Mary, the Mother of Jesus
No Biblical figure attract the kind of devotion that the Virgin Mary attains and her image flourishes among many of the Catholic faithful. Mary's virginity stems from the belief that she had no children after Jesus and remained a virgin throughout her life. The follower of Christanity appreciate the blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the history of salvation. Mary was a disciple of Christ before she was his mother, for had she not believed, she would not have conceived.

Her name was Mary, a form of the name Miriam, the famous sister of Moses. The name was common among Jewish women in those days. A well-known tradition says she was born in Jerusalem, the daughter of Joachim and Ann. Other early sources say Mary was born in Nazareth. Wherever she was born, Mary's life most likely unfolded in the staunch Jewish settlement of Nazareth in the hills of Galilee, not far from the important caravan routes linking Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Mary was not merely the point of Christ's entrance into the world but also acted as the channel through which he tried to revolutionized the world with his message. She was the mother who cared for the physical needs of Jesus the boy, nursed him, nurtured and taught him the ways of the Lord. Doubtless she was the one who taught him to pray, as he grew in wisdom and stature.

People have invoked her, trusted in her mercy and sought to appease Christ through her.

She deserves to be called blessed, for God has accorded her a singular distinction, to prepare his son for the world, in whom she was spiritually reborn. She is called blessed not because of her virginity or even her humility, but because she was chosen as the person and place where God's glory would enter most deeply into the human story.

I found this on my computer.

Love and God bless      Love Juditha

That's lovely.  Thank you so much for sharing.

Asking the Blessed Mother to intercede for you about something is the most powerful intercession of all.

Hi  Kate thanks for what you wrote


Asking the Blessed Mother to intercede for you about something is the most powerful intercession of all.

I agree with you

Love and God bless     Love Juditha

I often talk to the blessed mother and i know she listens i have a lovely picture of mary holding baby jesus on my bedroom wall love deanna

I once had a dream where I visited a school with a lady. Summer vacation had just ended.  We entered a building on an upper floor (4th or 5th floor). The girls were very happy to see this lady again.  They really loved her. Then we went to the opposite end of the building after traveling through an L shaped hallway, and the girls in that classroom were also very happy to see this lady again. I stood in the hallway as she stood in the entranceway of the hallway, because I didn't want people to make the mistake and think I was with her as a date.  For some reason I needed to be with her.

When I woke up the thought "Virgin Mary" came into my mind really strong.

Dear Juditha,

As a Protestant, I don't believe in Mary's perpetual virginity.  Let me offer 4 reasons why:

(1) Belief in Mary's perpetual virginity cannot be traced back earlier than the mid-second century AD.  This belief first surfaces in the Proto-Gospel of James, which is not generally deemed historically reliable.  

(2) In the Bible Luke calls Jesus Mary's "first-born Son (2:7)."  The word "first-born" implies that Mary had other children as well.  

(3) Mark tells us that Jesus had 4 brothers---James, Joses, Judas, and Simon"-- and an unnamed number of sisters (Mark 6:3).  The Greek word for "brothers" here cannot mean "cousin" or anything but "blood-brothers" in this context.

(4) Matthew says that Joseph "kept her a virgin UNTIL she gave birth to a Son (Jesus--Matthew 1:23)"  The word "until" implies that Mary lost her virginity through marital sex after Jesus' birth.

Jesus objects when people get too carried away with exalting His mother:
"One of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, `Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!'  But He said:
`On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it (Luke 11:27-28)."

That said, I agree with your high view of Mary, Juditha.  The evidence for Mary's apparitions throughout the ages is as impressive as the best of New Age evidence for an afterlife.   Rob Roy from this site has, like myself, experienced Mary's presence.   In the next few days, I will post some of the most famous Marian apparitions on your thread.  They are very inspiring and I hope you are blessed by them.  I will post one a day, beginning tomorrow.

Don

Hi Don Thanks for what you have written to me,and i also agree with you that Mary had other children  and i look so forward to seeing the most famous marian apparations,what you are going to put on.

God love and bless you Don       Love Juditha

Hi Recoverer I think its lovely the experience you had with The blessed mother Mary.She has touched many lives and still does.


