21
Phi (/faɪ/;[1]
uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; Ancient Greek:
ϕεῖ pheî [pʰéî̯]; Modern Greek: φι fi [fi])
is the
21st letter of the Greek alphabet.
Mother Mary Apple Seed
In and Out
of
The Promised Land,
Mary remains a classic but now possibly
sporting a retro revival.
The Hebrew origins and
means "star of the sea,"
"bitterness," and "beloved."
Valleys to Mountains
Ashes to Glory
Apples to Stars
The Five
If you cut across the diameter of an apple
you will see a five pointed star at its centre.
Many of the blossoms that turn into the vegetables and fruits
that we eat are also shaped like
five pointed stars.
To the Mercy Centre for Ecology & Justice,
The five pointed star is a symbol that
we are
all connected in a reciprocal relationship
with
nature and the universe.
The Mercy Centre for Ecology & Justice’s mission
is to promote the
interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all creation
and to live in a spirituality
flowing out of the sacredness of all creation.
If an apple is cut (or chopped)
in half, crosswise,
the seeds resemble a star; a five-point star.
In Christian symbolism
a five-point star
represents the Star of Bethlehem.
Five points
also represents the Crucifixion.
Pentacle: The pentacle is a 5 pointed star.
The pentacle is the symbol of th
The pentacle is found in many places in nature.
Many flowers have only 5 petals, an apple cut crosswise
shows a pentacle.
Apple seeds
(and seeds of many fruit trees in the
Rose family: cherries, peaches, plums, etc.)
contain a compound called amygdalin.
It isn’t harmful in itself, but breaks down into cyanide
when crushed
or chewed on. And cyanide can be deadly.
The poisonous
content
of the apple seed (or pip)
is designed by nature
to protect it from predators.
It’s part of the apple tree’s
distribution system.
The tree “wants” animals to eat its fruit, which
why it is so sweet and tasty,
but not to destroy its seeds.
Either the animal doesn’t eat the core
(humans)
or doesn’t chew the seeds
(frugivorous animals)
and the pips
are either thrown away or
passed intact
through the digestive system.
The idea is that encourages the
distribution of seeds
far from the mother tree
(the animal might pick up the fruit and eat or defecate it elsewhere)
and that
allows apple trees to spread in
the wild.
The meaning of Mary is “beloved”
a biblical
reference to Christ’s mother
The name is associated with “rebellious” or “bitter”
because of Miriam’s life as an Egyptian slave.
The name means “beautiful” in Italian and
“the star of the sea” in Hebrew.”
The name also means “merciful” in Latin,
giving it a sophisticated touch.
In Christian symbolism, the basic pentagram was originally used
to represent the five wounds of Jesus Christ. It was soon supplanted
by the symbol of the cross,
but the pentagram was still recognizable as a Christian symbol
for a few hundred years after Jesus’ resurrection.
Some say that the continuous line was also considered symbolic of
The Alpha and Omega.
Christian-influenced academia in Europe during
the Enlightenment re-discovered Pythagoras’ interest in the pentagram,
which contains the Golden Ratio.
Pythagoras’ study went beyond mathematics, though,
as he assigned the five ancient elements to the five points of the star:
earth, water, air, and fire on the four lower points;
and spirit on the topmost point.
The Ark of the Covenant
uses Fibonacci numbers, approximating a Golden Rectangle
In Exodus 25:10,
God commands Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant,
in which to hold His Covenant with the Israelites,
the Ten Commandments, saying,
The ratio of 2.5 to 1.5 is 1.666…, which is as close to phi (1.618 …)
as you can come with such simple numbers and is certainly
not visibly different to the eye.
The Ark of the Covenant is thus constructed using the Golden Section,
or Divine Proportion.
This ratio is also the same as 5 to 3, numbers
from the Fibonacci series.
In Exodus 27:1-2, we find that the altar God commands
Moses to build is
based on a variation of the same 5 by 3 theme:
“Build an altar of acacia wood,
three cubits high; it is to be square,
five cubits long and five cubits wide.”
Noah’s Ark uses Fibonacci Numbers in its DimensionsIn Genesis 6:15,
God commands Noah to build an ark saying,
“And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of:
The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits,
the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits.”
Thus the end of the ark, at 50 by 30 cubits,
is also in the ratio of 5 to 3, or 1.666…,
again a close approximation of phi not visibly different
to the naked eye.
Noah’s ark was built in the same proportion
as ten arks of
the covenant placed side by side.
The Number 666 is related to Phi
Revelation 13:18 says the following:
“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him
calculate the number of the beast, for it is a man’s number.
His number is 666.”
This beast, regarded by some as the Anti-Christ described by John,
is thus related to the number 666,
one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible.
Curiously enough, if you take the sine of 666º, you get -0.80901699,
which is
one-half of negative phi, or perhaps what one might call the “anti-phi.”
You can also get -0.80901699 by
taking the cosine of 216º, and 216 is 6 x 6 x 6.
The trigonometric relationship of sine 666º to phi is
based on an isosceles triangle with a base of phi and sides of 1.
When this triangle is enclosed in a circle with a radius of 1,
we see that the lower line, which has an angle of 306º on
the first rotation and 666º on the second rotation,
has a sine equal to one-half negative phi.
In this we see the unity of phi divided into positive and negative,
analogous perhaps to light and darkness or good and evil.
Could this “sine” be a “sign” as well?
In addition, 666 degrees is 54 degrees short of the
complete second circle and when dividing the 360
degrees of a circle by 54 degrees you get 6.66…
The other side of a 54 degree angle in a right angle
is 36 degrees and 36 divided by 54 is .666.
Phi appears throughout creation,
and in every physical proportion of the human body.
In that sense it is the number of mankind, as
the mysterious passage of Revelation perhaps reveals.
The colors of the Tabernacle are based on a phi relationship
The PhiBar program produces the colors
that the Bible says God gave to
Moses for the construction of the Tabernacle.
As it says in Exodus 26:1,
“Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and
blue, purple and scarlet yarn,
with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.”
Set the primary color of the Phibar program to blue,
the secondary color of the PhiBar to purple and it
reveals the Phi color to be scarlet.
This reference to the combination blue, purple and scarlet
in the construction of the tabernacle appears
24 times in Exodus 25 through 39,
describing the colors to be used in
the curtains, waistbands, breastpieces, sashes and garments.
The word "pentagram"
comes from the Greek word "pente" (meaning "five")
and "graphein" (meaning "to write").
