Don Stefano Gobbi
"Dear brothers! We have been chosen for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For this reason, Our Lady has initiated THE MARIAN MOVEMENT OF PRIESTS within the Church and She has chosen us priests to be part of this movement, so we can act as tools for the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart in the world.
But how can we be tools of this Triumph?
Our Lady must triumph in our lives. In order to be able to do this, She wishes that we consecrate ourselves to Her Immaculate Heart, so She can enter into our priestly lives as mother. Now She begins to transform us in order to make us more and more to priests according to the most Holy Heart of Jesus. When She sees that we have become similar to Her Son Jesus, then Her Immaculate Heart triumphs within us.
In order to support us on this journey, She asks of us to gather in 'Cenacles', so that the Holy Spirit can transform us. She transforms us through Her messages. With these messages Our Lady helps us so that we can live our consecration to Her Immaculate Heart so that this heart will triumph in our lives. Then when it triumphs within our life, we will be able to become tools for the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart in the world. These thoughts lead us to the main topic regarding the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST IN GLORY.
Where does the Immaculate Heart of Mary triumph?
Her Immaculate Heart triumphs only in the glorious triumph of Christ. This is a topic, a meditation, about which I can only talk with apprehension. Because it is a new topic, which I, myself, was surprised to discover in the messages Our Lady has given me.
Naturally, I was not prepared for this aspect. Because this aspect was not part of my theological studies, namely: the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary comes through the Second Coming of Christ in Glory.
Dear brothers, this is clearly and strongly expressed in the messages of Our Lady. I looked through the first messages in order to find out when Our Lady first mentioned this topic and noticed that Mary touched this subject already in Her first messages.
Already on December 24, 1975, that is 21 years ago (!), She said:
"Don't be afraid! As my heart has given you the Redeemer, so it is giving you the joy of His Redemption today. Soon the entire world, which is enwrapped in darkness and was snatched away from my Son, will enjoy the fruits of this Holy Night. The triumph of my Immaculate Heart will be fulfilled in the rebirth of Jesus in the hearts and souls of my poor children, who have gone astray. Be confident! Don't let either fear or despondency overwhelm you! The future, which is awaiting you, will be a new rising of the divine light. The entire world will then be cleansed and purged."
This topic of the Rebirth of Christ within the hearts of men is specifically dealt with and explained in the locution of December 24, 1978 and this topic is repeatedly referred to. The last messages continuously repeat this reality. Therefore, we cannot deny them, but must deal with them in depth, that is, search for the reasons behind and explain these reasons to those who ask us for them - as far as the hope within us is concerned, as the Pope says.
Let us go back to the message of December 24, 1978, which is entitled "His Second Coming":
"My beloved sons, His Second Coming will be like His first. As His birth occurred in this night, so the Second Coming of Jesus in Glory will be - prior to His last coming for the Last Judgement. However, this hour is still hidden in the mysteries of the Father. The world will be totally enwrapped in the darkness of atheism, the rejection of God and the rebellion against the divine laws of His love. The ice of hatred will make the streets of the world barren. So almost no one will be ready to accept Him. The mighty will not even remember Him, the rich will close their doors to Him, while His disciples will be busy looking for themselves and praising their own deeds… "When the Son of Man comes, will He still find faith on the earth?" He will come without warning and the world will not be prepared for His coming. He will come for a judgement, for which men will not be prepared. After He has subdued and destroyed His enemies, He will come in order to build His Kingdom in this world. Also in this Second Coming, the Son will come to you through His mother. Just as the Word of the Father made use of my virginal womb to come to you, so Jesus will make use of my Immaculate Heart to reign among you."
What does the Triumph mean?
At this point I ask myself the following: The Mother of God has spoken about the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart. She has clearly used the term "Triumph" in this century, in which everything will be undertaken against the triumph of the Church. The Mother of God uses the term triumph. She does not use the word "Joy" or "Consolation", but "Triumph." Triumph is not only the fulfillment of joy. Triumph is a joy which comes from a great victory. The triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary presupposes a great victory.
