According to foretold prophecy, the Illumination of Conscience, or the Warning, will be an experience in which every person on earth except small children will be allowed by God to see the condition of their soul as well as their eternal destination if they were to die that day. During the Illumination of Conscience, in what will be the greatest act of His mercy, God will also convince us that He does indeed exist, and that He wants our salvation.
According to different sources, the event will be preceded by the appearance in the sky of the Cross which will be visible to all mankind.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1021 and 1022), describes the Particular Judgement, an encounter at the end of the earthly life of each human being.
(1021) "Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul–a destiny which can be different for some and for others.
(1022) "Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven, through a purification or immediately –or immediate and everlasting damnation. At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love." (St. John of the Cross)
The Illumination of Conscience was described by mystics and saints in recent Church history as God's gracious opportunity for repentence and salvation before the Final Judgement and independent of each person's Particular Judgement.
The English martyr, St. Edmund Campion (1540-1581), appears to have been the first Catholic saint to refer to a "great day of change". The English charged Campion with sedition, saying he threatened England with invasion by the King of Spain in order to reestablish Catholicism as the national religion. St. Edmund's defense was that he was not threatening invasion but was referring to "a great day wherein the terrible Judge should reveal all men's consciences and try every man of each kind of religion. This is the day of change, this is the Great Day which I threatened, comfortable to the well-being and terrible to all heretics." (St. Edmund Campion, Cobett's Complete Collection of State Trials, Vol. I, p. 1063).
In her Diary, where she transcribed her mystical dialogues with Jesus, the Polish nun, St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) reported that she experienced an Illumination of Conscience.
"Once I was summoned to the judgment [seat] of God. I stood alone before the Lord. Jesus appeared such as we know him during his Passion. After a moment, his wounds disappeared except for five, those in his hands, his feet and his side. Suddenly I saw the complete condition of my soul as God sees it. I could clearly see all that is displeasing to God. I did not know that even the smallest transgressions will have to be accounted for." (Diary, 36).
Jesus said to St. Faustina: "Write this: before I come as the Just Judge, I come as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, this sign in the sky will be given to mankind. All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the Cross will be seen in the sky, and from the holes where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth a brilliant light, which will illuminate the Earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day" (Diary, 83).
In 1945, young Grete Ganseforth, blessed with the stigmata, was one of the witnesses of apparitions in Heede, Germany. She was said to receive words from Christ which referred to a "small judgment".
"Humanity has not listened to My holy Mother, revealed at Fatima to exhort her to do penance. So I will warn the world myself... I am all ready. The terra will shake and be shaken. It will be terrible: a small judgment! But don't be afraid. I am with you. You will rejoice and thank Me. Those who are waiting for Me have My help, My grace, My love. But for those who are not in a state of grace, it will be frightening... I will make myself known to men. Every soul will recognize Me as its God. I come! I am at the door. The earth will shake and moan."
At the start of the apparitions, the Bishop of Osnabrück appointed a new pastor who declared in a diocesan bulletin the supernatural character of the events in Heede. There is "undeniable evidence of the seriousness and the authenticity of these events". In 1959, after examining the facts, the Vicariate of Osnabrück, in a letter to the clergy of the diocese, confirmed the validity of the apparitions and their supernatural origin.
Conchita in 1965Apparitions at Garabandal, Spain (1961-1965) also prophesied a Warning. In a letter dated June 2, 1965, Conchita Gonzalez, the oldest of Garabandal's four seers, wrote: "Before the miracle, the Virgin told me on January 1, 1965, there will be a warning that the world make amends. This Warning, like the Punishment, is very dreadful for the good and for the bad: for the good to bring them closer to God, for the bad to warn them that the end of time is coming and that these are the last warnings... It will not cause death by itself, but it is possible that some die of it so the emotion will be intense. Death would be a thousand times better. We will see that this Warning comes from God... each human being will therefore see the ugliness of his sins and their participation in the Passion of Christ."
Forty-eight years following the prophecy of Grete Ganseforth, in 1988, a locution was received by Don Stefano Gobbi on Pentecost Sunday at Heede, Germany. The term "small judgment" was used. The Virgin Mary said: "The Holy Spirit will come to establish the glorious reign of Christ and it will be a reign of grace, of holiness, of love, of justice and of peace. With His divine love, He will open the doors of hearts and illuminate all consciences. Every person will see himself in the burning fire of divine truth. It will be like a judgment in miniature. And then Jesus Christ will bring His glorious reign in the world."
