The Final Battle Over the Family and Our New Carmelite Saints Louise and Zella Martin

THE MONTH OF JULY Dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus also has several important Carmelite Feasts that calls for us to meditate on them in the light of the Fatima message. These  Carmelite memorials  have great significance to aid  our spiritual lives in the midst of the battles we face in bearing witness to the faith. 
This post centers on our relatively new Saints, Louis and Zelie Martin in their role as spouses sanctifying each other and as parents preparing their children for heaven. Their memorial falls on July 12th.

I am hoping you will also take the time after reading this post to meditate on the following four significant Carmelite Feasts to aide us in the present spiritual warfare engaged in the world the battle over family life that has entered also into the midst of the church!

July 13th 3rd Fatima Apparition 
Mary came as a Catechist at Fatima and is a model catechist for parents today!

July 16th Our Lady of Mt Carmel
Another Hidden Meaning for the Brown Scapular?
   
July 20th The Prophet Elijiah 
Will the Mission of the Prophet Elijah culminate in the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima? 

July 23rd Mary Mother if Divine Grace
 Holy Mary Virgin Mother of Divine Grace 

July 12th is  the Memorial of Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin, the parents of St. Therese and it is a  very recent addition to the Church calendar and the Carmelite Proper.  In Divine providence this date chosen by the church for their memorial has great significance for parents today and for their roles as the primary instructors for their children in the faith. 

Louis Martin was born at Bordeaux on August 22nd, 1823 and  Zelie Guerin was born on December 23rd, 1831.  Both Louis and Zelie sought to enter Religious life; however, neither were admitted.  Louis had become a successful watchmaker and Zelie had started her own successful lace-making business.  Louis and Zelie met in Alencon France and were married on July 13th, 1858.  They wanted to raise souls for Heaven. They were to have nine children; however,  two baby boys and a baby girl died as did another daughter at age 5.  Of the remaining five daughters, all would become nuns:  Marie, Pauline, Celine and Therese were Carmelite nuns at the same Monastery in Lisieux.  Leonie was a Visitation nun at a convent in Caen.  Louis and Zelie Martin were Beatified by Pope Benedict the XVI on October 19th, 2008.

This married couple the first in the modern era to be declared saints. They are held up by the church for our times when Marriage and Family life are under attack by the enemies of God within and outside of the church.  

"The final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be over Marriage and Family" --Ven. Lucia of Fatima

Cardinal Caffarra commissioned by St. John Paul II established the Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The cardinal wrote a letter to Sister Lucia of Fatima through her bishop, since he could not do it directly.He did not expect a reply, and only asked for her prayers. He was surprised to see a long letter with Sr. Lucia's signature, which is now in the archives of the Institute. In that letter Sr. Lucia wrote:

"The final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be about Marriage and the Family.’ 

Don't be afraid, she added, because whoever works for the sanctity of Marriage and the Family will always be fought against and opposed in every way, because this is the decisive issue. Then she concluded: ‘nevertheless, Our Lady has already crushed his head”

Parents must give a living witness of Faith if they wish their children to go to Heaven!

The Church in placing their memorial on July 12th which is the vigil of the 3rd Fatima apparition. In the July apparition of Our Lady  the children were given a  vision of Hell.  This was no mistake here the church is telling us of the importance of a living witness of faith by parents if they wish their children to have a chance for Heaven.  Today Parents have to relearn and take seriously their obligations to catechize their children and prepare them  to make the proper moral choices for the next life.

Tertullian who lived  in the first Christian century stated: "Christians are not born they are made." The Church has always understood the absolute necessity of evangelizing and catechizing young children. This is the parents duty for their children and our Lady's appearance at Fatima preceded by the angel in 1916, teaches parents how to teach their children working with the the graces God has given them. 

                                                                   © Vision of Hell   Photo designed  for Speramus-We Hope 

Think of it! Our Lady did not spare little children at the tender ages of 6, 8 and 9 years a frightful vision of hell! 

