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God. The Church herself is a virgin, who keeps whole and pure the fidelity she has pledged to her Spouse. Imitating the Mother of her Lord, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, she preserves with virginal purity and integral faith , a firm hope and sincere charity” (Lumen Gentium, 64). Sphere of divine grace 3. This Marian profile is also- even perhaps more so- fundamental and characteristic for the Church as is the apostolic and Petrine profile to which it is profoundly united. In this vision of the Church Mary precedes the People of God who are still pilgrims. Mary is she who, predestined to be the Mother of the Word, lived continuously and totally in the sphere of divine grace subject to its vivifying influence; she is the mirror and transparency of the life of God himself. Immaculate, “full of grace”, she was prepared by God for the Incarnation of the Word and was always under the Continuous action of the Holy Spirit: hers was the “yes” and the fiat par excellence to him who had chosen her “before the beginning of the world” (Eph 1:4). Such response was evident in the docility, the humility, the conformity to the least movement of grace which rendered her, we can say, mother in a twofold sense through conformity to God’s will: “who does the will of God is my mother” (cf. Mk 3:35). The divine maternity, that unique and sublime privilege of the ever-Virgin, must be seen in this perspective as the supreme glory of the fidelity of Mary in corresponding with grace. The Marian dimension of the Church is evident from the similarity of tasks in relation to the whole Christ. To this dimension, in fact, can be applied the word of Jesus: “whoever does the will of my Father is my brother, sister, and mother”, (Mk, ibid.). The Church, like Mary, lives by grace in submission to the Holy Spirit; according to his light the signs and necessities of the times are interpreted, and progress is accomplished in complete docility to the voice of the Spirit. In this sense the Marian dimension of the Church is antecedent to that of the Petrine, without being in any way divided from it or being less complementary. The Immaculate Mary precedes all others, including obviously Peter himself and the Apostles. This is so, not only because Peter and the Apostles, being born of the human race under the burden of sin, form part of the Church which is “holy with sinners:, but also because their triple function has no other purpose except to from the Church in line with the ideal of sanctity already programmed and prefigured in Mary. A contemporary theologian has well commented: “Mary is ‘Queen of the Apostles’ without any pretensions to apostolic powers: she has other and greater powers” (von Balthasar, Nette Klarstellungen, Ital. transl., Milan 1980, p. 181). In this context it is especially significant to note the presence of Mary in the Upper Room, where she assists Peter and the other Apostles, praying for and with them as all await the coming of the Spirit. This link between the two profiles of the Church, the Marian and the Petrine, is profound and complementary. This is so even though the Marian profile is anterior not only in design of God but also in time, as well being supreme and pre-eminent, richer in personal and communitarian implications for individual ecclesial vocations. In this light the Roman Curia lives and ought to live – all of us ought so to live. It is certain that the Curia is directly united to the Petrine office to whose service it is dedicated by office, constitution and mission. The Curia serves the Church as a Body; situated, one may say, at the apex, it offers its collaboration to the Successor of Peter in his service to the local Churches. In this activity, it is more necessary and indispensable to preserve and strengthen the Marian dimension in the service to Peter. Mary precedes those of us who are in the Curia where we serve the Mystery of the Word Incarnate, just as she precedes the whole Church for which we live. May she assist us to discover ever more fully and to live more authentically this richness, which for us, I would say, is vital and decisive. May Mary help us to participate more consciously in the symbiosis of the Marian and Petrine apostolic dimensions from which the Church daily draws orientation and sustenance. May attention to Mary and to her example bring us to a greater love, tenderness and docility to the voice of the Spirit, so that each one is more enriched interiorly with that dedication to the ministry of Peter. 4. In the light of the Marian Year as the central theme of our meeting, which continues the teaching Vatican II in presenting Mary as the guide of the People of God in their pilgrimage of faith, I would now like to underline some of the salient events of the year that is about to conclude: the Synod of bishops, the numerous beatifications and canonizations, and the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Dimitrios I of Constantinople. In the first place the sessions of the Synod: two months have passed since the conclusion of its discussions and it is more and more evident that the interventions and labours of the Synodal Fathers have resulted in a global image of the Church – how she lives, works, prays, suffers, struggles, and adheres to Christ. The Synod has effectively offered the image of this People on pilgrimage on earth, and especially of that portion of the People of God, the laity, according to their specific characteristics. In their pilgrimage it is still the Mother who precedes her children as they seek “the kingdom of God in dealing with temporal affairs as they organize them according to God’s will in the ‘spirit of the Beatitudes’” (Lumen Gentium, 31). This Marian presence in the mission of the laity, in their journey of faith, is the line which clearly defines that great event. As time passes since the Synod of last October, the positive results become more evident, not alone in the reaffirmation of the teaching of the magnificent documents of Vatican Ii but more so because of the emphasis on the ecclesiology of communion as a necessary contest for situating the role of the laity in the Church for