For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. (John 3:16)

The Mystery of God the Son's Incarnation and dwelling among us, His Suffering and Death for our redemption, and His Resurrection and Triumph over sin and death two thousand years ago has ever since been an ever-present reality, and will remain so until the end of the world. God draws all men to this Mystery.He calls them to embrace it, become totally devoted to it, and thus become part of it, as this Mystery is the only true light and way for their eternal salvation. "he Paschal mystery of Christ cannot remain in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is that he did and suffered for all men participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1085)

This reality of God's saving Mystery engages itself with us and bears fruit in us not only as individuals but as a people, as God created humans not only as individual persons but as social beings, endowed with the destiny to become members of His Family and citizens of His Kingdom. That is why Our Lord not only associates Himself with us as individuals (hearing our individual prayers, for example) but established a Church, as a community of His followers, and installed a group of shepherds in her as His ministers tending His sheep with His teachings and graces. Thus, the truths that His people receive through the Church are not opinions and theories formulated by theologians and philosophers according to their indings and whims but the objective and infallible supernatural truths revealed by God that will remain unchanged in eternity. Likewise, the graces they receive through the Sacraments and the Communion of Saints in the Church are not just passing fortunes or empty gestures but true and certain supernatural assistance and life flowing from the Lord Himself and His infinite merits on the Cross.

Needless to say, the members of the Church on earth are imperfect humans, still making their difficult journey toward sanctification and perfect union with the Lord, but, at the same time, the Church can constantly rely on the guidance, assistance, purification, and nurturing by the Holy Spirit in her zealous pursuit of the Will of the Lord, Who is her Head and bridegroom, divine and infinitely holy. In this Mystical Body of Christ, all of her individual members have particular, important roles to play just as all the members of our physical bodies have particular, important functions to play. Members of this body will either contribute to the good of the whole body, if they are faithful, or cause harm to the whole body, if they are unfaithful or remain inactive and callous.

As this Church is God's Family and Kingdom (actually, she is the most perfect family and kingdom beyond our imagination), she has not only her Head (father and king) and members (children and subjects) but a Mother and a Queen as well. Without a mother, the Church, God's Family and Kingdom, will not be complete or natural. How barren and lifeless a family would be without a mother! A mother is the greatest gift of love from God for His children, as she is needed not only for the beginning of their lives but also for their spiritual and physical health and growth. The mother's role becomes more crucial when children are in difficulties or exposed to dangers. We may like to think of ourselves as grownups even before God and to behave accordingly, even boasting that we can do just fine without the mother. But Our Lord said that unless we became like children, we could not enter God's Kingdom, which is His Family. The Church is not a merely human organization with human agenda and under human control and management; it is a living body and a supernatural entity with Our Lord as her Head and the Holy Ghost as her animating and sanctifying Spirit. It is the living Mystical Body of Christ, which was born two thousand years ago, and has ever since been growing toward its fullness and glorious perfection, fighting off all kinds of dangers and attacks on the way. As Jesus needed His Mother during His life on earth, His Church also needs the Mother throughout her difficult journey on earth. This is God’s Providence and Plan for human salvation. The Blessed Mother is a great hope for more humans to be saved and a dreadful foe to Satan, as he stands no chance against the humility of the Blessed Mother and her immaculate power given to her by God (cf. Genesis 3:15)

Even after her Assumption into Heaven with her soul and body, the Blessed Mother has always played the essential role as the Mother of the Church and the Help of Christians, looking after her children’s needs, protecting them from the devil’s attacks, and interceding for them before God especially in times of crisis. When we read the Lives of the Saints and the history of the Church, we become amazed to see that there has been no Saint who has not had a deep love for the Blessed Mother and an ardent devotion to her, and that the Church and the Christian world have been saved numerous times from terrible threats, both from the outside and from within, by the Blessed Mother’s special help. If we truly love Jesus, God the Son Who became man for our salvation, it will be impossible for us not to love His Mother as well. The modernist spirit sweeping over our world today is preventing many people from recognizing the essential role of the Blessed Mother as the Assistant to Our Savior, as Eve was the assistant to Adam in his fall, but God’s Truths and Providence will remain unaffected by the vagaries of passing thoughts and prejudices in human minds.

Especially in the small city of Naju, Korea, the Blessed Mother has been giving us so many important, urgent messages and truly amazing signs since 1985 through Julia Kim, a humble housewife and mother of four children. Until now, hundreds of thousands of people have personally experienced and witnessed the loving intervention by the Blessed Mother in their lives to draw them to her Divine Son and His saving power in this age of terrifying dangers brought about by widespread abandonment of the Faith and of moral discipline. So many people have repented their sinful lives filled with anger, hatred, vengefulness, pride, impurity, greed, vanity and despair and have begun a new life of humility, love, peace, and self-sacrifice. Many have also experienced healings of their physical illnesses during the process of their internal repentance, often without even praying for such healings, thinking that they did not deserve them. A small percentage of the numerous people who have experienced special graces in Naju have left their testimonies in writing, and a small portion of the written testimonies are introduced in this book. Those testimonies written in languages other than English were translated at Mary's Touch By Mail.

Ever since the beginning of the Church two thousand years ago, verbal and written testimonies have been important instruments for propagating the Faith. I hope that as many people as possible around the world will read the testimonies in this book, open their hearts widely to the Lord and His boundless love and mercy channeled to us through the Blessed Mother, overcome their despair and doubts, and begin living a new life from God, experiencing His unfailing saving power, and then courageously testify to the whole world so that more souls may receive the graces of repentance and be saved.

May the Lord bless all the readers through the Blessed Mother!

Sang M. Lee
Mary’s Touch By Mail
January 1, 2003
Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God