Divine Will revisited.

Although I'm afraid catching up on the 12 pages of posts I've missed will have to be a task for another day (so forgive me if I am repeating something), allow a quick note:

You say "Ratzinger rightly points out that various forms [of an Era of Peace] (not just the versions Fr Iannuzzi would have us believe) have been rejected by the Church;"

Could you perhaps present precisely where they have allegedly been "rejected by the Church"?

Mind you, I am not disputing with Ratzinger here (although a Catholic legitimately could dispute the pre-Papacy theological tomes of a Pope), I am merely questioning your assertion that "various forms" of the Era of Peace have been rejected by the Church.

So if said Magisterium actually exists, then by all means, present it directly. (We've already dealt thoroughly with the Catechism, the 1992 CDF Declaration, the 1995 CDF declaration, and others -- having proven that they in no way dispute a properly understood temporal Era of Peace. )

 

Emmett, the essential affirmation is that there is going to be an Era of Peace. What the "first resurrection" means is still very much a mystery. However, I have read nothing in Fr. Iannuzzi's writings that suggest that the saints will rise from the dead and stay consigned to earth during that period, let alone being "torn away" from the beatific vision. I have not said this either, other than to point to Scriptural precedents of what this text could mean.

These are Iannuzzi's words that I'm assuming you haven't read:

To this era, St. John links the appearance of the many martyrs who were put to death for having refused Satan worship: "who had not worshipped the beast nor accepted the mark on their foreheads or hands... came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years... This is the first resurrection."
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The problem with consigning a meaning to this Scripture from only Augustine's opinion, is that the text is really referring here to those in the time of beast who did not take the mark—which you have suggested, if I'm not mistaken, to be the smartphone, or related technology. So already, Augustine's opinion falls short again since it doesn't stay true to the straightforward reading of the text. Fr. Iannuzzi goes on:

Scripture and Patristic allegories further suggest that these martyred will not return to definitively reign on earth in the flesh, but will "appear" through the era to instruct the remnant of Israel, much like the vision and apparitions of the saints of the past.
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As I've already pointed out, this has a precedent after Jesus' resurrection: "many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after the resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many." (Matt 27:52-53) Likewise, Jesus "presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)

I really don't think we need to start creating fantasies as to what the "first resurrection" could mean when we've already witnessed it after Christ's Resurrection! So Fr. Iannuzzi surmises,

If biblical events repeat themselves as several Scripture scholars maintain, this would bolster the idea that Christ and his martyrs will re-appear through the era of peace to peoples of various nations.
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This no more "tears" them from the beatific vision than Our Lady is "torn" from it through her frequent apparitions on earth.

John therefore saw the Most Holy Mother of God already in eternal happiness, yet travailing in a mysterious childbirth. —POPE PIUS X, Encyclical Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, 24​

That is, to appear on earth does not "interrupt" the beatific vision, otherwise you are rejecting every single apparition of Our Lady, who is body and soul in eternity, and yet permitted to appear on earth. Likewise, theologians contend that Jesus, in His divine nature, always held the beatific vision while on earth. Moreover, Tradition testifies that the two witnesses, "Elijah and Enoch", will also appear. The only possible conclusion is that you have drawn a fallacious notion that, to appear on earth, one is torn from the beatific vision. We know this simply not to be true.

I want to note too that Our Lady, the Church teaches, is a mirror of the Church. If she is able to appear on earth in her post-assumed body, why can't the risen martyrs during the Era of Peace?

So, I repeat what theologian Cardinal Jean Daniélou said, and that is that "this is one of the aspects of the mystery of the last days which has yet to be revealed." Indeed, Iannuzzi concludes:

One can speculate endlessly as to what the future holds for the "first resurrection." Whether there might be apparitions of the martyred to instruct the faithful remnant on earth or a rebirth of all Christians to a new life of grace, is far less meaningful than our obedience to the Church's final decision in this regard. —The Splendour of Creation, p. 69-71​

As for your interpretation of the General Judgment "at the end of time", I've already pointed out that your understanding of "the end of time" is a theory based on Augustine's theory. It is not doctrine, and in fact, is inconsistent with the Early Church's teaching of the "day of the Lord." You are welcome to maintain that theory, but must admit that's all it is.