Love and God bless you        Love Juditha

I also agree that Mary had children after Jesus.   :)

Recoverer, thanks for sharing your dream.  She comes to us in many ways/forms but one always knows it's her by her love and peace.  What an awesome dream.  :o

Katie

Your welcome to the thank yous I received.

Quite obviously the Virgin Mary is a being of light now. There was probably something special about her when she lived on this planet, considering the child she had the responsibility of raising.

To me it doesn't make a difference if she was a virgin when she conceived Jesus. Who he was/is wasn't created by a body. A body is just something he just used for a while.

(1) The appearances of the Virgin Mary to an Indian, Juan Diego, at Guadalupe (Mexico) in 1531 established as a tenet of the Roman Catholic Church that Mary is a living presence in the world today and that throughout history she has intervened in human affairs by appearing to selected mortals.  The Marian apparition correctly foretold that Juan's dying uncle would miraculously recover from his grave illness.  Flowers miraculously appeared at the site of her visitation.  The portrait of Mary spontaneously appeered on Juan Diego's mantle.

This miracle seems similar to deceased Nellie's materialization of a pretty flower as a gift to he daugher, Rea--a flower that was preserved in an album.  I have quoted from Rev. Howell Vincent's eyewtness account of Nellie's prolonged visit to family members and her passing of  this ethereal flower to her daughter.  Vincent is a relative of one of Roger's co-workers.   Roger is a member of this site.   One of my public prophecies lead to the independent materialization of two mother's rings to their sons.  I will post this story in detail on my thread ADCs vs. Memory loss.  

By speaking to Juan in his native language and calling for a srhine on Indian soil, Mary demonstrates that she has adopted these native folk and become their mother.  These apparitions at Guadalupe prevented a bloodly civil war between the native Indians and the Spanish conquerors.  The early conquistadors understood their New World conquests on behalf of the Spanish and Portuguese as proceeding under Mary's protection.  But because of Guadalupe, the leaders of later independence struggles could, conversely, understand their Marian devotion as "one of the most powerful weapons for winning autonomy for their countries."

Don

So this is where Our Lady of Guadelupe came from?

I'd never heard the story before.  Amazing!

(2) On January 17, 1871, during the Franco-German [Prussian] War, Mary appeared in Pontmain, France to Eugene (age 12) of the Barbadette family.  Her hands were lowered and spread as in supplication.  Wearing a blue robe with golden stars, she was hovering about 20 feet above a neighbor's house.  The resulting commotion brought Eugene's parents to the scene, but they saw nothing.  Yet their youngest son, Joseph (age 10) excitedly reported seeing the apparition and his description of Mary perfectly matched Eugene's.  Their parents thought they were lying and punished them.  

When they frantically persisted with their story, their parents brought a nun to the scene.  The nun saw nothing herself, but then brought two young girls from the convent to the scene without telling them why.  Without any prompting, they both excitedly offered a detailed description of the apparition identical to that of the two boys!  Other children brought to the scene also saw Mary.  

Now Mary's facial expression changed from joy to sorrow and these words formed under her: "But pray, God will hear your prayers in a short time.  My Son allows Himself to be moved."  Despite being separated now by the townsfolk, the children all saw the same words!  Just then, one of the villagers rushed up to the crowds and announced that Prussian troops were marching towards Pontmain.  The townsfolk prayed for protection and the Prossian troops inexplicably turned back.   The Franco-Prussian War ended shortly thereafter.

Don

THE SEVEN SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows was first celebrated in 1244 A.D. as a devotion and meditation of the seven founders of the Servite Order, to help focus attention on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The times of deep pain in Mary's life were:

1. The prophecy of Simeon at the temple
Mary was told when her son was 40 days old that he would die attempting to bring redemption to the people of Israel, and that her soul would be pierced by a dagger.


2. The flight into Egypt
To escape the ire of King Herod, and his attempt to kill Jesus by ordering the slaughter of all male children under two years of age, Mary, Joseph and the child fled into Egypt, guided by an Angel.


3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
When The Holy Family visited the Temple, Jesus disappeared and for three days, while he talked with the elders and priests, his mother could not find him.


4. The meeting of Jesus and his Mother on the Way of the Cross
Mary watched her son struggle to carry the cross to the site of his execution, his face streaked with blood from the crown of thorns, his body cut and bleeding and so weak, he fell under the weight.


