Thought for the day - it is obvious that God is preparing us His Church for something very great indeed - we are all being purified to one degree or another [better here than in purgatory]. Our Lady has been sent to lead the remnant into battle - the battle is on and rages all around us and souls are at stake. I do not know the future with any certainty but what are we being prepared for?
I guess this is a rhetorical question? I don't know either, but intense persecution like the world has never seen before is a good starting point...
Romans 8:38-39 New International Version (NIV) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As Fatima said on another thread, I am very grateful for the ability to post here with people who see that we are in a time of tribulation. It seems most people are unaware even now of the decent into sinfulness, on a global scale, that plagues our world. My sister and I have been discussing this for some time now and I will try to share some of our observations here, in no particular order. Understand that these observations are informed by prayer, reading Scripture, time spent in Adoration of the Eucharist, reading prophecies, and reading the messages of various seers. We have dreams and thoughts that come to us in prayer. We are not great seers or prophets. Again, in no particular order: The once universal taboo against homosexuality is now non-existent. As a university instructor, I am very careful to not speak out against openly gay students, but pray everyday that I may teach truth without losing my job. We not only must accept this behavior outside of church, but are forced to look at Catholic Churches celebrating this sin in LGBTQ-friendly parishes and Masses. Would people feel the same if a man brought his mistress with his family to church while his wife had to sit with him as well? When the seers speak of blood running in the streets, and woe to women carrying children at this time, of course we are to see that abortion is the point of this prophecy. If abortions were open and visible, instead of hidden, if we saw the results as we do the baby pictures that are posted on public webpages, we would see as the prophets did the blood running in the streets. If we knew how much damage we do to the people of God by assuming sin in each other, rather assuming the best, we would see how even our quickest glance of disapproval can wound Christ and keep another from His Love and Mercy. Our beautiful churches, built with the pennies of our ancestors in faith, are abandoned in urban areas were prostitutes and drug dealers have replaced the families that once lived in those neighborhoods. Instead we file into churches in suburbs that have few visible marks of the richness of Catholic architecture. Children growing up in these movie-theater churches never have the chance to contemplate a Saint's image during Mass, because there are no images. It is a grey, soulless place, designed by dissident priests and lay people, who paid more attention to the rules of fen shui than to Catholic traditions. Even among the faithful, small differences become a cause of great division. Some people speak of a conversion experience like the Protestants speak of being born-again. It's not one-and-done. That's why we have confession. There have been so many major environmental disasters, that the devastation of Hurricane Sandy was barely able to bring out the level of charitable giving seen in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina just a few years ago. The immodesty spoken of in prophecies... I don't think I need to say anymore. Symbols of darkness are everywhere in clothing. I have seen sweet, warm, soft, pink, baby clothes that on closer inspection were covered with black skulls and cross-bones. Prophets speak of people writing many books, and words being transmitted instantly around the globe. Well here we are! Out of these and many more, there is plenty of evidence that we are in the darkest of times. But today our Archbishop began a three week set of homilies in every parish on the importance of confession. That is real hope. I explained to my family today why I asked our priest to bless our candles. It is all part of the preparation. I have a tendency to leave rosaries all over the house, and then can't find one when I need it. I'm putting them all together, so we will have them when necessary. I have some food put aside, and hope I will be able to help our friends and neighbors. We don't have guns but we do talk about it. In our short-attention-span world, it seems like we have slowly fallen into this darkness. In reality, it has accelerated beyond our comprehension in the lifetime of each of us here. Holy Mother of God, guide us in our ignorance.
Ultimately we are being prepared for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, The Second Coming of Christ, The 2nd Pentecost of the Holy Spirit and the Glorification of the Father, when His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven for 1000 years. To get to this point we are being prepared for battle. First, spiritual battle against the evil spirits and second a battle to hold on to the truths we have been given, even to death if it is God's will. Our Blessed Mother has been given the task of preparing God's faithful under her mantle. Those who belong to Mary have nothing to fear, as she will have all the means of God's grace at her disposal (legions of angels, holy saints) fighting along side us all the way. We must hold fast to the truth and trust, "Jesus I Trust in You". We are not ready yet, but we are getting there. We will be given the grace necessary at the time it is required. It may be that we are "afraid or concerned" now, but it is because we have not been given the grace for the moment yet. I am most concerned for my family, but know they will have this protection as well. I feel like the apostles waiting in the upper room, before the Holy Spirit appeared to them (human fear, trembling, uncertainty, anxciousness), yet knowing that soon we will be given from above the grace necessary to fight the good fight. So in the meantime we prepare, through prayer, fasting, penance, sacraments, sacramentals and good companionship like Mother of God forum provides.
