Well, that was close…

Tornado Touchdown, June 15th, 2012, near Tramping Lake, SK; photo by Tianna Mallett

IT was a restless night—and a familiar dream. My family and I were escaping persecution… and then, like before, the dream would turn into us fleeing tornadoes. When I awoke yesterday morning, the dream “stuck” in my mind as my wife and I drove into a nearby town to pick up our family van at the repair shop.

In the distance, dark clouds were looming. Thunderstorms were in the forecast. We heard on the radio that there might even be tornadoes. “It seems too cool for that,” we agreed. But soon we would change our minds.

In between intervals of rain and hail, we turned off the highway on the seven mile road toward home, my wife following behind in my daughter’s car. As we crested a hill, there it was in front of us: a funnel cloud forming in the sky, and then touching down just beyond the town. To my amazement, five more funnel clouds formed with a second one touching down all at the same time. We were suddenly surrounded on three sides by tornado winds! I had never seen so many funnel clouds at once, and I was headed straight towards the tornado.

Praying under my breath, we finally reached a crossroads to turn away from the tornado’s path, which was now arcing away from the town and across the prairie. I stopped and took some video with my cellphone camera while my wife sped home toward our farm to the children. It was then that I realized funnel clouds were forming right overhead! Watch the video:

With that, I drove to the neighbour’s to warn her, and headed home. As I parked in our driveway, we all breathed a sigh of relief to see the storm moving away from our farm. Later on, my son told me that he too had dreamed of fleeing a tornado…

 

PREPARE… SPIRITUALLY

That evening as the winds calmed and the clouds opened up to the stars, I thought of how different this day could have been. My thoughts went back to the retreat I gave at The Refuge of the Remnant in Vandalia, Illinois. During a question and answer period, one of the retreatants asked if she should be storing up food, water, supplies, etc. I have answered this question before, specifically in my webcast, Time to Prepare, but will do so again in the context of our present times in 2012.

One of the first words I sensed the Lord speaking to me over seven years ago was “Prepare!” — ^[1]cf. Prepare! a “word” souls are hearing all over the world, Catholic and Protestant alike. By this is meant primarily spiritual preparation. We must be in a “state of grace.” By this it means to not be in serious sin; that one should partake frequently of Sacramental Confession; and that one should be living a life of conversion, moving away from those sins that have held us captive in the past. Why?

Spiritual Armour

The first reason is again spiritual. It seems that the “margin of error” that God may have permitted in the past regarding our compromises with the world, is no more. During their sojourn in the desert, He tolerated the rebellion of the Israelites for only so long.

Forty years I endured that generation. I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray and they do not know my ways.” So I swore in my anger, “They shall not enter into my rest.” (Psalm 95:10-11)

If you are trying to grow in obedience and faithfulness to God, then you are likely going through very difficult trials. The reason is not because God has forgotten or abandoned you! Rather, He is quickly purifying and preparing His Church for the major turn of events that are here and coming upon the world. We must respond in turn by rooting out all the compromises and lukewarmness, the “exceptions” and laziness that keep us from becoming holy, from becoming His People. Whereas God’s hand of protection safeguarded peoples and nations in the past, that hand is now lifting. ^[2]see Removing the Restrainer Wherever we leave cracks and compromises in our lives, that is where Satan is being given more and more power to work as the sifting of the weeds from the wheat continues. That is why we are seeing more and more random and bizarre acts of violence and barbaric behavior: ^[3]cf. Warnings in the Wind God’s hand of protection is lifting.

At the same time, He is preparing a holy remnant of souls who are responding to grace. I hear again the words of John Paul II:

The Church needs saints. All are called to holiness, and holy people alone can renew humanity. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Vatican City, Aug. 27, 2004 

I wrote recently to a dear brother in Christ:

I will accept nothing less from you in this friendship than a sincere desire on your part to become a saint. And I ask of you to demand this of me. Otherwise, how can we say we love each other if we fail to raise one another to the one standard that would make the other most fulfilled? I want to be a saint, not for the record books, not for the Vatican’s Hall of Saints, but for my hungry and thirsting brothers and sisters who long to “taste and see” the goodness of the Lord. It is the Hour for the saints to rise up. God will help us because this is His will.

I believe we are now beginning to live the brunt of the warning given by the Blessed Mother to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Akita, Japan, that Pope Benedict XVI approved as worthy of belief while he was still a cardinal:

The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres…. churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them…” —Message given through an apparition to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Akita, Japan, October 13th, 1973; approved in June of 1988.

It has been over forty years now since the close of Vatican II and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Charismatic Renewal. ^[4]cf. Charismatic – Part II We have, in many places, gone far off course—so much so that many religious orders are barely recognizable, if not already defunct; the priesthood is wrought with scandal; and the Catholic Faith is…

…in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel. —Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to All the Bishops of the World, March 12, 2009; Catholic Online

We must decide that we will either be “a people whose hearts go astray” or souls who deny themselves, pick up their crosses, and choose to live according to God’s will. How can we not see a connection between the Israelites who entered the “rest” of the Promised Land, and the remnant who will enter what the early Church Fathers called the “Sabbath rest” of an Era of Peace? ^[5]cf. How the Era was Lost Disobedience is what prevented many Israelites from entering Canaan. So too, the Kingdom of Heaven is reserved for those who strive to be obedient.