5. The crucifixion
Helpless, grieving and alone, Mary stood nearby as her son was nailed to the wood, suffered and died.


6. The taking down of the body of Jesus from the cross
In her pain and sorrow, Mary received the broken body of her son.


7. The burial of Jesus
Hurrying to complete the task before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath, Mary, with a few friends, tended to the practicalities of the burial of Christ in a borrowed grave.

Hi Don That was a really great read of the apparition of the blessed mother Mary,thanks for putting it on here.I wondered what your veiw of the seven sorrows of Mary is.

      Love and God bless     Love Juditha

(3) In 1858 a girl, Bernadette, Sourbirous--began seeing apparitions of a young woman in white above a grotto near Lourdes.  The woman promised her salvation if she would return to pray and receive apparitions for the  next 15 days.  Her mother and aunt both warned her that she was seeing an illusion.  Huge crowds soon came to witness her candle vigils near the grotto.  On Feb. 25 the crowd watched as she crawled on her hands and knees to the back of the grotto where she dug in the ground and uncovered some muddy water.  She drank some of it and smeared some on her face.  She later reported that the apparition directed her to drink and wash in the water.  Leter that day witnesses dug deeper and found a spring there.  On March 2 the lady in white directed her to tell the priests to  build a chapel there for people to visit in processions.  

On March 4 witnesses observed Bernadette breathe on Eugenie Troy and restore her sight.  Others  reported that she had healed another child's paralyzed arm.  To discourage her growing reputation as a wonder-worker, Bernadette later told town officials that she touched children only because relatives or friends asked her to do so and she did not think she had healed anyone.  God performed the healing!  On March 25 she repeatedly asked the apparition to reveal her identity and was finally told: "I am the Immaculate Conception," a Catholic title for Mary.  On April 7 a previously skeptical Dr. Dozous witnessed her candle's flame continually brushing her hand without burning her and without her being aware of it.  He widely proclaimed this "prodigious event."  By mid-April, a channel was dug for the spring and a zinc basin with 3 spigots was installed.  From then on, there was a dramatic increase in alleged healings attributed to the spring.  In mid-April, various groups of women received apparitions of the Virgin.  The most reputable and pious of these, Marie Courech, was told by the Virgin: "Drink 3 times from the water," or "Wash yourself in the water,"and "It is here that I will distribute my graces."  Stories like these have spectacularly enhanced the popularity of modern pilgrimages to Lourdes in quiest of healing. Some of these healings have been verified by doctors as absolutely miraculous.

Don  

Don wrote:

"Rob Roy from this site has, like myself, experienced Mary's presence."

That's correct. Recently she channel a transcript of what she said to me in that meeting, as I was at a different focus level, had at that time very limited awareness, and didn't remember what she told me.

Hail Mary, full of PUL, blessed are thou among women, and blessed art we in the Grace of thy presence.

BTW. according to guidance she's an Ascended Master. Her son Jesus is as close to Source as it's possible to be and therefore to say He's God is both accurate and inaccurate.

She started me on my (never-ending) journey to full awareness and gave me my first experience of PUL. PUL from an AM is nothing like anything one can experience from a human (physical) person.

Love,
Rob

BTW she, in her humility, prefers to be thought of as an ordinary person, like us. Can't quite help but praise her a bit anyway.

Hi Kate Recoverer Don and Rob   My sister Deanna wants to take her son John to Lourdes as our faith in Mary, tells us both that John will be cured there.

John is autistic.

Love and God bless      Love Juditha

Juditha,

I hope very, very much she will be able to take him.  That would be an amazing trip.

About 10 years ago my cousin went to Prague, to the site where the apparitions of the Virgin Mary appeared way back when.  She said there were many people there praying when she visited the hillside and that it was extremely moving.  I can't even imagine.  I think she brought back a couple of containers of holy water and my Mom most probably has one somewhere.

Anyway, please keep us informed if and when Deanna will take John to Lourdes.

Love,
Katie

Rob:

I recently asked my guidance about Jesus and one time I received "How would you set things up if you were God," and another time "What are you?" Or in other words, guidance didn't want to tell me, it wanted me to figure things out. I ended up coming up with an answer that basically matches yours.

