Our Lady and Islam

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OUR LADY AND ISLAM: HEAVEN'S PEACE PLAN

Fr Ladis J. Cizik, Blue Army National Executive Director

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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!

 

 

Taken from:

Soul Magazine

© 2001 The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, U.S.A., Inc.

September - October 2001, page 6

 

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Website: http://www.bluearmy.com

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or Phone Toll Free: 866-513-1917

 

 

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