Today, the handbook reading was concerning the Virgin Mary's identity as the Mother of God (and thus the Mother of all mankind) and the unity of the Legion in devotion to Mary. When I read this section, I think I naturally think of the passage from the 12 chapter of the Apocalypse, in which the figure of the Most Holy Mother of God appears in Heaven to St. John the Theologian. First, it is revealed to him that she is the Ark of the Covenant. Then, she appears as a sign in Heaven. She is seen clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. Each of these things is significant. First of all, she is clothed with the sun, because her human nature has been deified by grace. She has the moon under her feet, because the same Divine Grace has given her power and authority to subdue and humiliate the forces of darkness. She has the crown of twelve stars on her head, because it is her concern to maintain and extend the apostolic Tradition, in which alone mankind has salvation.
In this same apparition in the Apocalypse, the Most Holy Mother of God appears as pregnant. She gives birth "to a Son, Who is destined to shepherd all the nations with the rod of iron," a reference to the second psalm. The Red Dragon tries to devour her Son, but fails. At that point, he tries to kill the Mother of God, but she is given the wings of an eagle. She flies off to the desert, to a safe place prepared for her. Then, the Dragon turns to make war "on her other children." The text goes on to explain that "her other children" are those who believe in Jesus.
We, the Church, are the rest of her children, the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, who profess that her Son is the Son of God and that she is the Mother of God. The handbook goes on to speak about the unifying power of devotion to the Mother of God, but it is edifying to see how much she is devoted to us with greater and greater intensity as the time seemingly grows short. We are aware that every generation of Christians has believed themselves to be the last, but it is hard to deny the "signs of the times." It seems that something special and new is happening, even as our Our Lady's care and concern for our race becomes all the more apparent. The twentieth century is covered with this evidence, the Most Holy Mother of God coming from Heaven again and again to warn us, her children, what is to happen and to tell us not to despair, but do penance in anticipation of Christ's return. At Hrushiv in 1914, she appeared to foretell the First World War and the eighty-year Soviet Empire. In 1917, she appeared at Fatima to foretell the end of the war, but the beginning of the Second World War, along with the spread of the "errors of Russia" throughout the world. Then, in 1973, in a village near Akita in Japan, she appeared again and foretold that a fiery conflagration would come from Heaven and burn up a great part of humanity, if mankind does not repent. Finally, again in Hrushiv in 1987, she appeared and foretold the collapse of the Soviet regime, the freedom of Ukraine, but another war and even greater sufferings in the near future if mankind persists in sin. These appearances, and some in between them too, which are of more questionable reliability, seem to show us that something extraordinary is happening. The Mother of God's care and concern for the world is increasing as the danger seems to be increasing.
The Most Holy Mother of God, our dear Mother, is very devoted to us, so we should be unquestionably devoted to her as children tend to be to their natural mothers. Her devotion to us increases as the danger increases. So should ours.
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