Rosa Mystica 1947-1966

It was in 1531 that the Mother of God appeared to Juan Diego in Tepeyac Hill in Mexico and performed “the miracle of the roses” as proof to Bishop Zumarraga of her presence. Roses never grew on that rocky terrain, and certainly not in December. Moreover, when, in their surprise, the bishop’s attendants tried to pick and take some of them from his tilma, they could not do so because they became, as one author put it, “not roses that they touched, but as if they were painted or embroidered.” Indeed, they were “mystical roses” from the hands of the Mystical Rose herself.

The Litany of Loreto lists many of her titles, but there is a flower amongst them; the Mystical Rose. Truly, the rose is the queen of all the flowers, and there is something in the Heavenly arrangement of Its petals and Its coloring, there Is something In Its scent and symmetry, In the modesty of its green leaves, which makes it very special. It is the flower which captures the heart at nearly every stage of its growth, even when a bud. While It grows, Its petals gradually unfold as a token, as It were, of the blossoming of the lover’s love for his loved one.

Mary, the most beautiful of God’s creation, is indeed “the Incarnate Rose,” especially chosen for God’s garden. She is the “rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys” [Song 2:1]. There is no rose comparable to her and she has made Paradise ever so much more beautiful.

But if you call her a rose, white is the color of her purity; gold, the tint of her royalty; red, the hue of her suffering. The rose grows out from a stem of thorns and in the heart of this flower, the red of the Cross of her son was forming. Indeed, without thorns a rose is not a rose, and without the thorn of great suffering, Mary could not have become the Mystical Rose of God’s Paradise.

THE BEGINNING OF THE APPARITIONS AT MONTICHIARI IN 1947

Mary Appears as the “Rosa Mystica” In Montichiari

Montichiali with its suburb Fontanelle is a small town in Northern Italy, twenty kilometers from Brescia, the bishop’s town. It is situated in front of the Italian Alps in the fertile plain of the river Po. The name means in English, “Bright Mountains.” On a hill lies the old castle of St. Mary and the venerable Church of San Pancrazio.

First Apparition

Pierina Gilli was born on August 3, 1911, at Montichiari and worked as a nurse in the hospital there. The first time, the dear Mother of Christ appeared to her in a room of the hospital, in the spring of 1947. Our Lady, a beautiful woman, wore a violet dress and a white veil around her head. She was very sad, her eyes were filled with tears which fell to the floor. Her breast was pierced by three big swords. Our Lady said, “Prayer-Penitence-Expiation” and was silent.

Second Apparition

On June 13, 1947, Our Lady appeared again in the hospital early one Sunday. morning. This time she was dressed in white and instead of the three swords she had three roses: a white one, a red one, and a golden one. Pierina Gilli asked her, “Please tell me who you are.” The Lady answered, smiling, “I am the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of you.”

Here she paused, then she went on, “Our Lord sends me to bring a new Marian devotion for all male and female institutes, religious orders, and secular priests. I promise those religious institutes, orders, and secular priests who venerate me in this special way my special protection, an increase of spiritual vocations, fewer betrayed vocations, and great sanctity among the servants of God. I wish the 13th of each month to be celebrated as the day of Mary. On the twelve preceding days, special prayers of preparation should be said.”

With an expression of great joy, she went on, “On this day I shall send to these religious institutes, members of orders, and secular priests who have honored me in this way, a superabundance of graces and great sanctity. I wish the 13th of July of each year to be celebrated in honor of the ‘Rosa Mystica,’ the Mystical Rose.”

Pierina asked whether she would perform a miracle. Our Lady answered, “The most evident miracle will be the godly souls, who for some time, especially during the last war, became lukewarm, so that they were unfaithful or even betrayed their vocation, will cease to offend Our Lord gravely. By their great offenses, they brought punishment and persecution upon the Church—–as we experience it in our days—–but then the original spirit of their holy founders will blossom again.”

With these words the conversation ended. Now Our Lady explained to Pierina the meaning of the three swords and the three roses. A moving explanation which is to taken quite seriously!

The first sword means loss of the vocation as a priest or a monk. The second sword means priests, monks, and nuns who live in deadly sin. The third sword means priests and monks who commit the treason of Judas. While giving up their vocation, they often lose also their faith, their eternal beatitude, and become enemies of the Church.

The white rose means the spirit of prayer. The red rose means the spirit of expiation and sacrifice. The yellow or golden rose means the spirit of penitence.

Third Apparition on October 22, 1947

The beautiful woman appeared again, this time in the chapel of the hospital in Montichiari during the service. Many employees of the hospital, some physicians, and people from the town were present.

Our Lady asked for the realization of the devotion she had recommended and said among other things, “My Divine Son, tired of the continuing offenses, wanted to act according to His justice. So I placed myself as a Mediatrix between Him and the human race, especially the specially consecrated souls.”

Pierina thanked her for that in the name of all who were present. Our Lady took leave with a beautiful thought for Pierina saying, “Vivi d’amore!” which means, “Live for love—–for charity!”

Fourth Apparition on November 16, 1947

Our Lady appeared publicly in the parish church of Montichiari in the presence of some people, among whom were also several priests. Among other things she said, “Our Lord, my Divine Son, is tired of the many offenses, the severe offenses, the sins against holy purity . . . ” Here she paused and then went on, “He wants to send another flood of punishment.  . . .”  Here she stopped again for some moments and then went on, “I have interceded that He may be merciful once more. Therefore I ask for your prayer and penitence to expiate these sins.”

Pierina said, “Yes!” and agreed to these wishes of Our dear Lady. The conversation went on, “I ardently ask the priests to admonish the people in love that they do not commit these sins any more.” Pielina asked, “Will He then pardon us?” Our Lady answered, “Yes, so long as one does not commit them any more.” With these words she went away.

