Divine Will revisited.

These are just some of the many teachings about error that I have come across...

It suffices, that to deny one divinely revealed truth of the Catholic Faith, is to become a heretic and place oneself outside the Church (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II, II, Q 5, Art. 3.).

As St. Jerome put it "If you wander off the track a bit, it makes no difference if you veer to the right or to the left, the important thing is that you are not on the right road." - Commentary on St. Matthew

I think the below is a bit harsh.....

Pope Innocent IV- Those who have been detected even by slight proof, to have deviated from the doctrine of the Catholic religion, ought to fall under the classification of heretic and under the sentences operating against heretics. (THE REGISTERS OF INNOCENT IV, Berger, Paris: 1881)

 

Perhaps one is being a bit disingenuous by not including the permissions granted by the Bishops also as "public record" since some have given their own reasoning for such or have allowed promotion/ads for such meetings, or have offered Church premises, or have attended the gatherings, or have on record positive verbal exchanges with Vassula by either themselves or representative clergy or faithful within their dioceses....unless one wishes to influence others that the Church does not reside in the diocese of those Bishops! And one of those Bishops that did not prevent such in the past is the current Pope. That is part of the historical record of reality in this case and surpasses what is considered, not any order or condemnation re: her private revelations, but only a caution or advisory since it is an actual movement that engages the faithful....esp. since she is outside the jurisdiction for Roman judgement, personally, since she is Greek Orthodox. And frankly, I for one would be very interested in finding out more about an individual who not only raised so much further discussion with top prelates of the Faith but especially since that particular one, Cardinal Ratzinger, has made a statement about the clarifying writings/answers of Vassula which he himself classified as useful and requested his own recognition of such to be published along with any further writings!! That can have the effect of relating to others a type of humble openness for any past immovable declarations....and the desire to let the public know this even through the further writings of Vassula herself. That is the whole of the progression and not something relegated to the past alone.

 

In Rev 19 the Beast and False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, which clearly only happens at the Last Judgment after the general resurrection of the dead. They are thrown into the lake of fire immediately before Satan is.
This passage only helps to prove that Rev 20 recapitulates Rev 19. It has long been recognized that the chronology of the Apocalypse is recapitulatory, not linear.

 

One would have to say that there was no influence of Satan over human beings prior to Pope Leo's vision since the period of time prayed for in the Our Father, a period when His Will will live amongst the creatures with no diabolical influence...no roaming about seeking the ruin of souls.... certainly did not exist prior to that vision in order for Satan to somehow be released!! Doesn't compute....if that is the suggestion being made about "equating Rev. 20 unbinding of Satan with Leo XIII's vision of 1884". In fact Pope Leo did not know himself when that 100 year period would begin. At the time there was no such mechanism for a conquering of the Church. That mechanism arrived immediately after the last apparition of Fatima (which designated Russia to be the culprit or Red Dragon) via Marxist atheistic Communism beginning in reality at the time of the Bolshevik Revolution/Nov. 1917.

 

Again Emmett, I'm still wondering if you have studied Iannuzzi's work in its entirety, or merely the same re-hashed arguments that appear here? Because what he demonstrates is that the accusation that several of the Fathers were Chiliasts is inaccurate, and it comes in part from an impoverished hermeneutic. The allegorical language used by both the Fathers and the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, etc. can be construed as millenarianism when it's not. Please see: Millenarianism—What it is, and is Not. And as Peter has pointed out, what Iannuzzi then unfolds systematically is consistent with mystical theology, i.e. prophetic revelation, particularly of the last century, and is consistent with Rev 20's chronology and how the early Church Father's interpreted it. That said, I am puzzled by your inference that this somehow makes Iannuzzi the "greatest theologian" since the middle ages. To be certain, Iannuzzi's work is highly valued by the Vatican and many bishops and clergy, including several theologians of high regard. And it is consistent with approved prophetic revelation and the magisterial statements of The Teachings of the Catholic Church and Cardinal Ratzinger's statement that this is not definitely settled, as you are suggesting.

I'll address your other point separately.

 

I'm glad you brought this up, because—aside from Birch's insistence that the antichrist could not possibly be near, even though several popes have contradicted him—this erroneous point on Papias needs addressing.

