The Popes and the Dawning Era

 

The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
for taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?”
(Job 38: 1, 12-13)

We thank you because your Son is to come again in majesty to
judge those who have refused to repent and acknowledge you;
while to all who have acknowledged you,
worshiped you, and served you in penitence, He will
say: Come, you blessed of my Father, take possession
of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning
of the world.
—St. Francis of Assisi,The Prayers of Saint Francis,
Alan Name, Tr. © 1988, New City Press

 

THERE can be no doubt that the pontiffs of the last century have been exercising their prophetic office so as to awaken believers to the drama unfolding in our day (see Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?). It is a decisive battle between the culture of life and the culture of death… the woman clothed with the sun—in labor to give birth to a new era—versus the dragon who seeks to destroy it, if not attempt to establish his own kingdom and “new age” (see Rev 12:1-4; 13:2). But while we know Satan will fail, Christ will not. The great Marian saint, Louis de Montfort, frames it well:

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Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!

 

TO His Holiness, Pope Francis:

 

Dear Holy Father,

Throughout the pontificate of your predecessor, St. John Paul II, he continually invoked us, the youth of the Church, to become “morning watchmen at the dawn of the new millennium.” [1]POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12)

…watchmen who proclaim to the world a new dawn of hope, brotherhood and peace. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Guanelli Youth Movement, April 20th, 2002, www.vatican.va

From Ukraine to Madrid, Peru to Canada, he beckoned us to become “protagonists of the new times” [2]POPE JOHN PAUL II, Welcome Ceremony, International Airport of Madrid-Baraja, May 3rd, 2003; www.fjp2.com that lay directly ahead of the Church and the world:

Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ! —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World, XVII World Youth Day, n. 3; (cf. Is 21:11-12)

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12)
2 POPE JOHN PAUL II, Welcome Ceremony, International Airport of Madrid-Baraja, May 3rd, 2003; www.fjp2.com

Schism, You Say?

 

SOMEONE asked me the other day, “You are not leaving the Holy Father or the true magisterium, are you?” I was startled by the question. “No! what gave you that impression??” He said he wasn’t sure. So I reassured him that schism is not on the table. Period.

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These Times of Antichrist

 

The world at the approach of a new millennium,
for which the whole Church is preparing,
is like a field ready for the harvest.
 

—ST. POPE JOHN PAUL II, World Youth Day, homily, August 15th, 1993

 

 

THE Catholic world has been abuzz recently with the release of a letter written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI essentially stating that the Antichrist is alive. The letter was sent in 2015 to Vladimir Palko, a retired Bratislava statesman who lived through the Cold War. The late pope wrote:Continue reading

The Two Camps

 

A great revolution is waiting for us.
The crisis doesn’t only make us free to imagine other models,
another future, another world.
It obliges us to do so.

—former French President Nicolas Sarkozy
September 14th, 2009; unnwo.org; cf. The Guardian

…without the guidance of charity in truth,
this global force could cause unprecedented damage
and create new divisions within the human family…
humanity runs new risks of enslavement and manipulation. 
—POPE BENEDICT XVI, Caritas in Veritate, n.33, 26

 

IT’S been a sobering week. It has become abundantly clear that the Great Reset is unstoppable as unelected bodies and officials begin the final phases of its implementation.[1]“G20 Promotes WHO-Standardized Global Vaccine Passport and ‘Digital Health’ Identity Scheme”, theepochtimes.com But that’s not really the source of a deep sadness. Rather, it is that we are seeing two camps forming, their positions hardening, and the division is getting ugly.Continue reading

Footnotes

Footnotes
1 “G20 Promotes WHO-Standardized Global Vaccine Passport and ‘Digital Health’ Identity Scheme”, theepochtimes.com

The Chastisement Comes… Part I

 

For it is time for the judgment to begin with the household of God;
if it begins with us, how will it end for those
who fail to obey the gospel of God?
(1 Peter 4:17)

 

WE are, without question, beginning to live through some of the most extraordinary and serious moments in the life of the Catholic Church. So much of what I’ve been warning about for years is coming to fruition before our very eyes: a great apostasy, a coming schism, and of course, the fruition of the “seven seals of Revelation”, etc.. It can all be summed up in the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers… The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. —CCC, n. 672, 677

What would shake the faith of many believers more than perhaps witnessing their shepherds betray the flock?Continue reading

The Strong Delusion

 

There’s a mass psychosis.
It’s akin to what happened in German society
before and during World War II where
normal, decent people were turned into aides
and “just following orders” type of mentality
that led to genocide.
I see now that same paradigm happening.

–Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, MD, August 14th, 2021;
35:53, Stew Peters Show

It’s a disturbia.
It’s maybe a group neurosis.
It is something that’s come over the minds
of people all over the world.
Whatever is going on is going on in the
tiniest island in the Philippines and Indonesia,
the smallest little village in Africa and South America.
It’s all the same — it’s come over the entire world.

—Dr. Peter McCullough, MD, MPH, August 14th, 2021;
40:44,
Perspectives on the Pandemic, Episode 19

What the last year has really shocked me to the core about
is that in the face of an invisible, apparently serious threat,
rational discussion went out of the window…
When we look back on the COVID era,
I think it will be seen as other human responses
to invisible threats in the past have been seen,
as a time of mass hysteria. 
 

—Dr. John Lee, Pathologist; Unlocked video; 41:00

Mass formation psychosis… this is like hypnosis…
This is what happened to the German people. 
—Dr. Robert Malone, MD, inventor of mRNA vaccine technology
Kristi Leigh TV; 4:54

I don’t normally use phrases like this,
but I think we are standing at the very gates of Hell.
 
—Dr. Mike Yeadon, former Vice President and Chief Scientist

of Respiratory and Allergies at Pfizer;
1:01:54, Following the Science?

 

First published November 10th, 2020:

 

THERE are extraordinary things happening every day now, just as Our Lord said they would: the closer we get to to the Eye of the Storm, the faster the “winds of change” will be… the more rapid major events will befall a world in rebellion. Recall the words of the American seer, Jennifer, to whom Jesus said:Continue reading

Prepare for the Holy Spirit

 

HOW God is purifying and preparing us for the coming of the Holy Spirit, who will be our strength through the present and coming tribulations… Join Mark Mallett and Prof. Daniel O’Connor with a powerful message about the dangers we face, and how God is going to safeguard His people amidst them.Continue reading

The Secret

 

…the daybreak from on high will visit us
to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
(Luke 1:78-79)

 

AS it was the first time Jesus came, so it is again on the threshold of the coming of His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, which prepares for and precedes His final coming at the end of time. The world, once again, is “in darkness and death’s shadow,” but a new dawn is quickly approaching.Continue reading

2020: A Watchman’s Perspective

 

AND so that was 2020. 

It is interesting to read in the secular realm how glad people are to put the year behind them — as if 2021 will soon return to “normal.” But you, my readers, know this is not going to be the case. And not only because global leaders have already announced themselves that we will never return to “normal,” but, more importantly, Heaven has announced that the Triumph of Our Lord and Lady are well on their way — and Satan knows this, knows his time is short. So we are now entering the decisive Clash of the Kingdoms — the satanic will vs. the Divine Will. What a glorious time to be alive!Continue reading

Francis and The Great Reset

Photo credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

 

…when conditions are right, a reign will spread across the whole earth
to wipe out all Christians,
and then establish a universal brotherhood
without marriage, family, property, law or God.

—Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire, philosopher and Freemason
She Shall Crush Thy Head (Kindle, loc. 1549), Stephen Mahowald

 

ON May 8th of 2020, an “Appeal for the Church and the World to Catholics and All People of Good Will” was published.[1]stopworldcontrol.com Its signatories include Cardinal Joseph Zen, Cardinal Gerhard Müeller (Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith), Bishop Joseph Strickland, and Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute, to name but a few. Among the appeal’s pointed messages are the warning that “under the pretext of a virus… an odious technological tyranny ” is being established “in which nameless and faceless people can decide the fate of the world”.Continue reading

Footnotes

Wormwood and Loyalty

 

From the archives: written on February 22nd, 2013…. 

