I have had a sad and heavy heart this evening about the ongoing revelations of abuse in the Church in Ireland. It feels like we are going through a real spiritual storm. I feel sad for those who have been abused. I feel for the the many good priests and bishops tainted by association. But I retain my faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is the way, the truth and the life and he has all the answers. I have read this Scripture about the storm in the Lake and I am convinced it is prophetic and pertains to this time that we live in so take heart. MARK 4.35-4.40 And on that day, when evening had arrived, he said to them, “Let us cross over.” [the evening of time that is the latter times that we live in] And dismissing the crowd, they brought him, so that he was in one boat, and other boats were with him. [Jesus is in and with the boat of Peter, the ship that has the Petrine Office, the Catholic Church. The other boats refer to the Orthodox and Protestant Churches who do not recognise 'the Peter' but follow Christ] And a great wind storm occurred, and the waves broke over the boat, so that the boat was being filled.[Great wind storm - storm of unbelief, athiesm, immorality, sinfulness, darkness, tribulations that floods the world. And the Church takes in water, a sign that it is contaminated by the spirit of the world. Like Paul VI prophecised - the smoke of satan has entered through some fissure] And he was in the stern of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. [It looked like the saviour was powerless that the storm was going to sink the barque of Peter and overwhelm the faithful. And they thought everything was lost as they were relying on their own power and not on the power of God] And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, does it not concern you that we are perishing?” [And they woke him and called upon him = Intercession - calling upon the name of the Lord and trusting in His power to defeat the storm. Until the church militant calls upon the Saviour all will appear to be lost but with the power of intercession Jesus Christ can and will save us from the present storm] And rising up, he rebuked the wind, and he said to the sea: “Silence. Be stilled.” And the wind ceased. And a great tranquility occurred. [the power of intercessory prayer releases the power of the Holy Spirit and the intervention of Almighty God for with God all things are possible. Here I see parallels with the Warning of Garabandal - the wind ceased and great tranquilty reigned and perhaps this might also refer to the great era of peace that will reign in the world with the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary] And he said to them: “Why are you afraid? Do you still lack faith?” And they were struck with a great fear. [They were struck by the awesome holiness and power of the Christ. Great fear will reign in the hearts of unbelievers at the intervention of God in world affairs. Holy fear will descend upon the people of God. At the transfiguration of Jesus the 3 disciples hit the ground in fear and wonder at the absolute holiness of Christ as he was illuminated in his transfiguration. Likewise the warning is like a transfiguration for the Church] And they said to one another, “Who do you think this is, that both wind and sea obey him?” [The Church and the world will realise and understand the power of God, Thrice Holy and Omnipotent and all will be amazed at the utter and majesty of God] To the Mother of God Forum and all faithful readers - Stay faithful to God - let us intercede and pray fervently for God to intervene in world affairs and save us and our children from this perverse generation. Mary, Queen of the Gael, pray for us. St Patrick & St Brigid, Pray for us.
They are talking now about the Catholic Church in Ireland being 'destroyed'..that this is the , 'End of the Road'. But of course this is not so. There are simply too many hidden saints, many, many hidden saints and too many very loyal and holy ordinary folks. However the moral authority of the Church is sunk. So that we have no one of any great power to speak out against horrors like abortion and euthanasia.. It means the Irish people are without a moral rudder just when they needed it most. I personally do not expect the Church to find its feet now until the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart after the Tribulation is over. Who would have expected the Church in Ireland to be brought so low? It is pretty well prostrate. So much power and influence more powe4rful than any Government all gone and so very,very quickly. What dark, dark days we are living through.
I am afraid that it looks increasingly certain that the Cardinal will resign. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/0319/1224266597749.html
You might get punched hard, right between the eyes, but you'll survive the battle. We've had plenty of scandals here, a big one in my own diocese. We're still here and going strong.
The storm of human sin continues to rock the Church http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8641456.stm http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/23/belgian-bishop-admits-molesting-boy We were warned in advance and prayer and sacrifice were the remedy but not enough people responded SECOND AND FINAL MESSAGE OF GARABANDAL JUNE 18TH 1965 Since my message of October 18, 1961 has not been complied with and has not been made much known to the world, I will tell you that this is the last one. Before the chalice was filling now it is overflowing. Many Cardinals, many Bishops, and many Priests are on the path of perdition and they take many souls with them. To the Eucharist, there is given less and less importance. We should avoid the wrath of God on us by our good efforts. If you ask pardon with your sincere soul God will pardon you. It is I, your mother, who through the intercession of St. Michael, wish to say that you amend, that you are already in the last warnings and that I love you much and do not want your condemnation. Ask Us sincerely and we will give to you. You should sacrifice more. Think of the passion of Jesus. Perhaps, we can offer a personal &/or family holy hour for priests and for reparation? I now think the warning will be particuarly severe for 'baptised Catholics' because of the many sins of omission in our lives and in the body of the Church. Due to sin, unbelief, apostacy, indifference and lukewarmness many Catholic Christians have failed to live up to their calling as Christians and we have allows a 'culture of death' to thrive in our midst. The illumination will reveal many, many sins of omission [& I do not look forward to this myself]. Mea Culpa
My sister in law rang me last night about an apostolate to pray for priests in Ireland. The plan is to have 2 people to pray for each priest. They have a particular prayer and I think it takes about 5 minutes a day. If any Irish readers on the forum are interested in joining please PM me your name and address and she will forward the name of the priest you are to pray for and the particular prayer. Mary
