The good spirit world directly assists the earthly providence
Angela Signorelli, Rome, Italy
The following account comes from our sister in Italy, who quite to her surprise had an extraordinary visitor from the spirit world. But the visitor had not come for personal reasons …
Angela Signorelli and her husband Alfio attended the blessing ceremony for married couples in April 1989. These experiences have been reported to Dae Mo Nim at Cheong Pyeong.
Part 1
The blessing was approaching at the beginning of June 1998, and we were not ready to offer a victory to God. Around June 10th, I started feeling the presence of somebody, and at times I could also see a figure in white, but only from the neck down. I wasn’t afraid, but my spiritual senses were opening, and I became more sensitive. Sometimes I could understand things before they actually happened.
On June 13, 1998 [the date of the blessing in New York City] I was alone at home, and I was sorry because we hadn’t prepared well for the blessing. The broadcast over the satellite link would begin that afternoon, but we were not prepared to celebrate the event. At that time, I saw the whole spirit body of the person in white for the first time. The person asked me to go and pray near True Parents’ picture. She told me that she was Catherine (St. Catherine of Siena) and that we should pray for the special events of that day.
St. Catherine was born at Siena on March 25, 1347, and died on April 29, 1380. She was the youngest but one of a very large family. Her father was a fabric dyer. From her earliest childhood, Catherine began to see visions and to live an ascetic life. In her sixteenth year, she became a Dominican Tertiary (nun). She experienced many spiritual visitations and direct communication with Jesus. In her daily life, she tended to the very sick, served the poor, and witnessed. Though always suffering physical hardship, and living for long intervals on little food, she was renowned for her great personal charm, which she maintained even when persecuted.
In 1370 she received a vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, and heard a divine command to enter public life. She began to correspond by letter with people of all walks of life, including the princes of Italy. She was consulted by papal legates about the affairs of the church and worked to heal the civil strife and division of her native land. She directly implored the Pope, Greg ory XI, to leave Avignon and to reform the church. Catherine was the instigator of a spiritual revival in the country districts around Siena and later dictated her Dialogue–a book of meditations and revelations. Summoned to Rome during the great schism of the church, she devoted herself to working for reform, continuing to help the destitute and afflicted. But her strength was rapidly failing.
Before her death, she asked Jesus to let her bear the punishment for all the sins of the world and to receive the sacrifice of her body for the unity and renovation of the Church.
I prayed with her for about forty minutes. Then, she asked me to get something to write with. Thus, she started giving her first message. I was very calm as if the whole experience were very natural. When I finished writing, I asked myself what had happened, because I didn’t know much about her and I didn’t know her. When I later looked at a book containing her portrait, I realized that it was the same face I had seen.
Until December of that year, she gave me messages that I passed on to the national leader. We didn’t give them to anyone else, because I was wondering whether it was really her or whether it was a trick played by the spirit world or Satan–even though the messages were very clear and according to the Principle.
In April of 1999, I received another message. It was very clear, and it had to be shared with all the members. I became confused, and I didn’t know what to do, because, even for myself, it wasn’t easy to accept the situation of being one to receive such communications. I worried about what others would say or do. The message, however, was very clear [about creating unity] and even though it was difficult for me I gave it to the national messiah and national leader.
From that moment on, the messages were shared with everyone, and more messages followed. Many brothers and sisters received great benefit from that. [The messages reflected the concern of the good spirit world for the renewal of blessed couples’ faith, and for unity on all levels] To hear how the spirit world testifies to our True Parents has allowed some of us to reflect upon the value of our days lived here on earth.
In August, we went to the Vatican to visit the tombs of the popes. At that time, I felt with my whole being the suffering of being secluded in that gilded world that seems to have lost its original spirituality. I felt the spirits of the departed popes were asking for help and prayers in order to be saved. They also wanted Christianity to connect with God’s current providence.
After that, we started a forty-day prayer condition with our Korean national messiah, Rev. Song Keun-shik, and four other members. Every morning we got up at 5:30, recited the Pledge, and then left for the Vatican. At 7:00, St. Peter’s Basilica [the central church of the Catholic faith, in Rome] opens its doors, and we would go inside to pray and to read the Principle. On Sundays, a lot of members would come, and we had beautiful spiritual experiences.
At the end of the forty days, one prominent Catholic Archbishop telephoned Mrs. Song and asked her if she would treat him with moxa [a herb that is burned so that its healing smoke permeates the skin], because his arm was painful.
While receiving treatment, he also listened to the Principle. It was explained to him about Mary, about the question of whether Jesus was able to fulfill his role as the Messiah or not, and about the providence of True Parents.
What we said about Mary’s role was not easy for him to understand. Then Mrs. Song told him that one sister was receiving messages from St. Catherine, and he decided to meet and talk with me, to understand whether those messages and my experience were really true.
To Be Continued …