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I want you to tell all my children that My Sacred Heart is saddened, for Its Infinite Longing to be loved, to give love remains an arid desert where no one comes and I, your God, remain alone.
I have given my children signs. O! So many signs. I have given them My own Mother, Queen of Peace and Mercy, the true Ark of the Covenant, and they have scorned her. How many of My children clamor for signs and, being given a sign by Me, they remain unconverted and demand yet another, different sign?
O! Do not be this way. Those who seek only signs and of ever-greater wonder, are hard-hearted, proud people who are really dead sepulchers. I, their God, would cleanse them and restore life to them, but they refuse Me.
How many more are victims of their own curiosity? How many there are who rush from message to message, reading only words and understanding nothing of the content. These are like dry autumn leaves which are scattered hither and yon by the chill winds.
Woe! Woe to all who, having seen, having heard the signs and words given for these end times, remain lukewarm and callous, for I know them not.
Come, all you who are truly My own. You are the rocks that I love and embrace. You are the little, humble, simple ones who, having seen and heard, have believed and in faith have converted your hearts. You are the fresh vines sturdy and supple which, when given the Son, bear good, holy fruit. You are the ones who, when persecuted, rejoice in your heart for you then more closely resemble Me, your Savior.
Feed upon Me, My chosen little lambs for I am The Good Shepherd. You heed My words and you are enlightened.
I tell you, My little ones, your world shall bear witness to the justice of God. Great shall be the catastrophes which shall come upon your land, even now and for many months to come. The sins have overflowed the chalice. Now is all Scripture to be fulfilled and soon My Mother's Heart shall Triumph and mankind shall witness My Glorious Kingship.
Will you then grow cold and lax? I beseech you, stay alert and offer yourselves as living prayers, as My victim souls. Beseech your Heavenly Father for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, for it is Mercy to beseech The Father for this moment. Pray that the Avenging angel of God moves swiftly lest many shall perish in the storm of Justice.
Come unto Me, your God. Be one with Me, In Me, Through Me, and For Me; do not count your worthiness, but rather your willingness to be My humble little ones. In the measure of your littleness I will raise you up to mighty warriors. I need many little ones to prepare My way. I need you to work in absolute trust with My Mother, that at the moment of my return I shall find you waiting and watching.
O! What rejoicing you shall know then, My faithful ones. No tear shall remain. I, your God, shall call you by name, and you shall be given your eternal crowns, resplendent forever in the firmament of Heaven.
I tell you the time of the Great Harvest is here. I Am the Harvest Master. I am your God. I Am. Come unto Me while yet there is time, that My Sacred Heart may expand with Love, and you might be molded in that Love.
I bless you. I give you My Peace. Heed My words. I go now to the Harvest.
How much you are loved. How little you return that love. Now I am here with you to be your sure guide along the path of love, which is my Divine Son's Way of the Cross. Do not become discouraged. Rather, lift up your hearts and with joy embrace the cross, for it is your joy.
I solemnly tell you that the moment when the swift Justice of God shall sweep the earth is already on the horizon. Even now your Heavenly Father seeks your eternal salvation and gives to you many signs of His coming justice. Have you become so callused that the changes in weather patterns, the high cost of the destruction of land and lives leaves you unaffected? I, your Heavenly Mother, weep for my suffering children. I urge all of you through prayer and sacrifice to become one with God, exchanging your heart for His Sacred Heart.
You do not believe this is possible. Yet, I solemnly assure you that you put limits on God and thus by your free will you prevent Him from acting in and through you.
Dear children, I do solemnly tell you that in the following months of this year you shall experience many signs, signs of destruction which shall lead your world into total collapse. You must return to God and abandon the things of the world. You must cast yourself into the arms of my Divine Son, convert your hearts and be consecrated to Him through my Immaculate Heart. God will not abandon you, but yet in His Mercy His justice will come. The sins of man overflow the chalice and the righteous God of all Creation is responding.