So, the word "pentagram" means
a 5-pointed star or any figure made of five lines.
It symbolizes the four elements of earth, air, fire and water,
along with the element of spirit on top,
meaning that the four elements are ruled by
the spirit, or the idea of "mind over matter".
It is also a symbol of the number 5 as a mystical and sacred number that is inherently natural and human, since it is found in many life forms.
The five-way symmetry of the pentagram can be found in starfish, flowers, the human hand and body and many other living things.
This pattern of five exists down to the level of molecules
and therefore represents not just the natural life forms we see,
but also the very foundations of their being.
In this way, the number five is the essence of life.
The pentagram is also a symbol of protection against evilbecause it is made of
5 outward-pointing spikes that protect a womb-like center.
In texts from Sumeria
(one of the first civilizations in the world, from around 3000 BC to 2600 BC),
the pentagram symbolized
the four directions and a fifth direction, "above",
As a symbol of the goddess Kore
A goddess named Kore was worshipped in many countries
thousands of years ago in an area that ranged from
modern-day England to Egypt. Her sacred fruit
was the apple.
This apple-pentagram is known to the Gypsies as
the "Star of Knowledge".
During the 4th century AD, Kore was worshipped by the Coptic Gnostic
Christian religion in Alexandria, Egypt. Her festival, called Koreion,
was held on January 6th and was adopted
by the Christian Church as the Feast of Epiphany,
a.k.a. Little Christmas or Three Kings Day.
This feast day is a time when Christians remember
when The Wise Men
(also known as the Three Kings or the Magi),
visited the baby Jesus
and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In Hebrew Scriptures (or the "Old Testament")
The pentagram was the first and most important
of the Seven Seals,
an amulet whose seals represented
the seven secret names of God.
Also, each point of the pentagram symbolized
the five books of the Pentateuch,
which are the first five books of the Bible,
also known as the Torah.
Pythagoras was an ancient Greek philosopher, teacher and leader
known for his knowledge of mathematics, music, astronomy and
sacred geometry.
Early in his life, he traveled the world, gaining access to and
absorbing the secret traditions,
esoteric knowledge and mysteries of many cultures.
When he returned from his travels, he set up a school
to teach a small number of devoted students this secret knowledge,
along with the fundamentals of occult music, mathematics and astronomy.
Because of his intellectual brilliance and outspoken nature, he attracted political and personal enemies who eventually attacked and burned his school, forcing his teachings and his students underground.
During this time of persecution, followers of Pythagoras used the pentagram as their secret symbol, "so that they may know each other".
The pentagram was significant to the Pythagoreans for a number of reasons.
It was seen as a sacred symbol of divine perfection
and also as a symbol of man
because of the five-way symmetry of the human body.
Furthermore, each of the five points of the star represented the five elements that make up man:
And lastly, Pythagoreans called the pentagram,
the "Pentalpha", because it was made of
five interlaced, perfect As or Alphas,
and was a symbol
of the individual as part of a whole.
After the teachings of Pythagoras were forced underground,
the schools secretly continued on and from them came
the Mystery Schools and Masonic Guilds
(groups of expert stone masons who were initiated into the teachings of the Mystery Schools).
The Christian Church felt that the Masons were quite heretical, yet hired them to design and build the great cathedrals of Europe.
The Masons subsequently incorporated their symbols into architecture, as pentagrams and five-fold designs can be found on the facades and also by plotting certain points on the floor plans of various cathedrals.
The Mystery Schools and Masonic Guilds held onto the pentagram as part of their symbolism, where it keeps its positive, ancient meanings and is
a symbol of of secret, enlightened knowledge.
Because the divine knowledge of these groups threatened the power of the
Church, those who pursued it
or used its symbols were oppressed and mistreated.
This was one of the reasons why the pentagram,
which was originally a symbol of perfection and divine knowledge,
became stigmatized,
because the Church framed it as a symbol of heresy.
Because of this influence,
it eventually came to have associations with evil.
The Christian pentagram;
It is a curious thing that the pentagram is generally thought of as evil by fundamental Christians because it was actually one of the main symbols of
Christianity before the cross came into popular use.
In the Middle Ages, Christians used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Christ - 2 on the wrists, 2 on the ankles and one on the side.
it represented the Star of Bethlehem,
which led the Three Wise Men to the baby Jesus.
In this form, the pentagram represents salvation and the Holy Spirit descending to earth.
And since the pentagram can be drawn entirely in
one stroke,
without lifting one's pen, it was said to
represent the Alpha and the Omega, or
Christ himself.
And represented knowledge, perfection, divinity, the triumph of the spirit, goodness and virtue.
The pentagram represents
eternity, infinity, the universe and the cycles of life and nature.
Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot,
is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil
derived from Nardostachys jatamansi, a flowering plant
in the honeysuckle family which grows in the
Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India.
The oil has been used over centuries as a perfume, a traditional medicine, or in religious ceremonies across a wide territory from India to Europe.
Historically, the name nardhas also referred to essential oils derived from other species including the closely related valerian genus,
as well as Spanish lavender; these cheaper,
more common plants have been used in perfume-making,
and sometimes to adulterate true spikenard.
The name "nard" is derived from Latin nardus, from Ancient Greek
νάρδος (nárdos).
This word may ultimately derive either from Sanskrit नलद
(nálada, Indian spikenard),
or from Naarda, an ancient Assyrian city
(possibly the modern town of Dohuk, Iraq).
The "spike" in the name refers to the inflorescence or flowering stem of the plant.
Nardostachys jatamansi is a flowering plant of the honeysuckle
family that grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. In bloom,
the plant grows to about 1 meter (3 ft) in height and
has small, pink, bell-shaped flowers.
It is found at an altitude of about 3,000 to 5,000 m (9,800 to 16,400 ft).
Its rhizomes can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic,
amber-colored essential oil with a thick consistency.
Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, and as an herbal medicine.
In ancient Rome, nardus
was used to flavor wine, and occurs frequently in the recipes of Apicius.
During the early Roman empire, nardus was the
main ingredient of a perfume (unguentum nardinum).
Pliny's Natural History lists several species of nardus used in
making perfume and spiced wine:
Indian nard, a stinking nard called 'ozaenitidos' which is not used,
a false nard ('pseudo-nard') with which true nard is adulterated,
and several herbs local to Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean
which are also called nardus, namely Syrian nard,
Gallic nard, Cretan nard (also called 'agrion' or 'phun'),
field nard (also called 'bacchar'),
wild nard (also called 'asaron'), and Celtic nard.
