First published June 5th, 2013…
IF I may recall briefly here a powerful experience about ten years ago when I felt driven to go to the church to pray before the Blessed Sacrament…
TIME OF GRACE
The Last Hope of Salvation?
THE second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a day that Jesus promised to pour out immeasurable graces to the degree that, for some, it is “the last hope of salvation.” Still, many Catholics have no idea what this feast is or never hear about it from the pulpit. As you’ll see, this is no ordinary day…
The Last Standing
THE past several months have been a time for me of listening, waiting, of interior and exterior battle. I have questioned my calling, my direction, my purpose. Only in the stillness before the Blessed Sacrament did the Lord finally answer my appeals: He is not done with me yet. Continue reading
The Great Refuge and Safe Harbour
First published March 20th, 2011.
WHENEVER I write of “chastisements” or “divine justice,” I always cringe, because so often these terms are misunderstood. Because of our own woundedness, and thus distorted views of “justice”, we project our misconceptions on God. We see justice as “hitting back” or others getting “what they deserve.” But what we often don’t understand is that the “chastisements” of God, the “punishments” of the Father, are rooted always, always, always, in love.Continue reading
Psalm 91
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shade of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, “My refuge and fortress,
my God in whom I trust.”
This is the Hour…
ON THE SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH,
HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
SO much is happening, so quickly these days — just as the Lord said it would.[1]cf. Warp Speed, Shock and Awe Indeed, the closer we draw to the “Eye of the Storm”, the faster the winds of change are blowing. This man-made Storm is moving at an ungodly pace to “shock and awe” humanity into a place of subservience — all “for the common good”, of course, under the nomenclature of the “Great Reset” in order to “build back better.” The messianists behind this new utopia are beginning to pull out all the tools for their revolution — war, economic turmoil, famine, and plagues. It is truly coming upon many “like a thief in the night”.[2]1 Thess 5:12 The operative word is “thief”, which is at the heart of this neo-communistic movement (see Isaiah’s Prophecy of Global Communism).
And all this would be a cause for the man without faith to tremble. As St. John heard in a vision 2000 years ago of the people of this hour saying:
“Who can compare with the beast or who can fight against it?” (Rev 13:4)
But for those whose faith is in Jesus, they are going to see the miracles of Divine Providence soon, if not already…Continue reading
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. Warp Speed, Shock and Awe |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | 1 Thess 5:12 |
The Time of Mercy Closed?
HAS the “time of mercy closed”, as said this past week in one of Heaven’s messages? If so, what does this mean?Continue reading
A Father of Divine Mercy
I HAD the pleasure of speaking alongside Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC in California at a few churches some eight years ago. During our time in the car, Fr. Seraphim confided to me that there was a time when the diary of St. Faustina was in danger of being totally suppressed due to a bad translation. He stepped in, however, and fixed the translation, which paved the way for her writings to be disseminated. He eventually became the Vice Postulator for her canonization.
The Warning of Love
IS it possible to break God’s heart? I would say that it is possible to pierce His heart. Do we ever consider that? Or do we think of God as being so big, so eternal, so beyond the seemingly insignificant temporal works of men that our thoughts, words, and actions are insulated from Him?Continue reading
The Refuge for Our Times
THE Great Storm like a hurricane that has spread across all of humanity will not cease until it has accomplished its end: the purification of the world. As such, just as in the times of Noah, God is providing an ark for His people to safeguard them and preserve a “remnant.” With love and urgency, I beg my readers to waste no more time and begin climbing the steps into the refuge God has provided…Continue reading
Our Lady: Prepare – Part II
Resurrection of Lazarus, fresco from San Giorgio church, Milan, Italy
PRIESTS are the bridge over which the Church will pass to the Triumph of Our Lady. But that does not mean the laity’s role is insignificant in the times ahead—especially after the Warning.Continue reading
The Father is Waiting…
OKAY, I’m just going to say it.
You have no idea how hard it is to write all there is to say in such a little space! I’m trying my best not to overwhelm you while at the same time trying to be faithful to the words burning on my heart. For the majority, you understand how important these times are. You do not open these writings and sigh, “How much do I have to read now?” (Still, I really do try my best to keep everything succinct.) My spiritual director said recently, “Your readers trust you, Mark. But you need to trust them.” That was a pivotal moment for me because I’ve long felt this incredible tension between having to write you, but not wanting to overwhelm. In other words, I hope you can keep up! (Now that you are likely in isolation, you have more time than ever, right?)
