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OUR LADY AND ISLAM: HEAVEN’S PEACE PLAN
Soul Magazine /Eternal Word Television Network ^ | September - October 2001, page 6 | Fr Ladis J. Cizik

Posted on 04/06/2008 6:15:08 PM PDT by kellynla

Islam

Islam is an Arabic word that can be defined as "to make peace." Islam is the religion founded by Mohammed, which considers the Koran as its holy book. In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works. 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, Heaven's Peace Plan, involving Our Lady, is evidenced at Fatima, Portugal as well as other places around the world.

Fatima

The Moors once occupied Portugal. The village of Fatima was given the Islamic name of the well-loved Princess of the nearby Castle of Ourem. She died at an early age after marrying the Count of Ourem and converting to Catholicism. Baptized with the Christian name of Oureana, she was named at birth "Fatima," like many other Moslem girls, in honor of the daughter of Mohammed. Of his daughter, Fatima, the founder of Islam, Mohammed, said: "She has the highest place in heaven after the Virgin Mary."

It is a fact that Moslems from various nations, especially from the Middle East, make so many pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima's 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 Heaven's Peace Plan. It is hope for the world.

The Koran

In the Koran, the holy name of the Blessed Virgin Mary is mentioned no less than thirty times. No other woman's name is even mentioned, not even that of Mohammed's daughter, Fatima. Among men, only Abraham, Moses, and Noah are mentioned more times than Our Lady. 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 Holy Land

The Holy Land has been a real battleground between the Islamic peoples and Christianity over the centuries. Evidence of this are the numerous churches and basilicas that have been built by the Church, destroyed by, the Moslems, rebuilt by Catholic Crusaders, leveled again by the followers of Islam, and so on over the course of history. However, there is one remarkable exception: the Basilica of Saint Anne in Jerusalem.

The Crusaders built this church and named it in honor of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Crypt of St. Anne's Basilica, a statue of the Infant Mary is venerated on what is believed to be the exact spot where Our Lady was born. Their great reverence for Our Lady precluded the Moslems from destroying her birthplace. The foundation for Heaven's Peace Plan at Fatima, Portugal, can be found in the Land of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spain

As the Moslems swept through Spain in the 8th century, a great religious treasure was buried for safe-keeping in the earth, high in the Estremadura Mountains. It was a much venerated statue of Our Lady holding the Divine Child Jesus that was a gift of Pope Gregory the Great to Bishop Leander of Seville. After the overthrow of Moorish occupation, the image was uncovered in the year 1326, subsequent to a vision of Our Lady to a humble shepherd by the name of Gil. Our Lady's very special statue was enshrined in a nearby Franciscan Monastery next to the "Wolf River."

The Moslems, during their Spanish occupation, had actually named the river. The Islamic term for Wolf River is "Guadalupe" (Guada = River; Lupe = Wolf). Hence, the famous Catholic image in Spain has been known, since the 14th century, by the Islamic name of "Our Lady of Guadalupe."

Mexico

In the fullness of time, we can be sure that Almighty God knew that the Islamic religion would pose a serious threat to Christianity. God also knew that the Spanish missionaries would face grave resistance in the "new world" from the mighty Aztec Indians. 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 Lady's 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. However, Bishop Zumarraga, who was from Spain, made what was no doubt a "heavenly mistake" that one day may lead to the mass conversion of Moslems. To the Bishop's Spanish ears, Our Lady's Aztec name of "Te Quatlasupe" sounded just like the name of the revered Madonna from Spain with the Islamic name, "Guadalupe." Hence, the bishop named the Mexican Madonna "Our Lady of Guadalupe." It is interesting that the "crescent" is also the symbol for Islam and that America's Shrine to Our Lady has an Islamic name.

Battle of Lepanto

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 the hour of victory, St. Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away at the Vatican, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and exclaimed with supernatural radiance: "The Christian fleet is victorious!" and shed tears of thanksgiving to God.

What you may not know is that one of three admirals commanding the Catholic forces at Lepanto was Andrea Doria. He carried a small copy of Mexico's Our Lady of Guadalupe into battle. This image is now enshrined in the Church of San Stefano in Aveto, Italy. Not many know that at the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain, one can view a huge warship lantern that was captured from the Moslems in the Battle of Lepanto. In Rome, look up to the ceiling of S. Maria in Aracoeli and behold decorations in gold taken from the Turkish galleys. In the Doges' Palace in Venice, Italy, one can witness a giant Islamic flag that is now a trophy from a vanquished Turkish ship from the Victory. At Saint Mary Major Basilica in Rome, close to the tomb of the great St. Pope Pius V, one was once able to view yet another Islamic flag from the Battle, until 1965, when it was returned to Istanbul in an intended friendly token of concord.

