Today is the anniversary of the La Salette apparition which occured in 1846. More than ever, we are witnessing disturbances in nature which are truly unparalleled. Signs of the times are springing up all around us. My father always had an intense devotion to Our Lady and used to speak regularly about the emerging signs of the times. It was his strong conviction that the apostasy had already begun and that our society was heading for disaster.
Dad saw Our Lady as he hovered between this world and the next, a fact which was verified by his cousin - a Roman Catholic priest serving within the Diocese of Worcester. Just before he died (on September 19, 2000) - the anniversary of Our Lady of La Salette during the great Jubilee Year - I felt Our Lady's presence as she entered the hospital room. Although dad's system had already shut down and the only thing keeping him alive was a machine, when I asked him if he could see Our Lady and his biological mother who was also in the room, his eyes immediately shot up to the ceiling and a look of awe came across his face. With that, a tear fell from his eye and he breathed his last. His cousin, the priest who administered him the last sacraments (and who had served as a La Salette priest for some years before becoming a diocesan priest), remarked "Did you see that?...He saw Our Lady."
Indeed he had. And this gentle man, my beloved friend and mentor, was escorted by Our Lady and his earthly mother to the New Jerusalem where God Himself "..will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away." (Revelation 21:4).
I love you dad. Pray for me. That whatever may come, I may arise to the challenge and never fear. That I may always give witness to the truth in love and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Who grants the gift of fortitude to those who ask for it.
Dad, you were always an inspiration to me. I love you my friend.
Paul
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