MEMORIAL OF THE GUARDIAN ANGELS
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…
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?
Artist Unknown
FEAST OF THE ARCHANGELS MICHAEL, GABRIEL, AND RAPHAEL
THE CHILD OF FEAR
FEAR comes in many forms: feelings of inadequacy, insecurity in one’s gifts, procrastination, lack of faith, loss of hope, and erosion of love. This fear, when married to the mind, begets a child. It’s name is Complacency.
I want to share a profound letter I received the other day:
Transfiguration of Christ — St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. (Luke 9:30-31)
WHERE TO FIX YOUR EYES
JESUS’s transfiguration on the mountain was preparation for His coming passion, death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven. Or as the two prophets Moses and Elijah called it, "his exodus".
So too, it seems as though God is sending our generation prophets once again to prepare us for the coming trials of the Church. This has many a soul rattled; others prefer to ignore the signs around them and pretend nothing is coming at all.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 25th, 2006
VATICAN PERFORMANCE
Canadian singer Mark Mallett has been invited to perform in the Vatican, October 22nd, 2006. The event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the John Paul II Foundation will feature several artists who have contributed to the life of the late Pope through music & the arts.
Jesus Mocked, by Gustave Doré, 1832-1883
MEMORIAL OF
SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN, MARTYRS
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. (Mark 9:42)
WE would do well to let these words of Christ sink into our collective minds—especially given a worldwide trend gaining momentum.
Graphic sex-education programs and materials are finding their way into many schools across the globe. Brazil, Scotland, Mexico, the United States, and several provinces in Canada are among them. The most recent example…
LAST week, I outlined four ways in which one can enter the spiritual battle for one’s self, family and friends, or others in these tumultuous times: the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Fasting, and Praise. These prayers and devotions are powerful for they form a spiritual armor.*
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:
MEMORIAL OF ST. PIO OF PIETRELCIAN
ONE of the most tragic elements in the modern Catholic Church, particularly in the West, is the loss of worship. It seems today as though singing (one form of praise) in Church is optional, rather than an integral part of the liturgical prayer.
When the Lord poured out His Holy Spirit on the Catholic Church in the late sixties in what became known as the “charismatic renewal”, worship and praise of God exploded! I witnessed over the decades how so many souls were transformed as they went beyond their comfort zones and began to worship God from the heart (I will share my own testimony below). I even witnessed physical healings just through simple praise!
Our Lady of Guadalupe
"We shall break the cross and spill the wine. … God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome. …God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen." —Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq’s branch of al Qaeda, in a statement on the Pope’s recent speech; CNN Online, Sept. 22, 2006
HEAVEN has given us such practical means to enter the battle for souls. I’ve mentioned two thus far, the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
For when we’re talking about family members who are caught in mortal sin, spouses who are battling addictions, or relationships bound in bitterness, anger, and division, we are most often dealing with a battle against strongholds:
FEAST OF ST. MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST
EVERYDAY, soup kitchens, whether in tents or in inner city buildings, whether in Africa or New York, open up to offer edible salvation: soup, bread, and sometimes a little dessert.
Few people realize, however, that everyday at 3pm, a "divine soup kitchen" opens from which pours forth heavenly graces to feed the spiritually poor in our world.
So many of us have family members wandering about the inner streets of their hearts, hungry, tired, and cold—freezing from the winter of sin. In fact, that describes most of us. But, there is a place to go…
THE explosion of division, divorce, and violence this past year is striking.
The letters I’ve received of Christian marriages disintegrating, children abandoning their moral roots, family members falling away from the faith, spouses and siblings caught in addictions, and startling outbursts of anger and divisiveness among relatives is grievous.
And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is not yet. (Mark 13:7)
MEMORIAL OF THE MARTYRDOM OF SAINTS CYPRIAN AND POPE CORNELIUS
From the Office Readings for today:
Divine providence has now prepared us. God’s merciful design has warned us that the day of our own struggle, our own contest, is at hand. By that shared love which binds us closely together, we are doing all we can to exhort our congregation, to give ourselves unceasingly to fastings, vigils, and prayers in common. These are the heavenly weapons which give us the strength to stand firm and endure; they are the spiritual defenses, the God-given armaments that protect us. —St. Cyprian, Letter to Pope Cornelius; The Liturgy of the Hours, Vol IV, p. 1407
The Readings continue with the account of St. Cyprian’s martyrdom:
“It is decided that Thascius Cyprian should die by the sword.” Cyprian responded: “Thanks be to God!”
After the sentence was passed, a crowd of his fellow Christians said: “We should also be killed with him!” There arose an uproar among the Christians, and a great mob followed after him.
