Our Lady of Tre Fontane

Bruno Cornacchiola though raised a Catholic grew to not only detest everything Catholic but also nursed a deep hatred for the Catholic Church and vowed action in order to bring down the Church he so hated.

Bruno's hatred of the Catholic Church was not helped in that he grew up poor and so kept company with unruly boys of his own age. After only receiving a rudimentary education Bruno joined the military which seemed to suit his need for constant excitement and fed his need to hate someone or something.

One would think with such hatred eating at his very soul, that Bruno would be a lost cause, but God and our Lady thought differently. So even though Bruno went on his own evil path, soon God would intervene by sending the Mother of God to appeal to him directly.

Before this though, Bruno decided to go and fight in the Spanish civil war, though he had no particular ideology Bruno fought simply for the love of it. When he arrived in Spain Bruno met up with a Lutheran man who convinced Bruno that the Catholic Church was the cause of all the world evils and needed to be destroyed, most especially the Pontiff! These words fed Bruno's already active hatred of all things Catholic, and he vowed then to one day kill the Pope!

This was no empty threat for while in Spain Bruno bought a dagger in order to carry out this evil deed, his heart was indeed in the depths of darkness as his family also felt the wrath of this hate filled man. Bruno was not a good husband and constantly beat his wife, he also threw out any statues or other religious items from his home. The Cornacchiola household was certainly NOT a happy one, as his wife lived in fear everyday of her life and the children suffered as they themselves were beaten and witnessed their fathers violence towards their mother.

Due to his violent nature Bruno demanded that his wife leave the Catholic Church and join a protestant Church, under great duress Bruno's wife did just that but only after she had applied conditions that Bruno would make the Nine Fridays devotion. Bruno scoffed at this 'challenge' and so did as his wife suggested, it had little impact on this enraged man and so Iolanda left the Catholic Church and joined her husband in the new Protestant Church, though she was sorely grieved at taking this action.

Bruno eventually found a steady job as a tram conductor in Rome, but this brought no relief to the family as Bruno's violence intensified against Iolanda and his children who had to deal with his abuse and drunkenness. Iolanda though did not give up hope and constantly prayed for the salvation of her husband and the well being of their children.

This man's heart was so full of hate that he soon became an avowed communist much to his wife's distress. Bruno had also not forgotten his vow to kill the Pope and so he began to plan the ultimate crime, to assassinate the reigning Pontiff.

One day while he was preparing an anti-Church and anti-Mary speech, Bruno took his children to the park where he sat and wrote notes on his speech as his children played ball. As Bruno prepared his notes he could hear his children gleefully playing together, this did not deter Bruno from his course.

It was only when the children cried out that they had lost their ball that Bruno with great irritation left his notes and began to help his children look for the missing ball. While Bruno and his children were searching for the ball Bruno could hear his son Gianfranco say over and over 'oh beautiful lady, beautiful lady'. Very much in fear for his son Bruno searched for Gianfranco and found him kneeling transfixed before the small grotto, soon all three of Bruno's children knelt in awe at the sight of this most beautiful lady. Bruno immediately tried to get his children away from the Grotto but to no avail, he as strong as he was could not lift his own little one's. Finally Bruno yelled, 'God help us!'

Upon yelling this out, Bruno could finally see what his children were seeing, as two hands reached out and touched his eyes he gradually saw before him the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He also felt a swelling of great inner joy at the sight of his most gracious and lovely woman. Bruno like his children could not move or remove his eyes away from this glorious woman who was wearing a green mantle over a white dress with a rose sash tied at her waist. Her expression was one of deep sadness and Bruno felt immediate compunction over the sad look in her eyes, but still he could not tear his eyes away from such a sight as this most wondrous lady.

As Bruno took in this sight he also noticed that the beautiful and sad lady held a book in her hands which she cradled close to her heart and beneath her feet was a broken crucifix on top of a black cloth. Bruno could hardly believe what he was seeing but he could not move as he listened to our Lady speak to him.

Our lady bent a little towards Bruno and said these words to him, "I am she who is related to the Divine Trinity. I am the Virgin of Revelation. You have persecuted me, now is the time to stop! Come and be part of the Holy Fold which is the Celestial Court on earth. God's promise is unchangeable and will remain so. The nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart, which your faithful wife persuaded you to observe before you walked down the road of lies, has saved you." Our Lady continued to instruct Bruno as she said, "Live the divine doctrine. Practise Christianity. Live the Faith....The Hail Marys that you pray with faith and love are like golden arrows that go straight to the heart of Jesus," and, "Pray much and recite the Rosary for the conversion of sinners, of unbelievers and of all Christians."