I'm not certain, but my feeling is that Jesus didn't get to where he is without working for it. It makes sense that an example such as him would go through the same thing we have to go through before we reunite with God.


[quote author=Rob_Roy link=1169028986/15#15 date=1169431039]Don wrote:

"Rob Roy from this site has, like myself, experienced Mary's presence."


BTW. according to guidance she's an Ascended Master. Her son Jesus is as close to Source as it's possible to be and therefore to say He's God is both accurate and inaccurate.

Recoverer,

"I recently asked my guidance about Jesus and one time I received "How would you set things up if you were God," and another time "What are you?" Or in other words, guidance didn't want to tell me, it wanted me to figure things out. I ended up coming up with an answer that basically matches yours."

Yes, sometimes Guidance does that to me too. They also tend refuse to answer or ignore ego-based questions as well. And when making inquiries of a particular person, that individual's guide(s) may block answering and even ascended masters will honor that. It's interesting what you can learn and what you can't. Timing and one's spiritual disposition seem to be factored in too.

"I'm not certain, but my feeling is that Jesus didn't get to where he is without working for it. It makes sense that an example such as him would go through the same thing we have to go through before we reunite with God."

I'm not 100% sure either because I haven't asked that particular question, but I think your inference is the only viable conclusion.  Given his development and his closeness to Source, I think we can better understand when we hear He's "fully human and fully divine". It's sad that his teachings have been distorted by deletions, interpolations, and mountains of complex theologies that have little to do with PUL, furthering the confusing the difference between religion and pure spirituality. Ditto for the teachings of other AMs who brought higher awareness to this planet.

Love,
Rob

"Hi Kate Recoverer Don and Rob   My sister Deanna wants to take her son John to Lourdes as our faith in Mary, tells us both that John will be cured there.

John is autistic."

I can't speak of Lourdes, having never been there and having never made any inquiries about it. I consider it Her business and beyond the scope of my concern. As for faith, that is completely subjective. I can't speak to that either, other than to say that in situations like this faith is closely related to setting intention. And from what I hear, the energy in Lourdes is quite strong. As for their life plans, the intentions of their higher selves and their guides, I can't speak to that, either. I wish them the best and hope that what ever they do, it turns out to be for their highest good. You can ask Mary to intercede, but please understand that She will do what is for the highest good, and what's best for John and Deanna. The reasoning of ascended masters is not our reasoning.

Love,
Rob

Hi Rob When i put this on here about John and my sister Deanna i didnt ask you to be concerned and i thought on here this is were everyone talks about things ,like what your always quoteing Pul, but seems like your  like a lot more out there in the world plenty to say and nothing to back it with.

Same as when i gave spooky that reading on here ,you were the one who had to say i was writing personal stuff about him,but then i put that down to jealousy of me being a medium and your not.

My sister Deanna and John are my concern anyway,so go swivel in the grass roots of calcutta.

You want to practise some of the PUL you go on about.

Love Juditha

Juditha:

Perhaps I shouldn't be a Budinsky, but I don't get the feeling that Rob was trying to be negative. He's like me. I don't know what the story behind Lourdes is. I haven't looked into it. I agree that the Virgin Mary will help in the manner she considers appropriate. I believe that her viewpoint transcends our viewpoint.






wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2007 at 3:25pm:

Hi Rob When i put this on here about John and my sister Deanna i didnt ask you to be concerned and i thought on here this is were everyone talks about things ,like what your always quoteing Pul, but seems like your  like a lot more out there in the world plenty to say and nothing to back it with. Same as when i gave spooky that reading on here ,you were the one who had to say i was writing personal stuff about him,but then i put that down to jealousy of me being a medium and your not. My sister Deanna and John are my concern anyway,so go swivel in the grass roots of calcutta. You want to practise some of the PUL you go on about. Love Juditha

Isecond that juditha he should go swivel in the long grass of calcutta ha-ha love your sis deanna

Hi Recoverer I agree with you about lourdes but he said about it not being his concern, i wasnt looking for his so called concern,my sister knows i put this on here so he need not say about it being her buisness,and he started on me when i put that message for spooky on and i  put him right then and if hes big enough to write that to me then hes big enough to take what i write back.

