1. Mary was a real person. She was Jewish, like her son Jesus. Little is known about her childhood and old age, but the Gospels, and in particular the Gospel of Luke, talk about her motherhood, including her visit with Elizabeth while pregnant (Luke 1:39-56), escaping a murderous King Herod with her husband and young child (Matthew 2:13-23), and her concern as a mother when Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem at age 12 (Luke 2:41-52).
2. Mary’s motherhood of God was proclaimed as dogma, unquestionably true, by the Church at the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE. She is called Mother of God because she gave birth to Jesus, who is in the Trinity along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
3. Catholics pray to Mary, but not because she is a goddess. They pray to ask her, as the Mother of Christ, to pray with them to God.
4. Mary is not just for Catholics. She is present in the Christian Bible at significant points in Jesus’s ministry, from the first prophecy of the Savior’s mother (Gen 3:15); to the first miracle performed by Jesus when he turned water into wine (John 2:1-11); at the foot of the cross (John 19:25); and Christ’s crowning in heaven (Rev. 12:1, 5). Devotion to Mary can bring Christians together.
5. Mary is important in Islam as well, in which Jesus is known as the prophet ‘Isa. She is mentioned dozens of times in the Qur’an. Recently, a mosque in Abu Dhabi was named for “Mary, the mother of Jesus” as a gesture to “consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions.”
6. Mary has inspired many of the world’s greatest works of art, including sculpture such as Michelangelo’s Pietà and music such as Franz Schubert’s setting of the prayer “Ave Maria.”
7. There have been Marian apparitions (appearances) all over the world, including well known occurrences at Guadalupe, Mexico; Lourdes, France; and Fatima, Portugal. Her first apparition was to St. James the Greater at Saragossa, Spain, in 40 CE . Apparitions are considered private revelations, and belief in their veracity is not required by the Catholic Church.
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, celebrated July 16, was first instituted in the late 14th century in commemoration of the approval of the rule of the Carmelite Order a hundred years earlier.
According to legend, a religious community was established even before the time of Christ on Mount Carmel. This is the mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on which the prophet Elijah successfully challenged the priests of Baal and won the people to the true God. The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel entered the Calendar of the universal Church in the early 18th century.
Although there is no historical evidence for the pre-Christian Carmelite community, references in the 12th century record a community of monks on the holy mountain. Despite continual difficulties, the community built a monastery and church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on Mount Carmel in 1263. Saint Louis, King of France, had visited Mount Carmel in 1254, and brought back six French hermits for whom he built a convent near Paris.
Mount Carmel was taken by the Muslims in 1291, and the brothers were killed and the convent burned. The spread of the Carmelites in Europe is largely attributable to the work of Saint Simon Stock (1247-1265). The Carmelite Order was formally approved in 1274 at the Council of Lyon.
The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, according to the Carmelite tradition, was presented by Our Lady to St. Simon Stock, the then Father General on July 16, 1251. Our Lady gave St. Simon a scapular for the Carmelites with the following promise, saying : "Receive, My beloved son, this habit of thy order: this shall be to thee and to all Carmelites a privilege, that whosoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire .... It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace."
Another important aspect of wearing the Scapular is the Sabbatine Privilege. This concerns a promise made by Our Lady to Pope John XXII. In a papal letter he issued, he recounted a vision that he had had. He stated that the Blessed Virgin had said to him in this vision, concerning those who wear the Brown Scapular: "I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting."
Many popes and saints have strongly recommended wearing the Brown Scapular to the Catholic Faithful. Pope Pius XII said: "The Scapular is a practice of piety which by its very simplicity is suited to everyone, and has spread widely among the faithful of Christ to their spiritual profit." In our own times, Pope Paul VI said: "Let the faithful hold in high esteem the practices and devotions to the Blessed Virgin ... the Rosary and the Scapular of Carmel" and in another place referred to the Scapular as: "so highly recommended by our illustrious predecessors."
According to Church tradition, there are three conditions necessary to participate in this Privilege and share in the other spiritual benefits of the Scapular: wear the Brown Scapular, observe chastity according to your state in life, and pray the Rosary. In addition to the Sabbatine Privilege, enrollment in the Brown Scapular also makes a person part of the Carmelite family throughout the world. They therefore share in all of the prayers and good works of the Carmelite Orders.
In order to receive the spiritual blessings associated with the Scapular, it is necessary to be formally enrolled in the Brown Scapular. The enrollment is made only once by a priest or authorized person. The Scapular can be replaced afterwards by a medal, which has on one side the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the other, the image of Mary.