 

A LETTER from a reader:

I totally agree with you — we each need a personal relationship with Jesus. I was born and raised Roman Catholic but find myself now attending the Episcopal (High Episcopal) church on Sunday and becoming involved with the life of this community. I was a member of my church council, a choir member, a CCD teacher and a full-time teacher in a Catholic school. I personally knew four of the priests credibly accused and who confessed of sexually abusing minor children… Our cardinal and bishops and other priests covered up for these men. It strains belief that Rome didn’t know what was going on and, if it truly didn’t, shame on Rome and the Pope and the curia. They are simply horrid representatives of Our Lord…. So, I should remain a loyal member of the RC church? Why? I found Jesus many years ago and our relationship has not changed — in fact it is even stronger now. The RC church is not the beginning and the end of all truth. If anything, the Orthodox church has just as much if not more credibility than Rome. The word “catholic” in the Creed is spelled with a small “c” – meaning “universal” not meaning only and forever the Church of Rome. There is only one true path to the Trinity and that is following Jesus and coming into relationship with the Trinity by first coming into friendship with Him. None of that is dependent upon the Roman church. All of that can be nourished outside of Rome. None of this is your fault and I admire your ministry but I just needed to tell you my story.

Dear reader, thank you for sharing your story with me. I rejoice that, despite the scandals you have encountered, your faith in Jesus has remained. And this doesn’t surprise me. There have been times in history when Catholics in the midst of persecution no longer had access to their parishes, the priesthood, or the Sacraments. They survived within the walls of their inner temple where the Holy Trinity resides. The lived out of faith and trust in a relationship with God because, at its core, Christianity is about the love of a Father for his children, and the children loving Him in return.

Thus, it begs the question, which you have tried to answer: if one can remain a Christian as such: “Should I remain a loyal member of the Roman Catholic Church? Why?”

The answer is a resounding, unhesitating “yes.” And here is why: it’s a matter of staying loyal to Jesus.

 

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Interpreting Revelation

 

 

WITHOUT a doubt, the Book of Revelation is one of the most controversial in all of Sacred Scripture. On one end of the spectrum are fundamentalists who take every word literally or out of context. On the other are those who believe the book has already been fulfilled in the first century or who ascribe to the book a merely allegorical interpretation.Continue reading

Papal Puzzlery

 

A comprehensive response to many questions directed my way regarding the turbulent pontificate of Pope Francis. I apologize that this is a bit lengthier than usual. But thankfully, it is answering several readers’ questions….

 

FROM a reader:

I pray for conversion and for the intentions of Pope Francis everyday.  I am one who initially fell in love with the Holy Father when he was first elected, but over the years of his Pontificate, he has confused me and made me very concerned that his liberal Jesuit spirituality was almost goose-stepping with the left-leaning world view and liberal times. I am a Secular Franciscan so my profession binds me to obedience to him.  But I must admit that he scares me… How do we know he is not an anti-pope?  Is the media twisting his words? Are we to blindly follow and pray for him all the more?  This is what I have been doing, but my heart is conflicted.

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What If…?

What’s around the bend?

 

IN an open letter to the Pope, [1]cf. Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! I outlined to His Holiness the theological foundations for an “era of peace” as opposed to the heresy of millenarianism. [2]cf. Millenarianism: What it is and is Not and the Catechism [CCC} n.675-676 Indeed, Padre Martino Penasa posed the question on the scriptural foundation of an historic and universal era of peace versus millenarianism to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: “È imminente una nuova era di vita cristiana?” (“Is a new era of Christian life imminent?”). The Prefect at that time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger replied, “La questione è ancora aperta alla libera discussione, giacchè la Santa Sede non si è ancora pronunciata in modo definitivo”:

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!
2 cf. Millenarianism: What it is and is Not and the Catechism [CCC} n.675-676

Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?

 

With dozens of new subscribers coming on board now each week, old questions are popping up such as this one: Why aren’t the Pope’s speaking about the end times? The answer will surprise many, reassure others, and challenge many more. First published September 21st, 2010, I have updated this writing to the present pontificate. 

