I ended the first edition of this memoir by stressing how much God seems, particularly in this era, to be calling everyone, while still in this life, to experience mystical union with Him as described in the writings of St. John of the Cross. However, at that time I knew nothing about any alleged “new state of mystical union.” To my surprise, when I started to write the biography of the late John M. Haffert, co-founder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, I discovered that he mentioned Pope John Paul II’s reference to what is called the “New and Divine Holiness.” Upon further investigation, I came upon the writings of the Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, Ph. D., OSJ on this “new state of mystical union,” which he identifies with the New and Divine Holiness.

Considering my almost, life-long interest in contemplative prayer, John Haffert’s emphasis on the New and Divine Holiness would most certainly have gotten my attention. But up until I started work on the biography, I knew nothing about any new state of mystical union reserved for our time. Instead, what influenced me to start researching and writing a biography of John Haffert was the fact that Haffert seemed to have some answers regarding Our Lady of Emmitsburg’s statement to the effect, that what she was saying to Gianna was not a new theology. I was also influenced by the fact that on May 11, 2000 Our Lady of Emmitsburg predicted that: “What commenced in Fatima with my three little children will continue now and come to fruition here at the Center of my Immaculate Heart.” To my amazement, what I was to learn concerning Fatima and Our Lady of Fatima’s predictions, as I wrote the Haffert biography, turned out to be very humbling!

It is difficult for me to put into words how I felt when I began to see what Jesus and Mary had done and continued to do for all of us as part of God’s Salvation Plan. In the past I had concentrated on the incarnation, the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. I thought that the totality of God’s plan of redemption for us, could be summed up in these three happenings. Concurrent with that belief, was the feeling that the Triune God was very far away from us.

As I indicated earlier in this memoir, I slowly came to believe that the Triune God was much closer to us than we understood, and that God’s Salvation Plan was ongoing. And I marveled that the Second Coming and the Era of Peace were part of this plan. But it was not until I read some of John Haffert’s books which referenced the New and Divine Holiness, as well as the writings of Father Joseph Iannuzzi, and I learned the full story behind Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima, that I began to get a much larger and richer view of God’s Salvation Plan.