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49. The salvation of the world began through Mary and through
her it must be accomplished. Mary scarcely appeared in the
first coming of Jesus Christ so that men, as yet
insufficiently instructed and enlightened concerning the
person of her Son, might not wander from the truth by becoming
too strongly attached to her. This would apparently have
happened if she had been known, on account of the wondrous
charms with which Almighty God had endowed even her outward
appearance. So true is this that St. Denis the Areopagite
tells us in his writings that when he saw her he would have
taken her for a goddess, because of her incomparable beauty,
had not his well-grounded faith taught him otherwise. But in
the second coming of Jesus Christ, Mary must be known and
openly revealed by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus may be known,
loved and served through her. The reasons which moved the Holy
Spirit to hide his spouse during her life and to reveal but
very little of her since the first preaching of the gospel
exist no longer.
1) God wishes to make Mary better known in the latter times.
50. God wishes therefore to reveal Mary, his masterpiece, and
make her more known in these latter times:
- Because she kept herself hidden in this world and in
her great humility considered herself lower than dust, having
obtained from God, his apostles and evangelists the favour of
being made known.
- Because, as Mary is not only God's masterpiece of
glory in heaven, but also his masterpiece of grace on earth,
he wishes to be glorified and praised because of her by those
living upon earth.
- Since she is the dawn which precedes and discloses
the Sun of Justice Jesus Christ, she must be known and
acknowledged so that Jesus may be known and acknowledged.
- As she was the way by which Jesus first came to us,
she will again be the way by which he will come to us the
second time though not in the same manner.
- Since she is the sure means, the direct and
immaculate way to Jesus and the perfect guide to him, it is
through her that souls who are to shine forth in sanctity must
find him. He who finds Mary finds life, that is, Jesus Christ
who is the way, the truth and the life. But no one can find
Mary who does not look for her. No one can look for her who
does not know her, for no one seeks or desires something
unknown. Mary then must be better known than ever for the
deeper understanding and the greater glory of the Blessed
Trinity.
- In these latter times Mary must shine forth more than
ever in mercy, power and grace; in mercy, to bring back and
welcome lovingly the poor sinners and wanderers who are to be
converted and return to the Catholic Church; in power, to
combat the enemies of God who will rise up menacingly to
seduce and crush by promises and threats all those who oppose
them; finally, she must shine forth in grace to inspire and
support the valiant soldiers and loyal servants of Jesus
Christ who are fighting for his cause.
- Lastly, Mary must become as terrible as an army in
battle array to the devil and his followers, especially in
these latter times. For Satan, knowing that he has little time
- even less now than ever - to destroy souls, intensifies his
efforts and his onslaughts every day. He will not hesitate to
stir up savage persecutions and set treacherous snares for
Mary's faithful servants and children whom he finds more
difficult to overcome than others.
51. It is chiefly in reference to these last wicked
persecutions of the devil, daily increasing until the advent
of the reign of anti-Christ, that we should understand that
first and well-known prophecy and curse of God uttered against
the serpent in the garden of paradise. It is opportune to
explain it here for the glory of the Blessed Virgin, the
salvation of her children and the confusion of the devil. "I
will place enmities between you and the woman, between your
race and her race; she will crush your head and you will lie
in wait for her heel" (Gen. 3:15).
52. God has established only one enmity - but it is an
irreconcilable one - which will last and even go on increasing
to the end of time. That enmity is between Mary, his worthy
Mother, and the devil, between the children and the servants
of the Blessed Virgin and the children and followers of
Lucifer.
Thus the most fearful enemy that God has set up against
the devil is Mary, his holy Mother. From the time of the
earthly paradise, although she existed then only in his mind,
he gave her such a hatred for his accursed enemy, such
ingenuity in exposing the wickedness of the ancient serpent
and such power to defeat, overthrow and crush this proud
rebel, that Satan fears her not only more than angels and men
but in a certain sense more than God himself. This does not
mean that the anger, hatred and power of God are not
infinitely greater than the Blessed Virgin's, since her
attributes are limited. It simply means that Satan, being so
proud, suffers infinitely more in being vanquished and
punished by a lowly and humble servant of God, for her
humility humiliates him more than the power of God. Moreover,
God has given Mary such great power over the evil spirits
that, as they have often been forced unwillingly to admit
through the lips of possessed persons, they fear one of her
pleadings for a soul more than the prayers of all the saints,
and one of her threats more than all their other torments.
