The chant of the Litany was followed by the Inviolata and the Salve Regina14. At once the children said again: “Something else is happening now!” Indeed, the inscription continued on a second line: MY SON IS LETTING HIMSELF BE TOUCHED There was no punctuation at the end of this sentence, but it was underlined by a thick golden line. A thrill of joy ran through the crowd: “It is really Her! It is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. It is over, the war will end, we will have peace!” Father Guérin suggested, “Let us sing a hymn to Mary.” The voices of the faithful, so sad two days ago, rose joyfully up to heaven: Mother of Hope, whose name is so sweet... Then Sister Marie-Édouard started singing the canticle of penance: My sweet Jesus... One of the stars moved from beneath the feet of the beautiful Lady, 14. Latin hymns to the Virgin Mary they all knelt down. Sister Marie-Édouard began the rosary. As if to show how pleasing this prayer is to Her, the beautiful Lady became animated at the very start of the prayer. Her heavenly smile returned. She began increasing in size to the rhythm of the Hail Marys. The oval circle and candle rings grew in proportion, while on Her robe the stars were wonderfully multiplied. After the rosary, the Magnificat was sung. “Something else is happening now!” A white banner unfurled between the bottom of the oval and the roof of theGuidecoq house. An invisible hand drew upon it, one by one, these large golden letters: an “M,” an “A”, an “I”, an “S”, meaning “mais,” or “but” in English. At the end of the hymn, the visionaries read: BUT PRAY MY CHILDREN Complying with the request of the inscription, the parish priest said, “We must pray to Mary in order to ask Her to manifest Her will.” And at a sign from the pastor, the Litany of the BlessedVirgin was intoned. When the last invocation had risen up toHeaven, the first sentencewas finished, followed by a large dot, similar to a golden sun: BUT PRAY MY CHILDREN GOD WILL ANSWER YOU IN A SHORT TIME The Blessed Virgin said to the children in Pontmain: “Mais priez, Mes enfants.” – “But pray, My children.” In French the word mais – but – has a very special intonation, a special sense that means, “Listen well, My children. Come now, My children!” – “Do not stop praying, do not stop praying, My Son is letting Himself be touched.” The but is a condition. “On condition that you do not stop praying, My Son will let Himself be touched. But, My children, don’t stop praying, don’t get tired of praying, My Son is letting Himself be touched.” It is our prayer, it is all that we voluntarily do to please God that touches the Heart of God, that inclines God towards us. What pleases God so much is that His children, in spite of all their miseries, fight to remain faithful to Him. FATHER JOHN GREGORY OF THE TRINITY 130 Vol. LVI, No 5 Magnificat
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