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On the darkest nights, the
stars shine the brightest... Fr. John Corapi The Catholic Church is the Church which Jesus Christ
founded in Matthew 16:18.
It is the only Church that can make that claim.
From the first day of founding, the Church has been under
constant attack from within and from without, yet it has endured for almost 2000
years and has grown to over one billion Catholics. The reasons for this
phenomenal growth can be found in Holy Scripture.
Jesus Christ said in
Matthew 16:18, "...and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
In
Matthew 28:20, Jesus promised to be with His Church 'all days', that means every
day in every century with no gaps.
The reason that the Church has endured
and prospered so long is that Jesus promised it would,
"even unto the
consummation of the world."
History has shown us that when the Bride of Christ is under serious attack, GOD does one of three things.
1. He raises a Saint to defend her:
This is
historical fact. Read about St. Francis, St. Dominic, St. Teresa of Avila and
hundreds of others who 'just happened to be there' when they were needed
most.
2. He sends the Blessed Virgin Mary to warn us of impending danger:
Read about Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, Akita, and many other sites where she
appeared. Read her messages.
3. He manifests a miracle:
The greatest
of these in recent times was the miracle of the sun which occurred on October
13, 1917 at Fatima Portugal.
This happening was witnessed by over seventy
thousand people and is well documented both within and external to the
Church.
The same is as true today as it has been in the past. The
Church is under great stress today and look at what has been happening?
The
Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared in many countries all over the
world,
Mexico, Japan, Belgium, Portugal, France, Kenya,
Egypt, and others.
It appears that her apparitions are on the
increase in our time, so that must mean the urgency is on the increase
also.
