“The Pill”
 

Man cannot attain that true happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has engraved in his very nature. —POPE PAUL VI, Humanae Vitae, Encyclical, n. 31; July 25th, 1968

 
IT was nearly forty years ago on July 25th, 1968, that Pope Paul VI issued the controversial encyclical Humanae Vitae. It is a document in which the Holy Father, exercising his role as chief shepherd and guardian of the faith, decreed that artificial birth control is contrary to the laws of God and nature.

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DOES this Scripture have anything to do with the sense of urgency which I am hearing in letters from around the world:

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)

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PEOPLE have been predicting the day of Christ’s return for as long as Jesus said that He would. As a result, people get cynical—to the point where any discussion of the signs of the times is considered "fundamentalist" and fringe.

Did Jesus say we would not know when He was returning? This has to be answered carefully. Because within the answer lies another answer to the question: How I am to respond to the signs of the times?

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The Conversion of Saint Paul, by Caravaggio, c.1600/01,

THERE are three words which I feel describe the current battle many of us are going through: Distraction, Discouragement, and Distress. I will write about these shortly. But first, I want to share with you some confirmations I have received.

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THE evening that I wrote Signs From the Sky (but had not yet published it), a reader had a dream and relayed it to me the next morning. That is, she had not read Signs From the Sky. Coincidence, or a powerful confirmation? For your discernment…

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AFTER I wrote A Circle yesterday, the image of a spiral came to mind. Yes, of course, as Scripture circles through each age being fulfilled on more and more dimensions, it is like a spiral.

But there is something more to this… Lately, several of us have been talking about how time seems to be accelerating rapidly, that time to do even the basic duty of the moment seems elusive. I wrote about this in The Shortening of Days. A friend in the south also addressed this recently (see Michael Brown’s article here.)

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IT may seem that to apply the words of the Old Testament prophets as well as the book of Revelation to our day is perhaps presumptuous or even fundamentalist. I have often wondered this myself as I have written about coming events in light of the Sacred Scriptures. Yet, there is something about the words of prophets such as Ezekiel, Isaiah, Malachi and St. John, to name but a few, that is now burning in my heart in a way they did not in the past.

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LIKE the dawning of the Sun, is the rebirth of the Latin Mass.

FIRST SIGNS 

The first signs of morning are like a dim halo on the horizon which grows brighter and brighter until the horizon is engulfed in light. And then the Sun comes.

So too, this Latin Mass signals the dawning of a new era (see The Breaking of the Seals). At first, its effects will be barely noticed. But they will grow brighter and brighter until the horizon of humanity is engulfed in the Light of Christ.

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FROM a reader:

While I enjoy your writings, you need to get a life with regard to Harry Potter. It’s called fantasy for a reason.

And from another reader on this “harmless fantasy”:

Thank you so much for speaking out on this issue.  I was one who found the books and movies to be “harmless”… until I went with my teenage son to see the latest movie this summer.

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FOR several months, I have been hearing the words of Jesus roll through my heart:

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law… why do you not know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:51-56)

Plain and simple, we are seeing this divide occur before our very eyes on a global scale.

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Jesus holding an aborted baby—Artist Unknown

FROM the Daily Roman Missal:

The catechetical tradition recalls that there are ‘sins that cry to heaven’: the blood of Abel; the sin of the Sodomites; ignoring the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt and that of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan; injustice to the wage earner." —Sixth Edition, Midwest Theological Forum Inc., 2004, p. 2165

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Elijah and Elisha, Michael D. O’Brien

IN our day, I believe God has placed the “mantle” of the prophet of Elijah on many shoulders throughout the world.  This “spirit of Elijah” will come, according to Scripture, before a great judgment of the earth:

Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with doom. Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day. (Mal 3:23-24)

 

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"Apocalypse", Michael D. O’Brien

TODAY, the Holy Father has released a long anticipated document, bridging the gap between the current Eucharistic Rite (Novus Ordo) and largely forgotten pre-Conciliar Tridentine rite. This continues, and perhaps makes "whole," the work of John Paul II in re-highlighting the Eucharist as the "source and summit" of Christian faith.

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IT seems much more than a cliché these days: just about everybody says that time is “flying by.” Friday is here before we know it. Spring is almost over—already—and I’m writing you again in the wee hours of the morning (where did the day go??)

Time seems to literally fly by. Is it possible that time is speeding up? Or rather, is time being compressed?

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JESUS is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). As Christ the Light is being exponentially expelled from our nations, the prince of darkness is taking His place. But Satan comes not as darkness, but as a false light.Continue reading →

THE presumption of every generation is, of course, that they might be the generation which will see the fulfillment of biblical prophecy regarding the end times. The truth is, every generation does, to a certain degree.

