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“It was the year 1582. One day, after a particularly bitter incident with one of her sisters, Mother Mariana went to the feet of Jesus Christ, communicating to Him her torment and begging Him for fortitude.
“While she was talking to Jesus, at a moment, she heard an overwhelming sound, and saw that the whole church had become immersed in darkness, as from dust and smoke.
“Looking up, sister Mariana saw the main altar illuminated by full day. The Tabernacle opened and Christ Himself emerged, suffering, as on Golgatha in His agony with the Blessed Virgin, St. John, and Mary Magdelene at His feet.
“Seeing this, the humble virgin, believing herself to be at fault, prostrated herself on the ground with her arms extended in the form of a cross, exclaiming, ‘Lord, I am the guilty one. Punish me and pardon our people.’
“Her Guardian Angel made her rise, saying, ‘No, You are not to blame. Arise and approach, for God desires to reveal to you a great secret.’
“She arose, and seeing the tears of the Most Holy Virgin, she addressed her saying, ‘My Lady, am I to blame for thy sadness?’ ‘No, it is not you, but the criminal world.’” (This account is taken from the magazine Chiesa Viva; Apostolate of Our Lady of Good Success, Oconomowac, WI 53066, February 2009. That quoted material following is taken from the same source.)
The Great Secret
“Then, as Our Lord agonized, she heard the voice of the Eternal Father saying, ‘This punishment will be for the 20th century.’
“Then she saw three swords over the head of Christ. On each was written, ‘I shall punish heresy,’ ‘I shall punish impiety,’ ‘I shall punish impurity,’ and she was given to understand all that would take place in the 20th century. The Holy Virgin continued, ‘My daughter, will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time?’ ‘I am willing,’ Mariana replied.”
From 1582 a.d. to the beginning of the 20th century is 318 years. Thus, in the remote city of Quito (which is now in Ecuador), Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres was given to understand that a serious punishment would occur in the world over 300 years after the occurrence of the vision she was seeing, and she agreed to suffer in advance for the people of that time. Sounds quite remarkable, does it not? When I first read about it several years ago, it sure seemed that way to me!
To Quito
Needless to say, when a generous patron of our apostolate offered us the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the site of the apparition, there was no hesitation on our part.
Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is a city of well over two million people, high up (at 9,350 ft.) in the Andes mountains. The central historical district of Quito is about 18 miles from the equator.
Near the center of the old city is the Convent of the Immaculate Conception where Mother Mariana lived out her religious life and the miraculous events unfolded so many years ago. During our pilgrimage, we were privileged to assist at two Traditional Latin Masses offered at the main altar here.
Why The 20th Century?
Always keeping in mind that God’s ways are not our ways, it still seems difficult to grasp why God would ask a simple nun, living in a convent high in the mountains of South America in the 16th century – to offer her sufferings for events that would unfold in the 20th century – does it not?
Think about it: what is there about the 20th century which would so incur the wrath of God that over 300 years before it happened? Why was it so significant that He would ask someone to suffer great torments which might, through His Grace, somehow lessen the punishment?
Perhaps the punishment to be unleashed upon humanity was because of wars – after all, according to one source (http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/massacre.html) there were over 110 wars/conflicts/genocides/purges during the 20th century which took the lives of considerably more than 100 million people. This figure does not include the number of abortions, which adds more than double that number of deaths to the toll. Surely these things demand the justice of God!
But recall the words of the prophecy: “I shall punish heresy, I shall punish impiety, I shall punish impurity.” There is nothing in these words about war, or genocide, or civil strife. So, how will all of this heresy, impiety and impurity come about? From where does it come?
It is clear that Mother Mariana received extraordinary graces from God, as she was visited by Our Lady and the Persons of the Holy Trinity on many occasions. Our attention here will be on those apparitions which, described in translations of her own testimony, will shed light on why God has singled out the 20th century as a particular time of great evil.
