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      On the twentieth year to the date that velcro was introduced to the world, we question why the conscience of the world won't stick, why people are so indifferent to the news out of Australia that over 500 embryos from in vitro fertilization will be destroyed. We ask why this is such an "open and shut" case handled in such clinical fashion with nary a thought to the sensitivities of life - a sacred life - while people fanatically defend the right of a great gray whale to once again swim free in the depths of the ocean. Something is not cohesive here and we try to seal it all together with our editorial The modern barbarians at the gate!. Click on today's CATHOLIC PewPOINT

      Yesterday the world made a big to-do about a 19,000 pound whale being freed back into the Pacific. We're talking, of course, about the escapades of J.J., the gray whale who had beached as a baby on the western shores and was adopted by Sea World in San Diego. A year after, and a week's delay due to everyone's nemesis this year - El Nino - the great gray was slung from a sling back into the briny blue. The attention given this was due, in part, to the scientific experiment of migrating mammals, but the media practically personified this giant of a fin-bearer. It left us thinking why we give so much credence to an animal, devoid of a soul, and so little credence to the infitesimal embryos beating within a woman's womb. The latter definitely has a soul. This, as science and our faith have confirmed, begins at conception when the sperm fertilizes with the egg. But the world has grown so hardened to this that it hardly notices the mounting millions slain in the name of "choice." Rather, they label those who defend life, who cherish what God hath made, as rabble rousers, as obstacles to freedom. Sometimes we think if they had their way, they'd gladly offer up the pro-lifers to the same fate as the aborted babies. Such are the ways of satan, such are the ways beelzebub clouds mens' minds. This hits home this week with the announcement from Australia where hundreds of frozen embryos are being destroyed in the in vitro fertilization clinics in Melbourne. Like so much bad food that has sat on the shelf too long, they discard the remains. Don't they realize that each embryo is a soul? Don't they realize they will be held accountable when the time comes to answer to their Maker? Don't those who legislated this, those who promoted this vulgar, vial act realize they are accomplices and will have to answer for the same? In our News & Briefs today, Catholic World News reports that the Archbishop of Melbourne called for prayers and his spokesman labeled these poor, helpless embryos "the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters." One week ago five people - four youngsters - died in a school ambush in Jonesboro, Arkansas and the world was aghast with outrageous indignation at these senseless killings. But they remain silent when over 495 more will be viciously eliminated without ever breathing the air God gave us. Talk about senseless!

     That is what all this killing is throughout the world: senseless! On every continent there are reports of killings and massacres, plundering and rape. We are no better than the Huns of the fifth century who were called barbarians. Are we not barbarians as well? In Chiapas the senseless slaughter by the rebels continues as it does in Rwanda, and Burundi, and India, not to mention the killings in Northern Ireland and the mideast. Then there are the killings in so-called "civilized" countries such as throughout Europe, in the far east and, yes, right here in America where a confessed killer of over one hundred is exalted. We're speaking of Jack Kervorkian, the "suicide doctor" who is allowed to continue his maniacal ways hiding behind loop-holes in the law while harmless women, converted to Christ, and having paid their debt to society, are offered up on the altar of public execution. What's wrong with this picture? Have we lost all sense of sanity? Are we no different than the time of Christ when the people first hailed Him but then offered Him up as the sacrificial victim because He was not complying to what they wanted?

     With Holy Week fast approaching it is a time to do some serious soul searching, to ask what each one of us can do to stop the senseless slaughters and to help turn this topsy-turvy world around. We can't do it by ourselves. Only through and with God. Many years ago, there was a powerful book by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, we believe, called "You Can Change the World" and it had so much truth and common sense spirituality to it. It had no grandiose plans, no great overnight conversions, no miracle cure-all remedies. The main message was to do your part, little by little each day in unison with God's Will and slowly, but surely you can change the world. That is our charge today, to go back to the basics and make prayer our focal point, to latch on to one of the greatest weapons we have - the Rosary, and to stay the course no matter what obstacles stand in our way. If we can do that, we can be assured God will stand with us, just as He stood with Pope Saint Leo the Great at the gates of Rome when the Scourge of Christians, Atilla the Hun threatened to crush the eternal city and Christ's Holy Church. Through the Almighty's intervention and Leo's obedience millions of souls were saved, including, we pray, Attila's. Our mission today is to employ prayer and the tenets of our faith to the task at hand and enlist Heaven for Mercy on His children who refuse to acknowledge His laws, His natural and sacred order of life. As we begin this assault on Heaven, let us pray that the beating embryos of the unborn and the wrinkled brows of the aged will mean more to people than a whale. If they don't realize this, if they don't acknowledge God's power and mastery over the entire human race and all creation, then they will have become no better than the followers of Attila. They will have become the modern barbarians at the gate!