Now I ask myself the following question: Where can the Immaculate Heart, the heart of a mother, reach its triumph? Only in the triumph of the Son! If the Son does not triumph, the heart of the Mother also does not triumph. And what is this triumph? It is the culmination of a great VICTORY. Only when the Son obtains His great victory will the Immaculate Heart of Mary triumph also. And Christ will obtain His final victory when He returns in glory. That is why I now understand when Mary says in Her messages that the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart will coincide with the Second Coming of Christ in Glory.
How are we to interpret this Coming of Christ in Glory?
I will read you a few words from the Introduction to our book (S.47) and here we can rely on Mons. Don Cabrejos Vidarte Miguel (doctorate in exegesis and Suffragan Bishop of Lima, Peru) who is present today and is an expert on the Holy Scriptures and who endorses this Introduction:
"A further example are the sentences, which are frequently repeated and at a first glance may seem confusing, which state that the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary coincides with Glorious Second Coming of the Kingdom of Christ. These sentences are, of course, being interpreted in the light of the Holy Scriptures (Rv. 20:1-7) and in conformity with the authentic teachings of the Church. Please note how often Pope John Paul II refers to this subject. He does so in his first encyclical "Redemptor Hominis" and in other important documents, in which he speaks of the Second Advent of the Church, which awaits the Second Coming of Jesus."
Based on our usual mode of thinking, we have always thought of the Second Coming of Christ was identical with his Coming for the Last Judgement. There exists no in-depth theological study about this topic. This is also true for other truths which one believes without there ever having been made an in-depth study on the subject. Lately, after some of these messages mentioned that Christ will return in glory into this world, an in-depth theological study has been made on this subject.
What do the Holy Scriptures say about the Second Coming of Christ?
Several years ago in Spain, a theologian gave me a book, in order for me to have it translated into Italian - unfortunately, I lost the book somewhere along the way. In this book he explains that from the Holy Scriptures and the early Fathers of the Church it is clearly evident that Christ will return in glory into this world in order to build His Kingdom and that at the end He will return as Judge.
Some of the passages of the Holy Scripture are clearly of an eschatological nature - these are passages which speak of the Last Judgement. When, for example, Our Lord says: "For I was hungry and you gave me food…this you have done unto me, you who are at my right side. And you, who are at my left side have not done this unto me. Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire." (Mt. 25:41) Time exists no more; the world exists no more.
But some passages of the Holy Scriptures specifically mention the Second Coming of Christ into this world. I want to point out the following:
First I refer back to the locution of December 24, 1987, I mentioned above: "But when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:8). If He wants to find faith on the earth, then He must return to this earth, my dear brothers! Since, when the Last Judgement occurs, earth will not exist any more. There will be the Last Judgement, Paradise or Hell, but the earth will have disappeared. When the Son of God returns to find faith on earth, then He must return to this earth. Further, the passage where Jesus stands before the High Priest: "From now on you will see 'the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power' and 'coming on the clouds of heaven'" (Mt. 26:64). Here also I quote the passage which speaks of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven: "'Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven'" (Acts 1:11) But they did see Him "…he was lifted up and a cloud took him from their sight." (compare Acts 1:9) Just as He will also return with a cloud. Therefore, as long as there are clouds, the Last Judgement has not come. So Christ is returning with the clouds on this earth.
And then, dear brothers, it is important that the passage mentioned above in the Book of Revelation (Rv. 20) mentions an immense persecution. During this persecution many will be killed. But at the end the power of Satan will be destroyed, because Satan will be chained and thrown down an abyss. Then the Holy Scriptures say: "The angel sealed it, so that it could no longer lead nations astray…" (compare Rev. 20:3). So the power of Satan will be destroyed. Those who have not worshipped the Animal and his image and who have been killed, will rise from the dead to reign with Christ.
This is not 'fabricated' theology, but from the Holy Scriptures! And this will be the first resurrection. Why the first? Because the second refers to all humans. The first resurrection only concerns some humans, those who have died as martyrs, and they will rise from the dead in order to partake in the reign. The second concerns all humans, for some so they can partake in the reign, for the others to be damned - after the Last Judgement. Of course, the number 1000 could have been used as a symbol. However, aside from this chronology, there remains the reality, which is clearly described: Christ will reign after Satan's power has been destroyed, after he has been rendered powerless. These are the Holy Scriptures!
(Remark by the translator: In the footnote of Rv. 13:11-18 we read: "The second beast is described in terms of false prophets (cf. Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10) who accompany the false messiahs (the first beast); (cf. Mt. 24:24; Mk. 13:22; 2 Thess. 2:9; cf also Dt. 13:2-4) Christians had either to worship the emperor and his image or to suffer martyrdom. Hence it follows that the 'false prophet' will not be thrown into the sea of burning sulphur - only at the end of the world. His power will be taken from him before and not at the end of the world by a coming of the Lord. Because we read in 2 Thess. 2:8: "…whom the Lord (Jesus) will kill through the breath of this mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of His coming." Therefore, the Lord will appear and return already before the end of the world.)
How are the Teachings of the Church?
Dear brothers, I want to read you some passages of what our present Pope says. We shall then see that we not only concur with the Holy Scriptures, but also with the teachings of the Church: From a speech of the Pope in Edmonton, Canada on Sept. 17, 1984:
"The God of Peace be with us, here in Canada and everywhere! May justice and peace embrace each other once more (comp. Ps. 84 (85):10) at the end of the second millennium, which is preparing us for the glorious Second Coming of Christ."
At the large Youth -Meeting in Denver, USA in 1993, the Holy Father said during the Vigil of Our Lady's Assumption into heaven: "Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for your word: 'I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly' (Jn. 10:10). The young people attending the 8th Youth Festival of the world thank you from their hearts. Maranatha! From this gathering of youth from all over the world here in Cherry Creek State Park in Denver, we cry: 'Maranatha! Come O Lord!'" (Rv. 22:20)
The following day the Pope said to the 500,000 youths: "This pilgrimage must continue!…It must continue in the life of the Church, while She is awaiting the third Christian millennium. She must continue as a 'new advent', as a moment of hope and expectation until the Second Coming of Our Lord in glory…"
If we had to wait another 10, 000 years for the Second Coming of Our Lord, then we would be stupid if we started already now with preparations for this coming. This invitation of the Pope only makes sense if the Lord comes soon…
And finally the last passage. At the last Youth Festival in 1995 in Manila, the Pope said on January 1, 1995: "God, who has started this work with you in the Philippines 400 years ago - with others it is more or less centuries - may He continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ! (comp. Phil. 1:6) Amen! This is my end and it is my heartfelt wish for you all that this will be the end on the Day of Our Lord, Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Amen!" Dear brothers, you understand that is meant with the words "Day of the Lord".
We are thus in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church when we believe [that] the Lord will return in glory on this earth. Surely, we must open ourselves to this new perspective.
The following question was addressed to the Congregation of the Faith some time ago:
How are we to understand the Second Coming of Christ in Glory?
The Second Coming for the Last Judgement or still on this earth?
The answer was as follows: 'The Church has never taken an official stand on this subject. So one can interpret it one way or the other…'
I have shown you the reasons why we, according to the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, believe in the second interpretation: The Second Coming of Christ in Glory will take place still on this earth. Here it is helpful to ask ourselves which elements - and they are so many and very beautiful ones - the Second Coming of Christ brings with it. I will enumerate these elements. But first, let me say this:
The Second Coming of Christ - how will it be?
