Episode 6 – Mary Prepares the World for the Second Coming

Whenever we speak about Mother Mary, we need to remember one thing. Mother Mary obeyed the Heavenly Father here on earth 100 percent. Therefore, in heaven, God the Father will obey her 100 percent. If you are obedient to God here on earth 100 percent, then in heaven, God will listen to you 100 percent.

Catholics Give the Most Important Place for Jesus

There is so much confusion when we reflect on the life of Mother Mary in the Bible. A while ago, a Protestant pastor (a close friend) and I were having a conversation. He said, “You Catholics give more importance to Mother Mary than to Jesus.” I replied, “My dear friend, can you come with me?” I took him to our chapel and asked, “Can you tell me where we keep Jesus in this chapel?” He looked around and pointed to the altar. He said, “This is where you celebrate the Holy Mass.” Then he pointed to the main tabernacle, next to which a light is lit 24 hours, and said, “This is the tabernacle in which you keep the Eucharist.” I told him he was correct and proceeded to ask, “Now tell me where we keep Mother Mary here?” He looked around the chapel. In a corner, we have a small glass box in which we have the statue of Our Lady. He pointed to that corner and to the statue of Our Lady. He said, “That’s where you keep the statue of Mother Mary.” I then explained to this pastor that he was correct and that Catholics know where to keep Jesus and where to keep Mother Mary.

For the last 2,000 years, we have given the most important place to Jesus. The most important place is the tabernacle. We have given the most importance to the Eucharist and to Jesus, and a corner is for Our Lady. We do know where to keep Jesus. So, he need not worry about Catholics.

The Good News on our Salvation is Announced to Mother Mary

He then asked, “If you give more importance to Jesus, then why is it that when you say the Holy Rosary, you recite the Our Father 5 times and the Hail Mary 50 times when meditating on the mysteries?” The Hail Mary is a prayer addressed to Our Lady and the Our Father is the prayer Jesus taught us to pray; that is the Lord’s Prayer. He continued, “Are you not giving more importance to Mother Mary than to Jesus in the Holy Rosary?” I told him that his question was valid, and I asked him, “Can you explain to me what is the Bible?” He is a good pastor and knows the Bible very well. So he said, “The Bible means Good News.” So, I asked him, “What is the Good News in the Bible?” He said, “The Good News in the Bible is that a saviour is born for the salvation of humanity, for the forgiveness of humanity. That is the Good News in the Bible.” I said, “If the whole Bible is the Good News, who told this Good News to whom?” He said, “This Good News was first announced by Angel Gabriel to Mother Mary.” Then I asked, “How? What was that?” He said, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” Then I told him, “Pastor, you have spoken well.” The truth is that the whole Bible is summarised in the Good News. We call the Bible itself the Good News.

What is the Good News in the Bible? The coming of the Saviour.

Where is it written and who is it addressed to? We know Angel Gabriel came and told Mother Mary the Good News, announced the Good News, and said, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”

The Holy Rosary: Announcement of the Good News to the Whole World

Jesus means ‘the Lord saves’. So, the coming of Jesus to save humanity is the Good News. When we announce the Good News, we are announcing the whole Bible. This means that in the Holy Rosary, for 50 times we announce the Good News—the salvation of humanity through the Saviour sent by the Heavenly Father. Read the Good News in Luke 2:10, when after the Good News was announced to Mother Mary by Angel Gabriel. We read, “But the angel said to them (to the shepherds), ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you the Good News of great joy for all the people’.” The coming of the saviour is Good News for all people. That is why just before his Ascension to heaven, Jesus told the disciples in Mark 16:15, “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation’.” What is the Good News? The Good News is already mentioned in the Bible when the angel told the shepherds that he had come there to announce the Good News for all people. What is the Good News? The Good News announced to Mary by Angel Gabriel is “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” That is the Good News. This means that in every Holy Rosary, we are announcing the Good News to the whole world. We are fulfilling the command of Jesus: “Go to the ends of the whole world and proclaim the Good News.”

