Why Mary Visits

Throughout the centuries there have been reported incidents of heavenly visits from Mary, the mother of God. Some of these apparitions have received Church approval. An “apparition” is a supernatural appearance. The Bible teaches us that God does use heavenly messengers to interact with humans on earth. There are many supernatural appearances recorded in the Holy Bible prior to the birth of Christ and after His death. Mary apparitions have been recorded as early at the third century and approved by the Church as recently as the twentieth century. Many who question the authenticity of these visions of Mary want to know (1)- why Mary? and (2) – why does Mary continue to visit?

1. Why Mary?

Luke 1:28 The angel came to her and said, “Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with you.”

Grace is a supernatural gift of God to us for our eternal salvation. Grace allows us redemption from sin through the merits of Jesus Christ and allows entry into His heavenly kingdom. Prior to the incarnation of Christ and prior to His death and resurrection, Mary was Full of Grace. She was chosen before time to be the ark that would bear God incarnate. She was eternally redeemed through the merits of Her Son and was given special Grace upon the moment of her conception. Mary’s freedom from original sin had everything to do with her special role in human history.

Luke 1:41-44 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and said in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.”

Saint Luke gives us the first recorded visit of Mary as mother of God. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was necessary for the sanctification of Saint John the Baptist. John recognized the Divine Child and leaped in his mother’s womb as he received the Grace of God through Mary.

The mother of God was chosen to be the first witness to the incarnation of our Lord. She was chosen to bring His Grace to sanctify the forerunner of Christ. She was chosen to bring the good news of the fulfillment of God’s promise.

John 19: 26-27 When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold you son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”

The last act Jesus did from the cross was to secure His mother a home and to give this mother to mankind. Jesus refers to Mary as “woman”. The Church has always professed Mary to be the new Eve, the woman of the bible who will crush the serpent’s head. She has always been ordained from the beginning of time to be our mother and protector.

It is only natural that Mary has visited all these centuries, simply because she is our mother. She loves her children. She loved Jesus like no other human being can, because she was His mother. Nothing has changed in her role. In heaven, she is still the mother of Jesus and our mother. The relationship between Jesus and Mary has no comparison. He loves her as a Son loves a mother.

2. Why does Mary continue to visit?

It is Church tradition that Mary appeared in the thirteenth century to Saint Dominic under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. This influenced the spread of the devotion to the rosary prayer. A prayer that leads to contemplation on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Also in the thirteenth century, it was reported that Our Lady of Mount Carmel appeared to Simon Stock at Cambridge. Our Lady promised that the brown scapular worn as an external sign of the faithful who entrust themselves to her protection, would indeed be saved from the fires of hell.

The first Church approved apparition is Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mary appeared to Juan Diego in December of 1531 in Mexico. Today, the Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destination in the world.

Mary claimed herself to be the Ever-Virgin Mother of God and the one who crushes the serpent. A miraculous image was formed on the cloak of Juan Diego of the Mother of God. The image is still visible today on a cloak made of cactus fiber, which normally disintegrates after fifteen years.

Perhaps the biggest miracle of the apparition was that 9 million pagans, who sacrificed as many as 20,000 men, women, and children each year to their gods, converted to Christianity upon learning about the apparition and seeing the miraculous cloak.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, France. The dogma that Mary was the Immaculate Conception and free from original sin was only proclaimed a few years earlier in 1854 by Pope Pius IX.

Bernadette was a poor uneducated girl who had no knowledge of Church dogmas. Mary left behind a spring at Lourdes where, over the years, thousands of miraculous healings have been recorded.

The only Church approved Marian apparition in the United States occurred in the following year. In 1859, Our Lady of Good Help appeared to a Belgian immigrant, Adele Brise, in Champion Wisconsin. Mary told Adele, “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same.” Mary also requested Adele gather the children and teach them what is needed for their salvation.

These were tumultuous times for the United States, as conflict was brewing over slavery and the Civil War began a couple of years later. Adele spent the rest of her life teaching children and spreading devotion to our Lady and her Son.

This month we are reminded of the apparition one hundred years ago in Fatima, Portugal. Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. The children described the lady as “brighter than the sun.” She instructed the children to pray the rosary every day to bring peace to the world and an end to the war.

Mary appeared to the children six times. During one of her visits, the children viewed heaven, purgatory, and hell. Mary asked Lucia to spread her message and devotion of the Immaculate Heart so as to save souls. Again, they were asked to pray the rosary daily in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary.

It was the beginning of the World Wars. Mary warned of the consequences of not heeding her call to repent, pray and make sacrifices. She asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart.

The final apparition on October 13, 1917 proved to be the “mother” of all apparitions. On this date, the children claimed to see Jesus, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Saint Joseph. A miracle of the sun occurred that was witnessed by tens of thousands of pilgrims.

Francisco and Jacinta died as children and became canonized on the 100th anniversary of the May 13th Fatima apparition. Lucia became Sister Lucia and lived to the age of 97. She made it her life mission to see that the devotion to the Immaculate Heart was spread throughout the world. The consecration of Russia was completed by Saint Pope John Paul II in 1984 following the assassination attempt on his life on May 13, 1981.

These are only some of the Church approved Marian apparitions. There are reports of visits from Mary from all over the globe, and Church investigations of appearances reported of her presence in the current year.

It is evident from looking at the history of these visits that Mary visits with the following intentions:
1. She brings gifts of grace. Her gifts of the rosary and scapular are to aid us in our journey and struggles here on earth.
2. She warns us of impending dangers. Sometimes her warnings are heeded and history is forever changed. Once Saint Pope John Paul II consecrated Russia, the cold war ended and communism was defeated.
3. She instructs us on how to follow her son, Jesus. Mary repeatedly request prayers, conversion, and sacrifices. She is the perfect example of total faith in God and following His Will.

Mary visits because she loves us as a mother. She continues to visit because we continue to stray from our Father in heaven. She keeps us on the right path. She gives us hope for our future, as she told the children at Fatima, “In the end my Immaculate Heart will Triumph”!