Celtic nard is the only species Pliny mentions which he does not describe when listing the species of nard in book 12 of Natural History suggesting it is synonymous with another species, probably with the species Pliny refers to as 'hirculus', a plant Pliny attests to growing in the same region as Gallic nard and which he says is used to adulterate Gallic nard. Both are widely assumed to be cultivars or varieties of Valeriana celtica.
Indian nard refers to Nardostachys jatamansi, stinking nard possibly to Allium victorialis, false nard to Lavandula stoechas, Syrian nard to Cymbopogon nardus, Gallic nard to Valeriana celtica, Cretan nard to Valeriana italica (syn. V. dioscoridis, V. tuberosa), and wild nard to Asarum europaeum. Field nard, or 'bacchar',
has not been conclusively identified and must not be confused
with species now called "baccharises" referring
to species native to North America.
Coat of arms of Pope Francis.
According to the Vatican, the plant
(to the right of the star)
is a spikenard and symbolizes St Joseph.
Spikenard is mentioned in the Bible being used for its fragrance.
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
as he sat at meat,
there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment
of spikenard
very precious; and she brake the box, and
poured it on his head.
— Mark 14:3 KJV while the king sitteth at his table,
my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me;
he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of campfire in
the vineyards of Engedi.
— Song of Songs 1:12–14
in Hispanic iconographic tradition of the Catholic Church,
the spikenard is used to represent Saint Joseph.
The Vatican has said that the coat of arms of Pope Francis
includes the spikenard in reference
to Saint Joseph
In 2 Samuel 6, King David summoned troops
to retrieve
the Ark from Kiriath Jearim, also known as Baalah.
Two of Abinadab's sons, Uzzah and Ahio,
started to drive the
Ark to Jerusalem.
During the journey,
the cart and its contents faltered when the oxen stumbled.
Uzzah reached out to catch the Ark and died when he touched the sacred possession. This location was named Perez-uzzah which means “outbreak against Uzzah.”
Nervous to have the powerful object continue toward Jerusalem,
David placed it in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
During the three months the Ark stayed there,
the household of Obed-edom was blessed, and David’s fear diminished.
He fetched the Ark to continue the journey to Jerusalem,
the city of David. The sacred object entered the City of David
amidst rejoicing and dancing and was placed in a designated tent.
Skip ahead to 2 Chronicles 35 where we
find the
last mention of the
Ark of the Covenant’s
location.
In this chapter, Josiah was celebrating Passover.
The priests were prompted to take part in the observance in
the Lord’s temple. In verse 3, Josiah
instructed the Levites to
"Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built.” It’s thought the artifact was demolished afterward when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem.
The chest went missing after the destruction of the temple, however, John states in Revelation 11:19 that the Ark will be seen again after the second coming of Christ.
The journey of the Ark of the Covenant
among the Israelites and Philistines is clearly laid out in Scripture,
while its disappearance is more ambiguous.
We can see this artifact played an important role in biblical history,
representing God’s presence and helping the Israelites overcome trials.
While there’s a large gap in Scripture when the Ark disappears,
we can be confident that along with many other things,
this precious artifact
will be restored when we see Christ again.
Necessity of the Blessed Virgin
Part Four
by St. Louis de MontfortTaken from the Catholic Classic,
TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY
with Imprimi Potest, Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1949
-----Article Three-----
PROVIDENTIAL FUNCTION OF MARY IN THE LATTER TIMES
It was through Mary that the salvation of the world was begun, and it is through Mary that it must be consummated. Mary hardly appeared at all in the first coming of Jesus Christ, in order that men, as yet but little instructed and enlightened on the Person of her Son, should not remove themselves from Him in attaching themselves too strongly . . . to her.
This would have apparently taken place if she had been known, because of the admirable charms which the Most High had bestowed even upon her exterior.
This is so true that St. Denis the Areopagite tells us in his writings that when he saw our Blessed Lady, he would have taken her for a Divinity, because of her secret charms and incomparable beauty, had not the faith in which he was well established taught him the contrary. But in the second coming of Jesus Christ, Mary has to be made known and revealed by the Holy Ghost in order that, through her, Jesus Christ may be known, loved and served.
The reasons which move the Holy Ghost to hide His spouse during her life, and to reveal her but little since the preaching of the Gospel, subsist no longer.
I. Existence of This Function and Reasons for It
God, then, wishes to reveal and make known to Mary,
the masterpiece of His hands, in these latter times:
§ 1. Because she hid herself in this world and put herself lower than the dust by her profound humility, having obtained from God and from His Apostles and Evangelists that she should not be made manifest.
§ 2. Because, as she is the masterpiece of the hands of God, as well here below by as in Heaven by glory, He wishes to be glorified and praised in her by those who are living upon the earth.
§ 3. As she is the dawn which precedes and reveals the Sun of Justice, Who is Jesus Christ, she must be seen and recognized in order that Jesus Christ may also be.
§ 4. Being the way by which Jesus came to us the first time, she will also be the way by which He will come the second time, though not in the same manner.
§ 5. Being the sure means and the straight and immaculate way to go to Jesus Christ and to find Him perfectly, it is by her that the souls who are to shine forth especially in sanctity have to find Our Lord. He who shall find Mary shall find life [Prov. 8:35], that is, Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life [John 14:6].
But no one can find Mary who does not seek her; and no one can seek her who does not know her; for we cannot seek or desire an unknown object. It is necessary, then, for the greater knowledge and glory of the Most Holy Trinity, that mary should be more than ever known.
§ 6. Mary must shine forth more than ever in mercy, in might and grace, in these latter times: in mercy, to bring back and lovingly receive the poor strayed sinners who shall be converted and shall return to the Catholic Church; in might, against the enemies of God, idolaters, schismatics, Mahometans, Jews and souls hardened in impiety, who shall rise in terrible revolt against God to seduce all those who shall oppose them and to make them fall by promises and threats; and finally, she must shine forth in grace, in order to animate and sustain the valiant soldiers and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, who shall battle for His interests.
§ 7. And lastly, Mary must be terrible to the devil and his crew, as an army ranged in battle, principally in these latter times, because the devil, knowing that he has but little time, and now less than ever, to destroy souls, will every day redouble his efforts and his combats. He will presently raise up cruel persecutions and will put terrible snares before the faithful servants and true children of Mary, whom it gives him more trouble to conquer than it does to conquer others.
