Joel 2 The Day of the Lord 2 Blow the a]">[a]trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. 3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like b]">[b]swift steeds, so they run. 5 With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces c]">[c]are drained of color. 7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. 8 They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own d]">[d]column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not e]">[e]cut down. 9 They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. 11 The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? A Call to Repentance 12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God? 15 Blow the f]">[f]trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. 17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should g]">[g]rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” The Land Refreshed 18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. 19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. 20 “But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done h]">[h]monstrous things.” 21 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done i]">[i]marvelous things! 22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the j]">[j]former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. 24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming k]">[k]locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. 27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. God’s Spirit Poured Out 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be l]">[l]saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be m]">[m]deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Padraig, you’ve just expressed my exact sentiments…. I can’t believe that you referenced the old tv show The Outer Limits! I did just the other day! Things are so nuts that it rivals the craziest of those science fiction tv shows! Who’d have believed things would go this nuts? Probably going to get worse. Fox New just announced a tv program on FOX NATION called the Worse Case Scenario . Oh boy.
If it throws us into a loop who actually still believe in places like Fatima I wonder what it is doing to the minds and heart of poor people and clergy who no longer even pray? They must be climbing the walls.
I think that Lent is calling me to disengage from the "sturm and drang" of the news or setting dates or combing over prophecies. We are pilgrims passing through so in a sense none of this is truly real. Just a series of tests. Or as wonderful St Teresa of Avila says--a night in a bad hotel! This world is not our home. Our kingdom is not here and I am trying to keep that message in my heart. Souls are at stake so much prayer and penance e is needed but curiosity about times and dates (which I can be afflicted with) is a major distraction. Many years ago I wrote a series of songs for little children about the gospel message. One of them just came to mind--"you know this world is not my home/I'm traveling to my Father/I'm a citizen of heaven/and I'm on my way home."
I agree with you about keeping the dates hidden. As a forum member pointed out, they can be moved by prayer and sacrifice. And, we may wait until the week before to be prepared, thinking it is enough time, when it clearly is not. What I wonder then is, why mention dates at all? I guess that when something is predicted without a date, people tend to write it off. It could happen in 1,000 years, etc. What do you all think about that? We know enough to contemplate the dates, but not enough to determine them. I wonder why that is part of the plan? Am I even asking the right question(s)?
I agree!!! Since Lent started, I have had a much easier time turning off the news so to speak. Before then, I was dutifully checking everything. Now, I do not have to. And it feels freeing. It feels like a grace from God. I did not do anything differently or experience anything that would change my perspective. Completely God-given.
Perhaps it is as it was with the Disciples on the Road after Christ's death, that we may better understand after events.
I think dates given as secrets gives us an assurance that something definitely is coming and we need to prepare. As far as all the little clues and riddles given...I don't really see how that's helpful. I imagine its probably the result of very human visionaries getting pestered so relentlessly that they feel great pressure to provide more details.
Thank you, both. Very insightful. So interesting too. This past week I was wondering why Christ did not reveal himself to the travelers to Emaus. I researched it and learned exactly that and more - God wants to reveal himself through His prophets and Word. I never thought to equate it to our own times. Padraig and PF rock!
Yes! And then disappeared. What I read was that he wanted the travelers to recognize him in the sacred scriptures first. When they did not, he broke the bread and disappeared.
Yes, but the only one who really knew what was going down at Holy Week was Christ's Mother. Everyone else was chasing their tails Afterwards, In the Light of Prophecy all was clear as day.
Hopefully before they despair or their souls descend into hell, the warning will occur….? Do you remember when Maria Esperanza, the catholic mystic, said everything will begin when Venezuela falls? Well, it fell just before Covid was released on the world. It looks like everything is tied together. I just heard it said today that our economy could spiral down to Venezuelan territory
