Siege of Jericho: the miraculous fall of the walls that unite the Old Testament, Our Lady, Pope John Paul II and all of us!
The Fall of the Walls of Jericho
The crossing of the Israeli people (Hebrews) for 40 years in the desert after being freed by God from Egypt is full of great miracles since their departure from the Egyptian lands. It would not be different on his arrival in Canaan, the promised land.
The Israelites only needed to pass through the last city in front of them: Jericho, near the Jordan River, to later join in campaigns of conquests over all cities of the promised land. At this moment, God performs a first great miracle for Joshua (the one chosen to lead the Israelites after the death of Moses) in his last venture in the desert, equivalent to the one performed at the beginning of the journey for Moses when he parted the Red Sea: He now opened the river Jordan for the passage of the ark of the covenant, Joshua and the priests, the warriors and the population (unbelievable how little publicized this miracle is!):
(Joshua, 3, 15-17) 15. Arriving at the Jordan, when the priests who carried the ark wet their feet at the edge of the water (...) - the water that came from above stopped, rising in a single mountain, far away (...) and the water that went down to the sea of Arabá, the Dead Sea, drained completely, so that the people could cross before Jericho. The priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood on the dry bed in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry foot, until all had finished crossing.
However, to enter Canaan, they still had to pass through the impassable city walls of Jericho. They were about nine meters high and six meters wide. They were true fortresses. Humanly it was impossible, but they had the promise of God who was always faithful to them over the decades in the middle of the desert and consequently they were sure of victory.
The Israelites were in front of the city and no one left or entered . The Canaanites (residents of Jericho) already knew about the great miracles that the God of the Israelites had been doing over the decades in the middle of the desert and they were shaking with fear. God, So he commands Joshua:
(Joshua, 6) 3."You, all the warriors, surround the city, giving a circle around. Do this for six days. Seven priests will carry seven trumpets before the ark; on the seventh day, circle the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. When a long blast is given and you hear the trumpet blast, all the people shall shout the war cry: The walls of the city shall come down, and the people shall assault it, each from his place."
And so they did. On the seventh day of the siege of Jericho and upon completing the seventh circuit around the walls in front of the ark of the covenant, the priests sounded the trumpets and the soldiers together with the people gave a strong war cry at the command of Joshua, when then, the walls came to the ground! The Israelites left in assault sequence for combat, each in front of the position they were in, and took the city, winning their valiant warriors, entering the promised land. But other battles would come ahead even in more distant cities within Canaan, but they were confident and strengthened in the faith they had in the Lord by obediently following His orders!
Our Lady, Pope John Paul II and the Siege of Jericho
Pope John Paul II had recently been elected and intended to go to Poland on May 8, 1979, his homeland, to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Stanislaus. But the country was taken over by the communist regime at the time, contrary to the church and the papacy. It would be impossible.
Then, at that moment, the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary appeared , directly asking a very charitable soul to pray during the first seven days of May, to make the pope's arrival possible.
Our Mother's request was presented to the Polish bishops, who rejoiced immensely and promptly responded to the call. However, they asked that this action not be called by Congress, so as not to draw the attention of the atheist government. Therefore, they named it Siege of Jericho, with consecutive rosary prayers and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in those first seven days and nights of May, held in Jasna Gora, a Marian Shrine in Poland. In the meantime, they even refused the Pope's entry visa, raising national consternation and an even greater reinforcement of prayers.
But... At the end of the seventh day of continuous recitation of the rosaries, the "walls of Jericho" fell, with the issuance of authorization for John Paul II's visit to the country in June of that same year! During his visit, he consecrated Poland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in front of 1.5 million people in Blonic Kraskokic.
Our Lady makes a second appearance, asking that the Siege of Jericho be prayed every time the Pope leaves on an apostolic mission. It is enough to remember that later in 1981 John Paul II suffered a shooting attack, was seriously injured, but survived. He attributed it to Our Lady's hand that deflected the bullet, hitting him in a non-fatal spot on the body!
The walls of our lives
Today we can find Sieges of Jericho in various parishes across the country and around the world, praying the rosary for seven days and seven consecutive nights before the Blessed Sacrament, with different daily masses, confessions, fasts and readings from Sacred Scripture. But to tear down which wall? We all have problems that become humanly insurmountable, as that wall was for the Israelites. Well, now it's up to God! It is enough for you to assume your role of prayer, surrounding your reality with spiritual life, seeking the Lord and delivering everything into His hands. Countless "fortifications" are being demolished in these intense rosaries recited during a week and of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. So, be sure to participate in your locality and throw all your faith and unsolvable problems to God! When the walls fall, it doesn't mean that future combats won't come... Yes, they can come. But you will be spiritually strengthened for war, as Joshua faced all his opponents after the walls fell!
References: Bíblica Sagrada (Editora Paulus), Canção Nova Oficial, Renovação Carismática Católica, Eventos - Canção Nova, Paróquia Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Bahia), Paróquia Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Itaboraí/RJ)