Some things to ponder: - NONE of the approved apparitions/messages/saints that have foreseen catastrophes/chastisement have advised people to stock up on guns, food, money, etc. While there have been dire warnings, the answer for us has always been presented as prayer and trust. Therefore do not panic. - Many times we get upset about things reported to go in the Vatican/Curia. The Church has never had a period of time where there was not some sort of intrigue or scandal. Christ made a promise regarding the Church but it did not include us living with a perfect Church or living under an easy spiritual life. Therefore do not panic. - Hatred for the Church and Christians fills the world. It has always been so. If you feel concern for your safety and your faith acutely now, thank God that you have lived in an environment of peace and stability. You may or may not be asked to accept the gift of martyrdom but if so, God will grant the graces necessary as he has done for all who have gone before. Therefore do not panic. - Mystics have revealed that God may work a great miracle/illumination of the soul and that it would be one of the greatest miracles ever performed. The devil is no fool and can sense when such things draw near and he will fall. God is in control, not the devil. Therefore do not panic. Look to the saints. They did not panic.
Thanks local. Sad, but sometimes we need to be reminded of this reality. Simply put, Jesus I trust in you, it really is all there is.
I understand what you are saying and no one should panic. However, didn't God tell Noah to build the Ark? Isn't God working through many people walking the earth today instructing them to make physical preparations for what is imminent? Just because He hasn't given you that word, doesn't mean He hasn't done it . . .
Please provide me with an approved modern saint/apparition that speaks of making actual physical preparations?
There's a delicate balance Saints have one goal...to save souls. Rockstar saints have totally given up everything, in their spirituality, to reach that level of holiness. If it was up to them, they would spend every existing moment preaching and/or praying. St. Francis would not have a religious order today, if they followed his example. The order bought properties and set rules...so that the order would last til the second coming. I understand your point but God is perfect balance. Having a few extra cases of water some dry food and a generator is not a sin. God will take care of us...but we have to also be mindful of our own needs.
Good thing Noah listened to God A fable for your consideration, local: A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately. A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.” The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.” As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.” The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!” The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop. A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!” Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned. When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?” And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”
Every Saint, modern or otherwise, would urge you to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, as they did. This is a great story about Mother Elias, who "prepped" before the cristeros war in Mexico by purchasing street clothes and shoes for her sisters, little by little, and using the hair of the postulants to have wigs made for a future time of great persecution. She did this on the advice of her confessor. http://www.romans10seventeen.org/au...ice-Mother-Elias-of-the-Blessed-Sacrament.mp3
It is not true there are no approved prophecies that tell of physical preparations. There are many that warn to make sure we have beeswax candles, blankets, etc. for the 3DD as well as supplies of water for it. Even how to lock up the farm animals properly in the barn to protect them. Look up the prophecies of the mystic and stigmatic Marie Julie Jahenny. There are many physical preparations described, even how to prepare home medicines. She has the Nihil Obstat and is one of the most prolific prophets of modern times. She warns us to have an adequate shelter, holy pictures, medicinal herbs which she lists and how to use them, etc. Padraig once linked a survival kit based off of her recommendations, I think it is on the MOG thread that is about her. Here are just a few of her warnings, but there are many more strewn throughout her writings that are very specific: "NO ONE OUTSIDE A SHELTER.. will survive. The earth will shake as at the judgment and fear will be great. Yes, We will listen to the prayers of your friends; NOT ONE WILL PERISH. We will need them to publish the glory of the Cross ..." [December 8, 1882] "THE CANDLES OF BLESSED WAX ALONE WILL GIVE LIGHT during this horrible darkness. ONE CANDLE alone will be enough for the duration of this night of hell ... In the homes of the wicked and blasphemers these candles will give NO LIGHT." "And Our Lady states: "Everything will shake except the piece of furniture on which the blessed candle is burning. This will not shake. You will all gather around with the crucifix and my blessed picture. This is what will keep away this terror."
There have been issues with her writings. And she is not canonized. St Padre Pio did not advocate prepping. And he lived in the middle of WWII But whatever... Agitate away.
No offense Local, but I have only seen kind and thoughtful responses, not agitation. Am I misinterpreting your comment?
Padre Pio says.... Love is the greatest of all virtues and love has legs but is also blind, however, prudence has eyes and it is necessary that the two virtues must walk together as sisters, so as love does not fall into unseen traps.
