Our Lady of Czestochowa is known as ‘The One Who Shows the Way’
St. Luke’s ‘Black Madonna’ painting is believed to be this very miraculous icon. Today’s podcast traces how the painting eventually found its way to Poland.
Plus I have a few questions for you, so please leave a comment here or send to me via email at NikosSteves@Gmail.com
Corona updates, why aren’t there more stories from medical folks that give us a broader look at the various effects that take place when one has the virus?
How about more information about the difference between flu symptoms verses Corona symptoms?
Another question for you, how do you visualize a community hosting a procession asking the Virgin Mary to intercede for us to her son for seeking help to overcome this plague?
How would you go about organizing a procession in your community?
What Miraculous Icon of the Virgin Mary would be available that your community could use in a procession?
I value feedback through the comments section here
This installment of Constant Procession retraces the early travels of an icon St. Luke created of the Virgin Mary that is said to have been miraculous. Known as a ‘Black Madonna, it is said to have stopped a plague after it was taken in a prayer procession through the streets of ancient Rome.
The dark days for the Virgin Mary after the death of her son.
This becomes the first day of the starting point on my timeline of history of the Virgin Mary, as people began to ask her to intercede on their behalf with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Also in this installment is my experience on an unusual ‘Covid Saturday,’ one year after January 2020 and the first rumblings that something unusual was going on in China.
There are overlooked aspects of the effect isolation due to the pandemic has on us and without communal prayer, we must double our personal efforts to pray to God on our own.
The other day I was having trouble with a minor technical issue with my printer. I knew there would be someone on line who had a video with a fix.
Naturally I went to ‘everyone’s go to video source’ on the internet to find a video that would demonstrate someone’s recorded solution to this printer’s problem.
To my surprise, for this particular issue there was just one video. I played it.
The narrator had a very thick accent, actually barely a command of the English language. For me, having grown up in a first-generation English language household, this is not an issue.
It’s generally just a matter of paying closer attention to the words being spoken and in this case, the technical aspect of the issue helped with my understanding.
The solution was fairly straight forward and I was able to make the adjustment on my printer. I went back to the video to add a ‘like’ to the provider who spoke broken English for his solution.
I happened to scan one of the comments just before clicking off my computer.
To my surprise the comments, and there were a number of them were extremely crass and condescending. Even cruel.
The comments for the most part had nothing to do with the solution. They did not say things like, ‘Hey this didn’t work’ (because the solution did work) nor did it say they had a better solution.
No instead the comments were solely about the persons English. And it’s not as though the comments had a positive spin like, ‘Hey next time check out the pronunciation of some of your wording’ or ‘Your solution was great, but your accent got in the way a bit.”
No, the comments were like, ‘Hey don’t even try to do a video in English.’
Another comment ‘Your English Sucks, and so do you’… and these don’t include the comments with cursing.
It still makes me shake my head as I recall the experience. I mean this was just a solution to setting up a printer. It was not discussing a societal issue nor the tumult of the Corona virus on society.
Yet the discord and judgements of those commentators, mostly anonymous, were extremely venomous and angry and unnecessary on such a simple printer related work around.
All this brings to light the notions that idleness, lack of social interaction and paying too close attention to one’s personal communication medium is devolving us into silos of behavior unfitting for humanity and especially in this day and age.
As I mentioned last week, without the practice of communal praying to God, where you and your churchgoing peers do attempt to try to reset a weekly recommitment to live by the Golden Rules of honoring our Lord and treating others the same way as we wish them to treat us, is making the world a more challenging place to live day to day.
The longer this isolation drags on, the more it’s important to seek time with God.
Idleness, the silos we are all finding ourselves in due to the pandemic fears and the inability to gather on Sunday’s in church, is contributing to the unrest all across the world.
We can live better and make a better world out of this virus mess. We can grow stronger if we work together in not being so judgmental.
