Speaking at Mass in Laus in remarks broadcast nationally on France-2 television, Monsignor Jean-Michel di Falco Leandri said he recognized the "supernatural origin" of the apparitions to 17-year-old shepherd girl Benoite Rencurel starting in 1664 and running through 1718.
What is the message given to the young shepherd girl way back then? Michael Matt from The Remnant shares the story:
Most of us, however, had never before even heard of the message or apparitions of Notre Dame Du Laus. Even most Catholics in France have not heard of Notre Dame Du Laus. Why? Because our Lady's message to Benoite, aside from being filled with great hope, also had another aspect to it—an aspect that is anything but popular to the Church in the modern world. The message placed a tremendous amount of emphasis on the dangers of sin, the importance of repentance, the absolute "essential to salvation" nature of the Sacrament of Penance, and the necessity of receiving that Sacrament frequently. During the lifetime of Benoite, and for centuries after her death, Laus was a place of great spiritual healing through the Sacrament of Penance. An incredible number of Catholics from every class (peasantry, gentry, and nobility) over the centuries since 1647 found their way back onto the road that leads to salvation, as a direct consequence of the message of Notre Dame Du Laus and the sanctity of the seer Benoite, who proclaimed that message to the world.
The sanctuary at Laus is called the "Refuge of Sinners" and it is, perhaps, due to its emphasis on the evil of sin that the message of Our Lady to Benoite has been all but "swept under the carpet" of Modernism in this our new age of "enlightened," "grown-up" Catholicism.
So, what follows is the story of the apparitions of Notre Dame Du Laus and the life of the seer, Benoite. As you read it, remember the place as we have described it above and try to imagine the strange, unearthly atmosphere that surrounds the hamlet, the message and the story. And then remember this: along with the account of the apparitions of Notre Dame Du Laus, there is also a prediction which states that the extraordinary events and message of Laus would be forgotten and ignored by the world for a very long time.
However, word of Laus would re-surface, the prediction states, at a point in time when the End Times were close at hand...
...Our Lady now had complete confidence in Benoite and began to reveal the mission which she was to entrust to the shepherdess.
"I have asked my Son to give me Laus, and He has agreed," explained the Virgin. She told Benoite that it was her dearest wish that men should be brought to understand the love which God offered them. Benoite came to the chapel frequently during that winter (1644-1645). Our Lady continued to educate her and asked her to pray for those who lived badly, so that they would turn in repentance to her Son.
One thinks of Pope Benedict's Enclyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) when one reads the last paragraph.
7 comments:
However, word of Laus would re-surface, the prediction states, at a point in time when the End Times were close at hand...
Please, would anyone quote us the exact words of the Virgin to Benoite regarding this prediction?
Praise God !!!
We sure need to hear it again and again that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of being a "real" Catholic.
Wow! after 300 years! it is finally approved.
Oh Well, we will be all in heaven 300 years from now before the Catholic Church approves Medjugorje!!!
better late than never.
Praise be Jesus and Mary.
Is the End near?
Divine Mercy is for these times we live in.
As promoters of Divine Mercy here in England the question posed is important as we all need to be in a state of spiritual readiness.
For some the end will be today and for others tomorrow, it is not for us to know the time or date, just be ready.
From St Faustina Diary entry # 1732
As I was praying for Poland, I heard the words: I bear a special love for Poland, and if she will be obedient to My Will, I will exalt her in might and holiness.
From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming.
Read below the following excellent article by Dr Robert Stackpole, STD who puts the case across more eloquently
Bernhard & Marion Northamptonshire, England.
May 7th 2008
The topic of this column is one that causes faithful Catholics increasing worry and dismay. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that over the last decade the enemies of Christianity have steadily increased their hold on international institutions (the U.N., the E.U., and soon, perhaps, the U.S. government); on the mainstream media; on the academic establishment; and even on some of the churches (such as the Anglican Communion and the World Council of Churches).
In Great Britain, an orthodox Anglican bishop and his diocesan staff was recently ordered by the courts to undergo "equal opportunities re-education" because they refused to hire a practicing homosexual to a church position. In Canada, "Human Rights Tribunals" have taken the country's leading conservative columnist to court for stating in an editorial that Islam is a threat to western civilization. In the same country, the Knights of Columbus were heavily fined for refusing to allow a lesbian couple to rent their Knights Hall for their "wedding" reception.
In Europe, church properties have just been made subject to taxation throughout the E.U. for the first time in history, and any Pro-Life politician who is nominated for a leading E.U. position is met with a chorus of protests. Meanwhile, Neo-Tsarist Russia and Still-Communist China continue to grow in economic power and military cooperation, and the threat from Radical Islam in the Middle East, continues, awaiting the opportunity to fill the power-vacuum that would ensue from a U.S. retreat from the region.
Is it any wonder that faithful Catholics are now asking whether we could be nearing the time of the great tribulation predicted by the Bible, in preparation for the final coming of our Savior?