Fifth Apparition on November 22, 1947

Our Lady appeared again in the parish church in the presence of several persons. First she told Pierina Gilli to make four crosses with her tongue on the floor just in the middle of the church, exactly under the dome. (A humiliating act of expiation!) Then she descended on the crosses and said, “I descend on this place because it is here that great conversions will occur.” Somewhat sadly she went on, “Today specifically, there are Christians of your Italian nation who most offend our Lord, my Divine Son Jesus, by their sins against holy purity. Therefore, the Lord demands, prayer, great sacrifices, and penitence.” Pierina asked, “What have we to do to fulfill your wish for prayer and penitence?” Our Lady answered mildly, “Prayer” (here she was silent for some moments and continued), “Penitence means acceptance of the little daily crosses and also doing one’s work in the spirit of penitence.”

And in all her majesty she gave a promise with the following words, “On December 8th, at noon, I shall appear here again in the parish church and it will be the hour of grace.” Pierina Gilli asked, “Please, explain to me! What does it mean, the hour of grace?” Our Lady replied, “The hour of grace—–great and numerous conversions will occur.” Here she paused again for some moments and continued, “Souls, totally hardened, cold as this marble, will be touched by Divine grace and become faithful and God-loving again.”

This was the only time that Our dear Lady predicted a future appearance. All the other apparitions happened unexpectedly.

Sixth Apparition on December 7, 1947

This time when Our Lady appeared again in the parish church there were only three persons present. Among them was the Reverend Confessor of the seer. Our Lady, as “Rosa Mystica,” wore a white cloak. This was held at the right side by a boy, at the left side by a girl. Both were also dressed in white.

Our Lady said, “Tomorrow I shall show you my Immaculate Heart which human beings know so little.” Here she paused and then went on, “In Fatima I spread the dedication to my Immaculate Heart.” With heartfelt expression she went on, “In Bonate I tried to introduce this devotion into Christian families.” (Bonate, where Our Lady appeared during the war, is situated near Bergamo.)

Here she made a somewhat longer pause, then continued, “Here in Montichiari I wish the devotion of the ‘Rosa Mystica,’ together with the veneration of my Immaculate Heart, to be increased in the religious institutes and the monastic communities, in order that these souls dedicated to God may receive more graces from my motherly Heart.”

Then Our Lady told Pierina a mystery and promised that she herself would let her know when she had to reveal it. Pierina asked, “Who are the two children at your side?”

Our Lady answered, “Jacinta and Francesco. They will be your companions in all your afflictions. They too have suffered, though they were much younger than you. Look, this is how I would like you to be—–simple and good—–as these children used to be.” Our Lady extended her arms protectingly, looked up to Heaven and exclaimed, “Sia benedetto il Signore!” which means, “Praised be the Lord!” Then she disappeared.

Seventh Apparition on December 8, 1947

On this great feast of St. Mary, some thousand people had gathered from everywhere. Pierina Gilli had great difficulty in getting into the overcrowded parish church. She knelt down on the spot where the other appearances had taken place. While people were praying the Rosary, she exclaimed, “Oh, La Madonna!” (Our Lady).

At once, there was a great silence. The pastor, Monsignore Abate Francesco Rossi, reported that many participants told him later, (though thousands of people were in the overcrowded church), it had become so still that one could hear the humming of a single fly. Our Lady appeared on a big white staircase which was decorated on both sides with white and yellow and red roses. Our dear Lady smiled and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” And with great majesty, descending, she said, “I am Mary of Grace, that is, the Full of Grace, Mother of my Divine Son Jesus Christ.”

 Descending farther she continued, “I come here to Montichiari because it is my wish to be appealed to and venerated as ‘Rosa Mystica.’ I wish people to celebrate each year on December 8th at noon the hour of grace for the whole world. With this exercise, one will receive numerous spiritual and bodily graces. Our Lord, my Divine Son Jesus, will be abundantly merciful so long as good men go on praying for their fellow men. As soon as possible, let the Supreme Shepherd of the Church, Pope Pius XII, know it is my wish that this hour of grace be publicized and spreadthroughout the whole world. If someone cannot go to church at this time, he is to pray at noon at home, and he will receive graces from me. He who prays on these bricks and sheds tears of repentance will find a secure ladder to Heaven and get protection and graces from my Motherly Heart.”

With these words Our beautiful and radiant Lady showed Pierina her Heart and burst into the following words, “Look at this Heart which loves human beings so very much, though most of them overwhelm it with abuses!” Here she paused a moment, and then went on, “When good people and bad people unite in prayer, they will receive mercy and peace from this Heart. At present the Lord has been merciful to the good ones because of my intercession. This has delayed a great judgment of God.” Smiling, she went on, “Very soon, one will know how important this hour of grace is.”

Pierina noticed that she was about to leave and said, “Oh beautiful, dear Saint Mary, I thank you! Please bless my homeland Italy, bless the whole world, especially the Holy Father, the priests, the monks and nuns, and the sinners.” Our Lady answered, “I have an abundance of graces ready for all those children who hear my voice and take my wishes to heart.” With these words the vision ended. Also during this vision Our Lady confided to Pierina a secret and promised to come again and tell her when the moment would come for revealing it.

Miraculous Healings During this Apparition

Parents brought to the church a boy of about five or six years who was suffering from polio and could not stand or walk. Other parents brought their daughter, about twenty-six years old, who suffered since she was twelve years old from severe tuberculosis. She had not been able to utter a single word for the last nine years.

In the same moment both were completely healed. The girl who had not been able to speak a word for the past nine years now sang a song of praise with a full voice. Since then she has been able to sing and speak without any difficulty.

