Posted on 04/18/2010 8:51:12 PM PDT by Revelation121
I was reflecting on whether the appearance of Sarah Palin on the scene in 2008 had any deeper significance than a mere political phenomenon. Perhaps it is no more than that. But the timing and some of the other circumstances indicate that it may be much more. Interestingly, Sarah Palin's 44th birthday, which occurred on February 11, 2008, coincided with the beginning of the sesquicentennial, or 150th, anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a young French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in the village of Lourdes, France. Lourdes is principally known for the numerous cures that have taken place there over the last 150 years. Lourdes, however, has a deeper theological meaning for Catholics, which is less well known, and the juxtaposition of Palin's introduction onto the global stage with the sesquicentennial may contain a deeper significance for the world, in general, and for the United States, in particular.
In 1792, John Carroll, America's first Catholic bishop, consecrated the newly created United States under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the Title of the Immaculate Conception, a belief held by many, but not all, Roman Catholics and Orthodox (and many Anglicans as well) at the time that Mary, the mother of Jesus was preserved free from original sin by the foreseen merits of her son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1847, Pope Pius IX formalized Carroll's acclamation, proclaiming the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Patroness of the United States under her title of the Immaculate Conception. In 1854, for the first time in history, the same Pope, Pius IX, defined the Immaculate Conception as a dogma of the Catholic faith, meaning that Catholics were now required to believe it as a condition of membership in the Church. This dogma engendered much opposition in Europe both within the Church and without.
In 1858, from February 11 until July 16, a Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, an ignorant peasant girl in Lourdes, France. In the first several apparitions, the Lady declined to identify herself. However, in the apparition of March 25, she identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. Bernadette told this to the local priest, who was amazed because Bernadette was not functionally literate and did not even know the basics of the catechism. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception had just been defined 4 years earlier, and Bernadette had no idea what it meant. Nonetheless, the miracles which began to take place in Lourdes represented a confirmation for many that the Pope had been correct in holding the Immaculate Conception to be an infallible truth.
This seems to me more than a coincidence. The Blessed Virgin Mary is patroness of the United States under the title of the Immaculate Conception, a title which was reaffirmed at Lourdes in 1858. 150 years later, during the Jubilee celebration of the sesquicentennial of the apparitions at Lourdes, which are so central to the definition of the dogma linked so closely to our country, a political figure appears on the national scene whose birthday happens to coincide with the first apparition at Lourdes (which also happens to be the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes).
On February 11, 2008 when, under the decree of Pope Benedict XVI the sesquicentennial celebration began (it ended on December 8, 2008, the feast of the Immaculate Conception), Sarah Palin was pregnant with her fifth child. At 44, she was beyond the usual child bearing age. I wondered if there was any biblical significance to her particular age on February 11, 2008 but the number did not seem significant. While researching it, I happened across a reference to Luke 1:44, which reads as follows:
"For behold when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy."
These are the words of the pregnant Elizabeth spoken during the Visitation when Mary, also pregnant with Jesus at the time, visits her aged cousin to assist her in her pregnancy. By these words, most scripture scholars understand that Elizabeth's unborn child, John the Baptist, was sanctified (freed from original sin, as we are by baptism) at this moment and consecrated for the mission he was destined to fulfill. In arranging Sarah Palin's introduction onto the world stage, at such a time and under such circumstances, has Jesus, at the behest of his Mother Mary, this time commissioned not the unborn child but the mother for another mission, that is: to save the country which has been dedicated since its founding to His Mother under the title of the Immaculate Conception? Will she be the political figure to restore protection to unborn children and to remove the scourge of abortion, as her predecessor, Ronald Reagan, helped to remove the scourge of Soviet communism? Let us pray.
Very interesting..thanks for posting.
Catholic ping!
Thank you for the thoughtful and interesting post. I think very highly of Sarah Palin, and would be very happy to have her as president.
May it be so.
Creepy.
No .
You are welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
Ping!
Oh please, you have gone over the cliff. This kind of stuff will do nothing to help her.
She is a politician.
Whether it helps her or not, I find these circumstances to be interesting. Of course, they can’t be proven. But pointing them out does not make me a kook.
Pope John Paul II’s assassination attempt was on May 13, the anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima, and he attributed his survival (the professional assassin was only 6 feet away and had never missed) to Our Lady of Fatima. True, he was a religious leader, but he was also a political leader who had a greater impact on history than practically every President of the United States. The fact that he believed that could not be proven. But it did not mean he had gone over the cliff.
And it would even be ‘more better’ in my opinion if she would re-convert back to the Catholic Church in which she was baptized!
Mary Unites Christians, Cardinal Tells Anglicans (Pilgrimage to Lourdes Called a Miracle)
Anglican archbishop comes under fire for homily at Lourdes [Ecumenical]
On the Message of Lourdes
Pope delivers anti-euthanasia message at Lourdes
At Prayer (Pope's pilgrimage to Lourdes) [Ecumenical]
Pope Benedict XVl's Homily at Lourdes
Pope Benedict goes to France, and to Lourdes (full coverage and links) [Catholic Caucus]
Pope to Pray for World at Feet of Our Lady (of Lourdes) [Catholic Caucus]
Papal calendar: Lourdes visit, four new saints and the Bible Synod
Lourdes and Penance(Catholic Caucus)
Vatican marks 150th anniversary of Lourdes girl's visions of Mary
Pope OKs plenary indulgence for Lourdes' 150th anniversary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus}
On Lent... and Lourdes (Benedict XVI's Angelus address)
The challenge of finding peace in Lourdes
Anglicans keep Lourdes anniversary (8 bishops plan unprecedented pilgrimage)
Lourdes
Trips to Lourdes to Cut Time Spent in Purgatory
A Different Take On Health Care: A Trip to Lourdes (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Church officials call for more clergy to work at Marian shrine in Lourdes
150th Anniversary of Our Lady of Lourdes (Catholic Caucus)
Pope: From Lourdes to Seoul, I entrust the world’s sick and suffering to Mary [Catholic Caucus] (Locked)
fear and loathing at Lourdes (French bishops shudder 'avec peur')
Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes
Woman whose healing is 67th Lourdes miracle tells her story
Catholic Church vets 67th Lourdes 'miracle'
Our Lady of Lourdes – February 11
Our Lady of Lourdes
Paralyzed Woman Cured at Lourdes Shrine
OUR LADY OF LOURDES:[Saint Bernardette Soubirous]
Lourdes Has Its 66th Officially Recognized Miracle
**Will she be the political figure to restore protection to unborn children and to remove the scourge of abortion, as her predecessor, Ronald Reagan, helped to remove the scourge of Soviet communism?**
With the evidence of her Down Syndrome son — I totally disagree with the “No” posted.
She “might” be the person to remove the scourge of abortion. However, she needs to be elected first.
ping!
THANKS.
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