Christ lives in the glory of Paradise. When He will return, it will be a beautiful manifestation of His Being - that is IN GLORY. Here we reject certain interpretations of some childish and exalted visionaries who claim: When Jesus will return in glory, then He will appear there (at a certain place), He will live in this or that person… let us reject that! When Christ appears in glory, it will be a glorious manifestation of Christ - Brothers, let us try to understand that!
So, what does the Second Coming of Christ mean? Christ is in Paradise. He returns because He has already been here in the human nature. He comes again in a relative way because Jesus - in His divinity and, of course, also in His human nature - is already present in the Eucharist. He comes again, as far as He wants to reveal Himself in glory to this world and bring His Kingdom upon this world.
IN HIS SECOND COMING, CHRIST BRINGS THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS, WHICH INSPIRE HOPE, WITH HIM:
And now Christ will come again in unison with elements, some of which are listed below:
- Finally, the prayer will be entirely fulfilled, which Jesus taught us to pray in the Our Father: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." All creatures will do God's will in a complete way. That is why the Kingdom of Divine Will will come on this earth.
- It will coincide with the Second Pentecost.
- It will be the greatest miracle of divine mercy or, to say it differently, the triumph of the merciful love of Jesus, who will open up a new era for this world, a new civilization in order to finally get to know the civilization of love.
- Especially, however, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the Second glorious Coming of Christ, will coincide with the coming of the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus.
Jesus taught us in the Our Father - sweet Jesus, already for 2000 years are we repeating it! - Jesus, You taught us, but our prayer was still too weak and has not born the right fruit - what have You really taught us that we should ask for? "Our Father in heaven, Your name be hallowed - be glorified - Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done.
Dear brothers, the Father was glorified when He created the universe. The demon has blemished His creation through sin, Christ redeems us through His death on the cross and the way of suffering - that is the historical Christ. The mystical Christ has to undergo the same way of suffering in order to participate personally with the great gift, which He has received through the Redemption.
But I must still add the following:
The final victory of Christ over Satan occurred through His Resurrection, the final victory of Christ over Satan at His Second Coming in Glory will consist in the complete destruction of the power of Satan over the world, so that this world is able to accept the Kingdom of Christ and will again be able to glorify the Father in a complete way, as it was at the beginning of creation.
Therefore, the Second Coming of Christ will coincide with the greatest possible glorification of the Heavenly Father.
Should the Kingdom of Christ, for which has been prayed for since 2000 years, not come? It will come - for the complete glorification of the Father. When this Kingdom of Christ will come, it will help all creatures to fulfil the Will of God in a complete manner…
Because the first one, who prevented the complete fulfilment of the Will of God, was Satan. What did his victory in this earthly paradise consist of? He seduced our first parents into making a decision, which was against the Will of the Heavenly Father.
"You may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, it is only the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden which you may not eat…"(comp. Gn. 3:2-3) But look, this damned serpent has seduced our first parents. But remain calm, its head will be crushed - the Heavenly Father has said this will happen through their offspring; that is, Christ in Her, Mary in Christ. The Mother united with Her Son, the Son united with His Mother, therefore, it will also be the Mother who will crush the head.
Dear Mother (Don Gobbi turns to the statue of Our Lady next to him), forgive me, I am not pleased that the serpent is here, but I am pleased that You crush its Head - crush it!
Finally, the power of the serpent will be broken, it will be powerless, it will no longer be able to seduce creatures to say 'no' to the Divine Will. The creatures will say YES to the Divine Will of God. In this complete fulfilment of the Divine Will the creation will be almost transposed into an original state, in a state of a new earthly paradise, in which all creatures say YES to the Divine Will of the Heavenly Father.
Here in Italy, a certain woman named Picarretta, whose beatification is in progress, wrote a great book about the Divine Will. Once when I was in Mexico, I was shown passages of the book, which related to so many of the topics about which our book also speaks. Let me cite a passage from this book by Picarretta. She says that 2000 years after creation came the Great Flood so that the water would cleanse mankind; and 2000 years later came the flood of the Blood: the Redemption; and still 2000 years hence, there will be a flood of fire - a spiritual fire, I believe - and finally the Kingdom of [the] Divine Will will come upon this world, because every creature will fulfill the Divine Will of God in a complete way.
