The apparitions of Our Lady of Good Success in Quito, Ecuador, during the 16th and 17th centuries are filled with numerous prophecies that tell of the moral decadence that would characterize our times. On one such occasion, Our Lady appeared to the convent’s abbess, Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres. She made prophecies that present a beautiful analogy symbolizing an appalling future.
The vision began when Mother Mariana finished her prayers at three in the morning. As she prepared to depart from the choir loft, she noticed that the sanctuary lamp had burned out. When the abbess was making her way down to relight it, Our Lady suddenly appeared before her.
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The Blessed Virgin approached her daughter with serenity. She told her why the sanctuary candle went out. It was not a result of mere circumstance but a prefigurement of certain evils that would afflict the Church in upcoming centuries. She spoke of five specific neglects that would cause much suffering to the few remaining faithful during those times.
Current events show that the “future” has become the “present.” The following prophecies will make this evident.
1. Conventional Heresies Will Inflict Widespread Calamities
Our Lady first warned Mother Mariana that during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, numerous heresies would be “propagated in these lands.” They would extinguish the “precious light of faith” in souls. All aspects of the body and soul would suffer what Our Lady called an “unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom.” These trials would cause the death of many who would be “counted among the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the Church and the country.”
This propagation of heresy is clearly active in our times. In Ecuador, liberal leaders rose to power in 1905 that introduced foreign religions into the country. The main threat, however, came from liberal currents within the Church, which promoted modernist heresies in Ecuador. Bishops promoted agrarian land reform and employed class struggle tactics to push liberal errors under the guise of social reform. Such tactics attacked the Faith without people perceiving.
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Similar maneuvers are also at work in other countries. Devout Catholics around the world often find themselves at odds with some ecclesiastical leaders who side with anti-Catholic movements. These leaders condone Marxist movements such as Black Lives Matter while minimizing the importance of Catholic causes such as the March for Life. The debate over pro-abortion politicians and Holy Communion is a clear case where liberal ideas have infiltrated Church structures.
2. Vocations Will Decline At the Imprudent Hands of Religious Superiors
Secondly, Our Lady lamented an approaching decline in vocations that would leave those remaining “submerged in a depthless sea of unspeakable troubles.” The lack of judgment of religious superiors allowed novices to “return to the Babylon of the world.” Once they went back, they would become “agents of evil for the corruption of souls.”
This decline and neglect are well advanced. Numerous headlines highlight the plunging number of vocations to religious life. People blame it on “archaic” Church teaching while giving a blind eye to this prophecy of Our Lady of Good Success.
Young religious are being told to conform to the world rather than convert it. They must welcome the sin along with the sinner. Admonishing the sinner is a spiritual work of mercy, which is now considered an act of unspeakable cruelty. With such preparation for entering the religious life, is it any wonder that no novices abandon the Babylon they have been formed to accept?
3. A Culture of Impurity Will Pollute the Air
The third meaning behind the lamp going out is particularly relevant to our times. Our Lady cited the “poisoned atmosphere of impurity which will reign at that time like a filthy sea.” She warned that few virgin souls would remain while most would refuse to exercise self-restraint.
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This culture now dominates worldwide. Divorce is not only normal but expected. Marriage is disregarded by most, including Catholics. The only main push to defend “marriage” is a blasphemous effort to make same-sex pseudo-marriage universally accepted.
This effort has progressed immensely with little resistance among the clergy.
4. A Destruction of Youth Will Destroy the Priesthood
Next, Our Lady of Good Success warned that vocations to the priesthood will diminish because of “the power of sects and their ability to penetrate homes and families.” This power would subvert the beauty of innocence found in the hearts of children. Because of this corruption, the secular clergy would focus on their own wealth and comfort more than their ministry.
This action against the innocence of youth is also far-advanced. Social media, the Internet and secular education subvert the minds of children, thus preparing them to embrace and participate in a culture of sin. Desensitizing the young from sin has reduced the number of priests to a minimum, and those who are ordained often do not see a need to fight against this culture.
The loss of vocations among youth shows that this prophecy is taking place.
5. Economic Aid Will Be Denied the Cause of Christ
The final negligence revealed by the analogy of the sanctuary candle is about “those possessing great wealth who will indifferently stand by and witness the oppression of the Church.” Rather than use their God-given means to give back to Him, they either do nothing or contribute to the cause of the devil.
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In our times, this is happening. We often hear of the millionaire who squanders his money on worldly and sinful pleasures while never contributing to a virtuous cause. This attitude is one of self-love. Rather than rendering to God what is justly His, the selfish rich man seeks to receive his reward on this earth. Fighting against this culture of sin is the least of his concerns.
A fortune is not sinful, but misusing leads to perdition. These people are called to provide greater aid to the Faith, and their failure to do so prolongs the triumph of sin in our times.
With These Abysmal Prospects, We Must Confide
After having said this, the apparition ended, and Our Lady left Mother Mariana to reflect upon everything that had just taken place. At this moment, many anguishing thoughts began to fill her saintly mind with grief. Vast numbers of souls would be lost; the Church and many countries would be exposed to an intolerable agony; nations would face catastrophic chastisements. These reflections were too much for the abbess to bear, and she collapsed as a result of her sorrow.
Such a reaction is unlikely in contemporary man. We have become accustomed to a culture so permeated with these offenses that it diminishes the amount of horror we should have for them.
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Mother Mariana never experienced this normalization of immorality. Thus, her reaction was proportional. She prayed, wept and did penance for the looming outrages and chastisements revealed to her. This was her vocation, and she fulfilled it to a heroic degree.
However, our times require an additional component. We must respond to the temptation that a return to God is impossible by confiding ever more in God and Our Lady.
We must trust that she will deliver her faithful children from the snares of Satan. We must be assured that the moment will come when she will intervene and end the affliction caused by the corruption of our days.
When we hesitate, we must call to mind the promise of Our Lady of Good Success when she said, “I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my heel and chaining him in the infernal abyss, finally freeing the Church and the country from his cruel tyranny.”
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