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Pope Leo XIII had a vision in 1884 where he saw the terrible events that would occur in the 20th century. He believed that the rosary was the key to defeating Satan and preventing these events. He encouraged people to pray the rosary and promoted devotion to Saint Michael. The vision he had became significant when Our Lady appeared in Fatima 33 years later. The Pope's vision helped him guide the Church and understand the signs of the times. I'm going to play a little bit of that. Radio Maria, a Christian voice in your home. We now bring you Marian Apparitions with Mary Piper. Welcome everyone. So glad to be with you today. And, you know, it's kind of a dog day of summer, but it's also an opportunity for us to take advantage of the time given. You know, that's our Blessed Mother every time she comes to Earth to warn us, to help us, to heal us, to convert us, to just console us. Well, that's what she says, take advantage of the time given you. Because so many times we just, well, we waste our time, right? We let time slip through our fingers, and lately I've been very conscious of how I'm not using my time very wisely. And yet, with all the predictions and the state of the world, we need to be using that time to the utmost, because every moment is so precious. And we never know how much time we have here. And not only that, but, you know, the ones that we love. How much time do they have? So many sudden deaths through tragic events, but also just through health. And people of all ages were hearing it more and more frequently. In fact, I think it was in Illinois or Indiana, one of the major life insurance carriers said that deaths are up 40%. And so that's highly unusual. He said if there was a catastrophic event, we would only anticipate a 10% increase, but we're at 40%. So it's not just your imagination that people of all ages are being called home, but are we prepared? That's what our Blessed Mother wants us to know. And what she wants to do is help us to refocus our gaze upon heaven instead of just the things here on earth. To worry, worry, worry, and be so afraid that we'll lose our life, and then what happens? We lose our soul, our eternal life. And so it's very, you know, a very important time for us because things are happening that are truly unprecedented and things have been foretold. And in fact, we have been given many, many different remedies for the things of this time in particular. But we have to do our part, and that's where we don't have any time to waste. You know, what does the Lord say? Pray unceasingly, right? And so we need to be praying, and our Blessed Mother has taught us over and over again in her visits to earth that, well, we have to pray the rosary, and we have to pray it with our hearts. And so today we're going to talk about Pope Leo XIII. He's one of my very favorite popes, and he's known as the Rosary Pope. And we're going to see how our Blessed Mother had a great role in the many visions that he had of the church's future. And it wasn't a very rosy picture that he was given, but he wasted no time. And, you know, with the St. Michael Prayer, he's the inventor, or he's the one who wrote down the inspiration, which is so, so powerful. And the rosary, he renewed the praying of the rosary, and he had visions that many people think we are living in right now. So we're going to talk about that today, and we're going to see how one man, given these visions, was able to do so much, not just because he was pope, but because he believed, he obeyed, and he used all the virtues. He persevered, he had fortitude, he had temperance, prudence, charity, love, faith, all of these virtues coming together to create for us in our times a remedy and the strength for us to carry on. And so this was in 1884 when he had many of his great visions, and he was elected pope in 1878. And so he became Pope Leo XIII, which many call Pope Leo the Great. So today, we're going to take a little bit of a look about who he was, but more importantly, exactly what happened during his lifetime and what visions and prophecies he was given by heaven so that he could guide the church not only in his time, but in our time too. So let us start with a great prayer, a prayer that is actually a shortened version of the one that we'll be talking about later that came from Pope Leo XIII. And of course, you know what it is. It's the Saint Michael Prayer. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Saint Michael, the archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Saint Michael, pray for us. Blessed Mother, pray for us. Amen. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So Saint Michael, he's the warrior, right? He's the warrior, and our Blessed Mother defeats Satan. So think about this. This is from Apocalypse, Chapter 12. And there was a great battle in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought with his angels, and they prevailed not. Neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out. That old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduces the whole world. And he has cast into the world, and his angels were thrown down with him. So they're prowling about the world, seeking the ruin of souls. That's us. They're trying to grab souls away from God, because the most precious thing to our Lord is our soul. He wants us to be in heaven with him forever. He made us to be. We are eternal, immortal beings. And he put us here on earth as a way for us to gain heaven. And we do that by not only following his commands, but trying to help others as well to come to know and love Jesus Christ and to become Catholic. You know, we have the fullness of the faith. And so, you know, we have all the great sacraments. And then, of course, right now we've just started Eucharistic revivals that people understand that what we have in the Eucharist is Jesus Christ himself, God himself. And so we have a great honor and privilege. We also have a