The Warning was also revealed to Sulema Gomez, born in 1954, in El Salvador. For more than 30 years, she has lived in Canada with her husband and their two children, and has received messages from heaven since 1991. She is followed by two priests who act as spiritual directors. Here is Jesus'message on August 28, 2012:
"What will the Illumination of Conscience look like? It is a direct intervention of God, it is a purification, the first sign for all that your time is drawing to a close, that is to say the end of life as it is now. This event is a unique moment in the history of mankind. A deafening noise will be heard, and the luminous Cross will shine in the sky. It will extend from east to west to announce the proximity of the Illumination of Conscience. As soon as you see the sky darken, get down on your knees, rosary in hand, and pray, pray, pray, because everything will happen very quickly. The day will become night. As in Fatima, the sun will turn and it will go out for three hours; the moon will darken and there will be great phenomena all over the earth!
"The whole world will be turned upside down, people will believe that the end of the world has come. Fear will be dependent on the sins committed by each, the greatest destruction will be manifested in hearts. Each will live a mystical experience by which he will be able to see his state of mind in the light of divine justice, similar to the grace granted to Saul of Tarsus who was penetrated by this light. Paul obeyed the warning I gave him, he repented and became the right disciple, the apostle of the Gentiles.
"When it occurs, everything will stop, my children. It will be like fire, but it will not burn your flesh; however, you will feel it inside and out. The Holy Spirit will come as a heavenly dew of grace and fire which will renew the whole world; then your sins will be exposed to you, the good you neglected to do and the bad you have done. He will bring to light what is hidden in the darkness and he will reveal the secret intentions, for nothing will be hidden any more, not to make you suffer, but rather out of love and mercy; you will suffer because of your unconfessed sins.
"Do you understand My insistence on showing you why you have to go to the Sacrament of Penance to be ready? Otherwise, you will experience the pain of purgatory or hell. You will all see it whether you like it or not. It will be the greatest gesture of My mercy. I will give everyone one last chance.
"And, at this time, each one will be able to free himself from all his sins by going to the Sacrament of Pardon with a great repentance and the desire not to offend God any more, by rectifying his behavior, by changing his habits; or else, drag his sins with him to damnation by refusing to meet Me in the person of the priest. I will forgive everything, but you will have to repent; I will accept your return to My Sacred Heart, but you will have to come back to Me on your own.
"The outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be as strong and powerful, after the Warning, as it was at the time of the first Pentecost. What will manifest will be so great that there has never been anything like it since the world began! This event will increase your faith, it will help you draw closer to Me, it will prepare humanity to receive the messages of the Gospel.
"Why this event? Because without the knowledge of your sins, you will not be able to understand how much you need Me and My forgiveness. Do not fear, My children, those who believe in God and in My most holy Mother, those who will recognize that this comes from God, will be protected. Remember, those who will abide in My grace will have nothing to fear, nothing My children.
"Recite the Rosary, this is very important, recite the Rosary of Mercy, for I attach great graces to it. If I have come this evening to describe to you what the Illumination of Conscience, also known as the Warning, will look like, it is not to frighten you and make you lose your peace, no My children, no. It is to allow you to prepare yourselves through prayer, adoration and the sacraments, to remain in a state of grace, in this heart to heart with Me, your God, to remain safe from all danger in My Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of My most holy Mother, the Immaculate Conception.
"Prepare yourselves, my children, because your eyes will see events that no eye has ever seen before. The time is very short. Do not be afraid, be in joy, before I come as judge, I will come as King of Mercy, for you, My children of light, My little idyllic remnant that I love so much. I am close, I will never give up Mine, you, My loves. Be vigilant, do not let yourselves be distracted, "keep your lamps alight" (Lk. 12:35).
"When the Cross appears in the sky, it will be the sign of My return in glory, because I will come with it to establish my glorious reign in the world. It will be the door that opens the tomb in which lies humanity, to lead it into the Kingdom of the divine will.
"At the same time, there will be great anguish, great pain at not having received My messages and those of My Mother in time. Then it will be too late for those who will not be in a state of grace to repent, convert and do penance. Peoples of the earth, worship the Lord for He is coming! Take heart, do not fear, here comes your God! When you least expect it, the Warning will come, don't doubt it, and you will see my Cross in heaven. What I say, I do. Be blessed in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Amen, hallelujah."
In a message given on February 19, 2011, Jesus said to Sulema: "The days go by and people do not want to prepare to purify the state of their souls. They continue to live as if nothing was going to happen, but, in truth, I tell you my child: the day of the Illumination of Conscience is fast approaching! It will come like a thief (Rev. 3:3). As in Noah's time (Gn. 7) people continue to drink, eat, feast without taking Us seriously, without taking the time to try to be in a state of grace, without taking the time to put themselves in service attire (Lk. 12: 35) so that the Lord and their God may find them with their lamps well lit and with a good supply of the oil of faith."
On May 21, 2011, Mary said to Sulema: "Like a good mother, I want to prepare you to live this great event of the Illumination of Consciences in peace, in surrender to the Divine Will. It will be a movement of love and mercy where all the children of the earth must enter to experience this moment, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your hearts must open to welcome the necessary graces, without which you will be unable to live this supernatural experience well. For your souls will be in the presence of the glory, the majesty, the omnipotence of God the Son who comes to show you the state of your lives, to show you where your sins have led you. Then everyone will know where to go."