There a short form for giving the scapular: "Receive this Scapular, a sign of your special relationship with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, whom you pledge to imitate. May it be a reminder to you of your dignity as a Christian in serving others and imitating Mary. Wear it as a sign of her protection and of belonging to the family of Carmel, voluntarily doing the will of God and devoting yourself to building a world true to his plan of community, justice and peace."
The scapular stands for:
- A commitment to follow Jesus, like Mary, the perfect model of all the disciples of Christ. This commitment finds its origin in baptism.
- It leads into the community of Carmel, a community of religious men and women, which has existed in the Church for over eight centuries.
- It reminds of the example of the saints of Carmel, with whom it establishes a close bond as brothers and sisters.
- It is an expression of the belief that the bearers of the scapular will meet God in eternal life, aided by the intercession and prayers of Mary.
The Carmelites insist that the scapular is not:
- A magical charm to protect someone.
- An automatic guarantee of salvation.
- An excuse for not living up to the demands of the Christian life
It is instead a sign which has been approved by the Church for over seven centuries and which stands for the decision to
- Follow Jesus like Mary:
- Be open to God and to his will.
- Be guided by faith, hope, and love.
- To pray at all times
- To discover God present in all that happens around us.
Since 1981, in a small village in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Medjugorje, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing & giving messages to the world. She tells us that God has sent Her to our world, & this is a time of Grace granted by God.
"I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, & to enjoy this fullness & peace, you must return to God".
Our Lady's mission is one of peace. She has come to earth to reeducate us & help us convert & recenter our lives back to God. Her role has always been one of guiding people to Her Son, Jesus. What an amazing opportunity we have before us! Her call to conversion is urgent, & we should respond with all our hearts.
Our Lady continues to give messages to six people from the village of Medjugorje: Ivan, Jakov, Marija, Mirjana, Vicka, and Ivanka. These six "visionaries" have received apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary since June 24, 1981. In addition to Her public messages, Our Lady is to give each of the six visionaries a total of ten "secrets" of happenings that will occur on earth in the near future. Some pertain to the whole world others concern the visionaries themselves or the local village. Only one of the secrets has so far been revealed by the visionaries. In the third secret Our Lady promised to leave a supernatural, indestructible, and visible sign on the mountain where she first appeared.
"This sign will be given for the atheists. You faithful already have signs and you have become the sign for the atheists. You faithful must not wait for the sign before you convert; convert soon. This time is a time of grace for you. You can never thank God enough for His grace. The time is for deepening your faith, and for your conversion. When the sign comes, it will be too late for many."
When each of the six visionaries has received all ten "secrets", Our Lady will stop appearing to them on a daily basis. Currently, Marija, Vicka, and Ivan have received nine secrets, & Our Lady still appears to them every day, wherever they are, at 6:40pm. Mirjana, Jakov, & Ivanka have received all ten secrets, & Our Lady appears to them once per year for the rest of their lives. For Ivanka who received her 10th secret on May 7, 1985 it is on the anniversary of the apparitions, June 25 each year. For Jakov who received his 10th secret on September 12, 1998, it is on Christmas day each year. For Mirjana who received her 10th secret on Christmas 1982, it is on her birthday, March 18 each year. Our Lady has also appeared to Mirjana on the 2nd of each month from August 2, 1987 until March 2, 2020, for the purpose of praying for all unbelievers. Mirjana tells us that it is very important that all of us pray for the unbelievers in the world, who are described as those who have not yet experienced God's love. No one knows when Our Lady will give the tenth secret to Marija, Ivan, and Vicka.
Once Our Lady has stopped appearing there will be three warnings given to the world. These warnings will be in the form of events on earth. They will occur within Mirjana's lifetime, and Mirjana will be a witness to them. Ten days before each of the warnings, she will advise the priest she chose for this task (Father Petar Ljubicic), who will then pray and fast with Mirjana for seven days. Then, three days before each warning is to take place, Fr. Petar will announce to the world what, where, & when the warning will take place. He has no choice, he must reveal each warning. After the first warning, the other two will follow in a rather short period of time. That interval will be a period of great grace and conversion. After the permanent, visible, supernatural, and indestructible sign appears on the mountain where Our Lady first appeared in Medjugorje, there will be little time for conversion. For that reason, the Blessed Virgin invites us to urgent conversion and reconciliation. The permanent sign will lead to many healings & conversions before the secrets become reality. According to Mirjana, the events predicted by the Blessed Virgin are near. By virtue of this experience, Mirjana proclaims to the world: 'Hurry, be converted; open your hearts to God.'