And as for finding a friendly, someone you can identify with, this brings to mind how the Virgin Mary found her solution when facing the uncertainty of her pregnancy.
As an infant the Madonna, was given over to the temple to be raised there. Her parents had done this to honor God’s gift of her birth to them.
In my timeline of her history, I set that date as 15 BC.
And the next date on my timeline is year one BC, Before Christ, the time when the Madonna, during her pregnancy travels to see her elderly relative Elizabeth is also with child. Elizabeth is about six months further along than the Virgin Mary.
This visit makes sense if you take a moment to think about it. Where do most people go during an uncertain time in one’s life?
Frequently one seeks out a trusted person or to someone who would have some sort of understanding from a similar experience in their life.
How must the Virgin have felt after hearing the reaction Elizabeth had upon her arrival?
These were Elizabeth’s words- “The child in my womb has leaped for joy when he heard your voice as you entered the room!” Elizabeth exclaimed to the Madonna.
Photo of St John the Baptist on the Icon screen at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Atlanta, GA
Can you imagine it?
A little background on who Elizabeth was seems appropriate.
The story of Elizabeth, who was up in years and had been barren her whole life is an amazing story all by itself. She was the wife of Zachariah, and a relative of the Virgin Mary.
Elizabeth’s husband Zachariah was an elder in the temple and six months the Virgin Mary’s visit he too had an apparition. It was also from the archangel.
At the time Zachariah had been appointed to enter a part of the sanctuary that only one priest could enter alone. While inside this holy place he had an apparition of the archangel Gabriel, who told him his wife would have a child.
But Zachariah replied it was not possible as she was too old. Zachariah weakness of faith cost him his ability to speak and he remained that way during Elizabeth’s pregnancy, only to regain his speech after the birth of his son and only then after confirming (via writing) that the name his wife wanted.
Stay tuned next week for another episode of Constant Procession…
I value feedback through the comments section here
A miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary appeared in 636 AD in Boulogne sur mer and though destroyed along with the cathedral that housed it, ‘Our Lady of the Sea’ came back thanks to a priest, Fr. Benoit Haffreingue.
Please leave your comments about your Covid experiences and/or your New Years Resolutions here in the comments section or at Nikossteves@gmail.com!
Check out these links to earlier installments mentioned in this installment:
The 12 Days of Sunshine or Jesus in the House! Always keep in mind Christmas Day is just the ‘first day’ of this truly Great Tiding!
1-December 25 – Celebration of Birth of Christ
2-December 26 – St Stephens first Martyr of Christianity
3- December 27- St John the Evangelist
4-December 28- Holy Innocents/Holy Family
5-December 29- St Thomas Becket – 12th century/Holy Innocents
6 December 30 – Feast- Holy Family/St Egwin of Worcester-protector orphans/widows
7 December 31- St Sylvester New Years Eve
8 January 01 – Mary, Mother of God
9 January 02 – St Basil & St Gregory -4th century Christian Bishops
10 January 3- Holy Name of Jesus –Day Jesus was named in the Temple
11 January 4 –St Simeon Stylites 37 years on platform on pillar at Aleppo
12-January 5 – Epiphany Eve (visit of Magi)
January 6 -Epiphany visit of Maji, singing, winter swimming
The Star of David added on Christmas Day to enjoy for the rest of the 12 DaysBut December 26 is only the 2nd Day of Christmas…Xmas cookies intended to be enjoyed beyond Christmas dayThe Manger gets completed near the end of the 12 days when the Magi arriveNeighborhoods remain colorful reminders of the 12 Days of Xmas
Merry Christmas time! Enjoy the color lights inside, cheery lighting displays outside, even Jupiter and Saturn become a Christmas Star! Let’s celebrate Christ coming down from heaven to the earth!
THE ‘CHRISTMAS STAR’ never seen by contemporary humanity before today!