[It is interesting to note that today the increased efforts of the forces of evil are being countered by a corresponding increase in Marian devotion. St. de Montfort made a footnote mentioning growth in the Legion of Mary and renewed interest in the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary in his day.]
II. Exercise of This Function
§ 1. In the struggle against Satan.
51. It is principally of these last and cruel persecutions of the devil, which shall go on increasing daily till the reign of Antichrist, that we ought to understand that first and celebrated prediction and curse of God pronounced in the terrestrial paradise against the serpent. It is to our purpose to explain this here for the glory of the most holy Virgin, for the salvation of her children and for the confusion of the devil:
"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." [Gen. 3:15]
52. God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil-----between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies which God has set up against the devil is His holy Mother Mary. He has inspired her, even since the days of the earthly paradise-----though she existed then only in His idea-----with so much hatred against the cursed enemy of God, with so much ingenuity in unveiling the malice of that ancient serpent, with so much power to conquer, to overthrow and to crush that proud, impious rebel, that he fears her not only more than all Angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself. Not that the anger, the hatred and the power of God are not infinitely greater than those of the Blessed Virgin, for the perfections of Mary are limited; but first, because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the Divine power; and secondly, because God has given Mary such great power against the devils that-----as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed-----they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the Saints, and one of her threats against themmore than all other torments.
53. What Lucifer has lost by pride, mary has gained by humility. What Eve has damned and lost by disobedience, Mary has saved by obedience.
Eve, in obeying the serpent, has destroyed all her children together with herself, and has delivered them to him; Mary, in being perfectly faithful to God, has saved all her children and servants together with herself, and has consecrated them to His Majesty.
54. God has not only set an enmity, but enmities, not simply between Mary and the devil, but between the race of the holy Virgin and the race of the devil; that is to say, God has set enmities, antipathies and secret hatreds between the true children and the servants of Mary and children and slaves of the devil.
They have no love for each other. They have no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world [for it is the same thing] have always up to this time persecuted those who belong to our Blessed lady, and will int he future persecute them more than ever; just as Cain, of old, persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob, who are the figures of the reprobate and the predestinate.
But the humble Mary will always have the victory over that proud spirit, and so great a victory that she will go so far as to crush his head, where his prode dwells. She will always discover the malice of the serpent. She will always lay bare his infernal plots and dissipate his diabolical councils, and even to the end of time will guard her faithful serpents from his cruel claw.
But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him.
They shall be little and poor and in the world's esteem, and abased before all like the heeh, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is bu the other members of the body. But in return for this they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly.
They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God's assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.
§ 2. In the formation of the apostles of the latter times.
55. In a word, God wishes that his holy Mother should be at present made known, more loved, more honored than she has ever been. This, no doubt, will take place if the predestinate enter, with the grace and light of the Holy Ghost, into the interior and perfect practice which I will disclose to them shortly.
Then they will see clearly, as far as faith allows, that beautiful Star of the Sea, They will arrive happily in harbor, following its guidance, in spite of the tempests and the pirates.
They will know the grandeurs of that Queen, and will consecrate themselves entirely to her service as subjects and slaves of love. They will experience her sweetness and her maternal goodness, and they will love her tenderly like well-beloved children.
They will know the mercies of which she is full, and the need they have of her help; and they will have recourse to her in all things, as to their dear advocate and Mediatrix with Jesus Christ.
They will know what is the surest, the easiest, the shortest and the most perfect means of going to Jesus Christ; and they will give themselves to Mary, body and soul, without reserve, that they may thus belong entirely to Jesus Christ.
56. But who shall those servants, slaves and children of Mary be?
They shall be the ministers of the Lord who, like a burning fire, shall kindle
the fire of Divine love everywhere.
They shall be "like sharp arrows in the hand of the powerful"
Mary to pierce her enemies. [Ps. 126:4]
They shall be the sons of Levi, well purified by the fire of great tribulation, and closely adhering to God [1 Cor. 6:17], who shall carry the gold of love in their heart, the incense of prayer in their spirit, and the myrrh of mortification in their body.
They shall be everywhere the good odor of Jesus Christ to the poor and to the little, while at the same time, they shall be an odor of death to the great, to the rich and to the proud worldlings.
57. They shall be clouds thundering and flying through the air at the leats breath of the Holy Ghost; who, detaching themselves from everything and troubling themselves with nothing, shall shower forth the rain of the Word of God and of life eternal.
They shall thunder against sin; they shall storm against the world; they shall strike the devil and his crew; and they shall pierce through and through, for life or for death, with their two-edged sword of the Word of God [Eph. 6:17], all those to whom they shall be sent on the part of the Most High.
58. They shall be the true apostles of the latter times, to whom the Lord of Hosts shall give the word and the might to work marvels and to carry off with glory the spoils of His enemies.
They shall sleep without gold or silver, and, what is more, without care, in the midsts of the other priests, ecclesiatics, and clerics [Ps. 67:14]; and yet they shall have the silvered wings of the dove to go, with the pure intention of the glory of God and the salvation of souls, whosoever the Holy Ghost shall call them. Nor shall they leave behind them, in the places where they have preached, anything but the gold of charity, which is the fulfillment of the whole law [Ro. 13:10].
59. In a word, we know that they shall be true disciples of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of His poverty, humility, contempt of the world, charity; teaching the narrow way of God in pure truth, according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world; troubling themselves about nothing; not accepting persons; sparing, fearing and listening to no mortal, however influential he may be.
They shall have in their mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. They shall carry on their shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in their right hand and the Rosary in their left, the sacred names of Jesus and Mary in their hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in their behavior.
These are the great men who are to come; but Mary is the one who, by order of the Most High, shall fashion them for the purpose of extending His empire over that of the impious, the idolaters and the Mohametans. But when and how shall this be? God alone knows.
As for us, we but to hold our tongues, to pray, to sigh and to wait:
"With expectation I have waited."
Phi (/faɪ/;[1]
uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; Ancient Greek:
ϕεῖ pheî [pʰéî̯]; Modern Greek: φι fi [fi])
is the
21st letter of the Greek alphabet.
Mother Mary Apple Seed
In and Out
of
The Promised Land,
Mary remains a classic but now possibly
sporting a retro revival.
The Hebrew origins and
means "star of the sea,"
"bitterness," and "beloved."
Valleys to Mountains
Ashes to Glory
Apples to Stars
The Five
If you cut across the diameter of an apple
you will see a five pointed star at its centre.
