By Anne Lastman

It can be said that the plethora of appearances by the Blessed Virgin Mary over the last 100 years has been nothing short of phenomenal.  

Never in history have Her appearances been reported so far and wide and by so many cultures and countries and places.  Indeed we have been blessed to have the Blessed Virgin Mary with us almost repeatedly and uninterrupted for over 100 years.   She has come and kept company with Her children with Her Motherly love, guidance and presence.

A bird’s eye view of the 20^th century alone shows a remarkable constancy of apparitions said to be the Blessed Virgin Mary and in a number of instances these apparitions have been approved by the Catholic Church who has authenticated them for the faithful. Fatima, Akita, Lourdes, Bennaux, and others. 

Whilst there have been numerous apparitions which have been deemed authentic there are some like Medjugorje, Garabandal, and others which are still awaiting that seal of approval by the Church, yet the faithful continue to go and see Her and pray. However, what is important to note is that during the 20^th century there have been more cited apparitions whether approved or still waiting result or even non approval than all the previous 19 centuries.  One needs to ask why so many apparitions in one century?

The most often cited reason and the most often messages have been of prayer and repentance from sin which has enveloped the earth.  A sin previously unknown. The Blessed Virgin’s apparitions, beginning with 1917 have been to warn of impending disasters unless humanity changed; sadly humanity by the end of the century and the beginning of the new millennium had not changed and indeed had worsened throughout the century experienced a century of blood.

A century which began with First World War or “The Great War” and the massive loss of life in that war. This was followed by many more minor wars, followed by the Second World War with the intention of a despot to eliminate a whole culture and   people from the face of the earth. And in this war so many deaths that are still to be finalised. Indeed the very people whom God chose to bring forth His son, Jesus, were to be annihilated. The Jews. And not only Jews whose victims were in the millions but undesirables, disabled, gypsies, religious.  Indeed a time of blood and Holy blood.

Not long had passed following these times when a new holocaust began.

With the Second World War and its decimated millions, the new war began just less than 20years later with the sexual revolution and introduction of feminism and demands for abortion, a new war.  A hidden war. First for what appeared to be to protect the women from dangerous behaviours and so called “backyard abortions” to ultimately abortion of a human child to all stages of development even until full term even for no reason at all simply unwanted.

First the visible holocaust (Jewish and other undesirables) and now the invisible holocaust (abortion). Nearly a hundred years of blood of innocence shed because “woman” decided to acquiesce and in this decision changed Her design.

Conservatively 40,000,000 abortions per year meaning at least 40,000,000 dead babies and 40,000,000 women who’ve violated the order of grace for them.

It has been said that the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing holding the infant Jesus in Her arms and those who have been blessed to see the vision cannot find human language to speak of such beauty. St Joseph Her earthly husband has also appeared with Her to form the family.

Perhaps we could ask why?

Rise of feminism and rise of apparitions.

It should not come as a surprise that the Blessed Virgin Mary would choose to keep being with Her children on earth for this past century. Indeed it would have seemed strange had she not done so because at no time in past history has there been a time when feminism and their many demands have led to such slaughter of innocence.  Their babies. The future.

At no time in past history has the design and mandate of woman to carry, love and protect her baby ever been as distorted as this past century.  Woman again succumbed to the beckoning of Eve and responded. Eve said No to life (death being the fruit of eating of the apple) and brought into existence death.  Woman introduced the loss of innocence (in the garden and nakedness and shame) and again woman is at the centre of the loss of innocence in a new garden of death, at first shame filled till now shameless.

This past century’s rise of feminism at first to change the hardship of woman, that is, to help Her be better taken care of and be given basic human rights which are sacrosanct to Her being a human being, and to be shown respect, then led to the making of many demands intended for the slow and persistent dominance of the male by woman. Reminiscences of the garden?

The new emergent woman of the past century is a caricature of Her design which was meant to be a “helpmate” an equal partnership in life. An equal role in being “fruitful and multiplying” This new woman instead has had a transfusion of lack of compassion most especially for her baby, the fruit “apple” of her womb. This new woman is again in dialogue with the talking snake with the snake promising that all would be well with her if she followed his advice. 

In following the advice woman has entered a time of new and previously unknown behaviour.  She has had to remodel her instincts to love, nurture and protect, to the instincts of the beast, that is, to mate and hate. The new woman has in her being an imprint of rebellion.  An echo of an imprint of a long ago rebellion by a purest one who then fell from the heavens and who has engaged woman to repeat the rejection of divine benevolence for a momentary taste of false freedom. The talking “snake” has again used wiles to entice another “Eve” and another rebellion whose hatred of life, denies her the grace of blessing her nature, that is, as the bearer of the future.

And so into this rapidly changing and damaging century enters the Holy Mother, the Mother who did not say yes to that voice of the snake but instead said Yes to the divine message of motherhood and has always continued to say Yes to motherhood.  

At all times in the past two millennia when “life” has been endangered the Mother has come to show what is important. Mother, father and child.  She comes holding Her baby because today mothers are refusing to hold their baby. She comes to keep company with those who suffer in their motherhood and mothering, and is with them in these moments.  She comes to remind woman of the magnificent role she has been given, that is, to build on that promise to carry the future in Her heart and hands. She comes holding the baby in order to remind woman that every baby is designed in the image and likeness of the one she is carrying, Her Son.

To those who are scandalised and even repelled by Her presence on earth we are reminded that Jesus would send the one He trusts most of all, His mother, in order to help his own brothers and sisters in a time when his adversary has found a foothold to secure his presence. Jesus sent His mother because it is right for mother to speak to mother and he knows that His mother is the appropriate one for these difficult times for woman. He sends His mother to walk with mothers who have been seduced to walk a different path than the one which is natural to them.

As feminism with its death initiation rite has attempted to rise and destroy precious life, so the Mother of Jesus comes many many times to offer Her own care, comfort advice and help.  She comes because like Her Son she loves his brothers and sisters who look so much like Him.