The Madonna of the three fountains: the mystery of Mary's perfume

There is an external element that stands out several times in the event of the Tre Fontane, perceived not only by the seer but also by other people: it is the perfume that expands and impregnates the surroundings from the cave. We have already said that this is also a sign that Mary leaves behind her presence. The ancients already greeted Mary with this expression: "Ave, perfume (or fragrance) of the chrism of Christ!" If, according to Paul, Christians become those who spread the perfume of Christ, all the more she, the most impregnated with her divinity, she who carried him on her lap, exchanging her own blood with him, she who loved him most of all and assimilated the Gospel.

The Bible speaks many times of "perfume", also because for many ancient religions the perfume was among the sensitive signs of the contact of the supernatural world with the terrestrial one. But also because in the perfume the very being of a person is revealed. It is almost a manifestation of herself, of her feelings, of her longings. Through perfume, a person can enter into intimacy with another, without the need for words or gestures. "It is like a silent vibration with which a being exhales its essence and lets you almost perceive the delicate murmur of its own inner life, the pulsing of its love and joy".

It therefore seems normal to us that the most beautiful, the most lovable and the most holy of all creatures express themselves with its heady scent and leave it as a sign of their presence, for the joy and consolation of their children. Perfume is also a way of communication! The prayer, or rather the invitation that Bruno writes and affixes to the cave after discovering that, even after the apparition, this had returned to being a place of sin, was moving and heartfelt. There are no threats or curses from the one who had once been a sinner, but only bitterness and prayer not to desecrate that cave with impure sin, but to overturn one's pains at the feet of the Virgin of Revelation, to confess one's sins and to drink to that source of mercy: "Mary is the sweet Mother of all sinners". And he immediately adds the other great recommendation: "Love the Church with her children! She is the cloak that covers us in the hell that breaks loose in the world.

Pray a lot and remove the vices of the flesh. Pray. " Bruno echoes the words of the Virgin: prayer and love for the Church. This apparition in fact combines Mary with the Church, of which she will be proclaimed mother, as well as type, image and daughter. But how had Our Lady appeared? We mean: ethereal? evanescent? statuary? In no way. And it is precisely the youngest, four-year-old Gianfranco, who gives us the exact idea. To the question addressed to the vicariate of Rome: "Say a little, but how was that statue there?" He replied: "No, no! It was de ciccia! ». This expression said it all: it was really flesh and blood! That is, with his body alive. We already know that Our Lady never replaces the Church and her ministers; it just sends to them.

Bruno's statement in this regard is interesting and the definition given by the confessor priest is beautiful: "The Virgin sent me not from the leader of my party, nor from the head of the Protestant sect, but from the minister of God, because he is the first link in the chain linking the earth to Heaven ». In the present time when many want to live a "do it yourself" faith, it may be good to remember this fact and these words.

The priest always remains the first and indispensable help. The rest is pure illusion. In June 1947 Bruno confided a doubt to a journalist. Certainly in the meantime he had come to know of other Marian apparitions where the Virgin had asked for a chapel, not only as a reminder of her coming, but also as a privileged place to meet her and with God. «Who knows, if Our Lady will want a chapel or a church there? »he says to the reporter. "Let's wait. She will think about it. He said to me: "Be careful with everyone!" ». Indeed, this advice to caution Bruno will always put it into practice, even now. This naturally stands in favor of his testimony. For years, Our Lady did not even mention this topic apparently until February 23, 1982, then thirty-five years after the first apparition. In fact, that day, during an apparition, Our Lady says to Bruno: «Here I want a house-sanctuary with the completely new title of" Virgin of Revelation, Mother of the Church "".

And he continues: «My house will be open to all, so that everyone may enter the house of salvation and be converted. Here the thirsty, the lost will come to pray. Here they will find love, understanding, consolation: the true meaning of life ». The house-sanctuary, by express will of the Virgin, will have to arise as soon as possible in the place where the Mother of God appeared to Bruno. In fact, he continues: "Here, in this place of the cave where I have appeared several times, it will be the sanctuary of the atonement, as if it were purgatory on earth". For the inevitable moments of suffering and difficulty she promises her maternal assistance: «I will come to your aid. I am always with you, you will never be alone. I guide you in the ideals of my Son's freedom and in Trinitarian love ».

We had come out of a long and terrible war, but she knew that this did not mean that we had entered an era of peace. Peace of heart and all other peace were continually threatened and, knowing today the sequel of history, we can say that wars would continue to break out here and there. Some with weapons, others without making noise, but with the same effect of persecution and genocide. The Queen of Peace then makes a concrete call that becomes invitation and prayer: "The sanctuary will have a door with a significant name:" Door of Peace ". Everyone will have to enter for this and they will greet each other with the greeting of peace and unity: "God bless us and the Virgin protect us" ». We note first of all that the apparitions at the Tre Fontane do not end in the year 1947, just as the pilgrimage of the crowds does not diminish.

