From a reliable source we hear that the Vatican has good favor towards Naju. We have no doubt that Naju will be eventually approved by the Church and will become a shining star of God’s love for people all over the world. Filled with hope, let us continue praying and spreading the truth. Julia is refraining from public activities at this time. She continues a life of fervent prayers and severe sufferings for the converison of sinners. She received messages from Our Lord and Our Lady on January 4 (reported in the Special Issue 1998 #1), February 2, and April 12 (both reported in this issue) of this year. Many pilgrims are still coming to Naju, even though there are no services. In Naju, they can attend Mass in the parish church and pray in the Chapel. The spot on the floor in the Chapel where the Eucharist landed on August 27, 1997, continues to give off a strong fragrance of roses. As of May 1998, nine months after the miracle, the fragrance is as strong as on the first day of the miracle. On April 8, 1993, the Blessed Mother said that this fragrance is a gift from God and represents her presence, love and friendship for us.

More information is becoming available about how the negative judgment on Naju was made by the Kwangju Archdiocese, as the key members of the Naju Investigating Committee have published articles with the intention of defending the Declaration. As already discussed in this paper, Fr. Sun Song Ri, the secretary general of the Committee, said that the Eucharistic miracles in Naju could not be approved, because they contradicted his theology of the Eucharist, according to which Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist is not through His physical Body and Blood but is a personal and spiritual one. In another article, Fr. Ri rejected the hierarchy in the Church on the ground that the Church should be a community of people who obey the Holy Spirit only (Theological Outlook, spring 1998 issue). It is ironic that a negative judgment on Naju was made in the name of the teaching authority in the Church, and, at the same time, the key theologian of the Investigating Committee is refusing to recognize the hierarchy and teaching authority in the Church.

In still another article, Fr. Ri said that the shamanistic rituals in Korea could be incorporated into the Catholic Liturgy (Theological Outlook, winter 1996 issue). Fr. Jae Min Ri, another key member of the Committee and also a theologian at the Kwangju seminary, supported the female priesthood (Theological Outlook, spring 1998 issue), which the Holy Father had already rejected in a definitive way. These may be just a few examples of widespread problems in the Church all over the world, which are threatening to destroy our true faith. What we are facing is not just the question of Naju being approved or not approved, but a question about the condition of the whole Catholic Church. The approval of Naju, the strengthening of our loyalty to the traditional teachings of the Church, and the eradication of modernism, secular spirit, and all other errors from the Church are all connected together.

Then, what is our duty? In Naju, the Blessed Mother wept tears and tears of blood for a total of 700 days as powerful signs of her love for us and her sorrows over our sins. If we are her true children, we cannot possibly ignore these signs. Some say that the Blessed Mother is in Heaven and, therefore, cannot suffer any more. Of course, she cannot suffer in Heaven, but she was assumed into Heaven with both her soul and her body and now, without leaving Heaven, is present among us with her soul and body. This makes the Blessed Mother’s presence on earth somewhat different from the apparitions of the angels and other Saints. The Blessed Mother used the expression that she came to Korea, her youngest child. She came with both her glorified soul and body united together in order to be with us and to help us. This is how she can actually weep, sweat, suffer, give us fragrant oil and have live pulses through her statue. Her tears, blood and oil are not just symbols but a physical reality of her sorrows, pains, joys, mercy and love. The Blessed Mother suffers the cruel pains of her Divine Son’s Crucifixion again and again, whenever we commit sins and refuse to return to God. And, she wants us to be united to her presence and her Heart and, through this union, become united with her Son’s Physical Presence and Redemptive Work through His Church. The supernatural reality in Naju can be a powerful antidote against the venom of false teachings that tempt us to move away from the reality of God the Son’s Incarnation and Redemptive Work. By waking up to the messages and signs in Naju, we will also wake up to God’s teachings for our salvation.

Therefore, we must stop being spectators. At the time of judgment, God will not ask us how much we know or how much we received but how we actually responded to the graces from Him. We may think of ourselves and our world doing just fine. But the Blessed Mother, who knows far better, is weeping tears of blood. We need to wake up and conform ourselves to the Blessed Mother’s requests. On January 4, 1998, the Blessed Mother told us through Julia:

The keys to Our Lady’s victory are her presence and our help.

— From Mary's Touch, Special Issue 1998 #2