great duty to help others to come to know and love Jesus and understand that they too can eat and drink of his body and blood so that we can have eternal life and have it at its fullness and to strengthen us for our journey here on earth. So, Pope Leo XIII's prophetic vision of the church future had a Marian character, not because Marian herself appeared to the Holy Father, but because the terrible events she allowed him to see moved him to promote the rosary as the key to victory over Satan. So in this apparition, the visions that he had, he never saw the Blessed Mother. You know, like at Fatima, where she said, Pray the rosary for the conversion of Russia. Those kind of things. He didn't see her, but because of all the terrible events that she allowed him to see, he knew that the proper thing to do to defeat Satan and the terrible things that were going to happen was the rosary. And even though it would happen later in the timeline of the earth, it needed to be happening now for us to pray for them. So back in 1884, he's already praying for our time because he knows what's going to be happening and what God is going to allow to happen to the earth. So what was that? Well, on October 13th of 1884, October 13th, that should be a bell ringing in your ears because that's exactly 33 years before the miracle of the sun at Fatima. We always know October 13th, right? So this is right, this is 33 years before Fatima and the great miracle of the sun. Pope Leo XIII received a chilling vision that left a clear mark on his pontificate and decades later became the key to interpreting the many horrors of the 20th century. So this was a prophetic vision that he had and it was very stirring and very frightful. And it's, well, it's helped us to see, along with Fatima and some of the other visions that Our Blessed Mother has appeared in, and helped us to understand what is transpiring so that we can read the signs of the times. And if you're not reading the signs of the times, my friend, then it's not that you're looking for conspiracy theories and things like that, but that you are truly reading the things that are happening so that you can know what lies ahead and how we can stave it off. And that's through the rosary and the scapular because Our Blessed Mother said that Fatima, that one day through the scapular and the rosary, she would be able to save the world. And so many people believe that this is playing out right in our own time right now. So what were the horrors of the 20th century that the Pope saw back in 1884? Well, this is how it worked. After celebrating Holy Mass in one of the Vatican's private chapels, the Holy Father was standing on the steps of the altar when his face suddenly turned gray, and in an instant he collapsed unconscious to the ground. Can you imagine how everybody panicked when that happened? For five minutes he lay motionless. Then, upon regaining consciousness, the Pope turned to the prelate who had rushed to his side and said, Oh, what terrible images I have been permitted to see. The subject of this apparition was the next hundred years during which Satan would be allowed free reign over the world. We do not know the details of Leo XIII's vision, but we do know that he saw the grave moral and spiritual damage that would afflict the world and the Church in the 20th century. So that's what we're living out, right? And so he was given this vision, and he himself said, What terrible images I have been permitted to see. And so the Lord permits these things so that he can help guide the Church. And so it was a pivotal moment in 1884, October 13th. That would become even more significant 33 years later when Our Lady herself is appearing in Fatima and has the miracle of the sun. So dates are important. Times are important. And the exact timing of the messages is very, very important. And so that's part of the signs of the times, to see that there is no coincidence. God does do things on certain dates and certain times, you know? Yes, it's not for us to know, but if we read the signs of the times, just as we see the dark clouds rolling in, we know that there's going to be a thunderstorm, or we hear maybe it's bright light outside and sunny, and all of a sudden in the distance you hear rumbling of thunder, and you're like, well, where is that coming from? And then later you see the big black clouds rolling in. Well, that's our time, right? If we can read those kind of signs for the weather, we need to read the spiritual signs as well, because they affect the world that we live in. And so Pope Leo, he was deeply shocked and moved by what he saw. He didn't tell anybody, but he rushed to his office and composed a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, which all priests would be required to recite at the end of Mass. So that's what he did. You know, he was given this great prayer of St. Michael the Archangel, and then he required that everybody recited at the end of Mass. And so although the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council removed this obligation, the prayer is still said in some churches after each celebration of the Eucharist. In that moment, at the end of the liturgy, we remember Leo XIII's vision. So our parish here, we just now started doing that once again. And I know that there are dioceses where the bishop has strongly encouraged or even made it an obligation that they have to pray that at the end of each Mass. And even before it's something that we started doing here, many people would kneel after Mass, after the celebrant would leave, and then they would kneel and pray the St. Michael prayer. And why is that? Well, if you think about it, the most powerful prayer on earth is the Mass. And so we are calling upon St. Michael because we're going forth from the Mass to live gospel and to evangelize and to share our faith with others and to live in this world, not be of the world, but live in it and influence it. And so we're going to need some heavenly help. Last