Well, Ranting Catholic Mom. Your post needs all that needs to be said about reading the Sogns of the TImes..as Jesus asked...and as St Paul comments.. 2 Timothy 3:1-3 King James Version (KJV) 3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, I was thinking and praying of positive things that are coming and that seem to be coming. I think the numbers attending CHurches have plummeted. But I do notice a new kind of Catholic coming forward. Fr these people Catholicism is not simply a birthright but a choice. Often these people purification / conversion experience, through going through programmes like Cursillo, of visiting apparition sites like Medugorje. The last two Popes JP2 and Pope Bendict have been quite exraordinary saints, not only saints but vsionary prophets, well equipped by God to lead the Church in a time of mass Apostasy. I love the way our present Pope is leading us back to a richer deeper liturgy rooted in the riches of two millenia of Catholic culture. THe Kum ba ya generation if sweeping well behind us... “It is not the individual — priest or layman — or the group that celebrates the liturgy, but it is primarily God’s action through the Church, which has its own history, its rich tradition and creativity, This universality and fundamental openness, which is characteristic of the entire liturgy, is one of the reasons why it cannot be created or amended by the individual community or by experts, but must be faithful to the forms of the universal Church,” Pope Benedict the-liturgy-is-celebrated-for-god-and-not-for-ourselves/#ixzz2JuM8HHh0 Another source of jo is the rich crop of saints God has raised amongst us in our times, real saints saints who tower among other saints as the Lebanon Cedar towers above other trees. THis in fulfillment of the prophecy of St Louis Grignoin De Montfoord that at the End TImes GOd would bring forth towers of great holiness. I have noticed too amongst the yound crop of priests coming out our Seminaries now..although of coure they are far ,far fewere a great holiness and conviction I find very moving. I kneel at mass and look and listen to some of these young men may 30 years younger than me but so far forward in the Ways of the Lord and feel very touched. I could go on and on, but enought to say that Iam full of hope. What was it Billy Graham said, he said he was full of the hope for he had read the bible to the end and everything turns out alright in the end. Medjugorje Message, August 25, 2008 “Dear children! Also today I call you to personal conversion. You be those who will convert and, with your life, will witness, love, forgive and bring the joy of the Risen One into this world, where my Son died and where people do not feel a need to seek Him and to discover Him in their lives. You adore Him, and may your hope be hope to those hearts who do not have Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call. ”
The Kum ba Ya generation - love it Haven't heard that in a while! Perhaps it is over the liturgy that a real split may occur rather than the teachings of the Church? As the Church tries to restore order and discipline but not all priests are happy even with the modest changes of recent times. I will be singing Kum Ba Ya My Lord all day in my head Padraig now that you have mentioned it
If I had the time, I would have said that after seeing all of those signs, I do have hope. Fear, yes. But it is fear of the unknown. I have hope in Mary and Jesus, because I know them in the sacraments. Great things are coming. Some of them may be terrible, from an earthly perspective. But Hope and Trust and Love will get us through.
Sinners. The poor, the blind, the maimed...All of these WE are, in spirit. Called to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Called to turn away from sin, worldy attachment, and love of our temporal lives. Called to turn toward and trust in the Divine Mercy of God, who is Christ Himself, with the help of His mother, our mother. If you are called to the vocation of marriage, then laying your life down for the conversion and salvation of your spouse and immediate family is the first order of business, as well as praying for your own. However, if you have the level of Grace, and spiritual armor and protection, to extend beyond the immediate, then those very souls, mired in those very sins being celebrated as good in these times, become the poor, the blind and the maimed that need your works of mercy (by word, deed and prayer) for the very salvation of their eternal souls. That is Love. Do not bury our talents of silver.....we know how that ends.... Tolkien gave a vivid picture of the church and the effects of sin in the Lord of the Rings, complete with the spiritual warfare of angels (elves) battling demons (orcs) led by embodiments of the archangels and fallen angles respectively. The ring, representing sin, corrupts one Smeagol into the grotesque form of Gollum, who would many times attempt to kill Frodo and Samwise for the sake of "the ring". Samwise thwarts his efforts, and desires to kill Gollum several times, seemingly in self defense, but mostly out of fear and vengeance. Every time, Frodo intervenes, and allows Gollum to live, because he recognizes Gollum (Smeagol)still has equal dignity, and hope of salvation, if he can turn from his attachment to sin. In the end, Gollum condemns himself to hell, by choosing to remain in sin, but Frodo did not abandon his soul up to that point. These times present much more difficulty in pursuing holiness, avoiding deception, and detatching from sin than the times that predate satan's 100 year assault (essentially 1914-2014, roughly). Hence the outpouring of Divine Mercy as the counterbalance. We MUST be merciful as well, if we are to be shown Mercy.......