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Yes, I absolutely agree. He, and other pontiffs, have some key things to say on this coming of the Kingdom of God, and that is precisely what we are speaking of here, Emmett. But from reading the rest of your post, it is clear that you still have greatly confused the difference between the "Kingdom of God" and an "earthly kingdom." The latter expectation is called millenarianism, chiliasm, liberation theology, etc. the former is called Christianity.

The Catholic Church, which is the kingdom of Christ on earth, [is] destined to be spread among all men and all nations… —POPE PIUS XI, Quas Primas, Encyclical, n. 12, Dec. 11th, 1925; cf. Matt 24:14
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I believe that you are not only neglecting Pope Benedict's other statements, but that you have misunderstood Cardinal Ratzinger's words. He is not, as you are suggesting, opposed to a renaissance or "triumph" in the Church. In Death and Eternal Life, you quote him as saying, "the idea of a definitive intra-historical fulfilment fails to take into account the permanent openness of history and human freedom, for which failure is always a possibility." Yes, I absolutely agree. In fact, Emmett, "Gog and Magog" are the direct result of that "failure." So here, Ratzinger is condemning the notion of a false and "definitive" utopia within human history, not "a hope in some mighty triumph of Christ here on earth before the final consummation of all things", as the Magisterium has stated in The Teachings of the Catholic Church. Indeed, Pope Benedict actually anticipates such a new age:

Empowered by the Spirit, and drawing upon faith’s rich vision, a new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished—not rejected, feared as a threat, and destroyed. A new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy, and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships. Dear young friends, the Lord is asking you to be prophets of this new age… —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Homily, World Youth Day, Sydney, Australia, July 20th, 2008​

Benedict was simply echoing John Paul II who likewise anticipated a "millennium of unifications":

May there dawn for everyone the time of peace and freedom, the time of truth, of justice and of hope. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Radio message, Vatican City, 1981

You will be the dawning of a new day, if you are the bearers of the Life, which is Christ! —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Young People of Apostolic Nunciature, Lima Peru, May 15th, 1988; www.vatican.va​

Thus, John Paul II said,

The Church of the Millennium must have an increased consciousness of being the Kingdom of God in its initial stage. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, L’Osservatore Romano, English Edition, April 25th, 1988​

Pope Benedict sheds light on this mysterious statement, which beautifully explains what is meant by "the Kingdom of God." In fact, speaking of Fatima and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, Benedict said, "This is equivalent in meaning to our praying for the coming of God’s Kingdom" (Light of the World, Peter Seewald, p. 166).

…every day in the prayer of the Our Father we ask the Lord: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10)…. we recognize that “heaven” is where the will of God is done, and that “earth” becomes “heaven”—i.e., the place of the presence of love, of goodness, of truth and of divine beauty—only if on earth the will of God is done. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, General Audience, February 1st, 2012, Vatican City​

And,

Redemption will be complete only when all men share his obedience. —Fr. Walter Ciszek, He Leadeth Me, pg. 116-117
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Thus, when the Church Fathers speak of the coming "times of the Kingdom," they are referring to a unique presence and reign of Jesus in order to purify and prepare His Bride for eternity. Thus, as John Paul II taught, we are not looking right now to the end of the world, but to a coming...

…“new and divine” holiness with which the Holy Spirit wishes to enrich Christians at the dawn of the third millennium, in order to make Christ the heart of the world.—POPE JOHN PAUL II, L’Osservatore Romano, English Edition, July 9th, 1997​

And so, when Benedict speaks of the fulfillment of the "Our Father", or the Church Fathers speak of the reign of the saints, they are both referring to the coming of the Kingdom within the Church:

In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by “kingship” (abstract noun), “kingdom” (concrete noun) or “reign” (action noun)... The Church “is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2816, 763​

Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden light." Thus, the Church Fathers also referred to this coming reign during the "thousand years" as a "sabbath rest" for the Church. St. Bernard suggested as such, seeing this interim coming of Christ as a bridge to the end of the world:

…like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.…. —St. Bernard, Liturgy of the Hours, Vol I, p. 169
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Again, Pope Benedict does not reject this notion, as you suggest:

Whereas people had previously spoken only of a twofold coming of Christ—once in Bethlehem and again at the end of time—Saint Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of an adventus medius, an intermediate coming, thanks to which he periodically renews his intervention in history. I believe that Bernard’s distinction strikes just the right note. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Light of the World, p.182-183, A Conversation With Peter Seewald​

