For well over 15 years now, Gianna Sullivan has filled the minds
of her followers with rambling dribblings allegedly given to her by Mary, the Blessed Mother, without public challenge, save the September 2000 rebuke by the
Archdiocese of Baltimore. These pretend messages can be found on countless websites, posted by duped followers who consider them holy words above and
beyond the the bible.
As of now, Gianna’s ability to issue her messages unchallenged is over.
But before we begin, we need to revisit some inconsistencies in a few recent messages.
In her purported Memorial Day message of May 26th, Mary supposedly warns us
that:
“With the stars aligning and moving in their own orbits, what is
to come, sooner then you know, could result in the death of 70% of the earth’s population.”
Yet, just five days later, Mary has changed her warning to:
“After a while, you will see a time when there is another body in
orbit around your solar system, coming between Earth and the Sun and leading to tremendous devastation. Approximately 60-70% of the world’s population, as you know
it, will cease. Of those who survive, 60% of them could die of disease and starvation.”
What gives? One week Mary is giving us an exact figure of 70% destruction, and the
following week another? Did the Apocalyptic statistics branch of heaven run a new computer simulation and come up with an updated death figures? Did Mary get it
wrong? Doubtful. Which leaves us only one conclusion, Gianna must have gotten it wrong. And if she got this wrong, what else did she get wrong? We’ll explore all
her failed prophecies in a soon to be released series of new articles ... In the mean time, let’s get on to wasting your time with the latest ‘Pretend Messages for a
Pretend Prophetess.’
While we hoped we would be able to really sink our teeth into the July message, we were
disappointed in the unusual blandness of the message, especially given that the June message was filled with such doom and gloom!
What happened? One month we’re supposed to be preparing for the end of times, the next message – nothing. What’s up with that?
“Public Message Our Lady of Emmitsburg
To the World through Gianna Sullivan
(Or she claims)
July 13, 2008
Little children, praised be Jesus!
Dear children, I am a Mother, “full of Grace.” I have extended
my hand to you. I have presented my Most Adorable and Merciful Son to you. Yada, Yada, Yada...
Children, you all possess the same Spirit of Grace that God has
gifted you. Why then do you tear one another apart? Why is there not harmony and unity? My Son’s Peace is that of holiness and justice. You do not realize the
tears, the penance and the sacrifices made at a price for your existence! There are hidden heroes around the world whose love is their life’s mission. They pray to
love; and oftentimes they come between you and God, warding off Divine punishment. They pray for a spiritual transfusion and for conversion of hearts. The
reference to the followers tearing each other apart is not new, it can be found in other supposed messages whenever there was severe dissension in the ranks. Hmm...,
I wonder what could be causing severe dissension in the ranks this time ... maybe a loony prediction about the twin suns making fly-bys and bringing about the end of
the world, which every astronomical society in the world calls bunk? Or maybe it’s because their ‘group’ is being equated to a cult and people are taking a hard
second look at the group and not liking what they see?
It was the same during the time of my Son. The Pharisees, the
Sadducees and the Scribes did not bear fruit through their repeated sins. They desired to persecute, to conquer, to dominate and to distort the goodness of my Son
and the Truth of His Word. Is it not the same today—with “pharisees” living with hardness of heart, desiring to tear down, persecute and dominate? Is there not
lust, gluttony, hatred and selfishness? Ok, here’s the real subliminal message in the pretend message: ‘Everyone that is attacking me (Gianna) is evil and
filled with hatred.’ We have to admit, this is a great follow-up on the June message where the followers are instructed not to trust the leaders of their country and
church. Can you say ‘Siege Mentality?’
So today, I can tell you that true Charity will be precisely
gifted upon those who are scorned, mocked, persecuted and laughed at Little ones, when something is real, you cannot stop God! No judgment from men can impair or
influence the Judgment of God. You would only be fighting God. More classic siege mentality stuff. Don’t trust those who have spent their lives studying
planetary science, trust me because I’m your leader. I know all! Better yet, if you do trust me, you’ll be rewarded with salvation ... hmm, is that the same line
used by the leader of the Heaven’s Gate cult just before he told them to all commit suicide?
I am your Mother, “full of grace”; and my Merciful Son has
allowed me to distribute these graces to you. I have a duty as a Mother to warn, to challenge, to protect and to draw all people to God. Please, receive these
graces while I am still allowed. What? Is God finally on to you? Is He going to revoke your hallway pass for bilking man by supposedly revealing timelines and
events that He alone is supposed to know?