Many of the blossoms that turn into the vegetables and fruits
that we eat are also shaped like
five pointed stars.
To the Mercy Centre for Ecology & Justice,
The five pointed star is a symbol that
we are
all connected in a reciprocal relationship
with
nature and the universe.
The Mercy Centre for Ecology & Justice’s mission
is to promote the
interconnectedness and interrelatedness of all creation
and to live in a spirituality
flowing out of the sacredness of all creation.
If an apple is cut (or chopped)
in half, crosswise,
the seeds resemble a star; a five-point star.
In Christian symbolism
a five-point star
represents the Star of Bethlehem.
Five points
also represents the Crucifixion.
Pentacle: The pentacle is a 5 pointed star.
The pentacle is the symbol of th
The pentacle is found in many places in nature.
Many flowers have only 5 petals, an apple cut crosswise
shows a pentacle.
Apple seeds
(and seeds of many fruit trees in the
Rose family: cherries, peaches, plums, etc.)
contain a compound called amygdalin.
It isn’t harmful in itself, but breaks down into cyanide
when crushed
or chewed on. And cyanide can be deadly.
The poisonous
content
of the apple seed (or pip)
is designed by nature
to protect it from predators.
It’s part of the apple tree’s
distribution system.
The tree “wants” animals to eat its fruit, which
why it is so sweet and tasty,
but not to destroy its seeds.
Either the animal doesn’t eat the core
(humans)
or doesn’t chew the seeds
(frugivorous animals)
and the pips
are either thrown away or
passed intact
through the digestive system.
The idea is that encourages the
distribution of seeds
far from the mother tree
(the animal might pick up the fruit and eat or defecate it elsewhere)
and that
allows apple trees to spread in
the wild.
The meaning of Mary is “beloved”
a biblical
reference to Christ’s mother
The name is associated with “rebellious” or “bitter”
because of Miriam’s life as an Egyptian slave.
The name means “beautiful” in Italian and
“the star of the sea” in Hebrew.”
The name also means “merciful” in Latin,
giving it a sophisticated touch.
In Christian symbolism, the basic pentagram was originally used
to represent the five wounds of Jesus Christ. It was soon supplanted
by the symbol of the cross,
but the pentagram was still recognizable as a Christian symbol
for a few hundred years after Jesus’ resurrection.
Some say that the continuous line was also considered symbolic of
The Alpha and Omega.
Christian-influenced academia in Europe during
the Enlightenment re-discovered Pythagoras’ interest in the pentagram,
which contains the Golden Ratio.
Pythagoras’ study went beyond mathematics, though,
as he assigned the five ancient elements to the five points of the star:
earth, water, air, and fire on the four lower points;
and spirit on the topmost point.
The Ark of the Covenant
uses Fibonacci numbers, approximating a Golden Rectangle
In Exodus 25:10,
God commands Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant,
in which to hold His Covenant with the Israelites,
the Ten Commandments, saying,
The ratio of 2.5 to 1.5 is 1.666…, which is as close to phi (1.618 …)
as you can come with such simple numbers and is certainly
not visibly different to the eye.
The Ark of the Covenant is thus constructed using the Golden Section,
or Divine Proportion.
This ratio is also the same as 5 to 3, numbers
from the Fibonacci series.
In Exodus 27:1-2, we find that the altar God commands
Moses to build is
based on a variation of the same 5 by 3 theme:
“Build an altar of acacia wood,
three cubits high; it is to be square,
five cubits long and five cubits wide.”
Noah’s Ark uses Fibonacci Numbers in its DimensionsIn Genesis 6:15,
God commands Noah to build an ark saying,
“And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of:
The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits,
the breadth of it fifty cubits,
and the height of it thirty cubits.”
Thus the end of the ark, at 50 by 30 cubits,
is also in the ratio of 5 to 3, or 1.666…,
again a close approximation of phi not visibly different
to the naked eye.
Noah’s ark was built in the same proportion
as ten arks of
the covenant placed side by side.
The Number 666 is related to Phi
Revelation 13:18 says the following:
“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him
calculate the number of the beast, for it is a man’s number.
His number is 666.”
This beast, regarded by some as the Anti-Christ described by John,
is thus related to the number 666,
one of the greatest mysteries of the Bible.
Curiously enough, if you take the sine of 666º, you get -0.80901699,
which is
one-half of negative phi, or perhaps what one might call the “anti-phi.”
You can also get -0.80901699 by
taking the cosine of 216º, and 216 is 6 x 6 x 6.
The trigonometric relationship of sine 666º to phi is
based on an isosceles triangle with a base of phi and sides of 1.
When this triangle is enclosed in a circle with a radius of 1,
we see that the lower line, which has an angle of 306º on
the first rotation and 666º on the second rotation,
has a sine equal to one-half negative phi.
In this we see the unity of phi divided into positive and negative,
analogous perhaps to light and darkness or good and evil.
Could this “sine” be a “sign” as well?
In addition, 666 degrees is 54 degrees short of the
complete second circle and when dividing the 360
degrees of a circle by 54 degrees you get 6.66…
The other side of a 54 degree angle in a right angle
is 36 degrees and 36 divided by 54 is .666.
Phi appears throughout creation,
and in every physical proportion of the human body.
In that sense it is the number of mankind, as
the mysterious passage of Revelation perhaps reveals.
The colors of the Tabernacle are based on a phi relationship
The PhiBar program produces the colors
that the Bible says God gave to
Moses for the construction of the Tabernacle.
As it says in Exodus 26:1,
“Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and
blue, purple and scarlet yarn,
with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.”
Set the primary color of the Phibar program to blue,
the secondary color of the PhiBar to purple and it
reveals the Phi color to be scarlet.
This reference to the combination blue, purple and scarlet
in the construction of the tabernacle appears
24 times in Exodus 25 through 39,
describing the colors to be used in
the curtains, waistbands, breastpieces, sashes and garments.
- It has been a sign of royalty, meaning that the power of those in rule will spread to the four corners of the world.
- It has been a symbol of protection against evil and has been worn by people and placed over the doorways and windows of their homes.
- It represented the five virtues of knighthood, "generosity, courtesy, chastity, chivalry, and piety".
- Pythagoras, the famous Greek mathematician and philosopher, thought of it as a symbol of the perfection of man.
- To the Egyptians, it represented the underground womb from which all living things are reborn.
- To this day, Gypsies still cut an apple horizontally to reveal a pentagram inside, which they call the "Star of Knowledge".
