The Storm of Confusion

“You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14)

AS I attempt to pen this writing to you today, I confess, I have had to start over several times. The reason is that The Storm of Fear to doubt God and His promises, The Storm of Temptation to turn to worldly solutions and security, and The Storm of Division that has sown judgments and suspicions in people’s hearts… means that many are losing their capacity to trust as they are engulfed in a whirlwind of confusion. And so, I ask you to bear with me, to be patient as I too pick the dust and debris from my eyes (it’s awfully windy up here on the wall!). There is a way through this Storm of Confusion, but it will demand your trust—not in me—but in Jesus, and the Ark He is providing. There are crucial and practical things I will address. But first, a few “now words” on the present moment and the big picture…

THE “STORM”

Where did this word “Storm” that I am using come from? Many years ago, I went for a drive in the country to pray and watch the sunset. There was a thunder storm forming on the horizon, and in my heart I sensed the Lord say that a “Great Storm, like a hurricane is coming upon humanity.” I had no idea what this meant. But over the past decade as the Lord led me to the writings of the Popes (see Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?), the Church Fathers (see Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!), and the words of Our Lady that mirror and echo the former, a clear picture began to emerge: we are seemingly entering the “birth canal” into hard labour, which will give way to a new springtime in the Church. Of course, you’ve heard St. John Paul II say this very thing.

…turning our eyes to the future, we confidently await the dawn of a new Day… “Watchmen, what of the night?” (Is. 21:11), and we hear the answer: “Hark, your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing for joy: for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion”…. Their generous witness in every corner of the earth proclaims: “As the third millennium of the Redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity and we can already see its first signs.” May Mary, the Morning Star, help us to say with ever new ardor our “yes” to the Father’s plan for salvation that all nations and tongues may see his glory. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message for World Mission Sunday, n.9, October 24th, 1999; www.vatican.va

I have never quoted the following from Our Lady before, but it is an echo of John Paul II’s words:

In order to free men from bondage to these heresies, those whom the merciful love of my Most Holy Son has designated to effect the restoration will need great strength of will, constancy, valor and confidence in God. To test this faith and confidence of the just, there will be occasions when all will seem to be lost and paralyzed. This, then, will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration. —Our Lady of Good Success to Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, on the Feast of the Purification, 1634; cf. catholictradition. org

So, while this message is incredibly hopeful, we must also courageously acknowledge that, before springtime, there is winter; before dawn, there is night; and before restoration, there is a dying. This is why I have not hesitated as a “watchman”—to take the “risk” one could say—to speak about this “night,” because even this truth will “set us free.” Those who are prepared for a storm are far more likely to survive than those whom the hurricane catches by surprise. The intense winds will be less disorienting for the very reason that they were expected.

I have told you this so that you may not fall away… I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you. (John 16:1, 4)

STORM IN THE CHURCH

At this hour, there is a great whirlwind of confusion in the Church as various interpretations of the Synod on the Family and its summary document Amoris Laetitia continue to spark controversy, division and contradiction. Many people are beginning to feel “lost and paralyzed.” Whose interpretation do you believe? Which do I follow? Sr. Lucia of Fatima spoke of a time of confusion coming, a “diabolical disorientation” as she put it. Jesus explained why to Servant of God Luisa Picarretta:

Now we have arrived at approximately the third two thousand years, and there will be a third renewal. This is the reason for the general confusion, which is nothing other than the preparation for the third renewal. If in the second renewal I manifested what my humanity did and suffered, and very little of what My divinity was accomplishing, now, in this third renewal, after the earth will be purged and a great part of the current generation destroyed… I will accomplish this renewal by manifesting what My divinity did within My humanity. —Diary XII, January 29th, 1919; from The Gift of Living in the Divine Will, Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, footnote n. 406

I recall again how for about two weeks in 2013, after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, I sensed over and over again in my heart the Lord saying, “You are now entering into dangerous and confusing times.” Well, four years later, here we are. Suddenly, the metaphor of a “hurricane” makes perfect sense as insults, contradictions, accusations, compromises, misunderstandings, and judgments hurl past us like the debris of a powerful tempest. The word “schism” is being whispered in dark corners as we begin to openly see “cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops.” ^[1]Our Lady of Akita, 1973 It’s no secret that I have been viciously attacked by “conservative” Catholics for even quoting Pope Francis at all (even if it is fully orthdox Catholic teaching). This is a troubling sign, for as Jesus said…

…if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (Mark 3:25)

STORM IN SOCIETY

There is also a tremendous whirlwind of confusion in society at large as the divisions between light and darkness are becoming more defined, and positions hardening.

Vast sectors of society are confused about what is right and what is wrong… —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Cherry Creek State Park Homily, Denver, Colorado, 1993

The world is rapidly being divided into two camps, the comradeship of anti-Christ and the brotherhood of Christ. The lines between these two are being drawn. How long the battle will be we know not; whether swords will have to be unsheathed we know not; whether blood will have to be shed we know not; whether it will be an armed conflict we know not. But in a conflict between truth and darkness, truth cannot lose. —Bishop Fulton John Sheen, D.D. (1895-1979)

Within half a generation, the world has rapidly abandoned logic and reason as, “in the name of love,” the biological, sociological and moral reasons for the defence of marriage between a male and a female have been nearly destroyed. And with the abolition of this moral consensus, the understanding of the nature of sex and gender has been upended as school children are now being taught that gender is something you determine, not your biology. What a confused mess, and the reason Pope Benedict said that the very “future of the world is at risk” because of this “eclipse of reason.” ^[2]cf. On the Eve What could be more “diabolically disoriented” than hundreds of thousands of women marching around the world this past weekend for “women’s rights”—ie. the right to destroy the child within their wombs?

THE STRONG DELUSION

There is something strange about the past election in the United States and the bizarre, emotional, and often profane and irrational response it has elicited. It goes beyond mere political disagreement. We are seeing here too, I believe, the “strong delusion” that St. Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians.

God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned. (2 Thess 2:11-12)

These things in truth are so sad that you might say that such events foreshadow and portend the “beginning of sorrows,” that is to say of those that shall be brought by the man of sin, “who is lifted up above all that is called God or is worshiped“ (2 Thes 2:4). —POPE PIUS X, Miserentissimus Redemptor, Encyclical Letter on Reparation to the Sacred Heart, May 8th, 1928; www.vatican.va

This delusion has been slowly forming and growing since the birth of the Enlightenment over 400 years ago, ^[3]cf. Living the Book of Revelation gradually turning that which is evil into a good, and good, evil.

Given such a grave situation, we need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name, without yielding to convenient compromises or to the temptation of self-deception. In this regard, the reproach of the Prophet is extremely straightforward: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Is 5:20). —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Evangelium Vitae, “The Gospel of Life”, n. 58

So more than ever, we need to remain “sober and alert” as this “dictatorship of moral relativism” grows internationally, and realize that we are dealing ultimately with demonic sophistries that will only be overcome by Grace. (Those who think that the election of Donald Trump has suddenly ended the Storm have to expand their horizon beyond Washington and realize that the Storm is not an American one, but encloses the entire world. If anything, the anti-Church, anti-Gospel forces are gaining more strength, resolve and boldness…).

And so, I am going to dig into the archives and republish some crucial and necessary ways to attain the Grace we need in this hour—antidotes to the Storm of Confusion. The first antidote is actually what you just read… just knowing what is happening, and what is coming.