***Provided by Facebook user Jobert Abiva***
In Study of
Catholicism and Mariology:
OUR LADY OF THE
UNIVERSE
(Our Lady of Saint
Joseph)
The Blessed Virgin
Mary was reported to have appeared in Bronx (a borough of New York City, United
States).
Young children had seen something
floating above the hill behind the house, and when one child named Joseph went
there and prayed the Hail Mary prayer, he immediately saw a young woman whom he
identified as the “Virgin Mary” with the “Star of David” on her heart. They
were asked to do a regular prayer vigil to pray for world peace; then the site
was visited by up to 30,000 people including famous celebrities;
The Bronx is home to a
huge avenue or boulevard called the Grand Concourse. This huge road was envisioned
by a European immigrant, and the project was begun in 1894 and finished in 1909;
then afterwards, many art deco buildings were built alongside the which
stretches for 5.2 miles (or 8.4 kilometers).
THE MARIAN APPARITION
The buildings contain
art and housed various immigrants (such as Jews, Germans, Irish and Italians
unto the 60's); while the Puerto Ricans and the African Americans had replaced
them afterward until the late 90's, when the Dominicans and other migrants from
Latin America began to move in.
There are even old church
buildings still present, which houses various “Christian” world organizations.
However, further north is a small plot of land with a boulder that was left
over from the last Ice Age; and it was said that on that rock was where the
Virgin Mary has appeared.
In 1945, a young Roman
Catholic boy named Joseph Vitolo (who was 9 years of age and an Italian, born
to Italian immigrants), has claimed to have seen a shining woman on a vacant
lot just behind his family home (Blue house on 3194 Villa Avenue).
The young boy claimed
that the shining woman was about 5 feet tall, and he described her as wearing
all white, standing on a crescent moon holding blue Rosary beads with a “Star
of David” on her chest, and wearing a 12-star crown.
And the boy said that
on other occasions, she was wearing an all light blue, or all pink, or all black
clothing. The Lady became to be known as “Our Lady of the Universe” (and also
as “Our Lady of the Concourse”).
As the news had spread
in the area, thousands and thousands of people (particularly Catholics) had flocked
to the spot in hopes of witnessing any apparition, or experiencing something
supernatural. In fact, as many as 30,000 had packed the Grand Concourse praying
the Holy Rosary, and hoping for a sign or miracle.
Some claimed to have experienced
healing or other miracles, although there was no medical documentation that proved
such claims. But the gathering of the 30,000 was considered as that larger than
the 4,000 and 5,000 that were fed by Jesus Christ for free (as mentioned in the
Bible of multiplying nutritious foods rather for everyone).
But in the case of the
Marian apparitions, the people became fed with a spiritual moment of peace and
unity through prayer (knowing that they have become the “apparition” for the
“Second Coming” of Jesus Christ with His mother, Mother Mary; in preparation
for the “gathering of God’s People”, after the prophesied “Destruction of the
City of Babylon”, as mentioned in the Apocalypse or Revelation of the Bible).
Moreover, the public media
even covered the apparitions (including Time and Life magazines); while other
periodicals cover the story including ‘Catholics ones’, ‘The Bronx Home News’, ‘New
York Journal’, ‘New York Post’, ‘New York Herald Tribune’ and ‘New York Times’,
etc.
SUPPORT FROM THE
CHURCH
What was noted though
was that the religious authorities of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New
York did not bother investigating the claims that “Mother Mary” had appeared in
the Bronx County on the Grand Concourse (of New York City); but neither did
they condemn it or barred the church-goers from participating in the Marian
gatherings, and no warning was given to the clergy about the apparitions as
well.
However, although
there was the nearby parish church building (named Saint Philip Neri, who was a
Catholic priest who gave free education to the poor), but the reports say that the
Roman Catholic priests did not provide Mass services for the simple open-air Marian
shrine dedicated to the Marian apparition site of the Virgin Mary; and whether
or not the Roman Catholic priests did visit the gatherings was ever known (but others
say that they did not wear the clerical uniforms as plainclothes priests, or perhaps
the clergy had ignored it, by instead following their top rank religious
authorities).
