During the first two apparitions, Mary said nothing. On the third, however, she urged Adele to **pray and offer holy Communion for the conversion of sinners.
**
“If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them,” she said.
She gently admonished Adele by asking her,
“What are you doing here in idleness, while your companions are working in the Vineyard of my Son?”
Confused, Adele asked her, “What more can I do, dear Lady?”
"Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation,” our Lady said.
“But how shall I teach them who know so little myself?" Adele asked in return.
“Teach them their catechism
, how to
sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross, and
how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”
Our Lady then lifted her hands in blessing and slowly vanished from sight.
My Catholic School teachers did these things (for me and others) not too far from the site of this appearance, in northern Illinois in the late '50s and early '60s/.
I was amazed to find, as early as the '80s that there were grown people, some in leadership positions within the Church, who didn’t know the basics of the faith … or seemed to get whatever theology they had from … more secular sources (than Catholic sources, like a Catechism).
As usual, Our Lady points the way to Our Lord. What we have, we should share. TEACH is an echo of her Son’s " … go and teach the nations," commission to His apostles.
Teaching carries with it an
authority … though unquestionably being a work ofservice to those who are truthfully taught.
In Christianity teachers are SENT with God’s authority and teach (as Our Lady alludes to) " … in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit …" .
How to approach the sacraments .… implies that people were approaching them wrong in 1859. Or not at all.
Some very prominent people in our day, vociferously proclaiming themselves publicly as Catholic, approach the sacraments like the Eucharist boldly and visibly — all the while publicly proclaiming their support of various mortal sins. < That is, sacrilegious communions are promoted.
Some who have received Holy Orders “teach” things opposite to the counsels of the Catechism.
Couples who are married grandly in Catholic Church ceremonies grow lax in baptizing or educating their children in the most important thing of all … while taking great pains sometimes to teaching … anything else.
In 1859 I could imagine folks using the old “I don’t have time for God in my life …” excuse for neglecting the above requests of Our Lady above. MUCH has changed since that time … but not the human essentials. Better technologies that shorten workloads and bring people into a whole new age that SHOULD leave people with more time for God in their lives … themselves tend to be used to crowd God out in our time.
As this little shrine is a bit off the beaten track and easily overlooked … " … seek and ye shall find …" comes to mind.
Teachers like Adele of old probably did connect with some seekers after Christ back then. And one lesson of this little shrine to doing the right and simple things for God might also be recalled in the parable of … “The Treasure In the Field”.
Go … and fear nothing! - Our Blessed Mother, Wisconsin, 1859