“A Woman Clothed with the Sun” (Apoc.12:1)
God’s
words to Adam and Eve after their fall from grace make reference to a
mysterious Woman, not Eve herself, but a Woman who was to come:
“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).
Our
Lord Jesus Christ Himself reveals the identity of the Woman in His
words to His Mother at the marriage feast at Cana, as we read in the
Gospel of St. John:
“And
the wine having run short, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have
no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘What wouldst thou have me do, woman?
My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the attendants, ‘Do
whatever he tells you’” (Jn.2:1-5).
Again, as Jesus is about to die on the Cross, He speaks to His Mother and the apostle John:
“When
Jesus, therefore, saw his mother and the disciple standing by, whom he
loved, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold thy son.’ Then he said to
the disciple, ‘Behold thy mother’” (Jn.19:26,27).
The Woman again appears in the Apocalypse:
“And
a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”
(Apoc.12:1).
In
many of her apparitions approved by the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary
confirms her Son’s words. In the year 1531 she appeared in Mexico to
the native Juan Diego, leaving her image on his tilma. The pattern of
the stars on her garments shows that she locates herself in the heavens
in the area of the constellation Virgo. Millions of baptisms among the
native population of Mexico took place in the years following the
apparition.
In
1830 Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Labouré and gave her the design
for the Miraculous Medal, which many devout Catholics wear. It portrays
the Woman crowned with twelve stars and the moon under her feet. Her
foot is seen crushing the head of the devil. The twelve stars are on the
reverse side of the medal. The medal depicts the Great Sign of the Book
of the Apocalypse.
The
reason for the immense power of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the devil
is that she was conceived without sin. In this way she crushed the head
of that ancient serpent. Her Immaculate Conception in the womb of her
mother, St. Anne, was dogmatically defined by Pope Pius IX on December
8, 1854. Mary, our Mother, is the Refuge of Sinners. If we pray her
Rosary devoutly every day we have a firm hope of saving our souls and
finding eternal happiness with God in Heaven.
The
amazing truth about the Great Sign predicted in the Apocalypse is that
it will actually appear in the sky this coming Saturday, September 23,
2017. The sun will accompany the constellation Virgo (the Virgin), the
moon will be under her feet, and she will be crowned by twelve stars.
Normally there are only nine stars in the “crown” above Virgo. But on
September 23rd they will be joined by the planets Venus,
Mercury, and Mars, which appear to the eye as stars, to make up the
twelve. The planet Jupiter, King of the planets, which has been in the
womb area of Virgo for nine months, will exit, or be “born” at this
time.
As
we read on in the Apocalypse, Chapter 12, we find that a Great Red
Dragon lurks below the Woman to devour her child as soon as he is born.
There is actually a serpent constellation some distance below Virgo, but
another visitor to our solar system may be the culprit. Perhaps it is a
planet or a red dwarf star, which carries in its wake a cloud of
debris. The Apocalypse says, “And his tail was dragging along the third
part of the stars of heaven, and it dashed them to the earth…”
(Apoc.12:4). These would not be actual stars, of course, but meteors, or
falling stars. If we are to take this literally, we may be in for a
difficult time after the 23rd of September.
This
constellation of heavenly bodies has never taken place before, and it
will never happen again, according to those who have studied it closely.
St. John’s vision was truly prophetic.
On Sunday morning, September 24th,
the constellation Virgo will rise with the sun over the city of
Jerusalem. If the sun is obscured by the “Red Dragon” and its cloud, the
constellation may be visible to the naked eye. Only God knows what this
may portend for Jerusalem and for the world. Is it a wake-up call for
this sinful world, or does it announce the punishments and chastisements
it deserves? From what we know of the Woman, our Mother Mary, we must
conclude that it is something good for those who love her, and her
Divine Son, Jesus Christ. But we must listen well, and take to heart
these sobering words from Our Lord:
“Take
heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be overburdened with
self-indulgence and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day
come upon you suddenly as a snare. For come it will upon all who dwell
upon the face of the earth. Watch, then, praying at all times, that you
may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to be, and
to stand before the Son of Man” (Lk.21:34-36).
We also have this from Our Lord:
