Devotion to Our Lady |
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This Is Where We Are!
In the previous articles, we have seen that Our Lady’s prophetic words—concerning the devil and the Church—have come true, or are at least in the process of coming true: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God” (Our Lady of La Salette) ... “The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground” (Sr. Lucia of Fatima). “The devil knows what it is that most offends God and which, in a short space of time, will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them” (Sr. Lucia of Fatima) … “The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised. ...The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them” (Our Lady of Good Success). “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres. Churches and altars will be sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises … The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God ... and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord” (Our Lady of Akita). “The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence. They have become wandering stars which the old devil will drag along with his tail to make them perish” (Our Lady of La Salette) ... “In convents, the flowers of the Church will decompose and the devil will make himself like the king of all hearts. May those in charge of religious communities be on their guard against the people they must receive, for the devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin” (Our Lady of La Salette) … “Others, impelled by the malice of the devil, will themselves rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church” … “Often during this epoch, the enemies of Jesus Christ, instigated by the demon, will steal consecrated hosts from the churches, so that they might profane the Eucharistic Species. My Most Holy Son will see Himself cast upon the ground and trampled upon by irreverent feet ...Making use of persons in positions of authority, the devil will assiduously try to destroy the Sacrament of Confession” (Our Lady of Good Success). Folks—we are there already, though the degree, intensity, frequency and quantity has still much room for increase, and is increasing. As Our Lady said: “This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church” (Good Success); though it must be said that we are not yet at the stage when “People will believe that all is lost” (La Salette)... “all will seem to be lost and paralyzed” (Good Success). What Can Be Done Against Satan’s Apparent Triumph? Our Lady of Good Success says that “when all will seem to be lost and paralyzed. This, then, will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration” ... “This, however, will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss. Thus the Church and this country will be finally free of his cruel tyranny!” Just as Our Lady of Fatima promises: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” The Humble Heel Yet, we are not supposed to be spectators in that triumph of the Immaculate Heart, when she tramples Satan under her feet, which will fulfill the prophecy in Genesis 3:15, where God, in speaking to devil, said: “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” Just as Christ is the Head (the mind or intellect) of the Mystical Body, Mary could be said to be the Heart (the will) of that Mystical Body, and she will command the Mystical Body in its battle with Satan. The heel, the lowest or most humble part of the body, is the one that will crush Satan. This is synonymous with the virtue of humility—a virtue that Satan detests, for he does not have one ounce or a speck of humility within him. In fact, humility is like “kryptonite” both to Satan and God—to Satan it is detestable and fatal, to God is it wonderful and admirable. Both Satan and God are ‘overpowered’ by humility—Satan is driven away by it, whereas God is attracted by it. The Humble Heart Fr. Cajetan da Bergamo (1672-1753) writes: “In Paradise there are many Saints who never gave alms on Earth: their poverty justified them. There are many Saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting, or wearing hair shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them. There are many Saints too who were not virgins: their vocation was otherwise. But in Paradise there is no Saint who was not humble. God banished Angels from Heaven for their pride; therefore, how can we pretend to enter therein, if we do not keep ourselves in a state of humility? Without humility, says St. Peter Damian (Sermon 45), not even the Virgin Mary herself, with her incomparable virginity, could have entered into the glory of Christ, and we ought to be convinced of this truth that, though destitute of some of the other virtues, we may yet be saved, but never without humility” (Fr. Cajetan da Bergamo, Humility of Heart). “Jesus Christ calls us all into His school to learn, not to work miracles nor to astonish the world by marvelous enterprises, but to be humble of heart. ‘Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart’ (Matthew 11:29) ... The Savior might have said: 'Learn of Me to be chaste, humble, prudent, just, wise, abstemious, etc.' But He only says: ‘Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart’; and, in humility alone, He includes all things, because, as St. Thomas so truly says: ‘Acquired humility is in a certain sense the greatest good.' Therefore whoever possesses this virtue may be said to possess all virtues, and he who lacks it, lacks all” (Fr. Cajetan da Bergamo, Humility of Heart). Humility Hated One of the Desert Fathers, “Abba Daniel said: ‘At Babylon the daughter of an important person was possessed by a devil. A monk for whom her father had a great affection said to him: ‘No-one can heal your daughter except some anchorites whom I know; but if you ask them to do so, they will not agree because of their humility. Let us therefore do this: when they come to the market, look as though you want to buy their goods and when they come to receive the price, we will ask them to say a prayer and I believe she will be healed.’ When they came to the market they found a disciple of the old men setting there selling their goods and they led him away with the baskets, so that he should receive the price of them. But when the monk reached the house, the woman possessed with the devil came and slapped him. But he only turned the other cheek, according to the Lord's Command (Matthew 5:39). The devil, tortured by this act of humility, cried out: ‘What violence! The commandment of Jesus drives me out!’ Immediately the woman was cleansed. When the old men came, they told them what had happened and they glorified God saying: ‘This is how the pride of the devil is brought low, through the humility of the commandment of Christ!’” (from The Saying of the Desert Fathers, by the Cistercians). Humble Holy Rosary Looking at mere Rosary beads, some may wonder how one earth St. Padre Pio could say: “The Rosary is the weapon!” The Rosary is simple, humble but powerful! In fact, when we look at how God works, it can be generally said that God acts simply, but powerfully. The magnificent act of Creation could not have been simpler—God simply said a few words and it happened! Not much fuss, just simple and powerful. “And God said: Be light made. And light was made” (Genesis 1:3) and so on throughout the remaining days of Creation. God simply said, and it happened. The Humble, Simple Ways of God Throughout the Old Testament we see God’s simple, yet powerful, way of acting. ► He has Moses simply strike a rock in the desert, and, miraculously, water flows forth. A seemingly insignificant action, but done with great Faith in God, produces miraculous results. Remember, this wasn’t merely a few gallons of water—Moses had around 2 million thirsty folk clamoring for water! ► God’s prophets also followed the same pattern. The Prophet Elias “stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: ‘O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body!’ And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.” (3 Kings 21-22). A few simple words, said with great Faith, produces a miracle! ► Elias calls down fire from Heaven to confound the prophets of Baal. Another time, Elias again calls down fire from Heaven and burns to death a troop of 50 soldiers and their captain, who had and come to take him before the king—he then does a repeat performance with the next troop! An old man with a few words or prayers defeats over 50 trained soldiers! A few simple words, said with great Faith, produces a miracle! ► The Prophet Eliseus tells Naaman the leper, to simply wash seven times in the Jordan. Naaman thought this was ridiculously simplistic and was about to go home, until his servant persuaded him to try it—and lo and behold, he was cured (4 Kings 1-14). ► A mere boy, David, with a simple sling shot and one pebble, topples Goliath, whom the weapons and soldiers of the Israelites had failed to defeat. The Humble, Simple Ways of Christ We see God the Son act in the same simple, but powerful way, in the miracles that he performed. Not much fuss, just simple actions or simple commands: ► The leper said: “‘Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.’ And Jesus stretching forth His hand, touched him, saying: ‘I will, be thou made clean!’ And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3). Simple, but powerful! ► “Jesus said: ‘Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth!’ And they laughed Him to scorn. And when the multitude was put forth, He went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose” (Matthew 9:24-25). Simple, but powerful! |
► “And when He was come to the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus saith to them, ‘Do you believe, that I can do this unto you?’ They say to him, ‘Yea, Lord!’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith, be it done unto you!’ And their eyes were opened” (Matthew 9:28-30). Simple, but powerful!
► “Jesus rebuked him, and the devil went out of him, and the child was cured from that hour” (Matthew 17:17). ► “And behold two blind men, sitting by the way side, cried out, saying: O Lord, Thou son of David, have mercy on us .... And Jesus stood, and called them, and said: ‘What will ye that I do to you?’ They say to Him: ‘Lord, that our eyes be opened!’ And Jesus having compassion on them, touched their eyes. And immediately they saw, and followed Him” (Matthew 20:20-34). Simple, but powerful! ► “And Jesus entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand ... He saith to the man: ‘Stretch forth thy hand!’ And he stretched it forth: and his hand was restored unto him” (Mark 3:1-5). Simple, but powerful! ► “When Jesus had said these things, He cried with a loud voice: ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ And he, that had been dead, came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: ‘Loose him, and let him go!’” (John 11:43:44). Simple, but powerful! With God nothing is impossible! As the Archangel Gabriel said to Mary, at the Annunciation: “No word shall be impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37). Which was later echoed by Jesus, when He said: “With God all things are possible!” Matthew 19:26). With God, the impossible is simply possible—because God is God, and whatever He wants, happens! Building High? Dig Deep! Now what has thing long-winded, interminably dragging, endless article got to do with Our Lady, the Rosary or the month of October? Well, before you build a house upwards, you have to go in the opposite direction beforehand, namely, dig-out and lay the foundations. The purpose of these endless examples of divine doings, has been to establish the principle (not just a rare occurrence) of how God usually works with mankind. It is quite simple and quite powerful at the same time. The Rosary is one of those simple things that Heaven has given to us. It is so simple, that some, like Naaman the Leper, think it is beneath them, and they are tempted to turn away from the Rosary and go their own way. They would be foolish to do so! We often seek complicated human solutions, when Heaven wants us to use simple divine solutions! Do we really think that Our Lady does not know what she is talking about, when she tells us to pray the Rosary daily? Only Jesus can explain why He wants it that way! For us, mere sinful mortals, it is enough to follow Mary’s simple, yet powerful, advice to the stewards at Cana: “Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye” (John 2:5). Let us keep it simple, and leave the powerful stuff and miracles to God! The Power of the Humble Rosary over the Proud Devil The Rosary consists of a few very short uncomplicated humble prayers, but they have a most powerful effect. The Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be form the backbone and are the essence of the Rosary. If these simple prayers are used well—and are prayed slowly and with devotion—then marvelous results can flow forth. But mark well the words “prayed slowly and with devotion”! That can be a real challenge, even for the best of folk! God is not mocked, and, therefore, we should pray in a manner that manifests our seriousness about what we are doing, and shows that we really want to pray, thereby, saying what we mean, and meaning what we say! Then, a simple prayer can be powerful and will simply produce powerful results. I think that the power of the simple Rosary is beautifully shown by St. Louis de Montfort, when he relates a wonderful incident in his book, The Secret of the Rosary, in the chapter entitled “Thirty-Third Rose”: Devils Speak on the Rosary When St. Dominic was preaching the Rosary near Carcassone, an Albigensian was brought to him who was possessed by the devil. The Saint exorcised him in the presence of a great crowd of people; it appears that over twelve thousand had come to hear him speak. The devils, who were in possession of this wretched man, were forced to answer St. Dominic’s questions, in spite of themselves. They said: 1. That there were fifteen thousand of them in the body of that poor man, because he had attacked the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary; 2. That by the Rosary which he preached, he put fear and horror into the depths of hell, and that he was the man they hated most throughout the world because of the souls he snatched from them by the devotion of the Rosary. 3. They revealed several other things. St. Dominic put his Rosary around the neck of the possessed man and asked them who, of all the saints in Heaven, was the one they feared most, who should, therefore, be the most loved and revered by men. At this, they let out such unearthly screams, that most of the people fell to the ground, seized with fear. Then, using all their cunning so as not to answer, the devils wept and wailed in such a pitiful way, that many of the people wept also, out of pure natural pity. The devils, speaking through the mouth of the Albigensian, pleaded in a heart‑rending voice, “Dominic, Dominic, have pity on us, we promise you we will never harm you. You have always had compassion for sinners and those in distress; have pity on us, for we are in grievous straits. We are suffering so much already! Why do you delight in increasing our pains? Can’t you be satisfied with the pains we now endure? Have mercy on us, have mercy on us!” St. Dominic was not in the least moved by the pathetic words of those wretched spirits, and told them he would not let them alone until they had answered his question. Then they said they would whisper the answer, in such a way, that only St. Dominic would be able to hear. The latter firmly insisted upon their answering clearly and audibly. Then the devils kept quiet and would not say another word, completely disregarding St. Dominic’s orders. So he knelt down and said this prayer to Our Lady: “Oh, most glorious Virgin Mary, I implore you by the power of the holy Rosary command these enemies of the human race to answer my question.” No sooner had he said this prayer than a glowing flame leaped out of the ears, nostrils and mouth of the possessed man. Everyone shook with fear, but the fire did not hurt anyone. Then the devils cried, “Dominic, we beseech you, by the passion of Jesus Christ and the merits of his holy Mother and of all the saints, let us leave the body of this man without speaking further; for the angels will answer your question whenever you wish. After all, are we not liars—so why should you want to believe us? Do not torment us any more, have pity on us.” “Woe to you, wretched spirits, who do not deserve to be heard,” St. Dominic said, and kneeling down he prayed to the Blessed Virgin: “O most worthy Mother of Wisdom, I am praying for the people assembled here, who have already learned how to say the Angelic Salutation properly. I beg you, for the salvation of those here present, compel these adversaries of yours to proclaim the whole truth here and now before the people.” St. Dominic had scarcely finished this prayer when he saw the Blessed Virgin near at hand surrounded by a multitude of angels. She struck the possessed man with a golden rod, that she held, and said, “Answer my servant Dominic at once!” (It must be noted that the people neither saw nor heard Our Lady, only St. Dominic.) Then the devils started screaming: “Oh, you who are enemy, our downfall and our destruction, why have you come from Heaven to torture us so grievously? O advocate of sinners, you who snatch them from the very jaws of Hell, you who are a most sure path to Heaven, must we, in spite of ourselves, tell the whole truth and confess before everyone who it is who is the cause of our shame and our ruin? Oh, woe to us, princes of darkness. “Then listen, you Christians. This Mother of Jesus is most powerful in saving her servants from falling into Hell. She is like the sun which destroys the darkness of our wiles and subtlety. It is she who uncovers our hidden plots, breaks our snares, and makes our temptations useless and ineffective. “We have to say, however, reluctantly, that no soul who has really persevered in her service has ever been damned with us; one single sigh that she offers to the Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints. We fear her more than all the other saints in Heaven together, and we have no success with her faithful servants. “Many Christians, who call on her at the hour of death, and who really ought to be damned according to our ordinary standards, are saved by her intercession. And if that Marietta (it is thus in their fury they called her) did not counter our plans and our efforts, we should have overcome the Church and destroyed it long before this, and caused all the Orders in the Church to fall into error and infidelity. “Now that we are forced to speak, we must also tell you that nobody who perseveres in saying the Rosary will be damned, because she obtains, for her servants, the grace of true contrition for their sins by which they obtain pardon and mercy.” Then St. Dominic had all the people say the Rosary very slowly and with great devotion, and a wonderful thing happened: at each Hail Mary, which he and the people said, a large number of devils issued forth from the wretched man’s body, under the guise of red‑hot coals. When the devils had all been expelled and the heretic completely delivered from them, Our Lady, although invisible, gave her blessing to the assembled company, and they were filled with joy. (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, “Thirty-Third Rose”). Let us take heart from this wonderful incident, and make a resolution to reform ourselves by praying our Rosaries better. Thus reformed, our Rosaries will have even greater power in expelling the influence of Satan from the Church at large. Let us therefore pray them more slowly, more deliberately, and with more devotion. St. Padre is right--the Rosary is the weapon for today! But any weapon is only as good as the person using it. A person may have the best rifle in the world, but if his eyes can barely see anything, and his hands are so weak that he barely hold the rifle with his arms trembling, if he has bullets to use, then the weapon is almost useless. The same is true of the Rosary. |
Neglect Your Angel At Your Peril!
We are living in a world that is leagued against Christ and that seeks our damnation. Our Lord is not of this world, nor are we supposed to be of this world. The world belongs to the prince of this world—the devil. Whoever loves this world is an enemy of God and is in danger of losing their own soul. Don’t believe it? Let Holy Scripture clarify the matter for you: The World Belongs To Satan Our Lord “was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10). He Himself said: “I am the light of the world”, but “I am not of this world” (John 8:12; 8:23) … “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), but “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). “Yet a little while: and the world seeth Me no more” (John 14:19). “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is seated in wickedness” (1 John 5:19). Our Lord Himself points out the “prince of this world” and says that He has nothing to do with him: “Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31) … “The prince of this world is already judged” (John 16:11) … “The prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not any thing” (John 14:30). This is seen to be the case when the “prince of this world” tried to tempt Our Lord: “The devil took him up into a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said to Him: ‘All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me!’ Then Jesus saith to him: ‘Begone, Satan! For it is written: “The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and Him only shalt thou serve!”’ Then the devil left Him; and behold angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:8-10). What Do You Love? This is why the Apostles tell us: “Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” ( 1 John 2:15-16). “Be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) … “Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God … For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God …Therefore I say, brethren; the time is short; it remaineth, that they that use this world, should use it as if they used it not: for the fashion of this world passeth away” (1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:19; 7:29-31). “Be dead with Christ from the elements of this world” (Colossians 2:20). “Denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world” (Titus 2:12). “Flying from the pollutions of the world”( 2 Peter 2:20). “For we brought nothing into this world: and certainly we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7). “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God” (James 4:4). We were once of the world, but should no longer be of the world, as St. Paul writes: “And you, when you were dead in your offences, and sins, wherein in time past you walked, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief. In which also we all conversed in time past, in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Ephesians 2:1-3). As Our Lord points out: “For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). To Fight Satan and the World, We Need the Angels of God If we expect to overcome the world and its prince by ourselves, then we are grossly mistaken and dangerously complacent. If we think we can make a friend of this world, then we call God a liar—you cannot serve God and mammon. “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon!” (Matthew 6:24). As the saying goes: “You must fight fire with fire!” Similarly, we can only fight the fires of Hell and overcome the fiery darts of the devil, through the fires of love and fiery love of God’s angelic spirits—the angels. Fire is Needed Our Lord says: “I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49) and we say to God: “Come, O Holy Ghost, … enkindle in us the fire of Thy love”, so that we “may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). There is biblical connection between angels and fire. We read that “He maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire” (Hebrews 1:7), and that “there appeared to Moses, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush” (Acts 7:30) ... “And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire … And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire … And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (Apocalypse 14:18; 16:8; 10:1). In Genesis (3:24), we read of Cherubims with flaming swords of fire. To be able to fight the evil angels with their fiery darts, we need the good angels with their fiery swords. Otherwise, we are out of our league! Angelic Authority If there was ever an earthly authority on Angels, it was St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. He talked to them regularly as you and I talk with our family and friends. He sent them all over the world on “missions” to his spiritual children, and received messages back via the angels as often as we receive mail. Here are a few of his thoughts on these magnificent heavenly beings. St. Padre Pio and His Guardian Angel St. Padre Pio had the privilege of having his Guardian Angel visibly beside him all his life. He played with him when he was a child, and the Guardian Angel sang for him when he was sad. St. Padre Pio, speaking of his Guardian Angel, said: “My Guardian Angel has been my friend since my infancy. Little companion of my infancy, ‘angiolino’, ‘angioletto’, my secretary, inseparable companion, celestial person, celestial messenger, brother, friend, prevents danger, one of the family, translates for me the letters in other languages, I send him to console people suffering, prevents from stumbling, never lives us alone for an instant, from the cradle to the grave, even when we are sinning.” Companion in Prayer When Padre Pio was a young friar, he wrote a letter to his confessor in which he said: “When I close my eyes and the night comes, I can see the Heaven that appears in front of me. I am encouraged by this vision so I can sleep with a sweet smile on the lips and with a perfect calm on the forehead, waiting my small companion of my infancy came to wake up me and start praying together prayers to the beloved of our hearts.” The Angel would keep Padre Pio up at night, so that they could both chant God’s praises. Faithful Secretary Padre Pio lived in close contact with his Guardian Angel, who taught him to translate letters in French and Greek. He said: “If the mission of our Guardian Angel is a great mission, the mission of mine is for sure greater than the others, because he has to be a teacher and explain to me other languages” … “The mission of my Guardian Angel includes explaining me other languages.” When asked: “How do you take care of the so many letters you receive?” The good Padre replied: “The Angel does his job.” After Taking A Beating! St. Padre Pio’s Angel would also ease the pain that he suffered from the beatings he received from demons. St. Padre Pio wrote the following to his spiritual director on November 5th, 1912: “I cannot tell you the way these scoundrels [the demons] beat me. Sometimes I feel I am about to die. On Saturday, it seemed to me that they intended to put an end to me and I did not know what saint to invoke. I turned to my Angel and, after he had kept me waiting a while, there he was hovering close to me, singing hymns to the divine Majesty in his angelic voice . . . I rebuked him bitterly for having kept me waiting so long when I had not failed to call him to my assistance. To punish him, I did not want to look him in the face; I wanted to get away, to escape from him. But he, poor creature, caught up with me almost in tears and held me, until I raised my eyes to his face and found him all upset. Then he said: ‘I am always close to you, my beloved young man!’” A Companion in Need is a Companion Indeed One winter, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio was walking along a country road to the Convent where the good Padre was waiting for her. The road was so heavily covered with snow, in which it was even difficult to walk, that she was uncertain if she would reach the Convent in time for the appointment. Full of faith, she prayed to her Guardian Angel to tell Padre Pio she would have to arrive late, because of the snow. When she finally reached the convent, she saw Padre Pio smiling, waiting for her behind a window. The Guardian Angel had done his job! A woman was sitting in the square of the church of the Capuchins. The Church was closed. It was late and she prayed with the thought, and repeated with the heart: “Padre Pio, help me! Guardian Angel, please, go to tell Padre Pio to help me, otherwise my sister will die!” From the window, above her, came St. Padre Pio’s voice: “Who is calling me at this time? What is the problem?” The woman told him about her sister’s illness. St. Padre Pio bilocated, went to the sick woman and healed her. Here are some other things that St. Padre Pio said about the Angels: Angelic Assistance At Mass We cannot imagine the number of Angels that assist at each Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—and with such devotion, that we would blush for shame if we could only witness it. Perhaps we need to ask our Guardian Angels to obtain for us the grace of “cleaning-up our act” and assistance and the greatest Event on Earth in a more fitting and fervent manner! ● “Oh, if all men could understand this great gift that God, assigned to us; this celestial spirit.” ● “All of Paradise is close to the altar when I say Mass.” ● “The angels attend my Mass In legions.” ● “The angels around the altar adore and love.” Acquiring An Angelic Attitude We are so caught up in ourselves that we forget our best friend—outside of Jesus and Mary. Our Guardian Angel has done so much for us and all he gets is perhaps a mechanical and routine, 5-second prayer… “Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day (night) be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, to guide. Amen.” Or perhaps he doesn’t even get that! St. Padre Pio has these words to say on the subject: ● “Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you.” ● “Your Guardian Angel prays for you; offers to God all the good works you accomplish; your holy and pure desires.” ● “Invoke your Guardian Angel that he will illuminate you and will guide you. God has given him to you for this reason. Therefore use him!” ● “Often remember his presence; thank him; pray to him; respect him; be in constant fear of offending the purity of his gaze.” ● “Our Guardian Angel never leaves us, even when we are disgusting God with our behavior!” Others may leave us, but our Guardian Angels don’t! ● “Oh if all men could understand this great gift that God assigned to us; this celestial spirit!” Feeling Lonely? For those who feel abandoned, lonely, isolated—St. Padre has this to say: ● “For people that live alone there is the Guardian Angel.” ● “When you seem to be alone, here a friendly soul to whom you can unburden yourself and in whom you can confide your sorrows.” ● “We will pray for your mother, so that the Guardian Angel will be with her in company.” ● “For whomever is alone, there is his Guardian Angel.” ● “Do not forget this invisible companion, always present to listen to you; always ready to console you.” ● One time, St. Padre Pio was asked: “With all those Angels around you—don’t they bother you?” He answered, “No. They are so obedient.” Communication Problems? For those who need to communicate, St. Padre Pio recommends using the Guardian Angels (not a bad idea in these of communications surveillance and Big-Brother watching and listening to you! Perhaps instead of e-mails or electronic mail, we can use a-mails, or angelic mail!). Padre Pio often recommended that, if people wanted to send him a message or a petition, they could send him their Guardian Angel. Fr. Dominic, who handled the American mail for Padre Pio, asked him: “Padre . . . a woman wants to know if she sends her Guardian Angel to you, does he come?” Padre Pio replied, “Tell her that her Angel is not like she is. Her Angel is very obedient—and when she sends him, he comes!” Here are some other comments of St. Padre Pio on this subject: ● “Pick a name for your Guardian Angel and call him by the name always. When you send him to me, he will come instantly.” ● “Send the Guardian Angel. He doesn’t pay a train ticket and doesn’t wear-out shoes.” ● “Don’t write to me because I cannot answer you. Send me your Guardian Angel and I will do everything.” ● “Your Guardian Angel has reported to me some sentences that have made me understand your mistrust.” ● Someone complained to St. Padre Pio: “Father, my income doesn’t allow me to come to see you as often as I’d like.” St. Padre Pio replied: “Who told you to come here? Don’t you have your Guardian Angel? Tell him what you want, send him here, and you will have an answer right away.” ● A person asked St. Padre Pio, “Father, are you able to hear what the Guardian Angels tell you?” And Padre Pio answered, “Of course! Do you think Angels are disobedient as you? Send me your Guardian Angel!” ● An Italian-American, from California, used to pray to his Guardian Angel to tell his needs to St. Padre Pio. One day, after confession, he asked St. Padre Pio if he really heard his Guardian Angel. “Do you think I am deaf?” And he repeated what he had told recently his Guardian Angel to tell St. Padre Pio. ● Padre Lino Barbati sent his Guardian Angel to ask of St. Padre Pio the healing of a person. That person was not getting better. He asked St. Padre Pio: “Could it be that at times the Guardian Angel doesn’t do what we ask him to do?” St. Padre Pio answered: “What? Are you thinking that he is disobedient like me and you?” ● One of the spiritual children of St. Padre Pio said: “It seems that Padre Pio always listens to everybody who calls him.” One evening, a group of friends arrived at San Giovanni Rotondo. They summarized the graces that they would like to ask of St. Padre Pio, and they asked their Guardian Angels to bring their requests to St. Padre Pio as soon as possible. The next day, after the Holy Mass, St. Padre Pio reproached them: “You do not leave me in peace even at night!” Watching Padre Pio’s smile, they understood their prayer had been accepted. ● Padre Alessio approached St. Padre Pio with some letters in his hand in order to ask him something but St. Padre Pio told him abruptly: “Boy! Leave me alone! Don’t you see that I am busy?” Padre Alessio went away mortified. Later, St. Padre Pio apologized and explained: “Didn’t you see all those Angels who were with me? They are the Guardian Angels of my spiritual children who brought me their messages. I had to report to them the answers they needed.” ● Padre Eusebio said: “I was going to London by plane, against Padre Pio’s suggestion not to use this mean of transport. When we were flying over the Channel, a violent storm put the plane in danger. Amid the general terror I prayed and, without knowing what to do, I sent my Guardian Angel to Padre Pio. When I went back to San Giovanni Rotondo, I met Padre Pio, who said to me: ‘Are you well? Is everything OK?’ I answered: ‘I thought I’d die!’ The saintly padre responded: ‘Then why don’t you obey?’ I responded: ‘But I have sent you my Guardian Angel!’ Padre Pio then said: ‘Fortunately, he arrived just in time!’” Need Help? The Guardian Angels are not just messengers, but helpers in the greatest degree! St. Padre Pio states: ● “Our Guardian Angel prays constantly for us.” ● “Let’s confide to Our Guardian Angel our pains and sorrows. He is like a friend, like a brother.” ● “The duty of the Guardian Angel is not only of spiritual guidance. He also prevents bodily harm for us.” ● An Italian Lawyer named Attilio De Sanctis, from Fano, Italy, was driving back home to Bologna with his wife and two children. During the trip he fell asleep at the wheel. He woke up a few miles from home. He said: “Who drove my car?” The wife said: “You were still, and didn’t answer to us, and you avoided several collisions at last second. Your driving was different from usual.” Two months later he visited Padre Pio, who told him from afar: “You were asleep and the Guardian Angel drove your car.” The mystery was solved. Angel Envy? With all that power, you would think that there is nothing that the angels could envy about humans. However, St. Padre Pio tells us: “The Angels envy us for one thing only: they cannot suffer for God.” Dying to See our Guardian Angel St. Padre Pio tells us that seeing our Guardian Angel at the moment of our death will be a truly stupendous sight to behod—if we die well and in the state of grace! ● “It will be a great joy when, at the moment of death, we will be able to see our Guardian Angel.” ● “What consolation when, at the moment of death, you will see this Angel, who accompanied you through life and was so generous in maternal care.” ● “May the desire to see this inseparable companion incite you to leave this body quickly.” ● “When we die, our Guardian Angel will take our soul to Heaven.” Do Not Neglect Your Angel! Woe to those who neglect to profit from their Guardian Angel in this life! Therefore St. Padre Pio encourages us: ● St. Padre Pio, in a letter, April 20th, 1915, wrote: “Often repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Angel of God, my guardian to whom the goodness of the heavenly Father entrusts me, enlighten, protect and guide me now and forever.’” ● “Invoke often this Guardian Angel, and repeat the beautiful prayer: ‘Oh, Angel of God . . .’” St. Padre Pio’s Daily Prayer to His Guardian Angel Angel of God, my guardian, to whom the goodness of the Heavenly Father entrusts me. Enlighten, protect and guide me! Now and for ever! Amen. St. Gemma Galgani and Her Guardian Angel Another wonderful example of the role and influence of the Guardian Angel can be seen in the life of St. Gemma Galgani (1878-1903). She was called by God to be a victim soul, that is, to suffer for the conversion of sinners—which is essentially the message that Our Lady at Fatima, where she asked of all of us—not quite to be victim souls—but to pray and offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. God never demands the impossible, and, if He asked a great deal of Gemma Galgani, He also gave her great helps to achieve her calling. One of these great helps was the incredible assistance given to Gemma by her Guardian Angel. The biographer of St. Gemma Galgani, the Venerable Father Germanus C.P., writes in his book, The Life of St. Gemma Galgani, that: “Gemma saw her guardian angel with her own eyes, touched him with her hand, as if he were a being of this world, and would talk to him as would one friend to another ... ‘Jesus’, she once said ‘has not left me alone; He makes my guardian angel stay with me always.’” Spiritual Helper The Venerable Father Germanus continues “He let her see him sometimes raised in the air with outspread wings, with his hands extended over her, or else hands joined in an attitude of prayer. At other times he would kneel beside her. If they were reciting vocal prayers or the Psalms, they did so alternately; if aspirations or prayers from the heart, ‘they rivaled one another’ [these are Gemma’s words] that is, they had a holy rivalry as to whom would say them with more fervor saying ‘Viva Gesu’ or ‘Benedetto di Dio’ and other such beautiful invocations. When it was time for meditation, the angel inspired her with sublimest ideas, and moved her affections so that the result of this holy exercise may be more perfect. The subject of these meditations was, for the most part, the Passion of Our Lord, the angel like a good master, laid open its profound mysteries to her soul. ‘Look’ he would exclaim, ‘at what Jesus suffered for men. Consider each of these wounds. It is love that has opened them all. See how horrible sin is, since to expiate it, so much pain and so much love have been necessary’. These and other such reflections went straight to the heart of the fervent Gemma.” |
Angel and Mary