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IN the past two years alone, we have witnessed unprecedented events on earth:  entire towns and villages disappearing. Hurricane Katrina, The Asian Tsunami, Philippine mudslides, Solomon’s Tsunami…. the list goes on of areas where there was once buildings and life, and now there is just sand and dirt and fragments of memories. It is the result of unprecedented natural disasters which have annihilated these places. Entires towns gone! …the good having perished with the evil.

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WE are living in extraordinary days. There is no question. Even the secular world is caught up in the pregnant sense of change in the air.

What is different, perhaps, is that many people who often shrugged off the notion of any discussion of “end times,” or Divine purification, are taking a second look. A second hard look. 

It seems to me that a corner of the veil is lifting and we are understanding the Scriptures that deal with “end times” in newer lights and colors. There is no question the writings and words which I have shared here portend great changes on the horizon. I have, under the direction of my spiritual director, written and spoken of those things which the Lord has put in my heart, often with a sense of great weight or burning. But I too have asked the question, “Are these the times?” Indeed, at best, we are given just glimpses.

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THIS word came to me in prayer yesterday…

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Ottawa, Canada

First published April 14th, 2006. 
 

If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. (Ezekiel 33:6)

 
I AM not one to go looking for supernatural experiences. But what happened last week as I entered Ottawa, Canada seemed an unmistakable visitation of the Lord. A confirmation of a powerful word and warning.

As my concert tour took my family and I through the United States this Lent, I had a sense of expectation from the beginning… that God was going to show us “something.”

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80 countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world — more than 2 billion people — have no access to clean water or sanitation. —The World Bank; Arizona Water Source, Nov-Dec 1999

 
WHY is our water evaporating? Part of the reason is consumption, the other part is dramatic changes in climate. Whatever the reasons are, I believe it is a sign of the times…
 

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BILLIONS of people have come and gone in the past two millennium. Those who were Christians awaited and hoped to see the Second Coming of Christ… but instead, passed through the doorway of death to see Him face to face.

It is estimated that some 155 000 people die each day, and slightly more than that are born. The world is a revolving door of souls.

Have you ever wondered why Christ’s promise of His return has been delayed? Why billions have come and gone in the period since His Incarnation, this 2000-year-long “final hour” of waiting? And what makes this generation any more likely to see His coming before it passes away?

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POPE BENEDICT XVI 

“If I get hold of the pope, I will hang him,” Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a senior MMA leader, told protesters in Islamabad, who carried placards reading “Terrorist, extremist Pope be hanged!” and “Down with Muslims’ enemies!”  —AP News, Sept 22, 2006

“The violent reactions in many parts of the Islamic world justified one of Pope Benedict’s main fears . . . They show the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats, and actual violence.”  —Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney; www.timesonline.co.uk, September 19, 2006

TODAY’S Sunday Mass readings remarkably call to mind Pope Benedict XVI and the events of this past week:

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There is not only a physical deafness … there is also a ‘hardness of hearing’ where God is concerned, and this is something from which we particularly suffer in our own time. Put simply, we are no longer able to hear God—there are too many different frequencies filling our ears.  —Pope Benedict XVI, Homily; Munich, Germany, September 10, 2006; Zenit

When this happens, there is nothing left for God to do, but speak louder than us! He is doing it now, through His Pope. 

The world needs God. We need God, but what God? The definitive explanation is to be found in the one who died on the Cross: in Jesus, the Son of God incarnate … love to the end. —Ibid.

If we fail to listen to "Peter", Christ’s vicar, what then? 

Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer… (Psalm 50:3)

LAST NIGHT, I had this tremendous urge to get in the car and drive. As I headed out of town, I saw a red harvest moon resurrecting over the hill.

I parked on a country road, and stood and watched the rising as a strong east wind blew across my face. And the following words dropped into my heart:

The winds of change have begun to blow again.

Last spring, as I traveled across North America in a concert tour in which I preached to thousands of souls to prepare for the times ahead, a strong wind literally followed us across the continent, from the day we left to the day we returned. I’ve never experienced anything like it.

As the summer began, I had the sense that this was going to be a time of peace, preparation, and blessing. The calm before the storm.  Indeed, the days have been hot, calm, and peaceful.

But a new harvest begins. 

The winds of change have begun to blow again.

Dead whales on New Zealand’s Opoutere Beach 
"It’s horrific that this is happening on such a large scale," —Mark Norman, Curator of the Museum of Victoria

IT is very possible that we are witnessing those eschatological  elements of the Old Testament prophets beginning to unfold. As both regional and international lawlessness continue to escalate, we are witnessing the earth, its climate, and its animal species go through "convulsions".

This passage from Hosea continues to jump off the page—one of dozens in which suddenly, there is a fire beneath the words:

Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel, for the LORD has a grievance against the inhabitants of the land: There is no fidelity, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land. False swearing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery! In their lawlessness, bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and everything that dwells in it languishes: The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the fish of the sea perish. (Hosea 4:1-3; cf. Romans 8:19-23)

But let us not fail to heed the words of the prophets, that even then, flowed from the merciful heart of God, amidst the warnings:

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain salvation upon you. (Hosea 10:12) 

Jesus Calms the Storm—Artist Unknown 

FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF MARY

IT has been an overwhelming week of encouragement for many of you, as well as me. God has been banding us together, confirming our hearts, and healing them too—calming those storms which have been raging in our minds and spirits.