The reported Marian apparitions
did not contain any secrets (like that of “Our Lady of Fatima”), or any major
supernatural messages, other than a request from the Virgin Mary to pray the
Rosary for peace.
According to the
advocates of the “Our Lady of the Universe” apparitions, that there was no
promise of a warning, sign, miracle or anything considered supernatural (since the
worldly people got used to the “excitement” shown by the wealthy media world organizations
such as television, radio, movies, newspapers, etc. that they’d rather believe).
But the Marian request was simple – be prayerful to God, through the holy
rosary.
According to the story,
that on one occasion, Joseph reported that the Virgin Mary asked if he knew who
Saint Bernadette Soubirous was (whom was the Marian visionary of the 1858 “Our
Lady of Lourdes” apparitions in France). Then the boy replied he did not know
the Marian visionary.
Then the Virgin Mary told
the young child to do as she did (by making sure that the people are healthy,
spiritually and physically, as much as the “Our Lady of Lourdes” water became a
well-known miraculous healing “holy water”).
And in another
occasion, the young boy Joseph said that Our Lady had rosary beads, and had eventually
“broken away”; and while she bent and tried to pick all of them up, she had told
him that one was nowhere to be found, and that he needs to find it.
No one immediately understood
the meaning of Joseph’s story, but others had seen it as a sign that family
unity is required to fulfill the meaning of the “rosary” – beyond that it
seemed to be a necklace, as a chain of individual beads put together, but
rather a form of devotion to prayer that would hopefully flourish unto a "congregation
of the rosary", as a group of prayerful people (on what makes rosaries
truly beautiful, than a mere material thing kept).
And thus, that “rosary
bead” that needs to be found could only meant at least one person to lead them
to pray the devotion, wherein the word “rosary” came from the word “rose” (believed
to be a symbol of wise person who humbled oneself in seeking for the help of a heavenly
mother, accepted as one’s mother, whom is the Virgin Mary).
And the boy’s
faithfulness and love of God (as he had the same name of the spouse of the
Virgin Mary as mentioned in the Bible), could be that sought-after part, as represented
by the young boys (who required more discipline and wisdom in following the
life of the grown-up Jesus).
THE YOUNG BOY JOSEPH
However, as the
incidents remained a mystery, others interpret that the Virgin Mary has been teaching
a boy named Joseph to grow up to become a wise man, as loving and as faithful
as her spouse, whom was Father Saint Joseph who belonged to the “House of King David”
(or the story of a poor shepherd boy who became king, for defeating a giant
military warrior).
Thus, the young boy
Joseph was called by God to become that grown-up Father Saint Joseph; to care
for “Mother Mary” (as represented by the mothers) and the “Virgin Mary” (as
represented by the young girls), and eventually become the foster father of “Jesus
Christ” (represented by all majority the poorer common people of all Humanity).
According to Joseph, that
the Virgin Mary told him that if studied hard, goes to church, and prays very well
that he will be cleansed of his sins and he can become a priest; however, the
Virgin Mary did not specify what school (or subject), or what church, and
without any details on what Christian religious organization that he should
join for priesthood – except that he should pray the Holy Rosary very well, for
the spiritual cleansing of his soul.
Joseph also said that
the Virgin Mary also said that the people should build a Church on the place of
her appearance.
It is interesting to
note that Joseph did enter a Roman Catholic seminary, but he said that he did
not find the experience that great. Moreover, there no Roman Catholic church building
that was built on the spot (amidst the many Roman Catholic church building
projects in the area and built in other Roman Catholic-approved apparition
sites). Instead, a makeshift altar was built, and religious statues were added
to create a private Marian shrine, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Joseph stated that he
would pray the “Our Father”, “Hail Mary” and “Glory be”; and then, the Virgin
Mary would make her appearance before him at around 7 PM in the evening. And he
said that she would appear to him for only about 5 to 10 minutes; however,
observers around him claimed that he was there for almost an hour in “mystical ecstatic
experience” (said to be an “our of this
world” experience), and without motion in a stance of prayer.
