Yes, I expect we will be hearing all kinds of dribble coming from Mr Gore what with his new movie coming out.
All that you mention are of course good in themselves and true for all Catholics in all ages. But I feel that they are not what Archbishop Sheen was referring to. And not specific for the situation we face now with the Vatican. I must say that all the priests in Singapore who I have had the pleasure of knowing, and listening to, are holy and faithful to God. They do not need such reminders, because that is what they already preach. They do not, however, share their thoughts with the laity on what is going on with the top of the Catholic Church's hierarchy. Some priests do mention that some laity have voiced their concerns to them, but these priests then just tell us that we should not judge. That we shouldn't think that we know better.
By offering specific crosses for specific intentions one can make their sacrifice for the specific situation we now face. I have a couple relatively "big" crosses right now. I consciously offer them for the eternal salvation of my wife and children, for the restoration and triumph of Holy Mother Church, and for the conversion and salvation of our pope - and if he won't convert, for the confounding of him and his heterodox agenda. That's as "specific" as I feel called to be and act right now, and frankly, given my current state in life, that's all I can do.
I don't know that there is an exact answer to your question SG. We are all made very differently and are called to do different things. Our Lady was always quiet and humble. St. Paul was a firebrand. St. Joan of Arc was a general. We are not made the same so we may need to do different things. What is right for one is not necessarily right for all. Perhaps in searching for what you should do, you should look to a saint that is most similar to you. If you are looking for a prescription that is specific to these times exactly, we have it. Our Lady gave it to us at Fatima and her other apparitions. Her apparitions concerned exactly what we would be dealing with. We should do Penance, penance, penance! Make sacrifices. Pray very much for the clergy and the Pope specifically. Do the First Fridays and the First Saturdays. Wear the Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal and be enrolled in them properly. Pray the Rosary and fulfill the duties of our station in life. No one would know better than Our Lady what we should be doing right now and being a loving mother she told us. On top of all of that my personal recommendation would be to work on your relationship to God, your humility, charity, prayer life, etc. As these are the things we should be doing to grow in spirituality anyway. Only after we are already doing all of the things listed above should we look to "extras". I don't think there is anything "huge" you need to be doing. Look at Our Lady's life, she lived a quiet humble life and yet she is the greatest saint. Doing things well and for love of God no matter how small and insignificant they seem is of great value. I think God is happier with one floor scrubbed for love of Him than a thousand great speeches done to satisfy our own ego.
Praetorian, I think you do sense what I'm getting at, and I appreciate your answer. As you rightly said: I feel that there is something more than all that you've mentioned that I (and many other Catholics) need to do. The question is, what? There is this restlessness in me which is definitely related to the situation we are facing with the 'antics' of those at the top of the hierarchy at the Vatican. Knowing that multiple prophesies have warned us about the current situation, I strongly feel that we, the laity, are called to step up and do more. Again, what? The world is getting more insane, what with homosexual 'marriages', transgenderism being accepted as normal, euthanasia being legalised, Christians being denied their rights to practise their faith and being forced to support homosexual 'weddings', immigration of hordes of Muslims into once Christian countries being 'forced' upon those countries, etc etc. But we don't hear the Catholic church's leaders give clear instruction on all these issues based on what our Catholic faith has handed down through the ages. Instead, they are giving nods and winks to all the nonsense. Sigh. I don't know what will help remove this restless feeling in me. I am really grateful to have this community here on this forum. There is no one around me whom I can talk to about these things. I was thrilled this morning when I heard for the first time the priest mention the First Fridays and First Saturdays, and proceed to dedicate the mass as an act of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I wasn't aware that wearing the Miraculous Medal needed a prior enrollment.
One morning after they had all attended early mass and were eagerly awaiting her words, she made her humble entrance, closed her eyes and with her right hand clenched over her heart said.... Oh Jesus in my heart, I believe in your tender love for me! I Love You! Say now.... and they all said..... Oh Jesus in my heart, I believe in your tender love for me. I Love You. Recorded words of Saint Mother Theresa, Of The Missionaries of Charity, to her young novice sisters in formation.