The ninth and tenth secrets are serious. They concern chastisement for the sins of the world. Punishment is inevitable, for we cannot expect the whole world to be converted. The punishment can be diminished by prayer & penance, but it cannot be eliminated. Mirjana says that one of the evils that threatened the world, the one contained in the seventh secret, has been averted, thanks to prayer and fasting. That is why the Blessed Virgin continues to encourage prayer and fasting: "You have forgotten that with prayer & fasting you can ward off wars, spend natural laws."
In addition to this basic message, Mirjana related an apparition she had in 1982, which sheds some light on certain aspects of Church history. She spoke of an apparition in which satan appeared to her, & asked Mirjana to renounce Our Lady & follow him. By doing so she could be happy in love & in life. He added that following Our Lady would only lead to suffering. Mirjana rejected him, & immediately Our Lady appeared & Satan disappeared. Then Our Lady gave Mirjana the following message: "Excuse me for this, but you must realize that Satan exists. One day he appeared before the throne of God and asked permission to submit the Church to a period of trial. God gave him permission to try the Church for one century. This century is under the power of the devil; but when the secrets confided to you come to pass, his power will be destroyed. Even now he is beginning to lose his power and has become aggressive. He is destroying marriages, creating divisions among priests & is responsible for obsessions & murder. You must protect yourselves against these things through fasting & prayer, especially community prayer. Carry blessed objects with you. Put them in your house, & restore the use of holy water."
According to certain Catholic experts who have studied these apparitions, this message of Mirjana may shed light on the vision Pope Leo XIII had. According to them, it was after having had an apocalyptic vision of the future of the Church that Leo XIII introduced the prayer to Saint Michael, which priests used to recite after Mass up to the time of the Second Vatican Council. These experts say that the century of trials foreseen by Leo XIII is about to end.
Since the apparitions began in 1981, approximately 40 million people of all faiths, from all over the world, have visited Medjugorje & left spiritually strengthened & renewed. Many bring back stories of miracles in the form of healings (of mind, body & spirit), supernatural visual signs, & deep conversions back to God. You owe it to yourself & your loved ones, to investigate with an open mind & heart the messages which are given to us by Our Lady of Medjugorje. Read these messages & decide for yourself how they will affect your life & that of your family.
Our Lady's messages are meant to be assembled like a mosaic. To understand the full meaning & depth of these messages, we need to study all of the messages She has given us over these last 33+ years. "By means of the messages, I wish to make a very beautiful mosaic in your hearts." (November 25, 1989).
Our Lady asked that we continually read, study, & meditate on the messages She has given us. "Little children, read every day the messages I gave you & transform them into life. I love you & this is why I call you to the way of salvation with God." (December 25, 1989).
The technique of teaching Our Lady uses, reeducates us to be Christians. She accomplishes this by walking with us, & guiding us step by step, message by message. Today, many people think it is not important to be a Christian. Others want to live a superficial form of Christianity which is easier or more convenient than living a true Christian life. Our Lady wants to show us through Her messages the real face of Christianity. This is a long process because we as a society have strayed far from the truth & God & are slow to learn. This is true both in & outside the Church. We have to accept being totally reeducated, little by little, by the Mother of God. The problem with mankind is not so much that people have bad intentions; there are plenty of good hearted people. The problem is that we sometimes don't see the truth; we are in darkness, & many of us are just blind. We don't realize we have put ourselves into the hands of satan, because we don't know how to tell the difference between right & wrong. Many of us become an image of satan without even knowing it.
I don't think that anyone could argue, regardless of religious orientation, that today's world is in a state of crisis. All one has to do is read the newspaper or watch television to be see how eroded the morals of our world have become. It is shocking to see & hear examples of terrorism, inhumanity, cruelty, violence, abuse, drugs, war, crime, etc. Much of the world has strayed far from a life centered around God & family. The answers we need to redirect our life can be found by reading & living Our Lady's messages & Scripture. "You are ready to commit sin, & to put yourselves in the hands of satan without reflecting." (May 25, 1987) - "Do not allow satan to gain control of your hearts, so you would be an image of satan & not of me." (January 30, 1986) - "Children, darkness reigns over the whole world. People are attracted by many things & they forget about the more important." - "Light won't reign in the world until people accept Jesus, until they live His words, which is the Word of the Gospel." - "Dear children, this is the reason for my presence among you for such a long time: to lead you on the path of Jesus. I want to save you, & through you, to save the whole world. Many people now live without faith; some don't even want to hear about Jesus, but they still want peace & satisfaction! Children, here is the reason why I need your prayer: Prayer is the only way to save the human race." (July 30, 1987)
We must realize that Satan is real. He uses us for his own end & purposes. His main purpose is destruction. Destruction of love, peace, faith, family, & life. Just as God gave David 5 stones with which to defeat Goliath, Our Lady is also giving us 5 Stones or Weapons we can use to defeat satan. Daily Prayer (Of the Rosary) - Fasting on Wednesdays & Fridays - Daily Reading of the Bible - Monthly Confession - Holy Mass
Perhaps the most well-known and well documented Marian apparition of all comes from a tiny town in Portugal. Between May 12 and October 13 of 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three small children: Servant of God Sister Lucia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos and her two cousins, Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto. Much can be said regarding these apparitions. The numerous messages that Our Lady has given to the three shepherd children has changed the lives of countless people. Numerous popes have written about Our Lady of Fatima, with St. John Paul II having a very strong devotion to her, saying the following during a homily in 1997: “Dear brothers and sisters! Your shrine in Krzeptówki is particularly near and dear to me. In it you honour the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. The history of this shrine is also linked with the event which took place in Saint Peter’s Square on 13 May 1981. At that time I experienced mortal danger and suffering, but also the great mercy of God. By the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima my life was given back to me.”