The Hail Mary Prayer: Summary of the Salvation History and Salvation Mystery

In every Catholic family in every nook and corner of the world, a lady, a gentleman, a child, a priest, a nun or somebody holds the Rosary and announces the Good News. Every time we say the Rosary, we are announcing the Good News in every part of the world. Today, you hear the Good News being announced in every part of the world by ordinary people, the elderly, the poor, and the sick. Everyone is announcing the Good News. We are called to do that. I told this pastor, “We have to repeat it not only 50 times, but, if possible, the Good News should be announced 50 million times!” I won’t be ashamed to do that because the Holy Rosary is not just a prayer addressed to Mother Mary, it is an announcement of the Good News addressed to the whole of humanity for its salvation. So, the Good News is bad news only for the evil one, who may not like the Good News to be announced. But do not listen to the evil one. Preach the Good News, share it, and announce it to the whole world! Do not be ashamed to say the Holy Rosary because, after the Holy Eucharist, it is the most powerful weapon against the evil spirit. The Good News, the whole Bible, is present in the Holy Rosary. That’s why Saint John Paul II said that the Holy Rosary, the Hail Mary prayer, is the summary of the whole salvation history, and that the salvation mystery is contained in the Hail Mary prayer. If you take the Hail Mary prayer, the Annunciation is there, the Incarnation is mentioned, the Virgin Birth is mentioned, the coming Emmanuel is there, the fulfilling of salvation is there, that sinfulness will be forgiven—all the messages are present in the Hail Mary prayer. Therefore, the Hail Mary prayer contains the salvation mystery and the salvation history. That is why the devil hates the Holy Rosary so much because it is powerful against the powers of darkness. We should never be ashamed to say the Holy Rosary.

The Hail Mary Prayer is the Word of God; in Repeating it, We are Cleansed

Then the pastor said, “Okay, I agree because there is power in the Word of God, the Hail Mary Prayer is the Word of God, and you are repeating the Word of God. But, why repeat it so many times?”

Repeating the Hail Mary Prayer 50 times is okay because there is power in the Word of God, but why do we repeat it so many times? Why can’t we just say it once or twice? Why do we repeat it many times? Let’s read the passage in Matthew 26:44, “So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus repeated the same prayer to the Heavenly Father, not once, not twice, but thrice. He repeated the same prayer thrice. Jesus is God. He is without sin. But still, he repeated the prayer thrice. If Jesus repeated a prayer three times, we should repeat our prayers 3,000 times if possible. If a holy man of God such as Jesus, who is God Himself, repeated his prayer to the Heavenly Father three times, how much more should we repeat our prayers? Each time we repeat the Word of God and repeat a prayer based on the Word of God, we are getting cleansed. John 15:3 says, “You have already been cleansed by the Word that I have spoken to you.” Why does it say that ‘by the Word that I have spoken to you, you have already been cleansed?’

The Hail Mary Prayer: An Invitation to Jesus to Come Inside of us

Isaiah 55:11 says, “So shall my Word be that goes from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” What is the purpose of the Word of God? In the Hail Mary prayer, what was the purpose of the Word of God? When it was announced, Mother Mary was full of the Holy Spirit and Jesus was born in her womb. So, when we repeat the Word of God every day, the Holy Spirit will come and take control of us, and Jesus will be born inside of us. Jesus will come inside of us. This is the power of the Hail Mary prayer.