May a great mob of Christians follow after Pope Benedict this day, with prayers, fasting, and support for a man who, with the courage of Cyprian, has been unafraid to speak the truth.
St. James Parish, Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina
AS the controversy surrounding the alleged apparitions of the Blesssed Virgin Mary at Medjugorje began to heat up again earlier this year, I asked the Lord, "If the apparitions are really authentic, why is it taking so long for prophesied "things" to happen?"
The answer was as swift as the question:
Because you’re taking so long.
There are many arguments surrounding the phenomenon of Medjugorje (which is currently under Church investigation). But there’s no arguing the answer I received that day.
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…
Sacred Heart of Jesus by Michael D. O’Brien
I HAVE been overwhelmed with a tremendous number of emails the past week from priests, deacons, layman, Catholics, and Protestants alike, and nearly all of them confirming the "prophetic" sense in "Trumpets of Warning!"
I did receive one tonight from a woman who is shaken and afraid. I want to respond to that letter here, and hope you will take a moment to read this. I hope it will keep perspectives in balance, and hearts in the right place…
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
AFTER Mass several weeks ago, I was meditating on the deep sense I’ve had the past few years that God is gathering souls to himself, one by one… one here, one there, whoever will hear His urgent plea to receive the gift of His Son’s life… as though we evangelists are fishing with hooks now, rather than nets.
Suddenly, the words popped into my mind:
The number of Gentiles is nearly filled.
Artist Unknown
LETTER from a reader:
Hi Mark,
Mark, I feel we need to be careful when we talk about mortal sins. For addicts who are Catholic, fear of mortal sins can cause deepened feelings of guilt, shame, and hopelessness which exacerbate the addiction cycle. I’ve heard many recovering addicts speak negatively of their Catholic experience because they felt judged by their church and could not sense love behind the warnings. Most people simply do not understand what makes certain sins mortal sins…
Dear Mark,
I am a convert to the Catholic Faith from the Lutheran Church. I was wondering if you could give me more information on “MegaChurches”? It seems to me that they are more like rock concerts and places of entertainment rather than worship, I know some people in these churches. It seems that they preach more of a “self-help” gospel than anything else.
CALCUTTA, the city of the “poorest of the poor”, said Blessed Mother Theresa.
But they no longer hold this distinction. No, the poorest of the poor are to be found in a very different place…
The new streets of Calcutta are lined with high-rises and espresso shops. The poor wear ties and the hungry don high heels. At night, they wander the gutters of television, looking for a morsel of pleasure here, or a bite of fulfillment there. Or you’ll find them begging on the lonely streets of the Internet, with words barely audible behind the clicks of a mouse:
“I thirst…”
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:38-40)
I see Christ in the new streets of Calcutta, for from these gutters He found me, and to them, He now sends.
AFTER Mass this morning, my heart was burdened again with the grief of the Lord.
MY LOST SHEEP!
Speaking about the shepherds of the Church last week, the Lord began to impress words on my heart, this time, about the sheep.
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…
SO few, it seems, understand the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church. I want to share with you two true stories to shed light on this most honored member of the Body of Christ. One story is my own… but first, from a reader…
WHY MARY? A CONVERT’S VISION…
The Catholic teaching on Mary has been the most difficult doctrine of the Church for me to accept. Being a convert, I had been taught the “fear of Mary worship.” It was instilled deep within me!
After my conversion, I would pray, asking Mary to intercede for me, but then doubt would assail me and I would, so to speak, (put her aside for a while.) I would pray the Rosary, then I would stop praying the Rosary, this went on for some time!
Then one day I prayed fervently to God, “Please, Lord, I beg you, show me the truth about Mary.”
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.
Outside St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
A FRIEND wrote me today, on this Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a spine-tingling story:
Mark, an unusual incident occurred on Sunday. It happened as follows:
My husband and I celebrated our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary over the week-end. We went to Mass on Saturday, then out to dinner with our associate pastor and some friends, we later attended an outdoor drama “The Living Word.” As as anniversary gift a couple gave us a beautiful statue of our Lady with the baby Jesus.
On Sunday morning, my husband placed the statue in our entry-way, on a plant ledge above the front door. A while later, I went out on the front porch to read the bible. As I sat down and started to read, I glanced down into the flower bed and there lay a tiny crucifix ( I have never seen it before and I have worked in that flower bed many times!) I picked it up and went to the back deck to show my husband. I then came inside, placed it on the curio rack, and went to the porch again to read.
As I sat down, I saw a snake in the exact spot where the crucifix was.
