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These Last Days News - May 2, 2011

Pope Benedict Proclaims Pope John Paul II Blessed...

"Your successor to Peter has been chosen well. We sat him upon the throne of Peter for the principal reason to return My Son's Church to its original state. 
    "Understand well, My children, that he is also a human being subject to error.  But this does not mean that he is to be subjected to derision and hate, until you build up a fire within the hearts of those who are seeking to destroy him.  Better that you pray for the Holy Father than to deride him.
    "Do not question him at this time, because I assure you, My children--as he will tell you in due time--I, too, have appeared to the Holy Father." - Our Lady, September 27, 1986

Pope Benedict XVI's homily of beatification for John Paul II

Pope Benedict XVI personally pronounced his predecessor John Paul II Sunday to be among the blessed, one step below sainthood, in a Mass attended by more than a million in Rome.

Declaring that the angels and saints in heaven were themselves celebrating, he praised John Paul's strength, will and holiness in the following words:

"Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor's entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering.

Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God's People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church's canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!

I would like to offer a cordial greeting to all of you who on this happy occasion have come in such great numbers to Rome from all over the world – cardinals, patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, brother bishops and priests, official delegations, ambassadors and civil authorities, consecrated men and women and lay faithful, and I extend that greeting to all those who join us by radio and television.

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today's celebration because, in God's providence, my predecessor died on the vigil of this feast. Today is also the first day of May, Mary's month, and the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. All these elements serve to enrich our prayer, they help us in our pilgrimage through time and space; but in heaven a very different celebration is taking place among the angels and saints! Even so, God is but one, and one too is Christ the Lord, who like a bridge joins earth to heaven. At this moment we feel closer than ever, sharing as it were in the liturgy of heaven.

'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe' (Jn 20:29). In today's Gospel Jesus proclaims this beatitude: the beatitude of faith. For us, it is particularly striking because we are gathered to celebrate a beatification, but even more so because today the one proclaimed blessed is a Pope, a Successor of Peter, one who was called to confirm his brethren in the faith. John Paul II is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith. We think at once of another beatitude: 'Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven' (Mt 16:17). What did our heavenly Father reveal to Simon? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of this faith, Simon becomes Peter, the rock on which Jesus can build his Church. The eternal beatitude of John Paul II, which today the Church rejoices to proclaim, is wholly contained in these sayings of Jesus: 'Blessed are you, Simon' and 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe!' It is the beatitude of faith, which John Paul II also received as a gift from God the Father for the building up of Christ's Church.

Our thoughts turn to yet another beatitude, one which appears in the Gospel before all others. It is the beatitude of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary, who had just conceived Jesus, was told by Saint Elizabeth: 'Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord' (Lk 1:45). The beatitude of faith has its model in Mary, and all of us rejoice that the beatification of John Paul II takes place on this first day of the month of Mary, beneath the maternal gaze of the one who by her faith sustained the faith of the Apostles and constantly sustains the faith of their successors, especially those called to occupy the Chair of Peter. Mary does not appear in the accounts of Christ's resurrection, yet hers is, as it were, a continual, hidden presence: she is the Mother to whom Jesus entrusted each of his disciples and the entire community. In particular we can see how Saint John and Saint Luke record the powerful, maternal presence of Mary in the passages preceding those read in today's Gospel and first reading. In the account of Jesus' death, Mary appears at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25), and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles she is seen in the midst of the disciples gathered in prayer in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14).

Today's second reading also speaks to us of faith. St. Peter himself, filled with spiritual enthusiasm, points out to the newly-baptized the reason for their hope and their joy. I like to think how in this passage, at the beginning of his First Letter, Peter does not use language of exhortation; instead, he states a fact. He writes: 'you rejoice', and he adds: 'you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls' (1 Pt 1:6, 8-9). All these verbs are in the indicative, because a new reality has come about in Christ's resurrection, a reality to which faith opens the door. 'This is the Lord's doing', says the Psalm (Ps 118:23), and 'it is marvelous in our eyes', the eyes of faith.