Saturn & Jupiter on Dec 14, 2020Saturn & Jupiter ‘together’ on Dec 21, 2020 closest point
Rumors that Christmas tree lots have been sold out way early this year, indicates that our inside isolation opened more homes to the smell of evergreens. This year it would seem more elaborately decorated trees bring Jesus into our homes
May GOD BLESS YOU as we celebrate the Birth of Christ coming into our world through the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Merry 12 Days of Christmas, let the celebration begin!
CHRISTMAS DAY – JANUARY 5th EVE!
Best Wishes to You and Yours and Thank-you for listening to Constant Procession!
Here are some links from other sites to give you ideas and history for the 12 Days of Christmas in an effort to extend and SLOW DOWN the CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SEASON…
Are the words to the holiday songs simply a backdrop for my concerns of life on these final days of 2020? How well am I prepared for the upcoming miracle of Christmas?
These unusual final days of 2020 call to my mind the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a minister who gave his life in a Concentration Camp just a few weeks before the end of WW2 and also thoughts from Frances Reck’s 1992 Christmas recollections from her ‘Blue Letter’ inspired by the Medjugorje Apparitions.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (photo from Wikipedia page)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
“No priest, no theologian stood at the manger of Bethlehem. And yet all Christian theology has its origin in the wonder of all wonders: that God became human.
Holy theology arises from knees bent before the mystery of the divine child in the stable. Without the holy night there is no theology.
‘God revealed in flesh,’ the God-human Jesus Christ- That is the holy mystery that theology came into being to protect and preserve.
How can we fail to understand when we think that theology is to solve the mystery of God, to drag it down to the flat, ordinary wisdom of human experience and reason!
Its sole office is to preserve the miracle as miracle, to comprehend, defend, and glorify God’s mystery precisely as mystery.”
Apparition of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje on December 25, 1992 as reported in ‘The Blue Letter’ with editorial by Frances Reck:
“Dear Children, Today I wish to place you all under my mantle to protect you from every satanic attack. Today is the day of Peace, but throughout the whole world there is much lack of peace. Therefore, I call you to build up a new world of Peace together with me, by means of prayer.
Without you, I cannot do that, and, therefore, I call all of you with my motherly love, and God will do the rest.
Therefore, open yourselves to God’s plans and purposes for you to be able to cooperate with Him for peace and for good.
And do not forget that your life does not belong to you, but is a gift with which you must bring joy to others and lead them to Eternal Life.
May the tenderness of my little Jesus always accompany you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Francis Reck adds- “Our Lady’s message this month confirms the greatest of God’s Commandments: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.
She tells us to: ‘bring joy to others and lead them to Eternal Life.’
She reminds us that our purpose for being on earth is to love God, love our neighbor and gain Eternal Life in heaven.
Our Lady’s words are filled with wisdom and the love of God.”
I value feedback through the comments section here OR- Better via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com
Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity.
The origin of these podcasts began with my book The Constant Procession. (An e-book copy of the book can be found here on the website.)
Constant Procession (the podcast) is published here every Tuesday morning.
Slowing down the Christmas pace by spending time in the preseason with the ‘Forefeast for the Theotokos’ and in the Roman Catholic church for the ‘Feast of the Immaculate Conception,’ ‘Our Lady of Guadalupe,’ ‘St Juan Diego’ and a homework assignment for St. Nicholas the ‘Christmas Saint.’
As we try to reach for normalcy given the limitations in our lives during these first weeks of December 2020, it’s the strengths of the Apostolic churches that affords us the luxury of a rich history with many great traditions gleaned from the Christian communities for almost 2000 years, as well as our personal past Christmas times.
And during the burdens of the world in isolation, it’s Advent and the Nativity Fast that keeps us moving along on our wintry journey.
This installment explores ways to take advantage of the hiatus from the usual holiday gatherings and shopping as we move into the 2020 Christmas season.
For me the empty chairs around the dining room table during Thanksgiving is an advance glance at how the upcoming Christmas Day of 2020 could look, without our thinking of how to ‘Do-Christmas’ 2020.