But before commenting on Our Lady's request, we want to report in full the same request that the Mother of God made in Guadalupe in Mexico in the distant 1531. Appearing to an Indian, she declares herself the «Perfect always virgin Mary, the mother of the most true and only God ». His request is very similar to that made at the Three Fountains: "I ardently desire that my small sacred house be built in this place, a temple will be erected in which I want to show God, make it manifest, give it to the people through my love , my compassion, my help, my protection, because, truly, I am your merciful mother: yours and all those who live on this earth and all those who love me, invoke me, seek me and place me in me all their trust. Here I will listen to your tears and your complaints. I will take to heart and cure all your many pains, your miseries, your pains to remedy them. And so that it is possible to realize what my merciful love desires, go to the bishop's palace in Mexico City and tell him that I am sending you, to reveal to him how much I desire ... ».

This reference to the apparition of the Virgin in Guadalupe, with which that of the Tre Fontane also has references for the colors of the dress, helps us to understand why the Madonna wants her home-sanctuary. In fact, she comes to profuse her love and her graces, but in exchange, however, she asks her children for a place, even a small one, where they can "live", where they can wait and welcome them all, so that they can stay at least a little with her. Alle Tre Fontane expresses itself with the words "house-sanctuary", as in Guadalupe he had asked for a "little house". In Lourdes when Bernadette reported the desire of Aquero to the parish priest (as he called Our Lady), he tried to interpret his thought by saying: "A chapel, small, unpretentious ...". Now Our Lady uses our language: sanctuary. So in fact we call the churches dedicated to her which originated from a special event.

But "sanctuary" is a large, solemn word which risks, for the sense of sacredness it contains, of confusing or intimidating simple people, the little ones. This is why the Virgin precedes it by the other more common and appropriate term: home. Because his "sanctuary" must be seen and considered as his "home", the home of the mother. And if the mother is there, then it is also the home of the Son and the home of the children. The house where the meeting takes place, to stay a little together, to find what has been lost or forgotten, for having sought other "houses" and other "encounters". Yes, Marian shrines are "houses" in all the meaning of domestic intimacy that the family home reserves. Many conferences were held, many pages were written to understand and explain the meaning of pilgrimages, especially to Marian shrines. But maybe there was no need. Simple souls, the little ones, instinctively know that going on a pilgrimage means going to find the Mother of God and them, right in her home and opening their hearts to her. They know that in those places she makes her presence and the sweetness of her affection better perceived, especially the strength of her merciful love.

And the rest happens without many explanations, specifications or theoretical clarifications. Because when you are with her, you will find the Son, the Holy Trinity and all the other children, the whole Church. However, if explanations were needed, it is she herself who dictates them. Theologians do not need to worry, with the risk of complicating everything. Just like she did in Guadalupe, where she manifested the meaning of her "houses" in a simple and concrete way. But here's what he says at the Three Fountains: "I want a house-sanctuary with the new title of" Virgin of Revelation, Mother of the Church ". Virgin of Revelation is a new title. Title that needs to be explained, to avoid inevitable misunderstandings: Mary is in Revelation, it is not an invention of the Church. And in Revelation there is all of her, both as a person and as a mission. And this is clear if the term Revelation is not limited only to sacred Scripture. Certainly in this there is everything that refers to her, often however only in germ. And the Church, of which she is the mother, who, guided by the Spirit of truth, makes those germs grow and develop so that they become clear and secure truths, as dogmas are. And then there is the other aspect: she "reveals". Not that he tells us things that we don't know and that have not yet been revealed by his Son.

His "revelation" is made up of memories, of calls, of invitations, of solicitations, of supplications made even with tears. This new title may give the impression that the already numerous titles with which it is invoked by all Christianity are not enough. Actually she doesn't need to get rich in other titles. In fact, God is enough to glorify her, to exalt her and to make her know the multifaceted beauty and holiness with which she was awarded. If you let us know some of these aspects that make up your being and your work, it is only for our benefit. In fact, the more we know who our mother is, the more we get to understand God's love for us. Precisely because our Mother of Heaven, after the Redeemer, is the greatest gift that God could bestow on us, as it is one with the mystery of the Redemption, which took place through the Incarnation.

A true Incarnation required a real mother and a mother who lived up to that task. One cannot look at Mary without thinking of the one who created her and who gave her to us. It would not be a true devotion to Mary that would stop at her, without proceeding further into the intimacy of God, one and three. Stopping at her would only denounce our human aspect and therefore insufficient. Instead Mary must be loved and venerated with a human-divine affection, that is, as far as possible, with that love with which her Son Jesus knew, loved and appreciated her, who loved her with a human-divine love. We, as baptized, as belonging to the mystical body of Christ, possess by virtue and power of the Holy Spirit the ability and therefore also the duty to love it with that love that goes beyond human limits.

Our faith itself must help us situate Mary in divine horizons. Then, to the title of Virgin of Revelation, she also adds that of Mother of the Church. It is not she who gives it. The Church has always recognized him and moreover Pope Paul VI, at the end of the Second Vatican Council, announced it before the whole conciliar assembly and therefore rebounded throughout the world. So Our Lady shows that she is very welcome and confirms it, if confirmation is needed. And this too is not a purely academic title, but it is in Revelation. That "Woman, here is your son!" pronounced by Jesus, he consecrated her as such. And she is happy and proud to be, mother of the mystical body of the Son, also because that motherhood was not given to her but it cost her a high price. It was a motherhood lived with pain, a birth with terrible suffering, unlike the birth in Bethlehem. Not recognizing her and not accepting her as a mother would not only be an insult to her Son but would constitute a mortification and a refusal for her. It must be terrible for a mother to be rejected and rejected by her children!