He goes on about pul,but rarely ever practises it on here,i dont care about his feelings,he didnt care about mine.

Love and God bless     Love Juditha

[recoverer: ] "I'm not certain, but my feeling is that Jesus didn't get to where he is without working for it. It makes sense that an example such as him would go through the same thing we have to go through before we reunite with God. "
_________________________________________________________________

Yes, the New Testament supports your insight, but the church sadly downplays Jesus' acceptance of all our human limitations.  Christ "emptied" Himself of all His divine prerogatives to become fully human (Philippians 2:7).  This self-emptying means that the earthly Jesus was limited in His knowledge (Mark 13:32).  "Jesus kept increasing in wisdom...and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52)."  Luke implies that Christ subjected Himself to a human phase in which He was deficient in wisdom and divine favor.  His unfertainty about the future sometimes filled him with anxiety: "While Jesus was here on Earth, He offered prayers and pleadings with loud cries and tears to the One who could deliver Him out of death.  And God heard His prayers because of His godly reverence (Hebrews 5:7)."  In the agony of His crucifixion, Jesus has moments of doubt: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me (Mark 15:34)?"  

As a young carpenter, He seems to have performed no miracles.  Apparently, He was unable to restore his step-father Joseph's life, when Joseph died at a young age.  Jesus needed His anointing by the Holy Spirit at His baptism before He was empowered with His healing and messianic ministry.  

Jesus had to learn by trial-and-error just as we do:  "Altough He was a Son [of God, He learned obedience form the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8)."  Thus, He felt the need to accept John's baptism of repentance.  But one must not equate the maturation process with sin.  Jesus remained sinless in the sense that none of His early mistakes separated Him from His experience of unity with God.  Christ needed to embrace all our limitations to serve as our genuine example:

"This high priest of ours [Jesus] can empathize with our weaknesses; for He was tested on all points just as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15)."

Don

Hi robroy you know nothing about what my beautiful son john has had to suffer in his life ,i know the mother mary would want to cure my son john he is a very loving person he deserves to be cured of this autism so he can have a life of his own ,which is every human beings right from the moment they are born ,my john cannot have this priveledge at the moment because he has to be supervised 24/7 ,he loves motorbikes ,he would dearly love to ride one on the road but he cannot because of his autism ,he would love to have a girlfriend ,he would love to be able to go out on his own but theses things are restricted because of his autism ,i will take john to lourdes i have been thinking about it for a while i have my faith in lourdes  deanna

Juditha and Deanna,

"Hi Rob When i put this on here about John and my sister Deanna i didnt ask you to be concerned and i thought on here this is were everyone talks about things ,like what your always quoteing Pul, but seems like your  like a lot more out there in the world plenty to say and nothing to back it with."

You're right, you didn't ask me personally to be concerned. You asked EVERYONE, including me, to be concerned when you posted on this public board. There are all the board members and an untold number of lurkers who could have responded. Few did. Many care. Why did you respond with personal attacks, insults, anger and abuse? These are all fear-based. And you know that Love and fear cannot coexist. So no matter how you took what I said, you should not have responded the way you did. And how you respond is completely your choice and your responsibility. You could have used your understanding of PUL and your life experience to respond differently, but you chose not to.

"Same as when i gave spooky that reading on here ,you were the one who had to say i was writing personal stuff about him,but then i put that down to jealousy of me being a medium and your not."

I'm more intuitive than you think. I took a long break from posting on this board. Guidance prompted me to respond to your post.

BTW, mediumistic ability is NOT as sign of high spiritual awareness and advancement. Some people are born with gifts or discover or develop them later in life. That doesn't mean they're necessarily ahead of their peers. If anything it's even more of a challenge for them to handle. And from what I see from you're response, you're not handling it too well. And I have absolutely no problem with anyone being a medium or not. I have my own abilities which I don't need to brag about on this board.

I'll put this in easy to understand Christian terms: "Thy will by done." It's not up to me or anyone else to decide whether or not John gets cured. That's up to God, and between the soul of John and God. Our judgement is not greater than God's. Even John can't say what's best for him because his awareness is limited. But God knows. Perhaps you should trust in God and not in fear-based thinking. Did you believe that Mary would, even for an instant, go against the will of God? This I know from direct personal experience: She would NEVER have misread what I wrote like you did and she would NEVER respond as you two did. You've asked for her intercession. Maybe She will, maybe She won't, depends on the will of God. Your faith is in God and what He sees as best, trusting that whatever happens is in His hands and for the highest good.