The word "pentagram"
comes from the Greek word "pente" (meaning "five")
and "graphein" (meaning "to write").
So, the word "pentagram" means
a 5-pointed star or any figure made of five lines.
It symbolizes the four elements of earth, air, fire and water,
along with the element of spirit on top,
meaning that the four elements are ruled by
the spirit, or the idea of "mind over matter".
It is also a symbol of the number 5 as a mystical and sacred number that is inherently natural and human, since it is found in many life forms.
The five-way symmetry of the pentagram can be found in starfish, flowers, the human hand and body and many other living things.
This pattern of five exists down to the level of molecules
and therefore represents not just the natural life forms we see,
but also the very foundations of their being.
In this way, the number five is the essence of life.
The pentagram is also a symbol of protection against evilbecause it is made of
5 outward-pointing spikes that protect a womb-like center.
In texts from Sumeria
(one of the first civilizations in the world, from around 3000 BC to 2600 BC),
the pentagram symbolized
the four directions and a fifth direction, "above",
As a symbol of the goddess Kore
A goddess named Kore was worshipped in many countries
thousands of years ago in an area that ranged from
modern-day England to Egypt. Her sacred fruit
was the apple.
This apple-pentagram is known to the Gypsies as
the "Star of Knowledge".
During the 4th century AD, Kore was worshipped by the Coptic Gnostic
Christian religion in Alexandria, Egypt. Her festival, called Koreion,
was held on January 6th and was adopted
by the Christian Church as the Feast of Epiphany,
a.k.a. Little Christmas or Three Kings Day.
This feast day is a time when Christians remember
when The Wise Men
(also known as the Three Kings or the Magi),
visited the baby Jesus
and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In Hebrew Scriptures (or the "Old Testament")
The pentagram was the first and most important
of the Seven Seals,
an amulet whose seals represented
the seven secret names of God.
Also, each point of the pentagram symbolized
the five books of the Pentateuch,
which are the first five books of the Bible,
also known as the Torah.
Pythagoras was an ancient Greek philosopher, teacher and leader
known for his knowledge of mathematics, music, astronomy and
sacred geometry.
Early in his life, he traveled the world, gaining access to and
absorbing the secret traditions,
esoteric knowledge and mysteries of many cultures.
When he returned from his travels, he set up a school
to teach a small number of devoted students this secret knowledge,
along with the fundamentals of occult music, mathematics and astronomy.
Because of his intellectual brilliance and outspoken nature, he attracted political and personal enemies who eventually attacked and burned his school, forcing his teachings and his students underground.
During this time of persecution, followers of Pythagoras used the pentagram as their secret symbol, "so that they may know each other".
The pentagram was significant to the Pythagoreans for a number of reasons.
It was seen as a sacred symbol of divine perfection
and also as a symbol of man
because of the five-way symmetry of the human body.
Furthermore, each of the five points of the star represented the five elements that make up man:
- fire = energy
- water = fluid
- air = breath
- earth = matter
- psyche = mind
And lastly, Pythagoreans called the pentagram,
the "Pentalpha", because it was made of
five interlaced, perfect As or Alphas,
and was a symbol
of the individual as part of a whole.
After the teachings of Pythagoras were forced underground,
the schools secretly continued on and from them came
the Mystery Schools and Masonic Guilds
(groups of expert stone masons who were initiated into the teachings of the Mystery Schools).
The Christian Church felt that the Masons were quite heretical, yet hired them to design and build the great cathedrals of Europe.
The Masons subsequently incorporated their symbols into architecture, as pentagrams and five-fold designs can be found on the facades and also by plotting certain points on the floor plans of various cathedrals.
The Mystery Schools and Masonic Guilds held onto the pentagram as part of their symbolism, where it keeps its positive, ancient meanings and is
a symbol of of secret, enlightened knowledge.
Because the divine knowledge of these groups threatened the power of the
Church, those who pursued it
or used its symbols were oppressed and mistreated.
This was one of the reasons why the pentagram,
which was originally a symbol of perfection and divine knowledge,
became stigmatized,
because the Church framed it as a symbol of heresy.
Because of this influence,
it eventually came to have associations with evil.
The Christian pentagram;
It is a curious thing that the pentagram is generally thought of as evil by fundamental Christians because it was actually one of the main symbols of
Christianity before the cross came into popular use.
In the Middle Ages, Christians used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Christ - 2 on the wrists, 2 on the ankles and one on the side.
it represented the Star of Bethlehem,
which led the Three Wise Men to the baby Jesus.
In this form, the pentagram represents salvation and the Holy Spirit descending to earth.
And since the pentagram can be drawn entirely in
one stroke,
without lifting one's pen, it was said to
represent the Alpha and the Omega, or
Christ himself.
And represented knowledge, perfection, divinity, the triumph of the spirit, goodness and virtue.
The pentagram represents
eternity, infinity, the universe and the cycles of life and nature.
Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot,
is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil
derived from Nardostachys jatamansi, a flowering plant
in the honeysuckle family which grows in the
Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India.
The oil has been used over centuries as a perfume, a traditional medicine, or in religious ceremonies across a wide territory from India to Europe.
Historically, the name nardhas also referred to essential oils derived from other species including the closely related valerian genus,
as well as Spanish lavender; these cheaper,
more common plants have been used in perfume-making,
and sometimes to adulterate true spikenard.
The name "nard" is derived from Latin nardus, from Ancient Greek
νάρδος (nárdos).
This word may ultimately derive either from Sanskrit नलद
(nálada, Indian spikenard),
or from Naarda, an ancient Assyrian city
(possibly the modern town of Dohuk, Iraq).
The "spike" in the name refers to the inflorescence or flowering stem of the plant.
Nardostachys jatamansi is a flowering plant of the honeysuckle
family that grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. In bloom,
the plant grows to about 1 meter (3 ft) in height and
has small, pink, bell-shaped flowers.
It is found at an altitude of about 3,000 to 5,000 m (9,800 to 16,400 ft).
Its rhizomes can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic,
amber-colored essential oil with a thick consistency.
Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, and as an herbal medicine.
In ancient Rome, nardus
was used to flavor wine, and occurs frequently in the recipes of Apicius.
During the early Roman empire, nardus was the
main ingredient of a perfume (unguentum nardinum).
