Marian Apparitions, Part V, Mary of Bayside New York
John J. Delaney,
editor, A Woman Clothed With the Sun
Appearing in the headlines during interesting
eras
One thing about the Mary of the apparitions, she
certainly comes at politically auspicious moments in history. She was stunning
the Catholic Church in Mexico during the sixteenth century Spanish conquest, the
same decades during which Copernicus was developing his new and controversial cosmology,
also when St. Theresa of Avila was being levitated during her ecstasies, and
when the Protestant Reformation was just catching on in Europe.
She was in France in the 1800’s during decades of
political and social upheaval (Paris, La Salette, Lourdes). She was in Fatima (1917) while Marxism was changing
the face of Russia, just before the world-wide Spanish flu epidemic of 1918,
and just before the end of the WW I. She was in Belgium (Beauraing, Banneux)
during the terrible Great Depression, just before Anti-Christ of WWII began his
ugly rise to power. In Belgium she called herself The Virgin of the Poor
(Delaney), putting herself in direct competition with Marx and Lenin, the
alleged champions of the Proletariat, and with the claims of Hitler.
What intrigues me is that “she” came at times and
seasons when mankind should have been crying for a sign, for a supernatural
intervention or correction, or for hope and divine comfort. Mary showed up when
you would want to see God do something dramatic. As I wrote in my early blog,
if God isn’t behind the Marian
apparitions, He should have been. No wonder Catholics love her so much.
Her 1971 appearance in New York, the
headquarters of the United Nations, was another matter. She came to announce
through visionary Veronica Lueken that God’s patience with mankind is used up.
The heavy, angry hand of Jesus, like the hammer of Thor, was about to come down
in spite of her constant pleas for mercy. She warned of unspeakable catastrophes:
there was the plot by Cardinals to murder Pope Paul VI and replace him with a
look-alike actor. Agents of the Anti-Christ had taken over the Vatican as early
as 1971. Not just a sort-of Anti-Christ, but 666, the one that would usher in
the Second Coming.
To bolster her claims, she brought in retinue many
well-known Catholic Saints, including (allegedly) little Jacinta, the child of
Fatima, who died in the flu epidemic. And of course, “Jesus” came with her, to
assure the Church that He Himself authorized the threats and complaints against
the Church.
Mary the Queen of Heaven mourns and weeps for the
state of the Catholic Church. She complains about the evils of abortion, the
error of Vatican II, the horrors of guitars in the church, the scandal of
higher hemlines for worldly nuns, the deceptive new Bible translations, and the
repulsive Mass in English. Priests were being led astray. Some Cardinals are
agents of Satan. The Pope is in danger of being replaced.
As a result of these evils, God would send a plague
equal to the Spanish flu that would particularly strike young children. They
would die in their mothers’ arms, but be spared losing their souls in hell. New
York will be destroyed, possibly by a tsunami. If abortion doesn’t stop and if
people don’t obey Mary’s demands, the US would be embroiled in another war
(1994). As if that wasn’t bad enough, the human race will be almost annihilated
by the Ball of Redemption, a comet that would strike the earth. This boogie
ball was mentioned month after month after month with ghastly visions of the
destruction it would cause.
It all caused me to nickname her Scareware Mary.
Scareware on your computer is a false pop-up alert that attempts to frighten
you into clicking on a malicious virus link. I first learned about scareware
after I ran the scan-scam and fried my hard drive.
Her
Queenship already established
By the time of the Belgium visitations in the
early 1930’s, again to children, Mary was already hailed as The Queen of
Heaven, The Immaculate Conception, A Co-Redemptress with Jesus Christ, the
Mediatrix of all Graces going to and coming from God, a way leading to God. She
had a “golden” Immaculate Heart equal to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At Bayside
she called herself, Our Lady of Roses,
the Help of Mothers. In 1973, Michael the Archangel tells Veronica, “Make haste and listen well to the words of
the High Queen of Heaven. Her directions will be followed or you will receive
the punishment due an ungrateful generation” (rfh, 2-10-73).
By 1972, several
dire prophecies are in place
Millions will be killed by the Ball of Redemption
or the Chastisement, a huge, round fiery comet, spinning and glowing orange
with fire and heat [Actually, comets are made of dust and ice]. Earth will be
“planet-struck.” The air will burn, choking those who don’t die by fire, and few
will be left. This is for the cleansing of mankind. Resulting tidal waves will
wash away buildings and flood the streets. At some point, New York will be
leveled [rfh, 2-1-72; 3-24-72; 5-30-72]. A plague will take away many infants
before Satan can corrupt them. The sword [of war?] was predicted by Michael,
Raphael, and Gabriel [rfh, 3-24-72]. World War III is coming in which hoards
from China march across the land. The Pope is being slowly poisoned and
weakened. They want to kill him and replace him. The Anti-christ is in America,
and in the Church. [bvm, 11-20-79, tldm] The UN is evil and should be banished.
[2-1-72; 4-10-72. rfh]
Complaints
against modernization
St. Theresa is horrified at the modernized
garments for nuns. She wants arms covered, no hair showing, and skirts to the
floor. Today’s nuns will burn in hell for their immodesty. Women must continue
to cover their head in Mass (bvm, 2-1-72).
Babies created in a test tube will have no soul [bvm,
2-1-72].
Priests who leave the priesthood will burn in hell, as will all those baptized into the Church who leave for other faiths.
The
solutions
Victim souls, no matter how young, must offer
their sufferings for atonement for sins, reparation for offenses against God,
and conversion of sinners.
People were told to bring their rosaries, medals,
and scapulas, etc., for Jesus and Mary to bless them. This practice of looking
to medals and statues with extra-natural powers is one of the issues dividing
Catholics and Protestants. As a Charismatic Protestant since 1965, I find it
amazing that Mary would bind people to this practice rather than wean them away
from it. She told people to wear them continually and never take them off. They
were also told to wear their rosaries and make their children wear these
talismans. And of course, the medals and scapulas are all about her!
When Mary appeared to Catherine Laboure in the 1830’s,
she revealed by vision a sacred medal that would keep people safely under her
mantle of protection. The Christian approach has always been to put away
animistic objects, which really often do carry spiritual influence, at the time
of conversion. When we pray the rosary, we are certainly inviting spiritual
energy into our environment, whether for good or ill. If we have doubts about
who Mary is, then we should NOT pray the rosary. She seems to thrive on the
energy those repetitious prayers create.
When we wear the scapula, it may be similar to
meditation with a mantra. Though this energy may seem protective, it goes with
us, influencing our lives. We don’t actually need those things. Protestants
believe that sincere prayer is quickly heard by our Lord. The power of God
covers those who love him and call on Him. The Atonement of Christ keeps us all
safe if we abide in the secret place with Him (Ps 91:1). He has promised to
never leave us nor forsakes us (Heb. 13:5). Evangelicals believe and have
experienced the fact that “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9). He
said, “My peace I leave you” (John 14:27). And “Come unto me all you who are weary
and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).
The fear aroused by warnings to constantly wear
sacred medals is the bondage of superstition. If someone wants to wear a medal,
let it have Scripture on it or a picture of Jesus. Let it be something normal,
and not an intense, cultic symbol like a heart with thorns around it.
And we should never put our trust in a medal,
thinking it is a talisman of salvation. Mary practically guaranteed salvation
to all those who wear the scapula.
Tune in again soon for Part VI, More About Bayside
Mary, and what, in my view, it all means.
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