Even during this pandemic, those empty chairs made me reflect on the prayers that were answered this year. It made me really appreciate what God has done for my family and friends.
Let’s now turn our focus away from the world of getting ‘Christmas presents’. Turning instead towards the Virgin Mary and Joseph as they prepared for the Nativity it will fill the lack of socializing that the world in the year 2020 has been giving us.
Metropolitan Gregory’s 2020 Nativity Fast prayer challenge (American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of the USA)1st candle on Advent Wreath. Photo: frontierdreams.blogspot.com
I value feedback through the comments section on my website OR- Better via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com
Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity. The origin of these podcasts began with my book The Constant Procession. An e-book copy of the book can be found on my website: ConstantProcession.com
I’ve read the entire book from cover to cover (Installments 201-217) To listen from Installment 201
Constant Procession (the podcast) is published every Tuesday morning and has links, photos, video and more information for each episode at ConstantProcession.com
Part 1 of a mini-series on how to extend the Christmas Season (start now)
Let’s take advantage of the unique opportunity ‘Covina’ isolation offers as we head into the Christmas season. Participate in daily Advent meditations or the Nativity Fast . Shake off this doubt in our world!
As preparations for their trek to Bethlehem began for the Virgin Mary and Joseph, we too have the opportunity to celebrate life by preparing for the joy Christmas brings to our world.
If the Christmas Spirit was lacking in last year’s holiday season, why not try something different? Why not go beyond “Santa’s Big Day?” Why not start the season earlier (like today) and end the Christmas season later? (12 days of Xmas ends January 6)
Take a moment and consider partaking in the pre-Christmas activities during Advent or the Nativity Fast… You’ll be glad you did.
The sources & quotes from this Podcast can be found:
Apparently the young Virgin Mary knew how to weave pretty well and one of the items she made will surprise you.
Have you ever wondered what was meant during the passion of Christ in the moments after he breathed his last breath, when it says these words:
‘And the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom.’
Well I have, but never have I gone to the point of researching what it meant, until recently while preparing this final installment of the history of the young Virgin Mary in the temple.
A quote from the New World Encyclopedia- Mary the Mother of Jesus:
‘There, she is selected for the honor of sewing a new curtain for the temple at the same time that Zechariah receives his vision from the angel Gabriel concerning the birth of John the Baptist. Mary presents her sewing to the high priest after the Annunciation, before continuing on to Zechariah’s house.‘
The spindle is apparent here in Mary’s left hand.
The Virgin Mary has the yarn in both hands.
The Yarn is in the Virgin Mary’s right hand
I value feedback through the comments section here OR- Better via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com
Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity.
The origin of these podcasts began with my book Constant Procession. (An e-book copy of the book can be found here on the website.) Constant Procession; the podcast; is published here every Tuesday morning.
I’ve read the entire book from cover to cover (Installments 201-217) To listen from Installment 201
The young Virgin Mary grew up inside the Temple complex. Her upbringing during those years created a humble and pioneering personality.
“Fifth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary” portrays the young Virgin Mary learning at the Temple
An Icon of Mary studying
The Archbishop of Toledo, St. Ildefonsus wrote: “The Virgin Mary was described as the glorious fruit of a sacred promise, who it truly revealed to the world as higher than all creation, was piously led into the house of God, where she fulfilled the vow of her parents and was preserved by the Holy Spirit .”
The Virgin Mary receiving “food” from an Angel in the Temple
Mary in the Temple by Pinacoteca di Brera
I value feedback through the comments section here
OR- Better via email at NikosSteves@gmail.com
Constant Procession tells of key apparitions of the Virgin Mary since she passed on from the world and how she serves humanity through Christianity.
The origin of these podcasts began with my book Constant Procession. (An e-book copy of the book can be found here on the website.)
Constant Procession; the podcast; is published here every Tuesday morning.