"My sister Deanna and John are my concern anyway,so go swivel in the grass roots of calcutta. Isecond that juditha he should go swivel in the long grass of calcutta ha-ha"

You think this is an insult? Millions in Calcutta would disagree, as I think would Mother Theresa were she still there. I would LOVE to go see Calcutta and "swivel" in the grass.

"You want to practise some of the PUL you go on about."

I am.

I have been responsive to your plight, been truthful, and done so without fear-based thinking. I apologize for the pain this has caused you. This is what guidance wanted me to convey to you.

"Hi robroy you know nothing about what my beautiful son john has had to suffer in his life ,i know the mother mary would want to cure my son john he is a very loving person he deserves to be cured of this autism so he can have a life of his own ,which is every human beings right from the moment they are born ,my john cannot have this priveledge at the moment because he has to be supervised 24/7 ,he loves motorbikes ,he would dearly love to ride one on the road but he cannot because of his autism ,he would love to have a girlfriend ,he would love to be able to go out on his own but theses things are restricted because of his autism ,i will take john to lourdes i have been thinking about it for a while i have my faith in lourdes"

I also have a son who is autistic.

Your faith is in God, not in Lourdes, not even in Mary.

Love,
Rob

Hi robroy surely you must understand how i feel then with you having an autistic son as well ,how old is he ?,how is he getting on bless him ,my son is 21 yrs old  love deanna

(4) At Fatima, Portugal on  May 13, 1917, 3 illiterate young siblings were tending sheep when, frightened by a lightning bolt, they ran down the slope and suddenly saw a dazzling apparition of a woman within the foliage of an oak tree.  She assured the children that they would go to heaven, informed them about the spiritual fate of several recenetly deceased Fatima villagers, and warned them that they would suffer much in the coming months.  She asked them to return there on the 13th of every month for 6 months and promised that she would reveal her identity on October 13.  In her excitement, Jacinta broke her agreement with Lucia and Francesco to keep the vision a secret.   Their mother accused them of lying and they were constantly mocked by the skeptical townsfolk.  

On July 13, Mary urged Lucia to pray daily for the War to end, promised to heal several of Fatima's sick people if Lucia would fervently pray for them, and promised to perform a miracle for the witnesses on October 13.  Mary also imparted several secrets to Lucia.

Political officials eventually had the children abducted, brutally questioned, and threatened with death if they refused to retract their claims.  Still, nono of the children would admit they had lied.  Their abduction forced them to miss their appointment with the woman on August 13.  When the children arrived at the oak tree on Sept. 13, 30.000 people, including an important Catholic official, saw the sun dim at noon so that stars were clearly visible, an orb of light glide towards the tree and then settle in it, and a rain of white flower petals which disappeared before they hit the ground.  A photograph of this rain of petals was taken and published.  It caused a great sensation  and persuaded legions of skeptics.  

On October 13, the woman revealed her identity to Lucia as Our lady of the Rosary.  She granted the children a series of visions.  Lucia then cried out for everyone vto look at the sun.  Suddenly most of the 70,000 present saw tke clouds part and a huge bright silver disk  (which everyone took to be the sun) float in the sky, gyrate, and throw off colored flames in all directions.  The disk then began to plunge towards the earth, creating  such intense heat that that the crowd of 70,000 (including countless atheists)  began to panic.  After about 12 minutes, the disk suddenly stopped and returned to the sky.  Oddly, people witnessed the miracle as far away as 24 miles, and yet, at least 2 women present at the sight saw nothing.

Catholics have been particularly impressed by several secrets disclosed to Lucia during her various apparitions.  In 1927 Lucia revealed that Mary had informed her in 1917 that Francesco and Jacinta would soon die and join her in Heaven.  The two children died of influenza in 1919-1920.  Lucia then disclosed more secrets revealed to her by Mary in 1917:

:The War [WW1] is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI.  When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famines, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father."