       
Through this frightful vision the children were taught the consequences due to sin. They were taught  that souls who sin and are not repentant will end up on fire burning there for all eternity.The children were forever changed by it and from then on did everything to make sacrifices and prayers so souls would not end up there!

How many parents today coddle and pamper their children, never teaching these little souls entrusted to them by God the importance of prayer and sacrifice and the consequences of sin. 

We greatly underestimate the capacity of children  to do good to pray and sacrifice! When children are taught by the living examples of their parents they are generous in their response to good. Very often the children's unreserved "offering of self" far surpasses the half-hearted offering of adults, who are overly imbued with self-love and attachment to material wealth, prestige, security, and comfortable living.

The Parents of  St Therese of Liseuix were exemplary Catechists in instructing their children through their example and witness of their lives and the church wants us to take note of it! Parents must help their children by teaching them how to practice the virtues. Charity, mercy, prudence justice, fortitude, temperance, humility to overcome the capital sins of pride greed, lust, anger, sloth, envy,Temperence and gluttony. The virtues need to be taught to children as Our Lady and the Angel did to the shepherds of Fatima. This is how future vocations are formed in the homes by the example of the parents.

The education of their children was at the same time joyful, and demanding. Very early on, Zelie Martin teaches them the morning offering of their hearts to the good God, the simple acceptance of daily difficulties "to please Jesus."  This was the indelible mark that is the basis of the little way taught by St. Therese. One cannot conceive of the growth in holiness of Therese and the religious vocations of her sisters independent of the spiritual life of both her parents.

Having said that, if the parents themselves  are defectively evangelized or not evangelized at all, (many are today) they are unprepared for catechetical teaching and the passing the faith to their children. Their instructions will be senseless and downright silly if they unwilling to live the Christian life at home. This Christian witness in the home is vital pass on the faith and to supplement what the church is teaching their children in its Catechism programs. If it is not there the faith will not be. absorbed. 

Our Lady came to show how important it is to teach children from their most tender years to be generous and  how to make sacrifices. The moral virtues most be learned and practiced over and over due to our fallen human nature. See also: Our Lady came as a Catechist at Fatima and is a perfect model for all Catechists today

We do not usually talk about Mary as a catechist at Fatima and we do not commonly think of her as a model for those who catechize. But according to the Servant of God Fr. John Anthony Hardon, S.J.,  
"The Blessed Virgin Mary is not only a pattern; she is a perfect model of what every catechist in the Catholic Church should be. More details see: Mary is the perfect model of all Catholic Catechists!  

           

To help parents become better Catechists consider taking the Basic Catechetical Course with the Marian Catechist Apostolate founded by the Servant of God Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
 

Our Lady came to Fatima to combat the atheism, rebellion and materialism of the modern world. She came from God to save souls from unbelief, sin and ultimately from hell fire. She came, begging all believers to join Christ in his work of redemption by living faith-filled and holy lives. The Parents of of St Therese Blessed Louis and Marie Zélie Martin are held up by the Church for the parents of our time! They are great example of parents who fulfill their primary duty of educating and preparing their children for the next life to live with God for all eternity in Heaven

Blessed Louis and 
Marie Zélie Martin

Feast Day July 12th

Let us pray: 
Lord, you have given to Blessed Louis and Marie Zélie

the grace to lead a life of holiness as Christian spouses and parents.
Grant that through their intercession and example each of us may be able to love and serve you faithfully, living worthily our own vocation. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
  
Other significant Feasts in July that have bearing on our spiritual warfare today when meditated on in the light of Fatima include:

July 13th 3rd Fatima Apparition 

Mary came as a Catechist at Fatima and is a model catechist for parents today!

July 16th Our Lady of Mt Carmel
Another Hidden Meaning for the Brown Scapular?
   
July 20th The Prophet Elijiah 
Will the Mission of the Prophet Elijah culminate in the Apparition999os of Our Lady at Fatima?

