Signs of the Times  

                                       THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPHECY

         In the history of the Church, the prophetic portions of Scripture have suffered more from inadequate interpretation than any other theological subject.  The importance of prophecy should be evident, even superficially, in examining the Christian/Catholic faith, for about 1/4 of the Bible was prophecy when it was written.  It is evident that God intended to draw aside the veil of the future and to give some indication of what His plans and purposes were for the human race and for the universe as a whole.

       The revelation of prophecy in Scripture serves as an important evidence that the Scriptures are accurate in their interpretations of the future.  Because approximately half of the prophecies of the Bible have already been fulfilled in a literal way, it gives a proper intellectual basis for assuming that prophecy yet to be fulfilled will likewaise have a literal fulfillment.  At the same time, it justifies the conculsion that the Bible is inspired of the Holy Spirit and that prophecy which goes far beyond any scheme of man is instead a revelation by God of that which is certain to come to pass.  The fact that prophecy has been literally fulfilled serves as a guide to interpret the prophecies which are yet ahead.

      Scriptural prophecy, properly interpreted, also provides a guideline for establishing the value of human conduct and the things that pertain to this life.  For a Christian, the ultimate question is whether God considers what He is doing of value or not, and it is in contrast to the world's system of values which is largely materialistic....


      We will be presenting in coming weeks important prophecies which are approved by tha Church--many of Our Lady's apparitions throughout Church history have become the basis for Church doctrine and dogma as the Holy Spirit continues to teach us throughout succedding centuries since Jesus' Death and Resurrection--this particular apparition has been approved by the Church and Mother Mariana has been declared Venerable in the first steps toward her canonization.
       On Jan 16, 1635, surrounded by her community and her Franciscan confeesors, Mother Mariana made a solemn profession of faith and then asked, as a last favor, to die on the ground, in imitation of her Seraphic Father, St. Francis.  After receiving Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, she foretold the exact hour of her death: 3 pm.  Just before she died, she read her last will and testament, a moving testimony that gave her daughters inestimable advice about the religious life along with many prophecies concerning the order.  At its end, she turned to the priests:  'My fathers and sisters, the time has come for me to depart; recommend my soul to God wit the appropriate prayers.  I thank you for everything.  Always, I beseech you, have this convent and your sisters in your care.  I die, as I was born, joyously and peacefully in the arms of my mother, the Seraphic Order.'  Two tears rolled down her cheek, she sighed, and with an angelic smile, that blessed soul left her body...

    Before we get to the prophecies which she mysteriously refers to the 20th century, let us consider some of the revelations that Mother Mariana was blessed tor eceive from Our Lord and Our Lady:

       OUR LADY:  "Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, HOW DIFFERENTLY THEY WOULDLIVE, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it!  But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour 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.
         "Remember the words of the Royal Prophet: 'How marvelous are the works of the Lord!'  Be convinced of this truth; teach and impress your daughters both living and those to come that they should love their divine vocations.  Reveal to them the glorious place that God and I are saving for those who belong to Us, our heirs.
        Woe to the world should it lack monasteries and convents!  Men do not comprehend their importance, for if they understood, they would do all in thier power to multiply them, because in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils...No one on the face of the earth is aware whence comes the salvation of souls, the conversion of great sinners, the end of great scourges, the fertility of the land, the end of pestilence and wars, and the harmony between nations.  ALL THIS IS DUE TO THE PRAYERS THAT RISE UP FROM MONASTERIES AND CONVENTS.
      O, if mortals only understood how to appreciate the time given to them, and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be!  And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition!  But this contempt is the fundamental cause of their downfall!"      (to be con't...)