isaiah

Fatima and the Apocalypse

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Beloved, do not be surprised that
a trial by fire is occurring among you,
as if something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice to the extent that you
share in the sufferings of Christ,
so that when his glory is revealed
you may also rejoice exultantly. 
(1 Peter 4:12-13)

[Man] shall be actually disciplined beforehand for incorruption,
and shall go forwards and flourish in the times of the kingdom,
in order that he may be capable of receiving the glory of the Father. 
—St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Church Father (140–202 A.D.) 
Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons, passim
Bk. 5, Ch. 35, The Fathers of the Church, CIMA Publishing Co

 

YOU are loved. And that’s why the sufferings of this present hour are so intense. Jesus is preparing the Church to receive a “new and divine holiness” that, until these times, was unknown. But before He can clothe His Bride in this new garment (Rev 19:8), He has to strip His beloved of her soiled garments. As Cardinal Ratzinger stated so vividly:Continue reading →

The Era of Peace

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MYSTICS and popes alike say that we are living in the “end times”, the end of an era—but not the end of the world. What is coming, they say, is an Era of Peace. Mark Mallett and Prof. Daniel O’Connor show where this is in Scripture and how it is consistent with the Early Church Fathers to the present day Magisterium as they continue to explain the Timeline on Countdown to the Kingdom.Continue reading →

The Age of Ministries is Ending

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posttsunamiAP Photo

 

THE events unfolding around the globe tend to set off a flurry of speculation and even panic among some Christians that now is the time to buy supplies and head for the hills. Without a doubt, the string of natural disasters around the globe, the looming food crisis with drought and the collapse of bee colonies, and the impending collapse of the dollar can not help but give pause to the practical mind. But brothers and sisters in Christ, God is doing something new among us. He is preparing the world for a tsunami of Mercy. He must shake old structures down to the foundations and raise new ones. He must strip away that which is of the flesh and reclothe us in His power. And He must place within our souls a new heart, a new wineskin, prepared to receive the New Wine He is about to pour out.

In other words,

The Age of Ministries is ending.

 

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The Triumph – Part II

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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)

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On Earth as in Heaven

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent, February 24th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

PONDER again these words from today’s Gospel:

…thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Now listen carefully to the first reading:

So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

If Jesus gave us this “word” to pray daily to our Heavenly Father, then one must ask whether or not His Kingdom and His Divine Will shall be on earth as it is in heaven? Whether or not this “word” we have been taught to pray will achieve its end… or simply return void? The answer, of course, is that these words of the Lord will indeed accomplish their end and will…

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The Time of the Tomb

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 6th, 2013

Liturgical texts here


Artist Unknown

 

WHEN the Angel Gabriel comes to Mary to announce that she will conceive and bear a son to whom “the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,” [1]Luke 1:32 she responds to his annunciation with the words, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” [2]Luke 1:38 A heavenly counterpart to these words is later verbalized when Jesus is approached by two blind men in today’s Gospel:

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Luke 1:32
↑2 Luke 1:38

The City of Joy

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 5th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

ISAIAH writes:

A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you. (Isaiah 26)

So many Christians today have lost their peace! So many, indeed, have lost their joy! And thus, the world finds Christianity to appear somewhat unattractive.

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The Horizon of Hope

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 3rd, 2013
Memorial of St. Francis Xavier

Liturgical texts here

 

 

ISAIAH gives such a consoling vision of the future that one could be forgiven for suggesting it is a mere “pipe dream.” After the purification of the earth by “the rod of [the Lord’s] mouth, and the breath of his lips,” Isaiah writes:

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall down with the kid… There shall be no more harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea. (Isaiah 11)

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The Survivors

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 2nd, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THERE are some texts in Scripture that, admittedly, are troubling to read. Today’s first reading contains one of them. It speaks of a coming time when the Lord will wash away “the filth of the daughters of Zion”, leaving behind a branch, a people, who are His “luster and glory.”

…the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. He who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 4:3)

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Is God Silent?

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Dear Mark,

God forgive the USA. Normally I would begin with God Bless the USA, but today how could any of us ask him to bless what is happening here? We are living in a world that is growing more and more dark. The light of love is fading, and it takes all my strength to keep this little flame burning in my heart. But for Jesus, I keep it burning still. I beg God our Father to help me understand, and to discern what is happening to our world, but He is suddenly so silent. I look to those trusted prophets of these days who I believe are speaking the truth; you, and others whose blogs and writings I would read daily for strength and wisdom and encouragement. But all of you have become silent too. Posts that would appear daily, turned to weekly, and then monthly, and even in some cases yearly. Has God stopped speaking to all of us? Has God turned His holy face from us? After all how could His perfect holiness bear to look upon our sin…?