Dear brothers and sisters, today our eyes behold, in the full spiritual light of the risen Christ, the beloved and revered figure of John Paul II. Today his name is added to the host of those whom he proclaimed saints and blesseds during the almost twenty-seven years of his pontificate, thereby forcefully emphasizing the universal vocation to the heights of the Christian life, to holiness, taught by the conciliar Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. All of us, as members of the people of God – bishops, priests, deacons, laity, men and women religious – are making our pilgrim way to the heavenly homeland where the Virgin Mary has preceded us, associated as she was in a unique and perfect way to the mystery of Christ and the Church. Karol Wojtyla took part in the Second Vatican Council, first as an auxiliary Bishop and then as Archbishop of Krakow. He was fully aware that the Council's decision to devote the last chapter of its Constitution on the Church to Mary meant that the Mother of the Redeemer is held up as an image and model of holiness for every Christian and for the entire Church. This was the theological vision which Blessed John Paul II discovered as a young man and subsequently maintained and deepened throughout his life. A vision which is expressed in the scriptural image of the crucified Christ with Mary, his Mother, at his side. This icon from the Gospel of John (19:25-27) was taken up in the episcopal and later the papal coat-of-arms of Karol Wojtyla: a golden cross with the letter 'M' on the lower right and the motto 'Totus tuus', drawn from the well-known words of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort in which Karol Wojtyla found a guiding light for his life: 'Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria – I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart' (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 266).

In his Testament, the new Blessed wrote: 'When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, said to me: "The task of the new Pope will be to lead the Church into the Third Millennium"'. And the Pope added: 'I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of the Second Vatican Council, to which, together with the whole Church – and especially with the whole episcopate – I feel indebted. I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this Council of the twentieth century has lavished upon us. As a Bishop who took part in the Council from the first to the last day, I desire to entrust this great patrimony to all who are and will be called in the future to put it into practice. For my part, I thank the Eternal Shepherd, who has enabled me to serve this very great cause in the course of all the years of my Pontificate'. And what is this 'cause'? It is the same one that John Paul II presented during his first solemn Mass in Saint Peter's Square in the unforgettable words: 'Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors to Christ!' What the newly-elected Pope asked of everyone, he was himself the first to do: society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan – a strength which came to him from God – a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is Redemptor hominis, the Redeemer of man. This was the theme of his first encyclical, and the thread which runs though all the others.

When Karol Wojtyla ascended to the throne of Peter, he brought with him a deep understanding of the difference between Marxism and Christianity, based on their respective visions of man. This was his message: man is the way of the Church, and Christ is the way of man. With this message, which is the great legacy of the Second Vatican Council and of its 'helmsman', the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, John Paul II led the People of God across the threshold of the Third Millennium, which thanks to Christ he was able to call 'the threshold of hope'. Throughout the long journey of preparation for the great Jubilee he directed Christianity once again to the future, the future of God, which transcends history while nonetheless directly affecting it. He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress. He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope, to be lived in history in an 'Advent' spirit, in a personal and communitarian existence directed to Christ, the fullness of humanity and the fulfillment of all our longings for justice and peace.

Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to thank God for the gift of having worked for many years with Blessed Pope John Paul II. I had known him earlier and had esteemed him, but for twenty-three years, beginning in 1982 after he called me to Rome to be Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering: the Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a 'rock', as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Eucharist.

Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God's people. How many time you blessed us from this very square. Holy Father, bless us again from that window. Amen."

Pope John Paul II gave his blessing to the Our Lady of the Roses Shrine…

One of Veronica’s close workers, Vincent McDonnell, on a special mission to deliver the Bayside Message to the Holy Father, had a singular grace and privilege to greet and briefly speak to the Holy Father at the General Audience on October 24, 1979.

Pope John Paul II personally accepted from his hands a large envelope containing the Bayside messages of Our Lady of the Roses and Our Lord.  A yellow Rosary blessed by Our Lady and given by Veronica gift wrapped the precious package.

This remarkable event, as related by Vincent McDonnell, unfolded in this manner:

“The Holy Father said to me (on being handed the envelope): ‘What is this?’  I said to him: ‘The Rosary is a gift from Our Blessed Mother, and in the envelope are the Messages of Our Blessed Mother given to Veronica Lueken, from Our Lady of the Roses Shrine, Bayside, New York; and could you kindly read them.’  The Holy Father said: ‘I know about it.’  At this time I asked for a special blessing from the Holy Father for all of Our Lady’s workers.  The Holy Father said: ‘I bless you, your family, your relatives, and all your friends back home; and I place you all under the protection of Our Blessed Mother.’

