Years and years ago I had a series of dreams about the Sign. One thing I remember most about it it was the huge sense of expectation that happened just before it came. It was as though all heaven and Earth held its breath. A huge sense of stillness and expectation. I believe this silence, this pause may be mentioned in the Book of Revelation, I must check: Revelation 8:1 8 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Yes. Actually the visionaries in Medugorje have said that all the Secrets of Mary there are in the Book of Revelation. Also although they do not actually say what the Sign is they do give a pretty good description of its properties. So if we approach it it seems to disappear, like a rainbow. Also it will clearly by miraculous. Personally I don't think it will be just in the one place. It will be the same sign but in many Marian sites throughout the World.
Also Jesus told St. Faustina that shortly before the end of the world, the sky will go dark and a great sign of the cross will appear in the sky. Light will come from the cross, from the places where Jesus' hands and feet were nailed, and will illuminate the earth for a time. It will be the last sign of God's mercy before the Day of Judgment arrives.
I had forgotten. I think other mystics and saints may have described this. Must check. Of course the first was the Emperor Constantine
We can also consider the vision of Saint John Bosco and the Two Pillars he saw in the raging storm. Our Lady stands on one with the inscription Auxilium Christianorum - Help of Christians and on the other the Eucharist with the title Salus Credentium - Salvation of the Faithful. In the quote above from Our Lady of Akita, she says "the only arms which will remain", which might also suggest that they are instruments we already have, rather than the Sign left by the Son of God being a future one, which of course may also happen.
Ah Kibeho! “lve buried you in signs” said the Holy Mother. Once at Kibeho one of the visionaries stared directly at the sun for one hour. No blinking. No damage whatsoever to her retina. In the 5 minute video below Emmanuel Segastashya is interviewed and we get to see his beautiful smiling face. He couldn’t read or write and he was very poor. And yet he travelled across Africa to spread the message Jesus had given him. Sometimes he would walk many miles on foot. He would walk for days without a proper meal. What little money he had he would spend on bus fare so that he could get to the next village to spread his message. The message was profound and yet so simple that a child could understand. “Repent and come back to God. The time is short. Jesus is coming back soon”. His travels ended when the genocide that killed nearly one million people happened. A firing squad put a bullet through his head.
In 1988, I and a friend spent the whole night on Krizevac praying at that cross. We were the only ones there and as the night went on it became very cold. There were lots of burnt out candles lying around so we piled them together and made a little fire. We went down the mountain in time for the early Croatian mass the next morning. It was still dark and we were getting some very funny looks from the locals in the church. We looked at each other and realised our faces were completely black from the smoke from the fire!
I was thinking about this at Mass this morning and the more it will be the Cross , because it simply makes sense. The Cross is understood by everyone Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Muslims, Atheists everyone. Plus is you place Mary in the sky with this it points to The Church. I also wonder if the Cross on Krizevac having light phenomena might be a precursor? Also at all Marian sites the Cross is prominent. There was a big huge Cross at Garabandal on the mountain when I was there recently>
I admire them too. If they are in the position to go to these places.. But to believe in our Lady, to believe without making the trip to these Shrines, is just as powerful. Father Calloway's conversion started through prayers for him, to our Mother, from his own Mother. His story is incredible. Mary can intercede for us without us stepping into an airplane. Mother will reach us wherever we are. The impossibility of traveling for People who are disabled, hungry, nearly homeless, leads me to tell them, Go to Mary.... pray to Mary....she doesn't require a plane ticket. She requires nothing, just our love. No disrespect to you Padraig, I understand where you are coming from, it's just that we can only do what we are able to do.
Meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary recently I reflect that they are about perpetual pilgrimages. The Annunciation..the arcangel Gabriel travelling from heaven to greet Mary. The Visitation... The Journey of Mary to assist St Elizabeth The Nativity..the Journey to Bethlehem The Presentation ..The Journey to Jerusalem The Finding of Jesus in the Temple.. the Journey of the search for Jesus. All life is a journey, a pilgrimage. You find this in the other mysteries too. A moving forward. If Mary specifically urges us to journey on pilgrimage to her Apparitions sites she does so for good reason. So too does our Holy Mother the Church when she urges us to travel to Holy Sites such as Rome and Jerusalem. At the same time when I do have a certain sympathy with what you say. When I was in Jerusalem I horrified the Rector of the Carmelites there. When he asked me what I thought of Jerusalem and the Holy land I said when we already have Jesus in our hearts. The indwelling Christ. The Holy land is just an extra. He reminded me that this was the actual ground were Jesus walked. But this is so small compared to the fact he lives in our hearts. Nevertheless Pilgrimage is important. If Mary calls us to travel to a certain lace..and she does. We should go there. If she does not call us to do so. Well then we should not. But pilgrimage goes back 2,000 years in Catholic history. We should not shrug our shoulders and suggest it is inconsequential.
"The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests." Something else came to mind about the 'Sign' left to us by Our Lord. The Institute which Sr. Agnes belonged to was the Handmaids of the Eucharist and early in the events at Akita Our Lady had said to Sr. Agnes to add the word Truly to the prayer of the Institute, in relation to the Divine Presence in the Eucharist. Perhaps it could be read in the sense that when everything else is stripped away, the weapons which will still be available to us are the Rosary and the Blessed Sacrament. Just a few thoughts but I can also see that the Cross / Crucufix could be the intended Sign.