The Holy Mary Prayer: Announcement of Mary as Mother of God

I explained this to the pastor, and he kept quiet for some time. Then he said, “But take the second part of the Hail Mary prayer. It says, ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God.’ You say mother of God. How can God have a mother? How can we call Mary as the mother of God?” Then I told him, “Do you believe that when Jesus was born in the womb of Mother Mary he was God then? Do you believe Jesus became God only after birth, or was he God when Jesus was in the womb of Mother Mary? What is your theology about it?” He said, “We believe Jesus is God even before the birth and while in the womb of Mother Mary.” Then I told him, “If Jesus was God in the womb of Mother Mary, then Mother Mary was carrying a baby, who is God, for almost 9 months. If this mother gives birth to this child, then anyone who gives birth to this child is the mother. If Jesus is God, then Mary is the mother of God.” Then he asked me, “Where is the Bible passage for that? Where do we see this in the Bible?” I gave him the Word of God from Luke 1:39-43. I told him, “This is the Word of God. The Bible says it very clearly. Mother Mary is the mother of God.” The pastor said, “That is not a somebody. This Elizabeth announced because she is an old lady. She’s illiterate. She does not know what she’s speaking when she spoke it. And why should we take it seriously? It is only Elizabeth who spoke.” I told him, “Listen very carefully. Elizabeth does not know Mary had an Annunciation. Elizabeth does not know Mother Mary is already pregnant. Elizabeth knows Mother Mary’s marriage is not over. So, how can Elizabeth know Mother Mary is pregnant? As soon as Mother Mary came and greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed, “Mother of my Lord!” It is not Elizabeth who announced it. It is the Holy Spirit who announced and called Mother Mary as the mother of God. Elizabeth doesn’t know what was happening. She doesn’t know Mother Mary is pregnant from the Holy Spirit. She doesn’t know anything.

The Holy Mary Prayer: A Prophecy from the Holy Spirit

If Elizabeth announced this, then it must be a prophecy. It’s a message from the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit who called Mother Mary as the mother of God. This means that the Hail Mary prayer was first announced by Abba Father through Angel Gabriel and the Holy Mary prayer was first announced by the Holy Spirit through Elizabeth. If you have any objection against the Hail Mary prayer and the Holy Mary prayer, then don’t accuse the Catholics. The first culprit is Abba Father. The second culprit is the Holy Spirit. We Catholics are only the third culprit. They started it, and we are just repeating what they said. That’s all. If they are allowed to announce it, why can’t we? If the Heavenly Father and the angel can call Mother Mary ‘Hail Mary, full of grace’, then why can’t we call Mother Mary ‘Hail Mary, full of grace’? If the Holy Spirit can call Mother Mary ‘Mother of God’, then why can’t we proclaim Mother Mary as the ‘Mother of God’?

The Holy Rosary: A Powerful Weapon

Do not be ashamed to call Mother Mary as the mother of God. Do not be hesitant to say the Holy Rosary. Do not be hesitant to wear the Holy Rosary. Hold on to the Holy Rosary. This is the mighty powerful protection against the evil one. You will see the miracles happening when the power of the Holy Rosary is in your hand.

Mother Mary and the Second Coming

God, the Heavenly Father, used Mother Mary as the powerful instrument in his hand for bringing Jesus here, for the Incarnation of Jesus, for the First Coming of Jesus. If that is the case, God will use Mother Mary for the Second Coming of Jesus in a special way and more powerfully. The person who is used by God for the First Coming is the same person who will be used for the Second Coming. How do we know? Before going to heaven, Jesus looked at the children, his children, his disciple, and said, “This is your Mother.” He looked at his mother and said, “This is your son.” From that moment, Mother Mary took it seriously. Since Mother Mary is so obedient to her Son, obedient to the Heavenly Father, and obedient to the Holy Spirit, she said, “Let it be done to me according to thy will.” She is so obedient even today. If you look at the history of humanity for the last 2,000 years, you can see Mother Mary appeared in many places, especially when humanity was going through suffering. Mother Mary appeared before the suffering, during the suffering, and after the suffering somewhere in the world.

The Apparitions of Mother Mary

In the Holy Land, in a huge church in Nazareth, there are many pictures of the apparitions of Our Lady in different places of the world. When I was going through all the pictures and counted the number of apparitions, I came to know that Mother Mary appeared in almost all countries. This is because she is doing her duty faithfully which is entrusted to her by her Son. “Here is your son”—she is considering all of us as her children.

I. The Apparition in Guadalupe, Mexico (1531)

Mother Mary appeared to a young man named Juan Diego in Guadalupe, Mexico, in 1531. Mother Mary told this young man to build a temple, a church, there. That was the place where there was a temple in honour of an Aztec goddess. On that small hill, tribals used to sacrifice virgin girls. The Heavenly Virgin’s apparition in Guadalupe, Mexico, is one of the most powerful apparitions. After this, almost 8 million returned to the Catholic Church. This happened after a tragedy struck that place.

