Visionary Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres.
Mother Mariana's early life is shrouded in mystery, so let us begin with the favour that was granted to this most Holy and extraordinary woman of Spain!
Mother Mariana was to be the recipient of Divine Prophecies, but in her wish to remain hidden from the world not much is known about this most wonderful Religious.
God gifted Mother Mariana with the ability to discern souls and to advise her fellow sisters in what is pleasing to God and that all of them should live to please their Father in Heaven and spend less time worrying over the opinion of others. The sisters listened to their Superior as they knew she was wise and that God had touched this woman in a singular way.
But not all the sisters were in favour of these messages nor of their Superior, who strove to maintain a disciplined religious life, many of the sisters did not wish to have such a regimented life and longed for the Rule to be relaxed. They opposed Mother Mariana and those that listened to this most Holy Nun, so much so that they threw Mother Mariana and her supporters into prison.
Mother Mariana suffered severe torments for the sake and the souls of these disobedient Nuns, but her Faith remained undisturbed and her heart at peace, for she remained truly humble and accepted all from the hand of a Loving God.
Mother Mariana was a Spanish Conceptionist who set sail for the new world in order to spread the Word and Love of God into distant lands, hence she arrived in Ecuador, in order to fulfill this mission of making God known throughout the world.
But Mother Mariana was no ordinary woman and it soon became apparent that God had found favour with her and she became the recipient of Divine Prophecies and Mystical events. It has been recorded that Mother Mariana suffered several deaths and at her first death she appeared before God and was given the choice to remain in Heaven or return to earth and suffer for those who's lives would become abhorrent to our Heavenly Father. Mother Mariana chose the latter and suffered in expiation for those who had no love nor reverence for God as would happen when the world entered the twentieth century! She also died on Good Friday in the year 1588 where upon her death she was shown the terrible heresies which would afflict the Church in the twentieth century. She was horrified at such sights and her heart was grieved at the outrages she saw in this vision!
Mother Mariana was to receive many visions and also prophetic messages in her life time, beginning as a child when she was only 9 years old and she saw our Lady appear to her and informed her that she would become a religious of the Order of the Immaculate Conception. In 1582 our Lady once again appeared to Mariana and said to her, "My daughter, will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time?" Upon seeing in a vision what the future held for the Church, Mariana agreed to our Lady's request, for she was truly horrified to see the decadence which would be all pervasive in the twentieth century!
Our Lady warned Mother Mariana of great Chastisements that would befall this world if the lack of reverence for God persisted and revealed to Mariana the great level of disbelief that would herald in the end for the world as we know it.
Mother Mariana became aware that the greatest grief for our Lord was the indifference and ingratitude towards His Most Sacred Heart and His Presence in the Tabernacles by His Priests and religious, Mariana was obviously deeply distressed at this and offered herself in expiation against these outrages!
Our Lady told Mother Mariana, "Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamor of honors and human greatness while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which in religious houses destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of religious virtues and fraternal charity and that child-like simplicity which makes souls so dear to my Divine Son and to me, their Mother." Our Lady always emphasized greater devotion to her Son and also the Sacrament of Penance and to restore among her priestly sons a love for God and His Church.
And also gave these prophetic Messages, that in the twentieth century due to a lack of religious fervor by the sons and daughters of the Church, a great falling away would happen. And our Lady continued, "under the appearance of virtue and bad-spirited zeal, would turn upon Religion, who nourished them at her breast." "During this time," she continued, "insomuch as this poor country will lack the Christian spirit, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little esteemed. Many people will die without receiving it – either because of the negligence of their families or their false sentimentality that tries to protect the sick from seeing the gravity of their situations, or because they will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil. Thus many souls will be deprived of innumerable graces, consolations and the strength they need to make that great leap from time to eternity..." "As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church. The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until if reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. The effects of secular education will increase, which will be one reason for the lack of priestly and religious vocations..." "Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent."
Our Lord also warned Mariana, "Know, moreover, that Divine Justice releases terrible chastisements on entire nations, not only for the sins of the people, but for those of priests and religious persons. For the latter are called, by the perfection of their state, to be the salt of the earth, the masters of truth, and the deflectors of Divine Wrath. Straying from their divine mission, they degrade themselves in such a way that, before the eyes of God they quicken the rigor of the punishments..."
But also with a message of hope, for our Lord added, "For in all times I have need of valiant souls to save My Church and the prevaricating world." And that our Lord would be appeased by such souls who offered themselves in expiation for the sins of others.
Remember all this and more was revealed to Mother Mariana in the 16th century, we in this century are left with much to ponder on, among Mother Mariana's prophecies was also this, that the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility would be strictly defined and declared dogma!
Mother Mariana died on January 16, 1635.
When her body was exhumed from its rest, her body was found to be incorrupt.
Peace of Christ to you ALL
Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