The parents of the boy carried him in their arms into the church, now he could stand and walk. Later on he was shown in public from a balcony to the rejoicing crowd in the big square in front of the church. The whole crowd was deeply stirred when they saw the child jump up and down. He declared, “I have seen Our Lady in the church and she smiled at me benevolently.” Since that time both have been in good health. The boy married some years ago and the girl has become a pious God-fearing nun who is living only to expiate for the religious orders and priests.

A Third Miracle

The third miracle happened during the time of the appearance of Our Lady, not in the church of Montichiari, but in a private home of the town. A woman of about thirty-six years was healed at home during the time of the apparition. From childhood on she was not normal but also not completely mentally disturbed. She could not speak, but the worst thing was that she had no control over her bodily functions. Her sister-in-law had to stay with her at home while her father went to the cathedral to the anticipated appearance of Our Lady. Her sister-in-law prayed the holy Rosary at the time of the appearance and exclaimed spontaneously, “Our dear Lady, if you are really present in the Church of Montichiari, please heal this poor sick girl!” In the same moment the sick person was healed completely. She was healed forever! Loud and full of joy she prayed with her sister-in-law the holy Rosary to the end. When the father came home from the church, he was astonished and full of joy upon seeing his daughter healed.

This miracle especially caused a sensation and was later declared to be the most important one by several physicians. As in this case, any mass suggestion had to be excluded. The healing was lasting. The girl died some years later, but one of her brothers is still alive and can witness to all this.

The Apparitions of Our Lady as Rosa Mystica and the Church and the Popes

ADAPTED FROM THE BOOKS, MARY THE MYSTICAL ROSE and MARIA ROSA MYSTICA, Fr. A.M. Weigl.

You are referred to the directory of Rosa Mystica for more of the story of the apparitions, which has the approval of the local bishop and was accepted by Ven. Pope Pius XII. Officially the Holy See has not pronounced on the supernatural nature of the apparitions, but has permitted the bishop’s approval to stand.

On August 9, 1951 Pope Pius XII granted a private audience to Pierina Gilli, the seer of Montichiari at Castel Gandolfo. She had arrived with a freind and the man who had arranged the audience. At the close of the meeting the Pontiff bent toward the kneeling seer and asked her to pray for him and the Pontiffs, saying: “Please, pray also for Us!”

It was in Montichiari, Italy on July 13th, 1941 that Our Lady said: It is my wish that the 13th of July of each year be celebrated in honour of the Rosa Mystica—I am the Mother of the mystical body of Christ—the Mother of the Church”. The Blessed Virgin showed Pierina a medal, which was engraved on the front with her image and title, “Rosa Mystica” and on the back was a church with a dome and the inscription “Mary, Mother of the Church”.

This ought not to surprise us because the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary [The Litany of Loreto] has an invocation to the Virgin under the title,
“Rosa Mystica”.

In the church of Maria Rosenberg in Germany, there is a miraculous image that is venerated as “Rosa Mystica”. Church documents from 1138 attest to this long standing devotion. Under that image are painted a white, a red, and a golden rose. And around the image on the right and on the left are painted thirteen golden roses. This is unmistakably a future indication of Our Lady’s express desire at Montichiari that the 13th of July be venerated in honor of the Rosa Mystica.

The writngs of Church Fathers also use this title for the Mother of God.

If we look to the origin of the apparitions, we find that Our Lady is most concerned with priests and religious.

During the initial appearance in 1941, she “was dressed in the violet of mourning, shedding abundant tears which fell upon the ground above all, however, she appeared with 3 swords in her breast. She uttered  three words ‘Prayer, Penance, Atonement’”.  It was later that Mary explained the meaning of the swords:

The 1st sword: loss of priestly and religious vocations. It has happened.
The 2nd sword: Priests and members of religious orders living in a state of mortal sin. We know from the scandals here in the USA that surely this was[ perhaps is] the sad case.
The 3rd sword: Priests and religious who commit the betrayal of Judas. Much heresy and blasphemy from some pulpits and in some religious institutes; at the very least the scandal of the loss of faith and disobedience from the teachings of Christ through His Church.

It is the established theme of Montichiari that Rosa Mystica’s primary reason for manifesting herself there was for the sake of priests, religious houses, and all those with dedicated apostolates and who have who have a special place in the Hearts of our Lord and His Mother. And yet, how many of them have thrust these sorrowful swords into Their most holy Hearts!

Author Weigl supplies with the following statistics [1974]:

“In about 10 years some 30,000 priests of the Catholic Church have lost their vocations. Only about half of these have asked for ecclesiastical laicization. The other half have not bothered. In practice this means that many thousands of priests and members of religious orders have not only abandoned their vocation, but also lost their faith. They have contracted civil marriages, and many are divorced. In addition to these priests, there are also four or five times as many brothers and sisters in religious orders, who have given up their vocations. In total this makes more than 100,000 priests and religious.”

But there are enough faithful Catholics left so that,it is to these the mournful mother is turning with her request for Prayer, Penance and Atonement.

Citing Weigl again:

“Pope Paul VI gave utterance to a disturbing lament when he said, “There are forces within the Church, and priests and religious are numerous among them, who are doing far more damage to it than its bitterest enemies outside.

“Many priests and religious are giving the Church the Judas kiss.

“Satan himself has made his way into the temple of God!”

The Holy Father went on to express a profound distress regarding what he called the “Church’s auto-destruction.”