The Rosary

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!

The Battle of Lepanto was at first celebrated liturgically as "Our Lady of Victory." Later, the feast of October 7th was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and extended throughout the Universal Church by Pope Clement XI in 1716 (who canonized Pope Pius V in 1712).

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!


TOPICS: History; Prayer; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: fatima; islam; koran; ourlady
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1 posted on 04/06/2008 6:15:08 PM PDT by kellynla
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To: Salvation; NYer; narses

ping


2 posted on 04/06/2008 6:15:44 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla
thank you for posting. this is highly relevant, imho. I've been saying for years that Our Lady is the key to our current battle and I believe she desires the conversion of Muslims.

I guess the least I could do is read the entire piece....;)

3 posted on 04/06/2008 6:28:01 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (can u feel the unity?)
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To: the invisib1e hand

You might also find Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s thoughts on Islam interesting.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1997739/posts


4 posted on 04/06/2008 6:36:15 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla
"In addition, Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works.


It is not that simple. Islam considers the versions used by Christians and Jews to have been corrupted and in need of restoration. That restoration is accomplished by the Koran. We are not talking about differing interpretation of commonly held scripture like in the case of Christian and Jews in regards to the Old Testament.
5 posted on 04/06/2008 6:42:35 PM PDT by rob777 (Personal Responsibility is the Price of Freedom)
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To: kellynla
You might also find Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s thoughts on Islam interesting.

I have indeed. Not only interesting, but inspiring. Thank you.

6 posted on 04/06/2008 7:06:40 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (can u feel the unity?)
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To: kellynla

A ton of stuff I find unworthy of belief in that doc.

My greatest curiosity, though, is why . . . how is it that the ‘peace plan’ proffered at Fatima . . .

the evidence indicates via rather advanced technologies and . . . deceptions . . .

but why . . . how is it that the peace plan fits so hand in glove with the globalist’s new age peace plan? . . . of course depending on which variation one is considering.


7 posted on 04/06/2008 7:11:20 PM PDT by Quix (GOD ALONE IS GOD; WORTHY; PAID THE PRICE; IS COMING AGAIN; KNOWS ALL; IS LOVING; IS ALTOGETHER GOOD)
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To: rob777
Islam was created as a counterbalance to stop and eventually destroy Christianity. CHrist was sent here by his father and those who would depose the father will use any means to do so.

We are all witness to the fact that Christ has dominion over all angels and rulers in heaven. To deny the divinity and authority of christ is the first goal of Islam. Until the catholic church admits this first fact about islam - we are doomed.

8 posted on 04/06/2008 7:24:59 PM PDT by x_plus_one ("let them eat cake, drive small electric cars and take the bus")
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To: x_plus_one

NO organization will win the battle . . .

CHRIST ALONE IS VICTOR . . . HIS UNIVERSAL BODY FROM ALL BIBLICAL GROUPS WILL REIGN WITH HIM

Those failing to rise to the challenge of unity IN HIS SPIRIT AND BLOOD—PERIOD—will risk not being part of HIS BODY.

after all organizations have gone the way of the dust bin of history.


9 posted on 04/06/2008 7:40:48 PM PDT by Quix (GOD ALONE IS GOD; WORTHY; PAID THE PRICE; IS COMING AGAIN; KNOWS ALL; IS LOVING; IS ALTOGETHER GOOD)
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To: kellynla
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.

I call myself I Christian, I don't believe there is any evidence that Mary was a "perpetual virgin", and I don't give a rat's patootie about what single Muslim thinks about it.

10 posted on 04/06/2008 7:56:50 PM PDT by T Minus Four (You don't put ashes on your head for someone who lives!)
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To: T Minus Four

“I don’t believe there is any evidence that Mary was a “perpetual virgin”, and I don’t give a rat’s patootie about what single Muslim thinks about it.”

Then why are you here? LOL


11 posted on 04/06/2008 9:12:19 PM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla
Islam accepts the New Testament of the Christians and the Old Testament of the Jews as Divinely inspired works.

So they say, but they're lying. Otherwise, they'd believe what the bible says.