On another occasion she writes: “I was in bed suffering greatly, when, all of a sudden, I became absorbed in prayer. I joined my hands and, moved with heartfelt sorrow for my countless sins, I made an act of deep contrition. My mind was wholly plunged in this abyss of my crime against my God, when I beheld my Angel standing by my bed. I felt ashamed of being in his presence. He instead was more than courteous with me, and said, kindly: ‘Jesus loves thee greatly. Love Him greatly in return!’ Then he added: ‘Are you fond of Jesus’ Mother? Salute her very often, for she values such attention very much, and unfailingly returns the salutations offered to her; and if you do not sense this, know that she makes a proof of your unfailing trust.’ He blessed me and disappeared.” Angelic Spiritual Adviser In her Autobiography, Gemma writes “One evening, when I was suffering more than usual, I was complaining to Jesus and telling him that I would not have prayed so much, if I had known that He was not going to cure me, and I asked Him why I had to be sick this way. My Angel answered me as follows: ‘If Jesus afflicts you in your body, it is always to purify you in your soul. Be good!’ Oh, how many times during my long illness did I not experience such consoling words in my heart! But I never profited by them.” (We see, in these words, Gemma’s humility). Ticked-Off Angel “From the moment I got up from my sick bed, my Guardian Angel began to be my master and guide. He corrected me every time I did something wrong, and he taught me to speak but little, and only when I was spoken to. One day, when those in the house were speaking of some person, and were not speaking very well of her, I wanted to speak up, but the Angel gave me a severe rebuke. He taught me to keep my eyes cast down, and one time in Church he reproved me strongly saying to me: ‘Is this the way you conduct yourself in the presence of God?’ And another time he admonished me in this way ‘If you are not good, I will not let you see me anymore!’ He taught me many times how to act in the presence of God; that is, to adore Him in His infinite goodness, His infinite majesty, His mercy and in all His attributes.” Once, Gemma’s Guardian Angel ordered her to write the following: “Remember daughter, that whoever truly loves Jesus speaks little and bears all things. I command thee, on behalf of Jesus, to always refrain from giving your own opinion, unless it is asked; always to prefer silence to upholding your own views. Whenever you have committed a fault, accuse yourself of it at once, and do not wait for others to accuse thee. Give full obedience to your confessor, and to those whom he commands thee to obey; and be always sincere with them. Remember to guard your eyes, and be assured that the eyes that are mortified, shall behold the beauties of Heaven.” To humble her, her guardian angel once said to her: “Poor child! How imperfect you are! How much you need others to keep a constant guard over thee. Oh, how much patience I must have with thee.” Angelic Good Samaritan Concerning this care that the Angel gave her, Father Germano writes: “Gemma had once been beaten cruelly by the devil during her evening prayer, and being unable to move, the Angel lifted her to her bed, and stood there watching by her pillow.” Angelic Counselor In her Autobiography she writes: “I recall very well one time I was given a gold watch and chain. Ambitious as I was, I could hardly wait to put it on and go out (an indication, dear Father, that my imagination was working on me). I did in fact go out with it on and when I returned home and started to take it off I saw an angel (whom I recognized immediately as my Guardian Angel) who said to me very seriously: ‘Remember that the precious jewelry, that adorns the spouse of the Crucified King, can only be thorns and the cross!’” “I did not even tell my confessor about this. In fact, I tell it now for the first time. These words made me fear, as did the angel himself. But a little later, while reflecting on them without understanding them at all, I made this resolution: I resolve for the love of Jesus, and to please Him, never to wear the watch again, and not even to speak of things that savor of vanity. At the time I also had a ring on my finger. I took it off immediately and from then until now I have not worn such things” Angelic Messenger Another extraordinary angelic event is the fact that Gemma often sent her Guardian Angel on errands, to ask Jesus, Mary, or St. Gabriel Possenti, some permission or assistance. Later her Guardian Angel would return, with such a reply or permission as she requested. Angelic Mailman However, the most unusual angelic errands were the one’s that Father Germano writes about in Gemma’s biography. Gemma would write a letter to him (Father Germano) seeking some spiritual guidance, and then place it in a “Little Manger Shrine” that was in the Gianinni home (her “adopted” family), and because she had no money for stamps, she would request her angel to deliver the letter for her. Father Germanus, living several hundred miles away in Rome at the time, would soon “find” the letter unstamped on his desk, or another such place. (yet another reason for the angelic deliveries was the fact that Father Germanus travelled extensively in his preaching ministry, and Gemma never knew where to reach him) Realizing how unusual this was, Father Germano asked Heaven for a sign that these “angelic deliveries” were it was in accord with God’s Will. Afterwards, while he was staying at the Passionist house in Corneto, Italy, a “young boy” knocked at the door asking for him. Father Germanus answered the door and the boy handed him a letter from Gemma, and ubruptly turned and left without saying a word. Who was the boy and how could Gemma have known that he was visiting at Corneto? He opened the letter and immediately realized that God answered his prayer as to the authenticity of these “angelic” deliveries. On most other occasions when these “angelic letter deliveries” occurred, Father Germanus would simply find Gemma’s unstamped letter on his desk, when he arrived in his office. After Gemma’s death, he wrote: “I always received the angelic letters faithfully. The fact is unusual … I confess I do not understand it at all ...To how many tests did I not I submit this singular phenomenon, in order to convince myself that it took place through a supernatural intervention! And yet none of my tests ever failed; and thus I was convinced again and again that in this, like in many other extraordinary things in her life, Heaven was delighted in amusing itself, as it were, with this innocent and dear maiden.” Angelic Correction The Venerable Father Germanus writes: “When necessary, her Guardian Angel knew how to show severity. She one day told me this in the following words ‘My Angel is a little severe, but I am glad of it. During the last few days, he corrected me as often as three or four times a day!’” Gemma writes “Yesterday while at table I raised my eyes and saw my Angel looking at me with frightening severity. Later, when I went to my room—Oh my God! How angry he was! I looked at him, but lowered my eyes immediately. He said: ‘Are you not ashamed to commit such faults in my presence?’ He cast such severe looks at me! And I did nothing but cry and recommend myself to my God and to my Blessed Mother, that they might take me away, because I could not bear it much longer. Every now and then he repeated: ‘I am ashamed of you!’ I prayed also that others might not see him so angry; for if they did, no one would come near me ... I did not have courage to say a word to him, for whenever I raised my eyes, he was looking at me severely!.... Yesterday evening, I found it impossible to sleep, and at last at about 2:00 am I saw him approach. He put his hand on my forehead saying: ‘Sleep my poor child!’— then he disappeared.” Angelic Love Her spiritual director Father Gemanus writes: “Gemma, seeing the great charity her angel lavished upon her, loved her angel immensely, and his name was always on her tongue as well as in her heart. ‘Dear Angel’ she would say ‘I love you so!’ ‘And why’ the Angel asked. ‘Because you teach me how to be good, and to keep humble, and to please Jesus.’” The Popes and Angels Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) once told a certain group of visitors that he was faithful in praying to his Guardian Angel—every day, both morning and evening. Whenever he encountered difficulties, he would once again turn to his Guardian Angel for help. He added: “It is good for us to say this, also out of gratitude! We have always seen ourselves as wonderfully helped by our Guardian Angel. Very often, we feel that he is here, close by, ready to help us.” St. Bernard of Clairvaux had spoken of our obligation to show respect, love and trust towards our Guardian Angels. The counsels of St. Bernard had made a profound impression upon Pope Piuz XI, who revealed that he followed this advice since his earliest days of manhood. He added that his devotion to his Guardian Angel developed throughout time, to the point where it played a part in all and any good the pope did in his life. The successor of Pius XI, Pope Pius XII (1939-1958), speaking to several hundred American visitors on October 3rd, 1958—the day after the feast of the Guardian Angels—just six days before his death on the 9th, described the role the Guardian Angels played in their lives: “Did Christ not say, speaking to little children, who were so loved by his pure and loving heart: ‘Their angels always behold the face of my Father Who is in Heaven’ (Matthew 18:10). When children become adults, do their Guardian Angels abandon them? Not at all! The hymn at first vespers in yesterday's liturgy told us: ‘Let us sing to the Guardian Angels of men, heavenly companions, given by the Father to our frail nature, lest we succumb to the enemies who threaten us.’ This same thinking is to be found time and time again in the writings of the Fathers of the Church. Everyone, no matter how humble he may be, has Angels to watch over him. They are heavenly, pure and splendid, and yet they have been given us to keep us company on our way: they have been given the task of keeping careful watch over you so that you do not become separated from Christ, their Lord. And not only do they want to protect you from the dangers which waylay you throughout your journey: they are actually by your side, helping your souls as you strive to go ever higher in your union with God through Christ.” Whereas we are inclined sometimes to limit the role of the guardian angels to that of defending and protecting us, especially as regards the material side of things, Pius XII goes much further, in keeping with all Christian tradition: our Guardian Angel, he says actually promotes our spiritual improvement and helps develop our intimacy with God. He is a teacher of asceticism and mysticism, a guide who will lead us right to the summit. Pius XII ends his address by exhorting the faithful to be on familiar terms, here and now, with their invisible traveling companions: “We do not want to take our leave of you ... without exhorting you to awaken, to revive, your sense of the invisible world which is all around us—because we look not to the things which are seen, but the things that are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18)—and to have a certain familiarly with the Angels, who are forever solicitous for your salvation and your sanctification. If God wishes, you will spend a happy eternity with the angels: get to know them here, from now on.” The Avenging Angel of the Passover We have much to learn of the "Avenging Angels" of the Old Testament, sent by God, in response to prayer and penance, for the protection of His Chosen People. God speaks to Moses and prepares the Chosen People for the night of the original Passover, when the Avenging Angel would pass over Egypt and kill the firstborn in those houses that did not have the blood of the lamb smeared on the upper door posts: “And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses … And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you: and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus, chapter 12). The blood of the lamb on the wooden door posts was simply a prefiguration of the Blood of the Lamb of God—Our Lord Jesus Christ—that stained the wood of the Cross. If we have the Cross in our lives, and if we carry it willingly, then we shall be saved—as the Liturgy says: “In cruce salus” (In the Cross is Salvation) and “Ave crux, spes unica!” (Hail Cross, our only hope!). Avenging Angels and the Destruction of Sodom Sodom was destined for destruction, due to its sinfulness. God sent two Angels to accomplish its destruction: “And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of the city … And they said to Lot: ‘Hast thou here any of thine? Son-in-law, or sons, or daughters? All that are thine bring them out of this city: for we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown loud before the Lord, Who hath sent us to destroy them!’ "So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, that were to have his daughters, and said: ‘Arise! Get you out of this place, because the Lord will destroy this city!’ And he seemed, to them, to speak as it were in jest. And when it was morning, the angels pressed him, saying: ‘Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters which thou hast: lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city!’ And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord spared him. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city: and there they spoke to him, saying: ‘Save thy life! Look not back! Neither stay thou in all the country about, but save thyself in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed!’” (Genesis, chapter 19). Today, we are being told the same thing: God “will destroy this place, because their cry is grown loud before the Lord!” Yet, like Lot’s sons-in-law, we think it is all a joke. We are told: “Arise! Get you out of this place, because the Lord will destroy this city!” Yet we are, like Lot and his family, reluctant to separate ourselves from the world. We are told “Save thy life! Look not back! Neither stay thou in all the country about, but save thyself in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed!”—but we are prepared to take the risk, and so, like the frog in the ever increasingly hotter pan of heated water, we stay where we are rationalizing and compromising. The Avenging Angels of the Machabees We see God send three Angels to protect the Temple of Jerusalem. Heliodorus was about to ransack the Temple of Jerusalem and its treasury, “but the spirit of the almighty God gave a great evidence of His presence, so that all that had presumed to obey him, falling down by the power of God, were struck with fainting and dread. For there appeared to them a horse with a terrible rider upon him, adorned with a very rich covering: and he ran fiercely and struck Heliodorus with his fore feet, and he that sat upon him seemed to have armor of gold. Moreover there appeared two other young men beautiful and strong, bright and glorious, and in comely apparel: who stood by him, on either side, and scourged him without ceasing with many stripes. And Heliodorus suddenly fell to the ground, and they took him up covered with great darkness, and having put him into a litter they carried him out. So he that came with many servants, and all his guard into the aforesaid treasury, was carried out, no one being able to help him, the manifest power of God being known. And he indeed, by the power of God, lay speechless, and without all hope of recovery” (2 Machabees 3:24-29). The same thing happened later, when “Antiochus prepared for a second journey into Egypt. And it came to pass that through the whole city of Jerusalem, for the space of forty days, there were seen horsemen running in the air, in gilded raiment, and armed with spears, like bands of soldiers. And horses set in order by ranks, running one against another, with the shakings of shields, and a multitude of men in helmets, with drawn swords, and casting of darts, and glittering of golden armor, and of harnesses of all sorts” (2 Machabees 5:1-3). The leader of the Machabees in battle, Judas Machabeus, would pray before battle and God would send Angels to guard and protect him in battle: “Timotheus who before had been overcome by the Jews, having called together a multitude of foreign troops, and assembled horsemen out of Asia, came as though he would take Judea by force of arms. "But Machabeus and they that were with him, when he drew near, prayed to the Lord, sprinkling earth upon their heads and girding their loins with haircloth, and lying prostrate at the foot of the altar, besought him to be merciful to them, and to be an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary to their adversaries, as the law saith. And so after prayer taking their arms, they went forth further from the city, and when they were come very near the enemies they rested. "But as soon as the sun was risen both sides joined battle: the one part having with their valor the Lord for a surety of victory and success: but the other side making their rage their leader in battle. But when they were in the heat of the engagement there appeared to the enemies from heaven five men upon horses, comely with golden bridles, conducting the Jews: two of whom took Machabeus between them, and covered him on every side with their arms, and kept him safe: but cast darts and fireballs against the enemy, so that they fell down, being both confounded with blindness, and filled with trouble. And there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, and six hundred horsemen. But Timotheus fled into Gazara” (2 Machabees 10:24-32). When Lysias came to lay siege to Jerusalem, once again Judas Machabeus had recourse to God through prayer and yet again God sent an Angel to the rescue: “But when Machabeus and they that were with him, understood that the strong holds were besieged, they and all the people besought the Lord with lamentations and tears, that he would send a good angel to save Israel. "Then Machabeus himself, first taking his arms, exhorted the rest to expose themselves together with him, to the danger, and to succour their brethren. And when they were going forth together with a willing mind, there appeared at Jerusalem a horseman going before them in white clothing, with golden armor, shaking a spear. Then they all together blessed the merciful Lord, and took great courage, being ready to break through not only men, but also the fiercest beasts, and walls of iron. So they went on courageously, having a helper from Heaven, who showed mercy to them. And rushing violently upon the enemy, like lions, they slew of them eleven thousand footmen, and one thousand six hundred horsemen: and put all the rest to flight: many of them being wounded, escaped naked: yea and Lysias himself fled away shamefully, and escaped” (2 Machabees 11:6-12). The one time that Judas Machabeus did not pray to the Lord for protection and victory—due to his now acquired complacency as being invincible—he fell and was killed in the battle. As Our Lord says to us: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). But if we invoke Him, then the words of St. Paul will apply: “If God be for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). “For He hath given His angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 90:11). Avenging Angels of Our Days Explaining the parable of the Sower of the Seed, Our Lord says: “He that soweth the good seed, is the Son of man. And the field, is the world. And the good seed are the children of the kingdom. And the cockle, are the children of the wicked one. And the enemy that sowed them, is the devil. But the harvest is the end of the world. And the reapers are the angels. Even as cockle therefore is gathered up, and burnt with fire: so shall it be at the end of the world. The Son of man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all scandals, and them that work iniquity … So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth … For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels: and then will He render to every man according to his works” (Matthew 13:37-41; 13:49-50; 16:27). Sr. Lucia of Fatima speaks of an Angel with a flaming sword, sent to punish the Earth: “After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor, that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand. Then pointing to the Earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’” We see this same idea reproduced by Our Lady’s prophecy at La Salette, where she speaks of the wrath of God that will fall upon the sinful world and especially the enemies of God: “At the first blow of His thundering sword, the mountains and all Nature will tremble in terror, for the disorders and crimes of men have pierced the vault of the Heavens. Cities will be shaken down and swallowed up by earthquakes. People will believe that all is lost. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of arms and blasphemy. The righteous will suffer greatly. Their prayers, their penances and their tears will rise up to Heaven and all of God’s people will beg for forgiveness and mercy and will plead for my help and intercession. And then Jesus Christ, in an act of His justice and His great mercy, will command His Angels to have all His enemies put to death. Suddenly, the persecutors of the Church of Jesus Christ, and all those given over to sin, will perish and the Earth will become desert-like. And then peace will be made, and man will be reconciled with God. Jesus Christ will be served, worshiped and glorified. Charity will flourish everywhere” (Our Lady of La Salette). This is perhaps what the Book of Apocalypse alludes to—“I heard a voice from the four horns of the great altar, which is before the eyes of God, saying to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet: ‘Loose the four angels!’ … And the four angels were loosed … to kill the third part of men” (Apocalypse 9:13-15). Our Lady of Akita says: “As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.” Nothing Changes—The Key Remains the Same! What God said of old, to Moses and His Chosen People, He says now to us—but on condition that we pray much and do penance. It as prayer and penance than unlocked the heart of God in the Old Testament, and nothing has changed. That is why Our Lady is always asking for prayer and penance in our day. As Our Lady of La Salette said: “The righteous will suffer greatly. Their prayers, their penances and their tears will rise up to Heaven and all of God’s people will beg for forgiveness and mercy and will plead for my help and intercession. And then Jesus Christ, in an act of His justice and His great mercy, will command His Angels to have all His enemies put to death. |
Is Yours Rope, String or Thread?
A rope is a series of strands which are twisted or braided together in order to combine them into a larger and stronger form. One strand is weak and fragile and will bear or sustain very little weight. Yet when several are bound together, then the strength increases. The same can be said of the Holy Rosary, which consists of two strands—vocal prayer and mental prayer or meditation. One is fine, but the two twisted together have an altogether different power. Our Lady told Sr. Lucia that the meditation on the mysteries is the “soul” of the Rosary, whereas the vocal prayers are merely the “body” of the Rosary. St. Louis de Montfort says: “The Rosary is a blessed blending of mental and vocal prayer by which we honor and learn to imitate the mysteries and the virtues of the life, death, Passion and glory of Jesus and Mary” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, §9). The Quicksand of this World This world has sucked-in and sucked-down so many souls. We are uncomfortable at the thought, much like Fr. Lombardi was uncomfortable, when interviewing Sr. Lucia in 1954, with the thought of many souls being lost in Hell. The interview was printed in the Vatican weekly "Osservatore della Domenica" February 7th, 1954. Fr. Lombardi: "Tell me, is the 'Better World Movement' a response of the Church to the words spoken to Our Lady?" Lucia: "Father, there is certainly a great need for this renewal. If it is not done, and taking into account the present development of humanity, only a limited number of the human race will be saved." Fr. Lombardi: "Do you really believe that many will go to Hell? I hope that God will save the greater part of humanity." [He had just written a book entitled: Salvation for Those Without Faith] Lucia: "Father, many will be lost." Fr. Lombardi: "It is true that the world is full of evil, but there is always a hope of salvation." Lucia: "No Father, many will be lost." Father Lombardi remembered that Lucia had seen Hell and added: "Her words disturbed me. I returned to Italy with that grave warning impressed on my heart." (Francis Johnston, Fatima—The Great Sign, p. 36). Heaven’s Weapon, or Heaven's Rope The Rosary is the chief weapon that Heaven wants to be used. We see in the account of St. Louis de Montfort, wherein he records a conversation between Our Lady and St. Dominic. Our Lady said: “‘Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?’ ‘Oh, my Lady,’ answered Saint Dominic, ‘you know far better than I do, because, next to your Son Jesus Christ, you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation.’ Then Our Lady replied: ‘I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the principal weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter, which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter’” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, §11). Our Lady Clearly Wants the Rosary Praying Our Lady could not have made it any more clear at Fatima, that she requires the Rosary to be prayed. At other apparitions she underlines this demand. At Fatima she requested, not just once, that the Rosary be prayed, but she repeated that message at every single one of her apparitions. She called herself “Our Lady of the Rosary” and said that only she could help us now. Sr. Lucia recalls that the Angel had told them to “Pray! Pray very much!” and Our Lady had also said: “Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices!” (Fatima in Lucia's Own Words). At Akita, Our Lady stresses: “Pray very much … Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved.” People Just Won’t Listen and Won’t Pray! Our Lady’s message, for the most part, has fallen on deaf ears. Sr. Lucia reveals: “The Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them.” Most people no longer, or rarely, pray the Rosary. In the US, recent surveys have shown that as little as 2% of Catholics pray the Rosary daily—and the request from Our Lady was “daily” and she implied “many times daily”—little Francisco is an example for us: he was told that he would not get to Heaven until the little eight-year-old had prayed MANY Rosaries! What is our record of sin in comparison to that eight-year-old boy’s sins? Cheating Our Lady out of Prayer The problem is that we, just like most children, want to get away with the minimum. We even see the three children at Fatima ‘cheating’ on their daily Rosary, by merely saying three words in place of the whole prayer—“Our Father, Amen” … “Hail Mary, Amen” … “Glory Be, Amen.” This was done so that they would get the Rosary over more quickly and have more time for playing. Then the Angel “sorted them out”! He caught them playing one day and said: “What are you doing?” he rebuked. “Pray, pray very much!” Soon, with the help of Our Lady too, their lives were filled with prayer! A passage of St. Louis’ will hit the nerve of so many people: “The fault commonly committed in saying the Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over with as quickly as possible. This is because so many look upon the Rosary as a burden, which weighs heavily upon them when it has not been said, especially when we have promised to say it regularly or have been told to say it as a penance more or less against our will. It is sad to see how most people say the Rosary. They say it astonishingly fast, slipping over part of the words. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most important person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment, and yet we imagine that Jesus and Mary will be honored by it! Small wonder, then, that the most sacred prayers of our holy religion seem to bear no fruit, and that, after saying thousands of Rosaries, we are still no better than we were before” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, §126-127). Why does that happen? Usually because of the phrase—”Familiarity breeds contempt.” So let us resolve to improve the way we approach and pray our Rosaries. A few moments of quiet reflection before starting could make a big difference in changing our Rosaries from being sinful (a thought which shocks many, no doubt) to being virtuous. As St. Louis says elsewhere: “It is not so much the length of a prayer as the fervor with which it is said which pleases God and touches his heart. A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more than a hundred and fifty said badly.” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-First Rose”). Familiarity Breeds Contempt We have all heard of the saying: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” The more we become used to something, then the chances are that we will gradually—perhaps even imperceptibly—lose our estimation and respect for it. Marriage is a wonderful (or should we say “terrible”) example of this. The respect, patience, efforts and love, spent in winning-over the future spouse, can very quickly evaporate over the years and give place to their opposites. The same applies to newly bought items—at first we take such great care over them, handle them gently, keep them sparkling clean, etc. However, over time, all that is forgotten and we can even give way to misuse and abuse. The same can be said of prayer—whether it be the supreme prayer of the Sacrifice of the Mass, or the Divine Office, or the Holy Rosary. If we are not careful, our assistance at Mass will degenerate with relative ease, and our Rosaries and other prayers will slide comfortably into a daily mechanical routine that we apply to so many other things and chores of life. Obedience Brings Rewards, Disobedience Punishments What goes around, comes around. There is nothing new under the sun. Therefore, we do well to read, study and learn from history—in order to imitate the good actions that brought rewards from Heaven and avoid the bad ones the brought down Heaven’s chastisements. God does not change—therefore what God says in Leviticus, chapter 26, is valid also for our day. It is worthwhile reading that in full—here are only a few lines: “I am the Lord your God … If you keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary, walk in my precepts, and keep my commandments … I will give you rain in due seasons; and the ground shall bring forth its increase; and the trees shall be filled with fruit. I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. I will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you ... I will set my tabernacle in the midst of you, and my soul shall not cast you off. I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. |
“But if you will not hear Me, nor do all My commandments, if you despise my laws, and not to do those things which are appointed by me, then I will quickly visit you with poverty, and burning heat, which shall waste your eyes, and consume your lives. I will set my face against you, and you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you … But if you will not yet for all this obey me: I will chastise you seven times more for your sins, [19] And I will break the pride of your stubbornness, and I will make to you the heaven above as iron, and the earth as brass … If you walk contrary to Me, and will not hearken to Me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you for your sins …” (Leviticus 26:1-21).
The Cost of Neglecting the Rosary “All things, even the holiest, are subject to change, especially when they are dependent on man’s free will. It is hardly to be wondered at, then, that the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary only retained its first fervor for a century, after it was instituted by Saint Dominic. After this it was like a thing buried and forgotten. Doubtless, too, the wicked scheming and jealousy of the devil were largely responsible for getting people to neglect the Rosary, and thus block the flow of God’s grace which it had drawn upon the world. “Thus, in 1349 God punished the whole of Europe with the most terrible plague that had ever been known. Starting in the east, it spread throughout Italy, Germany, France, Poland and Hungary, bringing desolation wherever it went, for out of a hundred men hardly one lived to tell the tale. Big cities, towns, villages and monasteries were almost completely deserted during the three years that the epidemic lasted. This scourge of God was quickly followed by two others, the heresy of the Flagellants and a tragic schism in 1376. Later on, when these trials were over, thanks to the mercy of God, Our Lady told Blessed Alan to revive the former Confraternity of the Holy Rosary” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, §18-19). We Forget the Excellence of Prayer We need to restore the primacy of prayer. Talking to God is more important than talking to anyone else. Holy Scripture commands that we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and Our Lord says “that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Yet today, prayer is microwaved. Quick and short—then off to what really matters! St. Augustine says: “What more excellent than prayer? What more useful and profitable? What sweeter and more delicious? What higher and more exalted in the whole scheme of our Christian religion?” St. Bernard says that the angels receive our prayers and present them before God — as the angel said to Tobias: “When thou didst pray with tears, I offered thy prayer to God” (Tobias 12:12). St. Hilary says the same: “The angels preside over the prayers of the saints and offer them each day to God.” When we pray, we enter into the presence of the majesty of God. St. John Chrysostom warns us: “Consider the height, dignity and glory to which the Lord has raised you.” At Lourdes, it was noticed that Our Lady prayed the Rosary, with St. Bernadette, SLOWLY and RESPECTFULLY. At La Salette, Our Lady asked the two children if they said their prayers well—which startled them and they had to embarrassingly reply: “Oh! No, not so much!” St. Louis de Montfort, in his The Secret of the Rosary, writes: “It is a good thing to think over how we should pray, if we want to please God and become more holy.” Praying Well St. Louis de Montfort writes: “In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions, by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with great attention, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin. How can we expect God to listen to us, if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? … People who do that forfeit God’s blessing, which is changed into a curse, for having treated the things of God disrespectfully: “Cursed be the one who does God’s work negligently.” (Jeremias 48:10).” As St. Louis de Montfort writes: “It is not so much the length of a prayer as the fervor with which it is said which pleases God and touches his heart. A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more than a hundred and fifty said badly” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-First Rose”). The devil knows this too, and, so, it is in his best interests to make sure that our Hail Mary or our Rosary is not said properly. This is a perennial battle that everyone has to face—whether it be pope, bishop or priest, or man, woman and child—it will be so to our dying day. Modern-Day Devaluation of Quality Unfortunately, in our modern-day existence, quantity and speed have replaced the ancient values placed on quality and thoroughness. Not that quality is totally disregarded, but it often comes second to quantity. A bottom-line principle that can be seen in the lives of many people is that they want to pay less for things, so that they can afford to buy lots of different things. Now of course, one’s income obviously plays a large part in this, but many of the rich even play the same game. Manufacturers are often more focused on the quantity they can produce, more so than on the quality. If they can make something “look real” then there is no point spending extra money making the real thing. So we have fake stone or brick facades for houses; we have fake furs; fake foods; fake wood; fake gold; fake marble; fake candles; fake glass, etc., etc. We are living in a fake world! The sad part is that this over-spills into our intellectual, moral and spiritual lives. We fake knowledge, we fake behavior, and we fake piety. We learn superficially—just enough to be able to make it look like we know a lot. Trivia becomes more popular than in-depth knowledge. We become a race of “Tips-and Tricks”—but we are only tricking ourselves. Morally, the world has never been as sinful as it is today, yet we put on a kind of ‘moral-make-up’ to hide the sinfulness and focus on the sins of others to make us feel better in our own miserable state. Spiritually, we cover the facade of our Temple of the Holy Ghost (which St Paul says we are), with pseudo-gold bricks’. Financially, we are prepared to fall into serious debt, in order to appear, to the world around us, as something that we are not, but simply want to be. I guess that would make us “fake wannabees”! Phony Pharisees The Pharisees were a bit like this in their day, and this brought down upon them the wrath of Jesus—the whole of chapter 23 of Matthew is dedicated to Our Lord venting against the Pharisees, which is something unparalleled in the whole of Scripture. Jesus says of them: “All their works they do for to be seen of men ... they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues ... Ye foolish and blind; for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? ... Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness. Thou blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside may become clean. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men’ s bones, and of all filthiness. So you also outwardly indeed appear to men just; but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Yet at the same time, Jesus shows quite the opposite attitude to a sinner, who, objectively speaking, was far, far worse than the Pharisees—Mary Magdalen. She was a whore; she was possessed by seven devils (symbolic of all the seven capital sins) and had been caught in adultery. Jesus’ response to her was the exact opposite of the “Woes” that he pronounced against the Pharisees. In fact, Jesus said of her: “Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less” (Luke 7:47). An Atom-Bomb of a Prayer! There is the answer! There is the secret! There is the clue to what we need to change the power of our prayers. From being ridiculous to reverential; from puny to powerful; from being farcical to frightening. Wouldn’t you like your prayers to be so powerful that would be almost infallibly heard and answered? The key element, or trunk or root, to that problem is the virtue of charity or love. The degree of one’s charity can change the prayer from being a mere firework (a passing flash in the sky) to an atom-bomb or a nuclear bomb. If you’ve seen the size of the atom-bomb dropped on Hiroshima, you will notice that it relatively small in relation to the power that it packs—in fact, the part that does the damage is a very small part within the large casing. It can be so with our prayers, and that is why St. Louis de Montfort says: “It is not so much the length of a prayer as the fervor with which it is said which pleases God and touches his heart. A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more than a hundred and fifty said badly.” The charity or love that we say our prayers with, greatly increase their value and power. Our Lady had such a great and sincere love of God, that the slightest prayer of hers was capable of moving mountains. This is why the devils themselves admitted to the power of her prayers during an exorcism: “We have to say, however, reluctantly, that no soul who has really persevered in her service has ever been damned with us; one single sigh that she offers to the Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints.” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Thirty-Third Rose”). |
Heaven’s Weapon
As was said yesterday, the Rosary is the chief weapon that Heaven wants to be used. Our Lady said to St. Dominic: “Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world? … I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the principal weapon has always been the Angelic Psalter” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, §11). Weapons and Warfare Usually, a few shots or a few bombs, do not win a war. Of course, since the advent of weapons of mass destruction, beginning with the Atom Bomb, and then developing in various kinds of Nuclear Bombs and Missiles, and now even more powerful means of destruction—a war could be over in minutes, with mass carnage all around. ‘Nuclear’ Prayer Power In spiritual warfare the same can said to be true—but just as very few nations possess the “top of the range” nuclear weaponry, so too are very few souls capable of producing ‘nuclear’ prayer—though it has to be said that Our Lady is certainly one those who can. Perhaps this is why she says at Fatima and Akita: “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, because only she can help you.” (Fatima, July 13th, 1917) and “The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. Continue to pray very much ... very much ... Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved” (Akita, October 13th, 1973). Devils Admit To Mary’s ‘Nuclear’ Prayer Power The ‘nuclear’ spiritual power of Our Lady’s prayers is admitted by the devils themselves, when commanded to confess who it was that they feared the most. They reluctantly said: “Listen, you Christians! This Mother of Jesus is most powerful in saving her servants from falling into Hell. She is like the sun which destroys the darkness of our wiles and subtlety. It is she who uncovers our hidden plots, breaks our snares, and makes our temptations useless and ineffective. We have to say, however, reluctantly, that no soul who has really persevered in her service has ever been damned with us; one single sigh that she offers to the Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints. We fear her more than all the other saints in Heaven together, and we have no success with her faithful servants” (St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, “Thirty-Third Rose”). Mary Will Not Win This War “For Free” We are all aware of Our Lady’s prophecy, at Fatima, that “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph!” Yet that triumph will not come “for free” without Catholics playing their part in this terrible spiritual war that has been increasing over the last 50 to 60 years. If the “triumph” was going to be given away “for free”, then why on earth would Our Lady use expressions like: “The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary … Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary ... Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary … Continue to pray very much ... very much” ? Without doubt we have a crucial part to play—we have to pay for the assistance that she promises. That payment is partly made by praying the Rosary. This is an image that we see in St. Louis de Montfort’s The Secret of the Rosary, wherein he writes: “One day Saint Gertrude had a vision of Our Lord counting gold coins. She summoned the courage to ask Him what He was doing, and He answered: ‘I am counting the Hail Marys that you have said; this is the money with which you purchase Heaven!’” (“Nineteenth Rose”). Yet, just as we have this innate aversion to part with our money to pay taxes, we don’t want to waste our precious time saying extra prayers if we can possibly avoid it. Furthermore, the ones that we do say, are often pretty cheap—rattled off as quick as possible so that we get back to our other precious material and physical activities. This kind of payment is like false coinage to Heaven. Our Lady Wants Quality and Quantity Our Lady wants quality and quantity—but quality must come before quantity. Many bombs and bullets can win a war, but only on condition that they are well-manufactured (so that they actually explode or exit the gun/rifle) and that they are well-aimed (so that they actually hit the target). A lack of quality in manufacture or aiming, will be just a good as wildly firing bullets into the air. At Lourdes, it was noticed that Our Lady prayed the Rosary, with St. Bernadette, SLOWLY and RESPECTFULLY. At La Salette, Our Lady asked the two children if they said their prayers well—which startled them and they had to embarrassingly reply: “Oh! No, not so much!” St. Louis de Montfort, in his The Secret of the Rosary, writes: “It is a good thing to think over how we should pray, if we want to please God and become more holy” (“Forty-First Rose”) Then, a little further, St. Louis continues: “In order to pray well, it is not enough to give expression to our petitions, by means of that most excellent of all prayers, the Rosary, but we must also pray with great attention, for God listens more to the voice of the heart than that of the mouth. To be guilty of willful distractions, during prayer, would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries unfruitful and make us guilty of sin. How can we expect God to listen to us, if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? … People who do that forfeit God’s blessing, which is changed into a curse, for having treated the things of God disrespectfully: ‘Cursed be the one who does God’s work negligently!’ —Jeremias 48:10” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Forty-Second Rose”). Our Lady Wants Many Rosaries Our Lady could not have made it any more clear at Fatima, that she requires the Rosary to be prayed and prayed much. At other apparitions she underlines this demand. At Fatima she requested, not just once, that the Rosary be prayed, but she repeated that message at every single one of her apparitions. She called herself “Our Lady of the Rosary” and said that only she could help us now. Sr. Lucia recalls that the Angel had told them to “Pray! Pray very much!” and Our Lady had also said: “Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices!” (Fatima in Lucia's Own Words). At Akita, Our Lady stresses: “Pray very much … Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved.” A World of Minimalists We can well believe the words of Sr. Lucia, when she laments: “The Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima!” We are just like the three children of Fatima—trying to get the Rosary out of the way as quickly as possible and saying as few as possible, so that, like them, we have more time to do the things we like to do—for the Fatima children it was having more time to play. This “minimalism” is the current spirit of the world—get as much as I can for the least amount of effort. It rules economics; it rules education; it rules our work ethic; it rules our relationships. However, God will not allow it rule in Heaven. Our Lord complains of the hypocrisy of many in prayer, saying: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away” (Matthew 11:12). “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength” (Mark 12:30). The word “whole” excludes all forms of minimalism. “He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly” (2 Corinthians 9:6). The modern term would be: “You get what you pay for!” or should we say: “You get what you pray for, or how you prayed for it!” This is why St. Augustine says that one of the reasons our prayers are not answered is that we pray badly. Elsewhere he says that he who prays most, receives most. An Atom-Bomb of a Prayer! We need to drill the following words into our minds and hearts, until they really start to have a truly practical effect upon us: “The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary, to such an extent, that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.” |
When a regular air-force pilot first saw the Atom-Bomb, he would have had a hard time imagining and believing the damage that its designers and producers promised it would do. It would have been almost like the disbelief of the Israelite soldiers (and Goliath for that matter) in beholding David going into battle with a sling and pebbles. Yet when God is behind something, you had better watch out! If God has given the Holy Rosary such an efficacy for our day, then who are we to argue with God or disbelieve God? The Rosary has been designed to be an ‘Atom-Bomb’ of a prayer for our day and age.