In examining the triumphant renewal of Christianity, many authors have assumed a scholastic style, and have cast shadows of doubt on the early writings of the Apostolic Fathers. Many have come close to labeling them as heretics, mistakenly comparing their “unmodified” doctrines on the millennium to those of the heretical sects. —Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, The Triumph of God’s Kingdom in the Millennium and End Times: A Proper Belief from the Truth in Scripture and Church Teachings, St. John the Evangelist Press, 1999, p. 11​

Most often, these critics base their position on the millennium on the writings of Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260-c. 341 A.D.). He was and is considered a Father of Church history, and therefore the “go to” source for many historical questions. But he was definitely not a theologian.

Eusebius himself became a victim of doctrinal errors and was, in fact, declared by Holy Mother Church a “schismatic”… he held arianistic views… he rejected the consubstantiality of the Father with the Son… he regarded the Holy Spirit as a creature (!); and… he condemned the veneration of images of Christ “so that we may not carry about our God in an image, like the pagans”. —Fr. Iannuzzi, Ibid., p. 19​

Among the earliest writers on the “millennium” was St. Papias (c. 70-c. 145 A.D.) who was Bishop of Hierapolis and a martyr for his faith. Eusebius, who was a strong opponent of Chiliasm and thus of any concept of a millennium kingdom, seemed to go out of his way to attack Papias. St. Jerome wrote:

Eusebius… accused Papias of transmitting the heretical doctrine of Chiliasm to Irenaeus and other early churchmen. —New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. X, p. 979​

In his own writings, Eusebius attempts to cast a shadow on Papias’ credibility when he wrote:

Papias himself, in the introduction to his books, makes it manifest that he was not himself a hearer and eye-witness of the holy apostles; but he tells us that he received the truths of our religion from those who were acquainted with them… —Church History, Book III, Ch. 39, n. 2​

Yet, this is what St. Papias said:

I will not hesitate to add also for you to my interpretations what I formerly learned with care from the Presbyters and have carefully stored in memory, giving assurance of its truth. For I did not take pleasure as the many do in those who speak much, but in those who teach what is true, nor in those who relate foreign precepts, but in those who relate the precepts which were given by the Lord to the faith and came down from the Truth itself. And also if any follower of the Presbyters happened to come, I would inquire for the sayings of the Presbyters, what Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas or James or what John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and for the things which other of the Lord’s disciples, and for the things which Aristion and the Presbyter John, the disciples of the Lord, were saying. For I imagined that what was to be got from books was not so profitable to me as what came from the living and abiding voice. —Ibid. n. 3-4​

Eusebius’ claim that Papias drew his doctrine from “acquaintances” instead of the Apostles is at best a “theory.” He speculates that by “Presbyters” Papias is referring to disciples and friends of the Apostles, even though Papias goes on to say that he was concerned with what the Apostles, “Andrew said, or what Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas or James or what John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples…” However, not only did Church Father St. Ireneaus (c. 115-c. 200 A.D) employ the term “presbyteri” in referring to the Apostles, but St. Peter referred to himself in this way:

So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. (1 Pet 5:1)
​

Furthermore, St. Irenaeus wrote that Papias was “a hearer of [the Apostle] John, and companion of Polycarp, a man of old time.” On what authority does St. Irenaeus say this? In part, based on Papias’ own writings…

And these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book; for there were five books compiled by him. —St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter 33, n. 4
​

…and perhaps from St. Polycarp himself whom Irenaeus knew, and who was a disciple of St. John:

I am able to describe the very place in which the blessed Polycarp sat as he discoursed, and his goings out and his comings in, and the manner of his life, and his physical appearance, and his discourses to the people, and the accounts which he gave of his intercourse with John and with the others who had seen the Lord. And as he remembered their words, and what he heard from them concerning the Lord, and concerning his miracles and his teaching, having received them from eyewitnesses of the ‘Word of life’, Polycarp related all things in harmony with the Scriptures. —St. Irenaeus, from Eusebius, Church History, Ch. 20, n.6
​

The Vatican’s own statement affirms Papias’s direct connection to the Apostle John:

Papias by name, of Herapolis, a disciple dear to John… copied the Gospel faithfully under John’s dictation. —Codex Vaticanus Alexandrinus, Nr. 14 Bibl. Lat. Opp. I., Romae, 1747, p.344
​

Making the assumption that Papias was propagating the heresy of Chiliasm rather than the truth of a temporal spiritual kingdom, Eusebius goes as far as to say that Papias is “a man of very little intelligence.” What does that say then for Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Lactantius, Augustine, and other Fathers of the Church who proposed that the “thousand years” refers to a temporal kingdom?