What both John Paul II and Benedict XVI are anticipating is a growth in the Kingdom of God that will impact the world. While you are attempting to separate the natural good and powerful consequences from what this "new and divine" holiness will bring, the Catechism does not:

Christians have to distinguish between the growth of the Reign of God and the progress of the culture and society in which they are involved. This distinction is not a separation. Man’s vocation to eternal life does not suppress, but actually reinforces, his duty to put into action in this world the energies and means received from the Creator to serve justice and peace. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2820​

This isn't millenarianism. It's called living the Great Commission, and this coming "new and divine" holiness is the final witness to the nations of the Gospel. Hence,

In individuals, Christ must destroy the night of mortal sin with the dawn of grace regained. In families, the night of indifference and coolness must give way to the sun of love. In factories, in cities, in nations, in lands of misunderstanding and hatred the night must grow bright as the day, nox sicut dies illuminabitur, and strife will cease and there will be peace. —Pope Pius XII in his Urbi et Orbi, The Tablet, April 27th, 1957 as cited in Heralds of the Second Coming by Stephen Walford, p. 218-219​

It has to be stressed again that this destruction of the "night of mortal sin" is an essential pre-requisite to the Church's preparation for the return of Jesus, the Bridegroom, at the end of time. Thus, the purification of the world and resulting Era of Peace, this "coming of the Kingdom" at the inauguration of the "thousand years", is not only what the Church Father's taught, including Augustine, but what St. John taught them himself regarding the "millennium":

So, the blessing foretold undoubtedly refers to the time of His Kingdom… Those who saw John, the Lord’s disciple, [tell us] that they heard from him how the Lord taught and spoke about these times… —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Church Father (140–202 A.D.); Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons, V.33.3.4, The Fathers of the Church, CIMA Publishing​

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This simply isn't true at all. Since St. Augustine, the Church has constantly taught that the first resurrection is that of the soul immediately after death. There is good reason that the Augustinian model has persisted for 1,600 years. It is built on solid rock:

"After that He adds the words, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself; so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself. John 5:25-26 As yet He does not speak of the second resurrection, that is, the resurrection of the body, which shall be in the end, but of the first, which now is. It is for the sake of making this distinction that He says, The hour is coming, and now is. Now this resurrection regards not the body, but the soul." (St. Augustine, City of God, XX:6)

 

Emmett, it's just one interpretation. The fact that it has been held, even by a majority of scholars, does not, therefore, make it dogma—not when the Church has not defined it as such (there was a time when the majority of the Church held an Arian position!). As Dr. Scott Hahn notes,

The meaning of the two resurrections is uncertain. The first may refer to a spiritual resurrection to new life through faith and Baptism, followed by a bodily resurrection at the return of Christ. Or perhaps both resurrections are bodily, the first being that of Christ and the saints of the OT and the second involved the rest of humanity. —Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, footnote Rev 20:6
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The Navarre Bible commentary even goes so far as to suggest that St. John was entering heresy by "fusing two notions current in Judaism in his time—one which saw the end of time as a messianic kingdom on earth, and the other which saw that End as a future which transcends this world." St. John, in infallible Scripture, penning a heresy??

This is all to say that, while you have declared this to be a dogma of the faith, no one else has. It is therefore impossible to continue debating on this particular point.

 

I don't know if I have counsel!

I am trying to remain faithful to the faith of my forefathers, but it seems that Catholic teaching is being mixed up with new age teachings more and more every day! and surprisingly they sound plausible!?

Catholic doctrines have also changed according to many theologians!

So I am just hanging on by the skin of my teeth at the moment, and I'm a bit cautious of these so called changes or new revelations!

However, the words of a hymn I used to sing as a child, have always been on my lips and they echo in my brain day after day!

I still sing and know the words and melody and have always sung them to my children for over the last 35 years!

So my children know this hymn! even though they have never sung it at any Mass they have ever attended!

They can all sing it with me, as it was a staple song that I sung to them, many times in their childhood!

I think its called......
'We stand for God'

We stand for God and for His Glory.
The Lord Supreme and God of all.
Against his foes we raise a Standard.
Around the cross we hear His call.

Strengthen our faith, Redeemer.
Guard us when danger is near.
To thee, do we pledge our life and service.
For God we'll live and for God we’ll die!