The Church has always hard times of hardship, storms of oppression and opposition from without, but this time the Immaculata was warning us that the tempest would rage from within. Whenever the Church has found herself in dire straits she has turned to her Mother, the Mother of God, who is the Meditarix of All Graces and the Mother of Last Refuge and Mercy. By humbling ourselves and turning to Mary can we hope to find the help of Heaven. As Fr. Weigl writes:

“Even from a purely biological point of view, the mother is the cradle of life. She receives the living being and brings it to light; she protects and nurtures this life; she fears, cares and suffers for it. When a child is ill, who worries more about the child than its loving mother?

“Today the whole world, the Church [especially, priests and religious], is sick to the heart. For this reason our Lord, in His infinite mercy, sends His Mother, who calls us to prayer, penance and atonement, for these are the most effective medicines.

In this perilous age, in which evil and sacrilegious satanism rage as scarcely ever before in the history of the Church and mankind, the Lord sends
His Mother to help and save.

The honouring of Mary must then again be given a primary position. Mary was, and is, the great treader underfoot of the serpent and the victor in all God’s battles.

This honour is most seriously demanded.

“You bishops, priests and members of religious orders, start, not purely in private, but together and with all publicity, to honor Mary afresh, and on a great scale! Above all, do it in churches, seminaries and religious houses. Begin now! The people, including the young, will follow you. Don’t be put off by the scoffers! Lead the people to the shrines of Our Lady. See to it that they do not come merely to her, but through her, above all, to the Lord Himself—in Confession and Holy Communion.

“The messages and requests of Our Lady are most appropriate to the deepest wounds and the greatest need of the Church of our time.

“Satan has desired: ‘I will strike the shepherd, then will the sheep be scattered.’

“From all that has been related, it should be clear:

1. that it is reasonable to believe that a genuine appearance of Mary occurred at Montichiari, and that her earnest requests should be taken to heart;
2. that anyone is free to believe in the Marian phenomena occurring at Montichiari. But, in any case, every believing Catholic should, in the present serious state of the Church, turn to Our Lady, and seek for himself, for his relatives and for all people, help and salvation. Anyone who has doubts about Montichiari can seek and find Our Lady’s help anywhere, but he ought to seek this help. La Salette, Lourdes and Fatima have received ecclesiastical recognition. There, and in Montichiari, Our Lady asked most urgently that people should say the Rosary. “Do penance. Pray for poor sinners. So many are going to Hell for want of people to pray and make sacrifices for them.”

As Father Weigl says, “one can find the DSivine help anywhere, but it is specially accessible at the many shrines of Our Lady which the Church has approved, and at which many bodily and spiritual ailments have been cured.
But has not Montichiari something special to say? and especially for 1975, the Holy Year?

“If there is some charisma behind this, it should be a resounding call to all Catholics and to the whole Church. If Our Lady really appeared at Montichiari, we should take these messages seriously.

“What are Mary’s special requests?

1. Every 13th day of the month should be kept as a special Marian day. On the 12 preceding days special prayers should be said.
2. The 13th of July should be celebrated in honor of the “Rosa Mystica”.
3. Annually at midday (12-1 p.m.) on the 8th of December the Hour of Pardon for the world should be observed. “If anyone cannot visit the church, he should pray at home at midday, He will then receive the same grace through me.”
4. On the 13th of October of each year the World-day of Penitential Communion should be observed.
5. Penitential procession to the spring [Fontanelle]: This should be accompanied by prayer, penance and atonement.

“What are Our Lady’s promises?

1. More young people will be attracted and there will be an increased striving after holiness among priests and religious. There will be fewer losses and betrayals of vocation.
2. Holy vocations and superabundant graces for the members of religious orders. Return to the original spirit of their holy founders.
3. Innumerable conversions of great and hardened sinners, especially of priests and religious who have fallen away.
4. A sure guide to Heaven, maternal protection and an abundance of graces for all.
5 Special wonder-working curative power for body and soul in the spring at Fontanelle. “The sick should come to this spring, and with them many of my children.”
6. “Fontanelle is to be turned into a light-house of faith, prayer and penance.”
7. “Montichiari will be a hill from which the mystical light will shed its beams over the whole world. This will indeed happen.”
8. “But the most evident miracle will be the return of the children to the true faith; to the true love of Our Lord. Following this will come the re-unification, the peace of the whole world.”

Pierina:

“Oh beautiful, dear Saint Mary, I thank you! Please bless my homeland Italy, bless the whole world, especially the Holy Father, the priests, the monks and nuns, and the sinners.” Our Lady answered, “I have an abundance of graces ready for all those children who hear my voice and take my wishes to heart.”

Mary Appears as the “Rosa Mystica” In Fontanelle

By order of the Reverend Bishop of the diocese of Brescia, Monsignore Giacinto Tredici, Pierina spent several years in Brescia helping in a convent. The respected Father Giustino Carpin, who lived in the Franciscan monastery there, became her confessor and is still her spiritual director.

In 1966 a new and second phase of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary began. In February, 1966, Pierina was praying in her room in front of the altar of Our Lady when she had the great joy of seeing the Madonna again. Our Lady gave her consolation, new courage, and predicted that there would be a new apparition at Fontanelle on the following Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, April 17, 1966.

Fontanelle is a part of Montichiari, some kilometers away from the church. Pierina had spent her childhood nearby, and so she knew Fontanelle vety well. In Fontanelle there is a well and an old stone staircase that leads down to it. The Bishop of Brescia was informed about the predicted apparition of Mary in Fontanelle. He ordered Pierina to speak to nobody about it. Accompanied by a girl friend, she went to Fontanelle.