Indeed, the misappropriation of Papias’ doctrines to certain Jewish-Christian heresies of the past emerges precisely from such faulty opinion. Some theologians inadvertently adopted Eusebius’ speculative approach… Subsequently, these ideologues associated everything and anything that borders on a millennium with Chiliasm, resulting in an unhealed breach in the field of eschatololgy that would remain for a time, like an ubiquitous stricture, attached to the salient word millennium. —Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, The Triumph of God’s Kingdom in the Millennium and End Times: A Proper Belief from the Truth in Scripture and Church Teachings, St. John the Evangelist Press, 1999, p. 20
​

(From my writing, How the Era was Lost.)

 

Emmett, this is the most surprising thing you have said, since it clearly goes against the logic and chronology of the Scriptures.

The Last Judgment is the end of time, agreed? But what the text says is that "the beast and false prophet" are "cast into the lake of fire" through a judgment of the beast and those who take his mark. According to your opinion, then, this should be the end of history. But St. John then speaks immediately following this judgment of a "thousand years" that is clearly, clearly within history. After this period, Satan is released, and there is another, completely separate revolt from the beast and the false prophet. It HAS to be completely separate, because the beast and false prophet are in hell at this point! And this is absolutely clear in Rev. 20, because after this final revolt, what St. Augustine calls the "last Antichrist", "Gog and Magog" are likewise consigned to hell, and finally, Satan as well. They are cast "where the beast and the false prophet were." (Rev 20:10)

This is a plain reading of the text, and most significantly, the Church Fathers did not tamper with it.

… if some new question should arise on which no such decision has been given, they should then have recourse to the opinions of the holy Fathers, of those at least, who, each in his own time and place, remaining in the unity of communion and of the faith, were accepted as approved masters; and whatsoever these may be found to have held, with one mind and with one consent, this ought to be accounted the true and Catholic doctrine of the Church, without any doubt or scruple.. —St. Vincent of Lerins, Commonitory of 434 A.D., “For the Antiquity and Universality of the Catholic Faith Against the Profane Novelties of All Heresies”, Ch. 29, n. 77​

 

I have a question for you Josephite. How can one side of the debate "obviously be in error" when The Teachings of the Catholic Church expressly support this position, as well as Cardinal Ratzinger? That is, your comment is in error. In fact, it is rhetoric such as yours which I deem the real danger, because it excommunicates healthy debate, theological search, and openness to the unfolding of Public Revelation. One cannot be in a position of heresy if the Church herself says that the matter is open to discussion. As of yet, Emmett and Stephen are still confusing a "triumphant era" with "millenarianism." Hence, the dialogue here.

Are you saying then, josephite, that the papal theologian for Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II is a heretic?

Yes, a miracle was promised at Fatima, the greatest miracle in the history of the world, second only to the Resurrection. And that miracle will be an era of peace which has never really been granted before to the world. —Mario Luigi Cardinal Ciappi, October 9th, 1994; he also gave his stamp of approval in a separate letter officially recognizing the Family Catechism “as a sure source for authentic Catholic doctrine” (Sept. 9th, 1993); The Apostolate’s Family Catechism, p. 35​

Or that Pius X is a heretic? Since the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the Sacraments will end with history, clearly the Pope here was not speaking of eternity:

Oh! when in every city and village the law of the Lord is faithfully observed, when respect is shown for sacred things, when the Sacraments are frequented, and the ordinances of Christian life fulfilled, there will certainly be no more need for us to labor further to see all things restored in Christ… And then? Then, at last, it will be clear to all that the Church, such as it was instituted by Christ, must enjoy full and entire liberty and independence from all foreign dominion… “He shall break the heads of his enemies,” that all may know “that God is the king of all the earth,” “that the Gentiles may know themselves to be men.” All this, Venerable Brethren, We believe and expect with unshakable faith. —POPE PIUS X, E Supremi, Encyclical “On the Restoration of All Things”, n.14, 6-7​

So, I hope you reconsider branding your brothers heretics, not to mention the Magisterium (cf. The Popes, and the Dawning Era).