week, we talked all about angels. And so St. Michael, well, he's the warrior. And it is his time. It is the time of the Blessed Mother for us right now in a particular and strong way. We need that prayer to St. Michael to protect us, to help us, so that we do not fall into, well, the trap that Satan has put for us. And more and more people are falling into those traps because there's more and more confusion. And, my friends, the reason people are falling into these traps that maybe they would have never done before is because people are not praying like they used to. So, you know, when you stop praying, stop communicating with God, how can we know to avoid different things? If we're not using and really taking advantage of the graces of the sacrament, how will we be able to hear the Lord? How can we be close to Him if we have so many sins between Him and us even if they're just venial sins? Well, we need to get back to the sacrament. We need to really participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We need to take advantage of all the graces because that's how we will persevere. That will give us the fortitude that we need to live our Catholic faith and be, well, live a virtuous life and be an example and a light for others. That's why we need the St. Michael prayer because we're going forth the Eucharistic celebration and we're bringing Christ into the world. And so, yeah, you know that Satan's going to be out there, right? That devil's going to try to stop us at every chance that he gets because he knows that when there is a committed Christian, committed to the gospel, who's deeply in love with the Lord and willing to do anything for Him, well, he knows he's in trouble because he's going to lose some of the souls that he's harvesting for himself. And so, from Old Testament times until today, St. Michael, the archangel, has powerfully defended and assisted us, all God's people on earth. So, you know, he's in the Bible, he's in church history, saintly traditions. St. Michael is one of the angels who, despite the fact that he was not as powerful as Satan, as Lucifer, he still knew that he had to do what was right. And he had to gather all those to defend God and to get rid of Satan and to kick him out. And that's exactly what happened. You know, we went over the choirs of angels and, you know, Lucifer was the highest, the brightest, best angel that God had ever made. So, he's right there at the top next to God. And then the archangels, they're way down the line, right? And so, we're looking at power and abilities that have been given them. And so, you know, even angels, you know, are given great natural abilities and intellect and just, you know, things we can't even fathom. And yet, they can either choose to use them for good or for evil. They can either choose to use them or not use them. And they can be amplified, all of these great graces God gives them, to do the mission that has been assigned to them. So, when Saint Michael stepped up and said, who is like God? No one. Then, you know, then the swords came out and the great fight took place. Well, God gave him extra graces. And Saint Michael, he found a way to defeat even Lucifer, who was the highest and way above him in his abilities. And don't we find that in our own lives, my friends? When we fight for God, when we fight for what is true, what is moral, what is right, what is good, and what is beautiful, we are given those extra graces and we find ourselves doing things. And it doesn't even have to be heroic things. It's just little things that thwart the enemy. And, you know, that just give us awe and wonder that God has been able to do mighty work through little things that we are inspired to do. And then we carry out those inspirations. Just like Coppola, the 13th, he was inspired with that prayer and he didn't just put it out there and say, well, if you want, it would be a good thing for you guys to pray this. Instead, he made it an obligation to pray it at the end of every mass around the world. And so that obligation was removed. But now, because of the state of the world, many are bringing it back. And I hope that you will, too. You know, maybe be brave and talk to your priest and say, you know, a lot of churches are doing this and some dioceses are even requiring everybody to do it in their dioceses. Is this something we could do? And, like I said, we just started it here at St. Luke and many people have never heard it before. And, of course, they haven't heard the back story of where it came from. But when they do, they're like, how did I not know that? So if you know the story, and you will after listening to this program, then share that story. You know, as with all the great saints, when you share those stories, it brings about great conversion. And people take, well, they kind of take a step back and start to ponder and think about great saints. And, you know, everybody knows St. Michael or guardian angels. But when they start to know more about them and they hear the stories, the true stories, of how they're working in the world today and in your life and the lives of others that you know or even in the great saints, that's when they start to see that God is real and that God loves them and cares for them. So never underestimate the power of a great saint story to really pull people back towards God and especially St. Michael and Pope Leo XIII. There is a huge shrine to the archangel on Mount St. Michel of the vision of Pope Leo XIII and St. Michael's role to come at the end of time. And he does have a great role at the end of time. And many people, well, they believe we're in those end times. And so we're going to hear more and more about St. Michael. And just, you know, in this program before, we've talked about some of the visions of St. Michael. Well, those visions of St. Michael are still going on today with various people around the world. And so St. Michael is very much actively at work. And when you pray that