First Apparition in Fontanelle

On the Sunday after Easter, April 17, 1966, Pierina went up and down on the path above the well and prayed the Holy Rosary. About noon, after the Angelus, the dear Mother of the Lord appeared to her and said, “My Divine Son is all love and He sent me here to bestow healing power upon this well.  . . . As a sign of penitence and purification, kiss this top step!” A stone staircase leads from the path down to the well . . . Go farther downstairs, stay on your knees and kiss the step again!” Pierina was gliding backwards on her knees down the steps. Our Lady followed her and one could see her bare feet very well. For the third time, the Mother of the Lord said, “Now kiss the steps again and put a crucifix here!” With her left hand, Our Lady marked the place. “The sick people and all my children shall first ask my Divine Son to forgive them, then lovingly kiss this cross, and then they should draw water to drink.”

The beautiful Lady now went near the well and said, “Take mud, dirt in your hands . . .then wash with the water! This is to show that sin becomes mud, and dirt in the hearts of my children. When it is absolved in the water of grace, souls become clean again and worthy of grace.” The Mother of the Lord bowed down and touched the water of the well at two places with her hands.

Then she said, “All my children must know the desires of my Son Jesus as I told them in 1947—–His desires and my
messages given at that time in the episcopal church of Montichiari. I wish the sick and all my children to come to this miraculous well. Your mission is now here amidst the sick and all who need your help. Furthermore, I wish you to tell the faithful they have first to go to the church and adore my Divine Son Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Afterwards they are to come here. First they are to give thanks to the Lord Who is so benignant and merciful, and Who gave so much love and grace to Montichiari.”

With these words she rose in the air and opened her arms and her cloak, which filled an immense space in the universe. From her arm hung a white Rosary. Below on the right side of her cloak one could see the Church of Montichiari where the apparitions in 1947 had occurred. On the right side of the cloak one saw also the “Castle of St. Mary,” a castle built in the Middle Ages on a hill near Montichiari.

This castle has now become by Divine Providence a center and home for the sick, the suffering, and old people. Sometime ago it was for sale and an interested party wanted to transform it into an evil nightclub. When the parish priest of Montichiari learned about these plans, he tried to check them by all means. People prayed a lot, especially to the “Rosa Mystica.” The idea of buying the castle for the purposes of charity was an inspiration from Heaven. For this idea a well-known apostle of charity, who had already founded several homes for the sick, the suffering, and old people in Italy, was found. It was Monsignore Luigi Novarese. He purchased the castle and transformed it into a home with a house-chapel for old and sick priests. The parish priest of Montichiari, Monsignore Rossi, invited also the Bishop of Fatima, Monsignore Joao Pereira Venancio, for the solemn inauguration. The bishop was immensely interested in the apparitions of the “Rosa Mystica.”

Some priests are already spending their last years in the Castle of St. Mary. Sometimes retreats are held for the movement of Monsignore Luigi Novarese.

The former parish priest of Montichiarl (1945-1971), Monsignore Abate Francesco  Rossi declared. “For me this is a  a visible and very great miracle of the “Rosa Mystica,” because the old Castle of St. Mary has now become a place of prayer, penitence and love, instead of a place of sin.”

On the left side, under the cloak of the Virgin, which seemed immensely wide, Pierina saw a large complex of buildings. These were the future Homes of Charity, which will be built around the fountain. The Mother of God said, “I wish and repeat that the sick and all my children are to come here to the ‘spring of grace.’ ” With a glorious smile, she disappeared towards Heaven. During this first apparition in Fontanelle, some children were playing near the well who later said at home, “Pierina Gilli has seen the Madonna near the well.”

A second apparition in Fontanelle followed on May 13, 1966, the anniversary of the First Apparition of the Virgin in Fatima in 1917; another on June 9, and again on August 6, 1966. There were more in the 1970s.

Pierina Gilli [Guilli] died Jan 12, 1991.

The Apparitions of the Rosa Mystica have never been formally approved by Holy Mother Church. but neither have they been disapproved or forbidden to be talked about. Catholic Tradition neither endorses them, nor discourages belief in them, in keeping with the authority of the Church, especially Pope Urban VIII’s decrees on such matters. Until an official negative pronouncement is made a Catholic is free to take an interest in devotion to Rosa Mystica. While it could be trick of Satan, there is nothing against faith or morals, but instead exhorts holiness in priests and religious, etc.

The Well of Salvation

Let us once again return to the beginning of the appearances of the “Rosa Mystica” at Montichiari, in which she showed herself with three dreadful swords in her breast.

The question arises: How was it possible for things to get into this serious state? The lapsed priests and religious, those who live in mortal sin, and those who not only lose the faith but become enemies of the Church, come for the most part from the best Catholic families. They were once full of idealism and made, for and in their profession, great sacrifices. For years they worked happily in it.

A former priest answered this question in the following very moving manner: “Two things above all destroyed my priestly vocation. I prayed too little and later not at all. At first I went very seldom to Confession; later I gave it up entirely. I began by being spiritually starved. Then the Devil prevented me from escaping from grave sins. Through my first serious sin, and through celebrating Mass sacrilegiously, the Devil forged upon me a frightful chain of sin, and this one chain turned into many, for he knows only too well that many chains are harder to break than one.”

Penitential devotions do not constitute a sacrament of Penance. One of the greatest dangers in destroying vocations and affecting fatally the flock of Christ is represented by the so-called penitential devotions. This is not because they are bad in themselves. On the contrary, every good act of contrition is something charged with blessing. If it is accompanied by real remorse, a vigilant conscience and a firm purpose of amendment, it can be very valuable. Even when it is conscientiously made, it remains only an act of devotion. A highly respected monk of our times says with justice, “An act of contrition is of value if followed by a good Confession, either one of devotion, or one essential for the forgiveness of grave sins.”

The Church always had penitential devotions. They are not an innovation of the Council. One of the most beautiful and fruitful of these devotions is the Way of the Cross, a meditation on the Passion of Christ. Another is offered by the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. The modern penitential devotions are very good, if they constitute a first step followed by another—–a sacramental Confession. Even for venial sins, the confession of devotion is very beneficial, but sacramental Confession, provided the means to make it are available, is absoluttly necessary for mortal sins.