Bruno was stunned at her words and a transformation began to take place within the heart of this man who had been driven by hate but had now been touched by Divine Love through the help of our Lady. Bruno's heart began to beat with the chorus of love rather than the loud and raucous diatribe of hate, a miracle had happened within the soul of this one man which would affect his life forever more.

Our Lady also had more messages for this simple man who's life would never be the same again, as she continued to speak with him, "I promise this special favour: With this sinful soil (the soil of the grotto) I shall perform great miracles for the conversion of unbelievers and of sinners.....Science will deny God and will refuse His calls." Our lady then spoke of her Assumption into heaven, "My body could not and did not decay. I was assumed into Heaven by my Son and the angels." The Blessed Mother also instructed Bruno with a special message for the Holy Father himself, "You must go to the Holy Father, the Pope, the Supreme Pastor of Christianity, and personally tell him my message. Bring it to his attention. I shall tell you how to recognize the one who will accompany you to see the Pope."

After this message Our Lady disappeared leaving a pungent scent of roses, Bruno was almost in shock at what he had seen and heard, he would never be the same again. Upon returning home, Iolanda could smell the scent of roses and when she enquired the children blurted out that they had seen a most beautiful lady, Iolanda with tears in her eyes forgave her husband as Bruno begged her forgiveness for his vicious behaviour towards her and their children.

Bruno was indeed a changed man and he with his entire family re-converted back to the Catholic Faith which filled his wife's heart with great joy. Never again would Bruno raise his hand in violence against his family.

It would take two years before Bruno could fulfill Our Lady's request when he and a group were invited to pray the Rosary in private with Pope Pius XII. After completing this most holy prayer the Pope then asked if anyone wished to speak with him. Bruno immediately raised his hand and with great sorrow he knelt before the Pope and begged his forgiveness for his years of hatred and his intention to kill this holy man of God, the Pope unhesitatingly gave Bruno his forgiveness.

Even though over time many would try and use this simple man for their own purposes, Bruno has maintained what he saw and what our Lady revealed to him. He also continued to remain a devout Catholic with a sincere devotion to the Mother of God.

I would encourage all to read more about Our Lady of Tre Fontane, with due consideration that the Church is investigating this amazing vision of our Lady of Revelations.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

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Visions of St. Rose of Lima

Isabel De Flores Y Del Oliva was born in the year 1585 to very devout parents of Spanish-Indian heritage. Because of her rosy cheeks, little Isabel was quickly nicknamed Rose and it is as Rose that she is now remembered in the Catholic Church, as the first Saint of the America's.

From a very early age Rose would show an unusual love for Jesus and the suffering that our Lord undertook in our place. Even as a baby many people including her parents were amazed that this child would gaze adoringly at the Crucifix and nothing seemed to distract her from her contemplation of Jesus. Her understanding of Christ's suffering was almost an inherent condition within the soul of this devout child, even when she too was made to suffer through an operation she uttered no cries but withstood the pain in silence. Another time when Rose was suffering with severe earache once again she uttered no cries of pain nor were tears shed and when questioned about how she withstood such pain little Rose responded, "our Lord's crown of thorns must have hurt much more."

There was always something mysterious about the little Rose who seemed to grasp the most fundamental aspects of the Faith and most especially of prayer. When her Mother tried to teach her daughter to read and write, she gave up in exasperation, a little while later Rose came to her mother and gave her a page where she had written down some prayers. Rose's mother was most surprised and startled and upon asking her daughter how she had come to write such things, Rose surprised her mother even more when she replied very honestly, " I asked the baby Jesus to teach me, Mama, to save you the work; and He did."

When still quite young Rose's brother built her a little hermitage, and from this little building Rose would spend much of the day and night in prayer while practicing severe mortifications. Her diet consisted of stale bread crusts, bitter herbs and water, when Lent would begin, Rose also deprived herself of her bread crusts. All this seems astounding to those of us living in this modern world where going without one meal can leave our tummy's grumbling in discontent, but in Rose's era this was considered normal acts of penance.

One day Rose noted the worried look upon the face of her parents and though her father was loathe to tell her, he in end confided that he had overspent their family budget and that the creditors were now insisting he pay the money that was owed immediately upon saying this Rose's Papa exclaimed, "all is lost. It is the end." It was not the end as far as Rose was concerned and she immediately began praying that God would help her poor Papa. As Rose prepared to leave the Church with her brother, a man approached Rose and said to her, "I have this package of money, for the senorita. Give this to your father for his needs." Upon returning home her family was jubilant that their money worries were over but much more as the family now considered that Rose was indeed a special child of God.