I have been so deeply moved by the many letters I’ve received. Among them, are many miracles… 

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THERE has been a shift in the spiritual realm this past week, and it has been felt in the souls of many people.

Last week, a strong word came to me: 

I am banding together my prophets.

I have had a remarkable inflow of letters from all quarters of the Church with a sense that, "Now is the time to speak!"

There seems to be a common thread of "heaviness" or "burden" being carried among God’s evangelists and prophets, and I assume many others. It is a sense of foreboding and grief, and yet, an inner strength to maintain hope in God.

Indeed! He is our strength, and his love and mercy endures forever! I wish to encourage you right now to not be afraid to raise your voice in a spirit of love and truth. Christ is with you, and the Spirit He has given you is not one of cowardice, but of power and love and self-control (2 Tim 1:6-7).

It’s time for all of us to rise up—and with our combined lungs, help blast the trumpets of warning.  —From a reader in central Canada

SEVERAL people have felt compelled to send me their dreams or visions. I share one here, because when I heard it, I felt it was not just for me. A woman relayed the following to me after Mass Sunday morning…

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Ag0ny In The Garden

AS a senior citizen put it to me today, "The news headlines are unbelievable."

Indeed, as stories of increasing pedophilia, violence, and attacks on the family and freedom of speech descend like a heavy rainfall, the temptation is to run for cover and see all as gloomy. Today, I could barely concentrate at Mass… the sorrow was so thick. 

Let’s not water-down reality:  it is gloomy, though the occasional ray of hope pierces the gray clouds of this moral storm. What I hear the Lord saying to us is this:

I know you are carrying a heavy cross. I know you are heavily burdened. But remember, you are only sharing in my Cross. Therefore, I am always carrying it with you. Would I abandon you, My beloved?

Remain as a little child. Give not into anxiety. Trust in me. I will supply your every need, whenever you need it, at the right moment. But you must go through this Passion—the whole Church must follow the Head.  It is time to drink the cup of My suffering. But as I was strengthened by an angel, so too, will I strengthen you.

Be of courage—I have already overcome the world!

Do not be afraid of anything you are going to suffer... remain faithful until death, I will give you the crown of life. (Rev 2:9-10)

THE United States has just approved the ‘morning-after’ pill. It has been legal in Canada for over a year. The drug prevents the embryo from attaching to the wall of the uterus, starving it of blood, oxygen, and nutrients.

The little life simply dies.

The fruit of abortion is nuclear war. —Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

THIS week, the Lord is speaking some very heavy things in my heart. I am praying and fasting for clearer direction. But the sense is that the "dam" is about to burst. And it comes with a warning:

 "Peace, peace!" they say, though there is no peace. (Jer 6:14)

I pray it is the dam of Divine Mercy, and not Justice.

DURING a discussion this week with family, my father-in-law suddenly interjected,

There is a great division occurring. You can see it. People are hardening their hearts to the good…

I was taken aback by his comments, as this was a “word” the Lord had spoken in my heart some time ago (see Persecution:  The Second Petal.)

It is fitting hearing this word again, this time from a farmer’s mouth, as we enter the season when combines begin to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

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Fork Lake, Alberta; August, 2006

LET us not be lulled asleep by a false sense of peace and comfort.  The past few weeks, the words continue to ring in my heart:

The calm before the storm…

I sense an urgency once again to keep my heart right with God at all times. Or as one person shared a "word" with me this week,

Quick—circumcise your hearts!

Indeed, this is the time to cut away the desires of the flesh which are at war with the Spirit. Frequent Confession and the Eucharist are like two blades of a pair of spiritual scissors.

Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered… In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. (John 16:33)

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Rom 13:14)

Elijah in the Desert, Michael D. O’Brien

NOT long ago, the Lord spoke a gentle but powerful word which pierced my soul:

"Few in the North American Church realize how far they have fallen."

As I reflected on this, particularly in my own life, I recognized the truth in this.

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (Rev 3:17)

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I BELIEVE it was Johann Strauss, who in his time said

The spiritual climate of a society can be judged by its music.

That would also be true of what lines the shelves of video stores. 

WHILE praying before the Blessed Sacrament two weeks ago, one of my colleagues had the image of a clock flash in his mind. The hands were at midnight… and then suddenly, they jumped back a couple of minutes, then moved forward, then back…

My wife likewise has a reoccurring dream where we are standing in a field, while dark clouds gather on the horizon. As we walk toward them, the clouds move away.

We should not underestimate the power of intercession, particularly when we invoke God’s Mercy. Nor should we fail to understand the signs of the times.

Consider the patience of our Lord as salvation. –2 Pt 3:15