When Pope John Paul II came to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1999, he named her Queen of All America and consecrated the entire Continent to her. He prayed, “Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of Peace, save the nations and peoples of this Continent!”At the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver, Pope John Paul II said, “Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places like the first apostles who preached Christ and the good news of salvation in the squares of cities, towns, and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel…. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops.”
In some mystical way, Our Lady of Guadalupe is present with her Missionary Image. It seems that Our Lady honors the courage and faith of those who publicly display her in her Missionary Image in public places. This is in response to Pope John Paul II’s plea at World Youth Day.
The Missionary Image was brought into public places at the Ground Zeros of the St. Louis Flood, the Attack on America and the Priests’ Sexual Abuse Scandal. As she promised to St. Juan Diego, she showed her “powerful help and protection for the people” when in faith they brought her out in public.
The St. Louis Flood stopped rising on the day that of a public procession of over 100 to the Mississippi riverside in prayer for the victims and for the end of the rising waters. Inexplicably, the flood ended the next day. The Attack on America was mitigated after the Image was publicly brought to Ground Zero in the shadows of the Twin Towers in Battery Park in New York City, for a Day of Prayer exactly two years before the Attack. It was later publicly brought to New York and Rhode Island for consolation after the Attack. Many were also consoled when the Image was publicly brought to the Cathedral in Boston for prayer for priests and victims during the height of the Priests’ Sexual Abuse Scandal.
The Missionary Image made a Visitation to Rhode Island before, during and after the Attack on America. Guardian Evelyn Boler reported that almost every church that they visited lost someone in the Attack. Many of them were on the planes that left from nearby Logan Airport in Boston. The Visitations included Masses, Adoration, Rosaries, Chaplets, Litanies, Consecrations, Hymns and Benedictions. They prayed for the souls of those who were killed and their families.
Our Lady of Guadalupe brought consolation, healing and peace. As Evelyn said, “We thank Our Lady with all of our hearts for her loving kindness and mercy to us in our time of need. Every place she went she touched hearts. She is truly a mother to us all!”
Pope Pius XII prophesied, “As long they recognize Our Lady of Guadalupe as their Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe!” So let us recognize her as our Queen and Mother, turn to her in prayer for our safety and protection and bring her Missionary Image with courage and faith to public places, especially to abortion centers.
In response to Pope John Paul II’s call to “go out on the streets and into public places”, the Missionary Image visits abortion centers for Peaceful Prayer Presences.
Over 20 abortion centers have closed shortly after these Visitations. Last year, Guardian Mike Stack reported as follows:
Last night was the 40th consecutive night of prayer in front of our local abortion center with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We dedicated the hours of prayer to her. We prayed from Dan Lynch’s booklet, Prayers for Life.
Prior to her visit to our abortion center, she visited the Ann Arbor, Michigan Planned Parenthood site where she was part of their 40 Days for Life. Our Lady managed to have her picture prominently displayed on Planned Parenthood’s web site for thousands to see her peaceful presence and open the door for conversion of hearts!
The abortion clinic is located on one of the busiest roads in Southeast Michigan. Our Peaceful Prayer Presence with the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe witnessed to thousands and thousands of passing motorists. Many of them honked in support of Life as they passed by.
Now that Barack Obama is our President-elect, we will have a much greater need for Peaceful Prayer Presences at abortion centers because he promised Planned Parenthood that he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA).
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on November 12 during their annual fall meeting in Baltimore. They called the Freedom of Choice Act “an evil law that would further divide our country” and that the Church “should be intent on opposing evil.”
The statement elaborated a range of concerns about FOCA, including concerns that it would “deprive the American people in all 50 states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry.” It said the bill “would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars,” and would counteract any efforts to reduce the number of abortions in the country.
In his encyclical, The Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II wrote:
Man’s life comes from God; it is His gift, not a right! His image and imprint, a sharing in His breath of life. God therefore is the sole Lord of this life: man cannot do with it as he wills. God Himself makes this clear to Noah after the Flood: “For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting…and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life” (Gn. 9:5).
Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s” (Mt. 22:21). We render unto Caesar by obeying just laws. We render unto God by obeying His first law of worshiping Him alone and by following His law of love of God and neighbor. However, Barack Obama promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act which will remove all restrictions on abortion. He promised not to love our preborn brothers and sisters, but rather to legalize their killing without any restrictions from conception to birth.
Barack Obama promised to render unto Caesar what is God’s! — the sole authority to take innocent life. God “is the sole Lord of this life”, as Pope John Paul II wrote. Only God creates an immortal soul destined to live with Him forever. Only God has authority to take innocent life unto Himself. But Barack Obama has promised to act like God by taking innocent life unto himself through signing the Freedom of Choice Act.
Bishop Finn said, “Life issues, particularly the protection of unborn children against the crime of abortion, has to be our greatest priority. This is an ongoing slaughter of 4,000 children every single day for the last 35 years, and if we don’t do anything about it, we bear a lot of responsibility.”
Yes, we bear a lot of responsibility for as God, quoted by Pope John Paul II, said, “From man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life” (Gn. 9:5). We must examine our consciences and free ourselves from any cooperation in the Culture of Death, make reparation by fasting, prayer, especially the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration and pro-life works of mercy for pregnant mothers and the victims of post-abortion stress syndrome.
We all should respond to Pope John Paul II’s request to pray and fast. We should do this for the conversions of Barack Obama and all abortion supporters. The Pope wrote in the Gospel of Life, “… a great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world… Jesus himself has shown us by his own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (Cf. Mt. 4:1-11). As he taught his disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (Cf. Mk. 9:23). Let us therefore discover anew the humility and the courage to pray and fast.”
Pope John Paul II also warned us at World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado:
No country, not even the most powerful, can endure if it deprives its own children of this essential good [the gift of life]… If you want equal justice for all, and true freedom and lasting peace, then, America, defend life! America needs much prayer… lest it lose its soul… America, defend life so that you may live in peace and harmony. Woe to you if you do not succeed in defending life.
On the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1981, Pope John Paul II prophesied, “the light of the Gospel of Christ will shine out over the whole world by means of the miraculous image of His Mother.” He prayed to her, “Since you are the Empress of the Americas, protect all the nations of the American continents.”
We are in need of her protection! She told St. Juan Diego, “Here I will offer all my love, my compassion, my powerful help and my protection to the people. I am your Merciful Mother.” Now after the Attack on America, the Snipers’ Attacks, the Militant Muslim Terror Attacks throughout the world, the war in Iraq, many natural disasters and the threat of the Freedom of Choice Act, we need her powerful help and protection more than ever, especially for our preborn brothers and sisters!
Let us be a people that hope in her protection instead of cursing the darkness! Let us show the world the light of the Gospel of Christ as Pope John Paul II said, “by means of the miraculous image of His Mother.” Please visit our website and learn how to host a Visitation of the Missionary Image of His Mother.
Pope John Paul II said, “I ask Our Lady of Guadalupe to visit every diocese and parish in America.” We do this by these Visitations of the Missionary Image. These Visitations bring hope! The Holy Father called Our Lady of Guadalupe “The Mother of Hope.” He said, “It is the beginning of a new mission — a providential occasion to lead the People of God in America to cross the threshold of the Third Millennium with renewed hope. That is why, as we look to the future, we are full of hope and are not overcome with fear!“