If one is blessed to have been formed in an environment of strong faith and virtue, with consistent, generational faith and obedience within the Catholic Church (and without such temptations and conditions that often leave others more open to attack by the demonic), then the right response to that level of Grace and Light is humility. Much has thus been given, and it can lead to pride, instead of a humble recognition of the responsibiltiy that accompanies this Grace.
Amen to both of your comments Jon! I feel that Tolkein is especially relevant for our times. One thing that has always struck me throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is the importance of the virtues of hope and humility that are beautifully displayed by Sam. May he be an inspiration to us all!
Me, too! I just finished re-reading the Trilogy and was struck in particular by three passages. I don't have time tonight, but this Sunday, I'd like to share them. Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
Jon, I like your analogy, but I read the character of Sam differently. He takes up the ring in his grief that Frodo has been killed. While wearing it, he appears to the orcs as a great elf-lord. He gives it back to Frodo when commanded, and then carries Frodo on his back. He is the only ring-bearer who is untainted by his contact with it, because his only use was as a servant. Frodo is the good master, and Sam is the good servant. Sam's hatred of Gollum stems from his simple humility in his servitude. He sees Gollum as the untrustworthy servant, which is the worst thing you could be in Sam's mind. In the end, Gollum's duplicity destroys him, but ironically saves Frodo from becoming a dark lord himself. So it is in the servitude of Gollum and Sam that the sin is destroyed. Sorry for this, but I'm a Tolkien fan, not a movie fan. And of course, I have strong opinions.
Maybe so...but I was only commenting on the distilled, simple metaphor that is obvious during that short section, and is not complicated. "Why" would Frodo serve Gollum? Because he may have hated the sin, but not the sinner. Theologically correct as a practical application of Mercy. At that moment, the central character is Gollum, and Frodo emodies the correct disposition, while Sam's disposition needed correction. My point was: Seek humility, and do not condemn sinful souls, but perform the works of Mercy for their conversion. Resist the temptation to self-righteousness. View any personal holiness and intellectual ability as gifts to be used in service of others (even those trapped in sin). Maybe Gollum wouldn't have fallen victim to his own "duplicity" , if others would have prayed for him and performed the works of Mercy during his decent into sin. He CAN be separated from the sin (the ring) that was destroyed, and it should not be seen as necessary that he and sin were one and the same (both to be destroyed). NOTE: Sam, in his "simpleness" would have killed Gollum if not for the restraint of Frodo in those moments. Sam, to the potential detriment of his own soul, could have returned sin for sin, and taken vengeance but his inability to separate the sin from the sinner, while salvation was still available through Gollums potential repentance. Though Sam's ignorance of those truths may have meant that there wasn't the necessary ascent of the will for that potential action to be a mortal sin, it would be wrong to call Sam's error a "good" due to his unwavering servanthood of Frodo. As holy as he may have been not to be affected by the ring, it seems he wasn't without error based on his action, but certainly had the virtue of obedience.
I had hoped to post this reflection last Sunday about the Trilogy, and here I am a week late! Tolkien had always stressed his dislike for allegory, and would have never considered the Lord of the Rings as one. But certainly, elements of his faith must have been woven into the fabric of his writings. Whether he intended it or not, below are three excerpts that grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me a bit- in a good way! 1965 edition, Ballantine Books, The Fellowship of the Ring, p.76 “I wish it need not have happened in my time”, said Frodo. “So do I”, said Gandalf. “and so do all who live to see such times. But this is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be hard put to it. We shall be very hard put to it, even if it were not for this dreadful chance.” How relevant for us is this passage! I daresay the blackness we are experiencing has advanced a bit further along; the fruit of deception is quite ripe. But to examine the facts does not necessarily mean we are gloomy, rather, we are hopeful. We, too, have the dreadful chance before us in the promise of the Illumination. How dreadful to consider that this lazy, procrastinating, prideful sinner will experience the full brunt of his foolery! Yet, is not the Warning a loving, once-in-a-lifetime chance for us all, a very great mercy? 1965 edition, Ballantine Books, The Return of the King, p. 236 “As for himself, though weary and under a shadow of fear, he still had some strength left. The lembas had a virtue without which they would long ago have lain down to die. It did not satisfy desire, and at times Sam’s mind was filled with the memories of food, and the longing for simple bread and meats. And yet this waybread of the Elves had a potency that increased as travelers relied on it alone and did not mingle it with other foods. It fed the will, and it gave strength to endure, and to master sinew and limb beyond the measure of mortal kind. For me, this image of the Elfin waybread is a clear symbol of the Eucharist. Too often my desires are worldly, yet, as my love for Jesus in the Eucharist (our tangible touch of intimacy) has grown deeper, so too has the grip of the world weakened in my heart. What a perfect word, for Holy Communion has great potency to strengthen both our will and our endurance. 1Kings 19: 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and [Elijah] asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers." 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you." 8 And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 1965 edition, Ballantine Books, The Return of the King, p. 242 ‘Come, Mr. Frodo!’, he cried. ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear. Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he’ll go.’ As Frodo clung to his back, arms loosely around his neck, legs clasped under his arms, Sam staggered to his feet; and then to his amazement he felt the burden light. He had feared that he would have barely strength to lift his master alone, and beyond that he had expected to share in the dreadful dragging weight of the accursed Ring. But it was not so. 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Finally, this third passage, a time when there was no more lembas for Frodo and Sam, reminds me of the point in Padraig’s icons when the Eucharist will be taken from us. In fact, many saints have stated that the Abomination of Desolation in Daniel 9:27 refers to the suppression of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. What will we have then? Only the Cross and one another. Luke 14:27Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Galatians 6:14 But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world... 17 Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. John 15: 12"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.13Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. We must always remember what follows the Cross: Resurrection! Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
I was a teenager when I tackled the LOTR trilogy and I missed a lot of the symbolism. I've never read those passages in such a light before. Pretty awesome. Thanks, Mario.
