I post this after praying all day
(actually: many, many days... weeks... months... years...)
for our country and our Church....
Today, heartbroken and crushed over the great evil that has been covered up in the Church and in our nation for far too long...
I feel called to share Our Lady's messages for our country and for our Church -
they are messages of beauty and of warning.
They are a call for us to live as God intended.
Particularly as in pertains to America.
For God has a plan for America to fulfill.
This is why I believe Our Lady of America's messages are particularly important to be known and shared today;
when so many,
from all walks of life
are united in remembering the great tragedies that occurred on this day.
While we are united
in remembering the great evil that sought to destroy us,
but most importantly,
while we remember,
how evil was conquered by the goodness,
the self-sacrifice,
the unity and
the faithfulness of the American people...
And by the grace of God,
Who is able to transform, even the greatest suffering into untold grace and glory.
So, let us also listen to Our Lady's call and seek to answer her requests with prayer and fasting, with conversion and holiness - in order to help heal our nation and our Church and for us to become whom God created us to be.
This will be the first of a series of articles about Our Lady of America's messages, for they are vast - spanning three decades -- and as I said previously, very important for us to know and live today.
But, I'll begin with an overview:
Sister Mildred Mary Neuzil had visions of Our Lady, Our Lord, St. Joseph, St. Michael and of the guardian angels of America from 1954 – 1984. The messages share how pleased Mary was that our nation was honoring her by building the Shrine in honor of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and claiming her patronage under her title of The Immaculate Conception.
She shared that America's great call from God was to be strength and a light for the world...
but that call would only be possible if we lived lives of purity.
She called all to holiness...
and asked especially the youth,
to be torchbearers of Light,
through a deep awareness of the
Divine Indwelling Presence within us.
She called for the family rosary,
and stressed the great need for each of us to
reform our lives with
penance, mortification and self-denial
to help bring about peace and
to atone for the grave sins of our nation and world.
Cardinal Burke affirmed the devotion of Our Lady of America in a letter written to the U.S. Catholic Bishops in 2007, in which he stated:
"... the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. In addition, over the years, other Bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America."
You can read the full letter here:
In the messages, Our Blessed Mother specifically requested that the U.S. Bishops “honor her in a special way” by processing and placing the statue under the title of “Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin” in the National Shrine - the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. She desired the Shrine to be “a place of special pilgrimage”… “a place of wonders” from which she promised “miracles of grace” “not of the body, but of the soul.”
This request for her statue to be processed and placed there in honor has never been fulfilled.
I have felt called to help Mary fulfill this request for procession and enthronement when I read her messages again this summer. I had heard of the apparitions of Our Lady of America in the past, but had largely forgotten them until this summer, when a friend asked if I could paint an image of Our Lady of America for a video (https://houseofmaryomd.org/our-lady-of-america-2/) she was making in order to share the messages. After reading the messages again, I began to have a great devotion to her and to be captivated by Our Lord’s, Mary’s and St. Joseph’s messages that were shared. As I painted her image, I prayed to her continuously for help and guidance and held onto her medal that she had instructed to be made.
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| Our Lady of America holding the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception - painting by Janet Moore. All Rights Reserved. |
This call to help fulfill her request has continued to grow -- especially now --in this tragic hour when clergy abuse, impurity, corruption and the complicity of certain members of the hierarchy of the Church is being brought to light. I believe now is a very appropriate and providential time for Mary’s messages to be made known and her requests to be realized! The friend who asked me to paint the image, shared that she and her group believe it particularly fitting to have the procession and placement of the statue of Our Lady of America to take place during USCCB conference coming up this November. I heartily agree.
If the bishops honored Our Lady’s request, she promised an outpouring of grace and protection. Additionally, it would be an outward sign of unity and prayer invoking Mary’s intercession for our priests, our Church and our nation, and a tangible witness to the faithful that our bishops are united in their desire for purity, reform, penance and mortification that are an essential part of her messages.