Polaris: The North Star
MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
I HAVE been transfixed with the Northern Star the past few weeks. I confess, I did not know where it was until my brother-in-law pointed it out one starry night in the mountains.
Something in me tells me I will need to know where this star is in the future. And so tonight, once again, I gazed up at the sky mentally noting it. Then logging onto my computer, I read these words a cousin had just emailed me:
Whoever you are that perceive yourself during this mortal existence to be rather drifting in treacherous waters, at the mercy of the winds and the waves, than walking on firm ground, turn not away your eyes from the splendor of this guiding star, unless thou wish to be submerged by the storm.
Look at the star, call upon Mary. … With her for guide, you shall not go astray, while invoking her, you shall never lose heart … if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal. —St. Bernard of Clarivaux, as quoted this week by Pope Benedict XVI
“Star of the New Evangelization” —title given Our Lady of Guadalupe by Pope John Paul II
Mother and Child reading the Word—Michael D. O’brien
WHY do “Catholics” say they need Mary?
One can only answer this by posing another question: why did Jesus need Mary? Couldn’t Christ have materialized in the flesh, emerging from the desert, proclaiming the good news? Certainly. But God chose to come through a human creature, a virgin, a teenage girl.
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.
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)
Abandoned orphans of Romania
FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION
It is hard to forget the images of 1989 when the brutal reign of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu collapsed. But the pictures which stick in my mind most are those of the hundreds of children and babies in state orphanages.
Confined in metal cribs, the unwilling prisioners would often be left for weeks without ever being touched by a soul. Because of this lack of body contact, many of the children would become emotionless, rocking themselves to sleep in their soiled cribs. In some cases, babies simply died from lack of loving physical affection.
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)
AFTER one of my concerts, the hosting priest invited me to the rectory for a late supper.
For dessert, he went on to boast how he hadn’t heard confessions in his parish for two years. “You see,” he grinned, “during the penitential prayers in Mass, the sinner is forgiven. As well, when one receives the Eucharist, his sins are removed.” I was in agreement. But then he said, “One only needs to come to confession when he has committed a mortal sin. I’ve had parishioners come to confession without mortal sin, and told them to go away. In fact, I really doubt any of my parishioners have really committed a mortal sin…”
Rembrandt van Rijn, “The return of the prodigal son”; c.1662
OF course, one can ask God directly to forgive one’s venial sins, and He will (provided of course, we forgive others. Jesus was clear on this.) We can immediately, on the spot as it were, stop the bleeding from the wound of our transgression.
But this is where the Sacrament of Confession is so necessary. For the wound, though not bleeding, may still be infected with “self”. Confession draws the puss of pride to the surface where Christ, in the person of the priest (John 20:23), wipes it away and applies the healing balm of the Father through the words, “…may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins….” Unseen graces bathe the injury as—with the Sign of the Cross—the priest applies the dressing of God’s mercy.
When you go to a medical doctor for a bad cut, does he only stop the bleeding, or does he not suture, cleanse, and dress your wound? Christ, the Great Physician, knew we would need that, and more attention to our spiritual wounds.
Thus, this Sacrament was his antidote to our sin.
While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call “light”: if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession. —St. Augustine, Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1863
Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit.—Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1458
St. Teresa of Avila
A letter to a friend considering the consecrated life…
DEAR SISTER,
I can understand that feeling of having thrown away one’s life… of having never been what one should have been… or thought one should be.
And yet, how are we to know that this isn’t within God’s plan? That He has permitted our lives to go the course they have so as to give Him much more glory in the end?
How wonderful is it that a woman your age, who normally would be seeking the good life, the baby boomer pleasures, the Oprah dream… is giving up her life to seek God alone. Whew. What a testimony. And it could only have its fullest effect coming now, at the stage you’re at.
TODAY, our family stood on God’s chisel.
The nine of us were taken on top of Athabasca Glacier in Canada. It was surreal as we stood on ice as deep as the Eiffel tower is high. I say "chisel", because apparently glaciers are what carved earth’s landscapes as we know it.
AS I face my own weakness head on tonight, as all sense of God fades away, as darkness collapses onto my mind, and peace evades my heart…. there is only one thing left to do: cry out, like the beggar,
Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me! (Luke 18:38)
Was it not in the desert that the Israelites were tested? Was not Abraham’s faith purified when he raised the dagger over his son, Isaac? And did not Christ himself experience the crucifixion of obedience in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Lord Jesus… I need you. Have mercy on me.
HEAVEN hangs in suspense, awaiting earth’s decision:
I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you...(Deut 30:19-20)
