The Blessed Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ has appeared to humble hearts countless times in this century. Mary has consistently warned that dangers and even great calamities lie ahead for mankind. But her messages are not without hope. She has always told her children how they could atone for the sins of the world and thereby mitigate or avert her prophecies.

Now, we the Church Universal and Triumphant Choir have come together determined that these warnings shall not go unheeded. We believe that the dire prophecies of the Mother of Mercy can and will be mitigated by her love. With deepest gratitude for her tender yet powerful intercession on behalf of all of God's children, we present to her and to the world a musical mass for world
peace. We dedicate our mass to Sanctissima—"the Most Holy One"—the Queen of Heaven.

It is her Fátima message that gives cause for our deepest reflection and concern. Fátima, Portugal, was the site of Mary's first recorded appearance of this century, in 1917. The prophecies she gave to three shepherd children were partially confirmed in the turbulent events that followed; and whether they will be completely fulfilled depends on the decisions we make today.

Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, as World War I raged and the Bolsheviks plotted their revolution, the Blessed Mother appeared six times to three children: Lucia, ten; Francisco, nine; and Jacinta, seven.

In the spring of 1916, before Mary appeared to the children, the Angel of Peace visited them. Appearing in the form of a young man fourteen or fifteen years old, he knelt, bowed down until his forehead touched the ground, and bade the children say this prayer three times: "O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love thee." He rose and said, "Pray thus. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."

From that day on the children often spent long hours saying this prayer, kneeling and placing their
foreheads on the ground as the angel had demonstrated. The angel appeared two more times. In the autumn, the last time, he held a chalice with a host above it. Drops of blood fell from the host into the chalice. As the chalice and host remained suspended midair, the angel knelt beside the children and asked them to recite the following prayer:

"Most Holy Trinity--Father, Son and Holy Spirit—I adore thee profoundly. I offer thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby he is offended. And through the infinite merits of his most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of thee the conversion of poor sinners."

The angel took the host and chalice and knelt down. As he placed the host on Lucia's tongue and bade Jacinta and Francisco drink from the chalice, he said: "Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God." Again the angel bowed low and touched his head to the ground, repeated the prayer
with the children three times, and then disappeared.

When the Blessed Mother herself appeared to the children at Fátima, she warned of wars and calamities that would be brought by the spread of Communism and outlined her plan to "bring peace to the world and an end to war" through daily recitation of the rosary, worldwide devotion to her Immaculate Heart and penance.

Mary asked the children to make sacrifices for sinners and to say often, especially while making a sacrifice: "O Jesus, this is for the love of thee, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

Mary gave the children a "secret" in three parts. The first was a vision of hell. In the second part she told them: "When you shall see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign from God that the chastisement of the world for its many transgressions is at hand through war, famine, persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father.

"To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heard, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will spread her errors throughout the entire world, provoking wars and persecution of the Church. The good will suffer martyrdom. The Holy Father will suffer much. Different nations will be annihilated."

Because Mary's instructions have not been followed, some of the prophesied events have come to pass. In 1929 the Blessed Mother asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. She said to Lucia: "The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father, in union with all the bishops of the world, to make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means." Although the popes have pronounced various blessings, to this day none has performed the consecration exactly as Mary requested.

On January 25, 1938, an ominous red glow appeared in the sky. Lucia, who had become a nun, could see it from her convent window. The light was seen throughout Europe, in Africa and in parts of Asia and America. Lucia recognized it as the sign prophesied by Mary at Fátima when she had said an "unknown light" would signal that "the chastisement of the world for its many transgressions" was at hand.

On the heels of this sign came the events that led to World War II. Less than two months later, on March 12, 1938, Hitler invaded Austria. On September 1, 1939, he invaded Poland, whereupon Britain and France declared war. The chastisement of humanity came in the form of the terrible destruction of World War II, with its 50 million deaths, the fall of Eastern Europe to Communism,
and the persecution of the Church there and in Russia.

Many believe that with the recent fall of Communism in the former Soviet Union, the Fátima prophecies are a thing of the past. They have forgotten that the popes have never revealed the third part of the Fátima secret, which is thought to be the most terrible. In Mary's apparitions since Fátima—-from Akita, Japan (1973-1981), to Naju, South Korea (1985-present), to Medjugorje,
Yugoslavia (1981-present)—she has consistently spoken of severe "chastisements" to come.

At Akita, the Blessed Mother said: "The chastisement will be of an unprecedented type, worse than the deluge. A fire will plunge from the sky. As a result of this calamity, a great part of humanity will be annihilated. If people do not repent, this will happen."

At Naju, where she has overshadowed her statue and caused it to weep tears of blood, she has spoken of the crime of abortion and warned that the chastisement "could come through the human race itself."

At Medjugorje, she said that "with prayer and fasting, wars could be stopped and natural laws suspended."

Clearly, the Blessed Mother is warning us of a coming world war in which a large part of humanity could be killed. She is also telling us that we have the power to avert that war and suspend natural laws through prayer, fasting, penance and sacrifice.