Michael Cain, editor

     In her Meditation on Lesson 10 THE SCOURGING AND CROWNING WITH THORNS, the Blessed Mother reminds us that everytime we sin, that we discard her Divine Son's Will, we are inflicting another scourge, another lash, another deep gash in his precious, sacred skull. That is why she asks us all to do penance and fast, especially during this time of Lent as we near Holy Week. These meditative lessons, imparted by Our Lady to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart during Lent of 1993, are meant to inspire and prompt a greater understanding of the season of Lent in helping us all prepare for His Passion and Death, and ultimately the glorious Resurrection. Click on "IT IS CONSUMMATED!"

      O! My Little Ones, I have asked my littlest Hidden One to write much this day, for here you should spend many hours in prayer, meditation and contemplation.

      Every insult, every blow, every drop of blood, every outrage was done to my Divine Son. I alone saw all as I knelt in prayer, while My own soul was scourged and around it the thorns formed a cruel crown that pierced me through.

      Dear children, behold your Savior, Who had endured more than any man, and who yet had must to endure.

      Learn from Him that it is obedience to the Divine Will which wrought your redemption. Divine Love offered Itself to Divine Love to repair for each offense given by man from Adam and Eve, down to the last person on earth.

      Divine Love was so overflowing in Its desire to repair the damage done by men’s sins, and to form for all time an eternal bridge that reached from Heaven to Earth.

      That bridge was the obedience of the Son of God in all things to the Divine Will. Love suffered willingly to make amends to Divine Justice, which is perfect.

      By all that my Son endured He gave you His merits that henceforth by your union with Him you might overcome all temptations and no longer offend the Divine Will by the sins of the flesh, the sins of thought, word, deed, omission. The sins you permit with your senses, and the sins you commit by your laziness.

      Dear little children, Jesus has suffered all for you and when men learn to live as He lived, then shall my Heart triumph.

      Please contemplate this part of my Divine Son’s Passion. Each piece of Divine Flesh that was ripped from His Sacred Body was to rip from you all lust and carnal desires. His muteness in the face of such agony was to seal your lips against the least uncharitable word. The silence of His Being was to prevent your senses from sinning against God’s perfect order in all of creation.

      The thorns which pierced into His Holy Brain were to keep from your minds any evil thought, and the binding of His Hands was to keep you from acting upon any unholy thought. His Sacred Eyes, swollen and blood-filled, were to keep your eyes from the evils of the world and only upon Him, the Spotless Lamb, the Savior.

      Each of you was a lash, a scourge, a biting of bone against bone. Each of you was a thorn, an insult, a rebuff. Each of you was there, my children, and for all who would believe and accept my Divine Son, and follow His way of the Cross, each was washed by a single drop of His Sacred Blood until you have been purified and tested in your own Calvary!

      Little children, do penance. Fast. Make endless sacrifices and learn to pray from your hearts. For the world has reached Calvary. It suffers already its scourging. Will you be the ones who propel the whip, implant the thorns? Or, by your humility and obedience will you cause the lashes to lessen? Will there be one less thorn?

      O! How I wept because of my Divine Son’s great agony and I, His Mother, could not even be near Him. My Divine Son and I are with you and you will not lack faith nor fail in courage if you are one with my Son in His Passion. O! I love you. I bless you. I intercede for you. Join me, Little Ones, and pray! Pray! Pray!

NEXT INSTALLMENT: Part One of Lesson 13: THE JUDGMENT BY PILATE

      In the sixty-fourth installment of our on-going feature mega series on the Church today, we bring you the sixth segment on the topic of Saint John Bosco's dream vision he received well over a century ago. Today we follow up last week's installment on verifying that the pontiff referred to in these prophecies is indeed Pope John Paul II and the messages do indeed portend to our current times. We continue with this trend, indicating further prophecies from both John Bosco, Amsterdam, Fatima and Akita that confirm the plot to remove our beloved Holy Father. We further stress the important words of Fatima visionary Sister Lucia, still living today, who says "We must pray for the Pope!" This is the supreme pontiff God has chosen to lead us all into the third millennium - the one who will safely guide the flagship to the safe moorings of the twin pillars and officially proclaim Mary the Co-Redemptrix, Advocate and Mediatrix of all graces before the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart that will usher in the new era of Peace, but we have to be on our guard against those who would seek another venue. Click on WHERE IS HOLY MOTHER CHURCH HEADING AS WE NEAR THE MILLENNIUM?