It’s All About Believing! There is nothing wrong with the weapon that Heaven has given us—the fault lies with the operator! Most people fail miserably when it comes to getting the best out of whatever software program they might be using. They use only the basic functions, while a myriad of other capabilities are never uncovered, nor used. The program seems mightier than the user. The same can be said of the Rosary. It is undervalued, underused and much abused. Very few souls reach the levels that the Rosary offers them. It is like living on a goldmine or an oilfield and dying of poverty. Nature has all the cures for all the possible diseases we could contract—but very few of them are discovered. Perhaps there is quite a lot of truth to Blessed Jacinta Marto’s words, not long before she died. Many doctors came to examine Jacinta; their only thought was of science and medicine. They discounted the influence God might have on the condition of the patient. The little girl did not hesitate to set them straight on the matter, pointing out the cause of their frequent failures: “Pity doctors! They have no idea what awaits them. Doctors do not know how to treat patients with success, because they have no love for God.” Isn’t it strange how some of the super-sports teams end up losing to some of the lowest or worst teams in their league? These lowly teams will tell you that they won the game because of their belief and confidence in being to stage an upset. Whereas in the super-sports teams, the excuse is often that of being over-confident and then losing belief in themselves and becoming discouraged once they fell behind in the game—another case of David and Goliath. David went into battle full of confidence and faith. When he was brought before King Saul, here are the words he confidently spoke: The Belief of David “‘Let not any man’s heart be dismayed in him—I, thy servant, will go and will fight against the Philistine!’ And Saul said to David: ‘Thou art not able to withstand this Philistine, nor to fight against him! For thou art but a boy, but he is a warrior from his youth!’ And David said to Saul: ‘Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a ram out of the midst of the flock: and I pursued after them, and struck them, and delivered it out of their mouth! And they rose up against me, and I caught them by the throat, and I strangled and killed them! For I, thy servant, have killed both a lion and a bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them. I will go now, and take away the reproach of the people! For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, who hath dared to curse the army of the living God? The Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine!’” (1 Kings 17:32-37). The Belief and Unbelief of Peter When we speak of “belief” we are speaking of a mix of Faith and confidence—or more correctly, a confidence built upon Faith. When St. Peter saw Our Lord walking upon the water, he asked Our Lord to bid him to also walk upon the water and go to Our Lord. “Peter making answer, said: ‘Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters!’ And He said: ‘Come!’ And Peter going down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus. But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: ‘Lord! Save me!’ And immediately Jesus, stretching forth His hand, took hold of him, and said to him: ‘O thou of little faith! Why didst thou doubt?’” (Matthew 14:28-31). What Makes Prayer Powerful? It can be so with our prayers, and that is why St. Louis de Montfort says: “It is not so much the length of a prayer as the fervor with which it is said which pleases God and touches his heart. A single Hail Mary said properly is worth more than a hundred and fifty said badly.” The charity or love that we say our prayers with, greatly increase their value and power. Our Lady had such a great and sincere love of God, that the slightest prayer of hers was capable of moving mountains. This is why the devils themselves admitted to the power of her prayers during an exorcism: “We have to say, however, reluctantly, that no soul who has really persevered in her service has ever been damned with us; one single sigh that she offers to the Blessed Trinity is worth far more than all the prayers, desires, and aspirations of all the saints.” (The Secret of the Rosary, “Thirty-Third Rose”). Holy Scripture tells us that when the Apostles failed to cast out the devil from a boy, “the disciples then came to Jesus secretly, and said: ‘Why could not we cast him out?’ Jesus said to them: ‘Because of your unbelief! For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: “Remove from hence hither!”, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:18-20). Our Lady has told us the very same thing: Heaven requires prayer, in the form of the Rosary, and sacrifices, which include fasting. At Lourdes she demanded: “Penance! Penance! Penance!” At Akita she said: “Prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices can soften the Father’s anger!” Yet we pray little and sacrifice even less! Most are overweight and underprayed. We spend more time in the store than the chapel. We talk more on the phone than we do to God. We put far more time into preparing our meals than our preparation for Holy Communion. A Matter of Heart Our prayer life, and therefore our Rosary, is primarily a matter of heart. “Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart” (Colossians 3:23). “But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). It is the heart that loves and prayer is meant to be a communication with the One we love. It is the heart that is courageous and full of confidence. It is a lack of heart that Our Lord complains about: “This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!” (Mark 7:6). It is time to change that! “I went to the Lord, and besought Him, and said with my whole heart...” (Wisdom 8:21). “I entreated Thy face with all my heart” (Psalm 118:58). “You shall seek Me, and shall find Me: when you shall seek Me with all your heart” (Jeremias 29:13). God was moved to action only when “they all begged of God with all their heart” (Judith 4:16). “With his whole heart he praised the Lord, and loved God that made him: and He gave him power against his enemies” (Ecclesiasticus 47:10). So, “let us draw near with a true heart” (Hebrews 10:22). That true heart goes beyond a Rosary lip-service, or lip-recitation, and seeks out a ‘heart-meditation’. Our Lady said that the soul of the Rosary is the meditation, not the vocal prayers. “I am the Lord who searches the heart” (Jeremias 17:10) and our hearts should search out the mysteries and meditate upon them. “He should be loved with the whole heart” (Mark 12:33). “My heart grew hot within me: and, in my meditation, a fire shall flame out” (Psalm 38:4). “And they said one to the other: ‘Was not our heart burning within us, whilst He spoke in this way, and opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:32) “...then the devil cometh, and taketh the word out of their heart, lest, believing, they should be saved.” (Luke 8:12). Too Many Divided Hearts Sadly, especially today, too many pray with a divided heart. They want to love God, but they also want to love the world. They want to be loved by God, and they also want to be loved by the world. It cannot be! “A heart that goeth two ways shall not have success” (Ecclesiasticus 3:28). Such a divided heart will be rejected by God: “The perverse heart did not cleave to Me: and the malignant, that turned aside from Me, I would not know” (Psalm 100:4). “Their heart is divided: now they shall perish: He shall break down their idols, He shall destroy their altars” (Osee 10:2). “That the house of Israel may be caught in their own heart, with which they have departed from me through all their idols” (Ezechiel 14:5). Power-Up the Prayer Life Most of the world prays badly (or not at all)! Do not be like most of the world--“Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7:13-14). Make this month of October the month when you reform your habits of prayer in general, and your habits of praying the Rosary in particular. Think more about the aspect of love and try ensure the presence of love in your prayers, for it love that which makes the prayer powerful—dare we even say infallibly 'nuclear powerful'! |
Car, Church & Soul
Cars could be compared to the Catholic Church in general or to the soul of a Catholic in particular—a newly made car rolls off the production line in a pristine or somewhat flawless condition, just as the soul of a new born baby rolls off the ‘production line’ of the baptismal font in an immaculate state of sanctifying grace. If the new car is well taken care of, then it will give many years of relatively problem-free service. If the newly baptized child is well taken care of, then it should provide many trouble-free years in the service of God. Comparing the car to the Catholic Church, we can say that the Catholic Church is the car on the market—nothing comes close to it. There are many imitations, but they are vastly inferior. Yet, even the best car can be used in a way that is abused. A car is meant to deliver its passengers to their desired destination, just as the Church has to deliver its passengers to Heaven. Yet if regular care is not taken over the car, the car will, sooner or later, fail to do its job. Likewise, we must take care of the Church if we want the Church to function properly and take care of us. We can take care of the Church in many ways. One of the six chief Commandments of the Church requires that we contribute to the support of the Church. Just as there are Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, likewise we can support the Church materially or spiritually—the spiritual being the most important of course, This is why Our Lady of Akita says: "Pray very much for the Pope, Bishops, and Priests!" (July 6th, 1973). If people were supporting the Church MUCH MORE by their prayers and sacrifices, then the 'car' of the Church would not be in the dilapidated state that it currently finds itself in, Surface Problems Of course, even when solicitous care is taken of the car, some minor blemishes will invariably occur: the body paint may chip; scratches may appear; rust may try to take a hold; dents may be suffered; etc. Likewise, a child as it grows will find its soul blemished by venial sins—as Holy Scripture says: “For a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again” (Proverbs 24:16). These surface problems are minor and should not hinder the car from reaching its destination. We could compare the minor scratches and minor dents to venial sins, which do not prevent the soul from getting to Heaven, they do mean a visit to the ‘body-shop’ or ‘soul-shop’ of Purgatory. If these scratches and dents are not taken care of promptly and removed in Confession, then rust can begin form around them—which we could say is lukewarmness. Once rust sets in, it can be hard to control—just as there are few souls that manage get out the state of lukewarmness. Another problem can be the windshield, which can become chipped, cracked or just plain dirty. The windshield could be compared to the eyes of our body—and more so, the eyes of the soul—they even say that “the eyes are the windows of the soul.” More precisely, we could say that the windshield is part of our intellect, that ‘sees’ things. Are we seeing things clearly, or is our windshield dirty? We may need the water of grace and the wipers of mortification to removes the stains from the eyes of our soul! The windshield is usually dirtied from the outside, just as the soul is sullied by the outside world. It may need frequent sprays of water and much abrasion by the wipers to maintain a clean windshield. The water of grace comes to us primarily through the water jets of prayer and the sacraments. We may need lots of water (grace) to see clearly and avoid any potentially dangerous collisions. However, there can also be problems that risk preventing the destination from being reached. The potential problems are many—we will look at just a few. Deeper Problems An engine misfires. It’s a sensation you instantly recognize but just as quickly you would like to block out the thought. The engine stumbles for a moment and then regains its pace. Just as soon as the engine rhythm settles down, after a little while the engine misfire reappears, and you’re stuck with the sinking feeling that accompanies all automotive problems beyond the shadow of your wisdom: “Oh boy! Something’s wrong!” The sinking feeling is often followed by either: “This is going to be expensive!” or, “Why me/now/here?” All this is expected, but the real question should be: “How can I fix it?” The problem could be quite easy to fix, or it could be complicated. Engine misfires can be caused by a list of faults, but there are a few suspects that occur more than others. The primary villains are simple — spark or fuel — usually manifesting in spark plugs, plug wires, the coil(s) or the fuel-delivery system. No Spark—No Fervor From a spiritual perspective, there our spiritual engine may be misfiring—and the simple problem may also be ‘spark’ or ‘fuel’, or in other words, a lack of fervor, charity or grace. Think of spark plugs as the tiniest bolt of lightning. Small but mighty, the spark of electricity that the plug emits across a small gap creates the ignition for the combustion needed to start your car. Without a spark, your car won’t start — or go anywhere. And because spark plug health is directly linked to engine performance, it stands to reason weak or bad spark plugs lead to problems—be it issues with cold-starting, or misfires during acceleration. Besides, without healthy ones, your ride can’t sustain maximum power, and your vehicle can see a drop in fuel economy. Spark plugs work better when hot and they can withstand the extreme heat and pressure within your cylinders and are built to burn off deposits from fuel additives or other contaminants. This, obviously , leads to think of charity—which is like a hot, burning virtue. Without the regular spark of charity, the engine of our soul misfires in lukewarmness. We could well apply the following passage from The Imitation of Christ to illustrate this point: “Ah, Lord God, my holy Love, when You come into my heart, all that is within me will rejoice ... The noble love of Jesus spurs to great deeds and excites longing for that which is more perfect. Love tends upward; it will not be held down by anything low. Love wishes to be free and estranged from all worldly affections, lest its inward sight be obstructed, lest it be entangled in any temporal interest and overcome by adversity. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant and nothing better in Heaven or on Earth ... One who is in love flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, not bound ... Love often knows no limits but overflows all bounds. Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of troubles, attempts more than it is able, and does not plead impossibility, because it believes that it may and can do all things. For this reason, it is able to do all, performing and effecting much where he who does not love fails and falls ... Wearied, it is not tired. Pressed, it is not straitened. Alarmed, it is not confused, but like a living flame, a burning torch, it forces its way upward and passes unharmed through every obstacle. If a man loves, he will know the sound of this voice” (The Imitation of Christ, Book 3, chapter 5: “The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love”). It is the spark of divine love upon the ‘spark plugs’ of the soul that gives the soul this driving power to burn wisely and powerfully the energy of divine grace. For everyone can receive the same grace of hearing a particular sermon or reading a certain book—but the reactions or actions coming from this grace will depend largely upon the ‘spark’ of charity in the soul. Climbing into a freezing car is not fun, so many resort to starting the vehicle and letting it warm up before they leave for the day. This is viable for a couple minutes; however, engines are not designed to idle for long periods of time. Idling for too long causes buildup on the spark plugs, rendering them less efficient. Likewise, charity was not meant to be idle—Faith without works is dead—we need works of charity: “Why stand you here all the day idle?” (Matthew 20:6). That is why the Holy Ghost says through St. Paul: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Many people may be in a state of grace, but that fuel has to burn for the soul to move as it ought. Charity is what sparks and makes the fuel of grace burn. Running-Out of Gas You can have the best make of car in the world. You can also have that car in the best possible condition. Yet without fuel, it will take you nowhere. An empty tank means you will never make it to your destination, unless you keep gas in the tank. That is quite obvious—but when it comes to the spiritual life, we can easily lose sight of the obvious. The gas for the spiritual life is quite simply Our Lord and His Sanctifying Grace. Our Lord could not have put in any more clearly than when He said at the Last Supper: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5)—which is tantamount to saying: “Without Me, you ain’t goin’ anywhere!” Where's the gas station? Well there are three major spiritual gas companies that supply most gas stations. These are Sacraments, Prayer and Sacrifices (the latter includes Mortification and Penances as its subsidiaries). You can "gas-up" at any one of these. However, as we all know, we have to continually "topping-up" our tanks (or souls). Dirty Carburetor We know that mortal sin drives God and Sanctifying Grace out of the soul—much like a cracked gas tank would spill all the gas from the tank. Yet venial sin hinders the efficiency of grace—for grace perfects nature, but venial sin deforms our nature. Could we say that it could be likened to a dirty carburetor. When a carburetor is clean and is working properly, the engine should start easily (hot or cold), idle smoothly, and accelerate without stumbling. Problems that are often blamed on a "bad" or "dirty" carburetor include hard starting, hesitation in accelerating, stalling, rough idle, flooding, idling too fast and poor fuel economy. In other words, the car works and drives—but not well. Venial sin does the same thing to the soul—it does function optimally, and will quickly fall into lukewarmness. Low Tire Pressure or Flat Tire To what could we link the tires? Well, since “the Church favors the opinion that along with grace and charity the four cardinal virtues are communicated to the souls of the just” (Catholic Encyclopedia, “Sanctifying Grace”), then we could link the four cardinal virtues to the four tires on the car. A virtue stands in the middle between excess and neglect, just a tire needs to have its correct pressure—not over-inflated, nor under-inflated. Your tires are your car's only connection to the road—just as the Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude) are the virtues that connect to others in the world—the three Theological Virtues connect us to God. The effect of virtues is to make good actions smooth and easy—whereas the purpose of tires is to help the car move over the surface of the road smoothly. Since air is a gas, it expands when heated and contracts when cooled. Tires tend to be a bigger issue in the winter due to compressed air that cooler weather brings. In most parts of North America, this makes fall and early winter months the most critical times to check inflation pressures, days are getting shorter, ambient temperatures are getting colder, and your tires' inflation pressure is going down! Maintaining proper air pressure is the single most important thing drivers can do for their tires. Air pressure is the lifeblood of any tire. Air pressure will vary with temperature. A drop in tire inflation pressures corresponds with the falling thermometer readings. Air pressure in a tire typically goes down 1-2 pounds for every 10 degrees of temperature change. Under-inflation is the worst enemy a tire can have, as it causes increased tread-wear on the tire. It also generates excessive heat that can lead to a blowout, and it can reduce fuel economy by increasing rolling resistance – because soft tires make the car work harder. An under-inflated tire will not absorb the bumps well, which transfers the blow to and puts more pressure on the suspension and shock absorbers. Once again, we can say that what the air-pressure is to the tire and its performance, grace is to the soul and its practice of virtue. The Cardinal Virtues (which in themselves contain all the other moral virtues), also need a correct pressure. We cannot over-inflate them (exaggerate or go to an excess), nor can we under-inflate them (neglect using them or under-use them). How many persons and families have had “flat” or “punctured” tires (relationships) because the virtues were not properly “inflated” to the right “pressure”. |
Warming-Up the Car on Cold Days
When the cold, freezing winter weather hits, it is wise to warm up the car engine for a couple of minutes, before driving the car. When your car has been sitting out overnight, all the lubricating oil that's coating all of the crucial, moving bits of the car has settled down to the bottom of the oil pan. When the temperatures are really cold, not only is that oil not near the areas it needs to be, but its viscosity — the ability to flow — has been severely impaired by the cold. You've seen how differently, say, refrigerated maple syrup flows compared to hot syrup — the oil is the same way. So, when you start that cold engine, it's essentially running without lubrication. If you start up and immediately put a load on the engine, things could get damaged. It's just not ready to go. Take a minute or two to get that oil pumping around before putting any load on the engine, and your pistons and camshafts and turbos and other spinning, moving bits will be much, much happier. The same is true when we want to drive our spiritual car or perform our spiritual exercises—we need to warm, like athletes need to warm up before a race or a game. The Church even has priests ‘warm-up’ before Mass by recommending certain prayers of preparation. Similar ‘warm-up’ prayers of preparation are found in any lay person’s missal that is worthy of the name. Spiritual writers tell us to prepare before regular prayers and meditations. We can rarely just dive into our spiritual car, when our soul is spiritually ‘freezing cold’ from being exposed to the spiritual cold winds of the world. The reason that most people fail to prepare for spiritual duties can be traced to the following chief (but not exclusive) causes: (1) Spiritual exercises—like hearing Mass, going to Holy Communion, praying the Rosary, spiritual reading, meditation, etc.—are not really valued as much as they should be. The world comes before God. For many, they are a secondary element in their lives—something that they know should be done, but without much care and attention being given to how it is done. Imagine athletes not stretching before training or running races—they would expose themselves needlessly to potential injury. Many souls ‘injure’ themselves by “going in cold” into their spiritual exercises, without any ‘warm-ups’—with the result that they are performed indifferently, routinely, blandly and lukewarmly, with the result that, as Fr. Faber writes: “our prayers rise to Heaven with an equipage of venial sins in attendance upon them” (Growth in Holiness). (2) Another reason people fail to prepare for their spiritual ‘warm-up’ exercises is due to a lack of humility. They have an inflated sense of self-importance or self-goodness and diminished respect or awe with regard to God. We have lost the sense of God’s immense majesty—He has become more of a ‘grandpa’ who we have to humor and pay attention to from time to time. He gets the scraps from our daily table, rather than the first and best fruits. (3) Another reason, which is very common, why people do not ‘warm-up’ their spiritual engine, is the ubiquitous or universal disease of lukewarmness. Fr. Faber says: “I fear this evil of lukewarmness is very common, and that at this moment it is gnawing the life out of many souls who suspect not its presence there ... Everyone has his routine of [spiritual] pious exercises; and there are few days in which they do not entail upon us some little inconveniences. Now these little inconveniences suggest dispensations, or at least delays, which will turn out dispensations in the end. Clearly there are cases in which conflicting duties, or the needs of charity, will interfere, and it will be more perfect to give way to them, than to read or meditate. But most often the inconveniences concern only ourselves. We have the power to dispense ourselves; and we grant these dispensations either rarely and with reluctance, or often and with facility. If the latter be the case, behold the first mark of tepidity!” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). Engine Failure You can still perhaps drive the car with some of the other problems, but when your engine fails, you are going nowhere—and in extreme cases, the only place your car is going is the scrapyard. This could be likened to mortal sin. Supernatural life dies with mortal sin—God and Sanctifying Grace is kicked-out of the soul. Unless it can be repaired by the mechanic (priest) in the garage (confessional), then the engine (soul) is destined for the scrapyard (Hell). As the engine is what gives life to the car, the soul is what gives life to the body. Engine failure is always bad news. Engine failure rarely happens all at once—it is usually the result of many months of neglect in fulfilling certain basic maintenance operations. The major causes of engine failures can be lumped into four basic categories: (1) Engine Failure Caused by the Engine Overheating Overheating (being “burned” by the devil, the world and our own passions) can be caused by any number of things. It is often the result of coolant loss (loss of graces), or a low coolant level (low on graces), which is turn may be due to leaks in hoses, the radiator or the engine itself (holes in your spiritual armor letting worldliness into your life). A weak radiator cap that leaks pressure can allow coolant (grace) to escape from the system (not putting a cap on venial sin, which weakens the effectiveness of grace). Not getting the cooling system completely filled (partial half-hearted spirituality), after changing the antifreeze, can allow steam pockets to form that make the engine overheat, or run hot. An electric cooling fan (prayer life) that fails to come on due to a faulty thermostat (false conscience), faulty wiring (false reasoning), or faulty motor (weak will power) may be an overlooked cause of overheating. Another common cause of overheating is a faulty thermostat (conscience). When most thermostats (consciences) fail, they do so in the closed position (blind to truth) preventing the flow of coolant (grace) from the engine (soul) to the radiator (our daily activities which should be spiritual). Replacing the thermostat (re-educating the conscience) will obviously solve the problem, but may not prevent the same thing from happening again at some point in the future. Less obvious causes of overheating can include a clogged radiator (life clogged with worldly activities) that is filled with sediment (worldliness) as a result of coolant neglect (neglect of grace and inspirations), corrosion (the rust from spiritual inactivity) or using excessively hard water (spiritual exercises that are too harsh for a particular individual0. Incorrect ignition timing (no spiritual schedule—just haphazard) and/or a lean fuel mixture (insufficient prayer) can also elevate normal operating temperatures. Too much heat in an engine can cause serious problems, because heat causes metal to expand. The hotter the engine gets, the tighter the clearances between moving parts become, until there are no more clearances left. Excessive heat can also cause cylinder heads to swell, warp or crack. So if you see either of these conditions when you tear the engine down (examine your conscience), it is a pretty good clue that overheating caused the engine to fail. (2) Engine Failure Caused By Lubrication Problems Every engine needs oil (humility) between its moving parts (members of a community, family, etc.), not only to reduce friction, but also to carry away heat. Oil (humility) is the primary means by which the rod and main bearings are cooled, as well as the pistons. So any reduction in oil (humility) flow may cause these parts to run hot (in pride), gall (find the spiritual repulsive) and seize (quit the spiritual altogether). Low oil pressure (humility) is often a contributing factor in engine failures. The underlying cause may be a worn oil pump (reminding oneself why we have reason to be humble) and neglect in not changing the oil and filter often enough (accepting new humiliations). Oil (humility) starvation is almost always fatal to any engine. (3) Engine Failure Caused By Detonation Detonation (“Spark Knock” ) is a form of abnormal combustion that results from too much heat and pressure in the combustion chamber. The fuel ignites spontaneously causing a sudden rise in cylinder pressure. In the spiritual life, this could be likened to taking on too much too soon—which results in a sudden rise in spiritual pressure. The result is a sharp hammer-like blow on the piston that produces a metallic knocking or pinging noise. Light detonation (no pain, no gain) is considered normal and should not cause any damage, but heavy or prolonged detonation, can crack rings, pound out piston ring grooves, punch holes through the tops of pistons, smash rod bearings and blow head gaskets. (4) Engine Failure Due To Misassembly Misassembly, or a bad assembly of a rebuilt or reconditioned engine, is the fault of the mechanic, and can be likened to a soul that is being rebuilt by a spiritual mechanic (a priest) after an engine-failure (mortal sin). Some common mistakes to look for are: ● Incorrect engine bearing clearances (too tight or too loose). Spiritually, this would mean that the priest is either too demanding with penances and corrections, or too easy-going with penances and corrections. ● Insufficient Valve-to-Piston Clearance, or Piston-to-Cylinder clearance. Not checking clearances may result in valves hitting pistons or pistons sticking in cylinders. This could be likened to a bad schedule being imposed by the priest on the penitent. Whereby the penitent gets too “bogged-down” and the spiritual life does not run smoothly. ● Incorrect torque on critical fasteners like head bolts, rod and main bearing cap bolts, etc. Too much torque can crush the head gasket while too little torque or uneven torque can lead to leaks. Too much torque on rod and main bearing cap bolts may crush or deform bearings, or cause the bolts to fail. Once again, the spiritual direction should not be too harsh, which will crush and deform—or too lenient, which will allow worldliness to leak back into the spiritual life. ● Misalignment. If the center main bearings show much greater wear than the end bearings, the crankshaft may be bent or the main bores may be misaligned. Spiritual exercises must be aligned one with another in correct proportions, giving a greater focus to the most important spiritual domains (Mass, Eucharist, Confession, Rosary, Meditation, Penance) and a lesser focus to the others. ● Failure to clean parts properly during engine assembly (not scrubbing out the cylinder bores with soap and water to remove debris and honing residue after they have been bored or honed, for example). Any junk that is left in the engine can scour bearings and wear surfaces. When a soul takes itself to the garage (confessional) to be cleaned by the mechanic (priest), the priest should try to ensure that he extracts, by careful prudent questioning, all the debris (sins, passions, tendencies, worldliness) from the soul—like a surgeon would extract all the traces of a cancerous growth during surgery. If not, then the cancer of sin will easily return. ● Failure to lubricate parts properly, during engine assembly. The penitent (car) should leave the confessional (garage) well lubricated (humble and contrite), otherwise there is a great risk of another engine failure occurring. The words of Our Lord, to the paralytic He had healed, are a prime example of this: “Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and saith to him: ‘Behold thou art made whole! Sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!’” (John 5:14). All Things Can Lead Us To God These are just a few thoughts, at times superficial and cursory perhaps, that help us to find, examine and understand the spiritual life through everyday things—for everything that there is in the world is capable of teaching us something about God and our spiritual life. Hopefully, you can develop this habit and apply it to the myriad of different situations and objects that you come into contact with daily. If you can gradually achieve this, you will quickly reach that level where the mind and heart are raised continually to God in all things. This is nothing else than compliance with the commands of Holy Scripture: “And Jesus spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). For prayer, as St. Thomas Aquinas says, is nothing other than the raising of the mind and heart to God. |
Do You Believe In Miracles?
