WE HAVE MOVED!

"And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven,
saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth....
[Apocalypse (Revelation) 8:13]

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Fr. Campbell "“A Woman Clothed with the Sun” (Apoc.12:1)"

“A Woman Clothed with the Sun” (Apoc.12:1)

God’s words to Adam and Eve after their fall from grace make reference to a mysterious Woman, not Eve herself, but a Woman who was to come:

“I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel” (Gen.3:15).


Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself reveals the identity of the Woman in His words to His Mother at the marriage feast at Cana, as we read in the Gospel of St. John:

“And the wine having run short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘What wouldst thou have me do, woman? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the attendants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’” (Jn.2:1-5).

Again, as Jesus is about to die on the Cross, He speaks to His Mother and the apostle John:

“When Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold thy son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold thy mother’” (Jn.19:26,27).

The Woman again appears in the Apocalypse:

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” (Apoc.12:1).

In many of her apparitions approved by the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary confirms her Son’s words. In the year 1531 she appeared in Mexico to the native Juan Diego, leaving her image on his tilma. The pattern of the stars on her garments shows that she locates herself in the heavens in the area of the constellation Virgo. Millions of baptisms among the native population of Mexico took place in the years following the apparition. 

In 1830 Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Labouré and gave her the design for the Miraculous Medal, which many devout Catholics wear. It portrays the Woman crowned with twelve stars and the moon under her feet. Her foot is seen crushing the head of the devil. The twelve stars are on the reverse side of the medal. The medal depicts the Great Sign of the Book of the Apocalypse.  

The reason for the immense power of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the devil is that she was conceived without sin. In this way she crushed the head of that ancient serpent. Her Immaculate Conception in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854. Mary, our Mother, is the Refuge of Sinners. If we pray her Rosary devoutly every day we have a firm hope of saving our souls and finding eternal happiness with God in Heaven. 

The amazing truth about the Great Sign predicted in the Apocalypse is that it will actually appear in the sky this coming Saturday, September 23, 2017. The sun will accompany the constellation Virgo (the Virgin), the moon will be under her feet, and she will be crowned by twelve stars. Normally there are only nine stars in the “crown” above Virgo. But on September 23rd they will be joined by the planets Venus, Mercury, and Mars, which appear to the eye as stars, to make up the twelve. The planet Jupiter, King of the planets, which has been in the womb area of Virgo for nine months, will exit, or be “born” at this time.

As we read on in the Apocalypse, Chapter 12, we find that a Great Red Dragon lurks below the Woman to devour her child as soon as he is born. There is actually a serpent constellation some distance below Virgo, but another visitor to our solar system may be the culprit. Perhaps it is a planet or a red dwarf star, which carries in its wake a cloud of debris. The Apocalypse says, “And his tail was dragging along the third part of the stars of heaven, and it dashed them to the earth…” (Apoc.12:4). These would not be actual stars, of course, but meteors, or falling stars. If we are to take this literally, we may be in for a difficult time after the 23rd of September.

This constellation of heavenly bodies has never taken place before, and it will never happen again, according to those who have studied it closely. St. John’s vision was truly prophetic.

On Sunday morning, September 24th, the constellation Virgo will rise with the sun over the city of Jerusalem. If the sun is obscured by the “Red Dragon” and its cloud, the constellation may be visible to the naked eye. Only God knows what this may portend for Jerusalem and for the world. Is it a wake-up call for this sinful world, or does it announce the punishments and chastisements it deserves? From what we know of the Woman, our Mother Mary, we must conclude that it is something good for those who love her, and her Divine Son, Jesus Christ. But we must listen well, and take to heart these sobering words from Our Lord: 

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be overburdened with self-indulgence and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare. For come it will upon all who dwell upon the face of the earth. Watch, then, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to be, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk.21:34-36).

We also have this from Our Lord:

“And he spoke to them a parable. ‘Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. When they now put forth their buds, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near. Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all things have been accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away’” (Lk.21:20-33).