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,
Heavenīs Peace Plan,
involving Our Lady, is
evidenced at Fatima,
Portugal as well as
other places around the
world.
It is a fact that
Moslems from various
nations, especially from
the Middle East,
make so
many
pilgrimages to Our Lady
of Fatimaīs 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
Heavenīs Peace Plan. It
is hope for the world.
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 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
Ladyīs 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
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 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!
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!