To thee we pledge our lives and service!
For God we live and for God we'll die!

We stand for God!
Jesus Our Master!
Who died to save, with love untold.
His Law Divine and Truth Unchanging.
In this our Land, its place must hold.

Strengthen our faith, Redeemer.
Guard us when danger is near.
To thee do we pledge our life and service.
For God we'll live and for God we’ll die!

To thee we pledge our lives and service!
For God we live and for God we'll die!

 

Another great Catholic hymn!...........

We will be true to thee till death!



Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene’er we hear that glorious word!
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!


Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
Were still in heart and conscience free;
And blest would be their children’s fate,
If they, like them should die for thee:
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!



Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto thee;
And through the truth that comes from God
Mankind shall then indeed be free.
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!


Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife,
And preach thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.
Faith of our fathers! holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death!




We will be true to thee till death!

 

…every day in the prayer of the Our Father we ask the Lord: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10)…. we recognize that “heaven” is where the will of God is done, and that “earth” becomes “heaven”—i.e., the place of the presence of love, of goodness, of truth and of divine beauty—only if on earth the will of God is done. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, General Audience, February 1st, 2012, Vatican City

This exactly describes how I feel 'living in the Divine Will' works. If everyone does it...we're in Heaven. Well as much as it is possible while still here on earth. And at death, we just step through a door out of our earthly body and wait for the day when God resurrects our earthly body to make a permanent eternal temple for our souls.

I can't understand why people dispute the resurrection/s. We have to get saved first.

Saint Patrick raised numerous people from the dead when he was preaching to the Irish people. I believe God permitted this to get it through to the Irish people that there was indeed life after the death of the body.
Some of those raised had been dead for 30 years or more, and the interesting thing is that once they confirmed to those present that there was indeed life after earthly death. Saint Patrick asked if they would like to stay here, and they said no; they preferred to be earthly dead again, to go back to where they were in eternity.

Another saint did this as well, that I have read; but can't remember his name. These saints got people to dig up dead people after many years, and raised them from the dead to convince unbelievers that life goes on.

When Jesus was Crucified, we read that many dead were raised. We don't get told what happened to them; but I believe they rose to give witness, and returned to their resting places until the day when Christ calls us all for the final judgement.

And don't forget that when we read of saints who have been taken up to the third Heaven in exctacy these are from a human point of view dead. The living spirit is gone temporarily. I think Saint John the Apostle was taken up. But do we call these saints dead and resurrected. Out of our league.

What about the saints who have remained incorrupt. I think these are all things God allows for our instruction.
And getting exited about it is not on our brief, as we find the best path to find eternal life. Jesus is the way.

 

Again, so much insistence that "The Church has taught this or that," and yet, so few references to the actual Magisterium....

So while I am indeed waiting for a response to my post (#421), just another thought:

The majority of devout Catholics of all stripes who watch the signs of the times and read trustworthy private revelation are awaiting an Era of Peace. A true sensus fidelium is even coming to be, in this regard.

In today's world especially, the most dangerous heresies are all very easy to be proven as such. Contraception and abortion are clearly condemned in Humanae Vitae. The new age movement is clearly condemned in Jesus Christ: Bearer of the Water of Life. Benedict, as Pope, clearly condemned Relativism. The list goes on and on.

Now if, as I am under the impression you think, the majority of us private revelation reading devout Catholics are actually heretics for awaiting an Era of Peace... don't you think it should be easier for you to demonstrate that using the actual Magisterium itself?

(Obviously this is not a demonstrative argument for my position. Just some humbly offered food for your thought and prayer.)

God Bless

 

Great point, Julia. The other saint you are thinking of is probably Saint Vincent Ferrer. He raised hundreds of people from the dead.

 

As The Storm deepens and we become more distracted, anxious and fatigued with "Carrying-On" with Life, it might be good to ponder on today's Verse? .... as satan & pals are doing everything they can now to sow confusion, dissention and conflict amongst The Flock .... like arguments over matters of little or no import in "These Days" ...... keep your "crosshairs on the Target" ... In case you have misremembered? ..... that's Jesus and The Pearly Gates ....everything else is peripheral!!