In Our Lady's apparitions throughout the centuries, she has often asked for a shrine to be built, as a tangible sign from which graces flow (think of Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima...).
This time, the shrine was already being built. In response, she appeared smiling -- holding a replica of the Shrine in her hands. She was so happy that her bishops, priests and laity were creating this out of love for her that she promised it to be a place of enormous grace, "a place of wonders", a place from which:
"greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be granted here in America, the United Stares in particular, if we would do as She desires."
Thus, instead of an entire shrine having to be built, all she has asked is that her image be honored there.
I will write more on this request of Our Lady and how I see it to be incredibly important in our time.
In the meantime, please pray for Our Mother's request to be realized and for us to be obedient to her requests, so that untold grace could be poured out upon our nation and our Church as Our Lady promised ...
Finally, to help understand the depth and gravity of Our Lady’s messages, I’m linking the complete diary of Sister Mildred here, and am including some excerpts of her messages below.
May they be a gift to you:
On the eve of the feast of the North American Martyrs, September 25, 1956, as I was making the Holy Hour from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, I was conscious of the distinct and special feeling of the presence of Our Lady. She stood by my side and spoke to me. I felt, rather than saw her, though I did see a part of her white gown and a small portion of her blue sash. I was under the impression that She came as Our Lady of Lourdes, and She herself confirmed this. Our Lady promised that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be granted here in America, the United Stares in particular, if we would do as She desires.
“I am pleased, my child, with the love and honor my children in America give to me, especially through my glorious and unique privilege of the Immaculate Conception. I promise to reward their love by working through the power of my Son’s Heart and my Immaculate Heart miracles of grace among them. I do not promise miracles of the body, but of the soul.”
Our Lady emphasized this very much. She is anxiously concerned about our inner life. She continued:
“For it is mainly through these miracles of grace that the Holy Trinity is glorified among men and nations. Let America continue and grow in its love for me, and I in return, in union with the Heart of my Son, promise to work wonders in her. My child, I desire that this be known.”
“My child, I entrust you with this message that you must make known to my children in America. I wish it to be the country dedicated to my purity. The wonders I will work will be the wonders of the soul. They must have faith and believe firmly in my love for them. I desire that they be the children of my Pure Heart. I desire, through my children of America, to further the cause of faith and purity among peoples and nations. Let them come to me with confidence and simplicity, and I, their Mother, will teach them to become pure like to my Heart that their own hearts may be more pleasing to the Heart of my Son.”
“I am Our Lady of America. I desire that my children honor me, especially by the purity of their lives.”
On September 27, 1956,
Our Lady again appeared to me while I was at prayer. She held the world in her hands. From her eyes tears were lowing upon it, as though She longed to cleanse it from its guilt. It was then that I heard these words filled with sorrow and longing:
“Behold, O my children, the tears of your Mother! Shall I weep in vain? Assuage the sorrow of my Heart over the ingratitude of sinful men by the love and chasteness of your lives. Will you do this for me, beloved children, or will you allow your Mother to weep in vain? I come to you, O children of America, as a last resort. I plead with you to listen to my voice. Cleanse your souls in the Precious Blood of my Son. Live in his Heart, and take me in that I may teach you to live in great purity of heart which is so pleasing to God. Be my army of chaste soldiers, ready to fight to the death to preserve the purity of your souls. I am the Immaculate One, Patroness of your land. Be my faithful children as I have been your faithful Mother.
“These are my words, O my daughter. Make them known to my children.
"The hour grows late. My Son's patience will not last forever. Help me hold back His anger, which is about to descend on sinful and ungrateful men. Suffering and anguish, such as never before experienced, is about to overtake mankind. It is the darkest hour. But if men will come to me, my Immaculate Heart will make it bright again with the mercy which my Son will rain down through my hands. Help me save those who will not save themselves. Help me bring once again the sunshine of God's peace upon the world."
To my spiritual director I was asked to send this message:
“Hurry, my son, for the time is short but the punishment will be long, and for many, forever.