53. What Lucifer lost by pride Mary won by humility. What Eve
ruined and lost by disobedience Mary saved by obedience. By
obeying the serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as
herself and delivered them up to him. Mary by her perfect
fidelity to God saved her children with herself and
consecrated them to his divine majesty.
54. God has established not just one enmity but "enmities",
and not only between Mary and Satan but between her race and
his race. That is, God has put enmities, antipathies and
hatreds between the true children and servants of the Blessed
Virgin and the children and slaves of the devil. They have no
love and no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial,
the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world, - for they are
all one and the same - have always persecuted and will
persecute more than ever in the future those who belong to the
Blessed Virgin, just as Cain of old persecuted his brother
Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob. These are the types of the
wicked and of the just. But the humble Mary will always
triumph over Satan, the proud one, and so great will be her
victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his
pride. She will unmask his serpent's cunning and expose his
wicked plots. She will scatter to the winds his devilish plans
and to the end of time will keep her faithful servants safe
from his cruel claws.
But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially
shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait
for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor
children whom she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes
of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel,
lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the
heel by the other parts of the body. But in compensation for
this they will be rich in God's graces, which will be
abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and
exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all
creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be
supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they
will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their
humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ.
2) Devotion to Mary is especially necessary in the latter
times.
55. Finally, God in these times wishes his Blessed Mother to
be more known, loved and honoured than she has ever been. This
will certainly come about if the elect, by the grace and light
of the Holy Spirit, adopt the interior and perfect practice of
the devotion which I shall later unfold. Then they will
clearly see that beautiful Star of the Sea, as much as faith
allows. Under her guidance they will perceive the splendours
of this Queen and will consecrate themselves entirely to her
service as subjects and slaves of love. They will experience
her motherly kindness and affection for her children. They
will love her tenderly and will appreciate how full of
compassion she is and how much they stand in need of her help.
In all circumstances they will have recourse to her as their
advocate and mediatrix with Jesus Christ. They will see
clearly that she is the safest, easiest, shortest and most
perfect way of approaching Jesus and will surrender themselves
to her, body and soul, without reserve in order to belong
entirely to Jesus.
56. But what will they be like, these servants, these slaves,
these children of Mary?
They will be ministers of the Lord who, like a flaming
fire, will enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love. They
will become, in Mary's powerful hands, like sharp arrows, with
which she will transfix her enemies.
They will be as the children of Levi, thoroughly purified
by the fire of great tribulations and closely joined to God.
They will carry the gold of love in their heart, the
frankincense of prayer in their mind and the myrrh of
mortification in their body. They will bring to the poor and
lowly everywhere the sweet fragrance of Jesus, but they will
bring the odour of death to the great, the rich and the proud
of this world.
57. They will be like thunder-clouds flying through the air
at the slightest breath of the Holy Spirit. Attached to
nothing, surprised at nothing, troubled at nothing, they will
shower down the rain of God's word and of eternal life. They
will thunder against sin, they will storm against the world,
they will strike down the devil and his followers and for life
and for death, they will pierce through and through with the
two-edged sword of God's word all those against whom they are
sent by Almighty God.
58. They will be true apostles of the latter times to whom
the Lord of Hosts will give eloquence and strength to work
wonders and carry off glorious spoils from his enemies. They
will sleep without gold or silver and, more important still,
without concern in the midst of other priests, ecclesiastics
and clerics. Yet they will have the silver wings of the dove
enabling them to go wherever the Holy Spirit calls them,
filled as they are with the resolve to seek the glory of God
and the salvation of souls. Wherever they preach, they will
leave behind them nothing but the gold of love, which is the
fulfilment of the whole law.
59. Lastly, we know they will be true disciples of Jesus
Christ, imitating his poverty, his humility, his contempt of
the world and his love. They will point out the narrow way to
God in pure truth according to the holy Gospel, and not
according to the maxims of the world. Their hearts will not be
troubled, nor will they show favour to anyone; they will not
spare or heed or fear any man, however powerful he may be.
They will have the two-edged sword of the word of God in their
mouths and the blood-stained standard of the Cross on their
shoulders. They will carry the crucifix in their right hand
and the rosary in their left, and the holy names of Jesus and
Mary on their heart. The simplicity and self-sacrifice of
Jesus will be reflected in their whole behaviour.
Such are the great men who are to come. By the will of
God Mary is to prepare them to extend his rule over the
impious and unbelievers. But when and how will this come
about? Only God knows. For our part we must yearn and wait for
it in silence and in prayer: "I have waited and waited."
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