     We discussed in the last installment, the various prophecies of Saint John Bosco and others of Our Lord's and Our Lady's warnings about the efforts to remove the Pope and recall the vision imparted to Amsterdam visionary Ida Perleman which vividly showed the betrayal within the vaunted halls of the Vatican. We deciphered that that "Pope" could only be our present pontiff John Paul II. Therefore, let us look at what has been prophesied and draw our conclusions from these. First of all, John Bosco related in his vision that Rome is in for chastisements and the Church will suffer greatly. "And you, Rome, what will become of you? Ungrateful, Rome, effeminate Rome, arrogant Rome, you have reached the point where you admire in your Sovereign [Pontiff] nothing but luxury, forgetting that his true glory and yours are on Golgotha. Now is your Sovereign old, decrepit, unarmed and stripped bare; yet his word alone, he can make the world tremble." Is this not the world's view of Pope John Paul II? They admire his pomp and circumstance and play up his trips with his processional entourage, but they shrink when he speaks against abortion, capitalism, the moral decline of today's society. Look what happened in Cairo a few years ago when he stood strong against the promoters of the culture of death. Now let's look at the term "Rome." Is the message referring to the city itself or the Roman Catholic Church. We suspect the latter because Italy is already referred to in the message: "As for you, Italy, land of blessings, who plunged you into desolation? It is not your enemies but your friends." While Italy and the city of Rome are on this course, we will focus our attention on the Church for that, we believe, is who the Heavens are referring to here. This is further affirmed in the words given to John Bosco, " Now the voice from Heaven addresses the Pastor of pastors: 'You are in the great Conference with your Assessors, but the enemy of the good does not rest for a moment. He is studying and deploying every device against you; he will raise up enemies from among my sons. The powers of this world will vomit fire and will stifle the words of those who guard My law." Is this indeed not happening? Isn't it similar to what the Blessed Virgin Mary foretold at LaSalette when she said, "...the devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the earth." and "Everywhere there will be extraordinary wonders, as true faith has faded and false light brightens the people. Woe to the Princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches to protect their authority and dominate with pride. The Vicar of my Son will suffer a great deal, because for a while the Church will yield to large persecution, a time of darkness and the Church will witness a frightful crisis...the Holy Father will suffer a great deal. I will be with him until the end and receive his sacrifice." and the alarming prophecy: "Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the antichrist." Now let's look at the devices satan is utilizing to silence the Holy Father and Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

     First of all, let us not forget Pope Paul VI's dying words when he lamented over what the results of the Second Vatican Council had wrought, "We had intended to open a window of fresh air, but instead a tempest blew in and satan is now in the sanctuary." To further his omen let us deal with a prophecy given by Our Lady during our present time which has been confirmed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger regarding Mary's words at Akita in Japan: "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against other bishops...the Church will be full of those who accept compromises." Is this not happening with many openly lobbying against the Pope? At Fatima Sister Lucia was given a vision in which she recalls, "I saw the Holy Father in a very big house kneeling by a table with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father! We must pray very hard for him." It is interesting to note that when fellow visionary Jacinta asked Lucia if she could relate further what she saw, the latter emphatically declined, stating "No, don't you see that is part of the secret." Ah, the famous "Third Secret of Fatima" which so many deduct is apostasy within the Church. God has given us so many signs when will we see the light? Sr. Lucia told Cardinal Anthony Padiyara from India on October 11, 1992 that "He that is not with the Pope is not with God, and he that wants to be with God must be with the Pope." Many think the schism or apostasy will erupt when Pope John Paul II declares the Dogma of Mar as Co-Redemptrix, Advocate and Mediatrix of all graces. There is a plan afoot to gather petitions against this dogma, crying that it will greatly hurt ecumenism, but we find that hard to believe in light of the fact the liberal factions Call To Action and We Are Church announced they would collect over a million signatures against the Pope within a year and two years after that news, were only able to muster 35,000 signatures, many of those suspect. In contrast to that, a group calling themselves We Are Catholic rallied to the Holy Father's side, accruing over 95,000 signatures in a matter of months. Proof the loyal movement is not dead. The tactics of the liberals are to attack through the media, using that medium to insinuate without having to provide proof or sources. This is evident with the constant barrage of news anchors and reporters always referring to the Pope as "feeble" or "frail," thereby subliminally influencing the reader or viewer into believing he has served his purpose and should be put out to pasture. But the pasture our great Polish pontiff is looking to tend is the one where he can continue to shepherd the countless flock of sheep who seem so lost and whom he calls to his bosom, offering truth and protection from the ravaging wolves if only they will listen and heed his call. There have been attempts on his life, first in 1981 on the feast of Fatima at St. Peter's Square, but God would not allow His adversary to claim this crusader for the faith. God has more work for John Paul II to do and will keep him with us as long as we are faithful to Him and to His worthy Vicar on earth. There have been many within the curia and prelates around the world openly and secretly lobbying for John Paul II's removal, foisting such liberals as Cardinal Carlo Martini from Milan as their "savior." But, throughout history, few times has a cardinal, who openly sought the papacy, been elected. And throughout the history of Holy Mother Church there have been many attempts to overthrow the Church, to discredit and remove a pope. In the next installment we shall treat this and relate various messages from Heaven to the saints and how, through God's intervention, His Holy Church survived and grew stronger.