Our Lady: Prepare – Part I
THIS afternoon, I ventured out for the first time after a two week quarantine to go to confession. I entered the church following behind the young priest, a faithful, dedicated servant. Unable to enter the confessional, I knelt at a make-shift podium, set at the “social-distancing” requirement. Father and I looked at each with quiet disbelief, and then I glanced at the Tabernacle… and burst into tears. During my confession, I could not stop weeping. Orphaned from Jesus; orphaned from the priests in persona Christi… but more than that, I could sense Our Lady’s deep love and concern for her priests and the Pope.Continue reading
Countdown to the Kingdom
IT’S here! A brand new resource for you to find Heaven’s Messages in these turbulent times: CountdowntotheKingdom.com Continue reading
Purifying the Bride…
THE winds of a hurricane can destroy—but they can also strip and cleanse. Even now, we see how the Father is using the first significant gusts of this Great Storm to purify, cleanse, and prepare the Bride of Christ for His coming to dwell and reign within her in an all new manner. As the first hard labour pains begin to contract, already, an awakening has begun and souls are beginning to think again about the purpose of life and their ultimate destination. Already, the Voice of the Good Shepherd, calling to His lost sheep, can be heard in the whirlwind…Continue reading
Priests, and the Coming Triumph
Procession of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal (Reuters)
The long-prepared and ongoing process of dissolution of the Christian concept of morality was, as I have tried to show, marked by an unprecedented radicalism in the 1960s… In various seminaries, homosexual cliques were established…
—EMERITUS POPE BENEDICT, essay on the current crisis of faith in the Church, Apr 10, 2019; Catholic News Agency
…the darkest clouds gather over the Catholic Church. As though out of a deep abyss, countless incomprehensible cases of sexual abuse from the past come to light—acts committed by priests and religious. The clouds cast their shadows even on the Chair of Peter. Now no one is talking anymore about the moral authority for the world that is usually granted a Pope. How great is this crisis? Is it really, as we occasionally read, one of the greatest in the history of the Church?
—Peter Seewald’s question to Pope Benedict XVI, from Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times (Ignatius Press), p. 23Continue reading
On Criticizing the Clergy
WE are living in super-charged times. The ability to exchange thoughts and ideas, to differ and debate, is nearly a bygone era. [1]see Surviving Our Toxic Culture and Going to Extremes It’s part of the Great Storm and Diabolical Disorientation that is sweeping over the world like an intensifying hurricane. The Church is no exception as anger and frustration against the clergy continues to mount. Healthy discourse and debate have their place. But all too often, especially on social media, it is anything but healthy. Continue reading
Footnotes
| ↑1 | see Surviving Our Toxic Culture and Going to Extremes |
|---|
The Great Day of Light
Now I am sending to you Elijah the prophet,
before the day of the Lord comes,
the great and terrible day;
He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons,
and the heart of sons to their fathers,
lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction.
(Mal 3:23-24)
PARENTS understand that, even when you have a rebellious prodigal, your love for that child never ends. It only hurts that much more. You just want that child to “come home” and find themselves again. That’s why, before the Day of Justice, God, our loving Father, is going to give the prodigals of this generation one last opportunity to return home—to board “the Ark”—before this present Storm purifies the earth.Continue reading
The Hour of Great Mercy
EVERY day, an extraordinary grace is made available to us that previous generations did not have or were not aware of. It is a grace tailored for our generation who, since the early 20th century, is now living in a “time of mercy.” Continue reading
Thank You Jesus
THANK YOU JESUS
ALLELUIA!Continue reading
In the Footsteps of St. John
St. John resting on the breast of Christ, (John 13:23)
AS you read this, I am on a flight to the Holy Land to embark on a pilgrimage. I am going to take the next twelve days to lean upon the breast of Christ at His Last Supper… to enter Gethsemane to “watch and pray”… and to stand in the silence of Calvary to draw strength from the Cross and Our Lady. This will be my last writing until I return.Continue reading
Last Call: Prophets Arise!
AS the weekend Mass readings rolled by, I sensed the Lord saying once again: it is time for the prophets to arise! Let me repeat that:
It is time for the prophets to arise!
But don’t start Googling to find out who they are… just look in the mirror.Continue reading
Final Thoughts from Rome
The Vatican across the Tiber
A significant element of the ecumenical conference here was the tours we took as a group throughout Rome. It became immediately apparent in the buildings, architecture and sacred art that the roots of Christianity cannot be separated from the Catholic Church. From St. Paul’s journey here to the early martyrs to the likes of St. Jerome, the great translator of the Scriptures who was summoned to the Church of St. Laurence by Pope Damasus… the budding of the early Church clearly sprung from the tree of Catholicism. The idea that the Catholic Faith was invented centuries later is as fictitious as the Easter Bunny.Continue reading
Day 4 – Random Thoughts from Rome
WE opened up this morning’s ecumenical sessions with a song. It reminded me of an event several decades ago…Continue reading
Day 3 – Random Thoughts from Rome
St. Peter’s Basilica, the view from EWTN’s Rome studios
AS various speakers addressed ecumenism at today’s opening session, I sensed Jesus say interiorly at one point, “My people have divided Me.”
