Era of Peace

Discussion in 'The Signs of the Times' started by Vouthon, Jul 10, 2016.

  1. Vouthon

    Vouthon Angels

    Based upon my perusal of postings from the past, I understand that this disputed area of eschatology has caused not a little animosity - if I might call it that - on this forum.

    I want to discuss this in as charitable and respectful a way as possible - without any accusations of millenarian heresy or such levelled at anyone. The guiding ethic for debate should be the wise words of Pope St. John XXIII:


    "...All men, then, should [...] be joined in mutual and just regard for one another's opinions...For discussion can lead to fuller and deeper understanding of religious truths; when one idea strikes against another, there may be a spark..."

    - Pope St. John XXIII, AD PETRI CATHEDRAM (On Truth, Unity and Peace), 1959

    With that important proviso, let me proceed....

    Do you believe in the idea of an era which will witness the "triumph of the immaculate heart" and the conforming of the Church Militant on earth with that in heaven?

    If so, how long do you believe it shall last for?

    If not, why not?

    I will provide my own thoughts on the matter in my next post on this thread.....
     
  2. The era of peace was carefully showed and explained to SOR MARÍA NATALIA MAGDOLNA.

    http://www.diosjesustehabla.com/SorMagdolna/home_sormagdolna_.htm

    1. The sinful world will be cleansed.

    2. The Church will be renewed.

    3. There will be an era of peace and several nations will be Christian.

    4. This time will be the time of Mary and the Holy Spirit.

    5. Perhaps the Church proclaims new dogmas about Mary.

    How long it will last is impossible to know

    - Time of Mercy

    "the Period of world peace is not delayed. The heavenly Father just wants to give time for sinners to turn and find refuge in God. Many will become christians, even among those who now deny the existence of God. The world has received grace for this extension of time before the punishment, because the Father has welcomed the repair and sacrifices of victim souls throughout the world. For those who become before the gates of hell are closed and they will not be condemned. The power of conversion will prevent them from falling into sin. The repair has power because I am praying with you and consoling God so seriously offended. My daughter, until your breathing should be a prayer of atonement before God."

    "The Immaculate Heart of Mary has prevented the catastrophe in the world. A terrible fate awaits humanity if men are not converted. The Lord Jesus wants to give his graces through Our Immaculate Mother. That is why the Blessed Virgin is calling us to repentance. The Lord Jesus wants to give us his grace through the intercession of our beautiful, blessed and victorious Mother, who prays incessantly for humanity."

    - Purification

    "I saw the Holy Spirit of God flood the world as a devastating fire. This fire did not bring peace nor mercy, only punishment. Wherever the flame of the Holy Spirit penetrated, evil spirits fell to hell for thousands. But before everything was destroyed, I saw the Blessed Virgin kneeling before Jesus, praying and imploring mercy for the world. Jesus did not look, but he noted the heavenly Father, who not moved away his outstretched hand on the world in his righteous anger. Then the Blessed Virgin took off his shoulder the mantle of peace and covered the world with him. All parts of the world that were covered with the mantle of Mary, escaped punishment and shined with the blue color of peace.

    But where the mantle did not cover the surface, the red of anger could be seen burning as a firebrand. I understood that we can escape the just punishment of God only if we seek refuge under the mantle of our Blessed Mother and ask mercy through her."

    "The Lord Jesus told me that great confusion and terror reign in the Church just before the victory that He will bring to the world. The reason for this confusion is that the wickedness reaches to the closed sanctuaries of the Church; tradition will be damaged and there will be a worldly spirit everywhere. This calamity will go along with the hatred among nations, which will end with the outbreak of many wars. Many will attack the Church will aim to draw believers away from the Church, to remove the trust in it and thus become prey of Satan.

    "The Savior said: "The right hand of my Father will destroy all sinners who, despite the warnings and the grace period and the tireless efforts of the Church, do not become".

    - Era of peace

    "Jesus showed me in a vision after purification, humanity will live a pure and angelic life. sin against the sixth commandment, adultery and lies will end. El Salvador showed me that an incessant love, happiness and divine joy will be the sign of the world. I saw the grace of God poured out abundantly upon all the earth, and completely defeated Satan and sin. After the great purification, the life of religious and laity will be full of love and purity. The purified world will enjoy the peace of the Lord through the Blessed Virgin Mary. But the Lord never told me when all this is done."

    "Jesus also told me that the Church, purified and renewed by so much suffering, again will be clothed with humility and simplicity and will be poor as in the beginning."

    " Jesus said: - My Mother Immaculate will overcome sin by the power of Reina. The lily represents the purification of the world, the arrival of the era of paradise when humanity will live as sinless. There will be a new world and a new era. It will be the era when humanity will regain what it lost in paradise. When my Mother Immaculate step on the neck of the snake, the gates of hell are closed. The armies of angels will take part in the fight. I sealed the mine with my seal so they are not lost in this battle."

