The Maternal Pedagogy of Mary

In many apparitions to Her confidants in Itapiranga, Our Lady used maternal means to call the attention of Her children, showing them all Her tenderness as Mother, so that they understood that She, being the Mother of humanity, is always near to all Her sons and daughters, who need Her blessings and maternal care.  The following are several of the means which the Virgin used to touch the hearts of Her children that were closed and cold, converting them to God.

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1. The Blessing of Objects: With this gesture Our Lady wanted to show Her children the respect they should have for sacred things relating to God: images, rosaries, Bible, medals. She requested to have people lift up high these sacred objects for Her to bless, and/or kiss them, signifying Her maternal blessing on them. With this blessing of Mother, She wanted to give value to these objects. By Her noble gesture, She never wanted to devalue the blessing given by the priests; on the contrary, the blessing of the priest is important, for it is always good to have images, rosaries and Bibles blessed by them who bless in the name of the Church.

2. ​The Kiss on the Crucifixes: Our Lady during some apparitions asked Edson to take the crucifix to certain people to kiss. With this gesture of love and affection, She wanted to lead Her children to have a thought of Jesus and sometimes She used these crucifixes to remind us always of the Passion of Her Son Jesus, who died on the Cross to save us from sin and that we should always be united with Him in love. After leading Edson to the chosen person, She would ask him to lift the crucifix up to kiss it, then asked Edson to make the sign of the cross with his hand on Her son or daughter appointed by Her to do the same, that is, that they kiss it too.

3. The Delivery of the Roses: During the apparitions which occurred often in Manaus as in Itapiranga, Our Lady led Edson into the midst of the crowd hovering in the air on a cloud. Edson followed Her wherever She went and saw who She blessed and told him to give roses that were blessed and kissed by Her.  Some people were honored with Her special affection receiving these roses. This gesture of love and affection of Hers did not mean at all that she loved one more than another.  What She really wanted was to lead these people to have a thought of Jesus, initially, making them trust God, surrendering themselves to Him through their love of a Mother.

4. Private messages: another event was the private messages that the Virgin, at the beginning of the apparitions, gave the people. She asked that Edson transmit to the person's ear during Her apparition Her  message or later when She finished.

5. The drawings made during the apparitions: these drawings are considered particular messages that the Mother of God destined for the Church and the world. Edson during the apparitions drew the scenes and visions that the Virgin showed to him.  Several drawings portrayed by Edson with fidelity show us several scenes of the life of Jesus, of Our Lady and of St. Joseph. Others tell us serious events related to the Church, the Amazon, Brazil and the destiny of the world. They are prophecies sent from Heaven to the world through Her appearances. Some have already been fully fulfilled, and others are at the door to be fulfilled, as the Virgin has alerted several times to Edson.  

6. The penitent walks: in certain apparitions as happened during the month of November of 1997 in Itapiranga, the Virgin led Edson through the places of Her apparitions, making him walk through the most difficult and steep places as a sign of penance for sinners and for the world.  During these walks, She stopped several times in certain places. At these sudden stops, Edson fell harshly on his knees on the ground, as a sign of respect for Her maternal presence, which drew the attention of the people present and touched the most hardened and unbelieving hearts that were surprised and frightened by the violence and force of the fall that made his knees crash on the stones without ever hurting them, scraping them or breaking them. These walks were also for the faithful a form of penance because many had to accelerate their steps, often even running to accompany the confidant when the Virgin led him around, while others stumbled, fell to the ground or gave up because they could not do it. Another important meaning was that the Virgin often went to show Edson the holy places, saying some things about them, giving him private messages. Sometimes, She wanted to show Her children the respect they should have for each specific place where She had appeared with Her Divine Son or with St. Joseph, where according to the will of God, a Shrine will be built in Her honor and where Her Divine Son will make His name better known and loved in the Amazon.

7. The songs taught by the Virgin Mary: on several occasions, Our Lady taught several songs to Edson and Maria do Carmo, particularly more to Maria do Carmo. These songs are small messages where the Virgin calls us to conversion. Our Lady told Maria do Carmo that these songs would touch the hearts of many people, converting them. These songs taught by Our Lady are a novelty in the Marian apparitions.  Never has Our Lady given so many messages in the form of songs, as now in Itapiranga.  There are more than two hundred songs.  Most of these songs are to Jesus, to the Holy Trinity, requests for prayer, conversion and more.  With these songs, Our Lady educates us on how liturgical songs should be, in the celebrations and in the prayer meetings, educating us on how we should praise and pray to the Lord.​