I never thought of the Elven Bread as being emblmattic of the Eucharist before , Terry thank you! A Bread that sustains us for the journey..of course! What but the Eucharist!.. I always specially liked Galadriel as like Mary. One time I thought Frodo represented Jesus but Tolkein specifically said not, that it was the ordinary Christian. I don't know if you knew this Terry, but Tolkein went to mass every day. So the EUcharist would even more readily fit.
View attachment 817 In Dec 2010, violent riots occurred in Rome. Left wingers were protesting against Berlusconi (the then prime minister). Italian left wingers are generally very anti-Catholic and some took the opportunity during the general mayhem to enter churches and cause damage (see above). The recent Italian elections (Feb 2013) were not only inconclusive and showed the population to be polarised but have given Berlusconi a leading role once again when everyone thought he had gone for ever. No-one quite knows what happens next but the anti-austerity parties have made substantial gains putting Italy's future in the EU/Eurozone in some doubt which would cause economic mayhem and not only in Italy. WE CAN EXPECT TROUBLE and we can specifically expect attacks on Church property and possibly clergy and religious. Today there were demonstrations in Portugal against austerity. Civil war in Italy is specifically stated, from the analysis of hundreds of approved prophecies in the book 'Trial, Tribulation and Triumph', to be the most visible trigger of the minor tribulation couple with violent action against the Church and then provoking other civil wars, initially in France and then spreading to other countries culminating in the invasion of Western Europe by Russian and Islamic forces. Jacinta of Garabandal said that the Warning would not occur until after a Russian invasion. This will cause some to change sides as would be expected and would turn overwhelming odds against the good, to a more even fight and and subsequent victory for them against all the initial odds. If the Triumph of Our Lady's Immaculate Heart is to occur at the end of the hundred years since the victory of the Communists in November 1917, (see the vision of Leo X111 re 100 years of Satanic freedom in the world and the Church) then all the events specified above must occur before that date and, as the troubles are predicted to be between 3 and a half and four years in duration, then, for the prophecies to be accurate, the troubles would have to start sometime between November 2013 and May 2014. Watch the Italian situation and, if it does get nasty, watch for the rest of the prophecies to be fulfilled. If Pope Benedict was aware of the fact that very violent situations were to commence soon, he may well have decided that a younger man would be more able to undertake the necessary travel, negotiations and shepherding for such a situation.
I think Benedict would have been happy to die for Christ had this of been the case. But he was being asked to step down by Christ to fulfill prophecies, scriptures etc.. He had completed his mission. He has been up there for many years, silently by Pope John Paul for years, then his own pontificate. He was so humble, so obedient, so even tempered, that yes.. He would have patiently laid down and died for his beloved Church. Christ asked him to do something else instead, let go of the Church that he loves so much and hand it back to God. He did this in complete obedience and submission to The will of The Father. This new pope has another mission to be fulfilled. It HAS to be this pope for reasons only known to God. But I will lay my neck on the line here... When we were praying at the end of Mass last Sunday for Benedict. I dropped a tear, I am so saddened to see him go. I love my popes and my priests so much. I felt a hand on my shoulder(an awareness rather than physically), and an awareness of Christ saying, this he (Benedict) has completed his mission. The next pope will proclaim the 5th dogma. Now, who knows, this could take 30 years. But it will be done by this pope. I am sure of that. Am I claiming to be a prophet. Not a chance!!! It is this sound knowledge in my soul.