••••••
Continue reading
Day 2 – Random Thoughts from Rome
St. John Lateran Basilica of Rome
DAY TWO
AFTER writing you last night, I managed only three hours of rest. Even the dark Roman night couldn’t fool my body. Jet lag wins again.Continue reading
Random Thoughts from Rome
I arrived in Rome today for the ecumenical conference this weekend. With all of you, my readers, on my heart, I took a walk into the evening. Some random thoughts as I sat on the cobblestone in St. Peter’s Square…
STRANGE feeling, looking down on Italy as we descended from our landing. A land of ancient history where Roman armies marched, saints walked, and the blood of countless many more was shed. Now, highways, infrastructure, and humans bustling about like ants without the fear of invaders gives the semblance of peace. But is true peace merely the absence of war?Continue reading
Saint and Father
DEAR brothers and sisters, four months have now passed since the storm that wreaked havoc on our farm and our lives here. Today, I am doing the last repairs to our cattle corrals before we turn toward the massive amount of trees that still remain to be cut down on our property. This is all to say that the rhythm of my ministry that was disrupted in June remains the case, even now. I have surrendered to Christ the inability at this time to really give what I desire to give… and trust in His plan. One day at a time.Continue reading
Toward the Storm
ON THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
IT is time to share with you what happened to me this summer when a sudden storm assailed our farm. I feel certain that God allowed this “micro-storm,” in part, to prepare us for what is coming upon the whole world. Everything I experienced this summer is symbolic of what I have spent nearly 13 years writing about in order to prepare you for these times.Continue reading
Choosing Sides
Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another,
“I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely men?
(Today’s first Mass reading)
PRAY more… speak less. Those are the words Our Lady has allegedly addressed to the Church at this very hour. However, when I wrote a meditation on this last week,[1]cf. Pray More… Speak Less a handful of readers somewhat disagreed. Writes one:Continue reading
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. Pray More… Speak Less |
|---|
The Last Effort
The Last Effort, by Tianna (Mallett) Williams
SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART
IMMEDIATELY after Isaiah’s beautiful vision of an era of peace and justice, which is preceded by a purification of the earth leaving only a remnant, he writes a brief prayer in praise and thanksgiving of God’s mercy—a prophetic prayer, as we will see:Continue reading
Enough Good Souls
FATALISM—an indifference fostered by the belief that future events are inevitable—is not a Christian disposition. Yes, Our Lord spoke of events in the future that would precede the end of the world. But if you read the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation, you’ll see that the timing of these events is conditional: they hinge on our response or lack thereof:Continue reading
God Has a Face
AGAINST all arguments that God is a wrathful, cruel, tyrant; an unjust, distant and disinterested cosmic force; an unforgiving and harsh egoist… enters the God-man, Jesus Christ. He comes, not with a retinue of guards nor a legion of angels; not with power and might nor with a sword—but with the poverty and helplessness of a newborn infant.Continue reading
The Convergence and the Blessing
Sunset in the eye of a hurricane
SEVERAL years ago, I sensed the Lord say that there was a Great Storm coming upon the earth, like a hurricane. But this Storm would not be one of mother nature, but one created by man himself: an economic, social, and political storm that would change the face of the earth. I felt the Lord ask me to write about this Storm, to prepare souls for what is coming—not only the Convergence of events, but now, a coming Blessing. This writing, so as not to be too lengthy, will footnote key themes that I’ve already expanded elsewhere…
A Thread of Mercy
IF the world is Hanging by a Thread, it is the strong thread of Divine Mercy—such is the love of God for this poor humanity.
