Portraits of the Virgin Mary painted by renowned artist Hector Garrido for the Bradford Exchange
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An Introduction to the Golden Circle

Throughout the past 100 years, our Lady has appeared at different places with various messages for mankind.  I am speaking only of the approved apparitions.  Although, many people have thought that there was a remarkable connection between these visions, no one could actually explain what the series really meant.  The reason was simply that no explanation could be given until the circle was completed.

In the book, THE SUN HER MANTLE, John Beevers states this about our Lady's appearance to Saint Catherine Laboure: "The messages of the apparitions seen by Catherine Laboure are, as it were, the preliminary shots fired by Heaven at the opening of a new campaign to save us. They help prepare the way . . ." When he wrote the words, he did not realize that he was speaking about our Lady's preparation for her Golden Circle.

When my Lady told me about her Golden Circle, I had not as yet read about such a circle. Later, when I began to see it unfold gradually, as I learned more and more about her different apparitions, I often wondered why she started the circle at La Salette and not with Saint Catherine and the Miraculous Medal. Most books about the visions did start with the story of the Miraculous Medal.

When I started to write this chapter for my booklet about my Lady, I reread and studied the story of the Miraculous Medal. Then I began to see the reason why it was not included in the Golden Circle, except as an introduction.

These visions were, indeed, not part of the circle; because, they were Mary's preparation for the circle or the great plan, as she called it in 1944. Thusly, Saint Catherine's visions became the preface or the introduction to the circle.

The more I studied these visions, the more clearly I saw the way they were used to introduce not only the circle, but our Lady's triumph as well.

When our Lady appeared to Saint Catherine; she saw our Lady dressed in garments of "goldenwhite." Her feet were upon a globe. She also held a globe in her hands. Our Lady looked towards Heaven, in a way which indicated that she offered the smaller globe to God. Our Lady said to the nun: "My child, this globe represents the world and France in particular and also every individual soul."

She also seemed to have upon her fingers, rings with jewels in them. From these rings, bright rays of light streamed down upon the globe and her feet which were upon the globe. Our Lady explained that the rays of light were symbols of the graces which she gives to all who ask for these graces.

Later, the globe in her hands no longer there, she stood with her arms down and out and revealed to Catherine the model for the famous medal, which produced so many graces, it became known as the Miraculous Medal.

In commissioning Saint Catherine to give this medal to the world, our Lady said to her: "I have a mission to entrust to you. You will have much to suffer in its performance, but the thought that it will be for the glory of God will enable you to overcome all trials. You will be opposed, but do not be afraid, grace will be given to you."

When I was told about the great plan of our Lady's in 1944, I heard almost the same words: (March 31, 1944) "God has chosen you to make known to the dark world many things which would otherwise, not be known. You have a great, hard important job to do. You will meet opposition and hate for the devil will be strong. But slowly and surely you will win because God wants His children back."

Also, when Saint Catherine saw our Lady, she was looking up towards God and offering Him a globe, the world, pledging for it in spite of its fallen nature, begging God to have mercy upon poor, suffering mankind. Then in 1945 our Lady said to me: "My children of the world, I stand before the throne of God to defend the children of the fallen world and because of His great love for me, He will allow my heart to bring back the peace that is not in the world today." She added: "I tell you this because my Father and your Father's love is so great that He will give you a way to prevent the destruction of the world before the Last Day." (One of the promises of The Golden Lady.)

Here is the introduction to this plan and here is the fulfillment of the plan, so closely linked together that it can be clearly seen as only a tremendous design of God.  The introduction, the fulfillment, more than one similarity exists between these two apparitions.

The most striking resemblance between the visions of the Miraculous Medal and The Golden Lady of Happiness is the way our Lady stood with her arms down and out and her garments "goldenwhite" at Rue du Bac in Paris and "golden" at Meriden flowing around her. I have often thought of our Lady's pose, after she appeared to me, as being the same as when she appeared to Saint Catherine. So at Rue du Bac she stood the same way, dressed almost in the same garments, as she stood, and dressed, as The Golden Lady. The introduction and the fulfillment! With this she foretold or showed a glimpse of her future triumph.

