"You are gods"

Jesus says, “You are gods.” (Jn. 10:34) How is this possible?

At baptism, we become “partakers of the divine nature,” (CCC 1265 or 2Pt.1:4) or as St. Athanasius states that we are, “becoming by grace what God is by nature.” The Catechism quotes St. Athanasius to explain this teaching, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God,” (460) and furthermore it explains, “The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods.” (CCC 460)

For most of us, the concept that “You are gods.” (Jn. 10:34) or that we are being “divinized” is difficult to grasp so let us first look at Jesus’ baptism when the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and the Heavenly Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17) Likewise, the Holy Spirit also descends into our souls at baptism, and we, too, become His sons and daughters as the Psalmist states, “You are ‘gods’; you are all sons of The Most High.” (82:6)  The Heavenly Father’s words also apply to us as when St. Faustina hears Him say, “You are My delightful dwelling place; My Spirit rests in you.”  (Diary 346)

Our Lady of the Divine Indwelling

St. Paul reminds us that we are temples of God, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” (1Cor.6:19) and “For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized.” (CCC 1988) Divinization also means that the Holy Spirit makes us, “a new creature.” (CCC 1265) However, it is not just the Holy Spirit that dwells in our souls, but it is also the Holy Trinity.   The Catechism explains that baptism is the “entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity,” (1239) and we become “the indwelling of His Presence in us” (2781).  

Trinity

St. John Paul II enlightens us that “‘Divinization’…occurs through the admission into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life”, (Novo Millennio Ineunte no. 23) as when the Holy Trinity speaks in the soul of St. Faustina, “‘You are Our dwelling place.’ At that moment, I felt in my soul the presence of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I felt that I was the temple of God. I felt I was a child of the Father,” she said. (Diary 451)

St. Faustina says, “Divinize me so that my deeds may have supernatural value,” (1242) but she remains a meek and humble student of the indwelling Presence. She accepts to be molded regardless of her sins and frailties.  Jesus explains to St. Faustina what He can do despite our faults and failings, “Your heart is My constant dwelling place, despite the misery that you are.  I united Myself with you, to take away your misery and give you My mercy.” (Diary 723)  She learns to worship the Holy Trinity within her soul so well that the Blessed Virgin Mary appears to her explaining the divinization going on in her soul, “You are a dwelling place pleasing to the living God; in you, He dwells continuously with love and delight. And the living presence of God, which you experience in a more vivid and distinct way, will confirm you, my daughter, in the things I have told you.” (Diary 785)

Divine Mercy and St Faustina

St. Faustina continues to plead with God, “Divinize me that my deeds may be pleasing to You,” (Diary 1289) so the Blessed Virgin Mary gives her instruction on how to live continually with the indwelling Presence, “My daughter, strive after silence and humility, so that Jesus, who dwells in your heart continuously, may be able to rest. Adore Him in your heart; do not go out from your inmost being. My daughter, I shall obtain for you the grace of an interior life which will be such that, without ever leaving that interior life, you will be able to carry out all your external duties with even greater care. Dwell with Him continuously in your heart. He will be your strength. Communicate with creatures only in so far as is necessary and is required by your duties.” (Diary 785)

Divinization is difficult to understand due to the way we view ourselves, “we hold this treasure in earthen vessels,” (2Cor.4:7) but Instrumentum Laboris instructs us that the “Eucharist is the summit of the Church’s life, since communion with the Lord leads to the sanctification and “divinization” of the person.”  Similarly, to help St. Faustina comprehend, Jesus tells her that as she sees Him outside so He is within, “I am dwelling in your heart as you see Me in this chalice.” (1820)  But, why is all this relevant or important to us now?  Because “The hour is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth.” (John 4:23)

“Yes, the hour is coming very soon when there will be no physical Church to worship in” (Pope Benedict XVI - Light of the World pgs. 16-17):

“This passage in chapter 4 of John’s Gospel is the prophecy of a worship in which there will no longer be any temple, but in which the faithful will pray without an external temple in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the Gospel, in communion with Christ; where what is needed is no longer a visible temple but rather the new fellowship with the risen Lord.  That always remains important, because it signifies a major turning point in the history of religion as well.”

