by Shawn Van Deale
THERE is no other word to describe what is happening in our world today: madness. Sheer madness. Let us call a spade a spade, or as St. Paul says,
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them… (Eph 5:11)
…or as St. John Paul II bluntly stated:
THERE once was a Great Ship that sat in the spiritual harbour of Jerusalem. Its Captain was Peter with eleven Lieutenants at his side. They had been given a Great Commission by their Admiral:
Photos courtesy of Reuters
THERE are many emotions sweeping through the Church in these days of confusion and trial. What is of primary importance is that we remain in communion with one another—being patient with, and bearing one another’s burdens—including the Holy Father. We are in a time of sifting, and many do not realize it (see The Testing). It is, I dare say, a time to choose sides. To choose whether we will trust Christ and the teachings of His Church… or to trust in ourselves and our own “calculations”. For Jesus placed Peter at the head of His Church when He gave him the keys of the Kingdom and, three times, instructed Peter: “Tend My sheep.” [1]John 21:17 Thus, the Church teaches:
Footnotes
| ↑1 | John 21:17 |
|---|
IS it wrong to criticize the Pope? Theologian, Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, has answered the question in two documents:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 22nd, 2016
Opt. Memorial of St. Vincent
Liturgical texts here
WHEN Jesus came upon Zacchaeus, a tax collecting thief, He asked to dine with him. In an instant, the narrowness of heart of the throngs was revealed. They despised Zacchaeus and scorned Jesus for making such a vague, ambiguous, scandalous gesture. Shouldn’t Zacchaeus be condemned? Isn’t Jesus sending the message that sin is okay? Likewise, Pope Francis’ call to acknowledge, first the dignity of the person and become truly present to others, is perhaps revealing our own narrowness of heart. For we have been firmly told that it is no longer enough to sit at our computers and Facebook nice Catholic links; it is not enough to hide in our rectories between homilies; it is not enough to say “God bless you,” and ignore the wounds, hunger, loneliness and pain of our brothers and sisters. This, at least, is how one Cardinal saw it.
FUNDAMENTALIST websites were quick to declare:
“POPE FRANCIS RELEASES A ONE WORLD RELIGION PRAYER VIDEO SAYING ALL FAITHS THE SAME”
An “end times” news website claims:
“POPE FRANCIS MAKES PROCLAMATION FOR A ONE WORLD RELIGION”
And ultra-conservative Catholic websites declared that Pope Francis is preaching “HERESY!”
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 11th – 16th, 2016
Liturgical texts here
THIS call “out of Babylon” into the desert, into the wilderness, into asceticism is truly a call into battle. For to leave Babylon is to resist temptation and to break at last with sin. And this presents a direct threat to the enemy of our souls. Continue reading
THE desert of the soul is that place where consolation has dried up, the flowers of delightful prayer have wilted, and the oasis of God’s presence seems but a mirage. At these times, you may feel as though God no longer approves of you, that you are falling away, lost in the vast wilderness of human weakness. When you try to pray, the sands of distraction fill your eyes, and you may feel utterly lost, completely abandoned… helpless.
HOW can we, as Christians, live in this world without being consumed by it? How can we remain pure of heart in a generation that is immersed in impurity? How can we become holy in an era of unholiness?
ON THE VIGIL OF THE SOLEMNITY
OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD
EVERY year, we see and hear again the familiar motto, “Keep Christ in Christmas!” as a counter to the political correctness that has neutered Christmas store displays, school plays, and public speeches. But one could be forgiven for wondering if the Church herself has not lost her focus and “raison d’être”? After all, what does keeping Christ in Christmas mean? Making sure we say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays”? Putting up a manger as well as a tree? Going to midnight Mass? The words of Blessed Cardinal Newman have been lingering in my mind for several weeks:
DEAR brothers and sisters of the Lamb. I want to take a moment to thank so many of you for your prayers, love, and support this past year. Both my wife Lea and I have been incredibly blessed by your kindness, generosity, and the testimonies in how this little apostolate has touched your life. We are grateful to everyone who has donated, which has enabled me to continue my work that is now reaching hundreds of thousands of people each year.