THE MIRACULOUS SIGNS
During the Marian apparitions,
it was reported that those present claimed that all the “votive candles” (or
that offered or consecrated in fulfillment of a vow) - that were lit on the spot, had turned off
except for the one in the center.
There was also one incident
reported, that on Halloween (on October 31, 1945), there
were some in the crowd
who voiced their disbelief at the young child, and then, the “votive candles”
would turn off without interference from anyone or anything visible. And such
instances would silence the skeptics in the crowd.
On the last night of
the Marian apparitions, some claimed to have witnessed the "sky opened",
and what looked like an “angel” descending; while others did not see the
alleged “angel” but only the sky opening. While some claimed to have seen the
Virgin Mary ascending into the opening (similar to the description of one of
the rosary’s mysteries called “The Assumption of the Virgin Mary to Heaven”).
After 1947, interest in the Marian shrine and the Marian apparitions had begun to decline, as the people went about again in their busy life to instead meet the demands of the city (as among the wealthiest and busiest cities in the world). But today, the remnants of the Marian shrine remain, of how Heaven gave “manna” (or free food) to the believers.
In the present-day, people
are not sure if the Marian shrine accepts visitors; even if ever since that the
more accepted church buildings among cities (such as that in Rome, Paris, Washington
DC, Manhattan in New York City, London, Jerusalem, etc.) have been more given
priority for investments by the wealthy religious world organizations.
Moreover, even if
there was no solicitation of donations, or further publications, or anything of
that kind (considering that the city has the most richest people, even of the
same religion), but to believe in such a young boy and follow the wishes of the
messages of Mother Mary has exulted the young child beyond all investments and
projects involved in the cities.
Then the Marian
apparitions, that the Virgin Mary (as the “Queen of Heaven”) has appeared to
her “chosen ones” in New York City, has eventually become an “urban legend” (or
a humorous or horrific story circulated as though
true, especially one to involve the teller); particularly if the worldly
people, even if Christians, should believe a young boy who promoted the Virgin
Mary (as “Our Lady of the Universe”) that only he had seen, as compared to the
world-renowned “Miss Universe” beauty pageants that influenced the worldly
women’s notion on what is “beauty” and what is “beautiful”.
Thus, others say that the Virgin Mary could
have perhaps been teaching her chosen children on the true meaning of “beautiful”,
rather found upon the help that the young boy provided, by following the wishes
of his adopting heavenly mother, also known as the Mother of God, wherein God has
been known to be the Creator of the entire universe; and her example of
accepting a poor young boy as her own, also brings about an inspiration to all
mothers to accept all the children (of boys and girls) as their own.
Since then, Joseph himself
did not earn any money with regards to the reported Marian apparitions, and he even
struggled to find a good paying job as he grew older (and then he passed away
in 2010).
SIGNS & SYMBOLS OF
THE MARIAN IMAGES
Although the advocates
of the Marian apparitions did not find anything contrary to Catholic doctrine
(or none expressed any argument); however, the boy’s reported appearance of the
“Star of David” on the chest of the Virgin Mary (as “Our Lady of the Universe”)
has gained attention, on what the sign could mean.
While the young boy
Joseph was a Roman Catholic, and he did not change his Christian religion ever
since, however, the “Star of David” has not been a very well-known symbol in
Catholicism (and Western Christianity); when the Virgin Mary, together with her
son Jesus and his foster Father Saint Joseph (as the Holy Family), and all the
other first batches of apostles and disciples – were all Jews from Israel (in
the Middle East).
Moreover, since the
Marian apparition happened in 1945, right after the end of World War II (from
1939 to 1945), the “Star of David” was used by the Nazi Germans throughout
Europe so as to label all the discriminated Jews, before they were all put into
concentration camps and were annihilated.
As the young boy
Joseph also described that the Virgin Mary, as the “Our Lady of Universe” was
standing on a crescent moon, however, various interpretations had risen every
since.
While the crescent
symbol was used in astrology, alchemy, and among Roman and Greek gods &
goddesses (often representing the female, with the sun representing the male). However,
in Catholic tradition, the crescent entered Marian iconography, by the
association of Mary with the “Woman of the Apocalypse” (described with
"the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" in
Revelation). And the most well-known representation of “Mary as the Woman of
the Apocalypse” has been the “Virgin of Guadalupe” (in Mexico); while the crescent is also a religious symbol used by Islam (that
begun with the Turkish Empire).