     In her final words of 1991, the Blessed Mother encourages us to focus on family and togetherness and to pray for the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart. She further exhorts us to discern the signs, receive the Sacraments and to not be deceived by the politics of our times. These messages were imparted to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in late 1991. For messages one hundred thirty-six and thirty-seven from over 630 messages to the world, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I bless you. I desire my little ones to know how Heaven rejoices for all who have welcomed my Divine Son into their hearts. The graces are abundant to all who seek the Prince of Peace and make of their souls a pure tabernacle. But many, many do not welcome Him, the Divine Child, and many others who think they have welcomed Him do so only for the moment of His birth, and then they return to the ways of the world.

      I have come to tell you this must not be, my dear children. Allow my Divine Son to dwell in you every moment of every day. O! What joy you would experience if you would seek this. Do you doubt that God will help you? Do you doubt that I shall not intercede for you and lead you to my Son?

      Let your faith be renewed, strengthened and aflame with trust and love.

      Do you desire peace--abiding peace? Put aside the world. Guard well all your thoughts and actions and do not engage in any activity which my Divine Son would refuse to do. Look to the Holy Family as the sure guide for all families. Family must be renewed, and I have come to assist all my children to do this in a most holy way through God's grace and the unity of the Holy Spirit.

      Throughout this new year ponder well the role of family as God intended it. Then, through prayer, begin to renew your own family, for God asks this of all his children.

      I solemnly tell you the family that is united in prayer, faith, hope and love shall receive abundant graces and blessings from God, which shall be your strength.

      Very dark days lie ahead. They have already begun to unfold and shall increase rapidly as the evil one seeks full dominion over God's children.

      Pray! Pray for the Triumph of my Immaculate Heart. Pray to discern the signs of the times, for God is with you and guides you. That is why I have come.

      Hasten your conversion through prayer! Receive the Sacraments. I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I am with you. I come to speak to all my children so that they may understand these words are from Heaven--from your Heavenly Mother by God's authority.

      Dear children, I tell you all the world, every nation wears a mask. The people are blinded to this mask by satan's pomp which make the lower ego, the human ego, proud, tying one's affections and emotions into a patriotic fervor.

      Do not be deceived! There is no nation upon earth without stain of sin. Rather it is the degree of sin which separates one from the other. Leave this to God to judge.

      I tell this to you so that you may, through prayer, more readily understand my words. Your country, of which I am patroness, recognizes certain "new" nations but disregards others. It is a deception, a "game", the rule by which nations play, seeking only power and glory.

      I solemnly tell you that communism is not yet dead. It has merely put on a mask, and satan clouds your eyes, your mind until you perceive this hideous monster as extinct.

      No, my dear children. Much, much prayer is required still before this reign which denies God shall forever be banished from the earth. Pray! Pray for all nations, especially your own, that its government, its people may belong to God above all else. If you do not pray as I have asked you will see the rapid decline of your nation, because the offenses against God are severe and cry out for justice.

      Dear children, pray to the Holy Spirit. Be humble, faithful, obedient servants. This new year will reveal to my children that you are in the time of the great false peace. Watch, wait, pray! I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

NEXT WEEK: Messages One Hundred Thirty-Eight and One Hundred Thirty-Nine

Click here to go to SECTION TWO or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue.

Apri1 2, 1998 volume 9, no. 66         DAILY CATHOLIC