HeartLight Daily Verse - May 21

1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Thoughts on today's verse:
For churches to get along, sometimes their leaders must remind them about unity, using the authority of the One who made his dying prayer a prayer for unity. We must work together or perish.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have presented so many of my prayers to our Father, but today, I want to thank you for loving me so. I promise that I will do all I can, to the glory of our Father, to live at peace and serve those who belong to you. By your name and through the blessed Holy Spirit I pray. Amen.
Visit heartlight.org for more

GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

 

Josephite, Crewdog... I absolutely agree with this. A few weeks ago, the words came to me in prayer, "damnable division". The divisions being sown in the Body of Christ between her members, between spouses, in families, etc. is a travesty. In fact, I would not be on this forum right now enabling the spirit of disunity that was present several days ago, if it still lingered.

But also, let's be careful not to suggest dialogue = disunity. As Peter and I have both pointed out, the only crucial importance in this dialogue is a viewpoint that would hold fast that the antichrist won't appear for many, many decades if not centuries from now. I think the peril in such a hard-fast position is obvious, given the signs of the times and papal warnings to the contrary.

Josephite, your inspiration to quote Faith of the Fathers is, I think, a Holy Spirit moment. Because when I say "contemporary theology" is recovering a better understanding of some of these obscure Scriptures—in light of broader exegesis as well as God's word spoken to us in prophetic revelations—we are not speaking of anything "new" at all. Rather, it is a return to the "Faith of our Fathers." In this regard, we are re-examening the popular opinion of St. Augustine, which is not dogma, but which has been promulgated as such. It most certainly needs to be re-examined in light of Fatima and other revelations, which we suddenly find are now consistent with what the Early Church Fathers taught all along.* As Mario Luigi Cardinal Ciappi, papal theologian for Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II, wrote:

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. —October 9th, 1994, The Apostolate’s Family Catechism, p. 35​

And so...

… 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
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If we use St. Vincent's litmus test, what we find is that Augustine stood apart, if not alone, from his predecessors in this regard.

So let me ask this open question: the Early Church Fathers taught that, after the death of the beast, there would be a "sabbath rest" for the Church—and this, they say, was heard and taught directly from St. John's mouth—and yet some here are essentially declaring that what has been taught "with one mind and with one consent" is heresy.... then we must ask what else the Early Church Fathers declared with such consistency is also heresy? Were they also wrong, then, about Peter's primacy? The Eucharist? Purgatory? Did the Holy Spirit, sent to guide the Church, blow it right from the beginning?

This is why anyone serious about eschatology and alert to the signs of the times will examine the systematic theological development, and what Archbishop George Pearce calls "exhaustive and painstaking research", of the Era of Peace that theologians Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, Dr. Mark Miravalle, Dr. Thomas Petrisko, Cardinal Ciappi, Peter Bannister, the late Fr. George Kosicki, eschatologist Ted Flynn, etc. are talking about.

At the end of the day, if Jesus returned tomorrow and history ended, would I be upset? Come Lord Jesus!

*Here, I am referring to the proper interpretation of the Fathers' teachings, not the heretical interpretation that began with certain messianic Jews, i.e.. millenarianism.

 

Be at peace Josephite . God doesn't change; only man changes. Continue to cling to the faith of our forefathers, the true Magesterium (I'm not saying anyone is promoting a false one) Our faith doesn't have to be complex. A God who desires for his children to be childlike does not require us all to be theologians.

I know that my own trials and crosses seem to increase by the day. And I have a feeling that many others may be hanging on by the skin of their teeth as well.

By the way, great hymn!

 

Counsel is one of the gifts of The Holy Spirit. There is a difference between my counsel and His Counsel. David tells me that 'forum system' emailed my post to him before I had deleted it. I had no idea this existed. They must have been quick off the mark. I am glad they, whoever they are, respected my wish not to post.
I love Faith of Our Fathers. Both Padraig and I have posted its sung version on utube.
60, oooo Glasgow Celtic fans who were mostly of Irish Catholic descent used to sing this at football matches against the Protestant rival team Rangers. Rangers no longer exists.

 

Todays Gospel here in New Zealand

Gospel, John 16:12-15
12 I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now.

13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come.

14 He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine.

15 Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine.