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The Surprise Welcome

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Saturday of the Second Week of Lent, March 7th, 2015
First Saturday of the Month

Liturgical texts here

 

THREE minutes in a pig barn, and your clothes are done for the day. Imagine the prodigal son, hanging out with swine, feeding them day after day, too poor to even buy a change of clothes. I have no doubt that the father would have smelled his son returning home before he saw him. But when the father did see him, something amazing happened…

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Servants of the Truth

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent, March 4th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

Ecce HomoEcce Homo, by Michael D. O’Brien

 

JESUS was not crucified for His charity. He was not scourged for healing paralytics, opening the eyes of the blind, or raising the dead. So too, rarely will you find Christians being sidelined for building a women’s shelter, feeding the poor, or visiting the sick. Rather, Christ and His body, the Church, were and are persecuted essentially for proclaiming the truth.

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Mercy for a People in Darkness

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday of the Second Week of Lent, March 2nd, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

THERE is a line from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that, among others, jumped out at me when the character Frodo wishes for the death of his adversary, Gollum. The wise wizard Gandalf responds:

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Do Not Be Shaken

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 13th, 2015
Opt. Memorial of St. Hilary

Liturgical texts here

 

WE have entered a period of time in the Church that will shake the faith of many. And that is because it is going to increasingly appear as though evil has won, as though the Church has become completely irrelevant, and in fact, an enemy of the State. Those who hold fast to the whole of the Catholic faith will be few in number and be universally considered antiquated, illogical, and an obstacle to be removed.

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The Thin Line Between Mercy and Heresy – Part III

 

PART III — FEARS REVEALED

 

SHE fed and clothed the poor with love; she nurtured minds and hearts with the Word. Catherine Doherty, foundress of the Madonna House apostolate, was a woman who took on the “smell of the sheep” without taking on the “stench of sin.” She constantly walked the thin line between mercy and heresy by embracing the greatest of sinners while calling them to holiness. She used to say,

Go without fears into the depths of men’s hearts… the Lord shall be with you. —from The Little Mandate

This is one of those “words” from the Lord that is able to penetrate “between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” [1]cf. Heb 4:12 Catherine uncovers the very root of the problem with both so-called “conservatives” and “liberals” in the Church: it is our fear to enter men’s hearts as Christ did.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. Heb 4:12

The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Part II

 

PART II — Reaching the Wounded

 

WE have watched a rapid cultural and sexual revolution that in five short decades has decimated the family as divorce, abortion, redefinition of marriage, euthanasia, pornography, adultery, and many other ills have become not only acceptable, but deemed a social “good” or “right.” However, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, drug use, alcohol abuse, suicide, and ever multiplying psychoses tell a different story: we are a generation that is bleeding profusely from the effects of sin.

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The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Part I

 


IN
all the controversies that unfolded in the wake of the recent Synod in Rome, the reason for the gathering seemed to have been lost altogether. It was convened under the theme: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” How do we evangelize families given the pastoral challenges we face due to high divorce rates, single mothers, secularization, and so forth?

What we learned very quickly (as proposals of some Cardinals were made known to the public) is that there is a a thin line between mercy and heresy.

The following three part series is intended to not only get back to the heart of the matter—evangelizing families in our times—but to do so by bringing to the forefront the man who is really at the center of the controversies: Jesus Christ. Because no one walked that thin line more than Him—and Pope Francis seems to be pointing that path to us once again.

We need to blow away the “smoke of satan” so we can clearly identify this narrow red line, drawn in Christ’s blood… because we are called to walk it ourselves.

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A House Divided

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 10th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

“EVERY kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” These are Christ’s words in today’s Gospel that must surely reverberate among the Synod of Bishops gathered in Rome. As we listen to the presentations coming forth on how to deal with today’s moral challenges facing families, it is clear that there are great gulfs between some prelates as to how to deal with sin. My spiritual director has asked me to speak about this, and so I will in another writing. But perhaps we should conclude this week’s meditations on the infallibility of the papacy by listening carefully to Our Lord’s words today.