This amounts to a prediction of the imminent end of World War 1 and the start of World War II.  Shortly before the Nazi invasion of Austria, an unprecedented spectacular display of aurora borealis could be seen all over Europe.  Many Catholics also see Mary's next disclosure as a prediction of the rise, dominance, and fall of Russian Communism:

"to prevent this, I [Mary] shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays.  If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church...Various nations will be annihilated.  In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.  The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world."      

Don

Deanna,

"Hi robroy surely you must understand how i feel then with you having an autistic son as well ,how old is he ?,how is he getting on bless him ,my son is 21 yrs old  love deanna"

He is 14. He has problems, but this *issue* is what he chose for this life. I try to be mindful and respectful of this, knowing that the highest good of him and those around him are being served by this disability. His guides are mindful of this as well, of course. They have blocked me from knowing why he choose this and where's its heading for him. While he IS my son, I don't own him, they have reminded me. He is a separate soul here for reasons of his own (of course). My relationship with him is limited because his mother has custody, as was planned before we all came down here. My biggest concern is that I love him as best I can and assist him in the manner that he anticipated when he choose me to be his father. The rest is out of my hands and frankly none of my business.

While he choose me to be his father, I also chose him to be my son. It does nobody any good for me to blame him, God, myself, or anyone else for his condition or for not being as sympathetic as I think they should be. He chose this condition and we chose each other. We can only do our best, proceed with simple trust, have the patience to just let things unfold, and to grow as we go. And to listen to Guidance.  

My best to you, your sister, and John.

Love,
Rob

Hi Rob My best to you and your son as well.

Love and God bless    Love Juditha

mY BEST TO YOU AS WELL ROBROY AND YOUR LOVELY SON LOTS OF LOVE DEANNA GOD BLESS

Thank you both.

(5) The most renowned apparitions of Mary in the modern era are those experienced by 6 children from Medjugorje in Bosnia beginning in 1981.  Ivanka (age 15) and Mirjana (16) suddenly saw a beautiful brightly-lit woman on a hill holding an infant whom she was uncovering to show them.  They fled in terror and told their teenage friends.   These 6 curious children returned to the hill: “In front of us we could see a big wall of light....We thought the hill was going to melt.  We ran away.”  After running 30 meters, they turned and saw that the light was moving from their hill to the cross on top of Cross Mountain.  From behind the Light began to emerge a woman of such beauty that her presence was almost blinding.  The teens ran further away and  turned again and tried to focus on her.  By now, they thought she was “clothed with the sun.”  They saw her beckon to them with arms extended and heard her calling to them.  Fear now overwhelmed them and they ran home.  

Word spread like wildfire and the next day almost the whole village was present at the hill. The 6 children went into a deep trance as a luminescent Mary again appeared.   Vicka, 1 of the 6, prayed and, on the precautionary advice of a priest,  sprinkled holy water in the sign of the cross, saying “If you are Satan, go away from us!”   The woman’s smile now radiated with an intensely pure love.  She replied: “Do not be afraid, dear angels.  I am the Mother of God.  I am the Queen of Peace.  I am the Mother of all people.”  Only the 6 visionaries saw Mary.  But the whole village saw their ecstatic trance with each of them bathed in an intense light.  Soon mass hysteria seemed to overwhelm the village.

The Communist authorities suspected that the huge crowds that gathered were really a politically subversive group in disguise.  They came to arrest the children.  When the children saw the police, they ran away through a field towards their church.   Father Jozo was in the church at the time and was skeptical of these visionary claims.    Long before he even saw the fleeing children, he heard an audible voice, “Help my children!”  This mystical voice helped convince him of the authenticity of their visions.  He was eventually arrested and jailed for political subversion.  The children too were picked up and repeatedly interrogated.    

Every Monday and Thursday for several years, the visionaries have publicly been receiving messages from Mary that are meant both for the local parish and the whole world.  The visionaries say she appears standing on a cloud, wearing a grey dress, a white veil, and a crown of 12 srars.  Shortly before the outbreak of fighting in former Yugoslavia, Mary began warning the people there to make peace with each other and to pursue conversion through regular fasting with bread and water. The Balkan war that erupted was so bloody that brought back terms like `genocide' and `ethnic cleansing'  to common usage.  