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, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 1588
In those tender words, we hear the interweaving of God’s mercy with His justice. It is never one without the other. For justice is God’s love expressed in a divine order that holds the cosmos together by laws—whether they are laws of nature, or laws of “the heart”. So whether one sows seed into the ground, love into the heart, or sin into the soul, one will always reap what he sows. That is a perennial truth that transcends all religions and times… and is being played out dramatically on 24 hour cable news.Continue reading
Hanging By a Thread
THE world seems to be hanging by a thread. The threat of nuclear war, rampant moral degradation, division within the Church, the attack on the family, and the assault on human sexuality has frayed the world’s peace and stability to a dangerous point. People are coming apart. Relationships are unraveling. Families are fracturing. Nations are dividing…. That is the big picture—and one that Heaven seems to agree with:Continue reading
The New Gideon
MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Mark is coming to Philadelphia in September, 2017. Details at the end of this writing… In today’s first Mass reading on this memorial of the Queenship of Mary, we read about the call of Gideon. Our Lady is the New Gideon of our times…
DAWN expels the night. Spring follows the Winter. Resurrection proceeds from the tomb. These are allegories for the Storm that has come to the Church and the world. For all will appear as though lost; the Church will seem utterly defeated; evil will exhaust itself in the darkness of sin. But it is precisely in this night that Our Lady, as the “Star of the New Evangelization”, is presently leading us toward the dawn when the Sun of Justice will rise upon a new Era. She is preparing us for the Flame of Love, the coming light of her Son…
Finishing the Course
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 30th, 2017
Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
HERE was a man who hated Jesus Christ… until he encountered Him. Meeting Pure Love will do that to you. St. Paul went from taking the lives of Christians, to suddenly offering his life as one of them. In stark contrast to today’s “martyrs of Allah”, who cowardly hide their faces and strap bombs on themselves to kill innocent folks, St. Paul revealed true martyrdom: to give oneself for the other. He did not hide either himself or the Gospel, in imitation of his Savior.Continue reading
The Refuge Within
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 2nd, 2017
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Memorial of St. Athanasius
Liturgical texts here
THERE is a scene in one of Michael D. O’Brien’s novels that I have never forgotten—when a priest is being tortured for his faithfulness. [1]Eclipse of the Sun, Ignatius Press In that moment, the clergyman seems to descend to a place where his captors cannot reach, a place deep within his heart where God resides. His heart was a refuge precisely because, there too, was God.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Eclipse of the Sun, Ignatius Press |
|---|
Christmas is Never Over
CHRISTMAS is over? You’d think so by the world’s standards. The “top forty” has replaced Christmas music; sales signs have replaced ornaments; lights have been dimmed and Christmas trees kicked to the curb. But for us as Catholic Christians, we are still in the midst of a contemplative gaze at the Word who has become flesh—God become man. Or at least, it should be so. We still await the revelation of Jesus to the Gentiles, to those Magi who travel from afar to see the Messiah, the one who is to “shepherd” God’s people. This “epiphany” (commemorated this Sunday) is, in fact, the pinnacle of Christmas, because it reveals that Jesus is no longer “just” for the Jews, but for every man, woman and child who wanders in darkness.
Jesus
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Saturday, December 31st, 2016
The Seventh Day of the Nativity of Our Lord and
Vigil of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God
Liturgical texts here
Embracing Hope, by Léa Mallett
THERE is one word on my heart on this eve of the Solemnity of the Mother of God:
Jesus.
This is the “now word” on the threshold of 2017, the “now word” I hear Our Lady prophesying over the nations and the Church, over families and souls:
JESUS.
On Medjugorje
This week, I have been reflecting on the past three decades since Our Lady reportedly began appearing in Medjugorje. I have been pondering the incredible persecution and danger that the seers endured, never knowing from day to day if the Communists would dispatch them as the Yugoslavian government was known to do with “resistors” (since the six seers would not, under threat, say that the apparitions were false). I am thinking of the countless apostolates that I have encountered in my travels, men and women who found their conversion and calling on that mountainside… most especially the priests I have met whom Our Lady called on pilgrimage there. I am thinking too that, not too long from now, the entire world will be drawn “into” Medjugorje as the so-called “secrets” that the seers have faithfully kept are revealed (they have not even discussed them with each other, save for the one that is common to them all—a permanent “miracle” that will be left behind on Apparition Hill.)
I am thinking too of those who have resisted the countless graces and fruits of this place that often read like the Acts of the Apostles on steroids. It is not my place to declare Medjugorje true or false—something the Vatican continues to discern. But neither do I ignore this phenomenon, invoking that common objection that “It’s private revelation, so I don’t have to believe it”—as if what God has to say outside the Catechism or Bible is unimportant. What God has spoken through Jesus in Public Revelation is necessary for salvation; but what God has to say to us through prophetic revelation is necessary at times for our ongoing sanctification. And thus, I wish to blow the trumpet—at the risk of being called all the usual names of my detractors—at what seems utterly obvious: that Mary, Mother of Jesus, has been coming to this place for over thirty years in order to prepare us for Her Triumph—whose climax we seem to be rapidly approaching. And so, since I have so many new readers of late, I wish to republish the following with this caveat: though I have written relatively little about Medjugorje over the years, nothing gives me more joy… why is that?
More on the Flame of Love
ACCORDING to Our Lady, there is a “blessing” coming upon the Church, the “Flame of Love” of her Immaculate Heart, according to the approved revelations of Elizabeth Kindelmann (read The Convergence and the Blessing). I want to continue to unfold in the days ahead the significance of this grace in Scripture, prophetic revelations, and the teaching of the Magisterium.
Where Heaven Touches Earth
PART V
Sr. Agnes praying before Jesus on Mount Tabor, Mexico.
She would receive her white veil two weeks later.
IT was a Saturday afternoon Mass, and “interior lights” and graces continued to fall like a gentle rain. That’s when I caught her out of the corner of my eye: Mother Lillie. She had driven in from San Diego to meet these Canadians who had come to build The Table of Mercy—the soup kitchen.
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