Some say miracles cannot happen—what looks like a ‘miracle’ is simply scientifically explicable, but we just don’t have the knowledge or the answers yet. This is opinion of many moderns. If someone believes that there is no God and also believes in what is called naturalism (that all things in the universe are subject to natural physical laws), then miracles are definitely out of existence. For the naturalist, the universe is defined in such a way as to make miracles impossible. On the other hand, if someone believes that there is a God and that God is involved in the world, then it is easy to acknowledge that miracles can occur. What Do You Mean By “Miracle”? Basically, a miracle is an event that cannot be normally explained through the laws of nature. The word “miracle” comes from the Latin “miraculum”, which in turn is derived from the verb “mirari”, meaning "to wonder". So, in general, it means “a wonderful thing”, the word being so used in classical Latin. But in a more specific sense, the Latin Vulgate designates by “miracula”, wonders of a peculiar kind, that are expressed more clearly in the Greek text by the terms “terata”, “dynameis”, “semeia”, that is to say, wonders performed by supernatural power as signs of some special mission or gift and explicitly ascribed to God. The wonder of the miracle is due to the fact that its cause is hidden, and an effect is expected other than what actually takes place. Hence, by comparison with the ordinary course of things, the miracle is called “extraordinary” or “out of the ordinary way of things”. Would God Perform A Miracle For You? Now we’re talking! This is the scary part! Would God perform a miracle for you? What kind of person does perform miracles for? What kind of person does God perform miracles through? In what circumstances will God grant a miracle? These are questions that we need to look at—for, in the near future, we are going to need God to step in and do something about the state of the world today and the fateful direction in which it is heading. Our Lord and St. Peter Start the Ball Rolling Our Lord Himself said: “Your Father, Who is in Heaven, maketh His sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). St. Peter also states this in different terms: “Peter opening his mouth, said: ‘In very deed I perceive, that God is not a respecter of persons!’” (Acts 10:34). In fact, this kindness to bad people, or sinners, was frowned upon by the Pharisees, who threw this in Our Lord’s face: “And the Scribes and the Pharisees, seeing that Jesus ate with publicans and sinners, said to His disciples: ‘Why doth your master eat and drink with publicans and sinners?’” (Mark 2:16). Yet the answer is quite plain and simple—Our Lord wants to save sinners—“Jesus hearing this, saith to them: They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. For I came not to call the just, but sinners!” (Mark 2:17). “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost!” (Luke 19:10). Which was also the message of God in the Old Testament: “‘Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities: and iniquity shall not be your ruin!’ saith the Lord God” (Ezechiel 18:30). Miracles of Grace and Physical Miracles Jesus heals physical and spiritual disease (forgiveness of sins, casts out devils). Our problem is that we think more and admire more the physical miracles than we do the miracles of grace—yet, just as the soul is greater than the body, miracles of grace are greater than physical miracles. We see, in the following passage, Our Lord state this truth. “And behold they brought, to Jesus, one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: ‘Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee!’ And behold some of the Scribes said within themselves: ‘He blasphemeth!’ And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts? Is it easier, to say, “Thy sins are forgiven thee!” or to say, “Arise, and walk!”? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on Earth to forgive sins, He then said to the man sick of palsy, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house!”’ And he arose, and went into his house. And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men” (Matthew 9:2-8). We have the case of Mary Magadelen, whom the Roman Church holds to be the woman caught in adultery, the woman possessed by seven devils whom Jesus cast out of her, and the woman who anointed his head at one banquet, and His feet at the banquet of Simon the Leper. “The scribes and the Pharisees bring unto Him a woman taken in adultery … Jesus said to them: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her! … They hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. Then Jesus said to her: ‘Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?’ Who said: ‘No man, Lord!’ And Jesus said: ‘Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more!’” (John 8:3-11). This is an echo of the Old Testament verse: “Say not: ‘I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me?’ Be not without fear about sins forgiven, and add not sin to sin” (Ecclesiasticus 5: 4-5). Every time water is poured in the Sacrament of Baptism, while saying: “I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”—a miracle of grace takes place. Every time a mortal sinner goes to sincerely confess his sins, with the desire to amend and make reparation for them, a miracle of grace occurs through the instrumentality and ministry of the priest—who says: “I absolve thee from thy sins…” These are miracles for sinners—the former in a state of Original Sin, the latter in a state of Mortal Sin—that are performed through the instrumentality of humans, if the sinner is prepared to follow Christ and change his sinful ways. These miracles of grace would even take place if the priest or the minister of Baptism were to be in a state of Mortal Sin themselves—such is the love of God and His desire for our salvation. Don’t Expect Miracles If You Abuse God’s Mercy Yet, that love and patience is not without limits—even though God is infinitely loving and patient in Himself—for, as St. Paul says: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7). As St. Alphonsus Liguroi says in his sermon for the First Sunday of Lent: “Sinners multiply their sins without keeping any account of them; but God numbers them that, when the harvest is ripe, that is, when the number of sins is completed, He may take vengeance on them. ‘Put ye in the sickles, for the harvest is ripe’ as it says in Joel 3:13” (Sunday Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori, First Sunday of Lent, “On The Number Of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More”). If we won’t believe the saints, the let us believe Our Lady, who said at Akita: “If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them!” (Our Lady of Akita, October 13th, 1917). Which is why Our Lord said the paralytic, whom He had cured by the pool: “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14). Miracles for Good Jews and Bad Jews ● Jesus performs the stupendous miracle of raising persons from the dead three times in the Gospels—all three whom He resurrected, were Jews: the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the local synagogue; the Jewish widow of Naim’s son; and the brother of Martha and Mary, the Jew, Lazarus. JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER: “And behold there came a man whose name was Jairus, and he had an only daughter, almost twelve years old, and she was dying. He was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at the feet of Jesus, beseeching him that he would come into his house, saying: ‘My daughter is at the point of death, come, lay thy hand upon her, that she may be safe, and may live!’ As he was yet speaking, there cometh one to the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him: ‘Thy daughter is dead! Why dost thou trouble the Master any further?’ And Jesus hearing this word, answered the father of the maid: ‘Fear not; believe only, and she shall be safe!’ And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, He seeth a tumult and people weeping and wailing much. He admitted not any man to follow Him, but Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And going in, He saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout, and He saith to them: ‘Why make you this ado, and weep? Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth!’ And they laughed Him to scorn. But He having put them all out, He went in, taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And taking the damsel by the hand, He saith to her: ‘Talitha cumi!’ which is, being interpreted: ‘Damsel (I say to thee) arise!’ Her spirit returned and immediately the damsel rose up and walked. And He bid them give her to eat. And her parents were astonished, whom he charged to tell no man what was done. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country” (Matthew 9:23-26; Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41). Isn’t the Good Lord good and merciful? WIDOW’S SON: “And it came to pass afterwards, that Jesus went into a city that is called Naim; and there went with Him His disciples, and a great multitude. And when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow: and a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom, when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, He said to her: ‘Weep not!’ And He came near and touched the bier. And they that carried it, stood still. And He said: ‘Young man! I say to thee, arise!’ And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother” (Luke 7:11-15). Isn’t the Lord good?! LAZARUS: “Now there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and Martha her sister. His sisters therefore sent to Jesus, saying: ‘Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick!’ And Jesus hearing it, said to them: ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it!’ Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days. And after that He said to them: ‘Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep! Lazarus is dead. And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe! But let us go to him!’ … Jesus therefore came, and found that he had been four days already in the grave ... Martha therefore said to Jesus: ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died! But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee!’ Jesus saith to her: ‘Thy brother shall rise again ... Where have you laid him?’ They say to Him: ‘Lord, come and see!’ And Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said: ‘Behold how He loved him!’ But some of them said: ‘Could not He, that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?’ Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulcher. Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it. Jesus saith: ‘Take away the stone!’ Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to Him: ‘Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days!’ Jesus saith to her: ‘Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?’ They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up His eyes said: ‘Father, I give Thee thanks that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but, because of the people who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me. When He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice: ‘Lazarus! Come forth!’ And presently, he, that had been dead, came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: ‘Loose him, and let him go!’ Many therefore of the Jews, who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in Him” (John 11:1-45). Another miracle performed by God for a good person. ● Jesus also miraculously cures the fever of St. Peter’s mother-in-law, a Jewess: “And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying, and sick of a fever: and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them” (Matthew 8:14-15). Another miracle for a good person. ● Our Lord twice performs the miraculous feeding of the Jewish multitudes that followed him—on one occasion it was four thousand Jews, on another occasion it was five thousand Jews. “Jesus called together His disciples, and said: ‘I have compassion on the multitudes, because they continue with me now three days, and have not what to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way … And Jesus said: How many loaves have you? But they said: Seven, and a few little fishes. And He commanded the multitude to sit down upon the ground. And taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the people. And they did all eat, and had their fill. And they took up seven baskets full, of what remained of the fragments. And they that did eat, were four thousand men, beside children and women” (Matthew 15:32-38). |
The miracle of the five thousand is also found in St. Matthew’s Gospel. In this case, there were “but five loaves, and two fishes. Jesus said to them: ‘Bring them hither to Me!’ And when He had commanded the multitudes to sit down upon the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to Heaven, He blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up what remained, twelve full baskets of fragments. And the number of them that did eat, was five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matthew 14:14-21). Isn’t God good—but let us do something to merit His kind help!
● Jesus heals the sinful Jewish paralytic. Yet Jesus even performs miracles for the sinful—but often they have had to suffer a long time as a consequence of their sins. We see a case of this with the sinful paralytic by the pool in Jerusalem. “Now there is at Jerusalem a pond, called Probatica, which in Hebrew is named Bethsaida, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered; waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water, was made whole, of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. And there was a certain man there, that had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity. Him, when Jesus had seen lying, and knew that he had been now a long time, He saith to him: ‘Wilt thou be made whole?’ The infirm man answered Him: ‘Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pond. For whilst I am coming, another goeth down before me!’ Jesus saith to him: ‘Arise, take up thy bed, and walk!’ And immediately the man was made whole: and he took up his bed, and walked ... Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the Temple, and saith to him: ‘Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!’” (John 5:2-14). ● Another Jewish sinner, the chief publican of Jericho, Zacheus, receives a miracle of grace from Our Lord: “And entering in, Jesus walked through Jericho. And behold, there was a man named Zacheus, who was the chief of the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus—who He was—and he could not, for the crowd, because he was low of stature. And running before, he climbed up into a sycamore tree, that he might see Him; for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus was come to the place, looking up, He saw him, and said to him: ‘Zacheus! Make haste and come down! For this day I must abide in thy house!’ And he made haste and came down; and received Him with joy. And when all saw it, they murmured, saying, that he was gone to be a guest with a man that was a sinner. But Zacheus standing, said to the Lord: ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wronged any man of any thing, I restore him fourfold!’ Jesus said to him: ‘This day is salvation come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost!’” (Luke 19:2-10). ● Jesus performs a physical miracle for a Jewish enemy, during His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane—it is for the Jewish servant of High Priest, Malchus, who was with the band that had come to arrest Jesus. “They came up, and laid hands on Jesus, and held Him. Simon Peter, having a sword, stretching forth his hand, drew out his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Then Jesus saith to him: ‘Put up thy sword into the scabbard: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword! The chalice which my Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it? Thinkest thou that I cannot ask My Father, and He will give Me presently more than twelve legions of angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that so it must be done? Suffer ye thus far!’ But when Jesus had touched his ear, He healed him” (Matthew 16:50-52; Mark 14:46-47; Luke 22:49-51; John 18:10-11). Miracles for Good Gentiles and Bad Gentiles True to Divine Revelation—which tells us that the God “maketh His sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45)—we find Our Lord even performing miracles for the Gentiles (meaning those persons who were not of the Jewish religion). Not only does He perform miracles for Gentiles that are trying to be good people, but also for those who were not good—however, we must remember that these miracles were not given to them because they were in the wrong religion or evil, but because Our Lord hoped to bring them out of their errors and their sins. The miracle is merely a means to that end. ● We read of a good Gentile soldier, “a certain man in Caesarea, named Cornelius, a centurion of that which is called the Italian band; a religious man, and fearing God with all his house, giving much alms to the people, and always praying to God” (Acts 10:1-2). God told Cornelius to send men to Joppe, where St. Peter was staying, and request that St. Peter come to him. Cornelius desired an end (salvation) and God saw that he would take the means to that end (become a Christian). So God performs this great miracle of grace for him. ● Another Gentile was the good Canaanite woman, who had a daughter who was possessed. “And behold a woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts, crying out, said to Him: ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David! My daughter is grieviously troubled by the devil!’ Who answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying: ‘Send her away, for she crieth after us!’ And He answering, said: ‘I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel!’ But she came and adored Him, saying: ‘Lord, help me!’ Who answering, said: ‘It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs!’ But she said: ‘Yea, Lord; for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters!’ Then Jesus answering, said to her: ‘O woman, great is thy faith! Be it done to thee as thou wilt!’ And her daughter was cured from that hour” (Matthew 15:22-28). ● Jesus cures a Samaritan leper. “And as Jesus entered into a certain town, there met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off; and lifted up their voice, saying: ‘Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!’ Whom, when He saw, He said: ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests!’ And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God. And he fell on his face before His feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said: ‘Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger!’ And He said to him: ‘Arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole!’” (Luke 17:12-19). ● Our Lord cures the Gentile centurion’s son. “When Jesus had entered into Capharnaum, there came to Him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying: ‘Lord! My servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grieviously tormented!’ And Jesus saith to him: ‘I will come and heal him!’ And the centurion making answer, said: ‘Lord! I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed! For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this: “Go!” and he goeth; and to another: “Come!” and he cometh, and to my servant: “Do this!” and he doeth it.’ And Jesus hearing this, marveled; and said to them that followed Him: ‘Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven: but the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ And Jesus said to the centurion: ‘Go! And as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee!’ And the servant was healed at the same hour” (Matthew 8:5-13). ● Our Lord performs a Miracle of Grace for the Good Thief. “And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified Him there; and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left ... And one of those robbers who were hanged, blasphemed him, saying: ‘If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us!’ But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: ‘Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man hath done no evil!’ And he said to Jesus: ‘Lord! Remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy Kingdom!’ And Jesus said to him: ‘Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in paradise!’” (Luke 23:33-43). Even the evil Gentiles benefit from miracles—this particular one being, according to tradition, St. Dismas! ● Our Lord performs a Miracle of Grace for centurion on Calvary. Likewise with the Roman soldier, the centurion, who was in charge of the crucifixion—who was actually putting Christ to death! Tradition states that he became a saint and has him named as St. Longinus. “Now the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake, and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: ‘Indeed this was the Son of God!’ The centurion, seeing what was done, glorified God, saying: ‘Indeed this was a just man!’” (Matthew 27:54; Luke 23:47). Why Do Some Sinners Get Miracles? Why does a sinner get a miracle? Not all do—in fact very few do! They get the miracle because God sees in them a good disposition, which He knows will lead to a conversion. Yet, not all who get a miracle are necessarily saved. This is clearly seen in that case of many of Jews at the time of Our Lord—especially the Scribes and Pharisees. St. John declares: “God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of God, and doth His will, him He heareth” (John 9:31). It has been said that the only prayer that God hears from a sinner is the prayer for salvation—and consequently, he who desires an end (salvation), must also necessarily desire the means to that end (repentance). If a sinner or an unbeliever prays to God for that which is according to His will, nothing prevents God from answering such a prayer—according to His will. The sinful people of Ninive prayed that Ninive might be spared. God answered this prayer and did not destroy the city of Ninive as He had threatened, because the Ninivites, in asking for an end (being spared), were ready to take the means to achieve that end (penance). “And Jonas arose, and went to Ninive, according to the word of the Lord … and he cried, and said: ‘Yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed!” And the men of Ninive believed in God: and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least … And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil way: and God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said that he would do to them, and he did it not” (Jonas 3:5-10). Yet Sodom and Gommorha could not find anyone to do penance for their sinfulness—they did get a miracle, but not a pleasant one! Fire and brimstone rained down from Heaven to destroy them. Today’s sinfulness has to be comparable to their sinfulness—otherwise why on earth would Our Lady of Akita say that “if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son.” The Rosary and the Cross (the sign left by her Son) are like two lightning rods that can draw down miracles from Heaven. The Rosary and the Cross simply translate into what Our Lady asked for at Fatima—prayers and sacrifices. Yet, just as Abraham could not find enough just men to avert the destruction of Sodom and Gommorha, it looks like we are also short of persons to pray the Rosary and carry the Cross today. Where are the souls described by St. Louis de Montfort in his True Devotion to Mary, where he writes of the “true disciples of Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of His poverty, humility, contempt of the world, charity; teaching the narrow way of God in pure truth, according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world; troubling themselves about nothing; not accepting persons; sparing, fearing and listening to no mortal, however influential he may be. They shall have in their mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. They shall carry on their shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in their right hand and the Rosary in their left, the sacred Names of Jesus and Mary in their hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in their own behavior” (True Devotion to Mary, §59). In the next article we shall look at Miracles of Aggression and Miracles of Protection—in other words, the intervention of God in taking His chosen ones on the offensive and the intervention of God in protecting His chosen ones from all harm. |
Two Sides to God—Two Kinds of Miracles
Even though modern man is constantly fed the lines “God is love!” and “God is forgiving!”—modern man must not forget that there are other sides to God: sides that we will be witnessing in the not too distant future. Love and mercy are not the only attributes of God—even though they are at the summit of His perfections, as testified by Holy Scripture. As St. John writes: “God is charity” (1 John 4:8) and the Holy Ghost, through the Psalms, tells us: “The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:9). Yet His charity and mercy are not there to be abused—Holy Scripture also says: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked!” (Galatians 6:7) … “With the elect Thou [God] wilt be elect: and with the perverse Thou wilt be perverted” (2 Kings 22:27). In other words, for the most part, the good will see the good side of His miracles, whereas for the bad, the miracles will be painful chastisements. Therefore, we have what we could call miracles of aggression and miracles of protection. In other words, with some miracles God punishes—whether it be the enemies of God and His Chosen People, or the Chosen People themselves if they have become unfaithful to God. Then there are miracles of protection, whereby God blesses, favors and even protects those who adhere to Him faithfully. We see these two sides of God very clearly expressed throughout the entire twenty-sixth chapter of the Book of Leviticus. The Leviticus Principle God is love! God wouldn’t hurt His beloved Church! God is ever so kind and merciful! Sure He is—that is not being disputed—but that is not the only chapter in the book about God! Chapter 26 of Leviticus gives us both sides of God—the nice side and the not so nice side (in our selfish opinion). The Nice Side: “‘I am the Lord your God! If you walk in My precepts, and keep My commandments, and do them, I will give you rain in due seasons ... the ground shall bring forth its increase … trees shall be filled with fruit ... the harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time … you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land without fear. I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. I will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you. Five of yours shall pursue a hundred others, and a hundred of you ten thousand: your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will look on you, and make you increase: you shall be multiplied, and I will establish My covenant with you … I will set My tabernacle in the midst of you, and My soul shall not cast you off. I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people!” (Leviticus 26:1-12). The Not So Nice Side: “But if you will not hear me, nor do all My commandments; if you despise My laws, and contemn My judgments so, as not to do those things which are appointed by Me—then I also will do these things to you: I will quickly visit you with poverty … burning heat which shall consume your lives. You shall sow your seed in vain, which shall be devoured by your enemies … You shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you, you shall flee when no man pursueth you. But if you will not yet for all this obey Me: I will chastise you seven times more for your sins, and I will break the pride of your stubbornness … Your labor shall be in vain, the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees yield their fruit … I will send in upon you the beasts of the field, to destroy you and your cattle … make you few in number … your highways desolate ... “And if even so you will still not amend, but will walk contrary to Me: then I also will strike you seven times more for your sins. I will bring in upon you the sword that shall avenge My covenant. When you shall flee into the cities, I will send the pestilence in the midst of you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies … I will bring your cities to be a wilderness … I will destroy your land … I will scatter you among the Gentiles … I will draw out the sword after you … your land shall be desert … your cities destroyed … And as to them that shall remain of you, I will send fear in their hearts in the countries of their enemies … None of you shall dare to resist your enemies. You shall perish among the Gentiles … And if of them also some remain, they shall pine away in their iniquities, in the land of their enemies, and they shall be afflicted for the sins of their fathers, and their own: until they confess their iniquities and the iniquities of their ancestors … until their uncircumcised mind be ashamed: then shall they pray for their sins!’” (Leviticus 26:13-41). However, rather than these few excerpts, the whole chapter should be read to fully get the message. Harsh? Listen to Our Lady Today! Some may think those words too harsh—yet God cannot change, otherwise He would not be a perfect God. The terrible message given by God in the Old Testament is repeated today by Our Lady. Just a few sentences suffice to prove the point, but, as with Leviticus, one should read a compilation of all her threats to get the full message. Nothing has changed to this day—the same message has been delivered to us by the Queen of prophets: “Many men in this world afflict the Lord … If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them … In order that the world might know His anger, the Heavenly Father is preparing to inflict a great chastisement on all mankind ... if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful” (Our Lady of Akita, 1973). Miracles Will Come!—But Which Kind Do We Want? As Judith—a figure of Our Lady in the Old Testament—said: “For it is certain that our God is so offended with sins, that he hath sent word by his prophets to the people, that he will deliver them up for their sins” (Judith 11:8). The miraculous events—earthquakes and pestilence—that God sent during the Exodus of Israel from Egypt in its journey to the Promised Land, were painful miracles: largely due to their sinfulness and infidelity to God. “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘This people, rising up, will go fornicating after strange gods in the land, to which it goeth in to dwell! There will they forsake Me, and will make void the covenant, which I have made with them! And My wrath shall be kindled against them in that day: and I will forsake them, and will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured! All evils and afflictions shall find them, so that they shall say in that day: “In truth it is because God is not with me, that these evils have found me!” But I will hide, and cover My face in that day, for all the evils which they have done, because they have followed strange gods!’” (Deuteronomy 31:16-18). “You shall not go after the strange gods of all the nations, that are round about you: because the Lord thy God is a jealous God in the midst of thee: lest at any time the wrath of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and take thee away from the face of the Earth” (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). EXAMPLES OF MIRACLES OF AGGRESSION ● Miracles of Aggression Against the Enemies of the Chosen People In the Book of Judith, we read of God’s penchant for helping His Chosen People in their battles: “Wheresoever they went in without bow and arrow, and without shield and sword, their God fought for them and overcame” (Judith 5:16). THE AVENGING ANGEL : We see God go on the offensive and send an “avenging angel” to slay all the first-born in Egypt: “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: Let every man take a lamb … and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it … And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses … And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you: and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt.’ “And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them: ‘Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase. And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, He will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you.’ “And the children of Israel going forth did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharao, who sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison, and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharao arose in the night, and all his servants, and all Egypt: for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead” (Exodus 12:1-30). THE AMELAKITES : On their way to the Promised Land, the Israelites encountered the Amelekites. It was through the actions of Moses that God brought victory for the Israelites: “And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim. And Moses said to Josue: ‘Choose out men: and go out and fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill having the rod of God in my hand!’ Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur went up upon the top of the hill. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame: but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame. And Moses’ hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass that his hands were not weary until sunset. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword. And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Write this for a memorial in a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue: for I will destroy the memory of Amalec from under Heaven!’ And Moses built an altar: and called the name thereof, ‘The Lord my Exaltation”, saying: ‘Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation!’” (Genesis 17:8-16). JERICHO : God commanded Josue to execute His divine plan, after which He promised that Jericho would be delivered into his hands: “Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in. And the Lord said to Josue: ‘Behold I have given into thy hands Jericho, and the king thereof, and all the valiant men. Go round about the city, all ye fighting men, once a day: so shall ye do for six days. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the Ark of the Covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets. And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand’” (Josue 6:1-5). As St. Paul later says: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, by the going round them seven days” (Hebrews 11:30). THE ENACIMS : The Enacims (or Anakims) were a race of giants that stood between the Isrealites and the Promised Land. Their formidable appearance, as described by the Twelve Spies sent to search the land, filled the Israelites with terror. But God would take care of the problem, as we read in Genesis: “Hear, O Israel: Thou shalt go over the Jordan this day; to possess nations very great, and stronger than thyself, cities great, and walled up to the sky—a people great and tall, the sons of the Enacims, whom thou hast seen, and heard of, against whom no man is able to stand. Thou shalt know therefore this day that the Lord thy God Himself will pass over before thee, a devouring and consuming fire, to destroy and extirpate and bring them to nothing before thy face quickly, as He hath spoken to thee” (Deuteronomy 9:1-2). THE PHILISTINES : “Another time also the Philistines made a raid, and spread themselves abroad in the valley. And David consulted God again, and God said to him: ‘Go not up after them, turn away from them, and come upon them over against the pear trees. And when thou shalt hear the sound of one marching above the tops of the pear trees, then shalt thou go out to battle. For God is gone out before thee to strike the army of the Philistines!’ And David did as God had commanded him, and defeated the army of the Philistines, slaying them from Gabaon to Gazera” (1 Paralipomenon 14:14-16). There are MANY, MANY more instances where God gets aggressively involved in matters and shows His powerful hand in battle and in punishment against His enemies and the enemies of the Chosen People. These are merely three of these many. ● Miracles of Aggression against the Chosen People THE GREAT FLOOD : We cannot imagine a greater miracle than the Great Flood in the time of Noe, by which God destroyed almost of all His living creatures. The Book of Genesis thus describes this incredible miracle of aggression and punishment: “And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times. It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, He said: ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the Earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth Me that I have made them!’ “And the Earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity. And when God had seen that the Earth was corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the Earth, He said to Noe: ‘The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of timber planks. Behold I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the Earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, under Heaven. All things that are in the Earth shall be consumed. And I will establish My covenant with thee, and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee … For yet a while, and after seven days, I will rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the Earth!’ … |
“And after the seven days were passed, the waters of the flood overflowed the Earth ... All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened: and the rain fell upon the Earth forty days and forty nights ... And the flood was forty days upon the Earth, and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the Earth. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the Earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the Earth: and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered … And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the Earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all creeping things that creep upon the Earth: and all men. And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the Earth, died. And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the Earth, from man even to beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the Earth: and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the Earth a hundred and fifty days” (Genesis 6:5-17; 7:4-24).
DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMMORHA : This renowned and terrible event shows the angry side of the God of Love. Mankind never seems to learn from God’s previous interventions in the life of sinful man with His miracles of aggression and punishment. One would think that the remembrance of the Great Flood might be a sufficient warning, but mankind has this false sense of security with regards to God. We read in Genesis: “And the Lord said: ‘The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to Me: or whether it be not so, that I may know!’” (Genesis 18:20-21). God then reveals to Abraham, living by Sodom, his intention to destroy the cities. Abraham begins to plead and intercede—asking God to spare Sodom if 50 just men could be found. God agrees. Then Abraham whittles the number down to 45, then 40, 30, 20 and finally 10. God still agrees to spare Sodom if 10 just men are found—yet not even 10 could be found. “And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven. And He destroyed these cities, and all the country about, all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that spring from the Earth” (Genesis 18:24-25). THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT : God did not hesitate to miraculously bring about an earthquake and rain down fire upon some of the Chosen People during the Exodus, when “Dathan and Abiron—the princes of the people—rose against Moses and Aaron in the sedition of Core, when they rebelled against the Lord: and the Earth, opening her mouth, swallowed up Core, with many others dying, when the fire burned two hundred and fifty men. And there was a great miracle wrought, that when Core perished, his sons did not perish” (Numbers 26:9-11). CIVIL WAR IN ISRAEL : God’s intervention brings about a victory for the single tribe remaining faithful to Him—Juda—against the other unfaithful tribes of Israel. We see a gigantic battle in the Old Testament, involving well over a million soldiers. It was between the faithful remnant of the twelves tribes of Israel—Juda—and the unfaithful remaining tribes. “Abia [of the faithful kingdom of Juda] had begun battle, and had with him four hundred thousand most valiant and chosen men, Jeroboam [of the unfaithful remainder of Israel] put his army in array against him, eight hundred thousand men, who were also chosen and most valiant for war. [Thus Abia and Juda were outnumbered 2 to 1]. And Abia stood upon Mount Semeron and said: ‘Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel! The Lord is our God, whom we forsake not! … We keep the precepts of the Lord our God, whom you have forsaken. Therefore God is the leader in our army!’ While he spoke these things, Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind Abia. And while Abia stood facing the enemies, Jeroboam surrounded Juda with his army, who perceived it not. And when Juda looked behind them, they saw the battle coming upon them, both in front and behind, and they cried to the Lord: and the priests began to sound with the trumpets. And all the men of Juda shouted: and behold, when they shouted, God terrified Jeroboam and all Israel that stood against Abia and Juda. And the children of Israel fled before Juda, and the Lord delivered them into their hand. And Abia and his people slew them with a great slaughter, and there fell wounded of Israel five hundred thousand valiant men [out of the eight hundred thousand].” (2 Paralipomenon 13:3-4; 10-17). BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY : Several times God allowed His Chosen People to be conquered and carried off from Jerusalem as captives to Babylon, where they remained for decades on end. On top of that, God allowed the Temple of Jerusalem to be totally destroyed. Now where is the miracle in that? It is more a case of God positively and deliberately withdrawing His helping and protective hand from Israel and giving a hand, in a certain sense, to the enemies of Israel. The Babylonian Captivity was not a spontaneous event—it had been long-prepared by the ever-increasing weakness and infidelity of the Chosen People of God. The Israelites were not content with the rule of the Judges. The people wanted a king to rule over them. They longed to be united under one leader—a king—like the other nations around them. In the time of Samuel, the people became very restless and insisted that he appoint a king to rule over them. In vain did Samuel remind them that God was their King. They would not listen to him. They wanted a human king to lead them to a final victory over the Chanaanites and the Philistines. Samuel urged them to give up their desire for a king and promised them that the wars would come to an end. By seeking to have a king, they were sinning against the will of God. The people did not heed Samuel. They prayed to God to give them a king, and finally God listened to their prayers and yielded to their desires―which teaches us to be careful what we pray for!! Better leave things to God’s wisdom rather than our capricious desires! In order to bring them back to His worship and to prevent their worshiping false gods, God gave them the human king that they so foolishly desired, and sent Samuel to anoint Saul king of Israel (1050-1010 BC, reigned 40 years). However, their king, Saul, sinned—much like Adam the first ‘king’ sinned—and sin brought death; in this case, death to the kingdom. The Israelites had exchanged a sinless King, God, for a sinful king, Saul—what a bargain! The consequence was that the kingdom was taken away from Saul and given to David (1010-970 BC, reigned 40 years), who becomes the second in the new line of kings. Yet David also sinned, committing the sins of murder and adultery. David’s son, Solomon (970-930 BC, reigned 40 years), will be the third king in line. Under Solomon, the Temple is built in Jerusalem and becomes the great means of holding the people together and keeping them mindful of God’s promise. But Solomon was not faithful to God all the days of his life and the true religion with which he started out, weakens in him, as he gives way to wealth and idolatry. Solomon thus sinned and God punished him by allowing his kingdom to decline. After the death of Solomon in 930 BC, the punishment continued and the sins continued: two kingdoms grew up—the Kingdom of Juda (under Solomon’s son Roboam) and the Kingdom of Israel (under Solomon’s son Jeroboam). Jeroboam would not permit the people of the ten tribes to worship in the Temple at Jerusalem, which was under the control of his brother Roboam. He thought it was necessary to keep them from the Temple in order to keep them attached to himself. In place of the Temple, he sets up two other temples to false gods. Civil war follows and the people turn away from the worship of the one true God. In the Kingdom of Juda, Roboam remained a just and God-fearing ruler for only three years. After that time, he followed evil advice and built altars to false gods in various parts of the kingdom. Roboam set the example of idolatry, and the people followed it. During this time God sent His prophets to warn the kings and the people of the dire consequences awaiting them if they would not repent. One king of Israel after another—from a total of 20 kings over 200 years—turned out to be evil in the sight of God—some more, some less—yet all of them kept the Kingdom of Israel entrenched in idolatry. God, though patient, decided to act. The scourge that He would use would be the Assyrians. Assyria’s conquest of the northern tribes of Kingdom of Israel began approximately 740 BC. Nearly 20 years later, about 722 BC, the capital city, Samaria, was overtaken by the Assyrians. And in 701 BC the Assyrians marched south into Juda; however, they were unable to capture Jerusalem due to God’s intervention (2 Paralipomenon 32:22). Yet Just as God had used Assyria to punish the northern Kingdom of Israel, God would use Babylon as His agent of judgment against the Kingdom of Juda for their sins of idolatry and rebellion against Him. There were actually several different times during this period (607-586 BC) when the Jews were taken captive by Babylon. With each successive rebellion against Babylonian rule, Nabuchodonosor would lead his armies against Juda until they laid siege to Jerusalem for over a year, killing many people and destroying the Jewish temple, taking captive many thousands of Jews, and leaving Jerusalem in ruins. THE SIEGE & DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM : The Siege of Jerusalem, prophesied by Our Lord as a consequence for Jerusalem having rejected Him and His teachings, took place in in AD 70. Though not strictly a miracle in the positive sense, it could be said to be so in the negative sense—whereby the miraculous protection, which God so often gave His Chosen People, was now withdrawn. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in AD 66, when they rebelled against Roman governing. The siege ended with the sacking of the city and the destruction of its famous Second Temple. The destruction of both the first and second temples is still mourned annually. The Arch of Titus, celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and its Temple, still stands in Rome. Titus surrounded the city, with three legions. He put pressure on the food and water supplies of the inhabitants by allowing pilgrims to enter the city to celebrate Passover, and then refusing to allow them back out. Titus destroyed the newly built Third Wall with a battering ram, as well as breaching the Second Wall, and then turned his attention to the inner-city Fortress of Antonia, just north of the Temple Mount. The Romans were then drawn into street fighting with the Zealots, who were then ordered to retreat to the temple to avoid heavy losses. After several failed attempts to breach or scale the walls of the Antonia Fortress, the Romans finally launched a secret attack, overwhelming the sleeping Zealots and taking the fortress. Overlooking the Temple compound, the fortress provided a perfect point from which to attack the Temple itself. Battering rams made little progress, but the fighting itself eventually set the walls on fire; a Roman soldier threw a burning stick onto one of the Temple's walls. Destroying the Temple was not among Titus' goals, possibly due in large part to the massive expansions done by Herod the Great mere decades earlier. Titus had wanted to seize it and transform it into a temple dedicated to the Roman Emperor and the Roman pantheon. The fire spread quickly and was soon out of control. The Temple was destroyed and the flames spread into the residential sections of the city. The Roman legions quickly crushed the remaining Jewish resistance. Part of the remaining Jews escaped through hidden underground tunnels, while others made a final stand in the Upper City. This defense halted the Roman advance as they had to construct siege towers to assail the remaining Jews. The Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, who acted as a negotiator for the Romans with the Jews, claims that 1.1 million people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were Jewish, and that 97,000 were captured and enslaved. He writes: “The slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination. In the year 325, the major early church historian, Eusebius, wrote about these dreadful events. He wrote: "It is fitting to add to these accounts the true prediction of our Savior in which He foretold these very events. His words are as follows: ‘Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day! For there shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be!’ “These things took place in this manner in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, in accordance with the prophecies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who by divine power saw them beforehand as if they were already present, and wept and mourned according to the statement of the holy evangelists, who give the very words which be uttered, when, as if addressing Jerusalem herself, He said: ‘If thou hadst known, even thou, in this day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a rampart about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee and thy children even with the ground.’” What Do We Learn From All This? “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). As Leviticus says: “If you walk in My precepts, and keep My commandments, and do them … you shall dwell in your land without fear and there shall be none to make you afraid … the sword shall not pass through your quarters. You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you. Five of yours shall pursue a hundred others, and a hundred of you ten thousand: your enemies shall fall before you by the sword ... I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people!” (Leviticus 26:1-12). “But if you will not hear me, nor do all My commandments; if you despise My laws, and contemn My judgments so, as not to do those things which are appointed by Me—then you shall fall down before your enemies, and shall be made subject to them that hate you … you shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies … I will bring your cities to be a wilderness … I will destroy your land … I will scatter you among the Gentiles … I will draw out the sword after you … your land shall be desert … your cities destroyed … And as to them that shall remain of you, I will send fear in their hearts in the countries of their enemies … None of you shall dare to resist your enemies. You shall perish among the Gentiles” (Leviticus 26:13-41). The choice is pretty simple! Yet how many make a fateful bad choice! It seems that modern man is one of these! Yet, not all will perish. As Our Lady said at La Salette: “God will take care of His faithful servants and men of good will.” In the next article we shall look at how God takes care of His faithful servants—in the past and in our times, so that we may have hope for the future! The protection of God is truly a marvel to behold! |
God Protects His Faithful Ones
As Our Lady of La Salette said, speaking of our times: “God will protect His faithful ones!” But as regards His enemies and unfaithful ones, Holy Scripture cries out: “The Lord is a jealous God, and a revenger! The Lord is a revenger and hath wrath! The Lord taketh vengeance on His adversaries, and He is angry with His enemies. The Lord is patient, and great in power, and will not cleanse and acquit the guilty. The Lord’s ways are in a tempest, and a whirlwind, and clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea, and drieth it up: and bringeth all the rivers to be a desert. Who can stand before the face of His indignation? And who shall resist in the fierceness of His anger? His indignation is poured out like fire: and the rocks are melted by Him. The Lord is good and giveth strength in the day of trouble: and knoweth them that hope in Him. But with a flood that passeth by, He will make an utter end of the place thereof: and darkness shall pursue His enemies” (Nahum 1:2-7). Endless Verses About God's Protection There are endless verses in Holy Scripture that give assurances that God is there to protect those that are faithful to Him. It suffices to quote but a few: “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). “If thou go out to war against thy enemies, and see horsemen and chariots, and the numbers of the enemy’s army greater than thine, thou shalt not fear them: because the Lord thy God is with thee … The Lord your God is in the midst of you, and will fight for you against your enemies, to deliver you from danger” (Deuteronomy 20:1; 4). “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee” (Psalm 90:7). “God is … a buckler to them that hope in Him” (Proverbs 30:5). “God … is the shield of all that trust in Him” (2 Kings 22:31). “The Lord shall cause thy enemies, that rise up against thee, to fall down before thy face: one way shall they come out against thee, and seven ways shall they flee before thee” (Deuteronomy 28:7). “You see, that the Lord your God is with you, and … hath delivered all your enemies into your hands, and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people. Give therefore your hearts and your souls, to seek the Lord your God” (1 Paralipomenon 22:18-19). EXAMPLES OF MIRACLES OF PROTECTION 1. Protective Miracles in Old Testament Times ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FROM ENEMIES—Red Sea Disaster for Egyptians : “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel! Let them turn and encamp over against … the sea. And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: “They are straitened in the land, the desert hath shut them in!” And I shall harden his heart, and he will pursue you: and I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord!’ ... And they did so. "And it was told to the king of the Egyptians that the people was fled: and the heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: ‘Why did we let Israel go from serving us?’ So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots that were in Egypt: and the captains of the whole army. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel. And the Egyptians followed and found them encamped at the sea side. And when Pharao drew near, with all of Pharao’s horses and chariots, and the whole army, the children of Israel, lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared exceedingly, and cried to the Lord. “And they said to Moses: ‘Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt, therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness! Why wouldst thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt: “Depart from us that we may serve the Egyptians!”? For it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness. And Moses said to the people: ‘Fear not! Stand and see the great wonders of the Lord, which He will do this day! For the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more forever! The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace!’ “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Why criest thou to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. Lift up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground. I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you: and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots and in his horsemen!’ “And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea dried up: for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians pursuing went in after them, and all Pharao’s horses, his chariots and horsemen through the midst of the sea. When the morning watch was come, the Lord, looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, slew their host; and overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: ‘Let us flee from Israel: for the Lord fighteth for them against us!’ “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Stretch forth they hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen!’ And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after them, neither did there so much as one of them remain. "But the children of Israel marched, through the midst of the sea, upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and on the left: and the Lord delivered Israel on that day out of the hands of the Egyptians. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them: and the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses His servant” (Exodus 14:1-31). ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FROM HUNGER—Manna in the Desert : “After they came out of the land of Egypt, the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin … And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them: ‘Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the flesh pots, and ate bread to the full! Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?’ And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you: let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not. But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day.’ “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel! Say to them: “In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread!” and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ "So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up, covered the camp: and in the morning, a dew lay round about the camp. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: “Manhu?” (Manna) which signifieth: “What is this?” For they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them: ‘This is the bread, which the Lord hath given you to eat!’ And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey” (Exodus 16:1-31). Forty years of supplying sustenance for over 2 million people! Each and every day for forty years! Just think of the truckloads that would be needed today to supply 2 million people for one meal a day! God supplied an incredible amount! Just do the math: 2,000,000 x 365 x 40. That comes to 29,200,000,000 meals, or twenty-nine thousand two hundred million meals! Some catering project! ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FROM THIRST—Water in the Desert : “Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert of Sin, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. And they remonstrated with Moses, and said: ‘Give us water, that we may drink!’ And Moses answered them: ‘Why do you chide me? Do you tempt the Lord?’ The people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured against Moses, saying: ‘Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt? To kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?’ And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: ‘What shall I do to this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me!’ And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod, wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go. Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock, Horeb: and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink.' Moses did so before the ancients of Israel. And he called the name of that place Temptation, because the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord, saying: ‘Is the Lord amongst us or not?’” (Exodus 17:1-7). We are not talking about a few gallons of water here! There were around 2 million people, plus their livestock , that needed water! ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR CLOTHING—Clothing & Sandals Preserved : “Moses called all Israel, and said to them: ‘You have seen all the things that the Lord did before you in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whole land ... He hath brought you forty years through the desert: your garments are not worn out, neither are the shoes of your feet consumed with age” (Deuteronomy 29:2-5). You try walking for 40 years with one single pair of sandals! No way! However, I guess they could learn thriftiness into the bargain. No wonder that in the New Testament, speaking to His followers, "commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, but a staff only: no scrip, no bread, nor money in their purse; but to be shod with sandals, and that they should not put on two coats" (Mark 6:8-9). Seems like He was simply carrying on His Father's way of doing things! This was pretty much the way He Himself lived! ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR THE FAITHFUL—Three Young Men in Fire : During the time of the Babylonian Captivity, when many Israelites were abandoning the Faith in favor of the worldliness that surrounded them, God showed His miraculous protection to those who would not renounce their Faith. One such case was that of the three young men who were preserved from being burnt alive. While Joakim was ruling over the land of Juda, Nabuchodonosor, a great conqueror of the nations, came from Babylon with his army of Chaldean soldiers. He took the city of Jerusalem, and made Joakim promise to submit to him as his master. And when Nabuchodonosor went back to his own land he took with him all the gold and silver that he could find in the Temple; and he carried away as captives very many of the princes and nobles, the best people in the land of Juda. When these Jews were brought as captives to the land of Chaldea, or Babylon, King Nabuchodonosor gave orders to the prince, who had charge of his palace, to choose from among these Jewish captives some young men who were of noble rank, and beautiful in their looks, and also quick and bright in their minds; young men who would be able to learn readily. These young men were to be placed under the care of wise men, who should teach them all that they knew, and fit them to stand before the king of Babylon, so that they might be his helpers to carry out his orders; and the king wished them to be wise, so that they might give him advice in ruling his people. Among the young men thus chosen were four Jews, men who had been brought from Judah. By order of the king the names of these men were changed. One of them, named Daniel; the other three young men were called Ananias, Misael, and Azarias. The master of the eunuchs gave them other names: to Daniel, Baltassar: to Ananias, Sidrach: to Misael, Misach: and to Azarias, Abdenago. They were taught in all the knowledge of the Chaldeans; and after three years of training they were taken into the king's palace. King Nabuchodonosor was pleased with them, more than with any others who stood before him. He found them wise and faithful in the work given to them, and able to rule over men under them. And these four men came to the highest places in the kingdom of the Chaldeans. At one time King Nabuchodonosor caused a great image to be made, and to be covered with gold. This image he set up, as an idol to be worshipped, on the plain of Dura, near the city of Babylon. When it was finished, it stood upon its base, or foundation, almost a hundred feet high; so that, upon the plain, it could be seen from far away. Then the king sent out a command for all the princes, and rulers, and nobles in the land, to come to a great gathering, when the image was to be set apart for worship. The great men of the kingdom came from far and near and stood around the image. Among them, by command of the king, were Daniel's three friends, the young Jews, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago. For some reason, Daniel himself was not there. He may have been busy with the work of the kingdom in some other place. At one moment in the service before the image, all the trumpets sounded, the drums were beaten, and music was made upon musical instruments of all kinds, as a signal for all the people to kneel down and worship the great golden image. But while the people were kneeling, there were three men who stood up, and would not bow down. These were the three young Jews, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago. They knelt down before the Lord God only. Many of the nobles had been jealous of these young men, because they had been lifted to high places in the rule of the kingdom; and these men who hated Daniel and his friends, were glad to find that these three men had not obeyed the command of King Nabuchodonosor. The king had said that if any one did not worship the golden image he should be thrown into a furnace of fire. These men who hated the Jews came to the king and said: “O king, live forever! Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, shall prostrate himself, and adore the golden statue: and that if any man shall not fall down and adore, he should be cast into a furnace of burning fire. Now there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the works of the province of Babylon—Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago. These men, O king, have slighted thy decree—they worship not thy gods, nor do they adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.” (Daniel 3:9-12). Then Nabuchodonosor was filled with rage and fury at knowing that any one should dare to disobey his words. He sent for these three men and said to them: “Is it true, O Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, that you do not worship my gods, nor adore the golden statue that I have set up? Now, therefore, if you be ready, at what hour soever you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, harp, sackbut, and psaltery, and symphony, and of all kind of music, prostrate yourselves and adore the statue which I have made! But if you do not adore, you shall be cast, at the same hour, into the furnace of burning fire—and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hand?” (Daniel 3:14-15). A little like today, where the insurgents in the Middle East are targeting Christians and asking them to denounce Christ or be beheaded! How many have the courage of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago? |
● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR THE FAITHFUL—Daniel in the Lion’s Den : Another incident in the time of the Babylonian Captivity, was that of the fidelity of Daniel (who was called Baltassar by the Babylonians) , a colleague of Ananias (Sidrach), Misael (Misach), and Azarias (Abdenago), who also preferred potential death rather than renounce the one true God.
Daniel had made a name for himself in successfully interpreting dreams for the king. With one king after another he rose in estimation and rose in the ranks: “Daniel excelled all the princes, and governors: because a greater spirit of God was in him. And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom: whereupon the princes, and the governors sought to find occasion against Daniel with regard to the king: and they could find no cause, nor suspicion, because he was faithful, and no fault, nor suspicion was found in him” (Daniel 6:3-4). Thus the princes, magistrates, governors, senators and judges conspired together to have an imperial decree and edict published that would entrap the faithful Daniel. They approached King Darius and counseled “that whosoever shall ask any petition of any god, or man, for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, therefore, O king, confirm the sentence, and sign the decree: that what is decreed may not be altered, nor any man be allowed to transgress it.” (Daniel 6:7-8). King Darius fulfilled their wishes and decree was published throughout the kingdom. Now when Daniel discovered that this law was made, he nevertheless adored and gave thanks before his God, three times a day, as he had been accustomed to do before. When his enemies found Daniel praying and making supplication to his God, they approached the king and denounced Daniel and demanded that he should be cast into the den of the lions. Now when the king had heard these accusations, he was grieved, and, on behalf of Daniel, he set his heart to deliver him and labored hard to find a way to save him. Daniel’s enemies, realizing this, insisted that the king could not break his own law. The king requested that Daniel be brought to him and, before reluctantly placing him in the lion’s den, said to him: “Thy God, whom thou always servest, He will deliver thee!” The disconsolate king went away to his house and laid down without taking supper, and could not sleep all night. “Then, rising very early in the morning, the king went in haste to the lions’ den: and coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel, and said to him: ‘Daniel! Servant of the living God! Hath thy God, whom thou servest always, been able, thinkest thou, to deliver thee from the lions?’ And Daniel answering the king, said: ‘O king! Live forever! My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut up the mouths of the lions, and they have not hurt me! Forasmuch as, before Him, justice hath been found in me: yea and before thee, O king, I have done no offence!’ Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel should be taken out of the den: and Daniel was taken out of the den, and no hurt was found in him, because he believed in his God. And by the king’s commandment, those men were brought that had accused Daniel: and they were cast into the lions' den, they and their children, and their wives: and they did not reach the bottom of the den, before the lions caught them, and broke all their bones in pieces” (Daniel 6:7-24). God looks after His faithful ones! Yet that faithfulness must sometimes be sorely tried! ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION IN WAR—Angels Protect Judas Machabeus. We see the miraculous intervention of angels, who came and joined in battle, protecting Judas Machabeus and the Jews against pagan invaders. “Timotheus, having called together a multitude of foreign troops and assembled horsemen out of Asia, came to Judea by force of arms. But Judas Machabeus, and they that were with him, when Timotheus drew near, prayed to the Lord, sprinkling earth upon their heads and girding their loins with haircloth, and lying prostrate at the foot of the altar, besought him to be merciful to them, and to be an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary to their adversaries, as the Law of God saith. And so, after prayer, taking their arms, they went forth from the city, and when they were come very near the enemies they rested. But as soon as the sun was risen both sides joined battle: the one part having, with their valor, the Lord for a surety of victory and success: but the other side making their rage their leader in battle. But when they were in the heat of the engagement, there appeared, to the enemies, from Heaven, five men upon horses, comely with golden bridles, leading the Jews. Two of whom took Judas Machabeus between them, and covered him on every side with their arms, and kept him safe: but cast darts and fireballs against the enemy, so that they fell down, being both confounded with blindness, and filled with trouble. And there were slain twenty thousand five hundred, and six hundred horsemen. But Timotheus fled into Gazara” (2 Machabees 10:24-31). Thus we see that even in a bloody war, God will gladly add His forces to those of His faithful followers! God looks after His faithful ones! Yet that faithfulness must sometimes be sorely tried! The Machabees suffered greatly in trying to protect the Jewish religion from paganization. 2. Protective Miracles in Our Lord’s Times There are few incidents where the Apostles were miraculously protected in the early days of the Church. ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR THE APOSTLES—in a Stormy Sea : “And it came to pass on a certain day that Jesus went into a little ship with His disciples, and He said to them: ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake!’ And they launched forth. And while they were sailing, He slept. And there came down a storm of wind upon the lake, and the boat was filling with water and they were in danger. So they came and awakened Him, saying: ‘Master! We perish!’ But He, arising, rebuked the wind and the rage of the water—and it ceased, and there was a calm. And then He said to them: ‘Where is your faith?’” (Luke 8:22-25). Today, the Ark of the Church is in a similar crisis—it is filling up and sinking with worldliness and sin. We fear that it will perish! We must always remember that Our Lord is in charge and He knows, sees and allows this to currently happen. He seems to sleep—but when He decides to awake, He will most certainly take care of things! ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR ST. PAUL—From the Viper : “And when we had escaped, then we knew that the island was called Melita. But the barbarians showed us no small courtesy. For kindling a fire, they refreshed us all, because of the present rain, and of the cold. And when Paul had gathered together a bundle of sticks, and had laid them on the fire, a viper coming out of the heat, fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the beast hanging on his hand, they said one to another: ‘Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, who though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance doth not suffer him to live!’ And he indeed shaking off the beast into the fire, suffered no harm. But they supposed that he would begin to swell up, and that he would suddenly fall down and die. But expecting long, and seeing that there came no harm to him, changing their minds, they said, that he was a god” (Acts 28:1-6). ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR ST. JOHN—From Boiling Oil : During this time there had begun a persecution against Christians under the emperor Nero (56-68). They took away the Apostle John for trial at Rome. The Apostle John was sentenced to death for his confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the Lord preserved His chosen one. The apostle drank out of a cup prepared for him with deadly poison, but he remained alive. In the year 95, during the second general persecution under Emperor Domitian, John was arrested in Asia and sent to Rome as a prisoner, where he miraculously escaped martyrdom. Tertullian says that he emerged unscathed from a cauldron of boiling oil. His persecutors attributed the miracle to sorcery and he was exiled to the island of Patmos. Until its removal from the Roman calendar in 1960, this event used to be commemorated liturgically in the Western Church on May 6th, as the Feast of Saint John before the Latin Gate (ante Portam Latinam). On account of this trial he is given also the title martyr, although he was the only Apostle who did not suffer martyrdom. He did, however, thus fulfill what Christ had foretold that he should drink of his chalice of suffering. The emperor then decided to send him into a solitary exile on the Island of Patmos. 3. Protective Miracles in the Early Church ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR ST. AGNES—Brothel : St. Agnes was a thirteen-year-old Roman girl who suffered martyrdom for her Faith. Yet before that eventual martyrdom, she was miraculously protected by God. Agnes had made a promise to God never to stain her purity. Since she was very beautiful, many young men wished to marry Agnes, but she would always say: “Jesus Christ is my only Spouse.” Procop, the Governor’s son, became enraged when she refused him. He had tried to win her for his wife with rich gifts and promises, but the beautiful young girl kept saying: “I am already promised to the Lord of the Universe. He is more splendid than the sun and the stars, and He has said He will never leave me!” In great anger, Procop accused her of being a Christian and brought her to his father, the Governor. The Governor promised Agnes wonderful gifts if she would only deny God, but Agnes refused. He tried to change her mind by putting her in chains, but her lovely face shone with joy. Next he sent her to a place of sin, but an Angel protected her. At last, she was condemned to death. She did not pay attention to those who begged her to save herself. “I would offend my Spouse,” she said, “if I were to try to please you. He chose me first and He shall have me!” Then she prayed and bowed her head for the death-stroke of the sword. ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR ST. PHILOMENA : In a private revelation, approved by the Church, St. Philomena revealed the chief circumstances of her life, of which we take a few extracts to show God’s miraculous protection for her person. St. Philomena reveals that her parents “took me to Rome on a journey that my father was obliged to make on the occasion of an unjust war, with which he was threatened by the haughty Diocletian. I was then thirteen years old. On our arrival in the capital of the world, we proceeded to the palace of the Emperor and were admitted for an audience. As soon as Diocletian saw me, his eyes were fixed upon me. These are the Emperor’s words: “I shall place at your disposal all the force of the Empire. I ask only one thing, that is the hand of your daughter.” My father dazzled with an honor he was far from expecting, willingly acceded on the spot to the proposal of the Emperor. When we returned to our own dwelling, Father and Mother did all they could to induce me to yield to Diocletian’s wishes and to theirs. I cried. “Do you wish that for the love of a man I should break the promise I have made to Jesus Christ? My virginity belongs to Him. I can no longer dispose of it.” My Father made the most terrible threats in commanding me to accept the hand of Diocletian. The grace of my God rendered me invincible. My mother, uniting her efforts to his, endeavored to conquer my resolution. Caresses, threats, everything was employed to reduce me to compliance. At last I saw both of my parents fall at my knees and say to me with tears in their eyes, “My child, have pity on your father, your mother, your country, our country, our subjects.” I answered “No, no! My virginity, which I have vowed to God, comes before everything, before you, before my country. My kingdom is Heaven.” They brought me before the Emperor who, on his part, did all in his power to win me. But his promises, his allurements, his threats, were equally useless. He then got into a violent fit of anger and, influenced by the devil, had me cast into one of the prisons of the palace, where I was loaded with chains. Thinking that pain and shame would weaken the courage with which my Divine Spouse inspired me, he came to see me every day. After several days, the Emperor issued an order for my chains to be loosed that I might take a small portion and bread and water. He renewed his attacks, some of which, if not for the grace of God, would have been fatal to purity. The defeats which he always experienced were for me to preludes to new tortures. Prayer supported me. I ceased not to recommend myself to Jesus and His most pure Mother. My captivity lasted thirty-seven days. Then, in the midst of a heavenly light I saw Mary holding her Divine Son in her arms. “My daughter” she said to me, “three days more of prison and after forty days you shall leave this state of pain. Fear not, I will aid you. In the moment of struggle, grace will come to you to lend its force. The angel who is mine also, Gabriel, whose name expresses force, will come to your succor. I will recommend you especially to his care.” What the Queen of Angels had prepared for me was soon experienced. Diocletian, despairing of bending me, decided upon public chastisement to offend my virtue. He condemned me to be stripped and scourged like the Spouse that I preferred to him. These were his horrifying words: “Since she is not ashamed to prefer, to an Emperor like me, as malefactor condemned to an infamous death by His own people, she deserves that my justice shall treat her as He was treated.” The prison guards hesitated to unclothe me entirely, but they did tie me to a column in the presence of the great men of the court. They lashed me with violence until I was bathed in blood. My whole body felt like one open wound but I did not faint. The tyrant had me dragged back to the dungeon expecting me to die. Two angels shining with light appeared to me in the darkness. They poured a soothing balm on my wounds, bestowing on me a vigor I did not have before the torture. When the Emperor was informed of the change that had come over me, he had me brought before him. He viewed me with a greedy desire and tried to persuade me that I owed my healing and regained vigor to Jupiter, another god, that he, the Emperor, had sent to me. He attempted to impress me with his belief that Jupiter desired me to be Empress of Rome. Joining to these seductive words promises of great honor, including the most flattering words. Diocletian tried to caress me. Fiendishly, he attempted to complete the work of Hell which he had begun. The Divine Spirit to whom I am indebted for constancy in preserving my purity seemed to fill me with light and knowledge. To all the proofs which I gave of the solidity of our Faith, neither Diocletian nor his own courtiers could find an answer. Then the frenzied Emperor dashed at me, commanding a guard to chain an anchor around my neck and bury me deep in the waters of the Tiber. The order was executed. I was cast into the water, but God sent to me two angels who unfastened the anchor. It fell into the river mud where it remains, no doubt, to the present time. The angels transported me gently in full view of the multitude upon the riverbank. I came back unharmed, not even wet, after being plunged with the heavy anchor. When a cry of joy rose from the watchers on the shore, and so many embraced Christianity by proclaiming their belief in my God, Diocletian attributed my preservation to secret magic. Then the Emperor had me dragged through the streets of Rome and shot with a shower of arrows. My blood flowed but I did not faint. Diocletian thought that I was dying and commanded the guards to carry me back to the dungeon. A second time the tyrant attempted to have me pierced with sharper darts. Again the archers bent their bows. The gathered all their strength but the arrows refused to second their intentions. The Emperor was present. In a rage, he called me a magician and, thinking that the action of the fire could destroy the enchantment, he ordered the darts to be made red in a furnace and directed against my heart. He was obeyed. But these darts, after having gone over a part of the space which they were to cross to come to me, took a quite contrary direction and returned to strike those by whom they had been hurled. Six of the archers were killed by them. Several among the renounced paganism. The people began to render public testimony to the power of God that protected me. These murmurs and the acclamations infuriated the tyrant. He determined to hasten my death by piercing my neck with a lance. My soul took flight towards my heavenly Spouse who placed me with the crown of virginity and the palm of martyrdom in a distinguished place among the elect. (Extract from the account of the life of St. Philomena, taken from the official account of Fr. Di Lucia’s Relazione Istorici di Santa Filomena and subsequent annals). As Our Lady of La Salette said: "God will protect His faithful ones!" How full of faith and how faithful are we? How much more can we improve and strengthen our Faith and our fidelity? While we have time, let us take this matter to heart. In the next article, we shall look at some of the amazing instances of God's miraculous protection in times much nearer 2015. These amazing accounts will show that God's protection is still there for "His faithful ones!" |
Protective Miracles in Modern Times
