Islam
Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make
peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which
considers
the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New
Testament
of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely
inspired
works. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims (also: Moors,
Turks, and
Moslems) and, just as Jews and Christians, believe in only one
God. Yet,
over the centuries, Muslims have engaged in tremendous wars with
Christians and Jews. It would seem that there is little hope for
peace.
However, Heaven's Peace Plan, involving Our Lady, is evidenced
at Fatima,
Portugal as well as other places around the world.
Fatima
The Moors once occupied Portugal. The village of Fatima was
given the
Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of
Ourem.
She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and
converting to Catholicism. Baptized with the Christian name of
Oureana,
she was named at birth "Fatima," like many other Moslem girls,
in honor of the daughter of Mohammed. Of his daughter, Fatima,
the
founder of Islam, Mohammed, said: "She has the highest place in
heaven after the Virgin Mary."
It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially
from the
Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's
Shrine in
Portugal that Portuguese officials have expressed concern. The
combination of an Islamic name and Islamic devotion to the
Blessed
Virgin Mary is a great attraction to Moslems. God is writing
straight
with crooked lines, as we will see. Fatima is a part of Heaven's
Peace
Plan. It is hope for the world.
The Koran
In the Koran, the holy name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is
mentioned
no less than thirty times. No other woman's name is even
mentioned, not
even that of Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. Among men, only
Abraham,
Moses, and Noah are mentioned more times than Our Lady. In the
Koran,
Our Blessed Mother is described as "Virgin, ever Virgin." The
Islamic belief in the virginity of Mary puts to shame the
heretical
beliefs of those who call themselves Christian, while denying
the
perpetual virginity of Mary. Make no mistake about it, there is a
very
special relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the
Moslems!
The Holy Land
The Holy Land has been a real battleground between the
Islamic
peoples and Christianity over the centuries. Evidence of this
are the
numerous churches and basilicas that have been built by the
Church,
destroyed by, the Moslems, rebuilt by Catholic Crusaders,
leveled again
by the followers of Islam, and so on over the course of history.
However, there is one remarkable exception: the Basilica of
Saint Anne
in Jerusalem.
The Crusaders built this church and named it in honor of the
mother
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Crypt of St. Anne's Basilica,
a
statue of the Infant Mary is venerated on what is believed to be
the
exact spot where Our Lady was born. Their great reverence for
Our Lady
precluded the Moslems from destroying her birthplace. The
foundation for
Heaven's Peace Plan at Fatima, Portugal, can be found in the
Land of Our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Spain
As the Moslems swept through Spain in the 8th century, a
great
religious treasure was buried for safe-keeping in the earth,
high in the
Estremadura Mountains. It was a much venerated statue of Our
Lady
holding the Divine Child Jesus that was a gift of Pope Gregory
the Great
to Bishop Leander of Seville. After the overthrow of Moorish
occupation,
the image was uncovered in the year 1326, subsequent to a vision
of Our
Lady to a humble shepherd by the name of Gil. Our Lady's very
special
statue was enshrined in a nearby Franciscan Monastery next to
the
"Wolf River."
The Moslems, during their Spanish occupation, had actually
named the
river. The Islamic term for Wolf River is "Guadalupe" (Guada =
River; Lupe = Wolf). Hence, the famous Catholic image in Spain
has been
known, since the 14th century, by the Islamic name of "Our Lady
of
Guadalupe."
Mexico
In the fullness of time, we can be sure that Almighty God
knew that
the Islamic religion would pose a serious threat to
Christianity. God
also knew that the Spanish missionaries would face grave
resistance in
the "new world" from the mighty Aztec Indians. The Aztecs
worshipped an evil stone "serpent god" that demanded human
sacrifice. It was extremely difficult to win souls for Christ
from these
bloodthirsty savages. However, with God all things are possible.
Our
Lady appeared to a humble Aztec Indian convert by the name of
Juan Diego
in 1531. When asked her name by Juan Diego, at the request of
the local
bishop, Our Lady's response, in the Aztec language, included the
words
"te coatlaxopeuh" (pronounced: "te quatlasupe") and
meant "one who crushes the head of the stone serpent."
To Juan Diego and his fellow Aztecs, this revelation had
great
meaning, coupled with the miraculous image of Our Lady standing
on top
of a "crescent," the symbol of this evil serpent god. A tidal
wave of conversions to Catholicism ensued. However, Bishop
Zumarraga,
who was from Spain, made what was no doubt a "heavenly
mistake" that one day may lead to the mass conversion of
Moslems.
To the Bishop's Spanish ears, Our Lady's Aztec name of "Te
Quatlasupe" sounded just like the name of the revered Madonna
from
Spain with the Islamic name, "Guadalupe." Hence, the bishop
named the Mexican Madonna "Our Lady of Guadalupe." It is
interesting that the "crescent" is also the symbol for Islam
and that America's Shrine to Our Lady has an Islamic name.
Battle of Lepanto
On October 7, 1571, a great victory over the mighty Turkish
fleet was
won by Catholic naval forces primarily from Spain, Venice, and
Genoa
under the command of Don Juan of Austria. It was the last battle
at sea
between "oared" ships, which featured the most powerful navy
in the world, a Moslem force with between 12,000 to 15,000
Christian
slaves as rowers. The patchwork team of Catholic ships was
powered by
the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material
disadvantage, the holy pontiff, St. Pope Pius V called for all
of Europe
to pray the Rosary for victory. We know today that the victory
was
decisive, prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe, and
evidenced the
Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory,
St. Pope
Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said
to have
gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed
with
supernatural radiance: "The Christian fleet is victorious!"
and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.
What you may not know is that one of three admirals
commanding the
Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small
copy of
Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now
enshrined
in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that
at the
Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge
warship
lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of
Lepanto. In
Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold
decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the
Doges' Palace
in Venice, Italy, one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is
now a
trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the Victory. At Saint
Mary
Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St. Pope
Pius V,
one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the
Battle,
until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended
friendly
token of concord.
The Rosary
At Lepanto, the Victory over the Moslems was won by the
faithful
praying the Rosary. Even though they had superior numbers, the
Turks
really were overmatched. Blessed Padre Pio, the Spiritual Father
of the
Blue Army, said: "The Rosary is the weapon," and how right he
was!
The Battle of Lepanto was at first celebrated liturgically as
"Our Lady of Victory." Later, the feast of October 7th was
renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and extended throughout the
Universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1716 (who canonized Pope
Pius V
in 1712).
And with that we are back to Fatima, Portugal where Our Lady,
when
asked her name, said: "I am the Lady of the Rosary." At Fatima,
Our Lady taught us to pray the Rosary every day. Heaven
presented its
peace plan at Fatima and truly gave us hope for the world.
Conversions
were promised at Fatima: the conversion of sinners; the
conversion of
Russia; and what also appears to be the conversion of Islam. Our
Lady of
the Rosary, pray for us!
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