Of course I respect your right to believe these are promises from Mary.
Nothing in my post said otherwise. For those of my FR RC friendss who have invited me to come home to Rome I am explaining why I can not and will not.
Ah ok. Thanks for clearing that up. Sorry if I seemed belligerent in that response. I just get defensive at times concerning Catholic beliefs. It can be a bad trait at times. That's good to know.
Steve, I think you are misunderstanding this. These are not promises "from" Mary per se. These are graces God has graced Mary with and distributes through her. Does He need to distribute His grace through anyone? No, but we know sometimes He chooses to. There are plenty of people alive in this world who have been found worthy and been given the fruits of the Holy Spirit; the ability to heal, preach the Word, exorcise demons, etc. Catholics believe that individuals who attain a very high level of spiritual development, as Mary undoubtedly did, are graced with fruits of the Spirit. What begins in this world carries over into the next for we live forever in Christ. Mary had the ultimate born again experience. She has received far more graces than anyone of us can imagine by virtue of her experience.
Mary in many ways is considered Christ's first evangelist. Catholics believe that Christ is ever present with us in the Eucharist (as He promised He would be) and Mary continues to spread belief in Him through her apparitions. The fruits of these in the laity are always increased devotion and vocation. Her greatest appearance of the last century was at Fatima, Portugal in 1917 where the miracle of the sun was witnessed by 10,000 people and has been recorded as an historical event. The conversions which occur as a result of these appearances go to Christ, not Mary. She is his biggest cheerleader. The Spirit goes where it will.
Fine.Then shut your mouth.We will sort this out on our own.