It is not enough merely to pronounce the name of God to be saved: none of those who cry out Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. —St. Gaspar del Bufalo, Some Reflections on the Confraternity of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,” respectfully submitted to Pope Leo XIII: Scritti del Fondatore, vol. XII, ff. 80-81

Upheaval

The second aspect of this spiritual preparation is to prepare for physical events on the earth that will spare neither the good nor the bad, according to God’s purpose and plans:

See! The LORD is about to empty the earth and lay it waste; he will twist its surface, and scatter its inhabitants: people and priest shall fare alike: servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. (Isaiah 24:1-2)

Events are coming, man-made or “natural”, that will take many souls before the Judgment Throne in the blink of an eye (read Mercy in Chaos), and thus the need to always be ready in a “state of grace.” That is simply the dynamics of our times, of a generation that has refused to return to the path of “charity in truth”, and embarked not only upon human experimentation (cloning, embryonic “research”, genetic modification, etc.) but human sacrifice (abortion, euthanisia, health care eugenics, etc.) The time of mercy is soon becoming the time of justice… just as Jesus said it would:

In the Old Covenant, I sent prophets wielding thunderbolts to My people. Today I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force Me to do so; My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the Day of Justice I am sending the Day of Mercy. (Jesus, to St. Faustina, Diary, n. 1588) 

 

PREPARE… PHYSICALLY

There are two elements fomenting on the horizon that demand serious attention. One is the growing number of natural disasters all over the world. Creation is groaning under the weight of mankind’s sins. I recently stayed with a priest who has been receiving visions and dreams from Heaven since he was 10 years old. He sees the souls in purgatory with his physical eyes most every day. Above all, he remains a quiet, obedient, humble soul, fulfilling his duties as priest and shepherd to the little flock in his care. He has been shown in visions and dreams great changes coming over the face of the earth, influenced by factors both from within and without our orbit. One of the things he spoke about was how the core of the earth is undergoing enormous changes (as well as the poles of the earth). For certain, we are seeing more and more unexpected geological events around the world… from strange sinkholes appearing, to volcanoes waking up, to earthquakes in uncommon areas, to meteorological extremes, to mass dye-offs of winged and sea creatures, to bizarre rumblings in various regions—as if the earth were really groaning.

It is just common sense, then, to have extra food, water, blankets, flashlights, spare cash on hand, etc. How much? How much is enough? Pray. I have already met people throughout North America who feel they have been called to establish a place of refuge. ^[6]cf. The Coming Refuges and SolitudesIn these cases, God seems to be calling them to gather food and supplies for many. Again, if you’re walking with God, listening to the voice of the Shepherd, then follow His promptings regarding your own situation. In the end, trust in Him. Our life here is temporary anyway; we are only “strangers and sojourners” passing through to the Eternal City. Heaven is our goal, not self-preservation; rather, laying down one’s life for his neighbour—following in the footsteps of our Master, is our vocation. Our concern at this time in the world should be to have His Heart: a heart thirsting for souls. ^[7]cf. Heart of God

I think it is very interesting that governments in many nations are now calling their citizenry into “disaster preparedness”. In America, military troops are training, allegedly, for large scale natural disaster response—if not civil chaos. A “doomsday vault” has been created in Norway to house the some 3 million or so seed varieties on the planet in the event of ‘a global catastrophe such as an asteroid strike or nuclear war.’ ^[8]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ And governments and central banks around the world are beginning to brace for the likelihood of civil unrest in the event of a global economic collapse. ^[9]cf. http://www.reuters.com/

Yes, that is the second element billowing like a thunderhead over the world: the imminent collapse of the global economy. The world’s leading insurance company, Lloyd’s of London, is preparing for the collapse of the Euro; ^[10]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ plans are being put into place to stop people from fleeing their countries in the event of a collapse; ^[11]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ and if the Euro does disintegrate, it will send shockwaves all over the world that will likely bring civil unrest to several nations as economies collapse one upon the other like dominoes. In fact, America and Europe have only delayed the collapse by simply printing more money… with disastrous consequences yet to be felt.

 

DIVINE PERSPECTIVE

Perhaps the more relevant question then is, who can prepare for any of this? The answer is the same one Jesus gave:

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil. (Matt 6:33-34)

If we are seeking Him, seeking His will, then you can be assured that you “remain in” Him. What could be safer than being in the safe harbour of His care? If God’s will is that I should be called home this very night—a real possibility for anyone of us for any number of reasons—then my preparation today is the same as it will be tomorrow: to be sure that I am in friendship with Him who is my Lord and Judge.

Lastly, at Fatima, Our Lady said:

My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God. —Second apparition, June 13, 1917, The Revelation of the Two Hearts in Modern Times, www.ewtn.com

Her Heart is the “Ark” that God is giving us in our times against the Great Storm that is here and coming. Today, on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is perhaps a good time to renew one’s consecration to this Mother who will “lead you to God.”

Yesterday, we realized first hand how quickly events can change. We are going to see more and more of these kind of things worldwide. They are part of the signs of the times—a call to the Church to recognize the present and coming labor pains that will eventually give birth to a new era.