St. Michael prayer from your heart, he is actively, you're calling on him, right? And so when you call on him, he comes. He comes to the rescue in many, many big ways. And the prayer of St. Michael, it can kind of seem strange to us today. It's direct references to battles with evil spirits and Satan tend to awaken a sense of unease. Yet this prayer is not only an authentic devotion, but also an efficacious exorcism. Did you know that? Capable of curtailing the devil's destruction and repelling all evil attacks. For evidence, consider what happened when this prayer was suppressed in 1964. Only a few years later, all kinds of social pathologies and moral distortions had been written into law. Pornography entered the mainstream. Birth control use skyrocketed and abortion became legal in many countries. There's no coincidence, my friend. When we don't use the heavenly forces, the angels, the prayers, the saints, our blessed mother, God himself, when we don't tap into those resources, we don't call upon them, then, like many people say, God doesn't have to do bad things to us. All he has to do is take away his protective hand. And these are the kind of things that happen when God, we tell him we don't want him in our life, we want to live according to our own commandments, our own moral judgments, our own relative truth. Well, he honors that. He gave us free will. And so when we tell him to get out, get out of our schools, get out of our communities, you know, and we bring in... And now they're not just telling him to get out, they're bringing in statues of Satan and having Satan clubs after school. And these things are true, you know? It's not stuff that's made up. These things are truly happening. I think it was somewhere in Texas, somewhere down south, this satanic cult down there actually took out bulletin boards about keeping abortion, you know, legal. Why? It's a blood sacrifice, one of the most powerful things that they can do. So, my friends, these are times when we need that St. Michael prayer. And so even if you're not saying it after mass as a church, then stay after, kneel down, pray it, pray it softly even, out loud. There was one time I was so impressed, there was a group of young adults and after mass they knelt down, there's only about three or four or five of them, and I could hear them softly praying the St. Michael prayer together. And so, you know, I can't tell you the impact it had on me because even though I knew that I should be doing that, I never really thought to do it or to take that time, but I have ever since. And so, you know, you can say all you want, you can say all you want, but, you know, it is a way to repel all evil attacks and even big evil attacks and even the evil attacks on your marriage, on your family. As the Blessed Mother told Sister Lucia of Fatima, that the final confrontation between Satan and God will be over the family and marriage. And so, you know, when there's strife in your life, in your marriage, in your family, and it seems like it's being torn apart, it is. I mean, the devil is very active and how is he doing it? Consider, as they did, the social moral distortions that popped up, the pornography, destroying marriages like never before, birth control, no babies, and if there is a baby that happens, then abortion, killing your own child. As Pope Francis said, obtaining an abortion is like hiring a hitman to shoot your baby. And so, these things can be combated through prayer, through fasting, and we know the result of prayer and fasting has almost 50 years of that and Roe v. Wade has been overturned and now the fight continues on a different level, but also the pro-life fight was prepared for this as well as Planned Parenthood, but so far we've been able to close many, many abortion facilities and many people, the will of the people actually, over 60% do not want abortion. And so, it is now going back to the states, so we not only have to pray and fast for our state and the other states, but we also need to be, you know, letting our representatives know and voting accordingly, right? So, we have very active roles in how the world is shaped, how our country is shaped, and the morals, well, the moral degradation or the moral and just avenue. We have more power in that than we could have possibly imagined and St. Michael, he's ready, he's ready to fight and he's already fighting, he just needs more prayers so that he can do more things with the grace of God. So, I see we're at the bottom of the hour. When we get back, we'll talk a little bit more about the vision that Pope Leo XIII had that made this beautiful, powerful prayer come about and also why he's called the Rosary Pope. So, hold on, come back, invite your friends to join this program and listen and we'll be back right after this song. This is Mary Piper with Marian Apparitions. Mary is a great model for invitation. Here at her magnificent word-for-word scripture, sometimes singing makes for easier memorization. When the words are memorized, we can internalize them, meditate on them and make them our own. Perhaps we need to someday pray with the same devotion that she did. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior For He has loved to save us from our loneliness From this day forth generations will call me blessed The Almighty has done great things for me And holy is His name He has mercy on all who sin He has shown the strength of His arm He has shattered the falsehoods they conceive He has cast down the mighty wrong and wrong And He has lifted up the lowly And holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name He filled the hungry with good things And the rich He has lent away to need He has comforted the poor For the servant to cry out He has remembered His promise of mercy The promise He made to our father He waved my hand and said forever and ever and ever and ever forever and ever and ever and ever Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name Holy, holy, holy is His name