In 1984, the entranced visionaries were subjected to a battery of tests by French doctors. The movement of the eyes, larynx, and various reflexes were all measured.  “They documented a simultaneous fixing of the gaze at an identical point, with eye movement ending at the same time.  They concluded that the concurring bodily reactions ere inexplicable.”  Also even in the dark, the visionaries' entranced wide-eyed gaze was unphased by flash photography.  

Mary revealed 10 secrets to the the 6 children.  She promises that when she stops appearing to them, a permanent sign will be left in Medjugorje which will lead to many conversions and healings and will signal the imminent fulfilment of the 10 secrets.  Mirjana allegedly holds the future of  the world on a mysterious piece of parchment that Mary gave her.  On it are written the days and dates of the 10 secrets, the 9th and 10th of which represent chastisements for the sins of the world.   The chastisement predicted in the 7th secret has already been suspended because of all the prayer and fasting in response to Mary’s call.  Prayer and fasting can lessen the gravity of the 9th and 10th chastisements, but cannot eliminate them.  Mirjana says that before the visible sign is given to humanity, there will be 3 warnings to the world in quick succession.  3 days before each warning, Mirjana will advise a priest of her choice.  

As of 1992, 20 million pilgrims had traveled to Medjugorje.  Thousands have reproted visions and healings ranging from canders to strokes.  I knew a psychology professor who struck me as a Chumley-lie skeptic.  I was shocked to discover that he was converted by the miracles he witnessed at Medjugorje.  I wonder if the famous Mayan date of December 21, 2012 coincides with any of Mary's secret predictions.  I respect the fact that these secrets will eventually be verified or discredited as the specified dates arrive.

One of my main source for these details is Janice Connell's book "The Visions of the Children."

Don

I will create no more posts on this thread.  Marian apparitions offer some of the best indirect evidence of postmortem survival, and yet, they are almost invariably neglected by New Agers.  For the reader's convenience, 5 of the most famours apparitions of Mary are outlined in replies 10, 12, 14, 29, and 34.

Don

Yes, they are often neglected by 'New Agers.' They are also often neglected by Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists, and countless others (need I go on?), because they are seen as Catholic events. This is true in no small part because Catholics themselves like it that way.

The Catholic Church, for Her part, doesn't require belief in any of these apparitions.

Since these events are perceived as specific to one particular faith, we should not be surprised to find apathy towards them among the ranks of non-Catholics, even those among us who have had experience with Mary ourselves.

Love,
Rob

Just a coincidence....I was cleaning my apartment yesterday and went down to the dumpster. A few things were carefully placed next to it for anyone to take.  One man's trash is another man's treasure.

I looked in one of the two boxes and there was a statue of Mary.  I also like to see her as Guan Yin.  A goddess of pure unconditional love/mercy.  By the way, she can be male or female, as Guan Yin, although she is usually portrayed as a female.  

I had a lot of angel trinkets near my bed but I put them away and am enjoying this graceful standing statue instead for the time being, as she is all of these things to me.

I recall now that I left my larger and more impressive statue of Kuan Yin in a sitting posture (this is the spelling of the name I am familiar with) at my ex-husband's place when I moved a year ago.  I asked him, when leaving, if he liked it enough to want to keep it and he did.  The statue I left behind looked noticeably male in the upper torso area.  

Recently I was missing that statue a little bit.  So, it's nice to have her/him, whatever, back in my home, in one form or another.
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Here is a little more information on how widespread admiration of this figure is:

Guan Yin (Simplified Chinese: ??; Traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: Gu?ny?n) is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. She is also known as the Chinese Goddess of Compassion by many. Guan Yin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokite?vara, which is her male form. Commonly known in the West as the Goddess of Mercy, Guan Yin is also revered by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal. The name Guan Yin, also spelt Kuan Yin, is short for Kuan-shih Yin (Py.: Gu?nshì Y?n, ???) which means "Observing the Sounds of the World".
In Japanese, Guan Yin is pronounced Kannon (??) or more formally Kanzeon (???); the spelling Kwannon, based on a pre-modern pronunciation, is sometimes seen. In Korean, this incarnation of Buddha is called Gwan-eum or Gwanse-eum, and in Vietnamese, the name is Quan Âm or Quan Th? Âm B? Tát.

love, blink