The following was a Words of the Harvesters newsletter recently sent to the Caritas mailing list. Permission has been granted to re-publish for viewing.

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“...Soon a Time Will Come When...”
Our Lady’s message - August 25, 1997

Dear Children of Our Lady,

The preparation for Our Lady’s return has caused much excitement and joy for many souls. We’ve heard from some who will be pilgrimaging from France, Germany, Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and other places. We have heard from people from all 50 States, some of whom are driving as long as 2-3 days just to be here. Just as the sweetness of the spring flowers draws the bees, Our Lady’s call is too sweet for Her children to resist. We, here, feel like a beehive, having sometimes as many as 4-5 people covering the phones. It is to the delight of Our Lady, in these last apparitions on earth, during the six visionaries’ lifetime, that as Jesus walked all over Israel, that Our Lady too is doing everything to make Herself available today, as Her Son did 2000 years ago.

In the Poem of the Man-God, Jesus’ mother told the apostle John that Jesus would be going away and that John must love Him while they still have Him. Our Lady said on August 25, 1997, “…soon a time will come when you will lament for these messages…” We, today, have Mary speaking the fullness of truth about the time coming when we will experience the absence, each month, of receiving Her messages, and that this will be the cause of lamentation. Then how much more so for Her last apparitions on earth? What follows parallels that which was written in the Poem of the Man-God, of what Mary spoke to John 2000 years ago about Jesus. However, we’ve adopted and changed it for today in what we say to you in regards to our Beloved Virgin Mother of God, our Heavenly Mother who will one day end one of the most merciful, heavenly, and glorious events that man has ever seen since his beginning, having Her physically present everyday for almost 23 years. We say with the heart to you:

You must love Mary very much. You must never be the cause of the least sorrow to Her because later, you will regret it bitterly. Let us do all our duty in the remaining time of Her apparitions, even more than our duty. Because duty alone is too little for Her, Who is the Mother of God. And it is also too little to do only our duty towards One Who will go away, and Whom we shall no longer be able to serve the same way as we do now…In order to be resigned later, when She is no longer among us, we must have done more than our duty. We must have given everything, all our love, attention, obedience, everything. Then in the torture of separation one can say, “Oh! I can say that, while it was God’s will that I should have Her, I did not neglect to love and serve Her even for one moment.” Do we think, “But is She really going away? She has still so much to do! There will be time…” This is satan’s lie…tomorrow. The true Mother of the Living Bread will go back to Him, our God…and we shall be alone. A great sorrow. But we must rejoice if She goes back to the Father, because Her peace will remain and reign in the hearts She schooled.

At Mirjana’s last daily apparition, she wept and became very depressed. Jakov was told on his last daily apparition, on September 12, 1998, “Do not be sad, because as a mother, I will always be with you and like every true mother, I will never leave you.” Did Jakov become sad? Jakov says the saddest day of his life was this day. Jakov wept for months afterwards, yet he receives the grace to see Our Lady once a year on Christmas for the rest of his life. However, his grief remained. Yes, we will always have Our Lady as our Mother in Heaven. But, we now, in the history of the moment, are in a time where Our Lady is coming daily to the earth. A time of grace that the earth and its inhabitants will never experience again and which so many are letting waste away. This will be the cause of caustic bitterness once they awaken to the realization of the opportunity, which passed before them. Our Lady on March 25, 2001:

“…you live in a time in which God gives great graces, but you do not know how to make good use of them. You are concerned about everything else, but the least for the soul and spiritual life. Awaken from the tired sleep of your soul and say yes to God with all your strength. Decide for conversion and holiness…”

The following people strongly promoting Our Lady’s apparitions, May 1-5, decided yes for conversion and holiness and the spreading of it.

Dear Caritas,

I love you. I love you. I love you!! I am so excited, my heart sings daily. I hung your poster on my pantry door and when I’m on my treadmill I look at it and pray. I don’t know what came over me, but the day I received the poster I made up my mind. I was coming to Caritas no matter what. I called and booked my suite. Two double beds and a sofa bed. Then I called my mother, sent her a letter with the information and said she can bring a friend if she’s willing. I asked my boss. She asked her mother and she may bring her daughter too. I told everyone, “I’m paying for the room, just get your flight ticket.” I’m so excited; I’ll even sleep on the floor if I have to…thank you for “Words of the Harvesters,” March 2004. That’s what caused me to write this letter.

San Jacinto, California - March 9, 2004

 

Hi Everyone,

Yes! Yes! Yes! May 1-5 is a definite go! A busload??? I hope and pray and will continue to work towards this goal. Say a Hail Mary for my priest. I will be approaching him this week about putting up the brochures for May 1-5. Hope he will let me, along with some booklets. If you can, put at least 50 booklets and 5 large posters where I’ll be the contact person. I have 5 churches in mind already. Thanks a bushel. Keeping in touch and driving to Caritas May 1-5, with a busload!! Love,

Madison TWP, Pennsylvania - February 9, 2004

 

My Dear Friends,

Thank you, thank you, for the March Edition of “Words of the Harvesters.” It has touched me very deeply, and joyfully. Obviously, as I live in Scotland, I can’t come/go to Alabama for May 1-5, but I can certainly unite in prayer with all of you gathered, from so many places. Recently, I sent the poster received from you and forwarded it to my cousin in Michigan, hoping his parish priest would display it publicly within the parish. Love and Prayers,