    "There will be no titles given or purchased, or ranges to distinguish from each other. Instead the spirit of holiness penetrate all members of the Church and all will live in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount. The more we approach the end of the world, the more this simplicity and this poverty will live."

    "After the punishment, you will have no meaning to build great palaces and wear fancy clothes. Everyone will know their duties and that the titles will not be necessary. The title of priest will be: brother priest, and even the Pope will be called Brother Pope."

    - The Queen of Peace

    "I saw that when the glorious peace arrives and love reigns, there will only be "one flock and one shepherd". Mary, the Mother of all believers, guide the spiritual life of souls, appearing under various forms. She is the Queen of the next era."

    "The Queen will be white for white people black for the black and yellow people for the yellow people. She will be the mediator between God and men. Through Jesus Christ will distribute all the graces and powers that you have received. His robe will cover the whole earth and beautify your tiara. Your heart will lead the world until the arrival of the final judgment."
     
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  3. Dolours

    Dolours Guest

    No, I don't believe in it. I believe that the triumph of Our Lady's immaculate heart will happen at the end of the world when she crushes the head of the serpent. I believe that our fallen nature will continue to make us prone to sin right up to judgement day; that God will make it possible, although not necessarily easy, for the Gospel to be preached to the ends of the earth; that wherever Christianity has been preached there will eventually be a falling away until only the remnant will stay with the underground Church which will be very similar to the early days of Christianity; that the faith outside that persecuted Church will have been so watered down and weakened that the false prophet will be readily accepted as a good, holy man, making it easy for him to pave the way for the AC. Then when all seems lost, everyone will see Jesus descend from the clouds accompanied by legions of angels who will destroy the AC and his followers. Then the dead arise and are reunited with their souls for the general judgement. After that, the earth will be restored to the state where God looked at his creation and saw that it was good and those of us who manage to keep the faith will live happily ever after in union with our Lord Jesus Christ, experiencing that all consuming love in a way that erases all memory of this earthly life.

    That's my pennyworth, and I continue to hope and pray that I will be prepared to face God whenever my time comes, be it this night or if I am still around when Jesus comes to sort the wheat from the chaff.
     
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  4. Pijon

    Pijon Principalities

    The era of peace will be possible only after the global purification through the three days of darkness (chastisement of Garabandal, Anguera, Akita, Medjugorje), at the end of which Satan will be chained. The era of peace will last many years, more than 500. During that time, the Earth will be transformed to a Paradise.
    Curiously enough, Charlie Johnston seems to be predicting a new era of peace to start in late 2017, but that couldn't possibly be the prophesied era of peace, because many events will have to take place before that.
    There are many other details about the era of peace, which I won't cite here, because the most important ones have already been mentioned.
     
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  5. Pijon

    Pijon Principalities

    At the end of the world, it will be destroyed (end of the world means that), so how could one possibly live in a renewed Earth, if our planet will be no more? Only Heaven and Hell will exist after the Last Judgement.
    Thus I believe, as also prophesied by many saints in the past, that before the final attack of Satan, humanity will live peacefully for a long time, without committing even the smallest sin. That is the difference between end of the world and end of times.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2016
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  6. CrewDog

    CrewDog Guest

    I'm guessing, hoping and praying that The Era of Peace occurs shortly after my last breath!! Other than that pleasant thought, I'm "Girding My Loins" for an Era of Unpleasantness that is HERE & NOW!!
    I'd suggest that ALL HERE do likewise!!

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
     
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  7. Dolours

    Dolours Guest

    According to the Catechism: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm

    1047 The visible universe, then, is itself destined to be transformed, "so that the world itself, restored to its original state, facing no further obstacles, should be at the service of the just," sharing their glorification in the risen Jesus Christ.

    1048 "We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man, nor the way in which the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distorted by sin, is passing away, and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, in which happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men

    1060 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ for ever, glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then be "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life

    Also, isn't there something in the Sermon on the Mount about the meek inheriting the earth? A destroyed earth wouldn't be much of a reward. I'm inclined to the belief that, as the Catechism says, God will restore His creation to what the bible says He saw was good.
     
  8. Pijon

    Pijon Principalities

    I understand what you mean, but the Catechism doesn't even officially contemplate an intermediate coming of Jesus, while Benedict XVI himself told that it is a matter that should be studied in more detail. I think everyone of us know that there will be two comings, according to what have been revealed so far through private revelations:
    - One before the new era of peace. An intermediate coming of Jesus, which will coincide with the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
    - The last one at the end of the world, at the end of a long era of peace. After the end of the world, it wouldn't make any sense to talk about an "era of peace", because only eternity will follow after that.

    So, knowing that no "era of peace" will follow the end of the world, we should ask ourselves: what should be the characteristics of this long-prophesied era of peace, which will follow the Triumph of the Immaculate Hearth of Mary? Here are some answers:

    June 12, 2005, Message 2535

    Dear Sons and Daughters, The Lord is at your side. Stay firm on the path I have pointed out for you, and give your very existence to The Lord. Know that The Lord will transform the world. Humanity will attain perfection, but must first pass through great trials. The Lord will wipe your tears away, and peace will reign in all your hearts. Fear not. The angels of The Lord will guide you and your paths will be secure. No evil will come against you because the devil is chained and no longer can he tempt you. I ask you to change your life. Don´t worry. I ask you to have unlimited confidence in the Mercy of The Lord. Don´t just cross your arms. Don´t leave what you have to do for tomorrow. This is the message I give you in the name of the most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at peace.

    In this message an important detail is given: the devil will be chained and he won't tempt humanity anymore. This, as specified, will happen during the time in which God will have transformed the Earth.

    August 5, 2006. Message 2716

    Dear Sons and Daughters, confide completely in the power of God. After all the tribulation, The Lord will transform the earth, and peace will reign among men. God will make rivers flow in the desert and there will be a great abundance in the poorest regions of the earth. The prodigies of The Lord will be grandiose. Men and women will understand the call of The Lord and all will serve Him with love and fidelity. Happiness will reign among men for a long time. Be courageous. Seek The Lord. Change your lives and give witness everywhere that you belong only to The Lord. Do not lose heart. Whoever is with The Lord will never feel the weight of defeat. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be in peace.

    In this message some details about the renewed world, are given. Please note: happiness will reign for a long time, and not for eternity. Another point against the theory which wouldn't contemplate an era of peace before the end of the world.

    26 September, 2006. Message 2738

    Dear Sons and Daughters, open your hearts to The Lord, for He desires to pour many blessings on you in these days. Take courage and assume your true role as christians. Witness everywhere that only Jesus is your Way, Truth, and Life. Do not worry excessively with your problems. Trust in The Lord. The Lord is very close to you. Forward without fear. After all the tribulation The Lord will transform the earth. Humanity will see the powerful hand of God in action. Mankind will live happily and peace will reign between nations. Courage. I am your Mom and I will speak to My Jesus for you. Do not back away. Remain firm on the way I have pointed out. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to re¬unite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be in peace.

    Another important detail: nations will live peacefully during the time in which God will have transformed the world. It would not make any sense to speak about nations after the Last Judgment, because these are related to an earthly society. Thus, this message has to refer to the period of the new era of peace, again, before the end of the world.

    3 February, 2007. Message 2794

    Dear Sons and Daughters, God is with you and will never abandon you. Confide in Him Who is your absolute Good and knows you by name. A giant will come and when men announce that it is near, humanity will live moments of great difficulties. The earth will go through an immense transformation. Know that all this must happen, but in the end the faithful will win. God will transform the earth and those who are just will live happily. Rivers and lakes will appear. There will be riches and abundance. Courage. Don´t lose heart. Behold the times I announced to you in the past. I am your Mom and I want your well-being. Forward on the path I have pointed out. This is the message that I transmit to you in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here one more time. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be in peace.

    It will be necessary for God to transform the Earth, because it will be in a terrible state after the chastisement. The chastisement will immensely damage the Earth, and it will be mainly caused by men.

    28 July, 2007. Message 2869

    Dear Sons and Daughters, courage. Don´t lose heart. I am at your side. Forward without fear. Know that The Lord will transform the earth and people will live happily. There will be no more suffering and all will live in conformity with the will of The Lord. After all the tribulation you shall contemplate a new earth. I ask you to keep the flame of faith alive. Flee from sin and faithfully serve The Lord. I am your Mom and I will speak to My Jesus for you. Pray. Pray. Pray. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at peace.

    During the time of the renewed Earth, there will be only one flock and one Shepherd.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2016
  9. Pijon

    Pijon Principalities

    April 18, 2009. Message 3149 from Our Lady of Peace, Anguera, Bahia, Brazil

    Dear Sons and Daughters, courage. Don´t be disheartened by your difficulties. God is at your side. Don´t back away. After the great tribulation the earth will be transformed and everything will be different. The things you see today will no longer exist. Everything will be new. After being transformed, honest men and women will inhabit the earth. All this will come after the great sign, and this will be the last chance for the conversion of humanity. Bend your knees in prayer. You will discover the spiritual treasures you need in prayer. Forward. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at peace.

    When will the Earth be transformed? After all of the tribulation.

    21 October, 2009. Message 3230 from Our Lady of Peace, Macaé, RJ, Brazil

    Dear Sons and Daughters, courage. Nothing is lost. Rejoice, for The Lord loves you and awaits you with the immense love of a father. Humanity has gotten away from its Creator and My poor children live in a sad spiritual blindness. Be docil to the call of God. He wants to save you. He will dry your tears. The day will come when there will be no more suffering on earth. The Lord will transform the earth and My poor children will experience a joy without end. Wars will stop and peace will reign forever in the hearts of My poor children. Don´t lose heart. Confide in The Lord. He will do everything for your spiritual good. Pray. Seek strength in the words of My Son Jesus and receive My messages with courage. I am your Mom and you well know how much a mother loves her children. Be strong in faith. Don´t let the light of God go out within you. Behold, the times predicted by Me have come. Don´t back out. I will speak to My Jesus for you. Forward. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at peace.

