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In the words that the visionaries attribute to the Virgin Mary in her apparitions (in different places and moments of history), there are some messages she repeats over and over. They speak of love, repentance, reparation, conversion, grace, and the final triumph of good. Here are some of them:
You are loved
Every apparition of the Virgin Mary has as its ultimate goal our salvation. What great love God has for us that he sends us his own Mother as his messenger!
Mary, too, shows her love and compassion in the way she addresses the visionaries as her children.
“I will give [God] to the people in all my personal love, in my compassion, in my help, in my protection: because I am truly your merciful Mother” (Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, 1531)
Guadalupe’s message is particularly consoling as she assures us, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”
Pray
“Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners, because many souls go to hell because there is no one who can sacrifice and pray for them.”
(Our Lady of Fatima, August 15, 1917)
“I want you to recite the Rosary every day to obtain the end of the war and peace in the world.”
(Our Lady of Fatima, June 13, 1917).
“Pray to God for sinners.” (Our Lady of Lourdes, 1858)
“I wish you recite the rosary every day!” (Our Lady of Gietrzwald, 1877)
“Do you say your prayers well, my children?” The children answered, “Not too well, Madame, hardly at all!” The Lady said: “Ah, my children, it is very important to do so, at night and in the morning. When you don’t have time, at least say an Our Father and a Hail Mary, and whenever you can, say more.” (Our Lady of La Salette, September 19, 1846)
Repentance, reparation, and conversion
“Penance, penance, penance! (…) Kiss the ground as an act of penance for sinners!” (Our Lady of Lourdes of February 24, 1858)
“Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?” (Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, 1917)
“If my people are converted, the very stones will become mounds of wheat and the potatoes will grow self-sown.” (Our Lady of La Salette, September 19, 1846)
Obedience
“Go to the Bishop and tell him that I desire a temple on this plain. Go and put all your effort into it.” (Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 9, 1531)
There will be suffering…
“If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church.” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917)
“The war is going to end; if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out…” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917)
“I do not promise to make you happy in this world but in the other.” (Our Lady of Fatima, February 18, 1858.)
… and a happy ending
“Those who put their trust in me will be saved.” (Our Lady of Akita, October 13, 1973)
“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph.” (Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917)
“But pray my children. God will hear you in a short time. My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion….” (Our Lady of Pontmain, January 15, 1871)
“This place will remain until the end of time so that the virtue of God may work wonders and marvels through my intercession for those who in their time of need invoke my patronage.” (Our Lady of the Pillar to the Apostle James the Greater, January 2, 40).
A help for faith
These messages that the visionaries claim to receive from the Virgin Mary are not dogmas of faith. Each person is free to believe them or not.
The Catholic Church considers them “private revelations,” distinct from the Revelation contained in the Bible and interpreted by the Magisterium.
With prudence, the Church does recognize some apparitions as credible and offers orientations to help enliven faith and hope. On May 17, 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued updated norms for discerning the truth of apparitions and other supernatural phenomena.
In 2023, the Pontifical International Marian Academy launched an “International Observatory on Marian Apparitions and Mystical Phenomena” to analyze and interpret apparitions and other mystical phenomena linked to Our Lady.
The “Miracle Hunter” website is also an easily accessible resource to know which apparitions have been deemed credible by the Church.
And today we celebrate...