“Flight Into Egypt”, Michael D. O’Brien

Joseph, Mary, and the Christ Child camp in the desert at night as they flee to Egypt.
The stark surroundings accentuate their plight,
the danger they are in, the darkness of the world.
As the mother nurses her child, the father stands watch and plays gently on a flute,
the music soothing the Child to sleep.
Their entire life is founded on mutual trust, love, sacrifice,
and abandonment to divine providence.  —Artist’s notes

WE can now see it coming into view: the edge of the Great Storm. Over the past seven years, the image of a hurricane is what the Lord has used to teach me about what is coming upon the world. The first half of the Storm are the “labor pains” that Jesus spoke of in Matthew and what St. John describes in more detail in Revelation 6:3-17:

You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor pains… (Matt 24:6-8)

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The Annunciation, by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898; Philadelphia Museum of Art)

AND so, we have arrived at the days in which great changes are imminent. It can be overwhelming as we watch the warnings which have been given begin to unfold in the headlines. But we were created for these times, and where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. The Church will triumph.

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Apparition Hill at Dawn, Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina

WHILE only the Public Revelation of Jesus Christ requires the assent of faith, the Church teaches that it would be imprudent to ignore the prophetic voice of God or “despise prophecy,” as St. Paul says. After all, authentic “words” from the Lord, are, from the Lord:

One can therefore simply ask why God provides them continuously [in the first place if] they hardly need to be heeded by the Church. —Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mistica oggettiva, n. 35

Even controversial theologian, Karl Rahner, also asked…

…whether anything God reveals can be unimportant. —Karl Rahner, Visions and Prophecies, p. 25

The Vatican has insisted upon remaining open to the alleged apparition thus far as it continues to discern the authenticity of the phenomena there. (If that’s good enough for Rome, it’s good enough for me.) 

As a former television reporter, the facts surrounding Medjugorje do concern me.  I know they concern many people. I have taken the same position on Medjugorje as Blessed John Paul II (as witnessed to by Bishops who have discussed the apparitions with him).  That position is to celebrate the wonderful fruits flowing from this place, namely conversion and an intense sacramental life. This is not an ooey-gooey-warm-fuzzy opinion, but a hard fact based on the testimonies of thousands of Catholic clergy and countless laymen.

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MEDJUGORJE is that little town in Bosnia-Herzogovina where the Blessed Mother has allegedly been appearing for over 25 years. The sheer volume of miracles, conversions, vocations, and other supernatural fruits of this site demand a serious examination of what is occurring there—so much so, that according to new confirmed reports, the Vatican, not the new commission, will direct the final judgment on the alleged phenomena (see Medjugorje: “Just the facts, ma’am”).

This is unprecedented. The significance of the apparitions has reached to the highest levels. And significant they are, given that Mary has allegedly said these will be her “last apparitions on earth.“

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FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

POPE John Paul II called her the Star of the New Evangelization. Indeed, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Morning Star of the New Evangelization which precedes the Day of the Lord. 

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth. (Rev 12:1-2)

I hear the words,

There is coming a powerful release of the Holy Spirit. 

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I rose at 3:30 am on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this past December 8th. I had to catch an early flight on my way to New Hampshire in the U.S. to give two parish missions. 

Yes, another border crossing into the States. As many of you know, these crossings have been difficult for us lately and nothing short of a spiritual battle.

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Mary, presenting Jesus, a Mural in Conception Abbey, Conception, Missouri

From a reader:

If we must enter into the ark of protection provided by our Mother, what will happen to Protestants and Jews? I know many Catholics, priests as well, who reject the whole idea of entering the “ark of protection” Mary is offering us—but we don’t reject her out of hand as other denominations do. If her pleas are falling on deaf ears in the Catholic hierarchy and much of the laity, what about those that don’t know her at all?

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SO few, it seems, understand the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church. I want to share with you two true stories to shed light on this most honored member of the Body of Christ. One story is my own… but first, from a reader…

WHY MARY? A CONVERT’S VISION…

The Catholic teaching on Mary has been the most difficult doctrine of the Church for me to accept. Being a convert, I had been taught the “fear of Mary worship.” It was instilled deep within me!