    This message is important, because it hints to the fact that this new condition of the Earth, the new era of peace, could start not long after a war between nations. It is specified that wars will stop, so the world (or most of it) will be probably at war.

    3424 - Message from Our Lady of Peace, Anguera, Bahia, Brazil. transmitted in 11/01/2011

    Dear Sons and Daughters, trust in the power of God and all will come out well for you. Whoever is with The Lord will experience the Grace of victory. His holy and powerful name is the vessel that will take you to paradise, even passing through the storms of this world. There is no victory without the cross. I will speak to my Jesus for you. Open your hearts and tomorrow will be better. When all seems lost, a great victory of God for you will appear. The earth will be transformed and men will see the powerful hand of God in action. The signs of death present in the world will no longer exist. This will be the definitive triumph of My Immaculate Heart. The chosen ones of God will see a new heavens and a new earth. Courage. Your greatest riches are the talents The Lord offers to you. U se them for the good of your brothers. Forward without fear. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be at Peace.

    When all seems lost... well, after fire falling from the sky and coming from inside our planet, I think everything could really seems to be lost in the eyes of the survivors! But, in an unexpected manner, God will save His people. New Heavens and New Earth, in this case, are associated to the renewal of the Earth, cited in the previous messages.

    3937 - Message of Our Lady delivered on February 8, 2014 transmitted in 08/02/2014

    Dear children, everything in this life passes, but the grace of God within you remains forever. The Earth is besmirched by the sins of men. The day is coming when the Lord will transform everything and you will see the beauty of creation. The beauty which is invisible to your eyes will become visible to the just ones after the definitive triumph of my Immaculate Heart. After the great tribulation, the Lord will come to your aid and you will see a new Heaven and a new Earth. Flee from sin and serve the Lord with joy. Bend your knees in prayer. You still have ahead of you many long years of difficult trials, but the elect of the Lord will be protected. I know your needs and I will plead with my Jesus for you. When you feel tempted, call upon Jesus. Be alert. The devil is strong and knows how to fool you. Seek strength in the words of my Son Jesus. Go forward without fear. Tomorrow will be better. This is the message which I bring you today in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for allowing me to bring you together here once again. I give you my blessing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.

    Humanity, currently going towards an abyss of self-destruction, will be the main cause of the destruction of the Earth. God will send the chastisement as an act of Mercy, because otherwise no one, not even the chosen ones, would survive (e.g. nuclear war).

    I decided to leave this message for last:

    3324 - Message from Our Lady of Peace, given in Brazilia/DF/Braziil transmitted in 25/05/2010

    Dear Sons and Daughters, I am your Mom and I come from heaven to lead you to My Son Jesus. Open your hearts to love and you will be transformed. Be meek and humble of heart. Take My appeals to the world, for I desire the conversion of all My poor distant children. Don´t lose hope. When you feel the weight of the cross, call to Jesus. He will come and you will be victorious. Humanity has become spiritually poor because people have gotten away from God. I suffer because of those who go as blind leading the blind. Return to Him Who is your absolute good and knows each one of you by name. You will yet have great tribulations. Humanity will drink the bitter cup of suffering before the glorious coming of My Son Jesus. The Lord will transform the earth and those who are just will live happily. I ask you to be good to all, and seek to imitate My Son Jesus in everything. In the final triumph of My Immaculate Heart My devotees will receive the reward of the just. Don´t back away. Stay with the truth. Defend the Gospel of My Jesus. I will be at your side. Courage. This is the message I give you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen. Be at peace.

    This message clearly state that all of the tribulation will end with the glorious (intermediate) coming of Jesus. Our Lady is not describing the final coming of Jesus, associated to the Last Judgment, because in this message She associate this intermediate coming to the Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart, and this triumph won't possibly happen just before the end of the world.

    I wanted to put these messages together to show how the new era of peace will be lived in our planet, which will be a renewed version of the current one, as a consequence of the Triumph of the Immaculate Hearth of Mary, which will coincide with the Second (intermediate) Coming of Jesus. The Triumph will happen only after the infamous "three days of darkness", because only then it will be possible to chain Satana to the most remote hole of Hell, for a long, long time.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2016
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  10. Dolours

    Dolours Guest

    Sorry, Pijon, but just the mention that Jesus will come again twice is enough to tell me to not read any more and I don't care if Pope Benedict said it needed studying in more detail. The very idea of it suggests that this is what Jesus was talking about when he warned the apostles to beware of people saying they saw Him here or there. Jesus told us that everyone will see Him when he comes again. Prior to the invention of the "Rapture" Christendom believed that the Second Coming would be for the General Judgement at the end of the world, which is what the Church has always taught and still teaches. Rather than derail the thread, I'll leave it at that because I don't want to get into an argument about something that I believe is contrary to Church teaching.
     