While others say that
the young boy, even if he was from Italy (in Europe), that he could have had a
Jewish bloodline in him, as believed by the Jews as a royal blood line as a
descendant connected to King David (of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament Bible);
while others speculated that the young boy could have just made up the
apparition story in order to defend the large Jewish population in the area.
Others say that even
if a people have no Jewish blood line, but that Mother Mary chose the believing
people as her own new “royal blood line” (in place of the other).
While others say that
the young boy represented rather the discrimination that the youth gets from
the older men, particularly those who are more wealthy and politically powerful
in the “world” (of hierarchical world organizations) – and that through Mother
Mary, that the young boys were chosen to rather represent the “Heaven” that God
yearns through family love, than the business competitions and world wars that
many of the older men have rather indulged in.
Others say that the
young boy was chosen to connect the Virgin Mary, whom was the mother of the
awaited Messiah (Jesus Christ), to all the Jewish communities who also
celebrate the Passover meal in their family homes (in thanksgiving to the God
of Adam & Eve, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, David, Jacob, etc.) - as much
as Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist (also as sharing the bread and food to
his disciples as the Christian Passover meal), believed to have been patterned
from that Passover meal since Jesus was a Jew (but then the tradition was changed
into the rite of the Mass by Western Christians held in church buildings built
by the labelled “Christian” religious world organizations).
Nevertheless, as much
as many Christians believe that the family relationship of Mother Mary and
Jesus Christ (Son of God and the awaited “Messiah”) could also be the answer to
the prophecy in Genesis - when God cursed the serpent (Satan the Devil) for
tempting Eve (whom was the first woman), to have tasted the forbidden fruit
from the “Tree of Knowledge” (and eventually also tempted Adam) – said to be
the beginning of the “original sin” handed down to generations (when “forbidden
knowledge” then becomes manifested among people like a “curse” found in
producing things that are not of family welfare, such as buildings, cities and
war weapons and more world organizations.
Thus, when the story
of Adam and Eve say that God gave them the entire “Garden of Eden” (believed to
be the entire natural resources of Earth, planet Earth itself, and that of the
entire universe); to feel free of what nurtures their family health, than
merely satisfying the unlimited desires of the mind that created the “man-made
world” – then, many Christians believe that Mother Mary could be that “woman” (as
the “New Eve”) and that Jesus (as the “New Adam”) could be that “seed” that God
promised that would eventually defeat the Devil (and its wicked world).
Only after 25 years that another Marian visionary came (named
Mother Veronica) of the “Our Lady of the Roses” (1970-1995; Bayside, New York,
United States of America); and as much as she claimed that Mother Mary appeared
to a mother such as her, and gave messages with regards to prophecies, motherly
sermons, and other inspirations for the love of her son Jesus – she was also
supported by the local people (however, not by the world organizations among
the Roman Catholic religious and governments).
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
APPARITION
Therefore, perhaps the
significance of the Marian apparition story, that the Virgin Mary appeared in
New York City - as among the wealthiest and politically-powerful cities and
city-states (as independent from the entire country) – is that the Marian
message becomes a warning to all the people in the world cities (as the
headquarters of many world organizations and minority top ranks in the world
that benefit most in wealth).
Wherein perhaps, the purity
of the young boy (for his love for Mother Mary, the mother of the Creator of
the Universe) - could have been the chosen one by God the Creator of the
universe (with all the galaxies and planet earth and humanity in it).
However, as the Marian
apparition story teaches, that “Heaven” is found in a mother and son
relationship (as much as the relationship between Mother Mary and the young
child Joseph).
And that family love
then differentiates what is genuine love and love for the excessive production
of material things for the sake of the desires of greed, that also brings about
more inequalities, poverties, and wars among other people throughout the world,
that could unjustly subdue all humanity, and further cause the degradation and
depletion of natural resources on planet Earth.
(researched)
