LAST August 3, our Blessed Mother told mystic Gisella Cardia: "My beloved children, I ask you to be ready, because the Warning is very near."
The phrase "very near" is quite more proximate than Our Lord Jesus's hint on when the prophesied Warning would happen in His message to mystic Janie Garza on Sept. 9, 1995 when He said: “Our humble servant, this (Warning) will happen within a short period."
But Our Lord added: "Do not be distracted with dates, but prepare every day with strong prayer. Many who worry about these times will not live to see these things take place. This is why Holy Scripture warns everybody not to be concerned about tomorrow, for tomorrow is promised to no one. The present day has enough trials and crosses. Know that when We speak about such things to come; this is for the people to convert and abandon their evil ways. Every day is an opportunity for souls to convert. People should not wait for such things to come to convert, but they should convert now, before it’s too late!”
That was 1995, now some two and a half decades ago. Our Lord Jesus' reference to "a short period" has evolved into "very near."
The Warning, as some readers must have read before in this column, is the first part of the major prophecies conveyed by the Blessed Mother to visionaries in Garabandal, Spain in the 1960s. The apparitions to four girls (all now in their senior years) were believed in by St. Padre Pio and St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The Warning is to be followed by the Great Miracle and then, if not enough conversion is effected, the Chastisement.
For those who do not know what the Warning is all about, here are some prophecies about it over the recent decades.
Pope Pius IX (1792-1878) and Pope Paul VI (1897-1978), both now saints, had already warned about the Warning.
Referring to the Warning, Pope Pius IX had said: ““Since the whole world is against God and His Church, it is evident that He has reserved the victory over His enemies to Himself...all will be forced to look to the supernatural...There will come a great wonder, which will fill the world with astonishment.”
About a century later, Pope Paul VI said: “The maturity of conscience, most difficult to evaluate today, is the discernment between evil and good. Humanity has performed so many evil deeds that its conscience is now darkened by sin. We will need a terrible warning, and many will refuse to listen -- a terrible warning. Most people will not heed it, but it will be essential to replace the moral order. Many have lived using their freedom for every kind of pleasure, and they are under the gaze of our God; but this judgment will be direct -- at the same time, with His tenderness—and they will be forced to recognize their sin and to separate their sin from their goodness. This time, the sins of the world will be revealed.”
And there have been many mystics to whom the Warning was prophesied. In this column, I recently cited Our Lord Jesus, as He talked about the warning to St. Faustina Kowalska. And here's more.
On August 15, 1980, the Lord said to Elizabeth Kindelmann, “The Church and the whole world are in danger. You cannot change this situation. Only the Holy Trinity, through the unified intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the angels, the saints, and the souls in purgatory, can help you (through the Warning).”
To Luz de Maria de Bonilla, Jesus said; “The Mini-Judgment (the Warning) is a reality. People no longer realize that they offend Me.”
To Luz de Maria, Jesus said: “The very fact that such judgments will come is because people refuse to convert and continue to live in darkness.”
From the Blessed Mother to Fr. Estafano Gobbi: “Tongues of fire will come down upon you all, my poor children, so ensnared and seduced by Satan and by all the evil spirits who, during these years, have attained their greatest triumph. And thus, you will be illuminated by this divine light...which will open the door of your heart to receive the great gift of divine mercy.”
Even God the Father is said to have revealed as much to mystic Matthew Kelly, the well-known Catholic speaker and author born in Australia, now living in Ohio. Through him, God the Father said, “It will be painful, very painful, but short. You will see your sins; you will see how much you off end Me, every day...Judgment is the best word you humans have to describe it, but it will be more like this: you will see your own personal darkness contrasted against the pure light of My love.”
The mystic and stigmatist, Janie Garza, who has the full approval of her bishop to share her messages, asked Jesus on September 9, 1995, “Beloved Savior, will the Illumination scare people?”
Jesus answered, “The fear that will inflame their hearts is the holy fear of the immense power of My Father, especially for those many souls that have continued to deny the existence of My Father. These will be the souls that will experience tremendous fear.”
Even St. Joseph has stepped in to tell Janie in 1994, “For those who believe that they live in the light but continue to break every Commandment given by God, to these souls, I, St. Joseph, say that these souls will not be able to see the state of their souls and live.”
To this, Janie responded, “This is hard for me to know. Are you saying that people who do not live God’s Commandments will die when they see their souls?” And St. Joseph answered, “Yes, my little one, that’s how it will be for many unless they repent and decide for conversion. There is still time for repentance, but time is growing shorter with each day that goes by.”
Also to Janie, Jesus said: “The Warning is not a fantasy. Humanity must be purified so that it does not fall into the flames of hell.”
Only recently, mystic and stigmatist, Luz de María de Bonilla quoted Jesus to have said: "Those who behave and act in My likeness toward their neighbor, and repent with all their strength, force, and feelings, and confess their sins with a firm purpose of amendment, those children of Mine will experience the Warning like every human being will, but not with the intensity of those who stoop in the ire of sin through disobedience, ignoring My calls, those of My Mother, and My faithful Saint Michael the Archangel.”
In Garabandal, Spain on July 27, 1975, seer Mari Loli was asked when the Warning would happen and she replied: “All I can say is that it is very near, and that it is very important that we get ready for it...”