You will be happy to know that God’s “Miracle Store” is not closed, nor has it gone out of business—the only problem is that it has very few paying customers! Miracles are not “freebies” but expensive items. You don’t want to pay the price? You don’t get the miracle! Yet the time is fast approaching—in view of current world events and past prophecies—when the only solution will be the miracle, because, humanly speaking, there is little or nothing that human efforts will achieve in the face of so much—and ever increasing—evil. Sometimes we don’t want to pay for something that we know little about, or something that is much better than we imagine it to be. Let us therefore look at some of the miracles coming out of God’s “Miracle Store” in our more modern times, in the hope that they will “whet the appetite” (yes, it is “whet” and not “wet”. "Whet" means "to hone", or "sharpen") and give us both a confidence and a desire to try out God’s “Miracle Store” and browse the prices! Finite versus Infinite People are storing and hoarding guns, bullets, food and water—yet these are finite things and they run out. Or, if God’s providence wishes, an earthquake or a flood can wipe the whole store out in seconds! Remember that Our Lady says, that in the upcoming chastisement, the good will perish with the bad! So we never now! However, as said, all human efforts and reserves are finite—but God is infinite. Of course, “God helps those who help themselves”, but Our Lord tells us to seek God first: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). This also means “Seek ye first the help of God, and all else will be added to you!” For God will not bless any endeavor, to any great degree, which does not have Him as its sincere and true foundation and end. Yet, when we turn to God first and foremost, then the words of St. Paul can be applied to our cause and plight: “If God be for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31). Let’s Get Down to the Modern Day Miracles! Hopefully, some of these miracles will give us a greater hope and trust in God and His miraculous powers—sinful though we may be! (More on that later). ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FOR ST. JOHN BOSCO—Grigio the Dog Among all the amazing episodes in the life of Don Bosco, one of the greatest was the appearance of the dog “Grigio”—a huge grey dog that appeared suddenly at moments of danger, reappeared on many occasions and disappeared some years later when the danger was over. He required neither food, nor shelter, but was savage as a wolf against an enemy, but gentle as a lamb with the boys of the Oratory, and to whom St. John Bosco gave the name of Grigio—“the grey one.” Don Bosco was once passing through the thickly populated quarter which lay near Valdocco late at night. It had a bad reputation: shady characters could skulk behind the tufts of scrub and brushwood and suddenly, without warning, burst our upon the passerby. Don Bosco had passed the last buildings of the town, when a huge grey dog suddenly appeared and walked by his side. He was startled at first, but as he found that the creature seemed friendly, he accepted its company and went on to the Orarory. When he reached the door the dog turned around and trotted off in the direction whence it had come. Every night henceforward, when Don Bosco was out late, the same thing happened. He found the dog waiting for him whenever there was a lonely part of the town to be traversed. One night, he became aware of two suspicious-looking men who were following him, matching their pace to his. When he tried to avoid them by crossing the road, they crossed too. He decided to run back, but at the moment he did so they were on him. A cloak was thrown over his head and a handkerchief thrust into his mouth. He struggled to free himself and call for help, but it was useless. Suddenly, with a terrific howl, Grigio appeared and rushed upon them. Leaping on the one who held the cloak, he forced him to let go, then bit the second and flung him on to the ground. The first tried to escape, but Grigio was after him, rolled him into in the mud and stood over them both, growling furiously. Another night, Don Bosco was on his way home when a man, hiding behind a tree, fired twice at him at such close range that it seems almost impossible that both shots had missed. Then, throwing away the pistol, the man rushed upon him. But, at this exact moment, Grigio mysteriously appeared and seized the man, and dragged him a few feet away, growling fiercely all the while. He then released the man, who instantly fled in terror, and the dog once more escorted Don Bosco home. On another occasion it was from a whole band of thugs that this mysterious companion saved him. Don Bosco had reached a lonely spot when, hearing steps, he turned to see a man close to him with an uplifted stick. Don Bosco was a swift runner in those days, but his enemy was swifter and soon caught up with him. It was a moment of action. Don Bosco, with a well-directed blow of the fist, sent the man sprawling. His howl of pain brought several others out of the bushes where they had been hiding. They were all armed with heavy sticks, and things now looked black for Don Bosco. Once more, at the crucial moment, the terrific howl of Grigio was heard. He ran around and around his master, growling and showing his formidable teeth until one by one the ruffians turned and disappeared. One night, instead of accompanying Don Bosco, Grigio went to the Oratory and refused to let him go out, lying down across the door of his room, for once growling and showing ill temper towards Don Bosco when he made the slightest attempt to dislodge him. “Don’t go out, John,” said his mother; “if you won’t listen to me, at least listen to that dog; he has more sense than you have.” Don Bosco gave in at last, and a quarter of an hour later a neighbor came in to warn him that he had overheard two rogues planning to attack him. So how can the incredible timing and actions of “Grigio” the stray dog be explained? How is it that he mysteriously showed up at just the right moment on not one, but numerous occasions to literally save the life of Father John Bosco? Was Grigio an Angel in the form of a dog? Or was he simply a dog that was mysteriously guided by God to protect Don Bosco? But how then did he seem to appear out of nowhere? One thing is for sure: God was with St. Don Bosco because he had long ago given himself completely to the service of God, and God worked incredible miracles through his intercession, that he might be a holy example to all the poor boys who came to the Oratory that he had founded which literally became for them a heavenly refuge. (From the book St. John Bosco by F.A. Forbes, Tan Books). ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION BY ST. PADRE PIO—Monk in the Sky, 1940’s During the Second World War, when American bombers flew over San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy (the town where Padre Pio’s monastery was located), to drop their bombs, the pilots encountered a giant monk in the sky preventing them from completing their mission. Pilots were unable to complete their mission, and instead would return to the US Commanding General reporting the occurrence. Padre Pio, who was still living at that time, had previously promised the town’s people that their city would be spared. This Second World War event was directly witnessed by the general of Aeronautica Italiana, Bernardo Rosini, who at that time was part of the “United Air Command” operating out of Bari with the Allied air forces. “Each time that the pilots returned from their missions,” General Rosini said, "they spoke of this Friar that appeared in the sky and diverted their airplanes, making them turn back.” (I Miracoli d Padre Pio, by Renzo Allegri, pages 110-111). ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FROM THE ATOMIC BOMB—Hiroshima, 1945 Around the same time that the "Monk in the Sky" was driving back American bombers from Padre Pio's town of San Giovanni Rotondo, other American bombers were about to drop two Atomic Bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the Atomic Bomb fell on Hiroshima, over 80,000 people were killed instantly. Thousands more would die later from radiation poisoning. Men, women and children endured incomprehensible suffering. The temperature at the center of the blast was said to be as hot as the surface of the sun. The heat evaporated metal, melted glass, and ignited clothing miles away. Eight square miles were reduced to ash in resulting fires. Those whose flesh had not melted away, faced horrible suffering in a variety of symptoms as the radiation destroyed the cells in their bodies. Hiroshima was obliterated in seconds, but beneath the mushroom cloud, in the midst of horror, a miracle would rise from the ashes of destruction and bear witness to the power of the Rosary and the truth of the Promises of Our Lady of Fatima. Just blocks from the epicenter, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was in ruins. However, the rectory, which was a little further down the street, which housed eight Jesuit priests, was still standing. Four of the priests were in the rectory when the bomb dropped. They were showered with glass and debris. Four other priests were in the surrounding vicinity but, they too, survived the initial blast. Father Hubert Schiffer was one of these eight Jesuit survivors. He was 30 when the atomic bomb exploded at Hiroshima and lived another 33 years in good health. He recounted his experiences at Hiroshima during the Eucharistic Congress held in Philadelphia (USA) in 1976. At that time, all eight members of the Jesuit community were still alive. Fr. Schiffer, on the morning of August 6, 1945, he had just finished Mass, went into the rectory and sat down at the breakfast table, and had just sliced a grapefruit, and had just put his spoon into the grapefruit when there was a bright flash of light. His first thought was that it was an explosion in the harbor (this was a major port where the Japanese refueled their submarines). Then, in the words of Fr. Schiffer: “Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunder stroke. An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me 'round and round like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind.” The next thing he remembered, he opened his eyes and he was lying on the ground. He looked around and there was NOTHING in any direction: the railroad station and buildings in all directions were leveled to the ground. The only physical harm to himself was that he could feel a few pieces of glass in the back of his neck. As far as he could tell, there was nothing else physically wrong with himself. After Japan’s surrender to the American forces, when the Americans army entered Japan, their army doctors and scientists explained to Fr. Schiffer that his body would begin to deteriorate because of the radiation. To the doctors amazement, Fr. Schiffer's body contained no radiation, or ill-effects from the bomb. There are no physical laws to explain why the Jesuits were untouched in the Hiroshima air blast. There is no other actual data, or test data, where a structure such as this was not totally destroyed at this standoff distance by an atomic weapon. All who were at this range from the epicenter should have received enough radiation to be dead within at most a matter of minutes if nothing else happened to them. There is no known way to design a uranium-235 atomic bomb, which could leave such a large discrete area intact, while destroying everything around it immediately outside the fireball (by shaping the plasma). What follows is Dr. Stephen Rinehart's commentary, on the subject of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, Rinehart is widely recognized as international expert in this field—here is his testimony: “A quick calculation says at a-half-a-mile (from the epicenter of the bomb blast) the bulk temperature was in excess of 20,000 to 30,000 degrees Fahrenheit (transients in microseconds greater than 100,000⁰ F perhaps as high as 1,000,000⁰ F within 1 kilometer — depends on construction details and you are inside the fireball) and the blast wave would have hit at sonic velocity with pressures on building (at one kilometer) greater than 600 psi. If the Jesuits (at one kilometer from the geometric epicenter) were outside the atomic bomb's “plasma” their residence should still have been utterly destroyed (temp > 2,000⁰ F and air-blastpressures > 100 psi). Unreinforced masonry or brick walls (representative of commercial construction) are destroyed at 3 psi, which will also cause ear damage and burst windows. At ten psi, a human will experience severe lung and heart damage, burst eardrums and at 20 psi your limbs can be blown off. Your head will be blown off by 40 psi and no human would be alive because your skull would be crushed. All the cotton clothes would be on fire at 350⁰ F and your lungs would be inoperative within a minute breathing air (even for a few seconds) at these temperatures. There is no way any human could have survived; nor should anything have left been standing within half-a-mile. “At ten times the distance, about ten to fifteen kilometers I saw the brick walls standing from an elementary school and I think there were a few badly burned survivors; all died within fifteen years of some form of cancer). (Examining pictures taken from a panoramic view from epicenter of the blast at Shima Hospital looking for the Jesuit=s house) did show some kind of two story house totally intact (at least from what I could make out and it looked to me the windows were in place!?). Also there was a church with walls still standing but roof gone a few hundred yards away!? The Department of Defense never commented officially on this and I suspect it was classified and never discussed in open literature. I think it is possible the Jesuits were asked not to say anything either at the time” (Dr. Stephen Rinehart, U.S. Department of Defense). Not only did they all survive with (at most) relatively minor injuries, but they all lived well past that awful day, with no radiation sickness, no loss of hearing, or any other visible long term defects or maladies. Naturally, they were interviewed numerous times (Fr. Schiffer said over 200 times) by scientists and health care people about their remarkable experience. The eight Jesuits say “we believe that we survived because we were living the message of Fatima. We lived and prayed the Rosary daily in that home.” Fr. Schiffer feels that he received a protective shield from the Blessed Mother which protected him from all radiation and ill-effects. Fr. Schiffer attributes this to devotion to the Blessed Mother, and his daily Fatima Rosary; “in that house the Holy Rosary was recited together every day.” Of course the secular scientists are speechless and incredulous at this explanation — and they are sure there is some “real” explanation — but, at the same time, almost 70 years later, the scientists are still absolutely bamboozled when it comes to finding a plausible scenario to explain the missionaries unique escape from the hellish power of that bomb. From a scientific viewpoint, what happened to those Jesuits at Hiroshima still defies all human logic from the laws of physics, as understood today (or at any time in the future). It must be concluded that some other external force was present, whose power and/or capability to transform energy and matter, as it relates to humans, is beyond current comprehension; a plausibility argument for the existence of a Creator who left his “calling card” at Hiroshima. As Our Lady of La Salette said: “God will look after His faithful ones!” ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FROM COMMUNISM—Austria, 1947-1955 At the end of the Second World Way, Austria had been partitioned into four zones occupied by the Allies: American, English, French, and Russian. The Russians were in control of the part that included the capital, Vienna, and the part richest in natural resources and industry; thus it was a very important acquisition for Moscow, which is why it garrisoned an extremely large number of troops there. On November 25th, 1945, the national Austrian elections brought a resounding defeat for the Communists, who only won 4 seats out of a total of 165. Nevertheless, the Voice of the People, the Communist party newspaper, reported: “We have lost a battle, but we are just at the beginning of the war in Austria, and that war we shall win!” Indeed, pressure increased steadily in the occupied zone, accompanied by murders and looting, confirming Moscow's intention to definitively annex the country. It was then that a Franciscan priest intervened—Fr. Petrus Pavlicek (1901-1982). Returning from captivity in 1946, he made a pilgrimage in thanksgiving to Mariazell, the Magna Mater Austriae, the loving Mother of Austria. In his prayers, while asking Our Lady what he could do to deliver his country from the Communists, he heard a voice within say: “Do what I tell you—Pray the Rosary every day and there will be peace.” After a year of reflection, on the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, February 2nd, 1947, he launched a Rosary crusade of reparation, in the spirit of Fatima, with the following goals: (1) reparation for the offenses given to God, (2) the conversion of sinners, (3) peace and salvation for the world, and especially for Austria. A year later, in 1948, 10,000 persons had enlisted in the prayer crusade, including Chancellor Figl, the leading politician of the country. The faithful promised to recite the Rosary at home for the liberation of the country, public recitations were organized in the churches, and processions of several hundreds and sometimes thousands of people reciting the Rosary, wound their way through towns and villages. In 1949, the situation became more and more critical, and the anxiety grew when it was learned what had happened in the adjoining countries—Czechoslovakia and Hungary had fallen into the hands of the Communists, and the Church was being persecuted; Cardinal Mindszenty had been judged and condemned. As new elections were coming up in Austria, Fr. Petrus decided to intensify the crusade—therefore, five days of public prayer were organized. At Vienna, confessions were heard day and night, and 50,000 people visited the Franciscan convent. The result was that the Communists only won five seats in the elections. But they did not intend to let it go at that, and everyone expected a coup d'etat (an illegal overthrowing of the existing government). Pope Pius XII, said to another Austrian priest at that time, during a private audience: “Vienna is the last rampart of Europe. If Vienna falls, Europe will fall. If Vienna stands fast, Europe will stand fast. The Catholics of Vienna do not have the right to be mediocre. Tell the Viennese again and again. And tell them that the Pope is praying a great deal, yes, that he is praying very much for Austria.” Then Fr. Petrus organized a new public prayer rally of three days at Vienna, which was to conclude on September 12th, feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a great day of rejoicing in Austria, because it commemorates the victory of the Catholic armies over Islam, when in 1683, at the Battle of Vienna, the Polish, Austrian and German troops led by Sobieski, defeated the invading Ottoman Turks. Then Fr. Petrus decided to organize a great Rosary procession in the city center. The Archbishop of Vienna was reticent. He feared that the Catholics would not mobilize, so much had been asked of them already. But the federal Chancellor Figl replied: “Even if there are only two, I'll be there! For our country, it is worth it!” There were 35,000 people, with Chancellor Figl at the head, Rosary and candle in hand. It was just in time, for, by the end of the month, the Communists attempted a military coup d'etat. They proclaimed a general strike; the General Chancellery suffered an initial invasion and occupation by the Communist troops. But the anti-Communist unions launched their members, armed with sticks, to the counter-attack. The strike was broken and the revolutionary coup d'etat failed. The Rosary crusade at the time numbered 200,000 members. |
Nonetheless, in Berlin, Germany, Molotov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, taunted Chancellor Figl: “Have no hope. What we Russians once possess, we never let go!” Chancellor Figl communicated to Fr. Petrus: “Have them pray now more than ever!”
Fr. Petrus continued to crisscross the country to recruit members for the crusade. In April, 1955, it comprised 500,000 members. Then the new Chancellor, Raab, was summoned to Moscow. He wondered what was going to happen. He was received on a 13th of the month. On the evening of the interview he jotted in his agenda: “Today, a day of Fatima. The Russians are still hardened. Prayer to the Mother of God that she aid the Austrian people.” Humanly speaking, all was lost. But it is exactly at such moments that God intervenes if one has kept the faith, and if one has persevered in prayer. And in fact, in May 1955, there was a miracle. Contrary to all previsions, Molotov suddenly granted independence to Austria. After ten years of fights and struggles without issue, the Red menace disappeared as if by the stroke of a magic wand. The last Russian soldier left Austria on October 26, 1955, the month of the Rosary. Thereafter, that date became a national holiday in Austria. A grandiose thanksgiving ceremony was organized in Vienna at the Heroes Square in the presence of political and religious personages. All the speeches proclaimed the Virgin of the Rosary as the cause of the victory. ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION BY ST. MICHAEL—Korea, 1950 What good is a sword if you don’t use it? Well, such is the case for St. Michael the Archangel. He once said to a soul, that if people only had the slightest inkling of his power with almighty God, then we would fall over themselves in seeking his intercession and intervention! Here is the well-known account of such an intervention in Korea, giving miraculous protection to a U.S. Marine. What follows is a summary of the account, found in a letter that was written by a young Marine to his mother, while he was hospitalized after being wounded on a Korean battlefield in 1950. It came into the hands of a Navy Chaplain, who read the letter before 5,060 Marines at a San Diego Naval Base in 1951. The Navy chaplain had talked to the boy, to the boy’s mother and to the Sergeant in charge of the patrol. This navy chaplain, Father Walter Muldy, would always assure anyone who asked that this is a true story. It concerns a U.S. Marine named Michael had an encounter with his namesake In the Korean War (1950-53). The U.S. Marine, Michael, was with an advance detail way up over the front lines, scouting the Communist locations. It was winter time and bitterly cold. Suddenly, Michael was joined by another Marine that he had never met before—a giant of a man, around 6’ 4”. When Michael commented that he had not seen him at the outset of the patrol, this strange Marine said he had joined the patrol at the last minute. The conversation and the events went thus (according to Michael’s letter to his mother): “I just joined at the last minute”, he replied. “The name is Michael.” “Is that so?!” I said surprised. “That is my name too!” “I know,” he said and then went on, “Michael, Michael of the morning...” I was too amazed to say anything for a minute. How did he know my name, and a prayer that you had taught me, mother? Then I smiled to myself, every guy in the outfit knew about me. Hadn’t I taught the prayer to anybody who would listen? Why now and then, they even referred to me as St. Michael! Neither of us spoke for a time and then he broke the silence. “We are going to have some trouble up ahead!” Trouble ahead, I thought to myself, well with the Commies all around us, that is no great revelation. Snow then began to fall in great thick globs. In a brief moment the whole countryside was blotted out. And I was marching in a white fog of wet sticky particles. My companion disappeared. “Michael!” I shouted in sudden alarm. I felt his hand on my arm, his voice was rich and strong, “This will stop shortly.” His prophecy proved to be correct. In a few minutes the snow stopped as abruptly as it had begun. The sun was a hard shining disc. I looked back for the rest of the patrol, there was no one in sight. We lost them in that heavy fall of snow. I looked ahead as we came over a little rise. Mom, my heart stopped. There were seven of them. Seven Commies in their padded pants and jackets and their funny hats. Only there wasn’t anything funny about them now. Seven rifles were aimed at us. “Down Michael!” I screamed and hit the frozen earth. I heard those rifles fire almost as one. I heard the bullets. There was Michael still standing. Mom, those guys couldn’t have missed, not at that range. I expected to see him literally blown to bits. But there he stood, making no effort to fire himself. He was paralyzed with fear. It happens sometimes, Mom, even to the bravest. He was like a bird fascinated by a snake. At least, that was what I thought then. I jumped up to pull him down and that was when I got mine. I felt a sudden flame in my chest. I often wondered what it felt like to be hit, now I know. I remember feeling strong arms about me, arms that laid me ever so gently on a pillow of snow. I opened my eyes, for one last look. I was dying. Maybe I was even dead, I remember thinking "Well, this is not so bad!" Maybe I was looking into the sun. Maybe I was in shock. But it seemed I saw Michael standing erect again only this time his face was shining with a terrible splendor. As I say, maybe it was the sun in my eyes, but he seemed to change as I watched him. He grew bigger, his arms stretched out wide, maybe it was the snow falling again, but there was a brightness around him like the wings of an angel. In his hand was a sword. A sword that flashed with a million lights. Well, that is the last thing I remember until the rest of the fellas came up and found me. I do not now how much time had passed. Now and then I had but a moment’s rest from the pain and fever. I remember telling them of the enemy just ahead. “Where is Michael?” I asked. I saw them look at one another. “Where’s who?” asked one. “Michael—that big Marine I was walking with, just before the snow squall hit us.” “Kid,” said the sergeant, “You weren’t walking with anyone. I had my eyes on you the whole time. You were getting too far out. I was just going to call you in, when you disappeared in the snow.” He looked at me, curiously. “How did you do it kid?” “How’d I do what?” I asked half angry despite my wound. “This marine named Michael and I were just...” “Son,” said the sergeant kindly, “I picked this outfit myself and there just ain’t another Michael in it. You are the only Mike in it.” He paused for a minute, “Just how did you do it kid? We heard shots. There hasn’t been a shot fired from your rifle. And there isn’t a bit of lead in them seven bodies over the hill there!” I didn’t say anything, what could I say. I could only look open-mouthed with amazement. It was then the sergeant spoke again, “Kid,” he said gently, “every one of those seven Commies was killed by a sword stroke.” ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION FROM COMMUNISM—Brazil, 1964 In 1964, President Joao Goulart attempted to organize the selling-out of his country to Communism, following the Cuban model. He had succeeded in infiltrating key governmental posts, as well as the schools and universities in most of the country. But, for almost all the preceding year, Fr. Patrick Peyton, of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, had preached a Rosary crusade, criss-crossing the country, in order to convince the faithful to turn to Oour Lady. In the moment of danger, the people remembered. It was the Brazilian women who mobilized first, parading by the millions in the streets of the cities while reciting the Rosary. Once, in the city of Belo Horizonte, they prevented a conference of Lionel Brizola, the Cuban Communist ambassador, from being held, when 3,000 of them surged into the hall where he was to speak, all the while praying the Rosary. On leaving, the Communist, Lionel Brizola, found the streets equally full, as far as the eye could see, with women praying. He departed the city with one of the most incendiary speeches of his career still in his pocket—undelivered. On March 13th, 1964, President Goulart decreed the amendment of the Constitution, the abolition of Congress, and the confiscation of industries and farms. That unleashed the women's riposte. The following text was passed throughout Brazil, denouncing President Goulart and his evil machinations: “This immense and marvelous land, which God has given us, is in extreme peril! We have allowed men with unlimited ambition, devoid of all Christian faith and scruples, to bring misery to our people, to destroy our economy, to perturb our social peace, to sow hatred and despair. They have infiltrated our nation, our administrations, our army, and even our Church, with servants of a totalitarianism which is foreign to us and which would destroy all that we hold dear....Holy Mother of God, protect us from the fate that threatens us, and spare us the sufferings inflicted on the martyred women of Cuba, Poland, Hungary, and the other nations reduced to slavery.” New, grandiose "Rosary marches" were organized in all the country, in which men, women and young people participated, while Luiz Carlos Prestes, head of the Brazilian Communist party, crowed, “We've already seized the power!” But little by little, the president found himself abandoned on all sides. The governors of the states, the deputies, and army generals left him one after the other. On March 26th, to save the country, the military took power without any blood being shed. President Goulart and the Communist leaders of the unions fled. On April 2nd, the entire population of Rio, and the surrounding cities, took to the streets for a gigantic prayer march, which ended in a grand finale of thanksgiving to Our Lord and Our Lady. In July, Fr. Valerio Alberton, Promoter of the Marian confraternities of Brazil, traveled to Fatima to thank the most holy Virgin for the liberation of his country. “We have defeated them, thanks to Our Lady of the Rosary!” he declared. “It is the message of Fatima lived in Brazil, which has saved us!” The repeated calls to prayer and penance according to the spirit of Fatima revived Faith, a Faith that moves mountains, and the impossible happened: the miracle of a great war won without bloodshed. The counter-revolutionary high command anticipated at least three months of heavy fighting. Then a force humanly speaking inexplicable caused, as if by enchantment, the entire military operation, which had been diabolically and patiently erected over the course of several years, to collapse like a house of cards. The evidence of a signal grace at work was so strong, that all were convinced that the unfolding of events did not have a human explanation. The civil and military leaders of the counter-revolution were almost unanimous in attributing this victory to a special grace of the most Blessed Virgin. Several declared that the Rosary had been the decisive weapon. ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION BY PADRE PIO—Philadephia, USA, 1983-84 On an icy December night, in December 1983, 17-year-old Paul Walsh crashed his car into a tree. According to one doctor who treated him, his head injuries were equivalent to dropping an egg on a cement sidewalk. His skull was shattered, all his facial bones were broken, and even a section of his brain was torn. Doctors at Crozier Chester Medical Center said he was irreversibly brain damaged and would never regain consciousness. But when you bring in the medicine of Faith and Hope, as well as a medical team from Heaven, then, as they say: “Never say never!” According to a written statement, by Dr. Michael Ryan—one of the physicians who treated him—Paul Walsh’s recovery from massive head injuries in 1984 was “unexplained, on a purely medical and scientific basis … It is my feeling that without the help of the supernatural influence, Paul would today be dead or continue to be in a comatose state” said Dr. Ryan. Paul Walsh’s mother, Betty, remembers every detail, from the moment she got the phone call on the night of the accident. She recalls: “The nurse told me to come to the hospital right away … It was hard to even recognize Paul. His face was so swollen, like a pumpkin, and totally wrapped in bandages. It didn’t look very good, but he did recognize my voice, because he moved when he heard me.” The next morning, Paul underwent ten hours of surgery, losing four and half times the amount of blood in his body. They then transferred him to a better facility at Crozier-Chester Medical Center where his condition remained critical. There, after noticing a suspicious fluid dripping from his nose, a cat scan uncovered a tear in Paul’s brain—the fluid was his spinal fluid. At this point the medical team realized he was in a much more dangerous situation than they initially thought. Attempts at repairing the torn brain failed, because the inside of Paul’s head was too shattered. They tried to drain the fluid with spinal taps and then a catheter, but Paul’s condition continued to deteriorate. He began slipping in and out of consciousness. A further cat scan showed he had developed hydrocephalus and the ventricles of his brain were filling with fluid. Emergency surgery tried to put a shunt in his head to drain the fluid, but they discovered yet another serious complication—Paul had contracted spinal meningitis. The doctors finally gave up all hope and told his mother: “You have to stop hoping ... The way he is now, is the way he’s going to be. He is permanently and irreversibly brain-damaged.” Even though Paul was alive, in essence, he was gone. But Betty Walsh was a woman of Faith and would not give up on hope or her son. She says: “We just decided Paul needed a miracle … In the end, if Paul didn’t get better, I would accept it, but in the meantime, I was really going to believe I could have a miracle and I would at least pray with faith.” A fellow Catholic gave her five prayer cards for people who were in the process of beatification and needed a miracle. Every day after Mass, Betty Walsh and her mother would go to the hospital and pray the Rosary over Paul, then they would say the five prayers for the five different people seeking beatification. “Whenever I came to the Padre Pio prayer, Paul blessed himself, even though he was totally unconscious,” said his mother. Several people, including some of the nursing staff, witnessed these happenings. Betty Walsh informed a local group of Padre Pio devotees of this phenomenon and they sent someone to the hospital with one of the gloves worn by Padre Pio over the bloody stigmata wounds in his hands. After being blessed with this relic, one of Paul’s many serious ailments had miraculously vanished. The mother begged them to come again with the relic, which they did and laid the relic on his head. Immediately, his mother said, something “like an electric shock went through him! He opened his eyes and looked around the room, very clear-eyed. Then he fell back into the coma again—but I just knew something had happened.” The following day, Betty Walsh returned to the hospital to find her son sitting in a chair and watching television. He turned towards her and said “Hi Mom!” The nurse rushed in and gushed: “He’s been talking all day!” When the nurse had called the neuro-surgeon to tell him Paul Walsh was talking, the doctor said, “It’s not possible!” and hung up on her. After another cat scan, all the doctor kept saying was: “I don’t believe this! I don’t’ believe this!” The frontal lobe of his brain wasn’t smashed anymore. Even more inexplicable was what happened days later, on Easter Sunday morning, when Paul and his roommate woke up to find a man standing at the foot of Paul’s bed. Described as “an old priest in a brown robe,” Paul thought it was Betty’s brother, Charley, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Padre Pio. “I remember being very certain that my Uncle Charley had been in to visit me,” Paul said. “I did see him. He was very happy and smiled at me. And then he left the room.” Betty knew it couldn’t have been Charley, because he lives in Boston. She folded up a picture of Padre Pio, hiding the name, and showed it to Paul. “That’s who visited me,” Paul said. “Isn’t that Uncle Charley?” Weeks later, Paul Walsh walked out of Crozier Chester Medical Center, completely healed. If there was any doubt in their minds that Padre Pio interceded in Paul’s healing, those doubts were put to rest a year after the accident when the family received an unexpected phone call from Bill Rose, who lived on the property where Paul hit the tree. Rose claimed he heard the crash the night of the accident and ran outside to find Paul laying on the ground with his face in a gutter. He knew the person was dying and while someone called for an ambulance, he held Paul’s head up out of the gutter and prayed for his soul. “Within three to five minutes of your son’s accident,” he told Betty Walsh, “I dedicated him to Padre Pio.” ● MIRACULOUS PROTECTION BY ST. MICHAEL—Afghanistan 2010 The New York Times did not mention it. Several other news sources also ignored the fact. However, The Wall Street Journal did tell the story of a U.S. Marine who was shot squarely in the head by a sniper. The bullet penetrated the helmet, but did not kill the Marine. In fact, he was not even taken out of action. Lance Corporal Andrew Koenig had special protection! What most people do not know is that, inside the helmet, Lance Corporal Koenig had put a picture of St. Michael the Archangel. The Wall Street Journal, of February 16th, 2010, reported that Lance Corporal Koenig turned his helmet over to display the picture card tucked inside, depicting St. Michael the Archangel crushing Lucifer's head. “I don't need luck,” he said. Afterwards, Lance Corporal Koenig put his dented helmet back on his head and climbed back to his rooftop duty within an hour of being hit. Qualifying As “The Faithful Ones” Hopefully these miracles give you hope. As Our Lady of La Salette said: "God will look after His faithful ones!" The one thing we must do, while we have time left, is to make sure that we get a sufficiently high grade or score, so that we make the grade of being counted among what God looks upon as "His faithful ones"! For as Holy Scripture says: “The Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). “Many are called, but few are chosen!” (Matthew 22:14), Or as Our Lord says elsewhere: “For many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able! Strive to enter by the narrow gate!” (Luke 13:24). In the next article we shall look at how we can pass the test of being “faithful” and thus qualify for a potential miraculous spiritual and physical protection—primarily protection of our soul, but also, secondarily, our bodies. |
Miracles Still On Sale—But Not At ‘Sale-Prices’!
God hasn’t abandoned us—at least not totally! Miracles are technically available any time of day or night and in any kind of situation—there is no set of circumstances that will totally rule out a miracle, except for one! That miracle-nullifying state is obstinate desire to remain in mortal sin. Mortal sin makes you an enemy of God—and, even though Our Lord died for His enemies as well as His friends and followers—enemies are likely to get a lower response rate than would be expected by His friends and followers. Or to put it another way—the price asked of a sinner will be much higher than the price asked of a just man. The sinner will have to clear his debt with God first and then find the spiritual ‘money’ to pay for his desired miracle. The just man is ‘financially’ (spiritually) ahead of the sinner, having already embarked on the path of repaying his past debts—his credit with God is in better shape! Holy Scripture puts it quite simply: “Now we know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of God, and doth his will, him He heareth” (John 9:31). The Book of Ezechiel adds: “The soul that sinneth, the same shall die” (Ezechiel 18:4). However, if that sinner changes his heart and his ways, then God says: “But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all My commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die” (Ezechiel 18:21). Yet, despite all that, miracles do not come cheap—they are not ten-a-penny! What Ruins Our 'Credit' With God? Before we look at how to try and get miracles from God, let us look at what most certainly destroys, or at least weakens, our credit with Heaven’s Bank. Perhaps we could liken the desire for a miracle from God, to desiring to get a massive loan from our bank. The success or failure will largely depend upon our credit and past performance with that bank. St. Augustine points us in the right direction when he says that God does not answer our prayers for three chief reasons: (1) we pray for what is bad, (2) we pray badly, or (3) we are bad. (1) Regarding the first point—we pray for what is bad—it often happens that what we think is a good idea (with our limited short-term thinking), is not such a good idea (in God’s long-term thinking). God might not be so inclined to destroy our enemies; make us rich; take away our illnesses or troubles—because He sees some advantage in these. We, on the other hand would prefer to suffer little or nothing, yet still somehow manage to pay our way into Heaven—and get a few miracles thrown into the bargain! Our desired miracles have no small part of selfishness and self-interest attached to them! (2) Regarding the second point—we pray badly—it must be admitted that there are very few that pray well! Perhaps that is why we have so few miracles! Praying badly can have a multitude of causes, but the chief ones would seem to be: (a) Lack of Love of God: which is mainly manifested by lukewarmness (b) Lack of Faith: which could stem from wrong ideas about God, or lack of confidence that He would even think of helping us due to our past sinfulness, or undervaluing the price of what we are asking and over-rating our manner of asking—in other words, we think the favors or miracles to be cheaper than what they are, and ourselves to better than what we are. (c) Lack of Perseverance: which stems from being weak-willed, or being too focused on other things, which, in turn, prevent from giving all our energies to a long-lasting, persevering banging on the doors of Heaven. (3) Regarding the third point—we are bad—there are two levels of ‘badness’ that torpedo our prayers for asking for a miracle, or other lesser blessings or favors: (a) the state of Mortal Sin, and (b) the state of Lukewarmness. As was pointed out earlier: “We know that God doth not hear [mortal] sinners: but if a man be a server of God, and doth his will, him He heareth” (John 9:31). Theologians tell us that any prayers we may say for others in state of mortal sin, or even asking favors for ourselves, will not be heard by God—the only thing that those prayers will be applied to is our conversion from a state of mortal sin. God cannot do otherwise, for then He would be rewarding—giving favors, blessings and miracles—to those who have decided to be His enemies. Having briefly assessed the big picture, let us now closer at these things and then see what we can do to remedy them, and so improve our ‘credit’ with the ‘Bank of Heaven’. (1) We Pray for What Is Bad or the Wrong Things Not Immune Let us not think ourselves to be immune from this problem—even the Apostles fell into this trap in one way or another. The human mind is easily misled and can too easily humanize the divine. For example, the Apostles St. James and St. John in what they thought was rightful and holy indignation, asked Our Lord if they could bring down fire and brimstone on a town that would not accept His teachings: “They entered into a city of the Samaritans … And they received Him not, because His face was of one going to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John had seen this, they said: ‘Lord! Wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from Heaven, and consume them?’ And turning, He rebuked them, saying: ‘You know not of what spirit you are! The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save!’” (Luke 9:53-56). Perhaps we can think of many a town, family or person upon we, too, would like to command fire to come down from Heaven and consume—but, as God says: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9). This difference in thoughts is also seen with St. Peter, whose plans for Our Lord were not same as Our Lord’s plans for Himself. When Our Lord announced that He would have to go to Jerusalem, and there be betrayed, arrested, tortured and crucified--“Peter taking Him, began to rebuke Him, saying: ‘Lord, be it far from Thee! This shall not be unto Thee!’ Who turning, said to Peter: ‘Go behind Me, Satan! Thou art a scandal unto Me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men!’” (Matthew 16:22-23). Even Our Lord Himself prayed for what would be ‘bad’ for Him, when, in His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39)—nevertheless, He added that the Father’s will should be the deciding factor, and not His own will. Yet, too often, we forget to add that clause—instead we imagine our will to be God’s will. Careful What You Ask For! Furthermore, let us be careful and prudent in what we ask for—because sometimes God, as a punishment for our stubbornness and pig-headedness, will actually give us what we obstinately ask for—even though it will be bad for us! We see that happen in the case of the Chosen People, under the rule of the Judges, who were tired of this form of rule and wanted a king! “Then all the ancients of Israel being assembled, came to Samuel and they said to him: ‘Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: make us a king, to judge us, as all nations have!’ And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they should say: ‘Give us a king, to judge us!’ And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel: ‘Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee. For they have not rejected thee, but Me, that I should not reign over them! According to all their works, they have done from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day: as they have forsaken Me, and served strange gods, so do they also unto thee!’” (1 Kings 8:4-48). The prophet Samuel tried to talk them out of it—reminding them that God was their king—but they would not listen. So God gave them the king and kingdom they asked for and it was the start of the collapse of the Chosen People and the new ‘Kingdom’ of Israel—they experienced a great majority of bad kings, who fell into idolatry, which resulted in the series of captivities that wiped out most of the tribes of Israel! The words of the Our Father—“Thy Will be done on Earth as it is Heaven”—are loaded full of meaning and truth. Let us not take them lightly. History is a good teacher—if we listen and learn from it. (2) We Pray Badly The Dignity of Prayer Prayer is hardly the most expensive and precious item on our daily “To-Do-List”! Yet what a terrible mistake that is! Let the saints give us their opinion, in the hope that it might trigger a “rethink” on our part! St. Augustine says: “What more excellent than prayer? What more useful and profitable? What sweeter and more delicious? What higher and more exalted in the whole scheme of our Christian religion?” When we pray, we enter into the presence of the majesty of God. St. John Chrysostom warns us: “Consider the height, dignity and glory to which the Lord has raised you.” St. Augustine says that prayer is the key of Heaven that fits all the gates of Heaven and all the treasure chests of God. Elsewhere he says that what bread is to the body, prayer is to the soul. And “He knows how to live well, who knows how to pray well.” The Degeneration of Prayer St. Bernard reminds us that the angels receive our prayers and present them before God ― as the angel said to Tobias: “When thou didst pray with tears, I offered thy prayer to God” (Tobias 12:12). St. Hilary says the same: “The angels preside over the prayers of the saints and offer them each day to God.” Yet, as Fr. Faber writes of the prayers of lukewarm souls: “Our prayers rise to Heaven with an equipage of venial sins in attendance upon them, and the angels are reluctant witnesses of our Confessions and Communions” (Fr. Faber, Growth in Holiness). One very common fault is speed in prayer. St. Louis de Montfort, referring specifically to the prayer of the Rosary, speaks of those who are “lazy and indolent, who only say their Rosary carelessly, or hastily, just for the sake of getting it over with … Among Catholics, those who bear the mark of God’s reprobation think but little of the Rosary. They either neglect to say it or only say it quickly and in a lukewarm manner ...A fault commonly committed in saying the Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over with as quickly as possible. It is sad to see how most people say the Rosary. They say it astonishingly fast, slipping over part of the words. We could not possibly expect anyone, even the most important person, to think that a slipshod address of this kind was a compliment, and yet we imagine that Jesus and Mary will be honored by it!” (St. Louis de Montfort, Secret of the Rosary). St. Francis de Sales adds that: “Precipitation is the plague of devotion.” |
It is because we have lost the sense of the dignity of prayer and the notion of the reality that prayer is being made to a “real-live” God, and not just a statue or an image, some imaginary absent Being—it is because of this that our prayers become increasingly mechanical, routine, distracted and half-hearted. In view of St. Augustine’s quote—“He knows how to live well, who knows how to pray well”—means that by praying badly (mechanically, routinely, distractedly and half-heartedly) we no longer live well, but live badly—we become more and more lukewarm.