July 23rd: Mary Mother of Divine Grace
 Holy Mary Virgin Mother of Divine Grace

Will the Mission of the Prophet Elijah culminate in the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima?

Subjects in this post:

1. Will the Mission of the Prophet Elijah culminate in the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima?

2. Another Hidden Meaning for the Brown Scapular?

3. Triumph of Mary or the Annihilation of Nations its up to us!

4. Fatima gives the specific formula “to save mankind from self-destruction.” Pope John Paul II

5. Through the Rosary and scapular Our Lady will prepare us for the Second Advent of Christ!
6. Clouds are symbols for the Holy Spirit. The clouds signifying the first second Advents of Mary.
7. Important events have taken place with God on or within the clouds.

Conclusion: It appears that the mystery of Lourdes and Fatima, in the providence of God, have a symbolic connection with the Prophet Elijah in his decisive battle with the prophets of Baal!

Our Lady of Mt Carmel  and the Prophet Elijah  at Fatima and Lourdes

God choose in his providence that the Queen of Heaven and Earth was to make her last apparition at Lourdes on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16th 1858, and in the last public vision of Fatima, Our Lady also appeared as Our Lady of Mt Carmel on October 13, 1917.  At Fatima she  was holding the Rosary and the scapular out to a subdued and frightened crowd as they beheld  the Miracle of the Sun. Many in the crowd were terrified because they thought during the time it was the end of the world.

  The Prophet Elijah

Founder of the Carmelites

Prophet Elijah Founder of the Carmelites Statue by Agostino Cornacchini

           Located in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican  Feast Day - July 20

                                                                               

Lourdes and Fatima belong to a long line of Approved Marian Apparitions leading back to the founding of the Carmelite Order on Mt Carmel by the Prophet Elijah. Here  Elijah battled 450 priests of Baal in a public spiritual contest which led to their defeat and ruin. He challenged the people to stop hobbling first on one foot and then on the other but to choose who is God in Israel Yahweh or Baal. According to the story, which can be found in the First Book of Kings, chapter 18, Elijah’s sacrifice was consumed by fire from heaven and proved to the people that Yahweh was the true God. Is it possible God is sending his Mother the Queen of prophets to help us defeat the prophets of Baal resurrected in our own time.               

                                                   

                                                                  

In the book of Malachi Elijah's return is prophesied to take place "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." He is  a forerunner in both advents of the Messiah.

It seems that  Heaven has confirmed Our Lady at Fatima in the same mission of the prophet Elijah. Our Lady at Fatima appearing  in her Carmelite habit with a similar fire from Heaven during the miracle of the sun. The stupendous Fatima Miracle is the Greatest Supernatural Event of the 20th Century and does not belong to faith or science it is an Historical Event! 

The Miracle of the Sun authenticated Fatima as supernatural in origin and also is a prefigurement or warning of a future catastrophe if the simple requests made at Fatima by our Lady are not heeded. 

See: Fulfilling the requests of Our Lady at Fatima the means given by God to obtain the final Victory of Good Over Evil.                                              

                                    

Surely the day is coming as fire....  

Picture Depicts the Prophet Elijah as
Fire From Heaven Consumes the Sacrifice
James Tissot (1836-1902 French)

...in a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty. 4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. Malachi 4:1-5

The Cloud that Prefigured

the First Advent of Our Lady

Elijah ascended Mount Carmel to pray to God for the salvation of the Israel which was suffering a terrible drought at that time. Elijah "Casting himself down upon the earth he put his face between his knees." 1 Kings 18:42. He sent his servant seven times higher up the mountaintop to look for rain. Elijah, never wavered in his confidence, and received the good news on the seventh try. Elijah saw the cloud as a symbol of the Virgin who would become the mother of the Messiah. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” Genesis 3:15

"Behold a little cloud arose
out of the sea like a man's foot."

1 Kings 18:44

View of the north Etzba Ridge on Mount Carmel. 