We tend to forget, however, that not all of the signs of the end prophesied in Scripture are negative, "doom and gloom" stuff: trials and tribulations for the faithful, the coming of the Anti-Christ, etc.
One of our readers, named Tina, assessing the more positive signs of the times, asked me the following question:
I have heard Fr. Seraphim Michalenko and other Divine Mercy authorities link Jesus' revelations to St. Faustina with His Second Coming. With the World Mercy Congress soon to be upon us, do you think the Second Coming is nigh? I know: no one knows the hour or the day (Mk 13:32), but if the Congress succeeds the way the planners hope, and St. Faustina's mission to spread word of God's mercy to the whole world is fulfilled, would that give us a strong clue about the end times?
My thinking, Tina, is completely in line with yours. Yes, I think this would be a good sign that we are headed down "the home stretch."
First of all, your question alludes to an important prophecy from Jesus Himself, when He told us that one of the clear preconditions for His Second Coming would be "The good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all the nations. Only after that the end will come" (Mt 24:14). There are still large sections of the world where that has not happened to any great degree yet: China and parts of India in particular, the world's two most populous nations, have been "closed" to some extent to Christian missions for several generations. Moreover, we know for a fact that the Divine Mercy message and devotion has proven to be an especially effective means of presenting the gospel message to the crumbling, post-modern world.
Remember that Our Lady and our Lord Himself told St. Faustina that her revelations and mission would have a special role in preparing the way for Christ's final coming. Consider the following passages from the Diary of St. Faustina:
Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice is near (965).
Then I saw the Mother of God, who said to me ... "I gave the Savior to the world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming..." (635).
Write down these words, my daughter. Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy ... (848).
Write: before I come as just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy (1146).
Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy (1588).
Clearly, the spread of the message of Divine Mercy throughout the world, in the form given to St. Faustina, is meant to be an important part of the global outreach of our Savior's merciful love, in preparation for His Second Coming. I can even visualize a scenario of how this may play itself out on the stage of history. The upcoming World Apostolic Congress on Mercy ignites an earnest effort on the part of faithful Catholics everywhere to renew their faith and spread the gospel of Divine Mercy to the ends of the earth. India, China, and parts of the Middle East and Europe, relatively closed to Catholic missionary activity in recent generations, through rising prosperity increasingly open their doors to business contacts and internet contacts with the rest of the globe (it is happening already). As a result, the message of mercy begins to find its way into these corners of the globe more than ever before, and even much of Israel and the global Jewish community will be converted to the Faith (see Rom 11).
At the same time, the allies of the coming Anti-Christ will solidify their consolidation of global power in preparation for his appearance on the scene. The stage will be set for the final persecution and Passover of the Church: We will be prepared for it by the mercy message and ultimately purified by suffering. Then, the Bridegroom will come down from heaven and bring about the final triumph of His Divine Mercy, and the final reckoning with His unrepentant enemies. On all this, please read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 673-677. I do not think that the scenario I have spelled out here is a fanciful one, Tina, and it fits with your intuition that maybe it is the "positive" sign of the spread of Divine Mercy that is as much a clue to the coming of the End Times as the "negative" signs that we so often focus on.
Of course, I do not know for sure how all this will play out: Call it a prayerful and educated "guesstimate." I would just remind our readers not to worry too much about it, not to retreat into an intellectual, spiritual "bunker mentality" as if everything is going wrong. It's not. He's still "got the whole world in His hands," as the song goes. Moreover, as St. Louis De Montfort and other saints prophesied, the deeper the darkness grows, the brighter the saints will shine in response. Besides, these mounting signs of the end are not meant to cause us depair, but to bring us hope: "When these things begin to happen, stand erect and hold your head high, for your deliverance is near at hand" (Lk 21:28)!
Robert Stackpole, STD, is director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy, based in Stockbridge, Mass. His latest book is Divine Mercy: A Guide from Genesis to Benedict XVI (Marian Press).
Got a question? E-mail him at questions@thedivinemercy.org.
These are great times to be living because there are so many opportunities for sanctification.
We must remember we are the "Church Militant" and there is much work to be done by Christ's humble army.
Throughout our salvation history God's army has always been outnumbered by the enemies of God. And yet, God says; Be not afraid, I will go in front of you. There is no way for the wicked to win against God. They will keep trying
but the war has already been won.
Our young people have been immolating unchaste hollywood stars and immoral athletes. They desparately need saintly role models and real heros. But not to worry God gave them some on 9/11 and he will be giving them more in the future.
Do not fear the future or death, only fear sin. The Bible contains the words "be not afraid" 365 times. That is one time for each day of the year.
Let us forge ahead living our faith with heroic love as all the great saints who lived before us!
The story written in The Remnant does not say that the End Times prediction came from the Virgin or even Benoite, only that it exists.
The article in The Remnant from 1995 does not state that the End Times prediction came from the Virgin or even Benoite, only that it exists.
I have just heard of our Lady of Laus. I am a novice. I know little of Mary's apparitions at Laus. Mary of Laus, pray for us.
Tony
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