The Visions and Miracles of Saint Padre Pio

Much has been written about that great man of the Church known as Padre Pio, let us examine some of the more extraordinary experiences that touched the life of Padre Pio, those who were close to him and for the world.

Francesco Forgione was born in the year 1887 to poor parents, Grazio and Maria who were farmers in the region of Pietrelcina, though a poor family the Forgione family were rich in love of God and the Church. From early youth the young Francisco had a horror and aversion towards sin to the extent that he would often refuse to play with his contemporaries as they often swore and behaved badly. So the young boy lived a life of deep prayer even in one so young, he felt the call to live as holy as possible in order to please God and God alone! He would often practice penances even to having a rock as his pillow and going without meals, in order to make reparation for his sins and the sins of others. Francisco at the young age of 16 entered the Order of the Capuchin Friars and in January 1903 he took the habit and the name Brother Pio. In 1907 Brother Pio took his final Vows, and was known as Padre Pio.

Though God would touch Padre Pio's life in extraordinary ways, within himself Padre Pio was known for his uncompromising nature, his compassion to all he met and his determination to remain faithful to the Teachings of the Church and his Order, and all in a spirit of humility. Even though he embraced and lived in a spirit of humility and meekness this did not mean that the devil left him alone in fact the opposite was the case, for the devil truly fears a humble and meek spirit that is devoted to God.

Even from a young age the devil would assault this most noble boy with horrible and terrifying dreams, but the young boy held fast to his Faith and trusted in God's Mercy and relied on Him for strength. Upon becoming a Priest the devil increased his attacks upon this holy soul, but now the devil became direct and took to physically attacking this holy Priest with his diabolical assaults upon his person. Padre Pio bore all the pain in a spirit of humbleness and intense prayer as he drew closer to his source of strength, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through the intensity of his prayer life Padre Pio felt the comforting presence of the Blessed Mother and his Guardian Angel, which strengthened him as his spirit was illumined as to the intensity of the spiritual battle he would face with the enemy of God, Satan himself!

Padre Pio was shown a vision from his youth what this spiritual battle would entail, as he recounted later, "he saw himself in the middle of a large hall between two groups of people, one group had beautiful faces, the other hideous ones. Just then a huge monster came from the end of the hall toward him, but Jesus appeared, in order to give Francesco strength. Before the monster could reach Francesco it was struck by lightening and disappeared. The Lord said to him, "That is the fiend against whom you will have to fight." This vision would prove to be fortuitous, as many pilgrims sought this holy Priest in the Sacrament of Penance, and led Padre Pio into a deeper prayer life, for this holy Priest did not fear Satan but he did fear offending God, a fear shared by many Mystics within the Catholic Church.

Throughout his life Padre Pio had always practiced severe mortifications and austerities in order to overcome the temptation of the body and live for Christ alone. As Padre Pio exclaimed, " I am happier than ever when I am suffering, and if I would listen to the promptings of my heart, I would ask Jesus to give me all the sufferings of men." Though Padre Pio trusted God with absoluteness, he distrusted himself and at times doubts would impose themselves upon him as he confided to a friend, "How difficult, Father, is the way of Christian perfection for a soul so ill-disposed as mine. My badness makes me fearful at every step I take." As in the case of Padre Pio and many other Mystics at times our Lord will allow a soul to undergo extreme aridity of soul in order to strengthen that which is weakest in their nature, but God never abandons a soul even if that soul has lost all 'feelings' of God.

God knows man's frailty and so illuminates the soul with the Spirit and comforts the afflicted soul with His own Presence and also the comforting presence of our Lady, which strengthens the soul to continue to fight the good fight. Padre Pio was also Graced with the Gift of bi-location, and also carried within him the odor of sanctity, where people could smell the scent of roses wherever Padre Pio happened to be. Another Gift given to Padre Pio was the Stigmata where a soul is marked with the sufferings of the Crucified Christ, upon their person, when this first occurred Padre Pio described these wounds as such to his Superior, "red patches, about the size of a cent, and accompanied by acute pain....the pain was much more acute in the left hand and it still persists. I also feel some pain in he soles of my feet." This Gift of the Stigmata would bring both joy and suffering to this holy Priest as he became the focus of much unwanted attention, this truly mortified this humble Priest, as he and his Superiors coped with the ever growing crowds of people who came to be near Padre Pio. Around this time Padre Pio also described another extraordinary occurrence to his Superior, "While I was hearing the confessions of our boys on the evening of 5th, I was suddenly filled with extreme terror at the sight of a celestial being whom I saw with my mind's eye. He held a kind of weapon in his hand, similar to a steel sword with a sharp, flaming point. At the very instant I saw all this, I saw the person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. It was all done in a split second. I was hardly able to cry out and felt as if I were dying. I cannot ell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my insides were torn and ruptured by that weapon, everything lashed by fire and steel. From that day on, I was wounded to death. In the depths of my soul, I feel an open wound with causes me to suffer continual agony." Only few Saints have been honoured to share the wounds of Christ, one of whom was St. Francis of Assisi.