Note a little cloud on top right portion of photo 

Soon thereafter, torrential rains fell upon the parched land and the people of Israel were saved. Later an austere community of hermits followed Elijah and prayed in expectation of the advent of a Virgin-Mother who would bring salvation to mankind. They also saw the cloud as a symbol of the Virgin who would become the mother of the Messiah and made it their spiritual mission to pray for the advent of the Virgin.

In previous posts concerning Our Lady of Guadalupe we began to dialogue on how Heaven speaks to us in signs and symbols in the various Marian apparitions. More often these signs and symbols are heard louder than the spoken words in the apparitions. 
See: From Guadalupe to Fatima A Prophetic Mystery

No words Were  Heard During

The Apparitions of Knock

Yet Volumes Were Written on the Event

 ©Speramus-We-Hope

For example in the Apparition of Our Lady of Knock, in Ireland. Our Lady was seen with St. Joseph among a choir of Angels adoring Our Lord during the offering of the Holy Mass by St. John the Apostle. No word was ever spoken but volumes can and have been written on the figures and events surrounding the apparitions. Most authentic apparitions are not wordy but direct and to the point. Men have free will to choose to believe or not. Heaven does not usually say the same message innumerable times in different ways creating muddled, waters. Clarity of words direct and to the point is a good sign that God is behind an apparition. Later as men sit back to reflect and meditate deeper hidden meanings can be discovered in the manifestations and applied to particular periods in the providence of God.

It appears that the mystery of Lourdes and Fatima, in the providence of God, have a symbolic connection with the Prophet Elijah in his decisive battle with the prophets of Baal!

 Clouds are Symbols of 

The Holy Spirit

The symbolic uses of clouds in scripture are many; they are often used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit because clouds provide life-giving water to a parched earth and thisrtiing humanity awaiting the waters of baptism. In the Old Testament, God's presence is made manifest and His glory shown forth in a cloud. God often leads his people with a cloud or appears to them in a cloud. (Exodus 16:10) The image of a cloud is often combined with the image of light to symbolize the God who is hidden and mysterious but also revealing and luminous.

 At  Lourdes  

The last apparition of Lourdes occurred on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16, 1858. From this we may conclude that Heaven wished to bring Lourdes into the same mystery of Mt. Carmel and the prophet Elijah who prayed for the Advent of the Immaculate Virgin who would bear the Messiah.  Here at Lourdes, Our Lady called herself the Immaculate Conception, confirming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus December 8, 1854.  The woman foretold in the book of Genesis; who would crush the head of the serpent deceiver of mankind.

©Speramus-We Hope

Important Events

Have Occurred with God

On or Within Clouds

The apparitions at Lourdes, symbolic for the cleansing waters of baptism and often take place in foggy damp weather. The clouds descend on the mountain surrounding the cave and Bernadette sometimes seemed to enter the cloud in order to converse with Mary. Similar to Moses who entered the meeting tent after the cloud descended upon it and on Mt. Horeb entered the cloud and received the 10 Commandments.

     At  Fatima     

         

The identification with the Mystery of Mt. Carmel is even more apparent. Mary came transported upon a cloud from the east similar to the the cloud rising from the ocean that Elijah saw that eventually inundated the earth with life giving rain ending a severe draught. Could this, along with other mysteries still hidden within the drama of Fatima, Signify a Second Advent with Mary?  Fatima seems to announce the Second Advent Mary as seen in the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation: The woman clothed with the sun the moon under her feet, and who with the help of God, prepares the church to meet Christ in his second advent his glorious second coming.

Through these (Rosary & Scapular)

Our Lady Will Prepare the World

For the Second Advent of Christ

The Brown Scapular was Our Lady’s last loving appeal to souls to wear as a sign of Consecration to Her Immaculate Heart and is endowed with many privileges from the church including the Sabbatine Privilege. Lucia of Fatima said that "Our Lady never looked as beautiful as when she appeared at Fatima during the Miracle of the Sun in Her Carmelite Habit and the very fact that she was holding the Brown Scapular tells us that she wants us to take it and USE IT!”  Sr. Lucia said: "OUR LADY WANTS EVERYONE TO WEAR THE BROWN SCAPULAR: IT IS THE SIGN OF CONSECRATION TO HER IMMACULATE HEART!!"