Tremendous earthquakes shall devastate many places, particularly in your country. The economy will collapse and the nation of which I am patroness shall be brought low because of its godlessness. The land shall be ravaged. The people shall know want and their bodies shall be afflicted by illness which will have no cure. Voices will cry out, but no one will answer them. Death shall cover your land and those who are left shall fall upon their knees before the face of God.
Behold! My Divine Son comes again as Just Judge. Glorified King, I, His Mother, am with you to prepare the way. Pray! Pray! Pray!
I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!
1101 A.D.
Death of Saint Bruno, confessor and ecclesiastical writer and founder of the Carthusians. For more on this saint, see TODAY'S LITURGY.
1552 A.D.
Birth of Matteo Ricci founder of Chinese Missions. This Jesuit brought the faith to Goa and China and died in Peking on May 11, 1610.
1689 A.D.
Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni is elected the 241st successor of Peter, becoming Pope Alexander VIII. His election came through the intervention of King Louis XIV of France and he came to an agreement with him on the four propositions of the so-called "Gallican liberty." He gave help to the king of Poland and the Venutians in their struggles with the Turks. He died on February 1, 1691 after a two year papacy.
1791 A.D.
Death of Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus. This Franciscan Tertiary suffered the mystical stigmata and was canonized by Pius IX in 1867.
1849 A.D.
Death of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, Religious Founder. For more on her, see TODAY'S LITURGY.
1979 A.D.
On John Paul II's first official trip to the United States as Supreme Pontiff, he becomes the first Pope ever to step foot in the White House when he meets with President Jimmy Carter on his day in the nation's capitol.
1983 A.D.
Death of Cardinal Terence Cooke, Archbishop of New York at the age of 62.
1985 A.D.
Beatification of Diego Luis de San Vitore, Jose M. Rubio y Peralto , and Francisco Garate - all marytred Jesuit priests.
Arriving in Zagreb on October 2 to begin his 84th apostolic voyage, the Pope said that his trip was "a pilgrimage of faith, hope, and love." He was greeted by large, applauding crowds, which lined the streets from the airport to the city. He was also warmly greeted by President Franjo Tudjman, who appeared alongside the Holy Father at each public event on the papal itinerary.
The Pope appealed for reconciliation in Croatia, and for efforts to overcome the wounds caused by years of warfare: the ethnic battles of the early 20th century, the internal struggles that accompanied the two world wars, the years of Communist rule, and the vicious fighting that marked the break-up of what was once Yugoslavia. He urged Croatians to put the past behind them, and prepare to greet the new millennium.
On Saturday, October 3, the Pope presided at the beatification of Cardinal Stepinac, at the Marian sanctuary of Marija Bistrica-- where the newly beatified prelate has made his own annual pilgrimages. The Pope spoke of Cardinal Stepinac as a "martyr to Communism" as well as a hero for the Croatian Church and the Croatian people.
Cardinal Stepinac died in December 1960, evidently as the result of poisons administered during the years when he had been a prisoner of the Tito regime. He was imprisoned after being charged with treason when he refused Tito's request to set up an "independent" Croatian Catholic Church, forsaking his allegiance to Rome. Through his suffering in prison and later under house arrest, the Pope said, Cardinal Stepinac "had participated in a singular fashion in the Paschal mystery." The last 15 years of his life were a period of constant suffering, the Holy Father added, during which the Croatian prelate was a heroic witness to the sustaining power of faith.
On Saturday, meeting with Croatian cultural leaders at the apostolic nunciature, the Pope evoked themes from his forthcoming encyclical on the relationship between faith and reason. He deplored the tendency to set up a "sterile opposition" between the life of faith and that of reason, and insisted that the alliance between faith and reason was the best guarantee of intellectual progress. One of the fruits of such an alliance, he predicted, would be "a new ethical and spiritual flourishing" in Croatia, through which the country could rebuild its culture-- long suppressed by Communism-- while avoiding the temptations toward consumerism and hedonism.