Decidedly this is not a cursed duty. It is a very great grace in a holy Sacrament to be permitted “to wash our clothes in the Blood of the Lamb.” A good Confession is a writ of emancipation from the worst form of slavery, that of Satan. The servile shackles forged by venial sins are not so dangerous. They are bonds which man’s great enemy strives to multiply and strengthen in order to make them into an unbreakable chain.

In a good sacramental Confession, we can break and cast off through God’s mercy all the cords that bind us whether they be light or heavy. When we make a good Confession, we receive many healing and sanctifying graces. We not only experience Golgotha with the Lamb of God Who takes away our sins, but we experience the Resurrection of Christ and His Easter greeting, “Peace be with you!” Also we experience Pentecost and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. As He was instituting this Sacrament, the Lord said to His Apostles, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” By the power of this Spirit we are absolved. We ourselves become purified temples of the Holy Spirit. In this holy Sacrament, other Sacraments also acquire a new life, conferring their special graces:

Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination, Marriage, Holy Vows.

With clear foresight, Pope Pius XII wrote in his encyclical letter, “Mystici Corporis” of June 29, 1943, “It is accordingly clear that by that false doctrine, the spiritual development of the faithful is not promoted; on the contrary, it serves most regrettably to ruin it. This results from the false opinions of those who affirm that the frequent confession of venial sins should not be esteemed important. The general confession, they say, which the Bride of Christ makes daily with her children in the Lord through her priests at the foot of the altar, should be preferred to it. Such venial sins can, of course, be atoned for in many very praiseworthy ways. To make zealous progress on the path of virtue, we should be sure that the pious custom of frequent Confession is being recommended; it was not introduced into the Church without the impulse of the Holy Spirit. By it, self-knowledge is promoted, Christian humility deepened, moral weakness rooted out, spiritual carelessness and lukewarmness resisted, the conscience is cleared, the will strengthened, a wholesome spiritual guidance is made possible, and grace is increased by the power of the Sacrament.

“So we hope that all those among the younger clergy who seek to minimize the importance of frequent Confession will take note that they are pursuing a course which is foreign to the Spirit of Christ and harmful to the Mystical Body of Our Saviour.”

One can only be amazed at this pope’s prophetic foresight in grasping one of the very great dangers which today
threaten the Church; one which imperils so many priests and religious or has already destroyed them.

What Does Our lady Desire?

She wants Montichiari to become for all her children a source of grace—–for those who are physically sick, but still more for those in spiritual distress. The most important source of grace is a good Confession, and then the Lord Himself in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Mary is the Mediatrix of superabundant graces.

Is it to be believed that so many priests, and religious of both sexes—–more than 100,000—–would have lost their vocations if they had gone regularly to Confession? Quite certainly, no! It is an old experience that in doubts about the faith, temptations, vocation difficulties, etc., there is no better medicine than a good Confession. It brings clarity, security, strength, joy and peace. The priests and religious are today the chief targets of Satan’s attacks. The whole world is today full of devilish infections and poisoning, viruses and bacilli, which affect the soul.

Against these most dangerous infections, there is no better, no more effective immunization than the Precious Blood of Christ which comes to us, above all, in the holy Sacraments.

Anyone who wishes to remain strong and faithful in the faith; anyone in seminaries or religious houses who aspires to a priestly or religious life; any priest or religious who wants to be happy, content and fruitful in his vocation must esteem and make use of sacramental Confession more than ever. Similarly, anyone who is lukewarm, dissatisfied, laicized, weakened, afraid of sacrifice, hypercritical, etc.—–he will also find no better remedy. Above all, however, no one should give up hope and become despondent, even if his sins are as scarlet and as many as the sands of the seashore. A good Confession is always a source of grace. The Mother of Mercy wishes to lead us to it.

In the famous “Devil’s Sermon,” in the presence of the saintly Niklaus Wolf of Rippertschwand in Switzerland and seventeen eye-witnesses and and ear-witnesses, the Devil was forced to admit, “Confession is our most dreadful experience, for we have just got the soul in our claws when it is there snatched from us. Confession does more damage to us than anything else.  . . .”

In his encyclical, “Mystici Corporis,” Pope Pius XII wrote, “Lest we be deceived by the Angel of darkness, who clothes himself as an Angel of light, the highest law of our love should be to love the Bride of Christ (His holy Church) as Christ desired her and bought her with His Blood.

“The Sacraments, therefore, should be dear to us for with them our Mother, the Church, strengthens us . . . but dear, too, the sacramentals and those many different pious exercises by which the Church warms and uplifts the hearts of the faithful with the Spirit of Christ.”

The Redemption through Christ occurred historically once and for all. It continues in the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. Mary was not only in the life and death of Christ on Golgotha, “Co-Redemptrix,” she is and remains so in the Church. She was and remains the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church.

“The Father of Compassion did not hang His grace in the sky like His stars, did not hide it in the ocean like His pearls. He placed it in the gentle hands of His Mother, and these are every ready to distribute it.”
—–Cardinal Faulhaber

Most excerpts and prayers taken from MARY THE MYSTICAL ROSE, by A.M. Weigl
www.TheHolyFamily.com

Is Montichiari a Continuation of Fatima?

When she appeared in the Cathedral of Montichiari on December 7, 1947, Our Lady wore a white cloak which was raised on the right by a boy, on the left by a girl. Pierina Gilli asked who these children were. Our Lady answered, “Jacinta and Francesco. They will assist you in all your sufferings and tests. They, too, suffered when they were even
younger than you. This is what I want from you—–simplicity, the goodness of these two children.”