The whole world has watched the disintegration of the Soviet Union. But Russia is still capable of wreaking the destruction upon humanity of which Mary spoke. Wemay ask, Why would the Blessed Mother allow another world war and other calamities to take place?

We need look no further than to the many crimes of humanity against her Immaculate Heart. America is a leader among nations and has had the opportunity to set an example to the world. Instead, we have condoned legalized abortion. This heinous crime leaves America vulnerable. Can we truly expect America to be shielded from war by Saint Michael the Archangel or Our Lady of Fátima when Americans daily murder over four thousand of her most precious children?

How long can Mary stand between us and the judgment of our God when we allow the desecration of her image (as the body of woman) in art and advertising? How long can we ignore the poor and the poor in spirit who come to us as runaway children, drug addicts and the homeless? What can come of our sin against the children of God and the Mother of Mercy? Without repentance, we will undoubtedly bring upon ourselves untold suffering.

Let us give the rosary daily. Let us offer the Fátima prayers. In the name Jesus Christ, let us pray
for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us observe the ritual of Communion of reparation on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, as Our Lady has requested, and gladly continue that offering for life. Let us give our lives to God so that he will show mercy to those who, through ignorance or malice, disobey his laws.

In 1961 Mary appeared to Elizabeth Clare Prophet in Boston as a resplendent being of light—as the Divine Mother, Sister and Friend. She opened her understanding of the role of the Divine Mother in this age and called her to Her service.

In 1972 Mary gave Mrs. Prophet the New Age Rosary with the version of the Hail Mary you hear sung and spoken on this album. She told her that God did not want his children to say "Pray for us, sinners," but "Pray for us, sons and daughters of God"; and not "now and at the hour of our death," but "now and at the hour of our victory over sin, disease and death."

Mrs. Prophet has brought thousands of non-Catholics to the feet of the Blessed Mother. They now accept Mary as the Divine Mediatrix of the age, as Healer, Teacher and Queen of the Angels.

In 1974 Mrs. Prophet responded to the call from Jesus to found Church Universal and Triumphant and dedicate it to the cause of world service through prayer, sacrifice, penance and good works. At Church headquarters in Park County, Montana, six hundred devotees form a spiritual community where persistent prayer, fasting and service are the foundation of their lives. Families and individual seekers follow the traditions of the early Christians and the monastic orders of the East.

The devotions observed by our Church are rich and varied. They include prayer forms from all the world's major religions: traditional hymns, ancient Hindu and Buddhist bija mantras and bhajans, affirmations of the name of God, dynamic decrees for the Lord's intercession, Christian prayers of praise and thanksgiving, original songs invoking the sacred fire, and a jeweled tapestry of devotions to the Blessed Virgin.

In 1988 Mrs. Prophet led members of Church Universal and Triumphant in a pilgrimage to Fátima, Portugal, and brought back a life-size statue of Our Lady of Fátima. The statue represents Mary's second Fátima appearance, in which she revealed that Jesus wished to spread devotion to her Immaculate Heart. From her special place on our altar she reigns over a lighted globe of the world.

In 1990, in response to the urgent messages of Fátima and Medjugorje and Mary's many appearances, Mrs. Prophet called the choir, the musicians and their recording engineers to mount a sacrificial effort to create an entire album of devotional songs to the Queen of Heaven.

Church members wrote the words and/or music for eleven of the nineteen songs on this album. The others are Catholic hymns and old-time favorites. Rehearsals began in December 1990, culminating in several months of recording sessions in late 1991 and early 1992.

Each recording session was preceded by an invocation offered by the conductor to the Blessed Mother and by the Fátima prayers. Choir members often remained in a state of prayer throughout the day and many had transcendent experiences while singing. Out of sixty-two choir members, less than ten are trained vocalists. The rest of the sound you hear is pure devotion!

Easter 1992 marked the release of this album, presented to our most beloved Mother, Mary, as a musical mass for world peace. The congregation sang the songs on the first half of the album and recited the New Age Rosary and Fátima prayers. They then sang the songs on the second half of the album and concluded the two-hour mass with the taking of Holy Communion.

It is our fervent prayer that our musical mass will be a vehicle for people of all faiths to lift up their
voices in gratitude to the Blessed Mother of our Lord. May this offering to her Immaculate Heart be accepted at the altar of every church where the name of her Son is sanctified.

It is the gift of Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Moslems, Hindus and Buddhists who stepped out of the sandals of their orthodox traditions to make their voices one for the beloved Mother of all. We hope that this album will be the means of many hearts lifting up their voices to God through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and that it may be acceptable in God's sight for the mitigation
of her prophecies of world war and natural disaster.

As Mary is all-powerful, she can appear either in the form of a meek peasant girl or of a celestial being. We have chosen to depict her on our album cover as the Cosmic Virgin. Thus we affirm her power over the earth and all the forces of evil that would destroy it. In light of her prophecies and her personal devotion to earth's billions of people, Catholic and non-Catholic, we believe that it is fitting to portray her in all her glory and power as she comes to earth in its hour of greatest need.