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The Great Antidote


Stand your ground…

 

 

HAVE we entered into those times of lawlessness that will culminate in the “lawless one,” as St. Paul described in 2 Thessalonians 2? [1]Some Church Fathers saw the Antichrist appearing before the “era of peace” while others toward the end of the world. If one follows St. John’s vision in Revelation, the answer seems to be that they are both right. See The Last Two Eclipses It is an important question, because our Lord himself commanded us to “watch and pray.” Even Pope St. Pius X raised the possibility that, given the spread of what he called “a terrible and deep-rooted malady” that is dragging society to destruction, that is, “apostasy”…

…there may be already in the world the “Son of Perdition” of whom the Apostle speaks. —POPE ST. PIUS X, E Supremi, Encyclical On the Restoration of All Things in Christ, n. 3, 5; October 4th, 1903

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 Some Church Fathers saw the Antichrist appearing before the “era of peace” while others toward the end of the world. If one follows St. John’s vision in Revelation, the answer seems to be that they are both right. See The Last Two Eclipses

Removing the Restrainer

 

THE past month has been one of palpable sorrow as the Lord continues to warn that there is So Little Time Left. The times are sorrowful because mankind is about to reap what God has begged us not to sow. It is sorrowful because many souls do not realize that they are on the precipice of eternal separation from Him. It is sorrowful because the hour of the Church’s own passion has come when a Judas will rise up against her. [1]cf. The Seven Year Trial-Part VI It is sorrowful because Jesus is not only being neglected and forgotten throughout the world, but abused and mocked once again. Hence, the Time of times has come when all lawlessness will, and is, breaking forth across the globe.

Before I go on, ponder for a moment the truth-filled words of a saint:

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and everyday. Either he will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings. —St. Francis de Sales, 17th century bishop

Indeed, this blog is not here to scare or frighten, but to confirm and prepare you so that, like the five wise virgins, the light of your faith will not be snuffed out, but glow ever brighter when the light of God in the world is fully dimmed, and darkness fully unrestrained. [2]cf. Matt 25:1-13

Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt 25:13)

 

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. The Seven Year Trial-Part VI
2 cf. Matt 25:1-13

Global Revolution!

 

…the order of the world is shaken. (Psalm 82:5)
 

WHEN I wrote about Revolution! a few years ago, it was not a word being used much in the mainstream. But today, it is being spoken everywhere… and now, the words “global revolutionare rippling throughout the world. From the uprisings in the Middle East, to Venezuela, Ukraine, etc. to the first murmurings in the “Tea Party” revolution and “Occupy Wall Street” in the U.S., unrest is spreading like “a virus.” There is indeed a global upheaval underway.

I will rouse Egypt against Egypt: brother will war against brother, neighbour against neighbour, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. (Isaiah 19:2)

But it is a Revolution that has been in the making for a very long time…

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The Consequences of Compromise

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for February 13th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

What’s left of Solomon’s Temple, destroyed 70 A.D.

 

 

THE beautiful story of Solomon’s achievements, when working in harmony with God’s grace, came to a halt.

When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God.

Solomon no longer followed God “unreservedly as his father David had done.” He began to compromise. In the end, the Temple he constructed, and all its beauty, was reduced to rubble by the Romans.

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Snow In Cairo?


First snow in Cairo, Egypt in 100 years, AFP-Getty Images

 

 

SNOW in Cairo? Ice in Israel? Sleet in Syria?

For several years now, the world has watched as natural earth events ravage various regions from place to place. But is there a link to what is also happening in society en masse: the ravaging of the natural and moral law?

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Compromise: The Great Apostasy

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 1st, 2013
First Sunday of Advent

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THE book of Isaiah—and this Advent—begins with a beautiful vision of a coming Day when “all nations” will stream to the Church to be fed from her hand the life-giving teachings of Jesus. According to the early Church Fathers, Our Lady of Fatima, and the prophetic words of 20th century popes, we may indeed expect a coming “era of peace” when they “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (see Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!)

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Protector and Defender

 

 

AS I read Pope Francis’ installation homily, I couldn’t help but think of my little encounter with the Blessed Mother’s alleged words six days ago while praying before the Blessed Sacrmament.