 

What I have to say about the end-time chronology is, be docile to the Holy Spirit whom we pray to for what we ponder in our hearts. If we are not open to the promptings of the HS, we get stuck in rigid understanding and loose the grace that through study, prayer and the light of the HS he desires to reveal to us in these times. Thank God for this important discussion, as it is in 'real time' what we are to know before the tribulation hits home and is global at the same time. This brings hope, which we must cling to when the storm hits hard at sometime soon.

 

Although there is obviously room for argument about the chronology of the Apocalypse more generally, the relationship of Revelation 19 and 20 is quite definitely linear, because Revelation 20:4 specifically references those 'who had not worshipped the beast' (thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 19:20) as being those who 'came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years'. This is again followed by a linear temporal statement in Rev. 20:7 - 'when the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison', leading to the devil being thrown into the 'lake of burning sulphur' in Rev. 20:10.

We need to remember the Early Church's definition of Tradition as being 'Scripture correctly interpreted'. If appeals are made to Church Tradition in order to support a position that contradicts the plain sense of Scripture, then an interpretive mistake has been made somewhere along the line.

 

I am writing a comment on the Vassula video. She saw the "feet of Jesus" standing on her LEFT side.
That made me uneasy. I know this comment does not belong on this thread but I just couldn't help myself.
I read something in a Protestant blog wherein the lady was allegedly receiving locutions from the Lord, and he said that very shortly we will be transformed. For what it is worth...maybe nothing. I will try to locate the name of the blog. It could tie in to an era of peace.

 

Joe, that sound an awful lot like a very good description of where our Holy Father is coming from. HMHMHMH

 

In keeping with the title of this thread, I would like to note one important statement in Luisa's writings that appears in The Gift of Living in the Divine Will, a doctoral dissertation on Luisa’s writings that Rev. Iannuzzi presented to the Pontifical University of Rome. The purpose was to theologically explained their consistency with the historical Church Councils, as well as with patristic, scholastic and ressourcement theology. His dissertation received the Vatican University’s seals of approval as well as ecclesiastical approval. This quote from Luisa is drawn from that magisterially accredited document:

The time in which these writings will be made known is relative to and dependent on the disposition of souls who wish to receive so great a good, as well as on the effort of those who must apply themselves in being its trumpet-bearers by offering up the sacrifice of heralding in the new era of peace… —The Gift of Living in the Divine Will in the Writings of Luisa Piccarreta, n. 1.11.6, Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi​

This is no small thing. The Lord is saying that the 36 volumes of her writings, and their exposure to the world, is dependent upon the prophetic announcement of the "new era of peace."

 

I am confused by this post earthtoangels. Are you saying satan is not all the time roaming around like a hungry loin waiting to devour whom he can. We know satan was in the garden to tempt Adam and Eve. We know satan was there tempting Our Lord before His passion; you know the three temptations as recorded in the Bible. And we can be sure it was satan and his minions who possessed many souls who were delivered in the time of Our Lord. And no doubt satan and his minions are still out there possessing and tempting many souls as we speak.

I wonder if all the isms we hear about; is more about a general failure on the part of humanity to resist satan. Like communism when the majority fall into the belief that this is what the people want or need for example. But by the time humanity see through the latest ism, they are bound hook, line, and sinker by satan once again.

 

Returning to the alleged locutions contained in Don Stefano Gobbi's 'Blue Book', here are other explicit references to the Second Coming of Jesus which shed more light on its relationship in this material to the terms ' Triumph of the Immaculate Heart', 'Era of Peace'/'New Era' and 'reign of Christ.' The scenario given here is clear and unequivocal. As I have said before, it cannot be established from the text alone whether these words are the result of direct supernatural inspiration, private meditation or a combination of the two. Nor can it be determined whether these messages turn out to be true (only the unfolding of events will decide that question). What can nonetheless be established conclusively from the fact that the 'Blue Book' was given several Imprimaturs, was that this eschatology - distinguishing between the Second Coming and Last Judgment in a way that is incompatible with amillennialism but is eminently Biblical - was deemed not to be contrary to faith and morals by the representatives of the Magisterium concerned.

Whatever else the 'Blue Book' may be, it is definitely not heresy.