I AM receiving many letters at this time asking me about Charlie Johnston, Locutions.org, and other “seers” who claim to receive messages from Our Lady, angels, or even Our Lord. I am frequently being asked, “What do you think of this prediction or that?” Perhaps this is a good moment, then, to speak on discernment…
Artist Unknown
ON the first night of my missions in Louisiana this past autumn, a woman approached me afterward, her eyes wide open, her mouth agape.
“I saw her,” she quietly whispered. “I saw the Blessed Mother.”
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 11th, 2015
Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Liturgical texts here
THE real danger at this hour in the world is not that there is so much confusion, but that we would get caught up in it ourselves. In fact, panic, fear, and compulsive reactions are part of the Great Deception. It removes the soul from its center, which is Christ. Peace leaves, and with it, wisdom and the ability to see clearly. This is the real danger.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 9th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of St. Juan Diego
Liturgical texts here
Elijah Fed by an Angel, by Ferdinand Bol (c. 1660 – 1663)
IN prayer this morning, a gentle Voice spoke to my heart:
Just enough to keep you going. Just enough to strengthen your heart. Just enough to pick you up. Just enough to keep you from falling… Just enough to keep you dependent on Me.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 8th, 2015
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY
Liturgical texts here
AS I collapsed into my wife’s arms this morning, I said, “I just need to rest for a moment. Too much evil…” It’s the first day of the Jubilee Year of Mercy—but I’m admittedly feeling a little physically drained and spiritually enervated. A lot’s happening in the world, one event upon the other, just as the Lord explained it would be (see The Seven Seals of Revolution). Still, keeping up to the demands of this writing apostolate means looking down the gaping mouth of darkness more than I desire. And I worry too much. Worry about my children; worry that I’m not doing God’s will; worry that I’m not giving my readers the right spiritual food, in the right doses, or the right content. I know I shouldn’t worry, I tell you not to, but I sometimes do. Just ask my spiritual director. Or my wife.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for November 29th-30th, 2015
Feast of Saint Andrew
Liturgical texts here
AS we begin this Advent, my heart is filled with wonder of the Lord’s desire to restore all things in Himself, to make the world beautiful again.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for November 23rd-28th, 2015
Liturgical texts here
THE Mass readings this week that address the signs of the “end times” will no doubt evoke the familiar, if not easy dismissal that “everyone thinks their times are the end times.” Right? We’ve all heard that repeated again and again. That was certainly true of the early Church, until Sts. Peter and Paul began to temper expectations:
A poster image cut from a magazine published after the French Revolution
SIGNS of this Global Revolution underway are everywhere, spreading like a black canopy over the entire globe. Taking all things into consideration, from the unprecedented apparitions of Mary throughout the world to the prophetic statements of the popes in the past century (see Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?), it appears to be the beginning of the final labor pains of this era, of what Pope Pius XI called “one convulsion following upon another” throughout the centuries.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for November 9th-21st, 2015
Liturgical texts here
Dear brothers and sisters, this and the next writing deal with the Revolution spreading globally in our world. They are knowledge, important knowledge to understand what is taking place around us. As Jesus once said, “I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”[1]John 16:4 However, knowledge does not replace obedience; it does not substitute relationship with the Lord. So may these writings inspire you to more prayer, to more contact with the Sacraments, to a greater love for our families and neighbours, and to living more authentically in the present moment. You are loved.
THERE is a Great Revolution underway in our world. But many do not realize it. It is like an enormous oak tree. You don’t know how it was planted, how it grew, nor its stages as a sapling. Neither do you really see it continuing to grow, unless you stop and examine its branches and compare them to the year before. Nonetheless, it makes its presence known as it towers above, its branches blocking out the sun, its leaves obscuring the light.
So it is with this present Revolution. How it came to be, and where it is going, has been prophetically unfolded for us these past two weeks in the Mass readings.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | John 16:4 |
|---|
HE was a Muslim, and he was angry. As my fifteen minute cab ride unfolded, the young, stocky Islamic man at the wheel did not mince words.
Healing Touch by Frank P. Ordaz
BEHIND this writing apostolate is a whole other level of ministry that happens through my personal correspondence with souls from around the world. And lately, there is a consistent thread of fear, even though that fear is for different reasons.
All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day. —Divine Mercy in My Soul, Jesus to St. Faustina, n. 83
AFTER the Sixth Seal is broken, the world experiences an “illumination of conscience”—a moment of reckoning (see The Seven Seals of Revolution). St. John then writes that the Seventh Seal is broken and there is silence in heaven “for about half an hour.” It is a pause before the Eye of the Storm passes over, and the winds of purification begin to blow again.