Our Lady of Good Success
On February 2, 1594, Our Lady appeared to Mother Mariana. As Mother described it, she was in the midst of a long penitential act when she heard a sweet voice call her name. “She rose rapidly and saw before her a beautiful Lady, who carried the Child Jesus in her left arm, in her right, a polished gold crosier adorned with precious stones of unearthly beauty.
“With her heart filled with joy and happiness, she said: ‘Beautiful Lady, who art thou and what dost thou want? Dost thou not know that I am but a poor sister, filled with love for God, most surely, but also overflowing with pain and sorrow?
“The Lady answered, ‘I am Mary of Good Success, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.’”
After describing the reason for her countenance, the Lady of Good Success explained that she was carrying the crosier, “For I desire to govern this Convent as Abbess and Mother. Soon the Franciscan friars will no longer govern this Convent, which is why my patronage and protection are more necessary than ever, for this difficult trial will last for centuries. With this separation, Satan will begin to try to destroy this work of God, making use of my ungrateful daughters. But he will not succeed, because I am the Queen of Victories and the Mother of Good Success, and it is under this invocation I desire to be known throughout time for the preservation of my Convent and its inhabitants.”
The Future Of The Country
During what is referred to as The Third Apparition, Our Lady of Good Success foretold the future of the country in which the convent was located. “In a short time, the country in which you live will cease to be a colony and will become a free republic. Then, known by the name of Ecuador, it will need heroic souls to sustain it in the face of so many public and private calamities. Here, in this Convent, God will always find these souls, like hidden violets. Accursed would be Quito without this Convent! The most powerful king on earth with all his riches could not erect new buildings on this site, for this place belongs to God.
“In the 19th century, a truly Christian president will come, a man of character whom God Our Lord will give the palm of martyrdom on the square adjoining this Convent of mine. He will consecrate the Republic of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of my Most Holy Son and this consecration will sustain the Catholic Religion in the years that will follow, which will be ill-fated ones for the Church.”
Accuracy
210 years later, on August 19, 1809, just as the 19th century unfolded, Ecuador was declared a republic. In 1861, Gabriel Garcia Moreno became president of the country, and in 1873 made a public consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And as Our Lady had foretold, on August 6, 1875, Garcia Moreno was felled by assassins, falling from the Presidential Palace to the walkway below, which is in the square adjoining the Convent of the Conceptionist Sisters. It all occurred just as Our Lady of Good Success said it would.
The Enemy
Who would wish to assassinate such a good and productive president? During the same apparition in which Our Lady detailed what would occur, she described the enemy as well: “These years, during which the accursed sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government, will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities, and will also strike out violently against this one of mine.” The “one of mine” referred to by Our Lady is the Convent of the Immaculate Conception, and all subsequent attempts to destroy it failed because of heavenly intervention.
When I first saw this prophecy, it raised questions in my mind because when doing research for our book, She Shall Crush Thy Head, the reality that Freemasonry, as such, wasn’t formed until 1717 was quite evident. So, when we went to Quito, I went with that question on my mind: did Our Lady refer to Masonry 118 years before it existed? Or, was there another explanation?
When I asked the question to those with whom we visited in Quito, no one seemed to have a plausible response. The best someone could offer was that, “Our Lady foretold events that have unfolded without error – she foretold that Ecuador would be an independent nation long before it existed – surely she know that Masonry would develop.”
A better answer came from Dr. Marian Horvat (traditioninaction.org), an individual who is very knowledgable about Our Lady of Good Success, with whom I visited upon our return. As she has used the available historical documents, she explained that the original copies (Mother Mariana’s handwritten journals) have been lost/misplaced/hidden – no one can say with certainty. Whatever the verbiage that Mother used was subsequently translated in modern Spanish after the rise of Masonry. Thus, if Mother had referred to a sect, or secret sect, or something of that nature, by the time the translations were made, the enemy was clearly visible.