Inner Light – Source Unknown

Finally, believe and understand that He wants to divinize us not by the “counterfeit divinization of eros,” (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est no. 4) as when the serpent says, “you will be like gods,” (Gen.3:5) but by being humble, intimate, and living temples of God as when Jesus states, “We will come into him, and make Our dwelling in him.” (Jn. 14:23) Therefore, in these turbulent times trust and have confidence that His loving indwelling Presence is always with us day and night to divinize us as Jesus tells St. Faustina, “You are my dwelling place and my constant repose.  For your sake I bless the earth.” (Diary 431)

ST FAUSTINA PRAY FOR US!


writer unknown

The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart

"IN THE END MY IMMACULATE HEART WILL TRIUMPH"

Fr. Gobbi on the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:


“Our Lady spoke of the ‘triumph’ of her Immaculate Heart. Strangely, she used this word – ‘triumph’ – in a century in which everything possible would be done against ‘triumphalism’ in the Church. Our Lady uses the word ‘triumph’. She does not use ‘joy’, she does not use ‘comfort’, she does not use ‘consolation’ – but ‘triumph’. Triumph is not only fullness of joy; triumph is a joy that comes from a great victory – this is triumph. When the great Roman condottieres won, they entered [the city] to receive their triumph; therefore, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart implies the idea of a great victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.


But I ask myself: this is the Heart of a Mother. Where can the Immaculate Heart of Mary – the Mother – obtain her triumph? Only in the triumph of her Son. If the Son does not triumph, the Heart of the Mother does not triumph. Since the triumph is the culmination of a great victory, only when Christ obtains his great victory will the Immaculate Heart of Mary triumph. And Christ will obtain his final and great victory with his return in glory. So now I understand why, in her messages, Our Lady says: “The triumph of my Immaculate Heart will coincide with the return of Christ in glory.”


There is a mystic, Luisa Piccarreta, whose cause for beatification is in progress, who wrote great works about the Divine Will. When I was in Mexico, I was given some of these writings which relate to numerous aspects described in our book [To the Priests…]. I was impressed by them – I should read the exact text to you, but I don’t have it with me today. It says that every two thousand years there has been a great renewal. Two thousand years after creation there was the deluge of water. Two thousand years after the deluge of water, there was the deluge of blood: the redemption. After two thousand years there will be the deluge of fire – a spiritual fire, I think – and finally, the Kingdom of the Divine Will will come upon earth, because every creature will fulfill the Divine Will in a perfect way.


And so, I think that this return of Christ in glory will be able to bring the Kingdom of the Divine Will into the world, and each creature will be able to do the Will of the Father in a perfect way, and the Father will be glorified by these children of his who say ‘yes’ to his Will; and Christ will bring about his Kingdom – a Kingdom of holiness and of docile obedience to the heavenly Father.

Brother priests, this [Kingdom of the Divine Will], however, is not possible if, after the victory obtained over Satan, after having removed the obstacle because his [Satan’s] power has been destroyed*…this cannot happen, except by a most special outpouring of the Holy Spirit: the Second Pentecost.

Elijah and the Blessed Virgin Mary

3 Kings 18:[41] And Elias (Elijah) said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain. [42] Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees, [43] And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times. [44] And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man' s foot.   (From the Douay-Rheims Bible - In The New American Bible this Scripture is in 1 Kings 18)

“Elias went to the top of Carmel…” (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel)

“a little cloud arose out of the sea…”  on the Immaculate Conception – “All Three Divine Persons competed among Themselves:  the Father poured out an immense sea of power; I, the Son, poured out an infinite sea of wisdom, and the Holy Spirit, an immense sea of eternal love, which merging into one, formed on single sea; and in the middle of this sea the conception of this Virgin was formed, elect among the elect.”

“"like a man’s foot…”  I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.  Gen. 3:15 “In the Carmelite tradition, Elijah and Mary are brought together most closely in the image of the cloud that forms over the sea.”  (From a Carmelite blog - Flos Carmeli http://floscarmeli.stblogs.org/archives/2006/03/elijah-and-mary.html)

“This means that the greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue, will be the most assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.

