A Woman from Amsterdam Receives an Apparition from Our Lady It is March 25, 1945. A young woman in Amsterdam, Ida Peerdeman, is gathered with her sisters around the pot-bellied stove. A priest friend of the family, Fr. Frehe, is presently visiting. As they are in lively talk, suddenly something strange happens. Ida sees an overwhelming light. Her surroundings seem to disappear. From that light, a beautiful feminine figure comes forward and begins the communicate with Ida. This would be the first of 56 apparitions that would continue until 1959. The Heavenly Woman would later mention her name: “I am the Lady, Mary Mother of All Peoples.” She explains that the Father and the Son have send her in order to help humanity. She warns the world of “degeneration, disasters, and war,” and the danger of a third “world catastrophe.” She wants to save the peoples of the upcoming world, and unfolds her plan of salvation. The messages then start with several social and political predictions. Specifically, in our own time, these messages reveal a staggering fulfillment, and are becoming more and more identifiable. These predictions, however, are meant only as a sign of authenticity. The essence of the message is spiritual, and reveals a way to spiritual renewal and peace. Visions of the Future The Second World War in drawing to a close, as the Lady appears for the first time on March 25, 1945. She puts up five fingers and announces that the war will end in May. In fact, Holland was liberated on the fifth of May. She shows Ida the Rosary and encourages perseverance in its praying. Then, the Lady casts a glance further into the future. The visionary gets a vision of the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt, and hear the words: “Israel will rise again.” Indeed, in 1948, the new independent state of Israel is proclaimed. This prediction, however, continues with a warning about the manner in which the Jewish people obtain possession of the land by ignoring the rights of the Palestinian people: “And Yahweh is ashamed of His People.” Today, this has become recognizable. Also in 1945, the Cold War is manifested to Ida in several visions, and also the Iron Curtain, but, as well, its downfall. As Ida explains: “The Lady points to a bold line in Germany and states: “Europe is divided into two. “With my hand, I [Ida] grab it and throw it away.” This, however, does not mean peace. The Lady emphasizes the necessity of a return to God and to his justice: “It is not to be found among the people: justice, truth, love.” The visionary then sees the Cross standing in the center of the world, and the Lady points to it. Ida remarks, “I have to take it up, but I turn my head away. It is as if I represent humanity, and throw the Cross away from me. ‘No,’ the Lady says, It must be taken up and put back into the center…first back to Him— only then is there true peace.” WHY A NEW MARIAN DOGMA? The popes of Catholic Church, based on Scripture and Tradition, have officially taught over the course of centuries that the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, is also the Spiritual Mother of all peoples. Mary performs this role as spiritual mother to humanity in three basic ways. The proclamation of the Dogma of Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate by the Holy Father will enable the Mother of Jesus to shower the world with a historic outpouring of grace, redemption, and peace in a new and dynamic way—an event which Marian apparitions like Fatima refer to as the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now your Spirit over the earth. Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations, that they may be preserved from degeneration, disasters, and war. May the Lady of All Nations, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.”(Feb. 11, 1951).