Once people heard about this miraculous occurrence and the other Gifts given to Padre Pio they flocked to him in thousands, whereupon Padre Pio would often be in the Confessional for up to and over 18 hours a day. This remarkable Priest also had the Gift of reading souls, so those people who came to him through the Sacrament of Penance would often be reminded by him of their forgotten sins. These are the testimonies of several people who experienced Padre Pio's extraordinary Gifts. In one case a man felt he had sinned by gluttony and so he went to see Padre Pio as he explains in his own words, "Once I ate too many figs and I felt guilty about it. I thought I had committed a sin of gluttony. Since I would have confession with Padre Pio the next day I thought I would confess it then. The following day as I was walking slowly on the road to the convent, I made an examination of conscience. The sin of gluttony did not come to mind. Padre Pio heard my confession but before concluding and before the absolution I said to him, "I think I am guilty of yet another sin but I can’t remember it." "Don’t worry," he answered me smiling: "for two figs." This is another testimony by a man who went to Padre Pio in the Confessional, "I had decided to give up smoking and to offer this small sacrifice to Padre Pio. Since then, every evening, with the intact packet of cigarettes in my hand, I stayed in front of his image telling him, ‘Father...it is one...’ The second day, ‘Padre, it is two…’ Three months later, I went to San Giovanni Rotondo to see Padre Pio after doing the same thing every evening. ‘Padre,’ I told him as soon as I saw him, ‘I haven't been smoking for 81 days, 81 packets...’ Padre Pio said, ‘I know everything you know, you made me count the packets every evening." Though Padre Pio was a compassionate and kind Priest still he had no time for hypocrites as is seen by these two cases who also went to him for Confession, "A man of some distinction within his own community had the reputation of being a good Catholic, admired and esteemed by all who knew him. Actually he was living in sin. He had neglected his wife, and was now compensating for his loneliness by a relationship with another woman. On one occasion he went to confession to Padre Pio. In order to justify himself, he started talking about a "spiritual crisis." But he had not counted on facing an "extraordinary" confessor. Padre Pio stood up at once and shouted, "What spiritual crisis? You are a litterbug! And God is angry with you. Go away!" As is seen here Padre Pio had no time for those who were trying to use and abuse the Sacrament of Penance for their own purposes. Once again we have another case of a woman caught in serious sin when she went to Padre Pio, "A woman had come from England to see Padre Pio and for him to hear her confession. She went to his confessional but Padre Pio closed the window saying: "I am not available to you." The woman stayed for a few weeks and during this time, daily returned to his confessional and daily was turned away. Finally, Padre Pio consented to hear her confession. She asked the Padre why he made her wait so long to be heard. Padre Pio answered: "And You?" "How long have you made Our Lord wait?" You should wonder how Jesus could welcome you after you committed so many sacrileges. You have delayed your judgment for years, besides sinning against your husband and your mother you have received Holy Communion in mortal sin. The woman was stunned and reformed. She cried when she received absolution. She returned to England a few days later, very happy." It is here that we learn a valuable lesson in the seriousness of sin and to not take the Sacrament of Penance without complete remorse and sorrow for one's sins!