Sitting in front of me was a copy of Fr. Stefano Gobbi’s book To the Priests, Our Lady’s Beloved Sons, messages that have received the Imprimatur and other theological endorsements. [1]Fr. Gobbi’s messages predicted the culmination of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart by the year 2000. Obviously, this prediction was either wrong or delayed. Nonetheless, these meditations still provide timely and relevant inspirations. As St. Paul says regarding prophecy, “Retain what is good.” I sat back in my chair and asked the Blessed Mother, who allegedly gave these messages to the late Fr. Gobbi, if she has anything to say about our new pope. The number “567” popped into my head, and so I turned to it. It was a message given to Fr. Stefano in Argentina on March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph, exactly 17 years ago to this day that Pope Francis officially takes the seat of Peter. At the time I wrote Two Pillars and the New Helmsman, I did not have a copy of the book in front of me. But I want to quote here now a portion of what the Blessed Mother says that day, followed by excerpts from Pope Francis’ homily given today. I can’t help but feel that the Holy Family is wrapping their arms around all of us at this decisive moment in time…

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 Fr. Gobbi’s messages predicted the culmination of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart by the year 2000. Obviously, this prediction was either wrong or delayed. Nonetheless, these meditations still provide timely and relevant inspirations. As St. Paul says regarding prophecy, “Retain what is good.”

TruNews Interview

 

MARK MALLETT was the guest on TruNews.com, an evangelical radio podcast, on February 28th, 2013. With host, Rick Wiles, they discussed the resignation of the Pope, apostasy in the Church, and the theology of the “end times” from a Catholic perspective.

An evangelical Christian interviewing a Catholic in a rare interview! Listen in at:

TruNews.com

Possible… or Not?

APTOPIX VATICAN PALM SUNDAYPhoto courtesy The Globe and Mail
 
 

IN light of recent historic events in the papacy, and this, the last working day of Benedict XVI, two current prophecies in particular are gaining traction among believers regarding the next pope. I am asked about them constantly in person as well as by email. So, I am compelled to finally give a timely response.

The problem is that the following prophecies are diametrically opposed to one another. One or both of them, therefore, cannot be true….

 

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The Pope: Thermometer of Apostasy

BenedictCandle

As I asked Our Blessed Mother to guide my writing this morning, immediately this meditation from March 25th, 2009 came to mind:

 

HAVING traveled and preached in over 40 American states and nearly all of Canada’s provinces, I have been afforded a wide-ranging glimpse of the Church on this continent. I have met many wonderful lay people, deeply committed priests, and devoted and reverent religious. But they have become so few in number that I am beginning to hear the words of Jesus in a new and startling way:

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

It is said that if you throw a frog into boiling water, it will jump out. But if you slowly heat the water, it will remain in the pot and boil to death. The Church in many parts of the world is beginning to reach the boiling point. If you want to know how hot the water is, watch the attack upon Peter.

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Charismatic! Part VII

 

THE point of this entire series on the charismatic gifts and movement is to encourage the reader to not be afraid of the extraordinary in God! To not be afraid to “open wide your hearts” to the gift of the Holy Spirit whom the Lord wishes to pour out in a special and powerful way in our times. As I read the letters sent to me, it is clear that the Charismatic Renewal has not been without its sorrows and failures, its human deficiencies and weaknesses. And yet, this is precisely what occurred in the early Church after Pentecost. Saints Peter and Paul devoted much space to correcting the various churches, moderating the charisms, and refocusing the budding communities over and over again upon the oral and written tradition that was being handed on to them. What the Apostles did not do is deny the often dramatic experiences of believers, try to stifle the charisms, or silence the zeal of thriving communities. Rather, they said:

Do not quench the Spirit… pursue love, but strive eagerly for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy… above all, let your love for one another be intense… (1 Thess 5:19; 1 Cor 14:1; 1 Pet 4:8)

I want to devote the last part of this series to sharing my own experiences and reflections since I first experienced the charismatic movement in 1975. Rather than give my entire testimony here, I will restrict it to those experiences one might call “charismatic.”

 

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Charismatic? Part VI

pentecost3_FotorPentecost, Artist Unknown

  

PENTECOST is not only a single event, but a grace that the Church can experience again and again. However, in this past century, the popes have been praying not only for a renewal in the Holy Spirit, but for a “new Pentecost”. When one considers all the signs of the times that have accompanied this prayer—key among them the continued presence of the Blessed Mother gathering with her children on earth through ongoing apparitions, as though she were once again in the “upper room” with the Apostles… the words of the Catechism take on a new sense of immediacy:

…at the “end time” the Lord’s Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law in them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace.Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 715

This time when the Spirit comes to “renew the face of the earth” is the period, after the death of Antichrist, during what the Church Father’s pointed to in St. John’s Apocalypse as the “thousand year” era when Satan is chained in the abyss.Continue reading

Charismatic? Part V

 

 

AS we look at the Charismatic Renewal today, we see a great decline in its numbers, and those who remain are mostly grey and white-haired. What, then, was the Charismatic Renewal all about if it appears on the surface to be fizzling? As one reader wrote in response to this series:

At some point the Charismatic movement vanished like fireworks that light up the night sky and then fall back into the darkenss. I was somewhat puzzled that a move of Almighty God would wane and finally fade away.