"Tell the Bishops of the United States, my loyal sons, of my desires and how I wish them to be carried out … make known the longings of my Immaculate Heart to establish the reign of my Divine Son in the hearts of men and thus save them from the scourge of heaven, both now and hereafter."
To Priests (September 26-27, 1957):
“My dear daughter, sweet child, write my words carefully, because they are of the utmost importance. I address them to my beloved sons, the priests, dedicated to the most intense and extraordinary imitation of my Son in the perfect carrying on of His Eternal Priesthood.
"Beloved sons, so cherished and greatly blessed among the sons of men, be careful to uphold the sanctity and dignity of your calling. Let the faithful see in you the favored and especially loved imitators of the Son of God. Be modest in your dress and speech as becomes those of so exalted a vocation. The apparel and manners of a man of the world is not for you, who, though living in the world, must not take on its ways.
"It is through you that the grace of the Sacraments is given to souls. Strive then to make yourselves more worthy receptacles to receive these graces and transmit them in turn to the souls under your care.
“Dear sons, I ask you to practice self-denial and penance in a special manner, because it is you who must lead my children in the way of peace. Yet this peace will come only by way of the sword, the flaming sword of love. If, therefore, you love my Son and wish to honor me, heed my admonition and be the first to give the example of a life of penance and self-denial. Thus, by sanctification from within you, you will become a bright and burning light to the faithful, who look to you for help and guidance.
“I am pleased, dearly beloved sons, by the honor and love you have until now accorded me. Will you now go further and honor me yet more by taking my words to your hearts and doing what I ask?''
Again on July 18, 1959, she spoke of priests:
"Oh, the pride of souls! How they resist my grace! O My priests, My religious, what would I not do for you if you would only let me? I come daily laden with graces which you daily refuse.
"What am I to say of you, my best beloved? How long will you resist My love? It is from you I expect everything, and you give Me but the husks of your affections.
“How long will I bear with you, O My chosen ones? How long will you spurn My approaches?
“My little white dove, it was this ingratitude on the part of My priests and My religious that caused Me so much sorrow in my passion.
“Oh, how they resist My grace! How they fight against My love! So fearful are they that I will deprive them of their tawdry trinkets that they turn their backs lest they see the reproach in My eyes."
December 20, 1959:
“O my child, tell your spiritual father that I come again to warn and to plead. Oh, penance, penance! How little my children understand it! They give me many words, but sacrifice themselves they will not. It is not me they love but themselves. Oh, what blindness, sweet child, what blindness! How it pierces my heart!
“See, I weep, but my children show me no compassion. They behold the sword in my heart but will make no move to withdraw it. I give them love; they give me only ingratitude.
“Weep, then, dear child, weep with your Mother over the sins of men. Intercede with me before the throne of mercy, for sin is overwhelming the world and punishment is not far away.”
Feast of the Most Holy Rosary, October 7, 1957:
"My beloved daughter, what I am about to tell you concerns in a particular way my children in America. Unless they do penance by mortification and self-denial and thus reform their lives, God will visit them with punishments hitherto unknown to them.
"My child, there will be peace, as has been promised, but not until my children are purified and cleansed from defilement, and clothed thus with the white garment of grace, are made ready to receive this peace, so long promised and so long held back because of the sins of men.
"My dear children, either you will do as I desire and reform your lives, or God Himself will need to cleanse you in the fires of untold punishment. You must be prepared to receive His great gift of peace. If you will not prepare yourselves, God will Himself be forced to do so in His justice and mercy.
“Making the rosary a family prayer is very pleasing to me. I ask that all families strive to do so. But be careful to say it with great devotion, meditating on each mystery and striving to imitate in your daily lives the virtues depicted therein. Live the mysteries of the rosary as I lived them, and it will become a chain binding you to me forever. They who are found in the circle of my rosary will never be lost. I myself will lead them at death to the throne of my Son, to be eternally united to Him.