There were also many miraculous events which happened near or around Padre Pio, once during the years of the war food had got so low that many of his fellow Priests were in terrible need of bread. As the townsfolk were also suffering the Priests gave much of their food rations away till one day they were left with hardly no supplies for themselves, so they prayed that the Lord would provide them with some sustenance whereupon the Priests were amazed to see Padre Pio's arms full of bread. When his fellow Priests questioned as to how Padre Pio came upon such a treasure he replied that a pilgrim had knocked on the door and given the bread to him. Another miraculous event occurred when a mother and father who were at Mass came home to find that their young daughter had been accidentally burned in a hot tub of water. The parents immediately sent for a doctor who told them to take their daughter immediately to hospital as she could die at any moment. The parents were terrified and in deep anguish over their beloved child, when suddenly they heard their daughter cry out to them as she said, "Mommy, I don’t have a wound anymore!" "Who has taken your wound?" I asked her out of curiosity. She answered: "Father Pio has come. He took my wounds by putting his whole hand on my burn."

Even the Holy Souls in Purgatory would seek out the help of this holy Priest. One such case was when a soul from Purgatory appeared before Padre Pio, he then told Padre Pio that he had died in a fire and that God had granted him permission that he was able to visit Padre Pio and to request a Mass be offered for the repose of his soul. The next morning Padre Pio offered up the Mass and the soul was able to enter Paradise to spend eternity in Heaven. Another case was when a woman who had just lost her mother appealed to Padre Pio, whereupon after offering a Mass for the repose of her mothers soul, she too entered Eternal Glory into the Kingdom of Heaven.

These are only a few of the miraculous events which happened around Saint Padre Pio a most holy Son of the Church.

I would encourage all to read more about this most illustrious Saint, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

Akita-A Warning To The World

Signs Of The Times

There are many Priests and theologians who believe that the messages given at Akita to Sister Agnes Sasagawa is connected to the messages given to the three young seer's at Fatima Portugal. One of the reasons being that in 1969 while Agnes was recovering from an illness in hospital a Priest heard Agnes say the Fatima prayer at the end of each Decade. This confused the Priest for though he recognised the origins of the prayer it had not yet been released to the people in Japan, Agnes told him that her Guardian Angel had instructed her to pray that particular prayer.

As this particular apparition has been written previously in our archives, let us take a closer look at the actual messages given through Sister Agnes to spread throughout the world.

Here Sister Agnes describes what she saw as she prayed in the chapel on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. "Suddenly, I saw a blinding light shining from the tabernacle. I immediately prostrated myself in adoration and when I lifted my eyes, I saw a soft light which enveloped the altar like a mist or a dense smoke in which appeared a cohort of angels turned towards the Blessed Sacrament whose pure and clear voices proclaimed "Holy, Holy, Holy". On my right I could hear a voice praying alongside my own: " Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, present in the Holy Eucharist, I consecrate my body and soul to be entirely one with Your Heart, being sacrificed at every instant on all the altars of the world and giving praise to the Father, pleading for the coming of His Kingdom. Please receive this humble offering of myself. Use me as you will for the glory of the Father and the salvation of souls. Most Holy Mother of God, never let me be separated from Your Divine Son. Please defend and protect me as Your special child. Amen."

Sister Agnes belonged to the Servants of the Holy Eucharist and her life was mainly spent in contemplative prayer, she was no different from any other of her fellow Sisters but God would touch Sister Agnes in profound ways and also to warn the world of coming chastisements if people did not amend their ways. This devout Sister would also receive the Stigmata which are the wounds of Christ given to chosen souls, the Stigmata has only been given to the most holy Saints in the Church.

As Sister Agnes was having her bandage changed on her hand which had begun bleeding with no due cause she heard the voice of an Angel say to her: " Do not fear. Pray with fervor not only because of your sins, but in reparation for those of all men. The world today wounds the most Sacred Heart of Our Lord by its ingratitude's and injuries. The wounds of Mary are much deeper and more sorrowful than yours. Let us go to pray together in the chapel." When Agnes turned to look at her Angel who she had not seen before she was stunned to see that it looked like her sister who had died before she was able to be baptized. The Angel though smiled and replied gently to Agnes that it was not her sister saying simply, "I am the one who is with you and watches over you."

Though a little disappointed Sister Agnes accompanied her Angel to the Chapel when suddenly as she knelt in prayer the statue of the Virgin Mary seem to come to life and was bathed in a brilliant light, Sister Agnes then fell to the ground in adoration as our Lady spoke to her, "My daughter, my novice, you have obeyed me well in abandoning all to follow me. Is the infirmity of your ears painful? The wound will be healed, be sure. Be patient. It is the last trial. Does the wound cause you to suffer? Pray in reparation for the sins of men. Each person in tis community is my irreplaceable daughter. Do you say well the prayer of the Handsmaid of the Eucharist? Then, let us pray it together." As Agnes prayed she said "Jesus present in the Eucharist" when our Lady interrupted her and said very gently "Truly Present" and once again Our Lady instructed that this form should be said, "From now on, you will add TRULY." After Sister Agnes had completed her prayers as our Lady requested she heard a voice from Heaven say, "Pray very much for the Pope, bishops and priests. Since your Baptism you have always prayed faithfully for them. Pray very much....very much. Tell your superior all that passed today and obey him in everything that he will tell you."

