Our Lady’s Wartime

ON THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES

 

THERE are two ways to approach the times now unfolding: as victims or protagonists, as bystanders or leaders. We have to choose. Because there is no more middle ground. There is no more place for the lukewarm. There is no more waffling on the project of our holiness or of our witness. Either we are all in for Christ — or we will be taken in by the spirit of the world.

 

A TIME TO WEEP

Is it not true that, already, vast portions of humanity have been drawn into at least the first stages of The Strong Delusion that St. Paul spoke of? Brainwashed by a politically correct culture, lulled into a false sense of security by a mostly silent clergy, and breathlessly corralled into a system that is daily purging the truth, rewriting history, and evacuating freedom of speech, religion, thought and movement by the hour. And yet, who is resisting? Who is sounding the alarm? Who are the shepherds rising to defend their flocks, the Sacraments and the freedom to not only worship Christ in the public square but to proclaim His Gospel to the nations?

My Lord and my God… I saw all this so clearly about eight years ago as I drove to meet a priest for the Sacrament of Confession. Suddenly, I saw in my heart how everything would be “lost” and driven into the silence of the tomb. When I got back home, I wrote it down:^[1]see Weep, O Children of Men!

Weep, O children of men! Weep for all that is good, and true, and beautiful. Weep for all that must go down to the tomb, your icons and chants, your walls and steeples.

Weep, O children of men! For all that is good, and true, and beautiful. Weep for all that must go down to the Sepulcher, your teachings and truths, your salt and your light.

Weep, O children of men! For all that is good, and true, and beautiful. Weep for all who must enter the night, your priests and bishops, your popes and princes.

Weep, O children of men! For all that is good, and true, and beautiful. Weep for all who must enter the trial, the test of faith, the refiner’s fire.

…but weep not forever!

For dawn will come, light will conquer, a new Sun will rise.

And all that was good, and true, and beautiful

Will breathe new breath, and be given to sons again.

Now we see how the axiom that “history repeats itself” is so true. We have looked back upon previous generations with a kind of detached condemnation: how could the Germans have voted Hitler to power? How did the Russians allow Stalin and Lenin to unfurl their Marxist project? How did Frenchmen permit the revolution that crumbled statues, whitewashed icons, and unleashed a river of blood into their cobblestone streets? 

I have come to understand the average German living under Nazism and the average Russian living under communism for another reason: the power of the media to brainwash. As a student of totalitarianism since my graduate studies at the Russian Institute of Columbia University’s School of International Affairs (as it was then known), I have always believed that only in a dictatorship could a society be brainwashed. I was wrong. I now understand that mass brainwashing can take place in a nominally free society… That’s why I no longer judge the average German as easily as I used to. Apathy in the face of tyranny turns out not to be a German or Russian characteristic. I just never thought it could happen in America. —Dennis Prager, columist, “I Now Better Understand the ‘Good German’”, January 8th, 2021, theepochtimes.com

And yet, many who describe themselves as Christians are mostly oblivious, or indeed, simply apathetic. Just as most of Jerusalem was celebrating the feast of Passover while Jesus wept in Gethsemane, so too, many are also unaware that Judas and his mob are at the very gates of Our Gethsemane. 

Beloved children, pray for the Church, because now the struggle is at the gates, she [the Church] will live her Passion. —Our Lady to Gisella Cardia, February 3rd, 2021; cf. countdowntothekingdom.com

Those who are awake, who are watching and praying are so few that it must startle even the angels as they recount the words of their Lord:

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8)

 

A TIME FOR WAR

While it may seem that we are helpless in the face of this totalitarianism, we are not. Our Lady has already promised that she will Triumph, meaning that her Son’s victory on the Cross is going to crush the head of the serpent. But not without a battle, not without this “final confrontation” between the Woman and the dragon (Rev 12). Our Lady, The New Gideon, is telling her Rabble exactly what to do: be proactive agents of “chaos” against the forces of darkness. 

Now is the time of the true battle, and with the weapons of fasting and the Holy Rosary in your hands, fight together with me for the Triumph of My Immaculate Heart. Beloved children, the times that will come will be terrible, but do not fear, because I and my Son will be close to you in the tribulation. Jesus will make the Holy Spirit descend upon you, just as He did with his apostles. —Our Lady to Gisella Cardia, November 14th, 2020; cf. countdowntothekingdom.com

Dear children, you are heading towards the future of a Great Battle between Good and evil. The enemies will increasingly act to keep you from the truth. In this Great Battle, your weapon of defense is love for the truth. In your hands, the Holy Rosary and Sacred Scripture; in your hearts, the love of truth. Do not allow the devil to win. You are the Lord’s Possession. —Our Lady to Pedro Regis, October 27th, 2020; cf. countdowntothekingdom.com

Fight, dearest children, my apostles in these last times of yours. This is the hour of my battle. This is the hour of my great victory. With you in the combat are also the Angels of the Lord who, at my orders, are carrying out the task which I have entrusted to them. —Our Lady to a Californian Soul, February 8th, 2021; cf. countdowntothekingdom.com

My children, true faith is not something that is lost: it is like a fire — it can have a dull flame that flickers or it can be a burning fire: this depends on you. In order to be a burning fire, faith must be nourished with prayer, love, Eucharistic adoration. My children, I come to gather my army, ready with true faith and weapon in hand, ready to fight with love. My children, I have been leaving you my messages for some time now, but alas, you often do not listen, you harden your hearts. —Our Lady to Simona, February 8th, 2021; cf. countdowntothekingdom.com

Fasting, prayer, the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, An Invincible Faith in Jesus, and love for the truth, which is the Sword of the Spirit^[2]cf. Eph 6:17 — these are our weapons. They have the power to shake principalities, disrupt princes, exorcise evil, reunite families, stop wars, mitigate chastisements, and draw down mercy to save souls. Hence, even you, dear retired grandparents, are called to the front lines of Our Lady’s army (cf. You Be Noah). 