II. The Apparition in Lourdes, France (1858)

Mother Mary appeared to St Bernadette more than 18 times in Lourdes, France, in 1858. The French Revolution took place about 50 years before this apparition. All the Catholic churches were destroyed, and the priests were killed. Many were leaving and abandoning the Church. Some atheists, people against the Catholic Church, brought a lady and made her lie down naked on the altar of Notre Dame Cathedral. This happened 50 years before this apparition. Such dirty things like desecrating the altar were taking place in France. That’s when Mother Mary appeared to Bernadette in Lourdes. After that, the whole history of the Church changed. Many miracles started taking place. Thousands of people started flocking to the place. Many atheists and people who never believed in God started believing in God. Now special chartered planes are arranged only to carry sick people to Lourdes.

III. The Apparition in Fatima, Portugal (1917)

Mother Mary appeared in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, during the First World War. When Mother Mary appeared and said, “Repent, Repent,” she gave the 3 secrets of Fatima and the many things you know about the Fatima apparition. But remember, the Spanish Flu pandemic occurred in 1918. Just 5 or 6 months after the apparition, the Spanish Flu spread all over Europe and the other parts of the world. At least 50 million were killed. COVID-19 is nothing compared to the Spanish Flu. Imagine that just before that Mother Mary came and appeared to strengthen the people and to warn them.

IV. The Apparition in Kibeho, Rwanda (1981)

Mother Mary appeared in front of a young girl in Kibeho, Rwanda, in 1981. She told the girl, “If the people do not repent, there will be rivers of blood on the streets of Rwanda.” But nobody listened to this girl. Nobody took it seriously. Mother Mary had appeared in 1981, and in 1994, there was a genocide in Rwanda caused by two tribes—the Hutu tribe and the Tutsi tribe. The two tribes fought and killed each other. More than a million people were killed in a month. Within 30 days, 1 million people were dead on the streets. There were, as Mother Mary said, rivers of blood on the streets of Rwanda. There is a movie on YouTube called ‘If Only We Had Listened’. If only we listen to Mother Mary before any tragedy or after any tragedy. Mother Mary appeared to human beings to warn the people.

V. The Apparition in Garabandal, Spain (1961)

We all know that in June 1961, Mother Mary appeared in Garabandal, Spain. Mother Mary said, “My cup is overflowing. There will be a terrible tragedy that is going to come and affect the whole world.” Mother Mary already warned in 1961 in Garabandal. Soon it will happen. We don’t know if what we’re going through right now is what Mother Mary has mentioned. We have no clue about any of this. But before any tragedy, Mother Mary has come to warn human beings.

VI. The Apparitions in Zeitoun, Egypt (1968 to 2009)

You may have not heard about these apparitions, but I believe that these are one of the most powerful apparitions of Our Lady. Many who witnessed this miracle are still alive—not one or two, but thousands. This happened in 1968 in Egypt in a place called Zeitoun. Mother Mary appeared in the small church of St Mary’s Basilica. In front and all around, the Basilica had many shops, most of them run by Muslims. Among these was a mechanic shop in front of the Basilica. On 2 April 1968, a bus mechanic named Farouk Mohammed Atwa looked at the Basilica as he was working inside his shop. He saw a lady on the dome of the church. He thought somebody had climbed on the dome to jump from there and commit suicide. So, he stopped working and went onto the street. He stood in the middle of the street and shouted loudly, “Don’t jump! Don’t jump!” People noticed him and everybody looked at the church, and they all saw this lady standing at the top of the dome. Everyone screamed. Somebody also informed the police. The police came, and the whole street was packed with people, and everybody saw this lady standing on the dome of the church. She was moving, walking up and down. In between, she was kneeling and she was blessing the people. She was also smiling. The people could even see her teeth. When she was moving around, they noticed she was not touching the church.