The devils revealed to Francis of Yepes, the brother of St. John of the Cross that three things especially tormented them The first is the NAME OF JESUS; the second, the NAME OF MARY; and third, THE BROWN SCAPULAR OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL. "Take off that habit," they cried to him, "which snatches too many souls from us. All those clothed in it die piously and escape us." God will perform great wonders for his church when he ushers in the Triumph of Mary through the devout wearing of the Brown Scapular. 

    St. Dominic’s Prophecy  

 on the Rosary and the Scapular,  

of the Blessed Virgin Mary--AD 1208

  

“ONE DAY, THROUGH THE ROSARY 

AND  THE  SCAPULAR, 

SHE WILL SAVE THE WORLD."

  
Another Hidden Mission for

the Brown Scapular?

The Brown Scapular  may also have a similiar symbolic mission as the blood over the doors of the Jews during the Passover. Our Lady held out the scapular to the crowd during the Miracle of the sun which foreshadowed a purification and a need for protection. This is offered to all who are consecrated to her and place themselves under her mantle of protection. When the church passes through the period of purification leading to the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the scapular will identify us in this future battle as Children of Mary, under her mantle of protection. It will protect us from the destroying angels of the future Apocalypse and their various manifestations during the prolonged period of trial. We must be marked as a child of Mary wearing her brown scapular and fulfilling the Simple requests of Fatima to arrive at the Triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart. It does not mean we will not suffer! Just the contrary, we are called to Imitate the Life of Christ in this conflict with the church who also must walk the steps of her founder. It means that we will have the strength  as our Lord did from the Father to accomplish God's will for each of our lives, with Mary at our side as she walked beside the Lord during his Passion and Death. 

Triumph of Mary or 

 Annihilation of Nations?

Fatima Gives the Specific Formula

“to save mankind from self-destruction.” Pope John Paul II

A drawing from J. Gill illustrating the third part of the secret pf Fatima, taken 
from the book of Sister Lucia of Fatima, “Calls from the Message of Fatima”,
 Secção de Livraria, Cova da Iria 2496-908 Fatima, Portugal

The means given to us by God in obtaining the final triumph of Mary "The Woman Clothed in the Sun" can be gleaned from meditation on the events of Fatima along with the other Marian Apparitions APPROVED BY THE CHURCH in the light of the Fatima Message.

The urgency of our response can be seen by the fact that Pope John Paul II decided to  make the secret known in June 2000, with the comment that: “AS WE APPROACH THE NEW MILLENNIUM IT SEEMS THAT THE WORDS OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA ARE NEARING THEIR FULFILLMENT.”

Later the Vatican document explaining the Third Secret of Fatima clarifies that: “The Angel with the flaming sword” recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. Images that represent the threat of judgment over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire is no longer pure fantasy. Man, himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.”

“Before releasing this last secret of Fatima, Pope John Paul II asked Sister Lucia for her interpretation. She replied that the visions (of the Angel of Justice, the mountain of corpses, the ruined city, etc.) referred to the part of Our Lady’s message, which ended with the words: “SEVERAL NATIONS WILL BE ANNIHILATED.” She added: “If we have not yet seen the complete fulfillment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides.”

Lucia’s comments seemed to indicate that the world is almost inexorably proceeding to self-destruction. The Pope also appeared to share this view in his Fatima letter of October 13, 1977, in which His Holiness said, the greatness of Fatima is that it gives the specific formula “to save mankind from self-destruction.”

Through the centuries Our Lady of Mount Carmel kept a constant watch over her children, ever solicitous to intercede for them and lead them to Her Divine Son. Amidst the sea of chaos, confusion and impiety raging in the world today, may Our Lady of Mount Carmel grant us strength and fortitude so we may all remain faithful to Her Son and His Holy Church.  
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