Seals (Rev. 6:1-17) have been
broken one by one, but if all the seals were broken at once, humanity would not be able to survive. More classic siege mentality stuff! It’s important to
continue to throw out scares, just to shore up you base in case some of the followers are beginning to catch on that you are loony. The best way to keep them on
your side is to claim some secret that you alone know so that they have to stick around if they want to hear it.
One follower even goes so far as to say “Gianna has also received the
10 secrets from the Blessed Mother concerning the future."
For those who have ears, hear! “We are not leaving.”
Neither are we , every time you come out with dribble like this, we’re going to call you on it.
I love you. I love you (fading whisper—crying). Oh, give us a break!
(During the apparition but before the audible message from Our
Lady through Gianna to the world, Gianna’s eyes and head panned the entire width of the room from her right to her left as Our Lady moved from the center of the room
to Her far left, upward and back to the center, and to Her far right, before returning back in front of Gianna. Throughout this entire time, a kaleidoscope of color
in the form of rays flowed from Our Lady’s hands onto the entire crowd in the building. Those gathered at the Prayer Group saw on the giant screen monitors the
ecstatic joy on Gianna’s face, for NEVER before had Gianna seen such an expression of Our Lady’s love. Our Lady shared with Gianna that she was distributing God’s
graces to all.)” What???? What??? Did anyone actually see this other then the pretend Prophetess? Is any of this on video tape? ‘NEVER before had Gianna seen such
an expression of Our Lady’ love’ Never???? We’re speechless by the sheer level of bunk here.
As noted above, this message is filled with classic siege mentality material. So we
thought it worth giving our readers a brief overview of what siege mentality is all about.
So what is Siege Mentality?
Cults often develop a siege mentality and seek to isolate themselves from influences that
might interfere with total adherence to the cult. Cults and fringe sects of religion, such as Young Earth Creationists follow a simple credo - Science is bad,
Revealed Knowledge is good. It doesn't matter what some PhD Scholar is telling you. It doesn't matter what some amateur skywatcher with her own 8-inch telescope
tells you. It doesn't matter what mathematicians, astronomers, geologists or meteorologists are telling you. All that matters is the cult leader’s revelations.
Membership in cults may begin with a sudden conversion experience where an individual feels
that ultimate truth has been glimpsed. This may lead to zealotry, the conviction that the cult view is the only possible view, which therefore must be promulgated to
the beknighted or is too refined to be understood by others. A persecution complex and siege mentality may result: cult members feel that the world is the enemy and
that only martyrdom will vindicate their faith.
The tools with which cult leaders claim "undue influence" over their followers starts with
recruiting from a pool of idealistic, but directionless and vulnerable, people; isolate them from old connections; create a siege mentality that pits the group
against the world; and finally, foster utter dependence on the leader.
A kind of siege mentality -- us versus THEM -- develops. Because cult members see
themselves as different from and superior to others, they begin to disassociate themselves both physically and mentally from the community in general. Cult leaders or
doctrine warn members to be wary of the ways of the unwashed. Those which are outside the cult or who disagree with its teachings or leaders are seen as part of the
conspiracy against the organization. Often, this is phrased as being "of the devil" or as coming from a state of depravity or lack of proper spiritual enlightenment.
And, any criticism of the cult from such people is immediately dismissed as coming from the mind of the unenlightened. Disagreement with and criticism of the cult is
considered persecution of it. Members are reminded that they are persecuted because they are the "True" followers of God.
One of the inevitable results of the "us-vs-them" mentality is that cult members cease to
socialize with outsiders. Alienation from friends and family result. This means that, ultimately, former friends become part of the conspiracy, tools of the devil and
his deception.
Not surprisingly, this league of conspiracy inevitably comes to include anyone who is not
in the ranks of the organization, and who is not under its influence. The cult will often claim that the conspiracy includes the government, the news media,
unsupportive friends and family.
The society cult develops internal mechanisms to cope with the threat by increasing
pressure among society members towards conformity, unity and mobilization. This pressure can take various forms, like calls for unity, calls for patching-up or
concealment of disagreement within the group, as well as threatening (and carrying out) negative sanctions against those who disagree within the group.
With this is mind, re-read the June 1st and the latest supposed messages from
Mary ... and note the siege mentality wording in each.
For a more detailed look at causes of Siege Mentality we encourage you to read Daniel Bar-Tal's
article on the subject. Dr.
Bar-Tal is Professor of Psychology at the
School of Education, Tel-Aviv University.
"People who expect the world as it is to end soon
do a lot of very strange things."
Have your own stories or thoughts about the Our Lady of Emmitsburg Cult?
If so, send them to us as cultwatch@emmitsburg.net
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