Interestingly, in message 450 the words 'new heavens and the new earth' appear in what seems to be a temporal context, in contrast to the widespread understanding of these terms as referring to eternity. If this may at first sight appear surprising, it is worth re-reading Isaiah 65 (to which Revelation 21 clearly refers), which also locates the 'new heavens' and 'new earth' within a temporal framework (e.g. Isaiah 65:20 'he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed'). For what it's worth, perhaps the term 'new heavens and new earth' is one which requires a multi-layered interpretation, rather like 'the Kingdom' which is simultaneously a present and hopefully expanding reality within us and yet to come in all its fullness. Indeed, given that the letter to the Hebrews describes believers as having 'tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age' (Heb. 6:5), it is perhaps not too much of a stretch theologically to say that by 'living out of the future' according to the values of the coming Kingdom, we can already experience the 'new heavens and new earth' spiritually right now.

________________________________________
Don Stefano Gobbi, 'To the Priests, Our Lady's Beloved Sons'

435. I Reveal My Secret

Mexico City (Mexico), October 13, 1990

Anniversary of the Last Apparition of Fatima

"Today you are recalling my final apparition, which took place in Fatima on this very day in 1917, and which was confirmed by the miracle of the sun.

Today I announce to you that there is about to be born the new Church of Light, which my Son Jesus is forming for Himself in every part of the earth, so that it will be ready to receive Him, with faith and with joy, in the proximate moment of his second coming.

The glorious reign of Christ, which will be established in your midst, with the second coming of Jesus in the world, is close at hand. This is his return in glory. This is his glorious return, to establish his reign in your midst and to bring all humanity, redeemed by his Most Precious Blood, back to the state of his new terrestrial paradise.

That which is being prepared is so great that its equal has never existed since the creation of the world. Prepare yourselves with humility, with faith, with intense prayer. Prepare yourselves by gathering together, each and all, in the spiritual cenacle of my Immaculate Heart. Prepare yourselves in silence and in expectation.

I reveal my secret only to the hearts of the little, the simple and the poor, because it is being accepted and believed by them. For this, Jesus is working powerfully in these times, to prepare his coming in the lives of the simple, the poor, the pure, the little.

With a small number of these children, the Lord will soon restore on earth his glorious reign of love, of holiness and of peace."


438. Open Your Hearts to Hope

Sao Paulo (Brazil), December 8, 1990

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

"Contemplate me today in the splendor of my Immaculate Conception. Allow yourselves to be enfolded in my light of grace, of holiness and of virginal beauty.

My dearly beloved ones and children consecrated to me, second my plan and enter, all of you, as quickly as possible into the spiritual cenacle of my Immaculate Heart.

- My Immaculate Heart is the heavenly garden in which I want to gather you together, to offer you to the perfect glory of the Most Holy Trinity, in these times of the apostasy.

- My Immaculate Heart is the safe refuge which I have prepared for you, so that you may live in serenity through the painful moments of the great tribulation.

- My Immaculate Heart is the luminous path which leads you to the joyous meeting with Jesus, who is about to return to you in glory. And so, cooperate with my pressing request, which I am presenting to you by means of my Work of the Marian Movement of Priests and of this little son of mine, whom I am still leading to every part of the

world, to bring everyone to the consecration to my Immaculate Heart. Thus you take part in my motherly plan, which is that of preparing hearts and souls to receive the Lord who is coming.

- I was chosen by the Most Holy Trinity to become the Mother of the Word, who became incarnate in my virginal womb, and thus I have given you my Son Jesus. His first coming among you took place in poverty, in humility and in suffering, because Jesus wanted to assume the limitations, the misery and the weakness of our human nature. And so my motherly action was carried out in silence, in prayer, in hiddenness and in humility.

- I was chosen by the Most Holy Trinity to become the Mother of the Second Advent, and thus my motherly task is that of preparing the Church and all humanity to receive Jesus, who is returning to you in glory. This second coming of his will take place in the light of his divinity, because Jesus will return to you on the clouds of heaven, in the splendor of his royalty and will make subject to Himself the peoples and the nations of the earth and all his enemies will be crushed under the throne of his universal dominion.

Thus my maternal action, in these last times, is being exercised in a manner which is open and increasingly stronger, and my light is becoming bright in every part of the earth. For this reason, I am manifesting myself today everywhere by means of my numerous apparitions and of my extraordinary manifestations.

My reign of love, which I am establishing in hearts and souls, is the way which prepares the glorious reign of Christ. The triumph of my Immaculate Heart will coincide with the second coming of Jesus in glory, to make all things new.

And so listen, one and all, to my voice and hasten after the immaculate light of my virginal beauty, to the encounter with the divine splendor of Christ.