Then Mary said quite distinctly, “In Fatima, I sought devotion to my Heart and consecration to it, but here in Montichiari I wish to be honored as the ‘Rosa Mystica’—–especially in religious houses and institutes . . . this combined with the devotion to my Heart, so that those dedicated to God may acquire richer graces through my motherly Heart.” What continuity these words reveal with Fatima . . .

On December 8, 1947, Our Lady appeared in the crowded Cathedral, descending majestically upon a great white staircase which was decorated on right and left with white, red and golden-yellow roses. Her Heart appeared gloriously radiant upon her breast-like the Heart at Fatima, but not, as there, wound round with thorns, but adorned with a white, a red and a golden-yellow rose. She said, “Look at this Heart which loves men so much, and which is showered with insults by most.  . . . For all my children who heed my words and take them to heart, I have prepared overwhelming graces.”

4. What is the meaning of the three roses with which the Madonna appeared each time in Montichiari? On December 8, 1947, these strikingly adorned her radiant Heart. In all the other appearances, especially in Fontanelle and later, they adorned the mantle over her breast.

As already spoken of, the white rose means the spirit of prayer. The red rose means the spirit of expiation and sacrifice. The yellow or golden rose means the spirit of penitence.

On another level we could also say:

The White Rose almost certainly means: Mary is the purest daughter of the Father; she is the “Immaculata,” the Seat of Wisdom.

The Red Rose: Mary is the Mother of the Son of God, the “Mater Dolorosa,” and Mother of Mercy.

The Golden-yellow Rose: Mary is the Bride of the Holy Spirit, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Mother of the Church.

In her Immaculate Heart, as in a splendid chalice of crystal, Mary picks up the streams of light, grace and love from the Most HolyTlinity. She reflects them with immeasurable motherly love upon all her children. She acts as God’s treasurer and the Mediatrix of Grace. She, as the “Rosa Mystica,” wishes most specially to shower an abundance of grace upon those dedicated to God.

In these three roses, there is a profound, marvelous, even fascinating and breathtaking symbolism. These three roses symbolize three great spheres of God’s power:

1. The white rose is a sign of God’s wisdom, of light, of pulity, of integrity, order, creativity, of harmony, etc.
2. The red rose symbolizes the Love of God, His justice, His mercy, His kingly power as Judge. It represents God’s Divine energy, the mystery in His nature, the sword, the Cross, the redemption, the Blood of Christ, etc.
3. The golden rose symbolizes the holiness of God, His majesty, omnipotence and royal dignity; additionally it represents the Queen of Heaven and earth, the Bride of the Holy Spirit, and the mighty range of God’s power.
Mary brings to perfect flowering this stream of grace. She does the utmost that a creature of God can. She hands on this grace to all her children with limitless love, as the Bride of the Holy Spirit. Under all her titles in the Litany of Loreto, she mediates God’s grace. The Eastern Church gives Mary titles like this: Thou Purple Throne, Thou, Who Broughtest the Sun to Birth for Us, Lady of the Refreshing Spring, Most Precious Pearl of the Kingdom of God, Living Altar of the Bread, Living Monstrance of the Most High God, etc.

The title “Rosa Mystica” and the revelation of Mary’s splendidly radiant Immaculate Heart at Montichiari on December 8, 1947, sums up her character as the Crystallization of all the Graces which she receives from the Triune God.

In the priests and religious, for whom she specially intends these graces should flourish and become particularly fruitful. In the popular piety of all times this has always been appreciated. It has been expressed in splendid Marian prayers and hymns such as:

“Blooms in God’s paradise, to Angels quite unknown, the fairest rose of Palestine in hue and fragrance sweet”;
Outshining the sun, its rays break through the clouds in truly wondrous wise”; or

The fairest rose in all the world, the joy of every heart, art thou O Mary chaste, by God almighty blest.
Thou art the Father’s daughter, true mother of His Son, the Spirit’s holy bride.”

Satan, too, Has Acquired Three Roses

1. Satan’s white rose: it expresses a godless science, atheism, rationalism, liberalism, modernism, humanism, anarchism and all the rest of these godless “isms.”

A form of freemasonry arose in Germany, whose members called themselves the “Rosenkreuzer”—–a high degree among the freemasons. Freemasons wear a white rose on special festivals. In the Church itself, this is, above all, the modernism of the “Death of God” theology. Modernists deny the Divinity of Christ, the miracles, the immortality of the soul, the Holy Trinity, the existence of Angels, and the existence of devils. They reject Hell, Purgatory, Papal Infallibility, and the authority of the Church and of parents. They deny everything supernatural. This amounts to the death of religion.

In his “Motu Proprio” of September 28, 1888, Pope Leo XIII wrote: “Satan wanders afresh on the earth.  . . . He takes the form of an angel of light.  . . . The evil serpent pours out the poison of his wickedness, like a polluted river over a deluded and depraved humanity—–the spirit of lies, godlessness and blasphemy, the pestilential breath of unchastity and every shameful vice.  . . . “

I recommend you to read the informative book of Bishop Rudolf Graber, ATHANASIUS AND THE CHURCH OF OUR TIMES.

2. Satan’s red rose: this is the symbol of the league of all God’s enemies, especially the enemies of Christ, His Cross, His Precious Blood; it is the symbol of riot, of revolution, of the fist raised against Heaven in defiance, bloody power, inhumanity, cruelty, Marxism, Communism, dictatorship. Within the Church, those who put exaggerated emphasis upon our common humanity and brotherliness, who despise the Cross, prayer, and sacrifice are among these. There is the frightful increase in acts of sacrilege, scorn and derision, poured upon fundamental beliefs. the commandments of God and the Church Sacraments and sacramentals, and pious Christian practices (the honoring of Mary, Angels, Saints, the Rosary, and the Way of the Cross).