Silence in the presence of the Lord GOD! For near is the day of the LORD… (Zeph 1:7)
It is a pause of grace, of Divine Mercy, before the Day of Justice arrives…
WE are on the very cusp of some astounding events in the Church and the world. And among them, the return of the Jews to the fold of Christ.
This writing was first published March 24th, 2009.
“the smoke of Satan is seeping into the Church of God through the cracks in the walls.” —POPE PAUL VI, first quote: Homily during the Mass for Sts. Peter & Paul, June 29, 1972
THERE is an elephant in the living room. But few want to talk about it. Most choose to ignore it. The problem is that the elephant is trampling all of the furniture and soiling the carpet. And the elephant is this: the Church is polluted with apostasy—the falling away from the faith—and it has a name: “Wormwood”.
Judas dips into bowl, artist unknown
PAPAL palpitations are continuing to give way to anxious questions, conspiracies, and fear that the Barque of Peter is heading for rocky shoals. The fears tend to revolve around why the Pope gave some clerical positions to “liberals” or let them take key roles in the recent Synod on the Family.
Pope Francis in the Philippines (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
papalotry |pāpǝlätrē|: the belief or stance that everything the Pope says or does is without error.
I’VE been getting bagfuls of letters, very concerned letters, since the Synod on the Family began in Rome last year. That stream of worry didn’t let up the past few weeks as the closing sessions began to wrap up. At the center of these letters were consistent fears regarding the words and actions, or lack thereof, of his Holiness Pope Francis. And so, I did what any ex-news reporter would do: go to the sources. And without fail, ninety-nine percent of the time, I found that the links people sent me with heinous charges against the Holy Father were due to:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday, October 22nd, 2015
Opt. Memorial of St. John Paul II
Liturgical texts here
THE temptation many of us face today is to discouragement and despair: discouragement that evil seems to be winning; despair that there seems to be no humanly possibly way for the rapid decline in morals to be stopped nor the subsequent rising persecution against the faithful. Perhaps you can identify with St. Louis de Montfort’s cry…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, October 21st, 2015
Liturgical texts here
WHILE many Catholics are caving in to a certain panic as the Synod on the Family in Rome continues to swirl in controversy, I pray that others will see something else: God is revealing our sickness through it all. He is revealing to His Church our pride, our presumption, our rebellion, and perhaps above all, our lack of faith.
IT was a gorgeous deep-blue sky as our plane began the descent to the airport. As I peered out my little window, the brilliance of the cumulus clouds made me squint. It was a beautiful sight.
But as we plunged beneath the clouds, the world suddenly turned gray. Rain streaked across my window as the cities below seemed encamped by a foggy darkness and seemingly inescapable gloom. And yet, the reality of the warm sun and clear skies hadn’t changed. They were still there.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Sunday, October 18th, 2015
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Liturgical texts here
WE are not facing the end of the world. In fact, we are not even facing the last tribulations of the Church. What we are facing is the final confrontation in a long history of confrontations between Satan and Christ’s Church: a battle for one or the other to establish their kingdom on earth. St. John Paul II summed it up this way:
THE past few weeks, two crucifixes and a statue of Mary in our home have had their hands broken off—at least two of them inexplicably. In fact, just about every statue in our home has a missing hand. It reminded me of a writing I did on this on February 13th, 2007. I think it is no coincidence, especially in light of the continuing controversies surrounded the extraordinary Synod on the Family currently taking place in Rome. For it seems that we are watching—in real time—at least the first beginnings of part of the Storm that many of us have been warning for years would come: an emerging schism…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, October 14th, 2015
Opt. Memorial St. Callistus I
Liturgical texts here
IN some ways, it is politically incorrect in many quarters of the Church today to speak about “the wrath of God.” Instead, we are told, we should give people hope, speak about God’s love, His mercy, etc. And all this is true. As Christians, our message is not called the “bad news”, but “good news.” And the Good News is this: that no matter the evil a soul has done, if they make an appeal to God’s mercy, they will find forgiveness, healing, and even intimate friendship with their Creator. I find this so wonderful, so exciting, that it is an absolute privilege to preach for Jesus Christ.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday, October 5th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
Liturgical texts here
The Hauler of a Boat, by Honoré Daumier, (1808-1879)
WE are living at an hour when many souls have grown weary, very weary. And though our weariness may be the fruit of a myriad of differing circumstances, there is often a common root: we are weary because we are, in one way or another, running from the Lord.