This faint picture of her future triumph can be seen in other ways.

At Rue du Bac, our Lady stood upon a globe, and a serpent and spoke of the devil's power: "the graces people forget to ask for." When I saw her at Meriden in 1948, in all her glory and splendor, she also stood upon a globe, a serpent and the moon and said: "I promise that the devil and his evil ones will be pushed back into hell and much sin shall vanish from the world so that the world will no longer be filled with the sin and corruption that the devil has created." And added, on July 7, 1960: "I will now show the devil that I am the powerful one!"

The globe appeared in other apparitions, throughout the Golden Circle, as our Lady slowly and surely revealed her glory and her triumph by standing upon the globe and stating: "My Immaculate Heart has triumphed!" It is most interesting to note that these were the first words of our Lady as The Golden Lady of Happiness.

It was also most symbolic for our Lady to have said that the globe represented the souls of every person in the world. Our Lady started her circle to save the world from God's just wrath; however, it was far more important to save her children and their precious souls. The Golden Circle then becomes a wondrous circle of graces for our Lady's beloved children; which our Lady spoke about to Saint Catherine: "These rays of light (which shone from her fingers) are a symbol of the graces I shower upon all who ask them of me."

How fitting a preparation that was for the graces which our Lady told me she had left upon the rock, when I saw them as a halo of light hovering over the rock in a vision on the 10th Sunday of the apparitions here in Meriden. (I had been ordered not to return to the rock. So I was home when I saw this vision. I saw our Lady rise up from the rock leaving a "halo" of graces behind.)

The brilliant rays of light from her fingers and the rings, were also present in Meriden. When our Lady told me about her Shrine in 1946 she appeared dressed in white with bright rays of light coming from her fingers.

Another vision I had was of our Lord showing me a diamond rosary from which came beams of light, also symbolic of the graces for Mary's beloved children.

The medal itself becomes a most fitting and symbolic sign for the preparation of the Golden Circle. The medal is to be worn around the neck: a circle; and upon this medal are the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart. Surely a great introduction to our Lady's future Shrine, which she named: The Shrine of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Then when my Lady described this shrine to me, she asked for a picture of her Heart and her Son's Heart: "0n each pillar place a picture of my Heart and my Son's Heart to show all who enter that love is there. On each window place a picture of our love for our children."

Also, in Meriden, there is a medal, which I saw in a vision in 1960, I drew a picture of this medal. On the front of the medal, I saw only the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Around the heart, in letters of gold were the words: "Immaculate Heart of the Golden Lady of Happiness, Pray for us." Then the medal turned around and I saw (on the whole medal, one word under the other) in letters of gold: "My Immaculate Heart Has Triumphed." Saint Catherine's medal introduced our Lady's circle. Her medal of triumph brought this circle to a close.

Another pertinent sign of our Lady's triumph, which was symbolized by Saint Catherine's vision was her gown and veil's "goldenwhite" color. Gold and white are the main colors of her garments in our Lady's circle. Our Lady told me about her Shrine dressed all in white; when she stood upon the rock, she was all in gold, the color of perfection, victory and triumph!

It was Saint Catherine who described the color of our Lady's gown and veil. The "goldenwhite" was the only way she could describe the color; and as the visions of introduction to our Lady's circle, the color could only have been "goldenwhite" and no other.

Finally, there is the prayer found upon the Miraculous Medal: "Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

Millions of Mary's beloved children (who were also part of this great plan) did pray to her, so much so, that at Meriden, the Golden Lady said to me with words of great triumph: "They shall say their Rosaries, and they shall confess their sins, and they will do penance for their sins; but most of all they will love me as I have never been loved before. I come now to give love and to receive love."

Needless to say, our Lady did pray for her children, as they prayed to her. She also said at Meriden: "It is true, many martyrs are required, but I have held my Son's hand and I have asked Him if I could protect my children. He has given me this power. As The Golden Lady of Happiness, I as the Queen of love and peace and I am the mother who protects her beloved children."

With this introduction, our Lady started in 1846 her Golden Circle; and some of the things already mentioned in this introduction as connecting Rue du Bac with Meriden will also be found in other visions of the circle.