I said that this will happen especially towards the end of the world, and indeed soon, because Almighty God and His holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will surpass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon tower above little shrubs.  These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be chosen to oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all sides.  They will be exceptionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin.”    (“True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin”, St. Louis de Montfort)

Gospel of Mark 7:24-30

For the past several days I have been feeling very abandoned by Our Lord and have been praying to Him to allow me to be with Him as I used to be, and I felt that He no longer listens to my prayers. Then this morning at Church just before Mass began, a prayer rose up within my heart begging God to save us from the evil of this world ("she begged Him to drive the devil out ofher daughter "), and for some reason I prayed that "even the dogs eat the scraps from the table ' . 1 had not read the Gospel prior to Mass so I was very amazed when it was read. I understood very much while listening to this Gospel, but cannot explain in words — other than to say that we must have great faith to understand that God will overcome the evil of this world and rid it of evil! ("the devil has gone out from your daughter ").

Gospel, Mark 7:24-30

24  He left that place and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there; but he could not pass unrecognised.

25  At once a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell at his feet.

26  Now this woman was a gentile, by birth a Syro-Phoenician, and she begged him to drive the devil out of her daughter.

27  And he said to her, 'The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.'

28  But she spoke up, 'Ah yes, sir,' she replied, 'but even dogs under the table eat the scraps from the children. '

29  And he said to her, 'For saying this you may go home happy; the devil has gone out of your daughter. '

30  So she went off home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

LB  - Feb. 9, 2012

The Abomination of Desolation

9/21/17 - Yesterday, something prompted me to pick up a book from my bookcase which I brought with me to Adoration this morning.  The book is “True Life in God”, Jesus’ messages through Vassula Ryden. Yesterday, I was on a Catholic blog and someone had posted what they thought was happening in the Church today, so I went to Fr. Gobbi’s book and posted what Our Lady said about “the abomination of desolation”:

"This is the hour when the abomination of desolation is truly entering into the holy temple of God. They are no longer the salt of the earth, but a salt without savor,, corrupted and nauseating, good only to be strewn on the ground and trampled underfoot by everyone. They are no longer the light on the candlestick, but darkness which makes the night even more obscure. They are all poor ailing priest-sons of mine, because they have fallen under the dominion of satan."

"Help them without ever judging them. Love them always . Do not condemn them, this is not your role."

"This scandal will become even greater and more serious."

Live simply in surrender and trust, like my little children, in my Immaculate Heart."
(To the Priests, Our Lady's Beloved Sons, The Marian Movement of Priests, #74)

This morning during Adoration, I opened Vassula’s book to the first message of June 19, 1995 and read:
“In these days and in your times I am confronted by the guilt of those who strike Me and the wickedness of those who practice deceit.  Do not commit this abomination which the prophet Daniel spoke of, I say, but your steps persistently follow deceit; your era is challenging My Power.  Very well then, since your intentions, generation, are to trample on My Perpetual Sacrifice and abolish It, I tell you: I shall do to you what I have done to Sodom and Gomorrah but one hundred times more, to equal your sins – you see those ten Towers you have built for yourselves as Lodges?  Well, you will never live in them; your empire will crumble down together with you; and those precious stones you have treasured?  You will never possess them, for I am going to pass through you to remind you that from the Beginning, My Name thrice Holy was to be honored and kept Holy, and that your due to Me was to fear Me.

Wondering about what Jesus meant by the “ten Towers”, I was led to go to the messages of Fr. Gobbi, and read,

 “This Black Beast has ten horns and, on the horns, ten crowns, which are signs of domination and royalty.  Masonry rules and governs throughout the whole world by means of the ten horns.  The horn, in the biblical world, has always been an instrument of amplification, a way of making ones voice better heard, a strong means of communication”.  “For this reason, God communicated his Will to his people by means of ten horns which made his Law known: the Ten Commandments. The one who accepts them and observes them walks in life along the road of the Divine Will, of joy and of peace.”  “Freemasonry spreads everywhere through the power of its ten horns, a law which is completely opposed to that of God.”  MMP, #405, June 3, 1989

Lastly: This was a meditation during Adoration that I had on First Saturday, Feb. 4, 1995 (just 2 years after coming into the Catholic Church.  Offered for your discernment:

Meditation on the Presentation of Jesus:

Sat., Feb. 4, 1995

As Our Lady presented the Infant Jesus to God the Father in the Temple, She also presents Him to us each day at the Mass (in the Temple), and also presents each of us to God the Father as She presented Jesus to Him.  As Simeon and Anna knew that this Infant was the son of God, we also must see Him in the Eucharist with the same faith as they did.  We must believe in His true Presence.  Jesus has told me that the “abomination will soon be set up in the temple” and that we must continue to walk in faith – “to be His Light” in the darkness surrounding us.  I have complained to Him to open the hearts of all the people that they may return to Him, and He has told me many times that He “will not impose on their will.”  He cannot enter the hearts of so many as they are hardened and filled with pride – that many of them will be lost.  We are asked to continue to pray for them during this time of Mercy that their hearts may open.   This is where the “abomination” begins – in the heart”, but will “soon be set up in the temple”.  As Our Lady presented Jesus, She by tradition, was to be purified according to the Law (though She was already pure!) – the Church must also be purified!

About the “ten horns (towers)” - Around the time of the above, I was given a vision of a vast sea.  The sea was calm with only a few ripples and it made me feel totally at peace and made me smile.  I felt as though I could just stay there forever looking at this sea. Then suddenly up from the sea rose a black cloud (this is the only way I can describe it) that made me incredibly frightened.  I knew I was to continue to look at it, but because I became so frightened I looked away and when I looked back, it disappeared.

Added recently:  Rev. 13 – “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads”….”and the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months”…”Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them”…”If any one has an ear, let him hear….

I would suggest reading Rev. 13 very carefully praying to the Holy Spirit for enlightenment and understanding.

LB, Sept. 21, 2017

From Union to Unity

From Union to Unity

This morning I found myself in such disheartenment and I saw myself so bad, that I myself rendered myself unbearable. When Jesus came, I told Him of my pains and the miserable state I was in, and He said to me: “My daughter, do not want to lose heart. It is my usual way to operate perfection little by little, and not everything in one instant, so that the soul, in seeing that she is always lacking something, may push herself and make all efforts in order to reach what she lacks, with the purpose of pleasing Me more and of sanctifying herself more. And I, drawn by those acts, feel compelled to give her new graces and celestial favors, and in this way a commerce, fully divine, forms between the soul and God. Otherwise, if the soul possessed within herself the fullness of perfection and therefore of all virtues, she would not find ways by which to strive, to please Me more, and so the tinder with which to start the fire between creature and Creator would be missing. (Book of Heaven, Sept. 5, 1899)

Jesus to Conchita, (from "Conchita, A Mothers Spiritual Diary"):

"It is not possible to imagine transformation into Christ as a static reality. Divine life, communicated to man in his earthly pilgrimage, is of itself in constant progress."

"From the outset of all Christian life, by the new birth 'of water and of the Spirit,' transformation into Christ begins, but it is but an initial transformation, a seed which must grow."

"Even on the summits of the spiritual life this vital progress continues. This life of union still mounts toward unity, of course not a unity in the order of being, but in the intentional order of knowledge and of love."

"Listen. There are many progressive degrees in the transformation. The highest degree on earth corresponds to a transformation of the creature not only in its manner of thinking and of acting which becomes divine, but which, in a certain sense, causes it to disappear an annihilate itself to give place to Me.

"This degree is the work of the Holy Spirit alone who becomes the soul of this soul and the life of this body.

"This point which leads to union, even more, to unity, is the point of perfection which approaches most the Trinity.
"The creature left to itself would be incapable of attaining this degree without the most powerful aid of Him who is the inexhaustible Source of graces, the Holy Spirit. The mystical incarnation attracts the Holy Spirit, loving, mighty and divine of the Word who possesses the soul. Transformation is in the innermost part and the most noble of the creature" (Diary, Aug. 6, 1912).