12 posted on 04/07/2008 7:26:05 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: kellynla
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!

That's right...Muzlims are far more Christian (Catholic) than we are...

Apparently you people figure a person can't get to Jesus without going thru Mary...

13 posted on 04/07/2008 8:24:17 AM PDT by Iscool
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To: T Minus Four

I do find it interesting that the tone of some of the statements in this article imply that Catholicism has more in common with Islam than it does with non-Catholic Christians. I would think other Catholics should be aghast at that implication.


14 posted on 04/07/2008 9:13:04 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: Iscool
“Apparently you people figure a person can't get to Jesus without going thru Mary”

Maybe you should stick to your beliefs instead of attempting to tell us Catholics what you “think” ours are. LMAO

Try reading the piece a little more carefully and maybe you'll realize the point is that hopefully & through prayers, Muslims will be converted to Christianity through their already established knowledge of the Virgin Mary...
gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

15 posted on 04/07/2008 10:33:16 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: MEGoody

“I do find it interesting that the tone of some of the statements in this article imply that Catholicism has more in common with Islam than it does with non-Catholic Christians. I would think other Catholics should be aghast at that implication?”

You might try reading the piece again since you missed the entire point.


16 posted on 04/07/2008 10:35:49 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: kellynla
You might try reading the piece again since you missed the entire point.

You might try reading my post again since you missed the entire point.

I NEVER SAID the point of the article was to claim that Islam has more in common with Catholicism than non-Catholic Christians.

17 posted on 04/07/2008 10:37:50 AM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: kellynla
Also from Archbishop Sheen -

The following was written in 1952 and reprinted in the October 2001 Mindszenty Report

The Power of Islam by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Misunderstanding the notion of the Trinity, Mohammed made Christ a prophet, announcing Him just as to Christians Isaiah and John the Baptist are prophets announcing Christ. The Christian European West barely escaped destruction at the hands of the Moslems. At one point they were stopped near Tours and at another point, later on in time, outside the gates of Vienna. The Church throughout northern Africa was practically destroyed by Moslem power, and at the present hour, the Moslems are beginning to rise again. If Moslemism is a heresy, as Hilaire Belloc believes it to be, it is the only heresy that has never declined. Others have had a moment of vigor, then gone into doctrinal decay at the death of the leader, and finally evaporated in a vague social movement. Moslemism, on the contrary, has only had its first phase. There was never a time in which it declined, either in numbers, or in the devotion of its followers.

The missionary effort of the Church toward this group has been at least on the surface, a failure, for the Moslems are so far almost unconvertible. The reason is that for a follower of Mohammed to become a Christian is much like a Christian becoming a Jew. The Moslems believe that they have the final and definitive revelation of God to the world and that Christ was only a prophet announcing Mohammed, the last of Gods real prophets.

At the present time, the hatred of the Moslem countries against the West is becoming a hatred against Christianity itself. Although the statesmen have not yet taken it into account, there is still grave danger that the temporal power of Islam may return and, with it, the menace that it may shake off a West which has ceased to be Christian, and affirm itself as a great anti-Christian world power. Moslem writers say, When the locust swarms darken countries, they bear on their wings these Arabic words: We are Gods host, each of us has ninety-nine eggs, and if we had a hundred, we should lay waste the world, with all that is in it. The problem is, how shall we prevent the hatching of the hundredth egg? It is our firm belief that the fears some entertain concerning the Moslems are not to be realized, but that Moslemism, instead, will eventually be converted to Christianity - and in a way that even some of our missionaries never suspect. It is our belief that this will happen not through the direct teachings of Christianity, but through a summoning of the Moslems to a veneration of the Mother of God. This is the line of argument: Mary, Mother of God The Koran, which is the Bible of the Moslems, has many passages concerning the Blessed Virgin. First of all, the Koran believes in her Immaculate Conception, and also, in her Virgin Birth. The third chapter of the Koran places the history of Marys family in a genealogy which goes back through Abraham, Noah, and Adam. When one compares the Korans description of the birth of Mary with the aprocryphal Gospel of the birth of Mary, one is tempted to believe that Mohammed very much depended upon the latter. Both books describe the old age and the definite sterility of the mother of Mary. When, however, she conceives, the mother of Mary is made to say in the Koran: O Lord, I vow and I consecrate to you what is already within me. Accept it from me.