What chance has the lukewarm soul of getting a miracle, when God says of lukewarm souls: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth” (Apocalypse 3:15-16), because this kind of soul is the type that Our Lord refers to, when He says: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). Ten Common Flaws In Prayer (1) We Fail To Prepare For Prayer―Preparation is such a vital element of success. How many things in life would work out better if only we prepared better. Coaches cannot win games unless they prepare their teams properly in fitness, tactics and knowledge of the opposition. Exams are doomed to failure or low scores unless we prepare for them. How many things in the spiritual life would not function more smoothly if we prepared better. Why don’t we meditate our Rosary like Our Lady asks? Because we have nothing prepared! Be prepared to be without miracles if you are little prepared spiritually! Lack of preparation leads to lack of respect for God in prayer; a lack of focus in prayer; a lack of fervor in prayer—all these are essentials if we wish to obtain something from God. (2) We Turn Prayer into a Personal Wish List―Of course, there is nothing wrong with asking for things in prayer—it is one of the chief purposes for prayer: Adore‒Love‒Thank‒Ask‒Repair or ALTAR. Yet for some, that is all they do! There are other more important things that come before asking—if all we do is ask, then we are being very selfish. Prayer is also about giving! We owe and must give God adoration (praise). We must also love God—as Jesus says, this must be done with all our mind, heart, soul and strength: for it is the primary Commandment. We must thank God for many or even countless mercies, graces and blessings He continuously sends our way each and every day. Before we even ask, we should pay our debts for past sins—if you don’t pay your bank for a previous loan, then don’t expect to get a future loan! Asking, then, is, in a certain sense, in last place—there is a “whole lotta” giving to be done first! (3) We Don’t Use Our Creativity and Imagination―Instead of giving God “an original meal”—that is to say “original prayer”, we give Him something “off-the-shelf” that can be microwaved in seconds. Most people really don’t want to go to the trouble of concocting something original each time they pray—it is too time consuming (and it links in to a lack of or no desire of preparation). Why bother going to all that trouble, when there is a “ready-made” “pre-packaged” prayer available?! This leads to the next point… (4) We Use Clichés―It’s the same old line…over and over again! Much as it is, perhaps, with family, friends and work colleagues—the same old clichés, day in, day out! “Morning honey! What’s for breakfast? Is the coffee ready? Where’s the paper? Bye-now! Love ya! See ya tonight!” Words said routinely, automatically, on auto-pilot, mechanically, without much feeling. This is how we get with God and this is why we get no miracles. (5) We Talk But Don’t Listen―Yap! Yap! Yap! Yap! Yap! Our prayer is usually all one-way-traffic. We talk. God has to listen. Yet, God has far better things to say to us than we have to say to Him! However, that’s the scary part! We somehow dread the things that God may say to us—because they may not be according to OUR will. We say “Thy Will be done on Earth as it is Heaven” each day, but we slur the words so much or say it so fast, that it kinda sounds like “My will be done on Earth and in Heaven!” (6) We Pray Too Fast―Being a “spiritual athlete” does not mean the fastest person on Earth in praying the Rosary! Yet that is how most people pray, or say, the Rosary and many other prayers. Sadly, it is also the way some priests say Mass. These two things—the Mass and the Rosary—are arguably the two most important things a lay person has on Earth. Yet it seems as though they can’t wait to be rid of the obligation of participating in them. This is not the best tactic for getting Our Lord and Our Lady on your side when you want a special favor or a miracle! Pray in haste, repent in Purgatory—or worse yet, Hell! (7) We Pray Too Little―What a bunch of skinflints we are in relation to God! We want or even expect so much from Him, yet give Him so little in return. We have devalued Heaven; devalued miracles; devalued graces; devalued the Sacraments; devalued mercy and forgiveness—we are on the way to being spiritually bankrupt! Give God more, much more! Let the words of Our Lady at the her apparitions, and the words of the Angel of Fatima, sink into your mind and heart: “Pray, pray a great deal! Offer unceasingly prayers and sacrifice yourselves to the Most High!” said the Angel. At La Salette, Our Lady complained: “I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually! And all you think little of this!” and rebukes those who “have neglected prayer.” At Fatima, Our Lady said: “Pray! Pray very much!” While at Akita she stated: “Continue to pray very much! ... Very much!” Yet the world seems to pray less and less! Bad move! (8) We Pray Distractedly and Without Focus― St. Bernard was traveling with a poor, uneducated farmer, who boasted, “I’m never distracted when I pray!” St. Bernard objected: “I don’t believe it! Now let me make a bargain with you. If you can say the Our Father without one distraction, I’ll give you this mule I’m riding. But if you don’t succeed, you must come with me and be a monk.” The farmer agreed and began praying aloud confidently: “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name ...” Then, after pausing for a moment, he asked St. Bernard: “Does that include the saddle and the bridle, too?” St. Thomas Aquinas said that we couldn’t say a Hail Mary without being tempted to distraction! Yet, Blessed Clare of Rimini was leading a carefree life, in which religion wasn’t something to take too seriously. At age thirty four, she entered church one day, only to hear a rather blunt message from Heaven: “Clare, try to say one Our Father and one Hail Mary to the glory of God, without thinking of other things.” Chastened by this rebuke, she took her religious duties more seriously. Which is why St. Francis of Assisi, whenever he was about to enter church for Mass, or to pray, would say: “Worldly and frivolous thoughts, stay here at the door until I return!” Then he would go inside and pray with complete devotion. For this reason, too, the Franciscan priest, Blessed Thomas of Cori, insisted that the Divine Office be recited slowly and reverently, for as he said, “If the heart does not pray, the tongue works in vain!” Which reminds us again of the words of Our Lord: “Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me!’” (Mark 7:6). (9) We Pray Without Confidence―“O ye of little faith!” Our Lord would often say, “Why didst thou doubt?” If there is one thing that we are faithful in, it is in doubting that God will hear and answer our prayers! Yet look at what happened to St. Zachary, the father of St. John the Baptist! Saint or not, he doubted the message of the Archangel Gabriel concerning the future conception of John the Baptist—and his doubt was punished by him being struck dumb and left speechless. Moses—hero or not—doubted God in the desert, Who had promised that water would flow from a rock once Moses had struck it with the rod. Moses was punished by being told he would die before the Israelites would enter the Promised Land. The examples are numerous. Low on confidence? Then let that be one of the first things you ask for in your prayers! Let us cry out with man in the Gospels: “And immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: ‘I do believe, Lord! Help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:23), or the Apostles: “And the Apostles said to the Lord: ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5). (10) We Pray Without Any Intentions―As St. Louis de Montfort said: “It is sad to see how most people say the Rosary. A fault commonly committed in saying the Rosary is to have no intention other than that of getting it over with as quickly as possible!” (St. Louis de Montfort, Secret of the Rosary). Pretty much all our worldly activities are done with an intention—yet when it comes to prayer, we “just do it”! Acting without any intention would be regarding as a sign of madness—yet, in prayer, this is what is often done! We go to Mass and assist at Mass without formulating any intention. We might often pray our Rosary without any intention—we merely say it because we have to! It is like going through life without any goals or desires—just floating through life! A soldier does not just fire his gun wildly, spraying bullets here, there and everywhere. He has a target and he takes careful aim. Snipers are trained and expected to be able to kill with one bullet. That can only be achieved through taking careful aim at the target. Our prayers should follow the same example. We Know All This, But... The frightening and appalling thing is that we already know these things—we have heard them preached or read of them many a time! Yet it all flows off us like water off a duck’s back! The terrifying thing is that knowing these things brings a far heavier responsibility and culpability: “And that servant who knew the will of his lord, and prepared not himself, and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47). Unfortunately there will be no safety in numbers on Judgment Day! Furthermore, there will no miracles to be had in our day! Shoddy prayer just doesn’t work! It is time for us to really take ourselves to task over this matter—for we are losing many graces through this negligence and running up a very high debt that in justice will have to be punished sooner or later. If we pray like most people—then this is a bad sign! For most people, in the opinion of the spiritual masters, are lukewarm. In the next article, we will finish the "bad" bits! Having looked at the problem of praying for "bad" things; followed by a look at our praying "badly", we will now look at the problem of our being "bad"! How "bad" are you? ... at getting miracles? |
What Are We Looking For? God or Miracles?
God's purpose in prayer is for us to get to know Who He is and His holiness, rather than to get God to do our bidding. That does not mean that He will not hear and answer, but His prime purpose in not to make us happy, but to make Himself known to us, so that we might adore Him. In fact, adoration or praise or glorification of God is the prime purpose of our existence—the salvation of our souls finds itself in a distant second place, a miracles way behind that! Even our catechism tells us that truth in simple terms: “God made me to (1) know Him, (2) love Him, (3) serve Him in this life, and (4) to be happy with Him in the next.” If we do the first three things well—then we will automatically, as a by-product, save our souls and find ourselves in an eternal heavenly happiness. By doing these things―(1) knowing Him, (2) loving Him, (3) serving Him―we end up being “good” or “holy”. By not doing these things, we end up being “bad” or “unholy”. The better we are the better the chance there is of obtaining favors and even miracles from God. The worse we are, then all the worse are our chances of the same. The Greatest Obstacle to Miracles is Sin It’s common sense—God is not going to reward those who hate Him (mortal sin) or displease Him (venial sin). The general theme of Holy Scripture is one of God rewarding the just and punishing the evil. As Holy Scripture says: “Good is set against evil” (Ecclesiasticus 33:15). “The eyes of the Lord, in every place, behold the good and the evil” (Proverbs 15:3). “Seek ye good, and not evil, that you may live” (Amos 5:14). “Evil pursueth sinners: and, to the just, good shall be repaid” (Proverbs 13:21). “They that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). “The wages of sin is death!” (Romans 6:23). “If the just man shall turn away from his justice, and shall commit iniquity … he shall die in his sin, and his justices, which he hath done, shall not be remembered” (Ezechiel 3:20). The Fatima Principle Our Lady would not answer some requests for miraculous cures until people changed and amended their lives. We see this principle emerge from her answers to many requests that Lucia presented to her on behalf of other people. Concerning one sick person, Our Lady says: “If he is converted, he will be cured during the year.” (June 13th, 1917). In September, Lucia asked: “I have many other requests, some for conversion, others for a cure.” Again Our Lady was selective about who would get a miraculous cure and who would not. She tellingly replied with words that must have shocked and hurt those who were beseeching cures: “I shall cure some, but others no, because Our Lord does not trust them” (September 13th, 1917). Later, in October, when Lucia said: “I have many things to ask of you—to heal some sick people and to convert some sinners…” Our Lady yet again replied in a manner that showed that souls must merit Heaven’s favors by living a good and holy life. Our Lady said: “Some, yes! Others, no! People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins!” Then, growing sadder, she added: “They must not offend Our Lord any more―for He is already too much offended!” (October 13th, 1917). Add to this the fact that Our Lady later told Sr. Lucia of Fatima, that the October Miracle of the Sun would have been far more stupendous, had it not been for the sins of the masonic mayor of the town, who had arrested the three children in August, and thus prevented them keeping their August 13th rendezvous with Our Lady, which consequently took place on August 19th, after their release from prison. Our Lady’s words were: “If they had not taken you to the town [prison], the miracle would have been greater!” (August 19th, 1917). The principle that seems to coming out from these apparitions at Fatima, is: "The more we sin, the less we get!" and “Don’t expect any or many favors until you change and amend your life!” As More Sins Flow, the Miracles of Lourdes Dry-Up! The miracles of Lourdes have seemed to dry up more and more as we enter a more worldly and sinful era within the world at large. To date, there have been 69 miracles recognized by the doctors investigating the miraculous claims. In the first 112 years (from 1858 to 1970) the first 66 approved miracles occurred. Since 1970, which is almost 50 years ago, there have only been three. The worldwide falling away from the Faith seems to more than just a coincidence for this extraordinary plummeting in the number of miracles Heaven has provided. For the numbers to have kept pace, the last 50 years should have seen, not just 3 miracles, but 28 miracles! Something gone wrong there!! (More on that at a later date, when our research has been fully completed). St. Thomas Aquinas on Sinners and Prayer Replying to the objections that ( 1) It would seem that sinners impetrate nothing from God by their prayers; (2) Sinners cannot merit anything since they lack grace and charity, and (3) They are not heard, because they do not observe the form of prayer instituted by Christ; St. Thomas says on the contrary, quoting St. Augustine, that “If God were not to hear sinners, the publican would have vainly said: ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner!’” for he says, quoting St. John Chrysostom: “Everyone that asketh shall receive, that is to say, whether he be righteous or sinful.” St. Thomas says that two things are to be considered in the sinner—his nature, which God loves, and the sin which God hates. Therefore, when a sinner prays for something as sinner, that is to say, still attached to his sin and his sinful desires, God hears him, not through mercy, but sometimes through a kind of vengeance, in that He allows the sinner to fall yet deeper into sin. St. Thomas, on this point, quotes St. Augustine, who says: “God refuses in mercy what He grants in anger.” On the other hand, says St. Thomas, God hears the sinner’s prayer if it proceeds from a good natural desire. However, God does hear the prayer out of justice, because the sinner does not merit to be heard, but He hears the prayer out of pure mercy—provided that the sinner fulfills four conditions: (1) in asking things for himself—for if he is in mortal sin, his prayers are useless for others; (2) that he ask for things necessary for salvation—and not temporal advantages; (3) that he ask with sincerity and devotion, and (4) that he persevere in asking God until God relents and answers his prayer. Regarding the seemingly logical objection, based on Holy Scripture, that “God doth not hear sinners” (John 9:31) and that “He that turneth away his ears from hearing the Law, his prayer shall be an abomination”—all of which seem to point that “abominable prayer” gets nothing from God and therefore sinners get nothing from God—St. Thomas replies to this objection saying that these words―“God doth not hear sinners” ―were spoken by the blind man before being perfectly enlightened, and consequently they lack authority, even though they are contained in Scripture. Yet St. Thomas does admit that there is truth in the saying if it refers to a sinner as such, in which sense also the sinner's prayer is said to be an “abomination”. For St. Thomas mentions Psalm 17, where it says: “They cried, but there was none to save them; [they cried] to the Lord: but He heard them not” (Psalm 17:42), and also where God says: “Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: because they have hated instruction nor consented to My counsel, but despised all My reproof” (Proverbs 1:28-30). Until they convert, God will not hear. This is borne out in another quote that St. Thomas gives: “And if they sin against Thee―for there is no man that sinneth not―and Thou be angry with them, and deliver them up to their enemies, and they lead them away captive to a land either afar off, or near at hand. And if they be converted in their heart, in the land to which they were led captive, and do penance, and pray to Thee in the land of their captivity, saying: ‘We have sinned! We have done wickedly! We have dealt unjustly!’ and return to Thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their captivity, to which they were led away, and adore Thee … Then hear Thou, from Heaven, their prayers, and forgive Thy people, although they have sinned! For Thou art my God: let Thy eyes, I beseech Thee, be open, and let Thy ears be attentive to the prayer” (2 Paralipomenon 6:36-39). Concerning the objection that mortal sinners cannot merit anything from God since they lack grace and charity, St. Thomas says that even though there is no godliness in the sinner's prayer by a habit of virtue: and yet his prayer may be godly in so far as he asks for something pertaining to godliness—that is to say asking for something good and wholesome. Even so a man who is not in a state of justice (grace), is still able to desire something just. And though, having lost the state of grace, his prayer cannot merit anything, he can still obtain the restoration of grace through his prayer. For God hears sinners who ask for the pardon of their sins—otherwise, St. Thomas says, it would have been useless for the publican (who was justified) to have said: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Finally, St. Thomas points out that, sometimes, a sinner, if he is prepared to forgive those who have trespassed against him, may have his prayers heard, according to the command of Holy Scripture: “Forgive thy neighbor if he hath hurt thee, and then shall thy sins be forgiven to thee when thou prayest” Sirach 28:2. (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa IIae, q. 83, art 16, “Whether sinners impetrate anything from God by their prayers?”; also Commentary on the Gospel of John, Chapter 9). Sinners Can Get Miracles of Vengeance As St. Thomas said above: “When a sinner prays for something as sinner, that is to say, still attached to his sin and his sinful desires, God hears him―not through mercy―but sometimes through a kind of vengeance.” If you like, it could be put this way: “Good people can get good miracles; bad people can get bad miracles.” This is somewhat linked to Our Lord’s words, when He says: “Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). The same idea is conveyed by the following: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). The cities of Sodom and Gomorrha remained stubbornly in sin—and they received their miracle of vengeance, as fire and brimstone rained down upon them (Genesis, chapters 18 & 19). The city of Ninive repented of its sins and did penance, fasting in sackcloth and ashes—and they avoided their miracle of vengeance and were not destroyed (Jonas, chapter 3). God will send ‘miracles of vengeance’ if He has to, but He would prefer otherwise: “‘Is it My will that a sinner should die’, saith the Lord God, ‘and not that he should be converted from his ways, and live?’” (Ezechiel 18:23). “If the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die” (Ezechiel 18:21). |
But the Bible Says Miracles Perform Miracles!
Some may object and say that even sinners do ‘good’ miracles—quoting the following passage, where those that are about be damned, plead with Christ, saying: “Not everyone that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day: ‘Lord! Lord! Have not we prophesied in Thy Name, and cast out devils in Thy Name, and done many miracles in Thy Name?’ And then will I profess unto them: ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you that work iniquity!’” (Matthew 7:21-23). False Prophets Our Lord warns us, saying: “Beware of false prophets!” (Matthew 7:13), for there always have been and always will be false prophets. In the Old Testament, “the Lord said: ‘The prophets prophesy falsely in My Name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor have I spoken to them: they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination and deceit, and the seduction of their own heart!’” (Jeremias 14:14). “I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in My Name … They prophesy falsely to you in My Name: and I have not sent them!’ saith the Lord” (Jeremias 23:2; 29:9). While in the New Testament, Our Lord warns: “For many will come in My Name saying: ‘I am Christ!’ and they will seduce many!” (Matthew 24:5) … “Take heed you be not seduced; for many will come in My Name, saying: ‘I am He; and the time is at hand!’ Go ye not therefore after them!” (Luke 21:8). Even sinful people, or those not of the true Faith, can, in rare cases, prophesy—the Lord bestowed the gift of prophecy upon Balaam (Numbers, chapters 23 & 24), that he might proclaim the coming of the Messias from afar. Likewise, Caiaphas (John 11:52) prophesied in truth that Christ should expiate the sins of all through his death. False Miracles After Our Lord had performed a miracle on the Sabbath day, “some of the Pharisees said: ‘This man is not of God, who keepeth not the Sabbath!’ But others said: ‘How can a man, that is a sinner, do such miracles?’ And there was a division among them” (John 9:16). The first thing we must understand—which the Pharisees did not grasp—is that miracles do not equate with holiness. Just because someone makes a prophecy, or performs a miracle, this does not make them holy, nor does it guarantee or prove their holiness to us. Our Lord Himself predicts that “there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive—if possible—even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). St. Thomas, speaking of this time of the Antichrist, writes: “According to Matthew 24:24, Our Lord says: ‘There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders.’ Our Lord is speaking there of the miracles to be wrought at the time of Antichrist, of which the Apostle says (2 Thessalonians 2:9) that the coming of Antichrist will be ‘according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders.’ To quote the words of St. Augustine, ‘it is a matter of debate whether they are called signs and lying wonders, because he will deceive the senses of mortals by imaginary visions, in that he will seem to do what he does not, or because, though they be real wonders, they will seduce into falsehood them that believe.’ They are said to be real, because the things themselves will be real, just as Pharao’s magicians made real frogs and real serpents; but they will not be real miracles, because they will be done by the power of natural causes; whereas the working of miracles is done by God’s power for man’s profit” (see St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 178, art. 1, ad 2). Even Evil Magicians Work ‘Miracles’ If we recognize that even sinners can work miracles or prophesy, we question whether they may use these charisms to teach falsely. On this point, St. Thomas: “Miracles are always true witnesses to the purpose for which they are wrought. Hence wicked men, who teach a false doctrine, never work true miracles in confirmation of their teaching, although sometimes they may do so in praise of Christ’s Name, which they invoke, and by the power of the Sacraments which they administer. If they teach a true doctrine, sometimes they work true miracles as confirming their teaching, but not as an attestation of holiness. Hence St. Augustine says: ‘Magicians work miracles in one way, good Christians in another, wicked Christians in another. Magicians by private agreement with the demons, good Christians by their manifest righteousness, evil Christians by merely outward signs of righteousness [but lacking interior righteousness]’” (Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 178, art. 2, ad 3). Charisms and Miracles? To understand this, it is necessary to zoom-in on the matter of charisms. The Catholic Encyclopedia tells that “The Greek term ‘charisma’ denotes any good gift that flows from God's benevolent love (‘charis’, from which we get the word ‘charity’ or ‘caritas’) unto man; any Divine grace or favor, ranging from redemption and life eternal to comfort in communing with brethren in the Faith (Romans 5:15, 16; 6:23; 11:29). The term has, however, a narrower meaning: the spiritual graces and qualifications granted to every Christian to perform his task in the Church: ‘Every one hath his proper gift [charisma] from God; one after this manner, and another after that’ (1 Corinthians 7:7 etc.). Lastly, in its narrowest sense, charisma is the theological term for denoting extraordinary graces given to individual Christians for the good of others. Theologians distinguish the ‘charismata’ from other graces which operate personal sanctification. The gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost, being given for personal sanctification, are not to be numbered among the charismata.” Something Better Than Miracles Grace, virtue, the gifts and the fruits are geared to the interior life and the sanctification of a person's soul. Miracles are not directly geared to the interior life, but are external things, which are meant for the good of another individual or a group of individuals, and act only indirectly on the soul. The virtues, gifts and fruits are realities that are habitually present in the soul, making the soul to be pleasing to God; the charisms are temporary things, like water passing through a pipe, or the flare of a firefly in the dark. No man in mortal sin possesses any of the habitual gifts (for he is not pleasing to God), but even a sinner may be used as a pipeline for charisms―thus charisms may operate in the sinner, though these cases are rare (see St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 178). In other words, put more simply, being in a state of grace, possessing virtues, having the gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost are all superior to the power or charism of performing miracles. The charism of miracles may be spectacular, but it is not guarantee of holiness or of reaching Heaven. False Miracles Are Coming! Our Lady of La Salette speaks of the prodigies and ‘miracles’ that will come in our day, and attributes them to demons, who will be given a greater power over mankind, due to the sinfulness of men. She says: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell … They will have great power over Nature: there will be churches built to serve these spirits. People will be transported from one place to another by these evil spirits, even priests … On occasions, the dead and the righteous will be brought back to life. That is to say that these dead will take on the form of righteous souls, which had lived on Earth, in order to lead men further astray. These so-called ‘resurrected dead’, will be nothing but the devil in this form … Everywhere there will be extraordinary wonders, as true Faith has faded and false light brightens the people ... Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist. The demons of the air, together with the Antichrist, will perform great wonders on Earth and in the atmosphere, and men will become more and more perverted” (Our Lady of La Salette, 1846). Where Will These False Miracles Come From? Ultimately, their final source will be the devil—some he will perform directly, other false miracles he will perform through his human followers, with whom he has shared some of the secrets of his devilish intelligence, in helping them create mind-boggling technological weapons, tools and instruments, which to us will seem ‘miraculous’. The current scientific discoveries and instruments, that are the so-called “cutting-edge” in modern technology—are in fact almost prehistoric in relation to what they really do possess behind the scenes. Holy Scripture warns us that the devil can fool us very easily. St. Paul speaks of the devil appearing as an “angel of light”--“For Satan, himself, transformeth himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross—both extraordinary saints and Doctors of the Church—speak of having had innumerable encounters with demons. Both were well-known, especially St. John, for their powers in exorcising demons. As Teresa asserts: “John of the Cross has a special gift to cast demons ... In Avila, he cast many from a person, and he commanded them in the name of God to tell him their names, and they obeyed immediately!” (St. Teresa, Letter #48.2 ). Yet St. John of Cross had to ask Our Lord to no longer appear to him, because the devil was also appearing to him under the form of Jesus—and poor old John couldn’t always tell the difference! A similar scenario was seen in the life of St. Padre Pio, to whom the devil would appear to him under many different forms. Fr. Agostino testifies that: "The Devil appeared as young girls that danced naked, as a crucifix, as a young friend of the monks, as the Spiritual Father or as the Provincial Father; as Pope Pius X, a Guardian Angel, as St. Francis and as Our Lady.” In one of the letters to Fr. Agostino, dated January 18th, 1912, St. Padre Pio stated: “The Devil does not want to lose this battle. He takes on many forms. For several days now, he has appeared with his brothers who are armed with batons and pieces of iron. One of the difficulties is that they appear in many disguises. There were several times when they threw me out of my bed and dragged me out of my bedroom. I am patient, however, and I know Jesus, Our Lady, my Guardian Angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis are always with me.” If these saints could be fooled at times, how much more we mere mortals! In the next article, we will look at the real miracles—Do we need them? Can we get them? Should we get them? Will we get them? |
Do Not Doubt That God Wants to Help You!