God also gave very specific instruction to the Israelites on how He wanted them to prepare for the 1st Passover, including how they should dress , what food to have and how to make it. Even Jesus prior to Last Supper, told two of his disciples to prepare the Upper Room. So, it would not surprise me at all, that saints or those prophets of our time would reference physical preparations too.
I think the people back in Padre Pio's time were smart enough to know that they did not need anyone to tell them to store up (not so sure about the people of today). My parents and grandparents always stocked up for the long winters by caning and salting their meats down for months on end and some winters were very long and hard. We don't need saints, prophet's or mystics telling us to store up for the worst tribulation man has ever seen, because God has already given us a mind to think with and common sense to do these things. If anyone is waiting for a play book from heaven, apart from common sense, to do what is so natural then I fear they may well starve to death if they don't have a neighbor who was wise enough and charitable enough to feed them along with their own family. If anyone has not at least prepared for a few months, what are you going to do on "D" day when the stores are shut down because they are out of food and supplies are not coming in? Do you want to be the one standing in line to fight for a can of beans only day's or weeks into the long years of tribulation? Most people can't even fast on bread and water two day's a week now, as our Blessed Mother has requested so many times. What will they be like when it is weeks without the bare essentials? I take it from the messages given to Verne Dagenais that after the Warning, when the greatest persecutions come, the faithful will indeed be feed from heaven, much like the Israelites in the desert. But this won't happen from D-day till the Warning, IMO.
Joseph in Genesis 41 was the ultimate prepper when he saved up seven years worth of grain for the entire country of Egypt based on Pharaoh's dream of the seven fat and skinny cows.
I, too, would like to know if any modern approved apparitions have included instructions to hoard food and supplies. As far as I know, a Nihil Obstat just means that it is not contrary to the faith. It doesn't mean that someone is a prophet. I'm inclined to wait until the Pope tells us that we should stock up. I can't imagine Our Blessed Lady leaving it to some obscure person to get the message out to the whole world. With all the false messages and unapproved apparitions we have had in recent times, wouldn't Our Lady, being aware that we're nearly punch drunk with false and unapproved messages, find a way to leave the Holy Father in no doubt that we need to hit the supermarkets and diy outlets? I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm trivialising people's genuine trust in some of these messages. We all can see that we are surrounded by evil but there is also plenty of good in the world. I know a fair view very good, devout people as I'm sure do many others on this forum. Noah and Lot were pushed to find a handful. We were warned to test the spirits. Are members of this forum actually getting messages from Heaven telling them to prepare for some kind of disaster? If so, how do you know that the messages are Heaven sent? Once again, I'm sorry if anyone thinks I'm casting aspersions on them. It's just that I have a choice this Christmas between splurging on a load of dried and canned foods which I can donate to our Diocesan food bank appeal or stash away at home for a future disaster that Heaven says I should prepare for. That choice doesn't sound Heaven sent to me.
The storm we are in will affect us differently. I can't imagine a universal "check list" for this storm. Some will be a refuge for others, some will have to flee their homes and some will die. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. What's needed in this hour is to know His voice. This only comes through deep, listening prayer. Through this forum I know many holy souls who have not gotten any inspiration to prepare physically, and others who have been gathering needful things for some time. This is not a matter of a "right" way - but of knowing His voice and following the Blessed Mother's instruction: "Do whatever He tells you."
I guess I am confused as to why some people are against any kind of physical preparation. Whether we are told to prepare supplies or not, what does it matter? God has told us there will be great natural and man-made disasters coming. If you know a hurricane is coming, don't you get supplies? It just seems common sense.
Katy K: Thank you for your response. I always thought that my conscience is God's way of communicating with me. Perhaps my conscience isn't sufficiently informed, or maybe I'll have to stop asking Him to sort out my day to day problems and start asking for some guidance about whether I should be making physical preparations. Praetorian: I'm not against any kind of physical preparation by people who feel guided by Heaven. I'm finding it hard to explain my confusion about this. Maybe I'm afraid of being the one wandering around looking for others to feed me. Something that bothers me about it is that no matter how much food people like Kathy put away, they won't have enough for everyone. It seems wrong that God would give advance notice to the haves, leaving the have nots worrying because they don't have the wherewithal to prepare. If I were convinced that these warnings are from Heaven and for our lifetime, I would make an effort to prepare although I reckon my family would have me committed if I told them I was buying a generator, etc. for some imminent worldwide catastrophe.