 

FIX YOUR EYES ON HEAVEN

There is much talk these days of “the Warning”, “refuges” and the coming “Era of Peace.” Yes, these are all aspects of both Our Lady’s Triumph and maternal intercession that find their support in Sacred Scripture and Tradition. But here’s a secret. Set your desire not upon those things but upon Heaven. Long for Heaven. Long to see the face of Jesus, to feel the arms of Mary, to know the love of billions of brothers and sisters who, even now, surround you as a “cloud of witnesses.”^[3]Heb 12:1 The only way to persevere through these coming days is to detach from this world, from the nagging voice of self-preservation, and abandon everything to Jesus. This is wartime. Heaven’s air sirens are sounding. It is the call for the entire Church to martyrdom — whether it be “white” or “red.”^[4]“White” martyrdom is that daily dying to self that does not extract blood but rather the virtues of patience, humility, charity, benevolence, etc. It may involve persecution, the loss of one’s career, status, etc. whereas “red”martyrdom is to lose one’s very life for the sake of the Gospel.

The only Catholic families that will remain alive and thriving in the twenty-first century are the families of martyrs. —Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., The Blessed Virgin and the Sanctification of the Family

In other words, those families that refuse to bow down to the gods of Political Correctness, of Fear, and False Peace and Security; the families who will cry out to the little dictators of our times that “Jesus is Essential!”; the families who will defend the truth in season and out. Yes, this will “offend” many. But then, you will be more like your Master than ever:

They took offense at him… He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Matt 6:3, 6)

Those who challenge this new paganism are faced with a difficult option. Either they conform to this philosophy or they are faced with the prospect of martyrdom. —Servant of God Fr. John Hardon (1914-2000), How to Be a Loyal Catholic Today? By Being Loyal to the Bishop of Rome; www.therealpresence.org

Does this make you afraid? The saints of yesterday longed for these days so that they could prove their love, defend their Lord, and earn a glory in eternity that would only increase into infinity. This is what I mean by setting your eyes upon the horizon of Heaven. This world, even should you live in the Era of Peace, is still but a blink compared to eternity.

I wish to invite young people to open their hearts to the Gospel and become Christ’s witnesses; if necessary, His martyr-witnesses, at the threshold of the Third Millennium. —ST. JOHN PAUL II to the youth, Spain, 1989

Yes, this is the hour most especially for our priests and bishops to renew their “fiat” to Our Lord, their vows to lay down their life for their sheep. This is no longer a mere analogy. Soon, very soon, priests are going to face whether or not to bar their churches or face fines and even imprisonment in the face of indefinite lockdowns, or other mandatory state restrictions.

Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. (John 15:20)

This is why Our Lady has been begging us to pray for our shepherds, because they are also key to her Triumph.^[5]see Priests, and the Coming Triumph

And yet, Our Lord is also going to preserve many Christian families and priests for the last and final Era of Peace, a new dawn that will scatter this darkness, chain the enemy, and fill to the ends of the earth the Triumph of the Gospel. Hence, this is also the time for Our Lady’s Little Rabble to begin entering fully into the Divine Will, to prepare your hearts for the coming descent of the Kingdom of Christ that we have been invoking for 2000 years in the “Our Father.”^[6]see The Resurrection of the Church Who shall see that Era, who will go on to Heaven? We don’t know, and neither should it concern us—only to do the Will of God.

For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. (Romans 14:8)

 

THE LAST STRETCH

In closing, I am obligated to make my annual appeal to readers to help this full-time apostolate while there is still time. We are watching daily as the voices of truth are being silenced. It seems as if we are on the last stretch of being able to communicate so freely. Still, it is one day at a time. And today, like you, I have bills to pay, staff to fund, expenses to manage. As I look over to the right hand column, I see that the number of posts has exceeded 1600! How did that happen?! Yet, instead of putting these writings into books to sell, I have wanted from the beginning to make these words and our videos, etc. as freely available as possible. As Jesus said, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” ^[7]Matt 10:8 And yet, says St. Paul:

In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:14)

I have received countless letters from many of you deeply grateful for the videos my colleague Prof. Daniel O’Connor and I have been doing. Thank you for that encouragement — we’re trying our best. Moreover, I hope to start some kind of a regular podcast soon, to share more frequently the “little now words” that are on my heart. It’s a matter of time as I have been pretty overwhelmed this past year. So, I am trying to approach this carefully and prudently, though I do have my spiritual director and wife’s blessing for this. So thank you, to those who are able to, for clicking that little red donation button below. But I am most grateful for the currency of your prayers, without which I am certain I would not be able to continue. 

I have to say that the letters we are receiving from around the world on how the content on Countdown to the Kingdom, or here on The Now Word, is leading people into deep conversion, are astounding. Thanks be to God! It is a blessing to have tasted some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s work in your lives.

Finally, I occasionally post writings on Countdown to the Kingdom that are relevant to the content there. I recently posted two writings on the questions surrounding Fatima and Sr. Lucia:

Did the Consecration of Russia Happen?

Did the “period of peace” already happen?

Thanks for your love and support and patience with me. You are always in my heart and prayers. Your brother in Jesus,

—Mark

As for me and my household,
we will serve the Lord.
(Joshua 24:15)

 

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