the salvation of the world. The laity themselves have co-operated in formulating this conclusion, in so far as the Synod Fathers represented the voice of the laity; furthermore, the laity themselves of both sexes entered actively by their conspicuous and qualified presence at the Synod where they spoke in the plenary sessions and collaborated effectively in the circuli minores. The result has been a truly universal overall view of the diverse realities that constitute the true image of the Church today. As with the preceding Synods, it shall be my duty to follow those unforgettable days. Meanwhile I am happy to underline in our present meeting how this richness and plurality of results is the evidence that the Church is truly open to the voice of the Spirit in her pilgrimage of faith and love, and is always conscious of her responsibility to God and before the world. Mary is present in this journey of the laity, to guide them a she guides us all towards the coming of Christ. Final destiny 5. Vatican II has demonstrated that in her who is the Mother of God the Church has reached her final destiny: “In the bodily and spiritual glory which she possesses in heaven, the Mother of Jesus continues in this present world as the image and first flowering of the Church as she is to be perfected in the life to come” (Lumen Gentium, 68). This affirmation reiterates what the dogmatic Constitution the Church had already expounded in chapter7: “the eschatological character of the pilgrim Church and its union with the heavenly church”, and chapter 5: “the universal vocation to holiness in the Church”. In the fullness of time Mary, in virtue of her immaculate conception, reunited in herself the salvific design of God that had been destroyed by sin. Assumed into heaven with her most holy body, which is the Ark of the new Covenant, she already reigns with Christ in the psycho-physical unity of her person. She is, therefore, after Christ, “the first-begotten of the dead (Rev. 1:5; Col 1:18). She is the one who precedes the Church in the journey towards the fulfillment of sanctity and awaits the completion that shall be total. However, with her there are also those who, awaiting the final resurrection, are already in heaven according to the judgement of the church. They have verified in themselves the plan of God and have reached that desired success of every human existence: “the complete, intimate union with Christ” (cf. Lumen Gentium, 49). Recalling the Queen of all Saints in this Marian Year I now wish to mention the two canonizations and eleven beatifications of this year. These numerous liturgical events of 1987 have demonstrated, perhaps more forcibly than usual, how real, true and actual is the Church’s universal call to holiness, and have given testimony to the ethnic-vocational plurality of such a call. The new saints and beati, in fact, belong to diverse vocations among the people of God. Among such we discover: Cardinals, as Marcello Spinola y Maestre (29 March) and Andrea Carlo Ferrari (10 May): bishops, as Michal Kozal (14 June) and Jurgis Matulaitis (28 June); priests and brothers, as Manuel Domingo y Sol (29 March), Rupert Mayer (3 May) and Jules Arnould Reche (1 Nov.); women religious, as Teresa de los Andes (3April), Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinelli (10 May), Ulrika Nisch and BlandinaMerten (1 Nov.); laity of both sexes, as Lorenzo Ruiz (18 Oct.), Giuseppe Moscati (25 Oct. ), and many others all professions and occupations, even the most humble. It is a witness given in the most diverse circumstances, i.e. as pastors and ministers of the Church, as medical doctors, as educators and evangelizers. Often such witness was rendered in the most arduous circumstances, such as by martyrdom antonomastically so called as in the case of three Carmelite Sisters of Guadalajara (29 March), Edith Stein (1 May) and Karolina Kozka (10 June), Marcel Callo, Pierina Morosini and Antonia Mesina (4 Oct.), the 16 martyrs of Japan (18 Oct.), and the eighty-five English martyrs (22 Nov.). Again, many of the new saints and beati lived in our century: they are contemporaries. In reality, the saints are in our midst and they demonstrate that even today the Church is called to sanctity and responds generously under the inspiration and guidance of Mary. Furthermore, the saints and beati belong to diverse nations of different continents: thus the canonizations and beatifications attest to the universal significance even when viewed geographically. From this point of view I regard it as a special grace of the Lord to have been able to propose for the veneration of the church, as desired by repeated requests of the local bishops, come champions of the faith in the locality where they lived. I did this during some of the apostolic journeys of this year: Sister Teresa de los Andes at Santiago, Chile (3 April); Sister Benedicta of the Cross, at Cologne (1 May); Father Mayer at Munich (3 May); Karolina Kozka, at Tarnow (10 June); and Mons. Kozal at Warsaw (14 June). The ever-increasing possibility of publicly proclaiming the heroic sanctity of the sons and daughters of the Church in the course of my visits to various countries of the world confirms me in the belief that such journeys constitute a particular service to the People of God on its pilgrimage, precisely that pilgrimage towards the definitive Kingdom of God, in which Mary “precedes” the Church in various places on earth. Since the journeys are, with God’s help, the contemporary application of the mandate of Christ – “go therefore into the whole world” (Mk 16:15) – and also and explicit consequence of the Petrine ministry, “confirm your brothers” (Lk 22:32), they afford a greater spiritual and intellectual irradiation of the office that is so sublime and solemn, by proposing for the imitation of the Church the authentic exemplars of sanctity proper to it. Such saintly individuals are proof before the world that holiness is possible for all people, in every civilization and in all climates. 6. Following the path of the Council, the encyclical Redemptoris Mater underlined the “pilgrimage” aspect of the Church, in which the Mother of God “precedes”, and as such has ecumenical overtones. ….