I’ve read the entire book from cover to cover (Installments 201-217) To listen from Installment 201
220- The young Virgin Mary’s Parents are Graced by God.
Joachim and Anna find their way back together at the Golden Gate. They share the apparitions each experienced with the Archangel Gabriel and his message about the gift God will graced on them. They pledge to each other to build on a foundation of bedrock a place to raise the Mother of God worthy of her special future.
This is the first installment about the history of the Young Virgin Mary.
Have you ever thought back about the life of the Blessed Mother before the life of Jesus? Back when his mother was a baby? How about back even before she was born?
I have uncovered the story of Joachim and Anna. The parents of the Mother of God.
The Virgin Mary’s father, Joachim owned vast herds of sheep and had other shepherds to tend to them. Due to good stewardship, Joachim chose to offer some of the treasure he received from his work to the poor and those close to the temple.
His wife Anna was the daughter of a priest, from the house of Levi. When Joachim was around twenty he married Anna. They were unable to have children.
People almost ostracized them, in spite of the fact that they were worthy of praise due to their constant practicing of faith in God, temple laws and all they did to help others.
They always prayed to God for help.
I hope you enjoy their story in this installment of Constant Procession.
I value feedback through the comments section here
Update on the Madonna’s work during this year’s ‘Reconsecration of North America to the Virgin Mary’ plus final thoughts about the 17-part release of my book Constant Procession and also what I learned about producing a weekly podcast.
Here are some final thoughts following the completion of the summer re-release of my book Constant Procession and the accompanying podcast. Today I reflect on where we’ve been, giving me a chance to introduce the theme for Season Eight, the next installments of Constant Procession- the podcast.
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My 17th installment: The last chapters. Ukrainian churches were under siege throughout the times of the USSR. Immigrants to North America kept them going during this suppression.
The last chapter is about how Apparition sites where the Virgin Mary has appeared offer hope for a timeless mode of being for those in the constant procession…
ALSO- More exciting news about the Re-Consecration of North America to the Virgin Mary… A NEW MOVIE PREMIERES OCTOBER 9th 2020!
I just saw the trailer for PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON, and urge all of you to head bravely to theaters the weekend of Oct 9!
This is the true story of the man behind the famous phrase,
“The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.”
Born into a poor family in Ireland, Patrick Peyton came to America to seek riches…
But instead rediscovered his priestly vocation…
After Our Lady miraculously saved his life!
From then on Father Peyton went on a mission to promote the Rosary and Family Prayer to crowds as large as 2 million at a time!
He worked with many of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 50’s – 70’s.
He gave James Dean his first movie role!
He traveled the globe with his inspiring message of Prayer and Praying the Rosary!
I assure you this story will amaze, inspire, and humble you!
My 16th installment- Tourism industry travelogues typically feature romantic locations, historic sites as well as get-away destinations. When considering where to go in the world of travel, Medjugorje, a village located in Bosnia and Herzegovina typically does not come to mind. Why did the Madonna come to Medjugorje? In this podcast installment taken from my book Constant Procession, I explore possible answers.
Medjugorje is the spot where a contemporary visit by the Virgin Mary occurred and some of the seers report she still visits them there.
For young people, who have not lived more that thirty years, this area of the world is typically not on their radar. For those who have lived a bit longer, there remains a dark mental imprint. A remembrance that recalls brutality inflicted on people within this region as they experienced civil war in the 1990’s. Fighting caused by the breaking up of Yugoslavia.
For me, the news reporting during that period of the civil war did little to help explain the confusing jumble of puzzling information that ominously included atrocities, genocide and war crimes.
Yet this area is where the Madonna appeared. She offered to the world a surprising counterpoint to humanities struggling. It’s amazing to me that even during the civil war violence, pilgrims from around the world continued to converge on Medjugorje, which seemed to be located in the middle of the warfare.
Photo and Article link from CRUXNOW.COM with more about Medjugorje!