The Image
During the same apparition mentioned just above, Our Lady directed Mother Mariana to have a statue made, just as she appeared. The image was to be placed on the Abbess’ chair so Our Lady “might govern my Convent.”
Despite Mother Mariana’s protestations concerning her inability to accomplish the task, Our Lady told her the name of the man who would carve the statue. And in order to get the size of the image correct, Our Lady had Mother Mariana use here cincture as a measuring device, and it miraculously stretched to the correct height the Blessed Mother wished the statue to stand. The completed image is 5 ft. 9 in. tall, and was miraculously completed according to the designs of Our Lady of Good Success – and is magnificent!
The Scourge Of Masonry
During the 4th apparition, Our Lady told Mother Mariana: “Thus, I make it known to you that from the end of the 19th century and from shortly after the middle of the 20th century, in what is today the Colony and will be the Republic of Ecuador, the passions will erupt and there will be a total corruption of customs, for Satan will reign almost completely by means of the Masonic sects. They will focus principally on the children in order to sustain this general corruption. Woe to the children of these times!
“It will be difficult to receive the Sacrament of Baptism and also the Sacrament of Confirmation. They will receive the Sacrament of Confession only if they remain in Catholic schools, for the Devil will make a great effort to destroy it through persons in position of authority. The same thing will happen with the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Alas! How deeply I grieve to manifest to you the many enormous sacrileges – both public as well as secret – that will occur from the profanation of the Holy Eucharist.
“Often, during this epoch the enemies of Jesus Christ, instigated by the Devil, will steal consecrated Hosts from the churches so that they might profane the Eucharistic Species. My Most Holy Son will see Himself cast upon the ground and trampled upon by filthy feet.
“But in those times you will already be known as well as the favors that I am bestowing on you. How I love the fortunate inhabitants of this sacred place! And that knowledge will stimulate love and devotion to my Sacred Statue.
(...) “Since this poor country will lack the Catholic spirit, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little valued. Many people will die without receiving it– either because of the negligence of their families or misconceived affection for their sick ones. Others, incited by the cursed Devil, will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church and will deprive countless souls of innumerable graces, consolations, and the strength they need to make the great leap from time to eternity. But some persons will die without receiving it due to the just and secret chastisements of God.
“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and deeply profaned. Freemasonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the aim of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin and encouraging procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church.
“The Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of Faith will gradually be extinguished until there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. Added to this will be the effects of secular education, which will be one reason for the death of priestly and religious vocations.
“The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised, for in this Sacrament, the Church of God and even God Himself, is scorned and despised since He is represented in His Priests. The Devil will try to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every possible way; he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation and will corrupt many of them. These depraved priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will make the hatred of bad Catholics and the enemies of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church fall upon the priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous suffering to the good pastors of the Church, the many good priests, and the Supreme Pastor and Vicar of Christ on earth, who, a prisoner in the Vatican, will shed secret and bitter tears in the presence of his God and Lord, beseeching light, sanctity and perfection for all the clergy of the world, of whom he is King and Father.
“Further, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which will ensnare the rest into sin and conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, the one who should speak will fall silent.”
“These Unhappy Times”
Certainly the 20th century ushered in a time which, for many in the world, has led to unbridled luxury – and how many frivolous souls are being lost? Without question, innocence in children has become rare – and even rarer is modesty in women. It sure sounds as though we are living during those times which, centuries ago, Our Lady of Good Success called Unhappy. But there is more.
Our Lady foretold that in the supreme moment of need in the Church, the one who should speak will fall silent. To whom do you believe she was referring?
Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres wished to remain a hidden soul. During the 5th apparition of the Blessed Mother, she asked of Our Lady a special grace: “The grace that I ask is that you will hide my name so that only you, as the Sovereign and Queen that you are, might be glorified and I always hidden.”