On Sunday, Pope John Paul presided at a solemn Eucharistic liturgy in Split, on the Dalmatian coast, to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the founding of that diocese there. He prayed that the occasion might give the Croatian Church a new missionary zeal, and repeated his caution that the country's liberation from Communism should lead to a truly democratic government, which should not be based on the principles of unbridled individualism but on mutual respect and solidarity.
A massive congregation estimated at 500,000 greeted the Pope in Split; many of the worshipers had come from neighboring Bosnia- Herzegovina for the occasion, in a pilgrimage led by Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo. Their participation was in part a recognition of the fact that the Church founded in Split was instrumental in bringing the Gospel to the neighboring regions.
After Archbishop Ante Juric of Split greeted the Pope, the Holy Father voiced the desire to see a new burst of evangelization emanating from the historic city. He told the congregation to work for "a new springtime of the faith" in Croatia. And he urged Catholics to play a leading role in the transformation of their culture-- although, in an apparent bid to avoid being too closely identified with nationalist sentiments-- he added that the effort must always be marked by "humility."
As he prepared to board the plane for his return flight to Rome, the Pope recapitulated the main themes of his visit. Once again he urged the Croatian people to reclaim their Christian heritage, to pursue "the process of democratization of society and civil institutions," and to heal the wounds of the closing century. But the new Croatian society, he stressed once again, must be founded on "the moral values written in man's common nature."
In a letter to Hawaii's Catholics, Bishop Francis DiLorenzo said the whole country will be looking to Hawaii to defend the family against attempts to make marriage between homosexuals and lesbians legal. Voters will be asked in the referendum to approve an amendment to the state constitution that will reserve marriage only to opposite-sex couples.
The bishop warned that if the amendment is not passed, a state court will likely rule in favor of same-sex marriages, causing a domino effect across the United States as states without laws specifically banning the practice being forced to accept same-sex marriages performed in Hawaii.
Bishop DiLorenzo added that while 70 percent of Hawaiians support traditional marriage, many citizens misunderstand the ballot question. "More disturbing, however, is that proponents of 'same-sex marriage' have embarked on a campaign with national dimensions to stop the amendment in Hawaii," he said. In addition, he said, non-profit groups and churches are banned from advocating a specific vote for or against the amendment.
Speaking at a time when officials of both the UN and NATO were reportedly considering an intervention in Kosovo, the Pope voiced his prayer that "understanding, mutual respect, pardon and reconciliation would finally replace violence and devastation."
Continuing along the same lines, the Holy Father also observed that many people in Croatia remain scarred by the warfare that enveloped the former provinces of Yugoslavia. Many people are still missing, many families are unable to return home, and many have found their old homes destroyed. These people, the Pope said, "need help, so that they can begin the process of rebuilding their homes, and regain a quiet family life."
Meanwhile at the Vatican, the fourth World Congress on pastoral care for migrants and refugees opened yesterday in Rome. The meeting, organized by the Pontifical Council for Migrants, will continue until October 10.
The 459 participants in this week's meeting come from 103 different countries, including 35 African nations. The objective of the meeting, according to a press statement issued before the formal opening of the congress, is to define common standards that would guide pastoral work for migrants, in both their native lands and the lands to which they have moved.
Msgr. Francesco Gioia, the secretary of the Pontifical Council, told the Fides news agency that it is crucial to be "as close as possible to migrants," and especially to refugees. He lamented that many people do not yet comprehend the magnitude of the problem. There are, he continued, 100 million people now living outside their native countries, and that number is growing rapidly.
Three sisters of the Missionaries of Consolation left the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on September 26, leaving behind their hospital where they cared for mothers and children. The departure follows the kidnapping at gunpoint of a fourth sister on September 10. She was released three days later and her captors were sentenced to one year in prison.
In an open letter to the Somali people, the sisters said their departure "was made necessary by numerous recent threats" that have "made precarious the safety of our workers." They said they hoped to return one day. The nuns' hospital was the main provider of maternity and child care in Mogadishu, serving Somalis without charge. It treated 500 children a week, Fides said.