The videos are available on YouTube. Check and get the live videos of all these. She remained there for more than nearly half an hour. The police came and controlled the people. The people started shouting and praising God. All started worshipping God and thanking God for sending Mother Mary on the top of the church. This happened once on 2 April 1968. It repeated on 9 April. Then it happened every week, sometimes 3 times a week for 3 consecutive years. Mother Mary appeared on the top of this church in front of almost 250,000 people. All of them witnessed the apparition. It’s not mass hysteria. It is everyone equally witnessing it. One of them who witnessed this apparition was the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, a Muslim. After he witnessed this miracle, his attitude towards Christianity changed completely. This is part of history. Check it, google it, and you will find out. This is one of the most powerful apparitions of Our Lady. Recently, in 2009, Mother Mary appeared again in the same place, and many people were witness to it too.

Why do I say this? In the beginning of the talk, I told you that if God has used Mother Mary for the First Coming of Jesus, then God will surely use Mother Mary for the Second Coming of Jesus. Why is this apparition in Zeitoun so famous but not known to everyone? One reason is because it did not happen in the Catholic Church. It happened in the Coptic Orthodox Church, which is devoted to Mother Mary and also venerates her. Since it happened in a Coptic Orthodox church, it is not so common among Catholic apparitions and Catholic devotions. The second reason is that it happened in a Muslim country. These are the reasons why it is not so popular and not so famous. It’s not so approachable, and it’s not so easy for common people from all over the world to go and flock to that city.

But in 1968, when these apparitions happened in that Coptic Orthodox church, the Pope arranged an independent inquiry, and he came to the conclusion that these apparitions were authentic and miraculous. Pope Paul VI of the Catholic Church from Rome appointed another envoy, another group of people, and sent them to investigate this incident. Within 2 to 3 months, Pope Paul VI appointed a committee to go and investigate. In a month, the committee came back and said these are true and completely authentic apparitions. The Catholic Church also accepted the apparitions in Zeitoun.

Why do I say these things? Once we are so involved in the news of the whole world, we may not listen to this news, because the media is not interested in sharing this kind of news which will influence people to start believing in God. But that’s the reason why I want to spend this time speaking about this Good News. Mother Mary is so active in this modern world because she is the one who prepared to welcome Jesus to this world. She prepared her body and she prepared her womb to welcome Jesus to this world. If so, she will prepare the whole world for the coming of Jesus. She is doing it already. Therefore, let’s hold on to Mother Mary and give maximum glory and honour to Our Lady. Don’t worry in giving excess honour and glory to Mother Mary, she will never take any glory for herself. She will give all glory to her Son because she is not like us. She will never take any glory for herself. She will give all glory to Jesus.

The first miracle in the gospel of St John happened because of the intervention of Mother Mary, but nobody glorifies her for that because she gave all glory to Jesus. Even if we honour her or respect her, she will never take any glory for herself. She will hold us so close to her and make sure she takes us to Jesus. Through Mary, we will surely go to Jesus. We will never go the wrong way.

Why did Mother Mary Appear in Egypt in 1968?

In 1967, Israel attacked Egypt and most Egyptian cities were destroyed because of Israel’s attack. People were going through famine, trouble, and financial crisis. That’s when Mother Mary came and appeared to them to console them and to bless them. Are you going through a crisis? Are you going through a helpless situation? Hold on to Mother Mary. She will come and prepare you to welcome Jesus in your life. You need her because you need Jesus in your life.

To welcome the Holy Spirit in us, we need to hold on to Mother Mary. If she is with us, the Holy Spirit will surely come and take control of us. She will never leave us alone. She will make sure we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

(close your eyes and pray in the presence of God)

Lord, we are sorry for all those moments when we have neglected Mother Mary, spoken ill of her, and not had any devotion to her. Many times we have felt we don’t want to honour Mother Mary too much. Lord, help me honour Mother Mary just as you honoured her. Amen.

Conclusion

Jesus honoured Mother Mary very well. Jesus honoured her by her glorious Assumption into heaven. Jesus honoured her by making her the Queen of heaven and earth. So, we should also honour her with the best gifts that we could give because she is the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Transcribed by Cecil Kim Esgana