Praised be Jesus Christ and blessed be the Virgin Mary, Our Mother. Amen.
The Virgin Mary, our Blessed Mother, has appeared many times in various places throughout the world
during the two thousand years of Christian history.
These apparitions of the Virgin Mary are confined almost exclusively to the framework of the Catholic Church.
With regard to apparitions,
the Catholic Church has always adopted a prudent approach.
A few apparitions have been officially accepted by the Church.
But even in this case
the church never applies a judgment of infallibility
they are not considered dogmas of faith
and, therefore, the faithful are not obliged to believe in them.
However
it would be very unreasonable for us to forget about them and their messages or not believe them.
There are over a thousand well-documented appearances.
In the 20th century alone there are about four hundred.
This is without counting the many private and personal appearances to many holy souls.
Which means that
even though some may not be true
in fact, The Virgin Mary has appeared more than a thousand times
in the history of the Church, and the question is:
what for?
The reasons have been diverse depending on the circumstances.
Many times, the Virgin Mary has appeared to support Christians during persecutions
and martyrs to give them strength in the face of martyrdom.
The Virgin Mary has also appeared to defend the faithful against heresies,
even to defend them in battle.
At times, the Virgin Mary appeared
to give us security in the Catholic faith.
The Virgin Mary often shows herself alone
but also, many times, the Virgin Mary comes with the baby Jesus.
On occasion
the Virgin Mary appears with Saint Joseph or angels who accompany her.
Her presence in the apparitions are usually accompanied by luminous phenomena:
lights
rays
thunder
perfumes
prodigious phenomena in the sun.
In many cases, the Virgin Mary leaves a spring of water
for the healing of the sick and consolation of the afflicted.
The apparitions are not always to children
the Virgin Mary also appears to adults of all ages and social conditions.
Sometimes the Virgin Mary introduces herself to a few people
but, other times, the Virgin Mary introduces herself to thousands of people
including atheists and people from other religions.
There are also silent manifestations
and clear messages through the images of her
who cry tears of blood or perspire perfumed oil.
In this "Marian Apparitions approved by the Catholic Church" video series
we are going to feature some Catholic Church-approved apparitions.
We will not only consider those that have been explicitly and officially approved
but also those that have been implicitly approved
as these apparitions are accepted or recognized by some Popes.
This is Part 1 of the video series.
The first Marian sanctuary in the world is Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza - Spain.
Our Mother appeared there in the year 40 of our Era,
when the Virgin Mary was still living on earth.
The Virgin Mary appeared to the apostle James on the banks of the Ebro river
coming surrounded by angels
and bringing the sacred image of the Virgin Mary
on a jasper pillar about 50 centimeters high
or 20 inches high
which is still preserved.
For centuries, generations of Spanish Catholics and those around the world have kissed this blessed pillar
which already has a small gap
from so many kisses received from the love of her children.
Let us see what Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, the famous Augustinian
who had supernatural visions of the life of Jesus and Mary
tells us about it by divine revelation:
“I have seen James praying in Zaragoza,
I saw a glow coming from heaven on him
and angels appeared
singing a very harmonious song
while bringing a pillar of light
In the glow of the pillar
I saw the Blessed Virgin Mary of greater beauty and delicacy
than the whiteness of a fine silk.
She was standing, resplendent with light.
Then, I saw that James got up from the place where he was praying on his knees
and received internally from Mary
the warning that he should immediately build a church there.
Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda
also speaks of this in the "Mystical City of God".
“The Queen of heaven was manifested to James from the cloud and throne
where she was surrounded by the choirs of angels.
The blessed apostle fell to the ground with a deep bow
and saw the image and column or pillar in the hands of some angels.
The pious Queen gave him the blessing
on behalf of her Son and said:
The Most High and Almighty God of heaven
has designated this place
to be consecrated
and dedicated as a temple and house of prayer.
I, in the name of the Almighty,
promise great favors and blessings of sweetness and my true devotion and protection.
And in testimony of this truth and promise
this column will remain here
and my own image
in this place where you will build my temple
will be preserved and will last with holy faith
until the end of the world."
The devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is one of the most popular in the Church.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel refers to a mountain in Palestine.
Carmel, in Hebrew Karmel, means garden.
This mountain marks the border between Galilee and Samaria
and is a green mountain
which in spring is covered with flowers.
According to the tradition,
there lived the prophet Elijah and his disciples.
considered the founders of the Order of Carmelites.
In early Christian times
the caverns of the mount were filled with many monks and hermits.
However, the persecutions of the Muslims
caused the hermits of Mount Carmel to disperse
in the 13th century throughout Europe
thus carrying their spirituality.
On July 16th,
1251
in Cambridge - England
the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Simon Stock
and gave him the brown scapular
also known as the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
a sign of her protection and characteristic of his Order.
That is why her feast is celebrated on July 16th.
Our Mother the Virgin Mary told Saint Simon Stock:
“Receive, my dearly beloved son,
the scapular of your Order,
a privilege for you and for all Carmelites.
Whoever dies wearing it will not suffer from hell fire”.
From then on,
the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has spread uncontrollably throughout Europe
and has been promoted by the Popes.
It carries with it the promise of salvation
for those who wear it with devotion at the hour of death.
And, according to another promise of the Virgin Mary for the devotees,
the Virgin Mary will come to take them out of purgatory
on the Saturday following their death.
This is called the Saturday privilege.
In Our Lady of La Salette's apparitions in France
the Virgin Mary appeared in 1878 as Our Lady of Mount Carmel
with the brown scapular.
The last appearance of Lourdes
is on July 16th, 1858
the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
In Fatima
in the last apparition on October 13th, 1917
the Virgin Mary also presented herself as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
And the same in other appearances like Garabandal.
There are many miracles that God has done through the Virgin Mary to protect
those who wear the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in faith.
To wear the brown scapular
it must be blessed by a priest
and put on the person by the priest the first time.
Afterwards
one can put it on on his own
it's a requirement that the brown scapular needs to be blessed.
The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
is a very great grace and a great protection against the evil one.
Pope Saint John Paul II was wearing it
when he went into surgery after the attempt on his life
and the doctor did not want to take it off as a sign of consideration.
Pope Venerable Pius XII
said that the brown scapular should be a sign of our consecration to Mary
and that it is a guarantee of her protection.
The Servant of God Sister Lúcia of Fátima
has said that the rosary and the scapular are intimately united.
Praised be Jesus Christ and blessed be the Virgin Mary, Our Mother. Amen.