3. Satan’s golden rose: the expression for this is self-deification, “being as gods,” the love of mammon, for the power money gives, materialism, the worship of the golden calf, fashion trends, unrestrained pleasure, alcoholism, pornography, perversions, superstition, magic, spiritism, Sodom and Gomorrah, demonism, animality, and sinking below the animal in behavior.

Year by year these diabolical “trends” become ever more visible. It is well to remember that they are currents that carry the masses with them. “Only dead fish swim with the current.”

One is shocked when one reads that a so-called Church of Satan already exists. It was founded in San Francisco in 1966, by Anton LaVey, the “Black Pope,” and is officially registered in the United States as a religious corporation. It is, therefore, not a secret society. It is spreadmg throughout the world. There is already a Satanic Bible. In the satanic weddings and the “Black Masses,” the altar is a naked woman. Those who apply for membership of this satanic church have to make themselves over to the Devil, by writing in their own blood. The main object is a blazing hatred for God, for the churches, and for all believers. The object of Satan is that his religton shall become the universal religion.

As at the beginning of creation, Satan and his faction appear again today with their proclamation, “Let us climb up to Heaven!” Once again God will give His answer, “You shall be cast into the depths of Hell.” For this reason the Lord clearly sent the great adversary, the treader underfoot of the serpent, Mary, and with her, the holy Angels.

At Fatima Mary promised, “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” When she appeared in Montichiari with the three roses over her motherly Heart, she said, “I come with an power and wisdom, with the fruit of redemption, with pity, with the love and the riches of the triune God.” What weapons of defense and offense does she offer? The first and most important, the most effective and victorious weapon is the recitation of the Holy Rosary! She made this request repeatedly. Why then? The Rosary is a digest of Holy Scripture, a meditation on the Bible, a summary of Christian doctrine (Archbishop Dr. Schaufele), a tremendous source of faith, hope and love, a channel of abundant grace, and a  golden treasury of eternal life.

The Heavenly Roses Versus the Satanic

The white roses of the joyful mysteries, the red roses of the sorrowful mysteries, and the golden roses of the glorious mysteries of the Rosary will help to overcome the false roses of Satan and unmask them as mere deceptions. Today Satan and his helpers have made their way into the very temple of God, to strike the shepherds and disperse the sheep. It concerns the heart and marrow of the Church. It is a matter of “to be or not to be!” Therefore the Lord has sent, in His Divine Mercy, His Own Mother, as “Rosa Mystica. Here “Rosa Mystica” does not imply only “Full of Grace” but also, and especially, “Crusher of the Serpent.”

Victor in All God’s Battles

As so often in the history of the Church, the genuine inner renewal must start at the head and then reach the members. First then is the renewal of priests and religious; i.e., the shepherds. The scattered flock of Christ will then collect around them spontaneously.

On July 22, 1973, Our Lady promised, “If people pay heed to this invitation (prayer, penance, atonement), this will be the most evident miracle: (first in the Church itself) the return of the children of the true faith, to the true love of
God!”

When the Catholic Church has renewed itself in its offices as teacher, pastor, and dispenser of Divine grace, (i.e., when the faith becomes again alive and united,) when the commandments of God and the authority of the Church are again fully and joyfully accepted; when, above all, the seven Sacraments of Holy Church, (among them especially the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and sacramental Confession) gleam with a new radiance; when all the sacramentals and other pious means to salvation are made use of—–this will be the most apparent miracle worked by God through Mary.

Catholic churches and chapels must, before all else, become houses of God and not mere showplaces. Our Eucharistic Lord and Saviour must again become the dominating center of our churches. When the priests themselves relegate our Eucharistic God to a side altar or chapel, they make Him subsidiary in the church. They make themselves the main thing; decidedly they put themselves in the place which belongs to the throne of the Most High. This cannot be pleasing to God and His Mother.

The main thing in the church is the Lord, not a human being. It is probably here that lies the deepest cause for the
frightening devaluation of the priesthood and sacred vows. It is obvious that this is what the reverse side of the medal referred to (which the “Rosa Mystica” showed to the visionary on May 19, 1970—–a round and domed church with three great wide and inviting doors, which had the inscription, “Mary, Mother of the Church”). If the Church is renewed first in her head and then in her members, she will gleam again as the glorious Bride of Christ. She will become anew to her own children clarity, security, stability, a home of refuge, and a mother. From this genuinely renewed Church, a bright and mighty stream of power and attraction will go out to other Churches and seekers of God. This will be followed by reunion in faith and then peace for the whole world.

Montichiari does in truth appear to be a continuation of Fatima, a lighthouse in the storm of our time: “In the end my unsullied Heart will triumph and there will be peace.”

A significant prayer of the Pope which throws light on the Church’s plight, but anticipates Mary’s help with hope:

“O Mary, beautiful as the moon, shining brightly as the sun, into whose countenance the blessed look, and in which the Angels see themselves, grant that we, thy children, become like thee. Let our souls pick up a ray of thy beauty which never fades, but gleams ever new forever.

“O Mary, Sun of Heaven, reawaken life where it has been extinguished, enlighten the mind where darkness reigns. Whenever thou shinest upon the face of thy children, leave us a reflection of thy light and thy warmth!

“O Mary, strong as an army, grant victory to our hosts. We are so fragile and our enemies rage with such insolence, but under thy banner, we are secure and we conquer. They know the power of thy foot and fear the majesty of thy glance. Save us, O Mary, fair as the moon, glorious as the sun, strong as a well-disciplined army which relies not on hatred but upon the flame of love. Amen.”

[Pope Pius XII]