BETRAYED and forgotten, the unborn remain in our times the greatest ongoing holocaust in human history. As early as 11 weeks gestation, a fetus can feel pain when it is burned by saline or torn apart in its mother’s womb. [1]cf. The Hard Truth – Part IV In a culture that prides itself on unprecedented rights for animals, it is a horrifying contradiction and injustice. And the price to society is not negligible as future generations have now been decimated in the Western world, and continue to be, at a startling rate of over a hundred thousand deaths per day worldwide.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. The Hard Truth – Part IV |
|---|
This prayer came to me before Mass this week. Jesus said that we are to be “the light of the world”, not hidden beneath a bushel basket. But it is precisely in becoming little, in dying to self, and in uniting oneself interiorly to Christ in humility, prayer, and total abandonment to His Will, that this Light shines forth.
“HOW do you hide a tree?” I thought for moment about my spiritual director’s question. “In a forest?” Indeed, he went on to say, “Likewise, Satan has raised a tumult of false voices in order to obscure the authentic voice of the Lord.”
Syrian refugees, Getty Images
“A MORAL tsunami has swept through the world,” I said ten years ago to the parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Violet, Louisiana. “But there is another wave coming—a spiritual tsunami, which will sweep many people out of these pews.” Two weeks later, a 35 foot wall of water swept through that church as Hurricane Katrina roared ashore.
Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary
to obtain peace in the world…
for she alone can save it.
—apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917
IT is long overdue to take these words seriously… words which require some sacrifice and perseverance. But if you do, I believe you will experience a release of graces in your spiritual life and beyond…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday, September 21st, 2015
Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Liturgical texts here
THERE is a model of the Church today that is long overdue for an overhaul. And it is this: that the pastor of the parish is the “minister” and the flock are mere sheep; that the priest is the “go to” for all ministry needs, and the laity have no real place in ministry; that there are the occasional “speakers” who come to teach, but we are mere passive listeners. But this model is not only unbiblical, it is harmful to the Body of Christ.
It was a beautiful and extraordinary time of grace with my brothers and sisters in Louisiana. My thanks to all who worked so hard to bring us there. My prayers and love remain with the people of Louisiana.
“Tour of Truth”
• September 21: Encounter With Jesus, St. John of the Cross, Lacombe, LA USA, 7:00 pm
• September 22: Encounter With Jesus, Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Chalmette, LA USA, 7:00 pm
The Sinful Woman, by Jeff Hein
SHE wrote to apologize for being so rude.
We had been debating on a country music forum about excessive sexuality in music videos. She accused me of being rigid, frigid, and repressed. I, on the other hand, tried to defend the beauty of sexuality in sacramental marriage, of monogamy, and marital fidelity. I tried to be patient as her insults and anger mounted.
The Triumph of Christianity Over Paganism, Gustave Doré, (1899)
“WHAT do you mean that the Blessed Mother will “triumph”?” asked one puzzled reader recently. “I mean, the Scriptures say that out of the mouth of Jesus will come ‘a sharp sword to strike the nations’ (Rev 19:15) and that ‘the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming’ (2 Thess 2:8). Where do you see the Virgin Mary “triumphing” in all of this??”
A broader look at this question may help us understand not only what the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart” means, but also, what the “Triumph of the Sacred Heart” is as well, and when they occur.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday, September 3rd, 2015
Memorial of St. Gregory the Great
Liturgical texts here
“MASTER, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing.”
Those are the words of Simon Peter—and the words of perhaps many of us. Lord, I have tried and tried, but my struggles remain the same. Lord, I have prayed and prayed, but nothing has changed. Lord, I have cried and cried, but there seems to be only silence… what is the use? What is the use??
I WANT to give a message of hope—tremendous hope. I continue to receive letters in which readers are despairing as they watch the continual decline and exponential decay of society around them. We hurt because the world is in a downward spiral into a darkness unparalleled in history. We feel pangs because it reminds us that this is not our home, but Heaven is. So listen again to Jesus:
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)