After hearing Sister Agnes pained increased as she lay prostrate on the floor, she then heard the voice of an Angel say to her, " Your sufferings will end today. Carefully engrave in the depth of your heart the thought of the blood of Mary. The blood she shed by Mary has profound meaning. This precious blood is shed to ask your conversion, to ask for peace, in reparation for the ingratitude and the outrages towards the Lord. As with devotion to the Sacred Heart, apply yourself to devotion to the most Precious Blood. Pray in reparation for all men." Sister Agnes knew that the blood the Angel was referring to was from the statue of Mary which miraculously had blood seeping from it. Sister Agnes had also been suffering from severe deafness as well as the holy Stigmata, but in all humbleness she accepted all pain in quiet and with no resentment.

Our Lady also had warnings for the world which would be given to us through Sister Agnes, as the statue of Mary kept weeping blood from both the eyes and hands. Our Lady said to Sister Agnes these words, "Many men in the world, afflict the Lord. I desire souls to console Him, to soften the anger of the Heavenly Father. I wish, with my Son, for souls who will repair by their suffering and their poverty for the sinners and ungrateful ones." These words are important to reflect on as modernism and other old heresies enter through the back door of our Glorious Church. Our Lady continued on the same theme, "In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind. With my son, I have intervened so many times to appease the wrath of the Father. I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering the sufferings of the Son on the Cross. His Precious Blood, and beloved souls who console Him forming a cohort of victim souls. Prayer, penance, and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father's anger...Let each one endeavor, according to capacity to offer oneself entirely to the Lord."

On the anniversary of the completion of the apparitions at Fatima Our Lady once again spoke to Agnes with these prophetic words, "As I told you , if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible chastisement on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one has never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. 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 the priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate Me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres... churches and altars sacked: the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will no longer be pardon for them..."

When reading the above and contemplating its sincere and grave warning to the world one is also reminded of Scripture, "As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, "Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus said to them in reply, "See that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All these are the beginning of the labor pains. Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come. "When you see the desolating abomination spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, a person on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house, a person in the field must not return to get his cloak. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days....for at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened. If anyone says to you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'There he is' do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told it to you beforehand..."Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory...Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."

As we watch in horror the terrible catastrophes which are inflicted upon the world let us not forget the true evil that is abortion which happens every second of every day somewhere in the world as more and more countries legalize this brutal evil upon the innocents, our unborn babies. When not even Mothers will protect their child, and may try and ignore its existence, God does NOT!

Let us also remain aware of the movement to legalize same sex marriages which is again legalizing SIN as if it were proper and normal behaviour this is NOT what the Church teaches us nor what Scripture instructs us!

Where men and women work hard to earn a decent living for their families in the most poverty stricken countries as the more wealthy corporations pay meager wages to what is becoming a slave trade. Where children as young as 5 are made to work at sewing machines so the more wealthy in society may wear designer labels at what cost to the worker?

Also within our Church which is being attacked outside and also within by the error of modernism and our world becomes more and more secularized, even to banning the reading of the Bible in some countries!

Like Sister Agnes let us also join in prayers of reparation for the sins of men who have little or no conscience for if the Christian refuses to pray and make reparation who will?

I encourage all to read and learn more about the meaning of Akita.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

The Visions of St. Gertrude The Great

Gertrude lived in a golden age that had some of the most inspiring Mystics and writers of great worth to the Catholic Church and the world, Mystics such as Francis of Assisi, Albert the Great and the writer Dante.

Gertrude herself was born in the year 1256 in what was Saxony(Germany), not much is known about her beginnings suffice to say she was placed into an orphanage at the young age of 5 years old. This is not unusual for this time period for many women often died while giving birth and the lack of hygiene also contributed to many deaths brought on by diseases.