When Mary is born, the mother says: And I consecrate her with all of her posterity under thy protection, O Lord, against Satan! The Koran passes over Joseph in the life of Mary, but the Moslem tradition knows his name and has some familiarity with him. In this tradition, Joseph is made to speak to Mary, who is a virgin. As he inquired how she conceived Jesus without a father, Mary answered: Do you not know that God, when He created the wheat had no need of seed, and that God by His power made the trees grow without the help of rain? All that God had to do was to say, So be it, and it was done. The Koran has also verses on the Annunciation, Visitation, and Nativity. Angels are pictured as accompanying the Blessed Mother and saying: Oh Mary, God has chosen you and purified you, and elected you above all the women of the earth.

In the nineteenth chapter of the Koran there are 41 verses on Jesus and Mary. There is such a strong defense of the virginity of Mary here that the Koran, in the fourth book, attributed the condemnation of the Jews to their monstrous calumny against the Virgin Mary.

The Significance of Fatima
Mary, then, is for the Moslems the true Sayyida, or Lady. The only possible serious rival to her in their creed would be Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed himself. But after the death of Fatima, Mohammed wrote: Thou shalt be the most blessed of all the women in Paradise, after Mary. In a variant of the text, Fatima is made to say, I surpass all the women, except Mary.

This brings us to our second point: namely, why the Blessed Mother, in the 20th century, should have revealed herself in the significant little village of Fatima, so that to all future generations she would be known as Our Lady of Fatima. Since nothing ever happens out of Heaven except with a finesse of all details, I believe that the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a pledge and a sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her divine Son too. Evidence to support these views is found in the historical fact that the Moslems occupied Portugal for centuries. At the time when they were finally driven out, the last Moslem chief had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima. A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and for him she not only stayed behind when the Moslems left, but even embraced the Faith. The young husband was so much in love with her that he changed the name of the town where he lived to Fatima. Thus, the very place where our Lady appeared in 1917 bears a historical connection to Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed. The final evidence of the relationship of Fatima to the Moslems is the enthusiastic reception which the Moslems in Africa and India and elsewhere gave to the Pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima, as mentioned earlier. Moslems attended the church services in honor of our Lady, they allowed religious processions and even prayers before their mosques; and in Mozambique the Moslems who were unconverted, began to be Christian as soon as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected.

A Missionary Strategy
Missionaries in the future will, more and more, see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure that they preach Our Lady of Fatima. Mary is the advent of Christ, bringing Christ to the people before Christ Himself is born. In an apologetic endeavor, it is always best to start with that which people already accept. Because the Moslems have a devotion to Mary, our missionaries should be satisfied merely to expand and to develop that devotion, with the full realization that Our Blessed Lady will carry the Moslems the rest of the way to her divine Son. She is forever a traitor, in the sense that she will not accept any devotion for herself, but will always bring anyone who is devoted to her to her divine Son. As those who lose devotion to her lose belief in the divinity of Christ, so those who intensify devotion to her gradually acquire that belief.

Many of our great missionaries in Africa have already broken down the bitter hatred and prejudices of the Moslems against the Christians through their acts of charity, their schools and hospitals. It now remains to use another approach, namely, that of taking the 41st chapter of the Koran and showing them that it was taken out of the Gospel of Luke, that Mary could not be, even in their own eyes, the most blessed of all the women of Heaven if she had not also borne the Savior of the world. If Judith and Esther of the Old Testament were pre-figures of Mary, then it may very well be that Fatima herself was a post-figure of Mary! The Moslems should be prepared to acknowledge that, if Fatima must give way in honor to the Blessed Mother, it is because she is different from all the other mothers of the world and that without Christ she would be nothing.
(This article courtesy of The Mindzenty Report, published by the Cardinal Mindzenty Foundation.)

18 posted on 04/07/2008 10:39:34 AM PDT by MomwithHope (Our country sure has some slim pickin's on both sides for 2008!)
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To: MEGoody

hey, I just quoted what you said...
if you have another point then make it...
gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


19 posted on 04/07/2008 10:43:22 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: the invisib1e hand
1 Timothy 2:

I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men: 2For kings, and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all piety and chastity. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: 6Who gave himself a redemption for all, a testimony in due times.

That includes mohammedans ... we certainly have to fight them, in the worldly sense. But if we are not also praying at all times for their conversion, and preaching the Gospel to them when we can, we fight in vain. God wants them to be saved.

20 posted on 04/07/2008 10:44:01 AM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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