The Coming Times ^TM

Mary

Say!

Scribe

I see you Mother sitting on the park bench

Again slightly hunched over

You are rocking ever so slightly to and fro

And you have your rosary beads in your hand

I enter the park gates

And look at you respectfully, silently, and yes, forgive me Mother

In sorrow

I approach you timidly

I stand in front of the bench

And you are absorbed in your prayers, in what you are seeing

And I quietly sit down

And you turn quickly and look at me

Your face is sharp and alert

And you just as quickly resume your prayers – lost in them

I almost wonder if I had imagined your look at me

But no I had not

It was such a contrast

Between your sharp, fierce, energized look at me

And your now silent reverie

And I wait Mother

And I breathe

And I grow silent and still

And I breathe

I am praying for your prayers to be answered

Dear Heavenly Father, please hear the pleas of your Mother and mine

Please hear Father and please grant her, her every request

I ask you this in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord

And your breathing now has grown deeper

There is greater peace to your countenance

And I am so grateful to my Father

And now you place your rosary in your lap

And you turn to me and say

Mary

Good morning my daughter, how are you today

Scribe

And I reply

My Mother, I am with you

I am with you

I am with you

I am doing well, thank you Mother

Mary

And why are you doing well, tell me!

Scribe

My Mother I have and I am surrendering to your Son

That is why I am doing well

Mary

You speak your Truth correctly child

That is exactly why you are doing well

You have surrendered to my Son

And hence are doing well

Scribe

And now you hold your globe out for me to peer into

And I take a deep breath of courage

And I look at it

Again your globe is so tiny against your body

I look into it

And it is as small as a marble

A blue and white marble

And I look at it

And I see it as a blue and white marble

And I continue looking

Patiently I look

And I see a man swimming in the Atlantic Ocean

He is a skilled swimmer

His strokes are strong and steady, their form correct

And I see that he is followed by many others

Not all as highly skilled at swimming as he is

And the first of the group is about 3 feet behind him

He is at the forefront and center

And they are following him

They keep their eyes upon him

They are trusting in him to lead them to shore

To know the way to shore

And he continues his purposeful rhythm and his steady pace

And they to the best of their abilities swim as well as they can

To keep up, to remain within the group

To not be left behind

Mary

And are any of them left behind

Scribe

Let me look Mother

I see that yes, there are stragglers

The weak and the slow

But they are not left behind

For stronger swimmers are swimming behind them

Swimmers who could easily move forward to the front of the pack

Are remaining at the tail end

So that no one is lost

Not even the weakest and the slowest

So no Mother, no one is left behind

Mary

Excellent

Continue dear one

Scribe

And now land is on the horizon

The swimmer at the front sees it

The ones behind him do not see it yet

But the front and foremost swimmer sees it

And it is all he can do to not double his speed

So as to reach the land

But he is mindful of the swimmers behind him

He knows that he must remain within their sight

And so he maintains his pace, neither increasing nor decreasing it

Despite his oh so strong longing to just swim right for shore and now!

And now the swimmers are near the point where the waves break

And yes now all the swimmers see the land ahead

Right past the breaking waves is the land

And the lead swimmer shows them how to catch a wave

And ride it into shore

The breaking wave is actually a help; it is not foe but friend

For it will ride you into shore more quickly than one can swim in

And the lead swimmer is standing on the land

Looking back at the ocean

The group is still behind the breaking waves

The first row are approaching the breaking waves

And you can see their hesitancy

Some of them remain in place as they wonder how to approach the breakers

For they are not sure how

And the lead swimmer sighs

And plunges back into the water

And returns to the first row of swimmers

And coaches them

He demonstrates the body position necessary

He explains to them to let go, to relax, to trust in the wave to carry them in

And with a few by his side, they ride the waves in together

And the 2^nd group of people have seen this

And they now take their courage in their hands and do the same

And yes, some of them are tumbled about this way and that

But they all reach the shore

They all safely reach the shore

But the 3^rd group is fearful

It had not been able to clearly see the leader’s demonstration

And it is looking at the breaking waves

They seem so violent these waves

And they are fearful

And the lead swimmer takes a deep breath for courage and resolve

And plunges back into the water

And repeats his explanation

And he has a few swimmers go ahead

With only his explanation to guide them

The swimmers already on shore are clapping and encouraging them on

And when these few swimmers have safely reached shore

The lead swimmers turn to those who are now next

Are you ready

And yes they have seen their fellows, their peers safely make it to shore

They have seen the more advanced already standing on the shore

They have heard his detailed explanation

Yes, they are ready!