Sister Mildred Mary Ephrem was professed as a religious in 1933. In 1938, Sister Ephrem began to have mystical experiences. These messages were published in a book entitled "Our Lady of America." Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of America enjoys complete canonical approval through the former Archbishop of Cincinatti, Ohio, the late Paul Francis Leibold, who approved the private apparition for public devotion in 1963.
Sister Ephrem writes:
From January 1957 to 1958, Our Lady'warnings came to me again and again. These are her words spoken in January 1957:
"The hour grows late. My Son's patience will not last forever. Help me hold back His anger, which is about to descend on sinful and ungrateful men. Suffering and anguish, such as never before experienced, is about to overtake mankind. It is the darkest hour. But if men will come to me, my Immaculate Heart will make it bright again with the mercy which my Son will rain down through my hands. Help me save those who will not save themselves. Help me bring once again the sunshine of God's peace upon the world."
To my spiritual director I was asked to send this message:
"Hurry, my son, for the time is short but the punishment will be long, and for many, forever.
"Tell the Bishops of the United Stares, my loyal sons, of my desires and how I wish them to be carried out. Through him who is head over you, make known the longings of my Immaculate Heart to establish the reign of my Divine Son in the hearts of men and thus save them from the scourge of heaven, both now and hereafter."
Our Lady, again addressing herself to me, spoke sadly yet hopefully:
"My daughter, will my children in America listen to my pleadings and console my Immaculate Heart? Will my loyal sons carry our my desires and thus help me bring the peace of Christ once again to mankind? 'Pray and do penance, my sweet child, that this may come to pass. Trust me and love me; I so desire it. Do not forger your poor Mother, who weeps over the loss of so many of her children."
The hour grows late. The time is short. These messages are consistent with those of Akita and those given to St. Faustina, Secretary of the Divine Mercy. Do we listen? Or do we scoff saying to ourselves, "Where is the promise of his coming? From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation." (2 Peter 3: 4). Do we laugh at private revelations or hold them up to ridicule? Do we hear the Apostle Paul urging us: "Do not stifle the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test everything; retain what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5: 19). Or are we too proud? Do we believe that God no longer speaks through His prophets?
Lumen Gentium, No. 12 of the Second Vatican Council teaches us that:
"It is not only through the sacraments and the ministries of the Church that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the people of God and enriches it with virtues, but, "allotting his gifts to everyone according as He wills, He distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts He makes them fit and ready to undertake the various tasks and offices which contribute toward the renewal and building up of the Church, according to the words of the Apostle: "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit". These charisms, whether they be the more outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation for they are perfectly suited to and useful for the needs of the Church. Extraordinary gifts are not to be sought after, nor are the fruits of apostolic labor to be presumptuously expected from their use; but judgment as to their genuinity and proper use belongs to those who are appointed leaders in the Church, to whose special competence it belongs, not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to that which is good."
Once again, devotion to Our Lady of America has canonical approval. And although we are not obligated to accept private revelation (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 67), still, it is always foolish to despise prophecy, especially when the Church - whose "special competence" is to judge "their genuinity" - has granted its approval.
For more on devotion to Our Lady of America, go here.
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