“The conversation lasted for a couple of minutes…. I thought it prudent not to say too much, being satisfied that he knew about the Shrine and that he had personally received the Messages into his own hands.”

A picture of Vincent McDonnell at Our Lady of the Roses Shrine with Pope John Paul II miraculously appearing in it...

The picture at the right was taken of Vincent McDonnell wearing a white beret on his head and standing beside the Statue of Our Lady of the Roses at Bayside, New York.  The Statue of Our Lady mostly disappears except for a little blue in the lower right hand corner of the picture.  But covering the majority of the Shrine Statue you can see miraculously appearing in the picture a side profile of Pope John Paul II looking downward.  You can also see a string of Rosary beads in the lower left-hand side of the picture.  This photograph was taken within one year of Vincent's meeting with Pope John Paul II.  The picture was taken with a Polaroid SX70 camera which is tamper proof.  It appears that Heaven is attesting to the authenticity of the meeting.

Our Lady of the Roses awesome Bayside Prophecies... https://www.tldm.org/../Bayside/
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995.

CHOSEN WELL
"Your successor to Peter has been chosen well. We sat him upon the throne of Peter for the principal reason to return My Son's Church to its original state. 
    "Understand well, My children, that he is also a human being subject to error. But this does not mean that he is to be subjected to derision and hate, until you build up a fire within the hearts of those who are seeking to destroy him. Better that you pray for the Holy Father than to deride him.
    "Do not question him at this time, because I assure you, My children--as he will tell you in due time--I, too, have appeared to the Holy Father." - Our Lady, September 27, 1986

POPE JOHN PAUL II APPEARS TO VERONICA LUEKEN AT OUR LADY OF THE ROSES PRAYER VIGIL
Veronica - And next to it, I see the Pope, John Paul II, standing there. He's looking all about. And he's stretching out his arms, like this, and saying: "My children of the world, pray for me." - Pope John Paul II, September 14, 1985

SHAMBLES
"Up to this time, My child and My children, you know full well that the wishes and the directives from Rome, from the Eternal Father in Heaven, through Pope John Paul II, they have been cast aside, each and every individual going his own way and making My Son's House a shambles." - Our Lady, March 18, 1983

VISIONS
"Yes, my child and my children, tell the world immediately that the Holy Father suffers greatly, for he, too, has been given insights in visions to know what lies ahead for him. But he is willing to suffer all for the salvation of souls and the good of the Holy Church." - St. Michael, November 1, 1985

FAITH AND MORALS
"Many now rebel against their leader, their God-given leader, your Vicar. In matters of faith and morals, man must not change the God-given laws, coming from the seat of Peter, and established through tradition upon earth through My Son's Church." - Our Lady of the Roses, October 6, 1979

ST. HYACINTH
"Remember always your heritage, even unto martyrdom, for of such trial are many led to sainthood. Accept as your strength Hyacinth, and follow his lead, or the great Chastisement shall be set upon mankind.
"Will you not help me again, My son? Convert Russia. Do not hasten to promote division in My Son's Church. Save the world from the great flames of the Ball of Redemption that fast approaches your world and mankind." - Open Letter from Our Lady to Pope John Paul II, November 25, 1978

PRAY FOR ME
Veronica - And next to it, I see the Pope, John Paul II, standing there. He's looking all about. And he's stretching out his arms, like this, and saying: "My children of the world, pray for me." - September 14, 1985

Grave warning to the detractors of Our Lady of the Roses:

Jesus - “Better that a man has died in the womb of his mother than to disgrace and to bring discredit to My Mother (Our Lady of the Roses).” (11-22-75)

Directives from Heaven... https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D7 - Pope John Paul II  PDF

Articles…

Pope exhorts young not to fear terrorist attacks or war...  
https://www.tldm.org/news5/popejp2.htm

Pope warns that War could bring a 'Religious Catastrophe'... 
https://www.tldm.org/news6/religiouscatastrophe.htm  

Pope warns of a world without spirituality 
https://www.tldm.org/news5/pope2.htm

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