Our Lady of Banneux, 1933:
 Believe in Me - I will Believe in You! Twelve days after Our Lady with the Golden Heart said "Goodbye" to five children in Beauraing, Belgium, she made her presence felt again in Banneux, Belgium, some fifty miles to the northeast, to Mariette Beco. At 11 years old, the eldest of seven children, she was not intelligent, yet she was not stupid. She did very badly in Catechism Class. She had stopped going for First Holy Communion instructions. She was a product of her environment, which was, in a word, hopeless. Her father was an unemployed wiremaker. He had no use for God or the Church. He was born a Catholic, but that was a long time ago. He hadn't been near a church for years. Julian Beco couldn't care less that his eldest daughter had given up her religious training. His attitude infected the household. There was nothing in the house of a religious nature. His wife, Louise, followed his lead. God had no place in their home. The winter of 1933 had turned extremely bitter. The eerie sounds of the wind wailing through the trees, bending the branches in a contest of strength, created a deafening din inside the house. Drafts blew through the open cracks under the doors and in the window frames. The flames in the fireplace flickered wildly, as they battled the cold winds blowing down the chimney. It was dark, around 7 in the evening, on this freezing night. Mariette sat by the front window of her house, looking into the black of night for some sign of her brother Julien, who was late returning home. As she opened the curtain to look out, she saw a Lady standing in their front yard, surrounded by a bright light. The Lady was short, about five feet tall, and exceptionally beautiful. She was not dressed like any of the ladies from the village. She wore a long white gown with a blue sash. One of her feet could be seen. She was barefoot, with just a gold rose in between her toes. In this kind of weather, she should be freezing. Mariette noticed that she stood just above the ground, sort of on a cloud. She didn't seem to be cold at all. Now Mariette had a very logical mind, even at age 11. The scene she saw before her eyes didn't make sense. It was probably the reflection of the oil lamp. She took the oil lamp from the table, and put it in another room. Then she went back to the window and looked out. The Lady was still there. She resorted to the next natural course of action - she called her mother. Mariette explained what she was looking at. Louise Beco responded in a natural way also. "Rubbish", she said. Mariette was persistent . She described the Lady. Her mother replied jokingly, "Perhaps it's the Blessed Virgin." The child insisted her mother come over to the window and see for herself. Feeling very foolish, Louise went over to the window and looked out. She saw a white shape, but she couldn't make out any figures. "It's a witch." she said, and let the curtain fall, blocking the image from Mariette's eyes. The child opened the curtain again. "She's beautiful, Mama. She's smiling at me." The mother ignored her eldest daughter. The child noticed that the Lady had a Rosary, hanging from the blue sash. The cross was the same color of gold as the rose between her toes. Mariette went to a drawer, and rummaged through, looking for a Rosary she had found outside on the road. When she found it, she began to pray. The Lady's lips moved, but she didn't say anything that Mariette could hear. After a few decades, the Lady raised her hand, and motioned with her finger for Mariette to come outside. The young girl asked permission to leave the house. "Lock the door." Her mother replied. By the time Mariette returned to the window, the Lady had disappeared. She kept going back to the window to see if the beautiful Lady had returned, but she had not. Pretty soon, her brother Julien came home. She told him what had happened while she was waiting for him at the window. His reaction was similar to that of his mother's, only a little more vocal. His comments ranged from "You're a fool" to "You're crazy". Monday, January 16, Mariette told a girl friend at school what had happened. The girl told her she had to tell the priest. Mariette was afraid, but with the encouragement of her friend, the two of them went to the priest's office. Mariette backed out at the last minute, and ran off. The friend told the priest, Fr. Louis Jamin, what Mariette had said. The priest was sure Mariette was influenced by the recent reported apparitions in Beauraing, and paid no attention to it. He cautioned the friend, however, not to tell anyone about Mariette's reported apparition. For the next two days, Monday and Tuesday, the Lady did not return. However, that one visit had a deep effect on Mariette's spirituality. She returned to her Catechism class on Wednesday, embracing the material with a renewed enthusiasm. She knew her lesson perfectly. This amazed Fr. Jamin, because Mariette had always been the worst student in the class. After class, Father asked her why she had run away on Monday without telling him what she had seen. By this time, the child had reflected on what had happened. She was not frightened anymore. She spoke very calmly, telling the priest exactly what she had seen. He, for his