 

[/quote] (Fr Gobbi cnt'd)

450. The Understanding of the Whole and Entire Truth

Berlin (Germany), May 19, 1991

Feast of Pentecost

"Today you are here to observe the liturgical solemnity of Pentecost, in a continual cenacle of brotherhood and of prayer, carried out with me and by means of me. Thus there is renewed the very same reality which took place in the Cenacle of Jerusalem when, under the form of tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostles, gathered together in prayer with your heavenly Mother. That was the first Pentecost. That was the beginning of the earthly journey of the Church in the history of humanity.

With the extraordinary abundance of his charisms, the Spirit of the Lord has completely transformed the apostles, from being timid and fearful to being courageous witnesses of Jesus and of his Gospel. With the powerful force of his divine action, He has brought them to the understanding of the whole and entire truth, and He has made them into perfect witnesses of Jesus, even to the shedding of blood.

You have now entered into the times of the Second Pentecost. For this reason, it is necessary that these cenacles be multiplied in every part of the world. I ask that all the Church be gathered together in the spiritual cenacle of my Immaculate Heart. Then the Holy Spirit will bring you to the understanding of the whole and entire truth.

He will bring you into the secret of the Word of God and will give you the light of wisdom to understand all the Gospel and whatever is described in it concerning the times through which you are living. The Holy Spirit will make you understand the signs of your time. They are the times foretold by Holy Scripture as those of the great apostasy and of the coming of the Antichrist. They are times of great tribulation and of innumerable sufferings for all, which will bring you to live through these final events in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus in glory.

The Holy Spirit gives his perfect witness to Jesus and proclaims Him as the Only-begotten Son, coeternal and consubstantial with the Father, He through whom all things have been made, the Incarnate Word, the King of all the universe, who must come again in glory to restore his reign in the world,

The Holy Spirit prepares hearts and souls for the Second Coming of Jesus. For this reason, He is today pouring out his charisms, in a manner which is even stronger and more extraordinary than at the time of the beginning of the Church. Because you have now entered into the last times, which will lead you to the new era.

The task of the Spirit is to prepare humanity for its complete change, to renew the face of creation, to form the new heavens and the new earth. For this reason, I ask

you to persevere with fidelity in the cenacles which I have requested of you.

And allow the Holy Spirit to mold you with his sweet and powerful action of love. Only thus can you be ready for the great plan which awaits you."

468. Go and Evangelize

Sao Paulo (Brazil), March 27, 1992

Spiritual Exercises in the Form of a Cenacle with the Priests of the M.M.P. from all Brazil

"My Immaculate Heart is today glorified by you in this continuous cenacle of prayer and brotherhood, in which you find yourselves, you the Directors of the M.M.P. who have come from every part of Brazil. I am with you. I am joining you in your prayer, to obtain for you the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He may transform you into apostles of these last times.

The moment of your public witness has come. Show yourselves to all as my little sons, as the apostles formed by me for the great task of the new evangelization which is awaiting you.

As in the Cenacle of Jerusalem I opened the door so that the Apostles could go out and preach the Gospel, initiating the first evangelization, so also, in this cenacle of yours, I am calling you all to be apostles of the second evangelization.

Therefore, at the end of this extraordinary cenacle, I am entrusting to each one of you my motherly mandate: go and evangelize.

- Go into every part of this great nation of yours.

Go into every place, even the most distant and out-of-the-way.

Go to all my children, especially those furthest away, to the sinners, to the poor, to those who are victims of evil, of vice, of egoism, of hatred, of impurity.

Go to every creature, with the power which is given you by this, my motherly mission.

Go as apostles of the second evangelization, to which the first of my beloved sons, Pope John Paul Il, is urgently calling you.

Go and evangelize.

- Evangelize this poor humanity which has again become pagan after nearly two thousand years since the first announcement of the Gospel. Evangelize it, preaching the urgent need of conversion and of its return to the Lord. Let the idols be destroyed, the idols it has built with its own hands: pleasure, money, pride, impurity, atheism, unbridled egoism, hatred and violence. And let it return to its God along the way of penance, of the rejection of Satan and his seductions, of the rejection of sin and of every form of evil. And then there will blossom along its way grace and holiness, purity and love, harmony and peace.