Once when praying in Church Rose came under severe attack by the devil who sent her many temptations to try and lure her away from her first love which is Jesus. Upon finally overcoming this terrible attack, Rose questioned her Lord in these words, "Lord, if you had been here I would not have been exposed to such horrible temptations." Upon which her beloved Lord replied, "Rose, if I had not been there, do you think you would have conquered?"

One day when Rose was praying at Church with her brother, Fernando it came time for them to leave, whereupon Rose found she could not move. Growing exasperated with his errant sister, Fernando insisted that she get up immediately, usually very obedient to everyone's commands Rose found she could not move and when Fernando came to help her he also could not move his sister who seemed set in stone. Finally Rose prayed to our Lady and said, "Good Mother, if you deliver me, I promise you to go back to my mother and live at home with my parents as long as you order me to do so, instead of in the convent." After she had finished this prayer Rose was finally able to move and returned home with a puzzled and stunned Fernando.

Even though Rose had set her heart on entering a Religious Order it was not to be as her parents were opposed to it most especially her mother, this did not mean that God had rejected her and soon it became apparent to Rose that she should join the Dominican Third Order. It was also at this time while serving the sick and the needy that Rose met and became spiritual friends with her soul friend, Martin de Porres, who helped her with the sick and feeble.

Many times Rose's mother, Olivia would become frustrated at the piousness shown by her devout and very beautiful daughter, it was not that Olivia did not love her daughter indeed she did! It simply vexed her that Rose did not seem to be like other girls and long for marriage and babies. Therefore Olivia stood opposed to anything religious that her daughter wished to embrace. Then one day as Olivia lay down to rest, she saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary who said these words to Olivia, "This rose represents your daughter, my Son's cherished flower: I plucked her for Him from your garden and He will not let her go. Only see how grateful He is to you for having tended her for Him and for having given her to me!" Our Lady then showed the baby Jesus to Olivia as she lay there Olivia then saw a young woman in a Dominican habit kneel before Jesus and kiss His baby feet, Olivia knew this was her lovely daughter Rose, then Olivia heard a voice say, "Come, spouse of Christ, accept the crown the Lord has prepared for thee from eternity." After seeing this Olivia stopped all objections to her daughters need to live as Dominican Third Order.

Not all of Rose's experiences were grand there were times where she suffered the most severe spiritual aridity. During such a dark night of the soul Rose confided the depths of her anguish to her spiritual brother, Martin de Porres, as she fretted that perhaps she had offended her beloved Lord. Martin was able to comfort Rose with these wise words, "I am not at all surprised at this purification the Lord allows you to bear. I should be more surprised if you had not begun to suffer some such trial. It is the lot of those whom God wishes to raise to the highest sanctity to pass this way. You should find in the very violence of your trial a source of encouragement, since He purifies most, those for home He has destined the most perfect union with Himself!" This brought Rose great comfort as she suffered through this dark and lonely path towards her beloved Lord.

During her life there were meaning miracles attributed to Rose not only of visions but also of healings, this brought her to the attention of the Inquisition, in which through her evident piety and holiness the Inquisitors were appeased. Throughout the entire life of Rose was her utter obedience to those in authority, she never once contradicted or disobeyed an order from anyone in authority, this also impressed the Inquisition.

One of Roses last visions was of seeing herself in the middle of a beam of light which she knew extended from the source of all goodness which is God. Within the light was a beautiful rainbow of many beautiful colours also Rose saw a Cross covered in the precious blood of our Lord. Through this beautiful light Rose could also see our Lord resplendent and so bright that she could almost not bear to look upon Him, Rose was enraptured. Next to our Lord Rose also saw a set of scales and surrounding these scales were Angels and souls upon the scales the Angels placed great weights which Rose knew to be tribulations and sufferings, she also saw the weight of her own scales and knew she would suffer much. Once the sufferings had been completed the Angels then placed graces upon the scales the graces were equal to the sufferings Rose knew this meant that for every suffering there is the compensating grace which helps the soul endure suffering for the sake of love. Our Lord then spoke these words, "Affliction is always accompanied by Grace; Grace is proportionate to Suffering. The measure of My gifts is increased with the measure of trials. The Cross is the true and only road that leads souls to Heaven." Rose then felt her own soul fill with an abundance of Graces.

After this vision Rose was led the way of the Cross as she suffered immensely before she died, Rose's last words were, "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!...Jesus be with me!"

Upon breathing her last, her body retained its suppleness and an odor of sanctity surrounded the body of this most beautiful Saint.

I would encourage all to read more about St. Rose of Lima.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.