  11. Pijon

    Pijon Principalities

    I would suppose that every recent apparition is false, then... Luz de Maria, Medjugorje, Anguera, and many other... considering that each of them are predicting the same thing: an intermediate coming of Jesus, inaugurating an era of peace. But it is not a dogma of faith to believe in private revelations, so I would understand if you decided to not believe in this.
    The Church never expressed itself about an intermediate coming, but this doesn't mean that it won't absolutely happen... This is why Our Lady insists so much giving us Her messages in our days, because time is running out and not everyone will be ready:

    23 December, 2006. Message 2776

    Dear Sons and Daughters, pay attention to what I am telling you, for many things depend on your conversion. When all has happened, My Son Jesus will return in glory in front of everybody. Humanity will contemplate this glory and the faithful will rejoice. A great reward will be given to men and women of faith. Souls will shine like the sun before My Son Jesus. The light of The Lord will be brilliant in the souls of the faithful, but it will be late for those who live in sin. I am your Mom and I come from heaven in order to prepare you. Do not live in sin. Belong to The Lord and don´t back away. Forward on the road to goodness and holiness. This is the message I transmit to you today in the name of The Most Holy Trinity. Thank you for permitting Me to reunite you here once more. I bless you in the name of The Father, and of The Son, and of The Holy Spirit. Amen. Be in peace.

    But all of this will happen only after the manifestation of him who will make an attempt to destroy the Eucharist.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2016
  12. Vouthon

    Vouthon Angels

    Thanks everyone for your thoughts, all very interesting!

    Here are some now of my own....

    In 1959, the young Ratzinger wrote a book-length doctoral thesis on the eschatology and theology of St. Bonaventure - the Seraphic Doctor.

    In this turgid but very enlightening dissertation, the young future Pope Benedict XVI dissected the great Doctor's understanding of the divine economy and salvation history which (relative to his time in the medieval, scholastic period) modified elements of Augustinian thought to incorporate fresh insights from the emerging Franciscan school.

    Basically, while St. Augustine appears to have placed Christ at the end of history, with the Second Coming that will sound the death knell for this creation and usher in a new reality, St. Bonaventure - while not contradicting the great Father in terms of the broad schema of his thinking - placed Christ at the centre of human history.

    This has ramifications, very significant one's for understanding the purpose and direction of human history as a whole, as well as divine revelation.

    For St. Bonaventure, neither of these things are "static". Public revelation was completed with the death of the final apostle in the late first century but our understanding of it is limitless and advances with the ages, as the Church "matures" so to speak - like the tiny acorn slowly developing into a mighty oak tree.

    In one of his many general audience addresses as Pontiff, Benedict shed some further light on this:


    http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100310.html


    This does not mean that the Church is stationary, fixed in the past, or that there can be no newness within her. "Opera Christi non deficiunt, sed proficiunt": Christ's works do not go backwards, they do not fail but progress, the Saint said in his letter De Tribus Quaestionibus. Thus St Bonaventure explicitly formulates the idea of progress and this is an innovation in comparison with the Fathers of the Church and the majority of his contemporaries. For St Bonaventure Christ was no longer the end of history, as he was for the Fathers of the Church, but rather its centre; history does not end with Christ but begins a new period. The following is another consequence: until that moment the idea that the Fathers of the Church were the absolute summit of theology predominated, all successive generations could only be their disciples. St Bonaventure also recognized the Fathers as teachers for ever, but the phenomenon of St Francis assured him that the riches of Christ's word are inexhaustible and that new light could also appear to the new generations. The oneness of Christ also guarantees newness and renewal in all the periods of history.

    It is from this "Bonaventurian" concept of 'Christ's works making progress' in the life of the Church that the later idea - most chiefly associated with Blessed Henry Cardinal Newman - of "doctrinal development" arose. This was to become a linchpin of the Second Vatican Council.

    Now, why - you may legitimately be thinking - is this relevant to the concept of an "era of peace"?

    Well, St. Bonaventure theorized that this "progression" in our understanding of the deposit of faith - which partly comes about through the contemplation of believers - was tending towards a great future epoch within history and not simply beyond it at the time of the Second Coming, that would be the most glorious in the Church's entire history - it's "Springtime", so to speak, after the winter of centuries of suffering, schism and heresy - in which the Church Militant on earth would be as closely aligned to the Church Triumphant in heaven as it could possibly be for unglorified humankind still subject to sin.

    The "progression" of Christ's works and "New Light" shed upon the deposit of faith will not end with this wonderful period of peace but the Church will never again enjoy a more propitious epoch and have such an abundance of saints, contemplative and prestige in the world.

    It would be fair to say, that it will be "down-hill" from the era of peace onwards. Autumn and a new Winter - to further exploit the seasonal analogy - will lead to the destruction of the world and the Second Coming.

    But God in his marvellous design of providence and infinite mercy, desires to give Holy Mother Church this great gift of harmony - true concord - between Militant in this world and Triumphant in the next so that the words of the Lord's Prayer that Christians have prayed for nigh 2,000 years - "Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - can come to pass and have not been uttered in vain.