And today on the world stage, Medjugorje increasingly continues to finds itself in the center of humanities continued need for help in our modern world.
At one point during the Virgin Mary’s early apparitions, the seers mentioned that she would provide a dramatic sign for all. This sign is intended for those who believe in apparitions as well as non-believers.
And also a development occurred when in May of 2018, Pope Francis installed a retired archbishop to Medjugorje in order to help guide the daily pastoral care for the millions of pilgrims who go to Medjugorje annually.
Also my book Constant Procession, explores how the early pilgrims spilled out from Medjugorje and brought back to their own communities renewed spiritual energies and in doing so they too benefit humanity on local scale.
And the constant procession continues…
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My 15th installment- It’s the early 1980’s and the Madonna apperates at Medjugorje, then in the Communist country known as Yugoslavia. The Virgin Mary offers words of clarity on how a person can ‘return to God’ and enjoy the ‘fullness of life.’
Meanwhile in Chapter 27; a Pope and a President find renewed clarity of purpose as they recover from assassination attempts on their lives.
I am often asked; “What did the Virgin Mary say?” In this 15th episode covering Chapter 26 we find her actual words as testified to by the six teenage seers.
Starting with the first of her contacts with the young teenagers in Medjugorje she told them very specific things that were on her mind. Firstly the apparition identified herself as the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace.
She told the visionaries that she had an urgent message for humanity to return to God.
She said to the seers: “I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is fullness of life, and to enjoy the fullness and obtain peace, you must return to God.”
During the apparitions, the visionaries did not react to light or sound; they did not react to being touched. They felt they were outside of time and space.
Our Lady presented herself as a servant messenger from God. The visionaries told of what the Madonna said to them.
PEACE – Already on the third day, Our Lady stressed peace as the first part of her messages: “Peace, peace, peace and only peace!” after which she said twice, “Peace must reign between God and man and between people.”
FAITH her second message and she repeated this message many times. Without faith we cannot arrive at peace! Another frequent message is to PURIFY or cleanse the heart, because a corrupt or ‘deteriorated’ heart is the basis of bad relations, which in turn brings social disorder, even unjust laws. Without a radical change of heart, without the conversion of the heart, there is no peace.
PRAYER, to pray every day, she requests everyone to “pray without ceasing” just as Christ himself taught. Pray, Give Him thanks for His gifts to us. Prayer aids us in our “ordered relationship with God.” Without which it is impossible to maintain peace either with God or with our neighbor.
FASTING – Already on the sixth day of the apparitions, The Madonna often recommended fasting because it helps faith. That is, the practice of fasting aids and ensures control over oneself. “Only the person who can dominate them-self is truly free.”
These first messages she brought did not convey new teachings, but reinforced the Gospels and teachings of the traditional Churches. These messages began to appear around the world reaching millions of people.
Also found in this episode is Chapter 27 entitled “The Pointy Edge of the Sword.” This military term used by the Marine’s accurately portrays the curious surroundings and circumstances that are frequently overlooked when this apparition at Medjugorje come to mind.
The location in the early 1980’s took place at a similarly remote location in the world as found with earlier apparitions. And during the early 80’s the area was experiencing excitement in preparing for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.
It was a time of great pride for the Communist country of Yugoslavia.
The Madonna first appeared there in those heady times. Her efforts were in part to warn of unspeakable changes that could occur in this region of the world without a return to God.
From Time Magazine’s pronouncement in 1966 that ‘God is Dead’ to riots across the USA over the Viet Nam War, this assertion by the powers that be about the status of God gives a reminder about the world in the 1960’s.
A remembrance that indeed it was a time of great social upheaval. Three years before, in 1963, John F. Kennedy the sitting American President was assassinated. Three days later the assassination of his alleged killer was witnessed live on TV by millions.
