“Mary’s Pope”; photo by Gabriel Bouys/Getty Images
First published May 10th, 2007… It’s interesting to note what is said at the end of this—the sense of a “pause” coming before the “Storm” would begin to swirl in greater and greater chaos as we begin to approach the “Eye.” I believe we are entering that chaos now, which also serves a purpose. More on that tomorrow…
IN our last few concert tours of the United States and Canada, [1]My wife and our children at that time we have noticed that no matter where we go, strong sustained winds have followed us. At home now, these winds have barely taken a break. Others I have spoken to have also noticed an increase of winds.
It is a sign, I believe, of the presence of our Blessed Mother and her Spouse, the Holy Spirit. From the story of Our Lady of Fatima:
Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta were tending their families’ flock of sheep at Chousa Velha when a strong wind shook the trees and then a light appeared. —from the story on Our Lady of Fatima
The wind brought an “Angel of Peace” who prepared the three children of Fatima to meet the Virgin Mary.
St. Bernadette encountered a similar wind at Lourdes:
Bernadette… heard a noise like a gust of wind, she looked up towards the Grotto : “I saw a lady dressed in white, she wore a white dress, an equally white veil, a blue belt and a yellow rose on each foot.” Bernadette made the Sign of the Cross and said the Rosary with the lady. —www.lourdes-france.org
There is the story of St. Dominic to whom the origin of the Rosary is attributed. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him counseling him to pray “her Psalter” for the conversion of souls. St. Dominic immediately went to preach this message at the Cathedral of Toulouse.
When he was starting to speak, a storm with thunder and strong winds came and frightened the people. Everybody present could see the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the cathedral; she raised three times her arms to heaven. Saint Dominic began to pray the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the storm —www.pilgrimqueen.com
And then there are the famous strong winds that accompanied “Mary’s Pope”, the late John Paul II who prayed for a “new Pentecost” for the Church. I was there at World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002 when, once again, the Pontiff’s preaching was interrupted by great winds… which ceased when he prayed for calm.
At the first Pentecost, there was that wind—and Mary, seated with the Apostles in the upper room:
When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying… All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus… suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. (Acts 1:13-14, 2:1)
Mary, and the wind that accompanies her, signals a movement of the Holy Spirit. She is present, not to bring glory to herself, but to help usher in the will of God. [2]Since writing this, I have come to understand better what this means: cf. The Coming New and Divine Holiness We see this presage of change in the Old Testament story of Noah, keeping in mind that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant: [3]cf. The Great Ark and Understanding the Urgency of Our Times
God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. (Gen 8:1)
As the wind ushered in a new era of life on earth for Noah and his family, so too will the Triumph of the Heart of Mary bring about a new era of life with the Eucharistic Reign of her Son, Jesus [4]Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! and Is Jesus Really Coming? — a reign which will not end, but culminate in the Coming of Jesus in the flesh at the very end of time. Her Triumph will be to crush Satan beneath her heel with the help of her children, and to establish peace on earth through her Spouse, the Holy Spirit.
The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold [earthly kings and kingdoms] all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth… In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people. (Daniel 2:34-35, 44)
THIS PRESENT STORM
In the sacred Scriptures, physical winds are used as both blessing and punishment, as the instruments of God’s will and the symbol of His invisible presence and power.
The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground… (Exodus 14:21-22)
The seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. (Gen 41:27)
The Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; and when it was morning the east wind had brought the locusts.” (Exodus 10:13)
The wind is a sign of radical change coming for mankind. In Trumpets of Warning—Part V, I wrote about “the coming spiritual hurricane.” Indeed, the storm has begun, and the winds of change are blowing hard. It is a sign of the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. It is a sign above all of the presence of the Holy Spirit, that Divine Dove, flapping His wings over the earth, creating gusts and gales to blow the dead leaves of sin from our hearts, and prepare us for a “new springtime.” [5]cf. Charismatic?—Part VI
But first, I believe the winds will cease all together before we approach the Eye of the Storm…
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thess 5:2-3)
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Footnotes
| ↑1 | My wife and our children at that time |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Since writing this, I have come to understand better what this means: cf. The Coming New and Divine Holiness |
| ↑3 | cf. The Great Ark and Understanding the Urgency of Our Times |
| ↑4 | Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! and Is Jesus Really Coming? |
| ↑5 | cf. Charismatic?—Part VI |