Expiatory Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mount Tibidabo, Barcelona, Spain
THERE are so many serious changes unfolding in the world right now that it is almost impossible to keep up with them. Because of these “signs of the times,” I have dedicated a portion of this website to occasionally speaking about those future events that Heaven has communicated to us primarily through Our Lord and Our Lady. Why? Because Our Lord Himself spoke of future things to come so that the Church would not be caught off guard. In fact, so much of what I began writing thirteen years ago is beginning to unfold in real-time before our eyes. And to be honest, there is a strange comfort in this because Jesus already foretold these times.
False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told it to you beforehand. (Matt 24:24-26)
If He hadn’t, we would wonder what on earth is going on. But this is also why Jesus calls us to “watch and pray that you may not undergo the test,” adding, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” [1]Mark 14:38 Understanding the signs of the times is essential to know the kind of battle we’re in and thus avoid falling asleep.
My people perish for want of knowledge! …I have told you this so that you may not fall away… (Hosea 4:6; John 16:1)
At the same time, Jesus never obsessed about these things. Likewise, there is a risk that in fixing our eyes upon the distant and uncertain horizon rather than Jesus, we can quickly lose sight of what is most important, what is most necessary, what is most essential in the present moment.
When Martha greeted Jesus with the news that Lazarus had been dead for several days, He responded: “Your brother will rise.” But Martha replied: “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” To which Jesus said,
I AM the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25)
Martha’s eyes were fixed on the future horizon that moment instead of the Lord’s presence. For right then and there, the Creator of the Universe, the Author of Life, the Word Made Flesh, the King of kings, the Lord of lords and Conqueror of Death was present. And He raised Lazarus right then and there.
So too, in this moment of uncertainty, confusion, and darkness that has descended upon our world, Jesus says to you and me: “I AM the Era of Peace; I am the Triumph; I am the Reign of the Sacred Heart, right here, right now… Do you believe in me?”
Martha replied:
Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world. (John 11:27)
You see, the main event is not coming—it is already here! Jesus is the main event. And so, what is most necessary at this moment is that you and I fix our eyes upon Him who is “the leader and perfecter” of our faith. [2]cf. Hey 12:2 Practically, this means deliberately surrendering your life to Him; it means speaking with Him in prayer, seeking to know Him in Scripture, and loving Him in those around you. It means repenting of those sins in your life that hurt your relationship with Him and postpone the coming of His Kingdom in your heart. Everything I have said or written in over 1400 writings here comes down to one word: Jesus. If I have spoken of the future, it’s so that you may turn your eyes to the Present. If I have warned of a coming deceiver, it is so that you may encounter the Truth. If I have talked about sin, it is so that you may know the Savior. What else is there?
Whom else have I in the heavens? None beside you delights me on earth. Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever. But those who are far from you perish; you destroy those unfaithful to you. As for me, to be near God is my good, to make the Lord God my refuge. (Psalm 73:25-28)
The main event at this moment is not earthquakes, famines, or plagues; it is not the rise of a beast and the collapse of Christianity in the West; it is not even the triumphs of which Our Lady has spoken. Rather, it is her Son, Jesus. Here. Now. And He gives Himself daily to us in both His Word and the Eucharist, or wherever two or three are gathered, and even wherever and whenever you call upon His holy name:
To pray “Jesus” is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2666
Moreover…
…every day in the prayer of the Our Father we ask the Lord: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”(Matt 6:10)…. we recognize that “heaven” is where the will of God is done, and that “earth” becomes “heaven”—i.e., the place of the presence of love, of goodness, of truth and of divine beauty—only if on earth the will of God is done. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, General Audience, February 1st, 2012, Vatican City; cf.Hymn to the Divine Will
So, do not be worried or anxious about tomorrow, brothers and sisters. The Main Event is already here. His name is Emmanuel: “God is with us.”[3]Matt 1:24 And if you fix your eyes upon Him and don’t turn them away, you will actually become the most significant sign of the times on the horizon of tomorrow.
You will be the dawning of a new day, if you are the bearers of the Life, which is Christ! —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Young People of Apostolic Nunciature, Lima Peru, May 15th, 1988; www.vatican.va
First published March 13th, 2017…
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