'"Write these words upon your hearts, my dear children, because of the compassion I have for you in my Immaculate Heart. Oh, if you knew the punishments I am holding back from you by my pleading and intercession on your behalf!
"Will you do as I wish at last, my children?''
Regarding the Divine Indwelling:
November 22-23, 1957
Our dear Mother showed herself to me in a special way around 11:30 on the morning of November 22. The next day, a Saturday, the experience was more detailed as more was shown me, or perhaps I had not noticed details the day before. This vision of herself is very important, as it reveals Our Lady as She really and truly was, the Immaculate Tabernacle of the Indwelling God.
…“I am Our Lady of the Divine Indwelling, handmaid of Him who dwells within.”
On the eve of February 11, 1958:
“My Immaculate Heart will win in the end, and the Spirit of Christ will dwell in the hearts of men. Those in whom this Spirit is not found will be condemned to eternal hellfire.”
“I am the Mother of the sacred humanity, and it is my special work as co-redemptrix of the human race to help souls reach the sanctity of the Father in eternal union by showing them how to put on Christ, to imbibe his Spirit, and thus become one with Him.’’
Our Lady made known to me that She is particularly interested in the youth of our nation. It is they who are to be the leaders of this movement of renewal on the face of the earth. Their ranks will be swelled by the youths of other nations whom Our Lady also calls to help in the accomplishment of this great renewal.
April 24, 1961:
If my desires are not fulfilled much suffering will come to this Land.
June 25, 1967:
My child, I come again for men have not changed their lives. Their sins cry to heaven for punishment. I hold out help, they will not receive it. I show them the way to peace but they only spurn the efforts of my love. It is late sweet child, oh how late!
July 18, 1980:
Sweet child, beloved of my Son and cherished by me, my message has not been heeded nor have I yet found one to further the cause of renewal within. The Presence of the trinity within every human being is the focal point, the basis of interior holiness. From this will spring a deep life of prayer and a love for penance as the discipline needed to convert all peoples to a serious preparation for the coming of my Son and his Kingdom.
Dear child, there are those of my children who are faithful, among these are my priests and religious who live a life of prayer and dedication to the work of my Son. What a consolation they are to me, with what joy I watch them furthering the Kingdom. But there must be more of such self-sacrificing souls, many, many more. Until this comes to pass, peace will not come, rather much more of suffering will encompass the world. I wish to spare my children from this, but I cannot do it without their help.
You must try to make my people understand that the life of God within them is the source of their peace and happiness. There is no other way. This is what my Son came to teach and bring and it was for this He lived and died. Unless this mystery of God’s Presence within is accepted and lived, peace will not come. It is the only way, believe me, my daughter.
November 22, 1980
Beloved daughter, the United States is a small one among nations, yet has it not been said that ‘a little child shall lead them’? It is the United States that is to lead the world to peace, the peace of Christ, the peace that He brought with Him from heaven in his birth as man in the little town of Bethlehem. The Savior did not come to enter this world in a big city but a small town, again, a little one among many. Dear child, unless the United States accepts and carries out faithfully the mandate given to it by heaven to lead the world to peace, there will come upon it and all nations a great havoc of war and incredible suffering. If, however, the United States is faithful to this mandate from heaven and yet fails in the pursuit of peace because the rest of the world will not accept or cooperate then the United States will not be burdened with the punishment about to fall.
I was afraid that the burden of leadership would be too great for the United States without some special help from heaven. Our Lady assured me that Michael and the whole army of Blessed Spirits will give their assistance at all times. As the Queen of Angels She has loving command over them and they accomplish whatever She wishes. This made me feel better and the fears that I had left me.
© Janet Moore 2018. All Rights Reserved.
Help for fasting on this Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent:
They are being given to us to allow us time to re-read the wisdom that has touched us in previous lessons. 
Thus, we make
this consecration not only for ourselves - but that our hearts become
ever more like Jesus's and Mary's - truly on fire with a passionate
longing to save billions of souls by offering 