Though still very young Gertrude found a home with the Benedictine Nuns in Helfta, being so young the Mother Abbess placed Gertrude into the care of Mechtilde of Hackeborn, who happened to be the sister of the Mother Abbess. In this holy though austere atmosphere, the young Gertrude thrived, it would be when she turned 26 years of age that God touched her soul in a direct manner.

One day as Gertrude made her way down the hall, she bowed as a Sister passed by, but it was when the 'Sister' stopped that Gertrude saw that it was our Lord who was appearing before her, Gertrude described Him in these words, " He is more beautiful than all the children of men". Gertrude was awestruck by seeing our Lord before her, especially as she had been suffering spiritual aridity for sometime, her heart filled with such joy it nearly burst. Our Lord spoke to her saying, "Your salvation is at hand; why are you consumed with grief? Have you no counselor, that you are so changed by sadness?" Gertrude upon hearing these words then found herself before a choir of nuns as she looked on and observed them singing praises to God, our Lord then said to Gertrude, " I will save you, I will deliver you; fear not." Jesus then placed His hand on Gertrude assuring her that He would keep His promise. This brought such joy to Gertrude's heart and soul as she had suffered great torments in her spiritual aridity. Our Lord then consoled Gertrude with these words, "You have licked the dust with My enemies, and you have suckered honey amidst thorns; but return now to Me-I will receive you, and inebriate you with the torrent of My celestial delights."

Gertrude was stunned by the enormity of seeing her beloved Lord and tried to reach out to Him in her zealousness, but found instead that a barrier stood before her, which Gertrude recognised as her sins which was separating them. Before Gertrude fell into a deep sadness, our gracious Lord instead reached for her and Gertrude took hold of His Hand which then brought her to His side. Through this Gertrude was made to realise that it was the distractions of the world which had distanced her from experiencing the love of God, she was made to realise what God found pleasing and what He did not! Gertrude from then on decided to do away with the vanities of the world including reading fine books which had very little spiritual content and other vagaries of delight such as music which did not praise God.

Upon receiving the five wounds of our Lord within her heart, Gertrude exclaimed, "O my Savior, I wish to bring to you every soul, that You might take delight in each." Gertrude was to become the recipient of many Divine Messages for the world and to experience many more miracles.

One of these miracles was when she was visited by St. John the beloved Apostle with Jesus by his side, where upon a stunned Gertrude exclaimed, "my most amiable Lord, how can this be that You present Your most beloved disciple to me-me, an unworthy creature?" Whereupon our Lord responded with this, "I wish to establish between him and you an intimate friendship; he shall be the Apostle, to instruct and to correct you." Upon finishing this St. John then spoke to Gertrude, "Come, Spouse of my Master, together let us lay our heads on the most tender bosom of the Lord, in which all the treasures of Heaven and earth are enclosed." Upon hearing this Gertrude then placed her head upon the chest of Jesus with John by her side, as she listened to the beating of His Sacred Heart Gertrude exclaimed in exultation, "well beloved of the Lord, did these harmonious beatings, which rejoice my soul, also rejoice yours when you reposed during the Last Supper on the bosom of our Savior?"..How is it then that in your gospel you have spoken so little of the loving secrets of the Heart of Jesus Christ?" St. John the Apostle replied to Gertrude, "My ministry was confined to speaking of the Divine Word, the eternal Son of the Father, some words of deep meaning upon which human intelligence might meditate for ever without ever exhausting their richness; but to these latter times was reserved the grace of hearing the eloquent voice of the Heart of Jesus. At this voice the world will renew its youth, be roused from its lethargy and again be inflamed with the warmth of the Divine love." These words spoken by the beloved disciple gave Gertrude much to ponder on, as did the words of our Lord, this was just the beginning of the extraordinary experiences which would touch Gertrude's life henceforth.

Once upon delivering a lecture to her fellow Sisters at Lent her words so moved another of her Sisters that our Lord said to her concerning Gertrude, "I have borne her in My arms from her infancy. I have preserved her in her baptismal purity and innocence, until she, by her own free choice and will, has given herself to Me entirely and forever; and as a recompense for the perfection of her desires, I in return, have given Myself entirely to her. So pleasing is this soul to Me, that when I am offended by men, I often enter therein to repose, and I make her endure some pain of body or of mind, which I inflict on her for the sins of others; and as she accepts this suffering with the same thanksgiving, humility and patience as she receives all that comes from Me, and offers it to Me in union with My sufferings, she appeases my anger, and obliges My mercy to pardon, for her sake, an immense number of sinners." Though Gertrude was greatly favoured by God this did not make Gertrude prideful indeed it humbled her to realise that our Lord would come to one so little and so in need.

