Catholic author Michael Brown once stated that Maria Esperanza is one of the greatest mystics of the twentieth century. In many ways, she was like her spiritual director, Padre Pio. For example, among Maria Esperanza’s spiritual gifts were the discernment of spirits, prophesy, speaking in tongues, counsel, and locutions and visions of Jesus, our Lady, and the saints. Additional gifts she manifested included: the gift of healing, the ability to read souls, deliverance prayer, and mystical and prophetic dreams. Testimonies about her revealed that the phenomena of levitation, transverberation, palpitations after receiving Holy Communion, and the emanation of flower, fruit and other perfumed fragrances from her person were observed in her life. Extraordinary phenomenon given to the Servant of God as part of her mystical life included: the stigmata, the emanation of perfumed oil from her hands, the materialization of roses, the apparition of shiny glitter on and around her, the identification of sacred objects, the breath of life, the mysterious materialization and multiplication of rose petals, spiritual Communions, bilocation, multiplication of food, multiplication of objects, apparitions in dreams foretelling future events, and transfiguration.
Many St. Peter’s parishioners witnessed some of these gifts in action during Maria Esperanza’s visit here in 1999, especially the capacity to read souls, and the gifts of prophecy and discernment of spirits. Numerous individuals have told me of such experiences when they had a few private minutes with the Servant of God in our church.
As I said in my book,
"Maria Esperanza was one of those special instruments of God who supplies us with the prophetic element of our religion and keeps before us the image of the living God, whom modern man is so tempted to disregard as extraneous to human existence. Her life and teaching help us to rediscover, “that awestruck outlook towards the Infinite, and that warmly loving sense of God’s indwelling grace, without which all religious institutions quickly become mechanical and cold”. Her mystical life reveals concretely what Christian spiritually truly is, and how it can transform human life into a taste of heaven on earth. Maria Esperanza ultimately reminds us that the mystic in relation to the Church, is 'the great creative soul whose special experience of God does something for his fellow Christians, who deepens the corporate spiritual consciousness, brings in fresh news about eternal life. Mysticism of this sort is and has ever been essential to Christianity, and no account of the Church’s life which ignores it can claim to be complete.'”
Come and learn more about this great Christian at our Forty Hours celebration this year!
Servant of God, Maria Esperanza, pray for us!
Fr. Tim Byerley
Pastor
Sunday, October 9, 2016
3:00p
Special Anointing of the Sick Mass
Homily: Fr. Tim Byerley ~ “Maria Esperanza and the Healing of the Sick”
Post Communion Reflection: Michelle Bowers ~ “Maria Esperanza Healed My Son!”
4:00 to 10:00p
Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament
7:00 to 8:00p
Confession
10:00p
Night Prayer
Monday, October 10, 2016
No Morning Masses
8:00a
Morning Prayer with Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament
8:30a to 10:00p
Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament
(interrupted only by the 7:00p Mass)
7:00p
Mass for Vocations and
Investiture of the Knights of the Altar & Adorers of the Precious Blood
Homily: Fr. Tim Byerley ~ "Maria Esperanza Speaks to St. Peter's Parish"
10:00p
Night Prayer
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
No Morning Masses
8:00a
Morning Prayer with Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament
8:30a to 7:00p
Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament
7:00p
Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving &
Procession with the Most Blessed Sacrament
Homily: Fr. Tim Byerley ~ “The Blessed Mother Visits Betania”
Post Communion Reflection: Maria Coromoto Bianchini Marrero ~
“I was there when Our Lady appeared in 1984.”