After my conversion, I would pray, asking Mary to intercede for me, but then doubt would assail me and I would, so to speak, (put her aside for a while.) I would pray the Rosary, then I would stop praying the Rosary, this went on for some time!

Then one day I prayed fervently to God, “Please, Lord, I beg you, show me the truth about Mary.”

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Mother and Child reading the Word—Michael D. O’brien

WHY do “Catholics” say they need Mary? 

One can only answer this by posing another question:  why did Jesus need Mary? Couldn’t Christ have materialized in the flesh, emerging from the desert, proclaiming the good news? Certainly. But God chose to come through a human creature, a virgin, a teenage girl. 

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WHILE contemplating Jesus in the Glorious Mysteries last night, I was pondering on the fact that I always picture Mary standing up while Jesus crowns her Queen of Heaven. These thoughts came to me…

Mary knelt in profound adoration of her God and Son, Jesus. But when Jesus approached to crown her, He pulled her gently to her feet, honoring the Fifth Commandment "Thou shalt honor thy mother and father."

And to the joy of Heaven, she was enthroned their Queen.

The Catholic Church does not worship Mary, a creature like you and me. But we honor our saints, and Mary is the greatest of them all. For not only was she Christ’s mother (think about it–He probably got His nice Jewish nose from her), but she exemplified perfect faith, perfect hope, and perfect love.

These three remain (1 Cor 13:13), and they are the largest jewels in her crown.

YESTERDAY’s liturgy marks the end of Pentecost week–but not the profound necessity in our lives of the Holy Spirit and His spouse, the Virgin Mary.

It has been my personal experience, having traveled to hundreds of parishes, meeting tens of thousands of people–that souls who open themselves to the activity of the Holy Spirit, coupled with a healthy devotion to Mary, are some of the strongest apostles I know.

And why should this surprise anyone? Wasn’t it this combination of heaven and earth over 20 centuries ago, that wrought the incarnation of God in the flesh, Jesus Christ?

That is the way Jesus is always conceived. That is the way He is reproduced in souls… Two artisans must concur in the work that is at once God’s masterpiece and humanity’s supreme product: the Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary… for they are the only ones who can reproduce Christ. –Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier

POPE John Paul II called the Rosary "the school of Mary".

How often have I been overwhelmed by distraction and anxiety, only to be immersed in tremendous peace as I begin to pray the Rosary! And why should this surprise us? The Rosary is nothing other than a "compendium of the Gospel" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, JPII). And the Word of God is "living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb 4:12).

Do you wish to cut through the sorrow of your heart? Do you wish to pierce the darkness within your soul? Then take up this Sword in the shape of a chain, and with it, contemplate the face of Christ in the Mysteries of the Rosary. Outside of the Sacraments, I know of no other means by which one can so quickly scale the walls of holiness, be illumined in conscience, brought to repentance, and opened to the knowledge of God, than by this little prayer of the Handmaiden.

And as powerful is this prayer, so too are the temptations not to pray it. In fact, I personally wrestle with this devotion more than any other. But the fruit of perseverance can be likened to the one who drills for hundreds of feet beneath the surface until at last he uncovers a mine of gold.

If during the Rosary, you are distracted 50 times, then begin to pray it again each time. You have then just offered 50 acts of love to God. –Fr. Bob Johnson, Madonna House Apostolate (my spiritual director)

 

It shall be established for ever as the moon,
and as a faithful witness in heaven. (Psalm 59:57)

LAST night as I looked up at the moon, a thought burst into my mind. The heavenly bodies are analogies of another reality…

Mary is the moon which reflects the Son, Jesus. Though the Son is the source of light, Mary reflects Him back to us. And surrounding her are countless stars–Saints, illuminating history with her.

At times, Jesus seems to "disappear," beyond the horizon of our suffering. But He has not left us: at the moment He seems to vanish, Jesus is already racing toward us on a new horizon. As a sign of His presence and love, He has also left us His Mother. She does not replace the life-giving power of her Son; but like a careful mother, she lights the darkness, reminding us that He is the Light of the World… and to never doubt His mercy, even in our darkest moments.

After I received this "visual word", the following scripture raced by like a shooting star:

A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. –Revelations 12:1

FAR from "stealing Christ’s thunder"

Mary is the lightning

which illuminates The Way.