K.S. 

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The Triumph – Part III

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NOT only can we hope for the fulfillment of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the Church has the power to hasten its coming by our prayers and actions. Instead of despairing, we need to be preparing.

What can we do? What can I do?

 

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The Triumph

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AS Pope Francis prepares to consecrate his papacy to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13th, 2013 through Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, Archbishop of Lisbon, [1]Correction: The consecration is to happen through the Cardinal, not the Pope in person himself at Fatima, as I mistakenly reported. it is timely to reflect on the Blessed Mother’s promise made there in 1917, what it means, and how it will unfold… something that seems more and more likely to be in our times. I believe his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, has shed some valuable light on what is coming upon the Church and the world in this regard…

In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. —www.vatican.va

 

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Correction: The consecration is to happen through the Cardinal, not the Pope in person himself at Fatima, as I mistakenly reported.

The Hour of the Laity

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World Youth Day

 

 

WE are entering a most profound period of purification of the Church and the planet. The signs of the times are all around us as the upheaval in nature, the economy, and social and political stability speaks of a world on the verge of a Global Revolution. Thus, I believe we are also approaching the hour of God’s “last effort” before the “day of justice” arrives (see The Last Effort), as St. Faustina recorded in her diary. Not the end of the world, but the end of an era:

Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth for them. —Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 848

Blood and Water is pouring forth this moment from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is this mercy gushing forth from the Heart of the Savior that is the final effort to…

…withdraw [mankind] from the empire of Satan which He desired to destroy, and thus to introduce them into the sweet liberty of the rule of His love, which He wished to restore in the hearts of all those who should embrace this devotion.—St. Margaret Mary (1647-1690), sacredheartdevotion.com

It is for this that I believe we have been called into The Bastion—a time of intense prayer, focus, and preparation as the Winds of Change gather strength. For the heavens and earth are going to shake, and God is going to concentrate His love into one last moment of grace before the world is purified. [1]see The Eye of the Storm and The Great Earthquake It is for this time that God has prepared a little army, primarily of the laity.

 

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Footnotes

The Coming Refuges and Solitudes

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THE Age of Ministries is ending… but something more beautiful is going to arise. It will be a new beginning, a restored Church in a new era. In fact, it was Pope Benedict XVI who hinted at this very thing while he was still a cardinal:

The Church will be reduced in its dimensions, it will be necessary to start again. However, from this test a Church would emerge that will have been strengthened by the process of simplification it experienced, by its renewed capacity to look within itself… the Church will be numerically reduced. —Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), God and the World, 2001; interview with Peter Seewald

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All the Nations?

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FROM a reader:

In a homily on February 21st, 2001, Pope John Paul welcomed, in his words, “people from every part of the world.” He went on to say,

You come from 27 countries on four continents and speak various languages. Is this not a sign of the Church’s ability, now that she has spread to every corner of the globe, to understand peoples with different traditions and languages, in order to bring to all the message of Christ? —JOHN PAUL II, Homily, Feb 21, 2001; www.vatica.va

Would this not constitute a fulfillment of Matt 24:14 where it says:

This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come (Matt 24:14)?

 

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Finding Peace

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Photo by Carveli Studios

 

DO you long for peace? In my encounters with other Christians in the past few years, the most evident spiritual malady is that few are at peace. Almost as if there is a common belief growing among Catholics that a lack of peace and joy is simply part of the suffering and spiritual attacks upon the Body of Christ. It is “my cross,” we like to say. But that is a dangerous assumption bringing about an unfortunate consequence upon society as a whole. If the world is thirsting to see the Face of Love and to drink from the Living Well of peace and joy… but all they find are the brackish waters of anxiety and the mud of depression and anger in our souls… where will they turn?

God wants His people to live in interior peace at all times. And it is possible…Continue reading →

Ezekiel 12

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Summer Landscape by George Inness, 1894

 

I have longed to give you the Gospel, and more than that, to give you my very life; you have become very dear to me. My little children, I am like a mother giving birth to you, until Christ is formed in you. (1 Thess 2:8; Gal 4:19)

 

IT has been nearly a year since my wife and I picked up our eight children and moved to a small parcel of land on the Canadian prairies in the middle of nowhere. It is probably the last place I would have chosen.. a wide open ocean of farm fields, few trees, and plenty of wind. But all other doors closed and this was the one that opened.

As I prayed this morning, pondering the rapid, almost overwhelming change in direction for our family, words came back to me that I had forgotten that I had read shortly before we felt called to move… Ezekiel, Chapter 12.

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