    This is not utopian and it is not millenarian. No one knows how long the era of peace will last. Man will not be perfect during it - perfectability is impossible in this temporal world bondaged to sin. But God still intends to give his Church this Springtime. Unlike the New Heavens and Earth, this peace will end. It cannot satisfy man, man cannot maintain it forever. It is a perishable gift but the best God can offer us while still on pilgrimage here below in expectation of the Kingdom to Come.

    Yet the mystical union with God enjoyed by the great contemplative will be enjoyed by many more people - perhaps a majority of humans - during the Great Peace.

    Now, allow me to quote from the young Benedict's thesis with regards to St. Bonaventure's understanding of this....



    "....'And then there will be peace'. For Bonaventure, this peace has come closer to earth [than in Augustine's City of God]. It is not that peace in the eternity of God which will never end and which will follow the dissolution of the world. It is a peace which God Himself will establish in this world which has seen so much blood and tears, as if at least at the end of time, God would show how things could have been and should have been in accordance with His plan.

    Here the breadth of a new age is blowing; an age in which the desire for the glory of the other world is shaped by a deep love of this earth on which we live
    ..."

    - This is the conclusion of Fr. Joseph Ratzinger's habilitation (doctoral) dissertation from 1959, translated by Zachary Hayes O.F.M., and published as The Theology of History in St. Bonaventure



    Unlike false millenarianism, the true Era of Peace is not an attempt to locate the perfect, everlasting glory of Heaven in the perishable here and now. This is the error of all secular utopianisms, such as Karl Marx with his vision of a universal proletarian, post-capitalist paradise.

    Changing economics and structures cannot change man. Healing the economy cannot heal the heart of man enslaved to original sin. All secular utopias are doomed either to fail or lapse into totalitarianism for that very reason. Only God, enlightening man inwardly with divine Grace through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, can sanctify man and lead through the sanctification of human beings in this way, to the pacification of society as a whole.

    Only the peace which comes from God can endure and even this, not forever in this mortal world still bound up with sin and perishing.

    No, the Era of Peace will not be one such secular utopia. Eternal happiness cannot be had on earth - rather man will live as saintly as He can while accepting the limitations of this world and under the full knowledge that His destiny lies, ultimately, beyond history and not within it in the form of, say, a Communist Paradise on earth.

    Thus, the saints and popes predict that the age of peace will be both a joyous and solemn hour. Solemn because mankind will be fully aware that it is not to last and could end - when? Who knows. At any time really. So one must remain forever vigilant of the "thief in the night". But it will end and our true home will never be here, true satisfaction will never be found here - only in the Beatific Vision of the Most Blessed Trinity in Heaven.

    Personally, I adhere to St. Bonaventure's eminently Franscican optimism with regards to human history, despite the inevitable "great apostasy" that scripture predicts will precede the Second Coming.

    There is still a "highpoint" ahead for us.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2016
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  13. BrianK

    BrianK Guest

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  14. Heidi

    Heidi Powers

    I believe in an era of peace.
     
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  15. lynnfiat

    lynnfiat Fiat Voluntas Tua

    "My Will is more than water. It is true that in certain points, epochs and circumstances, It is as though embounded within most extensive seas, rivers and wells; but there is not one thing, from the greatest to the smallest, in which my Will does not run and does not hold Its primary place – but as though hidden, just as the water is hidden in the earth, such that, although it does not appear, it is the one that makes the plants vegetate and gives life to the roots. However, when my love will make the Era of my Will arise - the New Era of the maximum benefit toward creatures - then will the seas, the rivers of my Volition overflow; and as Its gigantic waves come out, they will overwhelm everything into my Will – but no longer as hidden; rather, Its roaring waves will make themselves seen by all and will touch all. And those who want to resist the current, will run the risk of losing their lives. " Book of Heaven
     
  16. Dolours

    Dolours Guest

    You present the case very well, Vouthan, leaving me not so convinced that there won't be an era of peace especially since there's no suggestion in them that there will be a third coming of Jesus. The approved prophecies in Brian's link also suggest that there will be some kind of peaceful era for the Church. I have just one question:

    Is it possible, or even likely, that an older, wiser, more experienced Pope Benedict had a different view than the young Joseph Ratzinger? I'm thinking of his comment about the smaller, purer Church.
     
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  17. BrianK

    BrianK Guest

  18. smudger

    smudger Guest

    Hi Vouthon,
    In the general audience of Pope Benedict from 2010, there is no insinuation that the pope thinks an era of peace is coming. What Bonaventure says as explained by Benedict is that with the Incarnation we have already entered this new era. History changed course forever at that point-and in that sacramental sense we have the third coming spoken of by St Bernard. St Bonaventure dismissed the error of Joachim de Fiore that a third age was to come in the future. We need to remember that theologically speaking we have been in the end times since Pentecost. If you look at Ratzinger's eschatology in his volume on dogmatic theology from the late 1970's, he dismisses the notion of an era of peace to come saying it duplicates what can only come through the last judgment and entry into eternity.
     