This is what I think, that the Second Coming of Christ in Glory will bring this Kingdom of Divine Will. Every creature will fulfil the Will of the Father completely and the Heavenly Father will be glorified by His children, who will say YES to His Divine Will. Christ will bring His Kingdom, the Kingdom of holiness and of humble obedience to the Will of the Heavenly Father.
The power of Satan will be destroyed, although the weakness of the fallen human nature will remain. It is clear that we will retain our weakened human nature even after the Second Coming of Christ in Glory; it is not the weakness of human nature which is being destroyed, but the power of Satan. Until now, he has had a strong influence on the weakness of our fallen nature. It is by nature that we are being tempted to sin. But today everything is forcing us to sin: the atheistic and pagan environment in which we live, the influence of the mass media, which are all centres of evil. Today the world is the centre of evil. The evil has an extremely strong influence, and this is where you have the temptations, seductions and the bad examples. They all want to bring you to fall. Today the enemy is all powerful. But tomorrow, when his power is destroyed, everything will lead you to do good deeds.
Ad 2. The Second Pentecost
The hearts and souls will be cleansed. But this is only possible through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit: that is the Second Pentecost.
Our bishop (the Bishop of San Marino) spoke about this subject today - he said: "Mary is the first forerunner of the Second Advent". An applause for our bishop! And I am even more pleased about the fact that our bishop is the President of the association of all the Catholic universities in the world.
The entire world is receiving fire, tongues of fire, spiritual tongues - that is not an invention of Don Stefano, but John XXIII, Paul VI and the present Pope have all spoken about this in a prophetic way. They spoke about this Second Pentecost. Why the second? Because the first has already taken place in the room of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, which transformed the disciples so much that some asked: "Are these already drunk at 9 o'clock in the morning?"
Dear brothers, the Second Coming of Christ will, therefore, coincide with the Second Pentecost. I am quoting here from my locution of June 4, 1995 (Pentecost): "Tongues of divine fire will bring warmth and life to mankind, which has become icy through egoism, hate violence and war. So the dried-out earth will open itself to the breath of God's Spirit, Who will transform it into a new beautiful garden where the Holy Trinity will then permanently reside. -Tongues of fire will descend to illuminate and consecrate the Church, which is going through the dark hour of Calvary, with its shepherds beaten, its flock wounded, abandoned and betrayed by their own, exposed to the storms of false teachings, permeated with the loss of faith and apostasy. The divine fire of the Holy Spirit will heal all their illnesses, cleanse them of all blemishes of unfaithfulness, clad them in beauty and shine over them so that they will revert to their oneness and holiness; and then it will - for the whole world to hear - give complete testimony for Jesus. -Tongues of fire will descend on all of you, my poor children, who have been so deceived and led astray by Satan and all evil spirits, who have achieved their great victory during these years. So you will be illuminated by this divine light and recognize yourselves in the mirror of God's truth and holiness. It will be like a small judgement, which will open the doors of your hearts in order to be able to receive the gift of divine mercy."
Ad 3. The Greatest Miracle of Divine Mercy
This is why the Second Pentecost will also coincide with the Triumph of Jesus' Merciful Love, the Divine Mercy, which will descend upon us. "Then the Holy Spirit will bring about the new miracle of changing all hearts and lives of mankind: the sinners will convert, the weak will become pillars of strength, the sick will be healed, those who have distanced themselves will return to the house of the Father and those separated and alienated will unite. This is how the miracle of the Second Pentecost will come about . It will come with the Triumph of my Immaculate Heart on earth. Only then will you see how the tongues of fire of the Spirit of Love will renew the entire world, which will be completely changed through the greatest outpouring of divine mercy."