While in prayer Gertrude was again saw Jesus who was carrying a great building on His Shoulders as He said to her explaining its meaning, "Behold with what labor, care and vigilance I carry this beloved house, which is none other than that of Religion. It is everywhere threatened with ruin, because there are so few persons who are willing to do or to suffer anything for its support and increase. You, therefore, should suffer with Me in bearing it; for all those who endeavor, by their words or actions, to extend religion, and who try to establish it in its first fervor and purity, are so many strong pillars which sustain this holy house and comfort Me by sharing with Me the weight of this burden."

As the word spread of the great favour that had been bestowed on Gertrude, many visitors came to Gertrude seeking spiritual advice from her, but as always Gertrude being truly humble of heart was concerned that she would give the wrong advice, where upon our Lord reassured Gertrude with these words, "Does not the Universal Church allow that I formerly said to Peter alone,....'Whatever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed in heaven', and at the same time believe that the ministers of the Church exercise the same power now? Why, then, do you not believe that I can and will carry out whatever Divine love prompts Me to promise you?" Jesus then reached forward and touched Gertrude on her tongue before adding, "Behold I have given My words in thy mouth": "And I truly confirm whatever you may say to others at My suggestion and in my name: to whomsoever you shall promise anything through My goodness upon earth, I will make it sure and ratify it in Heaven." This gave great comfort to Gertrude who was still humbled that her beloved Lord would give her such Graces.

At times though Gertrude wondered if these visions would impact on man as she would wish for as she knew people were weak and prey to sin, but our Lord answered her misgivings with this response, "I have so planted my grace in you, that I expect it will bear Me immense fruit; therefore it is My desire that all those who receive similar favors, and who despise them by their negligence, shall learn from you on what conditions I have given them these gifts, in order that My grace may be increased in them in proportion as their gratitude increases. But should there be any sufficiently malicious to defame the sanctity of these works, the penalty of their sin shall fall on themselves, and you will not be accountable for it. For the Prophet Ezekiel has said from Me: 'I will lay a stumbling block before him; that is to say, I dispose, permit, and even command many things for the salvation of My elect, although they are a subject of scandal to the reprobate."

One day as Gertrude lay sick in bed our Lady visited her and comforted her with these words, "As you never remember to have endured more severe corporal sufferings than those caused by your illness, know also that you have never received from my Son more noble gifts than those which will now be given to you, and for which your sufferings have prepared you." Our Lord also encouraged Gertrude with these words to console her during her illness, "This sickness which you suffer will sanctify your soul, so that each time you go forth from Me, like the stream which I have shown you, for the good of your neighbor, either in thought, word, or act, even then, as the purity of the crystal renders the color of the gold and the rose more brilliant, so the cooperation of the precious gold of My Divinity, and the rose of the perfect patience of My Humanity, will render your works always agreeable to me by the purity of your intention." Gertrude thus understood that though the world may despise illness, God instead treasured each one's suffering as true gift to Him through the suffering of our Lord and Savior.

As Gertrude was about to receive Communion our Lord instructed Gertrude on receiving His Body and His Blood in this manner, "If you will not look with the eyes of your soul on the many mercies which I have bestowed on you, open at least the eyes of your body, and behold Me before you enclosed in a little pyx, and know assuredly that the rigor of My justice is even thus limited within the bounds of the mercy which I exercise toward men in the dispensation of this Sacrament. Consider in how small a space I give you My entire Divinity and My Humanity. Compare the size of this with the size of the human body, and judge then the greatness of My love. For as the human body surpasses my Body in size - that is to say, the quantity of the species of bread under which My Body is contained - so My mercy and charity in this Sacrament reduce Me to this state, that the soul which loves Me is in some sort above Me, as the human body is greater than My Body."