  19. Vouthon

    Vouthon Angels

    Hi Smudger,

    Firstly, I'd like to state that I agree with you - the so-called "intermediate coming" spoken of by St. Bernard is the Eucharist and we've had it since Christ's first coming on earth.

    The 'era of peace' is not about any "subsequent" coming of Christ prior to the Second Coming (which is the only one we are to expect).

    No, it's about the Church's pilgrimage on earth and our collective understanding of the deposit of faith which advances with time since the closure of public revelation, like an inexhaustible well from which we keep drawing more water.

    Now, regarding Bonaventure, yes - he didn't believe in any Joachian "third age" of the Holy Spirit and neither do I. History is not divided into Trinitarian blocs - it is Christological at its heart.

    Bonaventure corrected Joachim but he did agree with him regarding a future era of peace - which he called the "seventh age of the Church". Bonaventure corrected Joachim and placed the focus back upon the Church.

    Read this explanation:


    The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI New Edition: An Introduction


    "...In large measure, Bonaventure's theology of history took the form of an orthodox corrective to the speculations of the brilliant but wayward Calabrian abbot Joachim of Fiore. The Franciscan Order, of which Bonaventure was minister-general, was strained to breaking-point by the claims of Joachim's Franciscan sympathisers. They maintained that the Church, founded hitherto on the sacramental and ministerial pattern laid down by God the Son, made man in Jesus, was shortly to enter a new charismatic condition of unmediated access to grace - the reign of God the Spirit whose herald, they insisted, was Francis of Assisi himself. According to Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), theCollationes in Hexaemeron were Bonvaventure's response to the Joachimite question. And this response consisted, not in a total rejection of Joachim's teaching, but in a corrective interpretation [that received the sanction of Catholic orthodoxy]. Whereas the Joachimites were interpreting Joachim against tradition, Bonaventure would interpret him within, indeed back to, tradition...Bonaventure's predecessor John of Parma had supported both the prophecies of Joachim and the Joachimite conception of the Franciscan Order...

    His position had, however, become untenable with the papal condemnition in 1255 of the Evangelium aeternum (the Eternal Gospel), the attempt to give Franciscan Spiritualism theological formulation. What Bonaventure produced was perhaps the most substantial high medieval synthesis...It is this latter, seven-fold schema which is the most interesting in Bonaventure's eyes, as it had been to Augustine in the De Civitate Dei. What emerges from Ratzinger's necessarily convoluted discussion, is that Saint Bonaventure, just like Joachim, hopes for a new age of salvation within history. Between Jesus Christ and the final consummation of history he makes space for an 'inner-historical transformation of the Church'. Before this immediately pre-eschatological 'seventh age', there lies a small section of our present sixth age which is yet to be realized. Here is where Bonaventure's attention is focussed, in a:

    mysterious border-line area separating the perilous time of the present from that age of Sabbath rest which is yet to come within the framework of this world. (Ratzinger)
    Within the single covenant of the New Testament, the present sixth age is being brought to its climax. In this, the crucial role is that played by St. Francis...

    Bonaventure presents Francis as the key-figure in ushering in for the Church a new era which can only be compared to the beatitude of heaven itself...Within the time of the Church, the emergence of St. Francis, the 'Angel of the Seals,' foretold in the Book of the Apocalypse, and the rise of the prophetic movement he started, namely, Franciscanism. Francis is for Bonaventure not just another saint, but the [first] sign of a new age. Francis had called himself, according to the Legenda Major, 'the herald of a great King'. This enabled Bonaventure to see him, not just as a new John the Baptist - the herald of Christ, but also as a new Elijah...Bonaventure accepted Joachim's insistence that the final coming of Elijah is to become a reality in the mission of the 'two witnesses' of the Johannine Apocalypse. Elijah will come again, accompanied by that other Old Testament deathless man, Enoch. For Bonaventure, this definitive sign has happened. The two witnesses have borne their testimony: Francis, attended by his spiritual companion, St. Dominic [founder of the Dominican Order].

    But more than this, Francis is the angelus ascendens ab ortu solis, the 'angel arising with the dawn,' marked with the seal of the living God, the stigmata, the very impress of Christ crucified. Consonant with Joachim's prophecy that the Angel of the Seal would receive full power to renew the Christian religion, Francis seals the elect, thus establishing the community of the Last Age. This he does by drawing men and women to make profession...to a contemplative form of Christianity, stamped by love as wax is informed by a seal. This people will enjoy here and now the peace of the seventh day, the dawn of the Lord's Parousia...While Bonaventure considered the 'new people of God' that he envisaged for the future as the true fulfilment of Francis' intentions, he was not so arrogant as to suppose that this novus ordo (new order) was identical with the present Franciscan Order. As Ratzinger stresses:

    For the present, the Dominican and Franciscan Orders stand together as the inauguration of a new period for which they are preparing. But they cannot bring this period into actuality all by themselves. When this age arrives, it will be a time of contemplation, a time of full understanding of the scripture and, in this respect, a time of the Holy spirit who leads us into the fulness of the truth of Jesus Christ. (Ratzinger)
    Bonaventure thus takes Francis to anticipate in his own person that eschatological form of life which will be general in the future. Although the Religious Order he founded was merely cherubicus, concerned, like that of the Dominicans, with devotion and theological speculation, Francis himself more truly belonged to theordo seraphicus...The final age of the world will find the Church a contemplative church, ecclesia contemplativa. As such, it will enjoy an unparralleled fulness of revelation. This is not to say that Bonaventure regards the objective reality of revelation as less than complete in the age of Christ and his apostles. Rather does he use the term revelatio for the divinely enabled (subjective) penetration of God's self-communication in history, as well as for that (objective) content itself. 'Revelation' is, in not the least important of its denotations, the unveiling of the hidden meaning of the Bible:

    The stages of faith are also stages of mysticism. And, in such a viewpoint, they are seen quite naturally as stages of revelatio as well. Revelatio refers not to the letter of Scripture, but to the understanding of the letter. And this understanding can be increased. If we were to suppose the possibility of a period of time in which the power of genuine mystical elevation were granted to all human beings, then - in this perspective - we could refer to such a time as a time of revelation in quite a new sense.

    In the present epoch where, thanks to the activity of the Franciscan and Dominican Orders, there is already a considerable upsurge of biblical exegesis and preaching, 'revelation' in this sense has started to expain again. But the revelation of the Seventh Age will far exceed such modest advances. It will go beyond the sapienta multiformis, the 'multiform wisdom' of the present age, whose model is Augustine. It will transform itself into a sapienta nulliformis, a wisdom which is formless (apophatic) to the degree that it lies beyond all forms. The exemplar of this non-discursive, non-Scholastic acquaintance with the mystery of the Word of God, simple, inner, familiar, is Denys the Areopagite [the father of Apophatic mysticism in Christianity].

    Bonaventure predicts an end to rational theology... In the Church of the final age, Francis' own manner of life will triumph, impracticable though it is if lived sine glossa here and now. The Poor Man of Assisi, the simplex, the idiota, will turn out to have more penetration into God than all the learned men of his time, because he loved God more..."​
     
  20. Vouthon

    Vouthon Angels

    On this point, see my original post. Ratzinger rejects the secular utopian idea - and the millenarian religious concept from which it derives - as do I. This stresses the false belief that humanity can attain perfect happiness here below through mere structural changes to our societies like economic prosperity, or creating a universal republic etc.

    I also reject this, as would have St. Bonaventure.

    Here, actually, is the Seraphic Doctor's prediction about the Era of Peace which Benedict was discussing in his 1959 dissertation:


    "...According to the comparison of the tree or of the seed to the seed, the times follow each other; according to the comparison of the bud to the branch, they correspond to each other, as is already clear. According to this, you can also distinguish six ages, for all authors agree that the seventh age runs together with the sixth...These times follow one another and there is a great correspondence among them. They are like the germination of seed from seed; like that of tree from seed and of seed from tree. The times are so arranged that they correspond to one another...​

    No one knows how long that time of great peace will last since "when they said 'Peace and security,' then suddenly destruction came upon them" (Matt 24:21). The seventh time or age, that of quiet, begins with the shout of the angel who "swore through Him who lives forever and ever that there would be no more time; but in the days of the seventh angel the mystery of God will be completed" (Rev 10:6-7).

    In the sixth age three things take place - excellence of victory, excellence of teaching, and excellence of the prophetic life.... In this age there ought to come a life through an order which will possess the prophetic life...It is necessary that one ruler, a defender of the Church, arise....​

    It was said to the angel of Philadelphia, the sixth angel: "He who is holy and true, who has the key of David, who opens and no man closes, closes and no man opens, says this - 'I know your works, and behold I have placed an open door before you'" (Rev 3:7). And he said that now for the first time the understanding of Scripture would be given and that the revelation, or key of David, would be given to a person or a large group, but I think rather to a large group.​

    In the seventh age we know that these things will take place - the rebuilding of the Temple, the restoration of the city, and the granting of peace. Likewise in the coming seventh age there will be a restoration of Divine worship and a rebuilding of the city. Then the prophecy of Ezekiel will be fulfilled when the city comes down from heaven (Ezek 40); not indeed that city which is above, but that city which is below, the Church Militant which will then be conformed to the Church Triumphant as far as possible in this life. Then will be the building and restoration of the city as it was in the beginning. Then there will be peace. God alone knows how long that peace shall last..."​

    - Saint Bonaventure (ca. 1217 - 1274), Minister General of the Franciscan Order, Seraphic Doctor (Collation 16:17-19. Translated by McGinn, B. Visions of the End, pp199-200)
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2016

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