Looking Into the Future: Our Lady of Good Success – Part 2

The second part of the series on the apparition of The Blessed Mother in Ecuador, known as Our Lady of Good Success, will focus on the messages from Our Lord to Mariana. This section will continue with a key prediction which was made during this apparition, and it will conclude with the implications of these messages on our modern society.

Messages from Our Lord

The messages from Our Lord to Mariana in Quito were also focused on the specific issues related to the members of the religious orders. In the wake of the scandal that has devastated the Catholic Church, these messages take on increased importance now more than three centuries later.

The two main messages during these apparitions from Our Lord to Mariana were:

·       The continued devotion to The Passion, The Blessed Sacrament, and Our Lady are the most important aspects for successful religious communities.

·       A warning that the punishment would be severe for members of the religious orders who are corrupt.

While most apparitions of the Virgin Mary both before and since these sightings in Ecuador usually feature just messages from Our Lady, this particular instance also contained messages from Our Lord. These messages were focused on the religious communities and the members of the religious vocations, which in light of the abuse scandal, bear a strikingly profound impact to the current members of the Catholic Church throughout the world.

December 8, 1634 – A Key Prediction

In several reports and books on this approved apparition of the Virgin Mary in Ecuador, a key prediction was made on December 8, 1634 on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mother Mariana was praying when Our Lady appeared along with three archangels.

Several sources state that Saint Gabriel carried Hosts with a message of the importance of the Holy Eucharist. Our Lady declared to Mariana that the Pope would be declared infallible and that the Immaculate Conception would become dogma.

 Eventually, several years later, Blessed Pius IX would be the Pope who would institute both of those predicted dogmatic changes. It was a very bold decision at that time, and given these predictions especially being delivered on that date, December 8th, it is a profoundly moving aspect of this apparition.

Many Catholics, myself included, cannot imagine a Liturgical Calendar without the celebration of the Immaculate Conception. This central event in our faith was a key component of the messages from Our Lady of Good Success over three hundred years ago. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is the seminal event which initiates Our Blessed Mother to our faith, it is Her unshakable belief in God and fervent answer of “Yes” to the call by God to be the Mother of Christ, that endears Her to the members of the Catholic faith. This mystery of our faith is the root of our belief in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for without the Virgin Mother’s willingness to be the vessel to bring him into the world, God’s plan of sending His only Son in human form would not have been realized.

The Passing of Mother Mariana

Mother Mariana passed away on January 16, 1635 only about a month after the appearance of Our Lady on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Some sources report that she predicted the exact time and date of her passing.

 Mother Mariana has had many miracles attributed to her, resulting in the Church later declaring her Venerable, a step in the path toward canonization as a saint. One such miracle which was strikingly powerful was the report of a blind girl having her eyesight restored at Mother Mariana’s wake when a flower from the crown adoring the faithful nun’s head touched the blind girl’s eyes.

In 1906, during a remodeling of the convent in Quito, her 300 year old resting place was opened. Her body was found whole and incorrupt with her habit still intact as well as articles of penance which she was buried with, and her body had the aroma of lilies.

It is commonly reported that several saints and blessed holy people associated with Marian apparitions have been found with their bodies still intact and with the aroma of some type of flower. Interestingly, Blessed Pius IX, whom was referred to earlier, was exhumed in the year 2000 and was found in a similar condition. These types of reports have also been attributed to several saints and those holy people in line for sainthood, when for any variety of reasons, their respective bodies were exhumed.

Observations for the Modern World

The mainstream news media is filled with content regarding the scandal involving some members of the Catholic clergy, the crisis of faith facing our global community, and the increasing secularization of our society through the passage of new government regulatory measures.

It is within this context that the messages of the apparition known as Our Lady of Good Success takes on an increasingly important meaning for our modern society. Many of the Marian apparitions which have been approved by the Catholic Church contain very similar messages: prayer, fasting, observing the Sacraments especially the Holy Eucharist, forgiveness, prayer for our priests, charitable works, and peace in the world.

In my research I found that the sites of Marian apparitions have another common thread, distant places that have each become relevant throughout our recent history: Bosnia, Rwanda, Ukraine, South Korea, Russia, China, Egypt, and Syria.

The Blessed Mother has appeared in all of these nations and that list encompasses essentially every major global news event in the past twenty five years. It is a remarkable call to action on our world to make some changes in our societal fabric. Our Lady has come to our aid in all of these places in the past, and she will continue to be there to assist us in the future.

The messages of Our Lady of Good Success contained all of these elements plus an emphasis on the importance of Penance, which is taking on a renewed focus within the most recent church doctrine in order to foster an environment of forgiveness towards members who have drifted from the faith as well as those who feel burdened by their sins.

The effect of relativism and the secular education system as the key contributing factors to the decline in priests and other religious vocations was also a component of the message of Our Lady to Mariana. The shortage in the number of priests is a very real issue facing the Catholic Church today, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. The legislative activity of the government here in the United States has increasingly promoted the removal of God from our schools, municipal offices, community centers, and other public gathering places which is a tremendous issue facing our society at this point.

The secularization of our society can have a drastic effect on the core morals and values, which are being increasingly eroded, at the detriment of future generations. America was founded on the bedrock principles of Judeo-Christian values, and the net effect of the changes instituted by our government on a variety of levels is moving our nation further away from our founding roots.

The prediction by Our Lady of the attacks on the Sacrament of Matrimony are also quite profound given the national debate in the United States over the definition of marriage at this juncture. The impact of relativism once again has convinced increasing numbers of couples that marriage is too complicated, and that living together is a much more convenient option. The decline in marriage rates has been shown in many studies to have a directly negative impact on children and the nuclear family unit in America.

Message of Hope

Toward the end of the appearances of Our Lady of Good Success was a prediction of a happy time period of renewal of our Church and our world. Our Lady told Mariana that “I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the eternal abyss.”

I receive a message of great hope from this prediction and great comfort that Our Lady will come to our aid in restoring the Church and our society from our broken ways. Her involvement is welcomed and needed to heal our world from the grip and power of sin on the human soul.    

The key to salvation is to listen to Our Mother, Mary is the best pathway to Jesus, and Her intercession provides us with the tools and spiritual armor that we need to defeat Satan. The Blessed Virgin Mary is Our Mother as Jesus so commanded during His Passion to his beloved apostle, Saint John.

This apparition of the Blessed Mother contains messages about a range of issues we are currently grappling with in our world. Good success is promised to those who pray to her in today’s difficult and tumultuous times. That is the greatest lesson we can take away from this Marian apparition.

In the end, our world can change and escape from the shadows of sin and evil through prayer and through trust in Our Lord. The newly canonized Saint John Paul, who also had a strong devotion to Our Blessed Mother, said it best when imploring the world to turn to Jesus Christ, and “Be not afraid”.

(Frank J. Maduri is a freelance writer and journalist with publishing credits for a variety of websites and news organizations. He has a background in business and political science. He attended Catholic schools throughout his life and attributes all of his success to his relationship with Jesus Christ.)