-Evangelise the suffering and divided Church, filled with the smoke of Satan and threatened with the loss of faith and with apostasy. Let the Church once again believe in the Gospel of Jesus. Let the Gospel of Jesus, preached

and lived to the letter, become the only light which guides it along its earthly journey. Then will the Church once again be humble, holy, beautiful, poor, evangelical, without spot or wrinkle, in imitation of its heavenly Mother, who is leading it each day toward its greatest renewal.

-Evangelize all men, preaching that the reign of God is at hand. The moment of the second coming of Jesus is drawing close, the moment of the return of Christ in glory, to restore in your midst his reign of grace, of holiness, of justice, of love and of peace. Announce to everyone this, his glorious return, so that hope may blossom upon the world and the hearts of men be opened to receive Him. Throw open the doors to Jesus Christ who is coming!


[All emphases P.B. In subsequent posts I will proceed to try to show how an essentially identical eschatology to that of Fr Gobbi emerges from the messages connected with the officially-approved 1994-1998 apparitions in Itapiranga, Brazil.]

 

The following is what the Catholic Church teaches in regards to satan being loosed and bound. This explanation is from a Catholic Priest who is a theologian and states Catholic doctrine on a reliable and credible Catholic site.

The Catholic Church teaches that the image of Satan chained symbolizes the reality that he is much less active in the world and that while he can still undermine the good through temptation and influence, he does not have the direct authority and power he once had prior to Christs crucifixion, death, resurrection, and establishment of the Church.

Not that he and his cohorts are without influence during his chaining!?


The preaching of the Gospel, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Sacraments of the Church and all the Church is have radically diminished the power of Satan.

The unleasing of Satan means that, he will have one last opportunity to reek havoc upon faithful Christians in a last attempt to drag down as many souls into eternal damnation as possible. A sign that the end is near would be the increase of the active presence of evil in the world, especially against the Church and Christians.

I'm sure this is correct Catholic teaching, however others may wish to dispute this?

But I am hoping that answers your question.

 

I was simply replying to what I think was an assumption that Satan was loosed (unchained) upon the earth after Pope Leo's vision when Satan got permission from God to tempt the Church as if there had been an era of peace prior to that. So I said that such an assumption would mean that Satan had already been chained and then really let loose after that vision yet that has never been since the fall of Adam and thus "he" has always been busy roaming through the world seeking the ruin of souls. That's what I said couldn't make sense since the era of peace will itself be the time when Satan is chained and toward the end of that released to roam again until the last battle and the end of the world. There has as yet been no promised era of peace or time that fulfills the request of the Our Father when the Divine Will will be fulfilled among the creatures and Satan will be gone for a period not to be able to tempt the people until he is released again. Hope I'm a big clearer this time...round....but you never know...ha!

 

Sometimes I wonder what I would have believed and followed if I were a Jewish man in Christ's time. Surely Christ was a stumbling block to how the most learned teachers of the Jewish faith thought and taught in his time. They knew scripture inside out, but all but a few could not understand Jesus as he unraveled scriptures. New Testament scripture clearly teaches that the unraveling of its meaning in the end-times would come from the Holy Spirit through prophets/messengers. This seems to be a stumbling block of many today, even among the most learned theologians. Most in Christ's time were as rigid in their theology as many today are in theirs. Jesus never changed one doctrine of the Old Testament, but when he gave proper interpretation of much of it, he was essential killed for it (remember it wasn't the Romans who wanted him crucified, it was his own people, starting with the religious). It seems to me many today are doing the same thing to what the Holy Spirit is doing with the New Testament, especially the unveiling of the book of Revelations through modern day prophets, to which we have been warned to not despise. So the question begets, why do so few seemingly understand what the Holy Spirit is unveiling today? Truth doesn't change, but is is further developed in time through the light of the Holy Spirit.

 

It's odd that you find my recapitulatory view of the Apocalypse surprising, since this is a classical trait of all those who uphold the Augustinian model. It's not a view unique to me, it stems from St. Augustine himself, and has been upheld by every Catholic theologian and Doctor of the Church for centuries, ever since St. Victorinus of Pettau wrote the first commentary on the Apocalypse around the turn of the fourth century AD. Typically, it is only Protestant millennialists/millenarians who adhere to a linear reading of the Book of Revelation, not Catholics. St. Augustine has already fully addressed the matters you and Peter have raised in great detail, and I assumed that you were both fully aware of them. I will quote all of his material for everyone to read though, since this is what the Church has taught throughout the ages.