I think in a way at the moment we are all like little soldiers. A bit like St Joan of Arc , a humble maiden in the little village of Ars. Then she heard her voices of the saints calling her to do battle. At the moment we are all like St Joan just doing humble things in our humble places. But of the heavenly voice calls us forth to do battle, then, old and often tired as I am , I will don God's armour and forward to battle I will go. But at the moment God leaves me in this humble little village called Ireland to walk my dogs, to pray and fast and do sacrifice for our dear and Holy Mother the Catholic Church. Dreaming, praying, walking, hoping for better times. But if He should call, yes, forward I will go and my good white dogs with me. Bless you Jesus and Our Holy Mother Mary. Whatever the Heavenly Voices ask for I will do. St Joan of Arc, humble warrior Maid, pray for us. Ephesians 6:10- The Armor of God 10 Finally, be strong in the LordA)'> and in his mighty power.B)'> 11 Put on the full armor of God,C)'> so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,D)'> but against the rulers, against the authorities,E)'> against the powersF)'> of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.G)'> 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God,H)'> so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,I)'> with the breastplate of righteousness in place,J)'> 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.K)'> 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,L)'> with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.M)'> 17 Take the helmet of salvationN)'> and the sword of the Spirit,O)'> which is the word of God.P)'> 18 And pray in the SpiritQ)'> on all occasionsR)'> with all kinds of prayers and requests.S)'> With this in mind, be alert and always keep on prayingT)'> for all the Lord’s people.
I have put on the below armour everyday for over the last 30 years. After I wake and I say my morning offering which is.... Oh Jesus through the Sorrowful and Immaculate heart of Mary and in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, being offered throughout the world today, I offer you all of my prayers, actions, words, thoughts, joys, sufferings , sorrows and distresses of this day in union with all the masses said throughout the world today and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for my sins and the sins of the whole world . Amen I then say [and also at times I make appropriate bodily actions to accompany the words]... I buckle truth around my waist and I wear it as a belt; I wear integrity and righteousness as a breastplate; I wear the salvation of my God as a helmet on my head; and the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace as shoes on my feet; and I take the shield of faith to protect me against the burning arrows of the evil one; and I take the word of God as sword from the Holy Spirit, praying all the time and standing firm and I take this doubled edged sword, the word of God and I cut through the bonds that bind my soul and my spirit, freeing my soul and my spirit to follow the Holy Spirit. Amen. I then have other prayers that I pray.... Maybe this may be of help to someone!
My Spiritual Director used to give my that verse to pray when the devil used to come in a very foul mood, being a great nuisance keeping me awake at night, I found it a great help, it is very powerful.
When my children were small I had the fortune to meet a small number of other Catholics that wanted to give all to God and to be vessels in which He could plant His love for the world. We meet every Friday for a period of around 5 years, we prayed and listened to His word. The Armour that I have referred to is something that Our Dear Lord wanted our little group to pray each day.
l l I don't think they can criticise their superiors to the laity. Even if they could, I don't think it would be wise for them to do so. All they can do, really, is preach the one true faith, be a good example to the faithful and be the best priests they can be. The odd word of encouragement from us might help them know they aren't spitting in the wind when preaching the Truth. I suppose that if God wants us to do something specific other than pray, fast and sacrifice He has ways of letting us know. Right now I'm finding prayer tough going so I'm offering the daily grind to God while I try to get the rest of my act together. There won't be any priests, bishops or popes standing beside us on Judgement day, so our first priority must be our own souls.
You know I suspect before all this is done that the battle will come to us , rather than we to the battle.
Perhaps enrollment was not the right word to use. You need to be invested in the Miraculous Medal and special prayers are used to bless it. Not just the normal prayers to bless something a priest usually says. https://www.ewtn.com/library/PRAYER/MIR-MED.TXT
You're welcome. I did not know this until recently either and was a bit downcast when I found out I had been wearing it all these years without even knowing about this.
The miraculous medals my family and I wear were obtained at the Rue de Bac shrine itself. The priest blessed all the medals that people had bought, immediately after mass. The nun who saw us buying the medals told us to go back into the chapel even though we had attended the earlier mass, just so we could get the medals blessed. Since he spoke in French, I don't know what he actually said. But I guess if any priest were to know about the investment, it would be those at Rue de Bac.