And their prediction about God was reinforced just one year later by the 1967 “Six Day War” between the countries of Israel and Egypt. This traditional all out war between these surrogate countries of the USSR (Egypt) and USA (Israel) shattered notions of the possibilities of a peaceful world.
Collectively these actions of violence became high water marks of an epoch that shook the foundations of Western society to its core. In counter-point to all these actions of man, new reports about apparitions of the Virgin Mary and her messages to humanity surfaced once again.
In Chapter 25 entitled “Apparition for All,” a series of nightly appearances by the Virgin Mary took place high atop a Christian church in Egypt between the years 1968 through 1971.
During this four-year period well over one-quarter of a million people from many different religious and non-religious backgrounds witnessed her there. The president of the country spoke of these appearances, which were also witnessed by non-Christians
In Chapter 26 entitled “Keepers of the Light” a new Pope, John Paul II makes a landmark return to the country of his birth. This trip encourages the desires of the Polish people in their early efforts to retake control of their country from the repressive post-war Communist regime.
Also during the time period a secret memorandum by the USSR secret police is sent to teachers across the Soviet Union to warn that the Pope is their enemy.
Meanwhile in the USA, the new president is a man who makes no bones about his belief in God and to the horror of the established Washington, DC elite, he takes a decidedly different tack from the mainstream’s established way of doing things.
These two world leaders efforts for change spawned dramatic changes for the Soviet Communists’ hold on Eastern Europe as well as it’s own internal politics.
Rewards for these leaders efforts were the same, each suffer assassination attempts on their lives. The second secret of the Fatima apparition comes true for Pope John Paul II. However, he believes it was the Virgin Mary who saved him from death.
Meanwhile, as both men recover from their wounds, in a remote part of the Eastern Bloc, dramatic eye witness accounts of a new appearance of the Virgin Mary occur to several teenagers as they are returning home after sneaking off to smoke cigarettes.
Three thousand people return to the place three days later and so begin the on-going accounts of apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje.
This is the 13th installment from my book Constant Procession
Though the Great Return brought relief in helping France keep from the Communist fold, Eastern Block countries were less fortunate. The Soviet’s robbed them of their freedoms and religious liberties and so the roots of the Cold War evolved.
The SPIRITUAL ROSARY PILGRIMAGE is HAPPEN NOW! ParousiaMedia.com
The allied victors quickly became enemies. Concerns by the victors as to how to rebuild the defeated countries from both physical destruction and governing approaches quickly shifted to diverging philosophical ways to replace the Nazi Parties political control of the lands it had conquered in Europe.
In Chapter 22 entitled “Unheeded Prayers” the remaining Fatima Seer; Sister Lucia, brings forward to the Pope requests made to her by the Virgin Mary during the apparition she experienced in Portugal in 1917.
Recalling what the Madonna told Sister Lucia: “If you pay heed to my requests, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, Russia will spread her errors through the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. Many will suffer martyrdom, and the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and several nations will disappear.”
Unfortunately no actions were taken to honor this prayer request and the prediction for peace lost an opportunity. The consequence found the dominance of Stalin and his Communists Party becoming the new power on the ground in Europe.
These armed victors moved quickly into the political vacuum across the war torn lands. Their efforts gained ground, especially in Eastern Europe as they aggressively encouraging civil wars and then help position puppet governments under the shadow of Communist influence.
Before long fear and intimidation overcame peaceful transitions and the liberties found in more open societies.
Chapter 23, A Society Without God reflects on the environment in the sphere of Soviet influence for people living in a world without social liberty and when Bibles were banished. The experience of a 7th day Adventist reveals the level of suppression people of faith had to endure in those times.
Chapter 24- Hot Pursuit in a Cold War brings out how with increasing confidence, the Communists took religion down. And with huge armies still deployed in Europe and the newly aquired power of atomic weapons, the victors squared off using new battle techniques.
The “Great Return” found fierce resistance in France as the communists gained control of the political machine. In Hungary however, the procession yielded fruit, until it too was run aground.
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