“Go into the ark, you and your whole family.” (Gen.7:1)
This year, 2017, is the centenary year of the messages of Fatima. On May 13, 2010 when visiting Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI said, “[May] the centenary of the apparitions HASTEN the fulfillment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” and he also reminded us that the Fatima message is not over, “We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete.” This is important because according to the Fatima messages:
“…various nations will be annihilated,” and in the third secret the children, “saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand.” July 13, 1917
The third secret of Fatima was released by the Vatican in the year 2000, and they had this to say about the angel with the flaming sword, “This represents the threat of judgment which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.”
Similarly, in another approved apparition in Akita, Japan Mary gives a similar message,
“Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.” October 13, 1972
In every age God provides a way of peace or escape for His people, as during the times of Moses, Noah, Elijah, etc. The danger we face now is unprecedented, but Mary’s Immaculate Heart is the new ark in which God’s people will be rescued. It is THE place of refuge for all who say “yes” to living in her Immaculate Heart:
“Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.” Fatima, June 13,1917
The Immaculate Heart of Mary as the New Ark is nothing new as the Church Fathers like St. Athanasius called her, “the Ark of sanctification.” St. Ephrem exclaims, “Urn must beautiful containing the heavenly manna; table bearing the written law for men, True Ark,” and St. Gregory Thaumaturgus proclaims, “For the holy Virgin is in truth an Ark, wrought with gold both within and without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanctuary.”
Yes, Mary’s Immaculate Heart is “The Ark of His Covenant. (Rev. 11:19) or as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Mary is, “The Daughter of Zion in person, The Ark of the Covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells.” (2676) The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the New Ark of our time for the great flood of evil coming at us.
October 13th seems to be a special day since it was also on October 13, 1884 that Pope Leo XIII had the vision of St. Michael which led to the prayer of St. Michael being composed and prayed after all the masses worldwide until Vatican II. Hence, as we approach the centenary on the Friday of October 13th let us take a closer look at Mary’s important words about her Immaculate Heart being the solution for saving souls from hell:
“Jesus wishes to make use of YOU to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and those souls will be loved by God like flowers placed by me to adorn His throne.” June 13, 1917
“You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, MANY SOULS WILL BE SAVED and there will be peace.” July 13, 1917
The Immaculate Heart of Mary – The New Ark is God’s way of bringing humans turned to animals because of sin inside her Immaculate Heart. Once inside the New Ark, she washes, wipes, and cleans us off making us human again as any good mother would. St. Alphonsus Liguori relates why she is the New Ark:
“Mary has been called an Ark more spacious than that of Noah. For only two animals of every kind were brought into the ark of Noah. But under the mantle of Mary, the righteous and sinners all find their place…The animals that entered Noah’s Ark remained animals. But sinners who are received under the mantle of Mary don’t remain sinners. She is certain to change their hearts and to render them dear to God. The Blessed Virgin herself said to St. Bridget: ‘However much a man may have sinned, if he returns to me with a genuine intention of repentance, I’m ready at once to receive him. I don’t pay attention to the sins with which he’s burdened, but only to the good disposition in which he comes. And then I don’t refuse to anoint and heal his wounds, for I am called, and truly am, the Mother of Mercy.’”
So how do we enter the New Ark? Mary has many means of calling her children to board the New Ark. For example, she sent an angel three times to teach the children prayers for adoration and reparation. Also, in every Fatima apparition, she said, “Pray the Rosary every day.” In the last public Fatima apparition on October 13th, she appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel promoting devotion to the brown scapular according to Lucia.
Later in 1925, Our Lady of Fatima gave the Five First Saturday Devotion in reparation to the Immaculate Heart, but there are other ways to enter her Immaculate Heart – the New Ark as when she gave St. Catherine Laboure the Miraculous Medal, the Seven Sorrows of Mary Devotion revealed to St. Bridget, Consecration to Mary, and many other approved devotions that lead us to a covenantal love with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Finally, Our Lady of Fatima reassures the children and us that although there will be wars, signs in the heavens, martyrdom, “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph,” (July 13, 1917) furthermore, on Dec. 30, 1989 in the approved apparitions of San Nicolas, Argentina the Our Lord Jesus Christ, himself, reminds us:
“Before, the world was saved by means of Noah’s Ark; today the Ark is My Mother. Through Her, the souls will be saved, because She will bring them toward Me.”
THE END