part, did not treat her as a child, or belittle what she claimed. He only told her to pray to Our Lady for guidance. That night, Wednesday, January 18, was the first time Mariette actually had contact with the Lady. It was cold, well below freezing. The ground outside the house was frozen like rock. Mariette knelt down at around 7 o'clock, and began to pray. Her father watched her from inside. Then, after a time, she opened her arms. The Lady returned like a shooting star, appearing at first very small off in the distance. As she moved through the sky, she became larger, the closer she got to Mariette. She moved silently between two trees and came to a halt in front of the child. A dazzling brilliance emanated from her. Mariette could feel the warmth of it from where she knelt, a distance of about 5 feet from the Lady. The father came outside, and tried to speak to the child, but she did not seem to hear him. When she opened her arms, Julian Beco realized she was having another apparition. He got on his bicycle, and rode to the town to get the priest. He couldn't find him, so he asked a practicing Catholic acquaintance to come back to his house. As they approached, they saw Mariette walking away from the house, as if being guided to a particular place. "Where are you going?", he cried out to her. "She's calling me." the child answered, without stopping. Mariette knelt a few times on her way, and then went over to a stream. She knelt in front of it. The Lady stood opposite her on the other side. "Plunge your hands into the water." Our Lady requested. After the child had obeyed, Mary spoke again. "This spring is reserved for me. Goodnight. Au revoir." Our Lady rose into the air, and proceeded to return to Heaven. She became smaller and smaller, until finally she disappeared out of sight. Her eyes never left the child the entire time. When Fr. Jamin returned to the rectory, he was advised of Mr. Beco's excited call. He knew what it was about, and after enlisting the aid of another priest and a friend to join him, he went to the Beco's home. By the time he reached there, Mariette was in bed asleep, so he spoke to the father. Julian explained all that had happened in the course of almost an hour that the Lady spent with the child. At the end of the interview, the priest asked Mariette's father if he believed the child's claim of what she had seen. His response was "Yes, I do, and to show you how deeply I believe, I shall come to Confession tomorrow morning. And then, I'd like to make a good Communion. It'll be the only one I've made since my first one when I was a boy." The Lady's visit to Mariette Beco on Thursday, January 19, was of particular importance. She gave the child her title, which is so apropos for the time and the country. She called herself "THE VIRGIN OF THE POOR." The Lady then led Mariette to the Spring again. Mariette questioned her. "Beautiful Lady, you told me yesterday this spring was reserved for me. Why for me?" Mary looked lovingly at the child, and laughed. Mariette had obviously misunderstood the message of the day before. The Lady clarified the statement. "This spring is reserved for all nations." She stopped, then continued. "To relieve the sick." Almost immediately, within a few months of the apparitions, many physical cures were recorded at Banneux. Pilgrims flocked from all over Europe, and then eventually from every corner of the world. There are even reports that during World War II, Nazi soldiers came to both the shrines of Beauraing and Banneux, praying to Mary for cures, conversions, and deliverance. Mary said to the child, "To relieve the sick". If we are to believe that Our Lady's visit from Heaven twice in one month to two different locations within Belgium was for a greater reason than the obvious, isn't it possible she was trying to prepare her dear children for what was to come? The next twelve years were to produce tens of millions of "sick" in mind and body. Lives would be uprooted, ripped apart at the seams. Families would be separated and destroyed. "Whole nations will be annihilated." In a time of hopelessness, could she not have been trying to give us a moment of hope? When all around you is being devastated, when you see your entire life crumbling between your fingers like so much dust, where can you turn? "Mama!" The words are instinctive. And she is always there, arms open, waiting to bind up the wounds, nurse you, console you, and give you new beginnings. We believe that was what Mary was doing at Banneux in January of 1933. Our Lady said many important things to Mariette Beco during her visit to us in Banneux. She said something very unusual, very demanding, possibly very threatening. On February 15, when Mary came to the child, Mariette said to her, embarrassedly, "The priest told me to ask you for a sign." Mary smiled, but did not answer for a long time. Her eyes never left the child. Her smile never left her face, but her eyes became very serious. Finally, she spoke to Mariette what we believe to be the Keynote of her Message at Banneux: "BELIEVE IN ME, I WILL BELIEVE IN YOU." The parish priest, Fr. Jamin, was incredulous when Mariette repeated the message of Our Lady. "But that's impossible." he said. "She said `Believe in me', but why