“There is still a higher stage in this Divine Will.  It is total self-surrender, interiorly to this same Will of God.  This self-surrender leads to the highest summit of perfection: It is the supreme stage of all virtue ( Diary, June 6, 1900)

Novena of Abandonment by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo (d. 1970)

Day 1

Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to Me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to Me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

 Day 2

Surrender to Me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to Me a worried prayer asking Me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything. It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in My care, so that only I act, saying “You take care of it”.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

 Day 3

How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need, turns to Me, looks at Me and says to Me; “You take care of it”, then closes its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for Me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to Me, instead, you want me to adapt your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the our Father: “Hallowed be thy Name“, that is, be glorified in my need. “Thy kingdom come“, that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with your kingdom. “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven“, that is, in our need, decide as you see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to Me truly: “Thy will be done“, which is the same as saying: “You take care of it”, I will intervene with all My omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

 Day 4

You see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry. Close your eyes and say to Me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than My loving intervention. By My love, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrendered myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

 Day 5

And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in My arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts and worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 6

You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse—to men themselves, trusting in their intervention—this is what hinders My words and My views. Oh, how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you; and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from My protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So, trust only in Me, rest in Me, surrender to Me in everything.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 7

I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to Me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever perform miracles, not even among the saints. He does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So don’t think about it any more, because your mind is acute, and for you, it is very hard to see evil and to trust in Me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs, do this all of you and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

  Day 8

Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of My grace; close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in Me, believing in My goodness, and I promise you by My love that if you say “You take care of it”, I will take care of it all; I will console you, liberate you and guide you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

  Day 9

Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you? Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it”. Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless My name by humbling yourself. A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender, remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!


L. Bauer

The Storm

The Storm

Behold the whirlwind of the Lord, his fury going forth, a violent storm,

it shall rest upon the head of the wicked. Jeremiah 30:23

“You are called to be my peace in this storm.   And so walk in serenity, walk in tranquility, walk in trust.  Thus the more obscurity descends, the more you will be my light; and if the storm increases day by day, you will be ever more and more my peace.  You will give to each one, at every moment, the sign of my motherly presence among you.”  To the Priests, Fr. Gobbi, #105uv

“Here you will be safe from every danger, and at the moment of the storm, you will find your peace.  Here you will be formed by me according to the plan which the Heart of my Son Jesus has entrusted to me.  Thus each one of you will be helped by me to carry out in a perfect manner the Divine Will alone.”  To the Priests, Fr. Gobbi, #177bc

“At the most violent hour of the storm, you will see my great light grow brighter and more apparent:  the Woman Clothed with the Sun, with the moon at her feet and about her head a crown of twelve stars!  This is the sign of my victory and yours!”  To the Priests, Fr. Gobbi, #191m

“During these hours, share in my great concern, and unite yourselves, each and all, to my prayer of intercession and reparation.  Multiply everywhere the cenacles of prayer which I have asked of you, as safe places, as refuges in which you take shelter in the tremendous storm which awaits you.”  To the Priests, Fr. Gobbi, #509g

 “My Flame of Love is beginning to light.  The chosen souls have to fight the Prince of Darkness.  It will be a terrible storm, like a hurricane, devastating everything.  And what is more, he wants to destroy the faith and trust of the chosen ones.  I will be with you everywhere in the approaching storm.  I am your Mother.  I can and will help you.  You will feel and experience everywhere the flashing light of my Flame of Love, which will illuminate slumbering and darkened souls.”  (The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Elizabeth Kindelmann, pg. 85)

“Before the hard times befall you, prepare yourself for the vocation to which I have called each of you.  Do not live in indifference and idleness.  The approaching storm will carry away the idle, indifferent souls.  Only the souls who are able to make sacrifices will be saved.  The storm will start when I lift up My hand.  Give My warning to everyone, especially to Priests.  Let My warning shake you up from your indifference in advance.”  (The Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Elizabeth Kindelmann, pgs. 104-105)

 “My daughter, do not want to trouble yourself. You must know that when there is a strong storm in the sea, where the waters are deep the storm is only superficial. The depths of the sea are in the most perfect calm, the waters remain tranquil, and the fish, when they detect the storm, go to nest where the water is deeper so as to be safer. So, the whole storm unloads itself where the sea contains very little water, because since there is little water, the storm has the strength to agitate it from top to bottom, and even to transport it elsewhere, to other points of the sea.