The answer to this question is perhaps the most important aspect of this series, for it helps us to understand not only where we’ve come from, but what the future holds for the Church…

 

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Charismatic? Part IV

 

 

I have been asked before if I am a “Charismatic.” And my answer is, “I am Catholic!” That is, I want to be fully Catholic, to live in the center of the deposit of faith, the heart of our mother, the Church. And so, I strive to be “charismatic”, “marian,” “contemplative,” “active,” “sacramental,” and “apostolic.” That is because all of the above belong not to this or that group, or this or that movement, but to the entire body of Christ. While apostolates may vary in the focus of their particular charism, in order to be fully alive, fully “healthy,” one’s heart, one’s apostolate, should be open to the entire treasury of grace that the Father has bestowed upon the Church.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens… (Eph 1:3)

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Charismatic? Part III


Holy Spirit Window, St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

 

FROM that letter in Part I:

I go out of my way to attend a church that is very traditional—where people dress properly, remain quiet in front of the Tabernacle, where we are catechized according to Tradition from the pulpit, etc.

I stay far away from charismatic churches. I just don’t see that as Catholicism. There is often a movie screen on the altar with parts of the Mass listed on it (“Liturgy,” etc.). Women are on the altar. Everyone is dressed very casually (jeans, sneakers, shorts, etc.) Everyone raises their hands, shouts, claps—no quiet. There is no kneeling or other reverent gestures. It seems to me that a lot of this was learned from the Pentecostal denomination. No one thinks the “details” of Tradition matter. I feel no peace there. What happened to Tradition? To silence (such as no clapping!) out of respect for the Tabernacle??? To modest dress?

 

I was seven years old when my parents attended a Charismatic prayer meeting in our parish. There, they had an encounter with Jesus that profoundly changed them. Our parish priest was a good shepherd of the movement who himself experienced the “baptism in the Spirit.” He permitted the prayer group to grow in its charisms, thereby bringing many more conversions and graces to the Catholic community. The group was ecumenical, and yet, faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church. My dad described it as a “truly beautiful experience.”

In hindsight, it was a model of sorts of what the popes, from the very beginning of the Renewal, wished to see: an integration of the movement with the whole Church, in fidelity to the Magisterium.

 

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The Verdict

 

AS my recent ministry tour progressed, I felt a new weight in my soul, a heaviness of heart unlike previous missions the Lord has sent me on. After preaching about His love and mercy, I asked the Father one night why the world… why anyone would not want to open their hearts to Jesus who has given so much, who has never hurt a soul, and who has burst open the gates of Heaven and gained every spiritual blessing for us through His death upon the Cross?

The answer came swiftly, a word from the Scriptures themselves:

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. (John 3:19)

The growing sense, as I’ve meditated on this word, is that it is a definitive word for our times, indeed a verdict for a world now upon the threshold of extraordinary change….

 

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Charismatic? Part II

 

 

THERE is perhaps no movement in the Church that has been so widely accepted—and readily rejected—as the “Charismatic Renewal.” Boundaries were broken, comfort zones moved, and the status quo shattered. Like Pentecost, it has been anything but a neat and tidy movement, fitting nicely into our preconceived boxes of just how the Spirit should move among us. Nothing has been perhaps as polarizing either… just as it was then. When the Jews heard and saw the Apostles burst from the upper room, speaking in tongues, and boldly proclaiming the Gospel…

They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine. (Acts 2:12-13)

Such is the division in my letter bag as well…

The Charismatic movement is a load of gibberish, NONSENSE! The Bible speaks of the gift of tongues. This referred to the ability to communicate in the spoken languages of that time! It did not mean idiotic gibberish… I will have nothing to do with it. —T.S.

It saddens me to see this lady speak this way about the movement that brought me back to Church… —M.G.

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