Pliny's Natural History lists several species of nardus used in
making perfume and spiced wine:
Indian nard, a stinking nard called 'ozaenitidos' which is not used,
a false nard ('pseudo-nard') with which true nard is adulterated,
and several herbs local to Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean
which are also called nardus, namely Syrian nard,
Gallic nard, Cretan nard (also called 'agrion' or 'phun'),
field nard (also called 'bacchar'),
wild nard (also called 'asaron'), and Celtic nard.
Celtic nard is the only species Pliny mentions which he does not describe when listing the species of nard in book 12 of Natural History suggesting it is synonymous with another species, probably with the species Pliny refers to as 'hirculus', a plant Pliny attests to growing in the same region as Gallic nard and which he says is used to adulterate Gallic nard. Both are widely assumed to be cultivars or varieties of Valeriana celtica.
Indian nard refers to Nardostachys jatamansi, stinking nard possibly to Allium victorialis, false nard to Lavandula stoechas, Syrian nard to Cymbopogon nardus, Gallic nard to Valeriana celtica, Cretan nard to Valeriana italica (syn. V. dioscoridis, V. tuberosa), and wild nard to Asarum europaeum. Field nard, or 'bacchar',
has not been conclusively identified and must not be confused
with species now called "baccharises" referring
to species native to North America.
Coat of arms of Pope Francis.
According to the Vatican, the plant
(to the right of the star)
is a spikenard and symbolizes St Joseph.
Spikenard is mentioned in the Bible being used for its fragrance.
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
as he sat at meat,
there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment
of spikenard
very precious; and she brake the box, and
poured it on his head.
— Mark 14:3 KJV while the king sitteth at his table,
my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me;
he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of campfire in
the vineyards of Engedi.
— Song of Songs 1:12–14
in Hispanic iconographic tradition of the Catholic Church,
the spikenard is used to represent Saint Joseph.
The Vatican has said that the coat of arms of Pope Francis
includes the spikenard in reference
to Saint Joseph
In 2 Samuel 6, King David summoned troops
to retrieve
the Ark from Kiriath Jearim, also known as Baalah.
Two of Abinadab's sons, Uzzah and Ahio,
started to drive the
Ark to Jerusalem.
During the journey,
the cart and its contents faltered when the oxen stumbled.
Uzzah reached out to catch the Ark and died when he touched the sacred possession. This location was named Perez-uzzah which means “outbreak against Uzzah.”
Nervous to have the powerful object continue toward Jerusalem,
David placed it in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
During the three months the Ark stayed there,
the household of Obed-edom was blessed, and David’s fear diminished.
He fetched the Ark to continue the journey to Jerusalem,
the city of David. The sacred object entered the City of David
amidst rejoicing and dancing and was placed in a designated tent.
Skip ahead to 2 Chronicles 35 where we
find the
last mention of the
Ark of the Covenant’s
location.
In this chapter, Josiah was celebrating Passover.
The priests were prompted to take part in the observance in
the Lord’s temple. In verse 3, Josiah
instructed the Levites to
"Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built.” It’s thought the artifact was demolished afterward when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem.
The chest went missing after the destruction of the temple, however, John states in Revelation 11:19 that the Ark will be seen again after the second coming of Christ.
The journey of the Ark of the Covenant
among the Israelites and Philistines is clearly laid out in Scripture,
while its disappearance is more ambiguous.
We can see this artifact played an important role in biblical history,
representing God’s presence and helping the Israelites overcome trials.
While there’s a large gap in Scripture when the Ark disappears,
we can be confident that along with many other things,
this precious artifact
will be restored when we see Christ again.
Necessity of the Blessed Virgin
Part Four
by St. Louis de MontfortTaken from the Catholic Classic,
TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY
with Imprimi Potest, Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1949
-----Article Three-----
PROVIDENTIAL FUNCTION OF MARY IN THE LATTER TIMES
It was through Mary that the salvation of the world was begun, and it is through Mary that it must be consummated. Mary hardly appeared at all in the first coming of Jesus Christ, in order that men, as yet but little instructed and enlightened on the Person of her Son, should not remove themselves from Him in attaching themselves too strongly . . . to her.
This would have apparently taken place if she had been known, because of the admirable charms which the Most High had bestowed even upon her exterior.
This is so true that St. Denis the Areopagite tells us in his writings that when he saw our Blessed Lady, he would have taken her for a Divinity, because of her secret charms and incomparable beauty, had not the faith in which he was well established taught him the contrary. But in the second coming of Jesus Christ, Mary has to be made known and revealed by the Holy Ghost in order that, through her, Jesus Christ may be known, loved and served.
The reasons which move the Holy Ghost to hide His spouse during her life, and to reveal her but little since the preaching of the Gospel, subsist no longer.
I. Existence of This Function and Reasons for It
God, then, wishes to reveal and make known to Mary,
the masterpiece of His hands, in these latter times:
§ 1. Because she hid herself in this world and put herself lower than the dust by her profound humility, having obtained from God and from His Apostles and Evangelists that she should not be made manifest.
§ 2. Because, as she is the masterpiece of the hands of God, as well here below by as in Heaven by glory, He wishes to be glorified and praised in her by those who are living upon the earth.
§ 3. As she is the dawn which precedes and reveals the Sun of Justice, Who is Jesus Christ, she must be seen and recognized in order that Jesus Christ may also be.
§ 4. Being the way by which Jesus came to us the first time, she will also be the way by which He will come the second time, though not in the same manner.
§ 5. Being the sure means and the straight and immaculate way to go to Jesus Christ and to find Him perfectly, it is by her that the souls who are to shine forth especially in sanctity have to find Our Lord. He who shall find Mary shall find life [Prov. 8:35], that is, Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life [John 14:6].
But no one can find Mary who does not seek her; and no one can seek her who does not know her; for we cannot seek or desire an unknown object. It is necessary, then, for the greater knowledge and glory of the Most Holy Trinity, that mary should be more than ever known.
§ 6. Mary must shine forth more than ever in mercy, in might and grace, in these latter times: in mercy, to bring back and lovingly receive the poor strayed sinners who shall be converted and shall return to the Catholic Church; in might, against the enemies of God, idolaters, schismatics, Mahometans, Jews and souls hardened in impiety, who shall rise in terrible revolt against God to seduce all those who shall oppose them and to make them fall by promises and threats; and finally, she must shine forth in grace, in order to animate and sustain the valiant soldiers and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, who shall battle for His interests.
§ 7. And lastly, Mary must be terrible to the devil and his crew, as an army ranged in battle, principally in these latter times, because the devil, knowing that he has but little time, and now less than ever, to destroy souls, will every day redouble his efforts and his combats. He will presently raise up cruel persecutions and will put terrible snares before the faithful servants and true children of Mary, whom it gives him more trouble to conquer than it does to conquer others.