would she have said `I will believe in you.'" "BELIEVE IN ME, I WILL BELIEVE IN YOU" may very well be the most important message she has given us in this century. It requires a call to action on our part. She has always bailed us out in the past. In Fatima, when she spoke about Russia, and the devastation that would be caused if we did not pray for Russia's conversion, she gave us an out. "But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. Russia will be converted, and there will be a period of peace." On February 15, 1933, Mary knew what was going on even at that very moment, what satanic forces had already been unleashed in Germany, less than 100 miles from this little hamlet. She knew how they would build in the years to come, and overtake Europe like a giant Tidal Wave. She gave us the gifts we would need to get us through that time, but she also gave us a mandate, an action. "BELIEVE IN ME, I WILL BELIEVE IN YOU," not with your mouth, but with your actions. Many people understood, and acted on that word of knowledge. Others did not. Each time Our Lady left Mariette, the child was devastated. However, she had the memory of the visit, and the anticipation of the next visit to give her strength. But in the recesses of her mind, deep in her subconscious, she knew that eventually her time with Mary would have to come to an end. We believe she secretly dreaded this time. On March 2, that fear was to become a reality. It rained so hard that it seemed even Heaven was crying because the end was at hand. Mariette came out, covered by a shawl and umbrella, and began to pray. Soon the rain stopped. The clouds parted, revealing the stars and the heavens. Through the opening in the clouds the Queen of Heaven and Earth came for the last time to visit the little child of Banneux, and for the last time in a long time to her children on Earth. She was more beautiful, and more majestic than she had appeared in previous visits. But she did not smile. Her face was very serious. Perhaps she, too, was sad for the end to have come. She said, "I am the Mother of the Savior, Mother of God... Pray a lot. Adieu." With that, she blessed Mariette, and left. As she departed, the clouds covered the heavens again, and the rain continued to pour down relentlessly. Mariette was unaware of the heavy drops pounding on her face and body. She collapsed in a heap on the ground, crying convulsively, repeating Hail Marys as she cried. As always, Mary was true to her word. Almost immediately, miraculous cures and conversions took place. As a matter of fact, the great number of miracles that took place at the little shrine was so overwhelming, it took the local Church by surprise. The poor Bishop had to determine the authenticity of the apparition of Banneux in the shadow of Beauraing. For a time, it appeared that Mary at Beauraing and Mary at Banneux were both competing for recognition. She took care of that, also. In 1949, both apparitions were approved by the Church, Beauraing on July 2, and Banneux on August 22. "BELIEVE IN ME, I WILL BELIEVE IN YOU" Our Lord Jesus and our Sweet Mother Mary are always teaching us. We felt we had come up with a connection between the apparitions by Our Lady at Beauraing in December 1932, and Banneux in January 1933. We assumed it had to do with the onslaught of World War II. This dear little country, Belgium would soon be under the Iron Fist of the Third Reich, as, indeed, would be the entire continent of Europe. Belgium, however, was in a direct line from Germany to France. The Germans would need easy access to the French border, and Belgium provided the way. In Beauraing, the main message, given to Fernande, was "Do you love My Son? Then sacrifice yourself for me." In Banneux, the overpowering message was "Believe in Me, I will believe in you." At first, it was assumed that these were two distinct messages, completely independent of each other. But with the holocaust of World War II, many believed that Our Lady was trying to prepare Europe, the whole world, for that matter, for the dark days to come. "Do you love My Son? Then sacrifice yourselves for Me. Believe in Me , I will believe in you." Together they form one powerful teaching. Prepare yourselves for days of darkness. You will have much to endure. But know that I am always with you. Believe that you are beloved of God. If you can love yourself, I can love you. With the strength of that love, all things are possible. We can change the world. Our Lady was most definitely coming to the aid of her children of 1932/33, preparing them for the worst, which was to come. But were those combined messages just for that time? Read them. Try to understand what she was saying. Do they apply today as much, or even more so than in 1932? Why do women abort their children by the millions? Why do young people, people of all ages, for that matter, abuse their bodies with drugs and alcohol to the point of death? Why do young people, and all people for that matter, commit suicide in staggering proportions today? Why are we, as a civilization, hellbent on torturing and killing our brothers and sisters? Why are we, as a world, determined to destroy ourselves? DO YOU LOVE MY SON? SACRIFICE YOURSELF FOR ME BELIEVE IN ME, I WILL BELIEVE IN YOU |