 

I have just returned home from mass on this great feast of The Holy Trinity. I had to do both readings and the psalm today which privilege gave me great joy. After mass a wee girl about 10 years old and who I had never met ,as she passed me on her way out, smiled and said "Great reading." Wasn't that beautiful!
While saying my thanksgiving I was moved to post one of my morning prayers:

"Heavenly Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit: Holy Trinity, One God, come into me and be at home with me today. By your presence fill me with you power, your wisdom and your goodness: let me know your love.
In your love for me heal me, change me, strengthen me in body soul and Spirit.
Help me to love you better this day and to love my neighbour as myself.
I turn my will and my life over to your care.
Give me knowledge of your will for me and the power to carry that out.
Let Thy will, not my will be done. "

I used to say this prayer every day but recently I have neglected to say it. I will renew my efforts from this day on. And thus I will endeavour to live in The Divine Will.

 

If you read Jahenny's text again, you'll see the message is not condemning "storm chasers" but those who are trying to water it down, minimize it, say everything is going to be just fine "under the appearance of honeyed words and false promises."

From my writing Authentic Hope:

...we are now living in extraordinary times where we must be ready to give much, much more.

Those who challenge this new paganism are faced with a difficult option. Either they conform to this philosophy or they are faced with the prospect of martyrdom. —Fr. John Hardon (1914-2000), How to Be a Loyal Catholic Today? By Being Loyal to the Bishop of Rome; www.therealpresence.org

No less than ordinary individual Catholics can survive, so ordinary Catholic families cannot survive. They have no choice. They must either be holy—which means sanctified—or they will disappear. The only Catholic families that will remain alive and thriving in the twenty-first century are the families of martyrs. —The Blessed Virgin and the Sanctification of the Family, Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Ah! You see, these words may frighten some. But’s that’s because they do not realize the divine exchange that will happen. Your faith, if lived out intensely and personally with God through prayer and obedience, will acquire a hope that no man can take, no persecutor can suffocate, no war can diminish, no suffering annihilate, no trial wither. This is the secondary message of Easter: the complete giving of ourselves to God by entering into the night of faith, the tomb of complete abandonment to Him, that produces in us all the fruits of the Resurrection. All of them.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens… (Ephesians 1:3)

This is no time to hold back any longer, to keep a part of yourself to yourself. Give everything to God, no matter the cost. And the more it costs, the more powerful the grace, reward, and resurrection of Jesus in your life in whose image you are being renewed.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin… Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:5-6, 11)

Be prepared to put your life on the line in order to enlighten the world with the truth of Christ; to respond with love to hatred and disregard for life; to proclaim the hope of the risen Christ in every corner of the earth. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Message to the Young People of the World, World Youth Day, 2008

I truly believe Our Lady has been coming to us all these years to help us to be emptied in these times so that we may be filled—filled with the Spirit of God that we may become living flames of love—living flames of hope in a world that has become so dark.​

 

Those who challenge this new paganism are faced with a difficult option. Either they conform to this philosophy or they are faced with the prospect of martyrdom. —Fr. John Hardon (1914-2000), How to Be a Loyal Catholic Today? By Being Loyal to the Bishop of Rome; www.therealpresence.org

No less than ordinary individual Catholics can survive, so ordinary Catholic families cannot survive. They have no choice. They must either be holy—which means sanctified—or they will disappear. The only Catholic families that will remain alive and thriving in the twenty-first century are the families of martyrs. —The Blessed Virgin and the Sanctification of the Family, Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Amazing prophetic insights.

 

Yesterday I attended Michael Brown's Retreat in Cherry Hill NJ. I would say there were at least 400 people in attendance. Every person there was fully aware we are in dire times....It was wonderful to be with like minded devout Catholics who understand the signs of the times and prophecy. Michael did an excellent job steering the faithful....At the end of the retreat, we had our items blessed (water, salt, oil, sacramentals)...We are all in "gird your loins mode"...the end of the Year of Mercy coincides with the US National Elections and the anniversary of the 100th year of Fatima is less than a year away....
We discussed how America was founded as a CATHOLIC nation, not just Christian.....Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Menendez.....all devout Catholics and Our Lady was at the helm of their ships....

Today we are fighting to keep strange men out of girl's bathrooms in public places in the name of human rights....the sacrifice of abortion rivals the Aztec human sacrifice in the times of Our Lady of Tepeyac.....in the words of one of the Grahams "If God does not bring down his sword of justice on the US, he owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology"......


whoops....meant to post this in Signs of the Times.....please ignore