During the famous apparitions of Mary on a mountaintop in LaSalette, France, in 1846, a secret was given to Melanie Mathieu, one of the two seers, that included these words: "Paris will burn and Marseille will be engulfed."

That so-called secret, which to this day remains a matter of intense debate, has come to to the fore again with the news coming out of France: the images of rioting and fire.

Could this be another "sign of the times"? Does civil unrest figure into future events? Are we returning to a time of overt Christian-Muslim conflict in Europe itself, hearkening back to the Moors?

At LaSalette, it had been stated that mankind was drinking from the chalice of the wrath of God. "France, Italy, Spain, and England will be at war," predicted the alleged secret. "Blood will flow in the streets... For a time, God will cease to remember France and Italy because the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been forgotten."

Indeed, Spain went through a civil war in the century following those apparitions, and there were the world wars. During that period, Italy joined Germany in attacking France, and smoke billowed around Saint Paul's Cathedral in London.

"Paris will burn..."

While that city was never reduced to a cinder, it escaped such a fate only through circumstances that journalists have described as unusual. In August of 1944 Hitler himself had slammed his fist on a table and shouted at his chief of staff, "Is Paris burning? Jod! I demand to know! Yes or no? Is Paris burning now?"

Thus we see that the prophecy, which went further than the officially recognized secret from LaSalette, and was given to Melanie alone, may well have pertained to World War Two, and if so, the outcome -- Paris burning -- had been "miraculously" altered.

Such change in outcomes is known to mystical theology and was best explained by Pope Benedict XVI in his commentary as prefect for the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the third secret of Fatima -- when he noted that Pope John Paul II survived a bullet despite indications from the third secret that a pope would not only be shot but killed.

The Pope was shot in 1981 but he did not die.

Thus, said Cardinal Ratzinger, we see that prophecies may be subject to change, depending on our prayers (see: Jonah). At the same time, Cardinal Ratzinger -- as he was known then -- also said that there are no strict time-lines in prophecies, and that events in them can materialize out of sequence, in ways that, chronologically, mystify us: one part now, one part later, or a previous part after a later one.

Has this happened at LaSalette? Are there predictions in that secret that have not yet occurred -- and might the burning of Paris be one of them? Might it have meaning beyond Hitler and World War Two?

And if nothing else, is the current rioting by Muslims at least a harbinger of coming global upheaval?

Whatever the case, there are certainly parts of LaSalette that have not yet materialized and there are other prophecies, new and old, that conform with the notion of civic disturbance. One former art professor who had a near-death experience claims that he was shown visions of such future turmoil. He saw the breakdown of modern infrastructure.

Others go further. "Many Catholic prophecies foretell a period of tribulation, including all of the trials that we are now seeing that you have diligently noted," notes an observer of prophecy named Ken Holtgrewe of Cypress, Texas. "Many prophecies also say that this general period of convulsion will conclude with a sudden outbreak of revolution in Europe. This revolution is supposed to be of short duration and will end with the coming of the Great Catholic Monarch who will become the emperor of Europe. He will drive out the Muslims, and convert much of the world to Catholicism. It is said he will also subdue the republics and restore the legitimate monarchies. The Great Monarch and Angelic Pope(s) will reign over a remarkable era of peace. The reign of the Great Monarch and the era of peace will conclude with the coming of antichrist."

Can we place credence in such drama?

Do such prophecies still have relevance?

Or have they been played out?

It is said that another alleged seer known as Father Nectou in the 18th century once said: "As when the fig tree begins to sprout and produce leaves, it is a certain sign that summer is near, so when England shall begin to wane in power, the destruction of Paris shall be near at hand. This shall be a sign. England shall, in her turn, experience a more frightful revolution than that of France."

Added an alleged seer named Jane Le Royer -- who died in 1798, at the end of the French Revolution:

"The thick vapors which I have seen rising from the earth, and obscuring the light of the sun, are the false maxims of irreligion and of license (falsely called liberty) [liberalism], which in part originated in France, and in part came to us from abroad.  These have succeeded in confounding all sound principles, and in spreading everywhere such darkness as to obscure the light both of faith and of reason.  The storm began in France, which shall be the first theatre of its ravages, after having been its forge."

A Sister Marianne who died in 1804 saw "great tribulations in many large cities of France" and "a horrible massacre in the capitol, namely, Paris."

Again, if true, we must ask if that pertained to events long-since passed or to something as yet in the future. If not, do the current events in France still qualify as some kind of omen?

Let us note that whatever the case, we are in a time during which smaller events have been precursors for larger ones. We are being sent previews of what could happen on a larger scale -- as we note in the intensification of earthquakes and storms.

The weather continues to serve as a harbinger -- and France has had its share of this, including hurricane-like storms that recently destroyed churches that have not suffered like damage in centuries.

Intriguing it is that over the weekend, a television movie about a super-storm, Category Seven: the End of the World -- based on the notion of a hurricane combining with a huge tornadic front and aired in the U.S. on CBS just as there was a severe tornadic outbreak in Indiana. The news hit the same day!

Another sign of the times?

Yes, weather: look to that first and foremost. LaSalette itself warned of great thunder.

But storms won't be alone.

Look too for societal disorder.

When it comes to Muslims, let us note that there are now an estimated 53 million in Europe, and let us also remember that the last time there was an Islamic invasion, it threatened all of Europe before the Arab Moors were defeated in miraculous fashion (and with Mary's intercession) at the famous Battle of Lepanto. During that pivotal battle, the Pope and thousands of faithful recited the Rosary.

Let us note that as well.

11/08/05