And now you will understand that - when all will have been redeemed - we will all breathe in the air of God's Kingdom. It will be a Kingdom of holiness and justice, of purity, love, joy and peace. And since the one will be excluded, who was a murderer from the outset - the one who does not accept God, who brings hatred, egoism, separation, violence and war - and God will be among us again, then we will finally have a new civilization, the civilization of the Children of God, who will live in His Kingdom the civilization of love.
Ad 4. The Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus
And in this renewed world, in which the Father will be glorified and in which Christ reveals His Kingdom, where the wills of all creatures reflect the Will of the Father, where the Holy Spirit has renewed mankind, where the mercy of God has been consummated, where do you think the centre of God's influence will be? Christ is in the Eucharist. He can now pour forth all His divine power.
Dear brothers, we believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist, with His glorified body, with His divinity. As in Paradise, so also on this earth, with the difference that we, on earth, are impeded to see Him - we see Him only through a veil of the host. But the presence is the same. But how is Jesus present in Paradise? He is the happiness and joy of all the saints. And here on earth in the Eucharist? Why can't He pour out His might and be our joy and become our greatest happiness? Why not?
Christ cannot show His might because of the obstacles we put in the way. For example, atomic energy; it is an extremely powerful force, but it will have no effect as long as we do not create the conditions necessary for developing its full force. Atomic energy can only explode under such conditions. I am saying that Christ's power in the Eucharist cannot pour forth as long as we put obstacles in the way. And this is the sin, the sin of each person, the sin of society, the sin which becomes the standard for our actions. All these sins are a rejection and barriers which we erect, because of which Christ cannot pour forth His might in the Eucharist.
However, when Satan is pushed into Hell and the door is closed behind him and his power is destroyed, then the obstacles will have been removed and Jesus will be able to show all His might in the Eucharist. Behind the veil of the host we will see Him, we will feel Him, then we will very strongly feel His divine influence within us because in the Eucharist Jesus is among us in the fullness of His divinity. And so He will change our hearts, our souls, our families, our nations - a universal act of peace.
Finally, after so many years of dissension, unity among Christians will finally be achieved. After so many unsuccessful attempts, unity will finally come and we will have the Eucharistic Kingdom of Christ within us. So I almost would like to say: Jesus, who will return and reveal Himself in glory, unites Himself with 'the Jesus' who is present in the Eucharist and it will be as though He will open the doors of these hosts, who are still concealing Him, so that He can show Himself with all His might in order to renew everything and finally to create a new heaven on earth. That is why the Second Coming of Christ will also coincide with the greatest triumph of the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus.
Summary
Dear brothers, I humbly shared these thoughts with you. I firmly believe that what Our Lady said in Her messages is true and that Her Immaculate Heart can only triumph in the triumph of Christ. And Christ will have His greatest triumph only when He brings His Kingdom upon this earth and when His opponent will be destroyed.
With great joy Jesus' Heart will open and say: 'Father, You are finally being glorified'. With what joy Jesus will bend down to us and say: 'Finally it has become your food, to fulfil the Will of the Father - just as it was for me, so it is now also for you. In each one of you my Kingdom is spreading in the joy of knowing that in each one of you, whom I have redeemed, the Will of the Father will be completely fulfilled'.
The Holy Spirit will pour forth and He will bring the New Pentecost of Grace and Holiness in order to help all. The sinners and those who have gone astray will return on the path of salvation, and they will be redeemed, carried by the merciful love of Jesus. Finally, we will get to know the new civilization of love because He, who is present in the Most Holy Sacrament, will unite us. "Father, as we are one, make that they are one within Me and within You."
At the end the Most Holy Eucharist will unfold its complete divine power and we will get to know the joy of experiencing all the effects of Paradise, which the triumph of the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus will bring about: We will be on this earth and we will be beyond it. We will not yet be in Paradise, but it will be a paradise on earth, which Our Lady is preparing for us through the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart in his world. Laudetur Jesus Christus."
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