Over 70,000 eyewitnesses experienced the “Dancing of the Sun” on October 13, which led to many conversions. Our Lady’s call was to pray, particularly to pray the Rosary. The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is celebrated on May 13.
Unlike other apparitions, the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of LaSalette appeared only one time. In 1846, she appeared to two small children tending sheep in the French Alps, eleven year old Maximin Giraud and fourteen-year old Melanie Calvat-Mathieu. They came to a woman sitting, her elbows on her knees, her face buried in her hands, crying. She spoke of the conversion of sinners and of her Son’s displeasure with the many sins and offenses being committed against him. She entrusted two messages to the children, calling for Christians to respect the Holy Name of Jesus, and to keep the Sabbath Day holy by refraining from work. On the 150th anniversary of the apparition, Pope St. John Paul II wrote to the Bishop of Grenoble: “LaSalette is a message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of mankind.”
A canonical coronation was bestowed upon the Blessed Mother’s image at the Basilica of Our Lady of LaSalette by Pope Leo XIII on August 21, 1879. The Feast of Our Lady of LaSalette is commemorated each year on September 19.
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”
During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.
One of the most well-known throughout both the Catholic & secular world. In 1531, St. Juan Diego received visions of Our Lady on a hill near Mexico City. The site used to house a pagan temple where human sacrifice was conducted. Our Lady instructed St. Juan Diego to go to the Bishop of Mexico, ask him to build a church on the very spot our Lady had appeared. When St. Juan Diego first sought out Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, the bishop asked for a sign. Our Lady again appeared to St. Juan Diego, and when he returned to the bishop, he unfolded his tilma, revealing not only flowers that were out of season, but also a miraculous image, we now know as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on the fabric.
Despite nearly five centuries old, the tilma has shown no sign of degradation. The miraculous image is still venerated by scores of pilgrims each year. On October 12, 1895, Pope Leo XIII led a canonical coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and she has been recognized as the patroness of the Americas, and Mexico in particular. The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe falls yearly on December 12, the final day she appeared to St. Juan Diego.
What sets apart this Marian apparition from the others is that not only was Our Lady seen by eyewitnesses, but so were other saints. Also, this apparition does not contain any locutions or particular messages. Most Americans are more familiar with this apparition as opposed to others, but despite this, it’s another apparition we don’t hear about often. On the evening of August 21, 1879 in the village of Knock, Ireland, fifteen people of various ages saw an altar with a cross above it. Upon that altar was the Paschal Lamb, and next to the altar were St. Joseph, St. John the Apostle, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. None of the figures spoke a word, and eyewitnesses stayed on the spot praying the Rosary for the two hours that the apparitions remained. Another miraculous event that took place concerned the weather. During these two hours, there was rainfall. However, the ground around the apparition site remained dry throughout. St. John Paul II visited the shrine of the apparition on the miracle’s one-hundredth anniversary. The Feast of Our Lady of Knock is celebrated August 21.
This apparition is not as widely known in North America, and is also known as the “Virgin of the Golden Heart”. Our Lady appeared to five children thirty-three times between November of 1932 and January of 1933. Our Lady, in Belgium, appeared dressed completely in white, asking the children to “pray, pray, pray” for the conversion of sinners, and for the building of a chapel, desiring people go on pilgrimage. She identified herself as “the Immaculate Virgin”, on the day of her last appearance, she revealed to the children her golden heart, which is where her nickname originates. The last visionary, Gilberte Degeimbre, died just over three years ago, and her simple witness to the gospel and to Our Lady’s directives should be an example to all Catholics. Veneration to Our Lady under this title was approved by Pope Pius XII in 1949. The feast of Our Lady of Beauraing is celebrated August 22, the traditional date of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.