After reading about the Warning, do you know what you must do? Go to the confessional to be freed from the chains of sin and restore a state of grace and friendship with God! Do not risk separation from Him for eternity if physical death strikes. Whether or not one is vaccinated against the coronavirus, or not, this great event will happen to each human being one day!
Alain Pilote has been the editor of the English edition of MICHAEL for several years. Twice a year we organize a week of study of the social doctrine of the Church and its application and Mr. Pilote is the instructor during these sessions.
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Bruce Polus
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dale mclean
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Gerald Curran
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Gerald Curran
A connection between the Old Testament (Psalm 23) and the Novus Ordo of the Mass.
An update to our understanding of the Marian Apparitions at the village of San Sebastian de Garabandal in Northern Spain in the early 1960’s.
Gerald Curran, R.A., Dip. Theol. Studs. (Y.T.U., Melbourne)
There has been some confusion about whether the apparitions that took place at San Sebastian de Garabandal were ‘spiritual’- or not. The diocese of Santander has concluded that they were not spiritual, and I have turned this question over in my mind from time to time. Recently a new thought came to me during prayer. I realized that the apparition events at Garabandal can only be understood in spiritual terms. The visionaries were four pre-teenage village girls. They related how the Virgin Mary had spoken to them about ‘the Tribulation’, ‘the Warning’, ‘the Miracle’ and ‘the Permanent Sign’. These four were to come to pass. ‘Tribulation’ implies the anguish that might be experienced during conflict in the Church. The ‘Permanent Sign’ is that Sign of the Cross that is traced by Catholic pilgrims as they pray at the apparition site. My focus in this writing will be on the ‘warning’ and the ‘miracle’.
The visionaries spoke about a coming ‘warning’ that would be felt interiorly. They said that the ‘warning’ would be felt by people everywhere. The visionaries also spoke about the ‘miracle’ that would bring healing to people who would be in the ‘valley’. There is a valley situated below the village of Garabandal where a miracle might occur. However, because the visionaries had said that the warning would be felt by people ‘everywhere’. Did it not follow that the miracle healing in the ‘valley’ would also be for people everywhere? I asked myself: “Where is this ‘valley’?” I thought: “…why would the Virgin Mary use the term ‘valley’ if she meant people everywhere? A valley is the lowest place in a landscape. A valley might be a place of little light and the most gloom. Did she mean that spiritually gloomy place - the World?” The only explanation that I could envisage was that the Virgin Mary was referring to the state of the World and that the World was walking into ‘…the Valley of the Shadow of Death…’ [Psalm 23, Verse 4, ESV]. The young visionaries at San Sebastian de Garabandal would not have been familiar with the Psalms. The Virgin Mary, not wanting to quote scripture and not wanting to say the word ‘death’ to the innocents, used the simple word ‘valley’. However, she was not talking about a physical valley, she was talking about a spiritual valley: the Valley of the Shadow of Death – the valley into which the World was walking to its doom.
When the Virgin Mary talks about ‘miracle’, the Holy Mass comes to mind. The Church certainly teaches that each Holy Mass is a miracle. I wondered whether there was a particular Holy Mass that might qualify as THE MIRACLE. Only one stood out: the Novus Ordo Missae which was soon to be promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969. The visionaries had said that the Virgin Mary spoke about the ‘miracle’ being preceded by the ‘warning’. They said that there would be a delay of one year between the warning and the miracle. A prime candidate for the title ‘warning’ was the encyclical Humanae Vitae, promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1968. Humanae Vitae contained many exhortations regarding the sinful misuse of the Divine gift of human sexuality. It was a severe warning from the Pope.
If the Virgin Mary foretold that the promulgation of the Novus Ordo of the
Mass was a miracle then this would, more than likely, make it the greatest
Eucharistic miracle since the advent of the Tridentine order of the Mass, four
hundred years before. The establishment of the Tridentine order brought unity,
order and focus to the holy celebration at a time of upheaval in the Church, when
there were many competing modes of celebration. Added to what she implied,
as to the miraculous nature of the Novus Ordo, the promulgation itself was
extra miraculous because it had overcome all efforts, by certain clergy, to prevent
its very existence. The New Order of the Mass brought a greater accessibility,
intimacy and portability to the celebration of the Last Supper. The celebration of
Jesus’ Eucharistic healing presence can take place in any corner of the World at any
time. It can be celebrated everywhere in that ‘Valley of the Shadow of Death’.
Ref.: Francisco Sanchez – Ventura, The Apparitions of Garabandal. (St. Michaels Garabandal Center, Pasadina, CA. August 1965)
Jose Luis Saavedra, Garabandal Message of Hope: Recent Marian Apperitions. (Asociacion Elisabeth Van Keerbergen, 2017)
Fr. Joseph Albert Pelletier A.A., Our Lady comes to Garabandal
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