One day after she had received Communion Gertrude offered the Host for the souls in Purgatory, Our Lord then replied to her, "It is not easy for everyone to approach a king who remains always in his palace; but when his love for his queen induces him to go forth, then all may behold, through her kindness, his pomp and magnificence; thus, when, moved by My love, I visit one of the faithful (who is free from mortal sin) in the Sacrament of the Altar, all who are in Heaven, on earth, or in Purgatory, receives immense benefits thereby." Once again upon requesting that some souls maybe released from Purgatory Gertrude tried to divide the Host into small particles within her mouth to designate the number of souls thus released Our Lord then revealed to Gertrude His immense Mercy with these words, "In order that you may know that My mercy is above all My works, and that the abyss of My mercy cannot be exhausted, I am ready to grant you, through the merit of this life - giving Sacrament, more than you dare ask Me."

Gertrude was to receive many more visits from our Lord and Lady and upon Order she was to write all her revelations in a book so that all may learn the wonders of our Lord and His Sacred Heart.

I would encourage all to read more about the revelations given to St. Gertrude the Great.

Peace of Christ to ALL

Copyright © 2006 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Our Lady of Kibeho

The visions which happened at Kibeho Rwanda are astounding in its implications, for this is a prophecy fulfilled in our time, and what our Lady warned of was soon to take place in that tragic land.

Our Lady began appearing to seven children in the year 1981 in Kibeho, Rwanda, they are Alphonse, Anathalie, Marie Claire, Agnes, Stephanie and Vestine. One of the astounding facts with one of the visionaries was Emanuel who was born with the name, ' Sagastasha' who was a poor boy with no Christian teaching at all, and spent most of his time as a farm labourer as he had no education. Yet 'Sagastasha' life would be changed when our Lord appeared to him and personally taught him the Lords prayer and also fundamental Teachings of the Catholic Church, of which he would have had no knowledge! This vision of Jesus deeply impacted on the young Sagastasha who then changed his name to Emmanuel, for like St. Paul, Sagastasha could no longer return to his former life and instead he was converted to Christianity.

Remember that Our Lords and our Lady's messages to these young children were before the terrible suffering that would be inflicted on the Rwandan people as the world looked on in almost total indifference as the Hutu tribe committed genocide against the Tutsi tribe. Let us examine some of these messages to the seers of Kibeho, Rwanda.

Alphonsine who happened to be at school on November 28 1981 was surprised to see a beautiful lady standing before him of incomparable beauty and when he queried who she was the Lady's reply was, "I am Mother of the Word. I have heard your prayers. I would like you and your companions to have more faith. Some do not believe enough." Our Lady also warned Alphonsine that our Lord wanted her to be recognised by all that she was indeed the Mother of God and that many need to prepare the world for the return of her son, Jesus. The beautiful Lady then said, "If I am now turning to the parish of Kibeho it does not mean I am concerned only for Kibeho or for the diocese of Butare or for Rwanda, or for the whole of Africa. I am concerned with and turning to the whole world."

In a message to Emmanuel Our Lady said to him, "There isn't much time left in preparing for the Last Judgment. We must change our lives, renounce sin. Pray and prepare for our own death and the end of the world. We must prepare while there is still time. Those who do well will go to Heaven. If they do evil, they will condemn themselves with no hope of appeal. Do not lose time in doing good and praying. There is not much time and Jesus will come." Emmanuel also saw Jesus who warned him with these words to the world, "too many people treat their neighbors dishonestly. The world is full of hatred. You will know my Second Coming is at hand when you see the outbreak religious wars. Then, know that I am on the way."

In a messages to Marie Claire, " We must meditate on the passion of Jesus and on the deep sorrow of his Mother. We must recite the Rosary and the beads of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady to obtain the grace of repentance." And again Marie Claire heard this, "The world has turned against God. We must repent and ask for pardon." Our Lady also warned that too many people were embracing worldly ways and beliefs and urged the children as a message to the world to once again return to the one true Faith through the Narrow door. Mary continued to tell Marie Claire as a message to the world, "Do repent! Do repent! Do repent..."When I tell you this, I do not speak to you alone, but I speak also to all the others. Men of our times have emptied each thing of its true meaning: he who commits a fault does not recognize that he did wrong." Again Our Lady reiterated to Marie Clare this message, "What I ask of you is repentance. If you recite this chaplet, while meditating on it, you will then have the strength to repent. Today, many people do not know any more how to ask forgiveness. They nail again the Son of God on the Cross. So I wanted to come and recall it to you, especially here in Rwanda, for here I have still found humble people, who are not attached to wealth nor money".