So it happens to souls when they are completely filled with God - up to the brim, up to overflowing outside: storms have no strength to upset them even slightly, because there is no strength that can defy God; at the most, they may feel it superficially. Even more, as the soul detects the storm, she puts the virtues in order, and goes to nest in the inmost depths of God. So, while externally there seems to be a storm, it is completely false – it is then that the soul enjoys more peace, and rests, tranquil, in the bosom of God, just like the fish in the bosom of the sea.”    Book of Heaven, Vol. 8, Mar. 15, 1908

And it came to pass on a certain day that he went into a little ship with his disciples, and he said to them: Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. And when they were sailing, he slept; and there came down a storm of wind upon the lake, and they were filled, and were in danger. And they came and awaked him, saying: Master, we perish. But he arising, rebuked the wind and the rage of the water; and it ceased, and there was a calm. And he said to them: Where is your faith?  Luke 8:22-25

And he turned the storm into a breeze: and its waves were still. Psalm 106:29

Prophetic Vision of Saint John Bosco

“Try to picture yourselves with me on the seashore, or, better still, on an outlying cliff with no other land in sight. The vast expanse of water is covered with a formidable array of ships in battle formation, prows fitted with sharp spear-like beaks capable of breaking through any defense. All are heavily armed with cannons, incendiary bombs, and firearms of all sorts – even books – and are heading toward one stately ship, mightier than them all. As they try to close in, they try to ram it, set it afire, and cripple it as much as possible.

“This stately vessel is shielded by a flotilla escort. Winds and waves are with the enemy. In this midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short distance apart, soar high into the sky: one is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin at whose feet a large inscription reads: Help of Christians; the other, far loftier and sturdier, supports a [Communion] Host of proportionate size and bears beneath it the inscription Salvation of believers.

“The flagship commander – the Roman Pontiff [the Pope]- seeing the enemy’s fury and his auxiliary ships very grave predicament, summons his captains to a conference. However, as they discuss their strategy, a furious storm breaks out and they must return to their ships. When the storm abates, the Pope again summons his captains as the flagship keeps on its course. But the storm rages again. Standing at the helm, the Pope strains every muscle to steer his ship between the two columns from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks linked to chains.

“The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and sink the flagship at all costs. They bombard it with everything they have: books and pamphlets, incendiary bombs, firearms, cannons. The battle rages ever more furious. Beaked prows ram the flagship again and again, but to no avail, as, unscathed and undaunted, it keeps on its course. At times a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole into its hull, but, immediately, a breeze from the two columns instantly seals the gash.

“Meanwhile, enemy cannons blow up, firearms and beaks fall to pieces, ships crack up and sink to the bottom. In blind fury the enemy takes to hand-to-hand combat, cursing and blaspheming. Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded. He is instantly helped up but, struck down a second time, dies. A shout of victory rises from the enemy and wild rejoicing sweeps their ships. But no sooner is the Pope dead than another takes his place. The captains of the auxiliary ships elected him so quickly that the news of the Pope’s death coincides with that of his successor’s election. The enemy’s self-assurance wanes.

“Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns and moors it to the two columns; first to the one surmounted by the Host, and then to the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other. Some auxiliary ships which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship are the first to tie up at the two columns.

“Many others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the waves. Then, they too head for the two columns, tie up at the swinging hooks, and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea.”

“Very grave trials await the Church. What we have suffered so far is almost nothing compared to what is going to happen. The enemies of the Church are symbolized by the ships which strive their utmost to sink the flagship. Only two things can save us in such a grave hour: devotion to Mary and frequent Communion. Let us do our very best to use these two means and have others use them everywhere.”

“Remain, all of you, in the refuge of my Immaculate Heart, and you will find your peace and interior serenity.  My beloved sons, the storm which I foretold at Fatima has now unleashed its fury for the purification of the Church and all the world.  This is the hour of the Father’s mercy which, through the love of the Son’s divine Heart, is made manifest at the moment when everyone’s suffering is at its greatest.”  To  the  Priests,  Fr. Gobbi, #171ab

Fatima Apparition July 13, 1917

“…God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace. This war will end, but if men do not refrain from offending God, another and more terrible war will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night that is lit by a strange and unknown light [this occurred on January 28, 1938], you will know it is the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world with war and with hunger, and by the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. 

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. In Portugal the faith will always be preserved...”

Lynne Bauer