[It is interesting to note that today the increased efforts of the forces of evil are being countered by a corresponding increase in Marian devotion. St. de Montfort made a footnote mentioning growth in the Legion of Mary and renewed interest in the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary in his day.]
II. Exercise of This Function
§ 1. In the struggle against Satan.
51. It is principally of these last and cruel persecutions of the devil, which shall go on increasing daily till the reign of Antichrist, that we ought to understand that first and celebrated prediction and curse of God pronounced in the terrestrial paradise against the serpent. It is to our purpose to explain this here for the glory of the most holy Virgin, for the salvation of her children and for the confusion of the devil:
"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." [Gen. 3:15]
52. God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil-----between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies which God has set up against the devil is His holy Mother Mary. He has inspired her, even since the days of the earthly paradise-----though she existed then only in His idea-----with so much hatred against the cursed enemy of God, with so much ingenuity in unveiling the malice of that ancient serpent, with so much power to conquer, to overthrow and to crush that proud, impious rebel, that he fears her not only more than all Angels and men, but in a sense more than God Himself. Not that the anger, the hatred and the power of God are not infinitely greater than those of the Blessed Virgin, for the perfections of Mary are limited; but first, because Satan, being proud, suffers infinitely more from being beaten and punished by a little and humble handmaid of God, and her humility humbles him more than the Divine power; and secondly, because God has given Mary such great power against the devils that-----as they have often been obliged to confess, in spite of themselves, by the mouths of the possessed-----they fear one of her sighs for a soul more than the prayers of all the Saints, and one of her threats against themmore than all other torments.
53. What Lucifer has lost by pride, mary has gained by humility. What Eve has damned and lost by disobedience, Mary has saved by obedience.
Eve, in obeying the serpent, has destroyed all her children together with herself, and has delivered them to him; Mary, in being perfectly faithful to God, has saved all her children and servants together with herself, and has consecrated them to His Majesty.
54. God has not only set an enmity, but enmities, not simply between Mary and the devil, but between the race of the holy Virgin and the race of the devil; that is to say, God has set enmities, antipathies and secret hatreds between the true children and the servants of Mary and children and slaves of the devil.
They have no love for each other. They have no sympathy for each other. The children of Belial, the slaves of Satan, the friends of the world [for it is the same thing] have always up to this time persecuted those who belong to our Blessed lady, and will int he future persecute them more than ever; just as Cain, of old, persecuted his brother Abel, and Esau his brother Jacob, who are the figures of the reprobate and the predestinate.
But the humble Mary will always have the victory over that proud spirit, and so great a victory that she will go so far as to crush his head, where his prode dwells. She will always discover the malice of the serpent. She will always lay bare his infernal plots and dissipate his diabolical councils, and even to the end of time will guard her faithful serpents from his cruel claw.
But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him.
They shall be little and poor and in the world's esteem, and abased before all like the heeh, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is bu the other members of the body. But in return for this they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly.
They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God's assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph.
§ 2. In the formation of the apostles of the latter times.
55. In a word, God wishes that his holy Mother should be at present made known, more loved, more honored than she has ever been. This, no doubt, will take place if the predestinate enter, with the grace and light of the Holy Ghost, into the interior and perfect practice which I will disclose to them shortly.
Then they will see clearly, as far as faith allows, that beautiful Star of the Sea, They will arrive happily in harbor, following its guidance, in spite of the tempests and the pirates.
They will know the grandeurs of that Queen, and will consecrate themselves entirely to her service as subjects and slaves of love. They will experience her sweetness and her maternal goodness, and they will love her tenderly like well-beloved children.
They will know the mercies of which she is full, and the need they have of her help; and they will have recourse to her in all things, as to their dear advocate and Mediatrix with Jesus Christ.
They will know what is the surest, the easiest, the shortest and the most perfect means of going to Jesus Christ; and they will give themselves to Mary, body and soul, without reserve, that they may thus belong entirely to Jesus Christ.
56. But who shall those servants, slaves and children of Mary be?
They shall be the ministers of the Lord who, like a burning fire, shall kindle
the fire of Divine love everywhere.
They shall be "like sharp arrows in the hand of the powerful"
Mary to pierce her enemies. [Ps. 126:4]
They shall be the sons of Levi, well purified by the fire of great tribulation, and closely adhering to God [1 Cor. 6:17], who shall carry the gold of love in their heart, the incense of prayer in their spirit, and the myrrh of mortification in their body.
They shall be everywhere the good odor of Jesus Christ to the poor and to the little, while at the same time, they shall be an odor of death to the great, to the rich and to the proud worldlings.
57. They shall be clouds thundering and flying through the air at the leats breath of the Holy Ghost; who, detaching themselves from everything and troubling themselves with nothing, shall shower forth the rain of the Word of God and of life eternal.
They shall thunder against sin; they shall storm against the world; they shall strike the devil and his crew; and they shall pierce through and through, for life or for death, with their two-edged sword of the Word of God [Eph. 6:17], all those to whom they shall be sent on the part of the Most High.
58. They shall be the true apostles of the latter times, to whom the Lord of Hosts shall give the word and the might to work marvels and to carry off with glory the spoils of His enemies.
They shall sleep without gold or silver, and, what is more, without care, in the midsts of the other priests, ecclesiatics, and clerics [Ps. 67:14]; and yet they shall have the silvered wings of the dove to go, with the pure intention of the glory of God and the salvation of souls, whosoever the Holy Ghost shall call them. Nor shall they leave behind them, in the places where they have preached, anything but the gold of charity, which is the fulfillment of the whole law [Ro. 13:10].
59. In a word, we know that they shall be true disciples of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of His poverty, humility, contempt of the world, charity; teaching the narrow way of God in pure truth, according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world; troubling themselves about nothing; not accepting persons; sparing, fearing and listening to no mortal, however influential he may be.
They shall have in their mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. They shall carry on their shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in their right hand and the Rosary in their left, the sacred names of Jesus and Mary in their hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in their behavior.
These are the great men who are to come; but Mary is the one who, by order of the Most High, shall fashion them for the purpose of extending His empire over that of the impious, the idolaters and the Mohametans. But when and how shall this be? God alone knows.
As for us, we but to hold our tongues, to pray, to sigh and to wait:
"With expectation I have waited."
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