Our Lady warned Agnes with these words regarding loose morals, and that people needed to "make of their bodies an instrument destined to the glory of God and not an object of pleasure at the service of men." Mary warned the children that the wicked snares of the devil were bewitching people away from the Narrow road and that many people were walking on the wide path of perdition. Our Lady warned Vestine that many were taking the wide road because it was the easier option and that the world was not just indifferent to God but had indeed turned against God. This troubled Vestine greatly as our Lady also gave some hope when she told Vestine that through 'prayer from the heart" and meditation on the sufferings of our Lord and Lady, people will be led back to God. Vestine was then shown hell, purgatory and Heaven in a vision, from this Vestine was shown figures that seemed to be in a place of fire, where the pain was terrible not because of the flames but the knowledge of the total absence of God, the figures were terrifying. Vestine also saw a group of people who were singing yet they were also suffering from a temporary separation between themselves and God. Last of all Vestine was shown a place of radiant light and beauty, where people were in perfect happiness.

To Anathalie, Mary cautioned her and the world to, "Wake up, stand up, wash yourselves and look up attentively. We must dedicate ourselves to prayer, we must develop in us the virtues of charity, availability, and humility." Anathalie also said that our Lady comes to her children out of love, to bring warnings of catastrophes so that the world will once again embrace God and live faithfully to the Gospel message of her Son. Mary told Anathalie that the true road, the narrow road "is the one of suffering....Return to God, the Source of Living Water." Our Lady continued in the same vein when she said to Anathalie as an appeal to the world, "I speak to you, but you do not hear Me. I want to lift you, but you remain down. I call you, but you turn a deaf ear. When will you do what I ask of you? You remain indifferent to all My appeals. When will you understand? When will you take interest in what I want to say to you? I give you signs, but you remain incredulous. How long will you turn a dead ear to My appeals?"

More stunningly our Lady also gave this message of warning to Alphonse in 1989, "I speak to you who hold power, and! who represent the nation: save the people, instead of being their torturers. Don't rob the people; share with others. Be careful not to persecute, to muzzle those who want to denounce your errors. I say it to you, I repeat it, whatever you do, even though you try everything to harm somebody because he loves his fellow men, defends human rights, fights for the respect of the life of others, and for the truth and all that is good, and even because he fights so that God may be loved and respected, whatever you do, you can do nothing against him." The Virgin Mary also said to Alphonsine: "I love you very much. If I came, it is because you needed it."

The messages that Stephanie received were of the same vein as our Lady warned her and the world in these words, "We must be converted, we must pray and mortify ourselves. Satan tries to ruin us. God wants our prayers from the heart." Our Lady continued by instructing Stephanie that "they should turn to me in their hearts and I will listen to them....God loves you all, really. It is the devil who wants to ruin you. You must refuse all means that he is using to tempt you." Stephanie then instructed the crowds in her own words that our Lady wished for us to humble ourselves and to be available for God to acknowledge within ourselves we are nothing so to turn to prayer most especially to pray with our heart.

Our Lady then showed the children of Kibeho what would happen in their country if people refused to believe and live her messages. All of the children screamed in horror as they saw in a vision, trees in flames, a river of blood flowing with corpses which had been decapitated and floating limbs of people, as Mary warned the children and the world that we were on 'the edge of catastrophe'. As the children described this horrific scene in these words, "A river of blood, people were killing each other, abandoned corpses with no one to bury them. A tree all in flames, bodies without their heads. There was crying and screaming. At different times, all seven of the Kibeho visionaries experienced this horrifying vision. They saw a river of blood that formed because people were killing each other indiscriminately. "Corpses, some without heads, were strewn everywhere and were so numerous they could not be buried" This especially saddened Agnes who saw the death of her own parents. Our lady then warned the seers to leave Rwanda, unfortunately some didn't.

What is known is that two of these seer's lost their lives in the killing fields that became Rwanda, where approximately over 800,000 people were brutally murdered as the U.N and the world watched, some with indifference, others with horror!

Marie Claire who was killed in the town of Byumba in 1994.

Emmanuel died while trying to escape.

The whereabouts of Stephanie is unknown.

While Anathalie, Agnes, and Alphonsine all survived the genocide that struck Rwanda in 1994.

I would encourage all to read more about Our Lady of Kibeho.

Our Lady of Kibeho