Wishaw, Scotland - March 11, 2004

 

Dear Caritas,

I read the beautiful March newsletter out loud to my 74-year-old mother after we prayed to the Holy Spirit and recited prayers to St. Michael and one decade of the Rosary. Your writings are so timely and so inspiring. We prayed one Rosary together after reading your letter for Our Lady’s intentions for May 1-5, for the Caritas Community and I asked the Blessed Mother to help me to invite and get as many hearts to Her May apparitions as possible. Enclosed is my order for 100 of the May brochures. I plan to take these brochures with me on work-related trips around the USA and international trips too! Please pray for our safe travel and our ability to tell everyone we meet about May 1-5!!! Love and Prayers,

Tallahassee, Florida - March 5, 2004

Among other ways Our Lady has inspired people to get the word spread, we received a picture of a billboard that was put up in Tennessee informing all those who passed by it of the apparitions in May. A woman from the Alabama Tourist Bureau office in Montgomery called after seeing the poster and brochure that we had brought them to distribute to all the Alabama Welcome Centers. She said she was really interested in what we were doing and wanted to promote the event when people called her to ask about what there is to see and do when they visit Alabama. She doesn’t actually distribute the materials from her office, but she was excited about what we were doing and wanted to send people to us when they come to our area.

Then there are those people who “found” what those who said yes are spreading and they then said yes in return. A married couple from Michigan, who were visiting in Wellington, Florida, picked up a May brochure at a church. Having never heard of Caritas, they called for directions to stop in on their way back to Michigan. They thought Caritas was just a “tourist attraction,” but when they arrived, they were surprised to see the community headed down to the Field for the Rosary, and then to learn that we did this everyday. They ended up taking a big stack of brochures with them to pass around back home so that others could come to know about, not only the May events, but of Our Lady’s mission they had discovered in Alabama. We received a phone call one morning from a young man who was not on our mailing list and had never heard of us, but had just been handed a brochure for the May apparitions. Upon receiving the flyer he immediately felt a calling to gather a group and rent a bus to get people here. One person called recently to get some information about starting a Medjugorje center in their area in Montana. Because of the incoming calls, she was put on hold. While on hold, she heard the message announcing the event in May. She became very excited and felt this was an answer to her prayers. A young lady, her son is planning on marrying, is very anti-catholic. This mother has been trying to save up enough money to take her to Medjugorje this year, but so far, had not done well in collecting the funds. Now she’s making plans to bring her here for much less the expense. Another woman described for us a similar hope she has for her husband’s conversion while here.

Dear Caritas,

My husband has offered to drive me to Caritas to be at the Field May 1-5. Please pray that Our Lady will bless him and more his heart. It seems like it’s been forever since he last went to confession or received the Eucharist. He attends Mass on Sundays once in awhile. He is taking me to the Field, but I don’t think he intends to participate much. I’m thinking that once there, he won’t be able to resist “Mary’s love.” I didn’t think I would be able to go. I was at first going with a friend but then she said she couldn’t make it. Then, I was going to go with my son who lives in Mobile. He couldn’t get time off from work. So, that’s when my husband said, “I guess I have to take you.” I was shocked. He calls me a holy roller because of all the religious articles and books I read. On Wednesdays, I have a Rosary Cenacle with two other ladies. He calls it a séance. Please pray for him. This trip is my birthday present (May 3rd). Thank you and God bless all you do.

Orlando, Florida - March 5, 2004

Three days after we received the letter above, we received the letter below, which encourages the faith of those who may be coming here with other unenthusiastic members of their families.

Dear Caritas,

“My husband and I attended your Caritas December 2003 retreat for 2 days. It was a humbling, awe-inspiring experience for me. Something happened to my husband also, enough to convince him to attend in May. We will be bringing our handicapped son with us this time, and my sister and her husband will also join us. We thank you for your dedication to spreading Our Lady’s messages.

Deer River, Minnesota - March 8, 2004

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We continue to send out, everyday, more announcements of the apparitions in May, sometimes spending up to $3000 a day for postage alone. We believe it is worth it, from past experiences, that people often admit they were on the path to hell, and had they not been converted by Our Lady, they believe that is where they would be. So, yes, the expenditures are investments into people’s eternity. We are going on faith that the funds will come in to cover these extra expenditures, as we do not have the financial means to cover postage and costs of paper, the preparation, and many other costs related to the five days. Our whole operation is functioning for the preparation of these five days. Everyday we have new people calling in who have only just heard the news and are making plans to come. Caritas of Birmingham is rated among the best in the world in its efficiency in utilizing donated funds. More than 90% of our funds go directly into the mission’s use. Very few organizations can even compare to what we output per dollar donated because of the way we are structured, which came through prayer and Our Lady helping to form us. So, again, we ask your liberal donation for the May 1-5 expenses in order to continue to support our efforts to evangelize this event and prepare for it through your contributions, over and above your normal donation. Our work is to get souls here. We trust Our Lady to do the rest, once these souls arrive.

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For more informataion contact Caritas directly at: 205-672-2000. Or you may write to: Caritas of Birmingham - 100 Our Lady Queen of Peace Drive - Sterrett, AL 35147

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