Our Lady responded: “Beloved daughter of my heart, your humility pleases me. (...) As for your request that your name be hidden, this pleases me, and I will do as you have asked. Tell the Bishop that it is my will and the will of my Most Holy Son that your name be hidden at all costs, both within as well as outside the cloister, for it is not fitting for anyone at the present time to know the details or origin of how this Statue came to be made. For this knowledge will only become known to the general public in the 20th century.
“During that epoch the Church will find herself attacked by terrible hordes of the Masonic sect, and the poor Ecuadorian land will be agonizing because of the corruption of customs, unbridled luxury, the impious press, and secular education. The vices of impurity, blasphemy, and sacrilege will dominate in this time of depraved desolation, and that one who should speak out will be silent.”
Here again, Our Lady mentions the “one who should speak” but does not.
On the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1623, Mother Mariana saw in a vision what the future held. At first, falling into ecstasy, she saw that “this country would be favored with graces and mercy as a result of the public and solemn devotion that would be rendered to the Blessed Sacrament, in future centuries.” She also saw how this devotion “aroused the fury of the Devil who would strive to raze this solid edifice of Catholic piety founded upon the faith of the children of God. To achieve this evil intent, he would avail himself of the sons of this country who would lose the sentiment of faith, bequeathed to them by their parents and elders. Those countrymen would work to oppose the Church in their assemblies and prevent this public devotion, for they would have already entered the party of Satan by becoming members of the Masonic Lodges.
“She saw that this generation of men without faith would be formed by unworthy children of the Catholic Church who would impiously oppress her and put an end to the reverent processions that attract the blessing of God. This would be a time of sorrow and grief for all the faithful children of the Church, who, with their Prelates and pastors, would be few in number.
“Our Lord showed her how the hideous and pestiferous wild boar of Masonry would enter the beautiful, flourishing vineyard of the Church, leaving it destroyed and in complete ruins. (...) This time she saw the infidelity of the ministers of the altar to their holy vocation, and the unworthy way that some would approach the Holy Sacrifice. She considered the causes of this and her soul was overcome with a profound unearthly sorrow.”
The 6th Apparition
We cannot begin to do justice to the myriad of events connected with the Mother Mariana, Our Lady of Good Success, and the compelling prophecies.
Hundreds of years before the events took place, Our Lady foretold through Mother Mariana the development of the nation of Ecuador, the rise and subsequent assassination of the Catholic president Garcia Moreno, the dogmatic proclamations of the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility by the same pope, the deadly rise and attack upon the Church by Masonry, and many other events which have unfolded precisely as the Blessed Mother said they would.
As she also foretold, the story of Mother Mariana and the development of devotion to Our Lady of Good Success would not come about until the 20th century. And that is what happened. Yet, there is more.
On February 2, 1634, Mother Mariana was praying before the tabernacle when she saw the sanctuary light, which burned before the Sacramental Jesus, go out, leaving the main sanctuary in complete darkness. Then a celestial light illuminated the whole church and “the Queen of Heaven appeared, lit the Tabernacle lamp, and approached her, presenting herself as Mary of Good Success and explaining to her the meaning of the extinguishing of the sanctuary lamp.”
Space prohibits us from providing the complete explanation, but in summary, Our Lady gave five reasons why the lamp was extinguished:
1) At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, various heresies would be propagated which would extinguish in many souls the light of Faith.
2) Vocations in Our Lady’s community (the Conceptionists) would be greatly reduced in number – and this would appear to be a reflection of the loss of vocations in the Church at large.
3) The spirit of impurity will saturate the atmosphere in those times. “Like a filthy ocean, it will inundate the streets, squares and public places with an astonishing liberty.”
4) “The Masonic Sect, having infiltrated all the social classes, will be so subtle as to introduce itself into domestic ambiences in order to corrupt the children, and the Devil will glory in dining upon the exquisite delicacy of the hearts of children.”
5) “The laxity and the negligence of those who possess great wealth, who will indifferently stand by and witness the Church being oppressed, virtue being persecuted, and the triumph of evil, without piously employing their riches for the destruction of evil and restoration of the Faith. It is also due to the indifference of the people in allowing the Name of God to be gradually snuffed out and adhering to the spirit of evil, freely delivering themselves to vices and passions.”
The Incorruptibles
Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres died on January 16, 1635. In 1885, 250 years later, the body of Mother Mariana was exhumed. “Her body was found whole and incorrupt. She was wearing a white habit with a black veil. Her face retained its natural color with a rosy hue in the cheeks and lips. Through her slightly parted lips, the tongue could be seen. The eyes were closed but preserved, as well as the eye lashes. The ears were flexible. The hair was red. The whole body exhaled a perfume of lilies.
“The bodies of the other Founding Mothers of the Conceptionists were also discovered incorrupt, and preserved today in the newly restored sepulchre of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Quito.”
This gift of incorruptibility serves to reinforce the authenticity of the apparitions of Our Lady of Good Success and the extensive prophecy of Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres.
The Question Remains
And thus are we left with the same question asked earlier: what is there about the 20th century which would so incur the wrath of God that over 300 years before it happened He would ask someone to suffer great torments which might, through His Grace, somehow lessen the punishment?
Clearly it was not the wars, genocide, infanticide, or global strife that would be the cause – because these have nothing to do with heresy, impiety and impurity.
Our Lady made it very clear that Masonry sects would cause great harm to the Church during the 20th century; but how does it become manifest in heresy, impiety and impurity?
Can you think of anything else that occurred in the 20th century, perhaps shortly after mid-century which could have ultimately contributed to heresy? To impiety? To impurity?
On November 2, 1634, Mother Mariana had a vision of Jesus Christ.
“He was, however, but one wound, especially His Sacred Heart, which was covered with small but piercing thorns which tormented Him with extraordinary cruelty.” Mother Mariana asked Him what caused Him to suffer such a cruel martyrdom.
“Jesus Christ gazed at her with loving tenderness. Releasing a profound sigh, He said: ‘You see how these small thorns sting me cruelly. Understand that they are the grave as well as the slight faults of my priests, secular and religious, who I take from the world and bring them to the cloisters. I lavish on them a deluge of spiritual graces, giving them also serious, prolonged sicknesses so that they might become like unto Me. But, ungrateful and heartless, they complain about My loving Providence. They think I am cruel to them, and withdrawing with indifference, they leave Me alone.”
Jesus went on to say that there would come a time when the doctrines of the Church would become accessible to “priests and religious, and even the common people. Many books will be written. But the practice of the virtues and these doctrines will be found only in a few souls; for this reason, saints will become rare.”
There seems little doubt that during the 20th century, Masonry within Holy Mother Church has been responsible for the greatest devastation that has ever afflicted Her – just as Our Lady foretold. Has not indifference become the norm and true holiness rare?
Or, do you think that Our Lady got it wrong – that there is no real devastation, just a few hiccups on the way to a new springtime for the Church?
Has the affliction of serious wounds to Holy Church ceased? After all, the 20th century ended over a decade ago. Is the time of crisis over? Are we on the pathway to a restoration?
Is there a movement toward more purity within the Church at large – or one for more piety? Have you seen any movement to address the numerous heresies that are prevalent today? Has the recent hierarchy undertaken any effort to purge the Masons from the midst of Holy Church? Has anyone within the hierarchy even admitted that the infiltration of the enemy into the Church has been catastrophic? Nope, not since Paul VI recognized that the smoke of Satan has entered the Church – the subject has been avoided completely. No, the end of the crisis is not here – it’s not even in sight.
We have only been able to present a bare sketch of the life of Mother Mariana and Our Lady of Good Success. For an expansive presentation of all of the events, a reliable source is Dr. Marian Horvat (traditioninaction.org), who has written several works about the events in Quito and can provide most of the materials one might wish to obtain.
Our Lady of Good Success, pray for us!