Discouragement is the devil’s trump card! He loves to paint a picture of a God who is cold, uncaring, ruthless, over-demanding, lacking in understanding, just waiting for the day that He can eventually damn us and thus be rid of us! The other picture he will paint is one of the opposite extreme, wherein he depicts God as super-loving, ever-forgiving, sin-tolerating, blind-eye indulging, who just can’t wait to take us to Heaven unconditionally. Both pictures are gross aberration of the true nature of God. If we want to get the best out of anything, we have to know how it works and then work with it, not against it. Everything acts according to its nature, when we transgress that nature and work against it, then things break down and can even get ugly! Thus, to get the best out of God, we have to know and respect the way He works, and then work with Him, not against Him. We have to adapt to His nature, and not try to make Him adapt to our nature. A True Picture of God First of all, let Holy Scripture paint a more balanced and true picture of God: “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Psalm 144:8-9). “For Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Thee” (Psalm 85:5). Yet that sweetness, kindness, tenderness, mildness and mercy are not unconditional! Once again, read the entire twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus to see the truth of this—here are a few other quotes that also show the same truth―God does not love us unconditionally: “How good is God to them that are of a right heart!” (Psalm 72:1). It is common sense: God will not reward evil, it is not to be rewarded but punished: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Thou art not a God that willest iniquity. Neither shall the wicked dwell near Thee: nor shall the unjust abide before Thy eyes. Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 5:5-7). Some Are For God, Some Against We live in a world that is, for the most part, abhorred by God—not because He likes to hate, but because they refuse to keep His law: “Walk not after the laws of the nations, which I will cast out before you. For they have done all these things, and therefore I abhorred them” (Leviticus 20:23). Why? Because “they provoked Him by strange gods, and stirred Him up to anger, with their abominations. They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not: that were newly come up, whom their fathers worshiped not. The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath and He said: ‘I will hide My face from them for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children. They have provoked Me with that which was no god, and have angered Me with their vanities … I will heap evils upon them, and will spend My arrows among them. They shall be consumed with famine … I will make the memory of them to cease from among men” (Leviticus 32:16-26). “You that love the Lord, hate evil: the Lord preserveth the souls of His saints, He will deliver them out of the hand of the sinner” (Psalm 96:10). Only the Good Are Rewarded, But… This sounds so good and appealing: “Only the good are rewarded!” Yet, we have to remember that our reward will rarely come in this life—it is the fallacy of Protestants to think that if they are prosperous and free of suffering that they must be in God’s “good books”. Yet God’s ways are not our ways, nor are God’s thoughts our thoughts (Isaias 55:8-9). Speaking of rewards, Our Lady said to St. Bernadette at Lourdes—“I do not promise to make you happy (reward you) in this life, but in the next!” Our Lord said pretty much the same thing to His Apostles at the Last Supper: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy … I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you” (John 16:20-22). This life is so short that any reward, here below, ends before we know it! To be rewarded after this life, means that the reward will be eternal--“and your joy no man shall take from you!” On the contrary, regarding the works of the Pharisees, who did things to be seen and therefore forfeited a heavenly reward, having exchanged it for the rewards (praise) of men: “Therefore when thou dost an alms deed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward! … And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward! … And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward!” (Matthew 6:2-16). Getting God To Flex His Miracle Muscles The bottom line is getting on the right side of God. “As it is written: ‘That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!’” (1 Corinthians 2:9). “God will redeem my soul from the hand of Hell” (Psalm 48:16) … “The Lord thy God will bring thee into a good land” (Deuteronomy 8:7) ... “God will defend thee” (Judith 5:25) … The Lord your God will fight for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22) … “God will overthrow thy enemies for thee” (Ecclesiasticus 4:33) ... “God will give a blessing” (Ecclesiasticus 4:14) ... “God will keep him, and deliver him from evils” (Ecclesiasticus 33:1). And the list of good things and blessings goes on and on throughout Scripture. The key to activating God’s miracle muscles is a love of God—the greater the love, the greater the intervention. Just look at the lives of the saints! You are meant to be a saint too! Only saints go to Heaven—where do you want to go? Quit Sinning First of all, and above all, we must quit sin—definitely quit Mortal Sin, and then, not stopping there, work at eradicating all deliberate Venial Sin. This is fundamental and inescapable. The more attached we are to sin—or the less we strive to quit sin—then the less God will do for us. It is a fundamental law of spiritual economics. Our catechisms tell us, in one way or another, that SIN IS THE GREATEST EVIL IN THE WORLD—even what we call “a teeny-weeny venial sin”! How can we commit the greatest evil in the world and expect God to work wonders for us? Sin contracts two things: (1) guilt and (2) debt. Even if the sin is forgiven in confession, and the guilt is consequently taken away, the temporal debt or temporal punishment for sin remains. By temporal debt or punishment we mean the suffering or penance that must be undergone in order to pay for the wrong we have done. If we fail to do it here below, then we have to pay after death, in one of two places—in Purgatory, or, God forbid, in Hell. How likely is it that God will let us "buy" a miracle if we have not paid, or are at least not paying in earnest, our debts to Him for past sins. How likely is it that a bank will give you a massive loan, if you haven't paid back, or are not making payments on a previous lesser loan? No chance! Exercise Your Godly Muscles Secondly, we must exercise the three spiritual muscles by which we climb closer to God—the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Exercising Faith To exercise the virtue of Faith (which is based on knowledge), we must seek to know more about God—for we cannot hope in, or love, that which we do not know. Of course, we could name a thousand and one things that are more interesting than the thought of knowing more about God, but all those things will do little or nothing towards our salvation, and may only help our damnation! Know God! Make and take time to know God! Exercising Hope To exercise the virtue of Hope, we must first and foremost put our trust and reliance upon God—Our Lord said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5). It is because we rely too much on ourselves and human endeavors or technology, that we lose the help of God. We might achieve something by ourselves, but nowhere near as much as we would have achieved trusting, hoping and relying on God. The humility required for this is destroyed by our own pride and self-sufficiency. Exercising Charity To exercise the virtue of Charity, we must have quit sin—for when we sin, we express a dislike or hatred of God and His laws. We cannot serve two masters: we will either love one and hate the other, or vice-versa: “No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). You cannot serve God and sin! You cannot love God and sin! Our Lord said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments! … He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth Me. And he that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father: and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him … He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words” (John 14:15-24). This is beginning and foundation and measure of Charity—How well do keep the commandments? Upon this foundation or platform for Charity—the keeping of the commandments—come the building bricks of talking to God and suffering for God. We talk to the ones we love—we help and suffer for the ones we love. This is essentially what Our Lady speaks of at Fatima—prayer (talking to God) and sacrifices (helping save sinners through suffering something). This is the intermediate state of Charity, whereby we seek to pull away from talking to the world and talk more and more with God; and whereby we begin to understand the power of suffering in order to obtain things—though, in this intermediate stage, we suffer reluctantly and do not seek out suffering, but rather accept it with a heavy heart. The third stage, and pinnacle of Charity, is where we live solely for God alone, and we are absorbed in God alone—even in our daily activities and duties. Prayer, in the sense of “raising the heart and mind to God”, becomes almost constant—“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)―whereby we are aware of the presence of God in all things, in all circumstances, in all places, at all times. Added to this constant prayerfulness, is a great desire and love for suffering—whereas at the previous stage, suffering was accepted, but reluctantly—with clenched teeth, in a manner of speaking—now suffering is sought after and accepted with a smile and great joy! We can readily and easily see how pleasing this level of charity must be to God and how He must be inclined to reward—often by great wonders accompanied by further great sufferings. When our Charity becomes red-hot and intense, it is then that we increase the chances of getting God to flex and use His ‘miracle muscles’—as we see pointed out by Our Lord, in relation to the love that St. Mary Magdalen had, which in turn brought great favors for her from Christ, even though she had been a great sinner from whom Our Lord had cast out seven devils: “Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much” (Luke 7:47). Great Things for a Great Sinner! The fact that Our Lord did great things for a great sinner, should fill you with great hope! Yet the reason why Our Lord did that was down to those three things again: Faith, Hope and Charity. Mary Magdalen believed that Jesus could help her, because she believed that He was the Son of God—in other words, her Faith was strong. Mary Magdalen placed all her hopes in Jesus, she was always at His feet—caught in adultery, she was at His feet listening to Him, while Martha, her sister, was busying herself with mundane things; she threw herself down at His feet; at the banquet of Simon the Leper, she is weeping at His feet; as He dies on the Cross, she again is at His feet at the foot of the Cross; when she encounters Him outside the tomb after His resurrection, she again throws herself at His feet—great was her Hope in Him. Likewise with her love of Him—she, a public sinner, is not afraid to show her love for Him by anointing Him at the banquet; when most of His Apostles (except one) and disciples had abandoned Him on Calvary, Mary was there! It was her great Faith, Hope and Charity that won for her great things from God. |
The Synergy or Chemistry of Faith, Hope & Charity
These three theological virtues are not to be separated, but they need to interact one with the other—much like the Holy Trinity: though They are three Persons, They are one God and They interact One with the Other. Faith Faith is our foundation: “Without Faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is founded upon knowledge—a knowledge of God and all things pertaining to God. We can never say we know enough about God—therefore there is no excuse for neglecting to study and learn about God. It is sad indictment that we know far more about people on Earth and things of the world than we know about God and things of Heaven! Many of those who do make an effort, sadly go down secondary and non-essential paths—reading, studying and talking about things like the crisis in the Church, while neglecting the more important things like the love of God, growth in virtue, reduction in sin, and many other aspects of the spiritual life. The knowledge of the spiritual life is more important. Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange says that of the "three theologies"—Dogmatic Theology (what you must believe), Moral Theology (what you must do) and Ascetical Theology (the spiritual life), it is Ascetical Theology that is the icing on the cake. Yet the cake must be there to support the icing—likewise, the spiritual life is built upon Dogmatic and Moral Theology—they have to studied. Again, it is like the Holy Trinity—three in one; distinct in person, yet one in nature. You will not get into Heaven because your knowledge of the crisis in the Church was at an encyclopedic level, but because of your love of God. Much was forgiven Mary Magdalen because she loved much—not because she knew much! In fact, the more you know, the more you should manifest it by loving God more—yet most of our encyclopedic brain-boxes give less time to God than they would and could otherwise! As case of Mary Magdalen sat at Our Lord’s feet and her sister Martha busying herself about countless other things. Perhaps you need to make some major adjustments to your foundation! Perhaps you have neglecting maintenance work on your Faith! Are you a minimalist with regard to your Faith? If so, you will get minimum returns on it! Hope Faith in God should lead to a great hope and confidence in God. In fact, this is what is meant by the word “Faith” when used in a certain context in Holy Scripture—it means a confidence or hope or trust (Faith hoping)in Christ built upon the belief (Faith knowing) that Christ is God and is able to help. Our Lord speaks of our the need for Faith (confidence, hope, trust) in God, if we are obtain miracles from Him: “For, amen I say to you, if you have faith (confidence, hope, trust) as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: ‘Remove from hence hither!’ and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you!” (Matthew 17:19). “If you had faith (confidence, hope, trust) like to a grain of mustard seed, you might say to this mulberry tree: ‘Be thou rooted up, and be thou transplanted into the sea!’ and it would obey you!” (Luke 17:6). Therefore the more Faith (confidence, hope, trust) we have, the more likely we can get God to make things happen. “Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do” (John 14:12). A Test of Faith and Hope! However, our Faith (confidence, hope, trust) may well be tested and seemingly bring nothing but refusals from God—as seen in the case of the Canaanite woman. Here we have a woman not of the Jewish Faith (today, we would say a non-Catholic), who has the audacity to come to Jesus asking for a miracle—the casting out of a devil from her daughter. No doubt she has Faith (Faith knowing) that Christ has the power to do this—otherwise she wouldn’t be there. It seems she has been ‘trying all day’ to get close to Jesus, to be able to beg of Him this miracle—yet the Apostles have been successful in keeping her away. She must have been pretty persistent in her efforts, for the Apostles complained to Our Lord about her continuous harassment. When she finally breaks through the ‘protective cordon’ surrounding Our Lord, she begs Him, with great hope, for her desired miracle. Our Lord ‘stonewalls’ her with His silence. Undeterred, she again begs—this time Our Lord tells her that she is not of the right religion. Still she comes at Him—only to have Him call her a dog! Even this will not quench her hope and confidence—she humbly acknowledges that she is a dog, but they says even dogs get crumbs from the master’s table. At this point Our Lord relents—He had tested her Faith and Hope, and she came through with flying colors. Here is the Scriptural account: “And behold a woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts, crying out, said to Him: ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David! My daughter is grieviously troubled by the devil!’ Who answered her not a word! And his disciples came and besought Him, saying: ‘Send her away, for she crieth after us!’ And he answering, said: ‘I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel!’ But she came and adored Him, saying: ‘Lord! Help me!’ Who answering, said: ‘It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs!’ But she said: ‘Yea, Lord! For the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters!’ Then Jesus answering, said to her: ‘O woman, great is thy faith! Be it done to thee as thou wilt!’ and her daughter was cured from that hour” (Matthew 15:22-28). Sometimes we will need great humility and will be made to go through great humiliations—like the woman of Canaan—before we will get our ‘miracle’ or favor from God! “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive a crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love Him” (James 1:12). Is our hope, confidence and trust too easily discouraged when tested. Do we wilt in tribulations and give up too quickly. If so, then we have major adjustments to make here. Reflect more and more on the above example of the Canaanite woman. Let her be an inspiration for you. This brings to charity or love of God… Charity Charity is the pinnacle! Charity is the soul of all virtues! Charity is bond or glue of all virtues! Holy Scripture even tells us that “God is charity!” (1 John 4:16) and Our Lord says: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30), to which St. John—the Apostle of Love—adds: “He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity” (1 John 4:8). Yet like all else, charity is like a seed that must grow into a strong tree, that can withstand all the storms that come its way. This is why the spiritual writers speak of the charity of beginners, the charity of the proficient and the charity of the perfect. Seed—sapling—tree. Stages of Growth Fr. Tanquerey, in his book, The Spiritual Life, speaks of these three stages of growth: “(1) The chief care of beginners is that of preserving charity. Their efforts, then, are directed toward the avoidance of sin, above all, mortal sin, and toward the conquest of evil inclinations, of the passions, and of all that could make them lose the love of God. This is the purgative way, the end of which is the purification of the soul. (2) The chief concern of those already advanced, the ‘proficientes’, is progress in the positive exercise of the virtues and growth in charity. The heart, already purified, is all the more open to divine light and to the love of God. The soul wishes to follow Jesus and to imitate His virtues, and since by following Him one walks in the Light, this is called the illuminative way. Here the soul strives to avoid not only mortal, but even venial sin. (3) Perfect souls have but one concern to cling to God and to take their delight in Him. Ever seeking to unite themselves to God, they are in the unitive way. Sin fills them with horror, for they fear to displease God and to offend Him. The virtues that most attract them are the theological virtues, which unite them to God. Hence, the earth seems to them an exile, and, like St. Paul, they long to die to be joined to Christ” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §341-§343). No Pain, No Gain Love, if it is true, means the cross. The cross means pain. Without this pain of the cross, there can be no gain in love. Our Lord would say: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Fr. Tanquerey, speaking of this pain in love, writes: “(1) Beginners, upheld by the fear of God, do not indeed love pain, but rather seek to escape it. However, they choose to suffer rather than to offend God and, though groaning under the weight of the Cross, they endure it in patience, they are resigned. (2) Those who have already made some progress, are sustained by the hope and the desire of heavenly things; and, though they do not yet seek the Cross, they willingly carry it with a certain joy, knowing that each new pang represents an additional degree of glory: ‘Going, they went and wept, casting their seeds. But coming, they shall come with joyfulness carrying their sheaves’ (Psalm 125:6-7). (3) The perfect, led by love, go further. To glorify the God they love, to become more like our Lord, they go forth to meet the Cross, they long for it and embrace it lovingly, not because it is in itself lovable, but because it offers them the means of proving their love for God and for Christ. Like the Apostles, they rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. Like St. Paul, they rejoice in their tribulations. This last degree is called holy abandonment” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §492). Submission to God is the Secret of Success Ultimately, it is our love of God that helps and leads to a perfect submission to God. Once we arrive at that the perfect submission, then this is where wonders and miracles can really take place. We see in this the case of Our Lady—nobody was as submissive to God as Our Lady, and nobody has such power with God as Our Lady. Fr. Tanquerey explains: “In submitting our will, we yield and unite to God all the other faculties, which are under its sway; hence, we yield and unite unto Him our whole soul, which by degrees conforms itself to the will and wishes of the Master. Thereby the soul acquires, one by one, all the virtues of Our Lord. What we have said of charity, can also be said of conformity to the divine will; that like charity it embodies all other virtues. In the words of St. Francis de Sales: ‘Abandonment is the virtue of virtues. It is the cream of love, the fragrance of humility, the merit, it seems to me, of patience and the fruit of perseverance.’ "Hence, Our Lord calls by the tender names of brother and sister and mother those who do the will of His Father: ‘For whosoever shall do the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.’ He repeatedly declares that the true test of love is doing God's will: ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments’ … ‘not everyone that saith to Me: “Lord! Lord!” shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the will of My Father, Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven’ (Matthew 12:50; John 14:15; Matthew 7:21)” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §497). “Conformity to the divine will, then, is one of the most effective means of sanctification. Hence, we cannot but end with these words of St. Theresa: ‘The sole concern of him who has but entered into the way of prayer, keep it in mind, it is very important must be to strive courageously to conform his will to that of God ... Herein lies, whole and entire, the highest perfection to which we can attain. The more perfect this accord is, the more do we receive from the Lord and the greater is our progress” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §498). |
Dilemma! Dilemma!
We have a dilemma—Holy Scripture tells us: “Know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God” (James 4:4). “Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13). “And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22). “Whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our Faith” (1 John 5:4). What Can Overcome, Has Collapsed! Yet at the same time Our Lord says of our days: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). To this, Our Lady of Good Success, also speaking of our times, adds: “The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom … The small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith and practice virtue will suffer a cruel, unspeakable and prolonged martyrdom … To test this Faith and confidence of the just, there will be occasions when all will seem to be lost and paralyzed.” As if that wasn’t enough bad news, Our Lady of La Salette has to go and says: “Lucifer, together with a large number of demons, will be unloosed from Hell; they will put an end to Faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that, unless they are blessed with a special grace, these people will take on the spirit of these angels of Hell; several religious institutions will lose all Faith and will lose many souls ... Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death. Several will abandon the Faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops .. Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist … The true Faith to the Lord having been forgotten … all the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds.” A Torpedoed Church The weather forecast “ain’t too good”! The devil and his princedom—the world—seem to be increasing their grip on both the Church and rest of the world. Currently—as can be seen by the growing divisions in the Church, which are being manifested more and more openly—the Church has been torpedoed, with Our Lady’s words at Akita (which are supposedly also contained in the Third Secret of Fatima) manifestly coming true: “The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops [happening right now in the Synod of Bishops in Rome]. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres...churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them.” Pouring Gasoline Onto The Fire! Talk about pouring gasoline onto a fire! What Sr. Lucia of Fatima says on December 26th, 1957, to Fr. Augustine Fuentes, does just that! “The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground.” “The devil is about to wage a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin. The devil knows what it is that most offends God and which, in a short space of time, will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them.” Sister Lucia wrote to a priest nephew of hers, Fr. Jose Valinho in 1970: “I see by your letter that you are disturbed by the confusion of our time. It is sad indeed that so many persons let themselves be dominated by the diabolical wave, which is sweeping the world, and that they are blinded, to the point of being incapable of seeing error!” In her conversation with Fr. Fuentes, on December 26th, 1957, Sister Lucia said: “Father, we should not wait for an appeal to the world to come from Rome on the part of the Holy Father, to do penance. Nor should we wait for the call from our bishops in our dioceses, nor from the religious congregations. No! Our Lord has already, very often, used these means and the world has not paid attention. That is why now it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform ourselves spiritually. Each person must not only save his own soul, but also the souls that God has placed on our path.” “Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me [explicitly] that we are in the last times, but she made me understand this for three reasons. ● The first reason is as follows: The devil is about to wage a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin, and a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. ● The second reason is as follows: She said to my cousins as well as to myself, that God is giving two last remedies to the world: the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These are the last two remedies, which signify that there will be no others. ● The third reason is as follows: God, before He is about to chastise, exhausts all other remedies.” “The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary—to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.” Nah! I Know All That! Tell Me Something New! Of course we know all of the above! We’ve heard it a thousand times! Sure, but nothing gets done! Our problem is one of theory and practice—knowing and doing. We have become a people of “know-alls” but “do-littles”—we put knowing above doing. That is why we scour the internet seeking knowledge about all that we can—we think that knowledge empowers—but as Pope John Paul II said at Fulda, Germany, in 1980 (as reported by the German magazine Stimme des Glaubens, in 1981), with reference to those who wanted him to tell them about the Third Secret of Fatima, his reply was: “Many wish to know simply from curiosity and a taste for the sensational, but they forget that knowledge also implies responsibility. They only seek the satisfaction of their curiosity, and that is dangerous if at the same time they are not disposed to do something, and if they are convinced that it is impossible to do anything against evil.” That is it in a nutshell—knowledge to satisfy curiosity, but devoid of action. Our Lord implied the same thing when addressing Mother Mariana of Quito, Ecuador (to whom Our Lady of Good Success appeared): “The times will come when doctrine will be commonly known among the learned and the ignorant ... Many religious books will be written. But the practice of the virtues and of these doctrines will be found in only a few souls; for this reason, saints will become rare. And precisely for this reason, My priests and My religious will fall into a fatal indifference. Their coldness will extinguish the fire of divine love, afflicting My Loving Heart.” Knowledge and indifference! Knowledge without sanctity! Knowledge that leads nowhere except to an inflated ego. Same Old Boring Message From the Pope! Going back to Pope John Paul II and Fulda—after the above comments, Stimme des Glaubens reported the following: “At this point the Pope grasped a Rosary and said: ‘Here is the remedy against this evil. Pray, pray, and ask for nothing more. Leave everything else to the Mother of God.’ The Holy Father was then asked: ‘What is going to happen to the Church?’ He answered: ‘We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ … With your and my prayer it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood! This time, too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.’” Once again, we moan: “I’ve heard all that before! Tell me something new!” That is the problem of modern man—ears are always itching for something new! St. Paul prophesied this state of affairs when he wrote: “Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. For there shall be a time, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, according to their own desires, they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: and will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables”—[and we could add here: the latest gossip, rumors, etc.] (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Don’t Just Listen ... Do Something! “With meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. For he beheld himself, and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was” (James 1:21-24). Or put it another way if you like: “What shall it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath Faith [knowledge], but hath not works? Shall Faith [knowledge] be able to save him? So Faith [knowledge], if it have not works, is dead in itself. Thou believest that there is one God. Thou dost well: the devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith [knowledge] without works is dead? … Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by Faith [knowledge] only? … For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith [knowledge] without works is dead!” (James 2:14-26). Or take Our Lord’s words, if you like: “Not everyone that saith to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that DOETH the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). “And why call you Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). |
It’s God’s Way or the Highway!
If the world is to be overcome, then there is one thing that we must get straight before anything else—God will not bless any work that is not His own: meaning that it must stem from Him, be assisted by Him, be successfully achieved by Him and all glory for it being given to Him. “All things were made by Him: and without Him was made nothing that was made” (John 1:3). “For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His good will” (Philippians 2:13). “For by grace you are saved through Faith, and not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man may glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). Stealing God’s Thunder and Glory! God will not tolerate nor bless our stealing His thunder or taking His glory: “Lest thou shouldst say in thy heart: ‘My own might, and the strength of my own hand have achieved all these things for me!’” (Deuteronomy 8:17). For this reason God kept reducing the number of soldiers, originally 32,000, that Gedeon wanted to take into battle against the Madianites: “And the Lord said to Gedeon: ‘The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel should glory against Me, and say: “I was delivered by my own strength!” Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all: “Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return!”’ So two and twenty thousand men went away from Mount Galaad and returned home, and only ten thousand remained. And the Lord said to Gedeon: ‘The people are still too many, bring them to the waters, and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee, let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return.’” (Judges 7:2-4).God is in charge—God has made the plans—God knows what it will take to overcome the world—God simply expects our obedient execution of His plans—and, as Our Lord says, “When you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do” (Luke 17:10). Wasted Time and Wasted Efforts As already stated—we know the plans, we know the method, we know what we should do, but… There’s that word, “but”! We know what God wants of us, yet we say: “But Lord! I have an idea!...Why don’t we…” St. Paul answers: “We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up … And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he hath not yet known as he ought to know!” (1 Corinthians 8:1-2). “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men … But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong. And the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that He might bring to nought things that are: so that no flesh should glory in His sight!” (1 Corinthians 1:25-29). Wasting Time When We Should Be Praying Just look at the amount of time wasted by Catholics! Do they not know that we are in a massive CRISIS? That we have entered what is called the “Minor Tribulation” and “Minor Apostasy”—don’t be fooled by the word “minor”, for the description Our Lady gives of it, shows that it is far from being minor! Yet we live as though there was nothing wrong—“Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play!’” (1 Corinthians 10:7), “Whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). Even the good-willed fail to do as they should and have been told. Sr. Lucia of Fatima laments: “The Blessed Virgin is very sad, because no one heeds her message; neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on with their life of virtue and apostolate, but they do not unite their lives to the message of Fatima. Sinners keep following the road of evil because they do not see the terrible chastisement about to befall them” (December 26th, 1957 to Fr. Fuentes). Today the good-willed might be on the internet forums, talking and reasoning and arguing and remonstrating — for hours on end! How many Rosaries could be said in that time? “Ah, but!” they say, “the truth must be made known! The message must be published!” True enough—but how much time is wasted in wasteful discussion? How much time is lost by silly, irrelevant, meaningless comments, that just prolong a thread and waste the time of other people who seek to read the latest (pointless) posts? Just record the amount of time it takes to read through these posts, then think about them, then write a reply, then keep checking to see if someone has replied to your reply!!! You could become a saint if you channeled that time into Rosaries!!! Yet, att times, those posts are even blatantly sinful—being full of rash judgment; detraction; calumny; ridicule and insults. How much of the same do they not provoke in others who have the misfortune to read them. Through them we lead others into making rash judgment with us, as well as all the other sins mentioned above, Are those posts really more powerful than a Rosary? They may be ‘juicier’ or more interesting than a Rosary—but certainly not more powerful. The Real Solution Sr. Lucia point this out, when she says: “The Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary—to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.” What did Our Lady ask for at most of her apparitions? Public debate? Publication of endless written material? She asked for many Rosaries; she asked for many penances for our own sins; she asked for many sacrifices for the sins of others; she asked for devotion to her Immaculate Heart. As the German magazine, Stimme des Glaubens, reported: “The Pope [John Paul II] grasped a Rosary and said: ‘Here is the remedy against this evil. Pray, pray, and ask for nothing more! Leave everything else to the Mother of God!’ The Holy Father was then asked: ‘What is going to happen to the Church?’ He answered: ‘We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ … With your and my prayer it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood! This time, too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.’” Don’t believe the Pope? Then believe Our Lady, who said the same thing: “Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, because only she can help you” (Our Lady of Fatima). “The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests … Pray very much for the Pope, bishops, and priests … Continue to pray very much...very much … Pray very much the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will be saved” (Our Lady of Akita). The ills that we suffer are directly linked to our lack of response to Heaven’s message: The words of Fr. Faber come to mind: “One man has been striving for years to overcome a particular fault, and has not succeeded. Another mourns, and almost wonders while he mourns, that so few of his relations and friends have been converted to the Faith. One grieves that he has not devotion enough; another that he has a cross to carry which is a peculiarly impossible cross to him; while a third has domestic troubles and family unhappinesses which feel almost incompatible with his salvation; and for all these things prayer appears to bring so little remedy. “But what is the remedy that is wanted? What is the remedy indicated by God Himself? If we may rely on the disclosures of the saints, it is an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one. Mary is not half enough preached! Devotion to her is low and thin and poor! Its ignorance of theology makes it unsubstantial and unworthy. It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is that Jesus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls which might be saints wither and dwindle; that the Sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelized. “Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable, unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all these wants and blights, these evils and omissions and declines. Yet, if we are to believe the revelations of the saints, God is pressing for a greater, a wider, a stronger, quite another devotion to His Blessed Mother. I cannot think of a higher work or a broader vocation for anyone than the simple spreading of this peculiar devotion of St. Louis de Montfort. Let a man but try it for himself, and his surprise at the graces it brings with it, and the transformations it causes in his soul, will soon convince him of its otherwise almost incredible efficacy as a means for the salvation of men, and for the coming of the kingdom of Christ. Oh, if Mary were but known, there would be no coldness to Jesus then! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much more wonderful would be our faith, and how different would our Communions be! Oh, if Mary were but known, how much happier, how much holier, how much less worldly should we be, and how much more should we be living images of our sole Lord and Savior, her dearest and most blessed Son!” Mary Will Overcome The World—But At What Cost? Mary will overcome the world once we do what we have been commanded to do: “There will be occasions when all will seem lost and paralyzed. This then will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration. This will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss” (Our Lady of Good Success, January 16, 1611). It is the promise echoed by Our Lady at Fatima in 1917: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” But at what cost? How many souls will have been damned because of our neglect in putting aside our beers, our coffee and donuts, our TV’s, and our other modes of entertainment. Scripture tells us that: “He who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:2). But what of someone who does nothing to convert a sinner—we must logically conclude the opposite, for as God says, we are our brothers’ keepers. To achieve all this Fr. Faber speaks of “an immense increase of devotion to our Blessed Lady; but, remember, nothing short of an immense one!” Is that what we see in our lives? Fr. Faber “cannot think of a higher work or a broader vocation for anyone than the simple spreading of this peculiar devotion of St. Louis de Montfort.” Is that what is happening in our lives? |
End Times and What To Do About It
We all have a mental picture of the man standing on the street corner with a placard saying: “Repent! Repent! The End is Near!” For most of us, the image draws a chuckle—except now perhaps we have (hopefully) stopped chuckling, for somehow it no longer seems so funny! How many alarms have to go off before we finally head for the lifeboats and admit the Titanic is sinking? How many more additional pains or wounds must we take on board before we head to the Divine Doctor? How many more rain drops must fall before we finally admit the world is being flooded with evil? How many more times do we need to blink hard and pinch ourselves in order to see that nothing is changing for the better—only for the worse? How many more people need to leave the Faith for us to admit there is a minor apostasy taking place? Let the End Times Begin—Let the Fun Times End Enough is enough! It is time to pray not play! The world is playing too much and praying too little— Our Lady of Good Success said: “The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith, until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals.” While Our Lady of La Salette warned that in our day: “People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin.” As the Angel of Portugal said to the three children at Fatima—who were playing games--“What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! … Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High … Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. By this you will bring peace…!” Take More Comfort Food and Deny It! If we are like most people, we will simply increase the dosage of the drug or painkiller—in order to deaden the discomfort. We will go back to the TV screen, or the internet, or the mall, or the party/social, we will grab some more beers, cookies, candies, chocolates, cakes or donuts. “Not in my lifetime!” we say with a half-baked certainty. “Won’t happen here!” we say hopefully. Like the three frightened Apostles in Gethsemane, we go into denial and try sleep it off—or, like the five foolish virgins, we don’t prepare our lamps and will eventually “not-make-the-cut” as “in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be. Then two shall be in the field: one shall be taken, and one shall be left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill: one shall be taken, and one shall be left. Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:38-42). Reading the Signs Jesus “said to them: ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red!” And in the morning: “Today there will be a storm, for the sky is red and lowering!” You know then how to discern the face of the sky: and can you not know the signs of the times?’” (Matthew 16:2-3). “Now of the fig tree learn ye a parable. When the branch thereof is now tender, and the leaves are come forth, you know that summer is very near. So you also when you shall see these things come to pass, know ye that it is very nigh, even at the doors. Amen I say to you, that this generation shall not pass, until all these things be done” (Mark 13:28-30). Don’t Think There’s Gonna Be Trouble? Wishful thinking might wish trouble away! But wishful thinking won’t work today! Look where you will—consult whomever you want—wiggle away all you want—the inescapable reality is TROUBLE, PERSECUTION AND WAR! Let us look at a whole host of prophecies, statements and opinions—and we will see that war is staring us in the eyes. We may bury our heads in the sand, or bury ourselves in distractions or comfort food, or close our eyes, put our fingers in our ears and start singing “La-la-la-la-la!”—the fact is that when we pull our heads out of the sand, turn away from our distractions and comfort food, and open our eyes and unplug our ears—war will still be staring us in the face. Our Lord warned us: “Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with dissipation and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly!” (Luke 21:34). Which is exactly what is happening with most people—they are intoxicated, dissipated and drugged by this world and what it offers. “Take heed, lest that day come upon you suddenly!”—which is what will happen, for, as many prophecies say, things will happen all of a sudden, unexpectedly for those who refused read the signs of the times. They will be caught unprepared. Don’t believe it? Well, let us look at the following: Holy Scripture on the End Times First of all, are we in the “End Times”? What are the “End Times”? If we look at the words of Our Lady at La Salette, we see that she speaks of a time of corruption, which merits a punitive tribulation, which is ended by a victory for God, then a period of peace, followed by another period of corruption, which leads into another greater punitive tribulation in the time of the Antichrist and then a final victory once again by God. All of this, combined, constitutes the “End Times”. This fits perfectly with what Our Lady said at Fatima. She speaks of a great tribulation for the Church and the world, where the Faith almost dies, where nations are annihilated, yet which is followed by the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and a period of peace. She doesn’t go into the following corruption and tribulation during the time of the Antichrist—thus only covering ‘half’ of the “End Times”. Secondly, we have the words of Sr. Lucia of Fatima, that confirm that we have entered the period of the “End Times”—however long it may be, we do not know. Sr. Lucia says: “The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground.” “The devil is about to wage a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin. The devil knows what it is that most offends God and which, in a short space of time, will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them.” The signs of the “End Times”, as listed by Holy Scripture, give further confirmation of the fact that we have entered those “End Times”. Fear of the End Times The one thing we must convince ourselves of—with regard to the “End Times”—is that we must not fear! The only thing to fear is SIN—especially Mortal Sin. If we go into the “End Times” in a state of Mortal Sin, then we are cutting ourselves off from the powerful help of God’s grace—we will, in fact, be self-declared enemies of God. Sr. Lucia says: “My mission is not to indicate to the world the material punishments which are certain to come if the world does not pray and do penance beforehand. No! My mission is to indicate to everyone the imminent danger we are in of losing our souls for all eternity if we remain obstinate in sin” (to Fr. Fuentes, December 26th, 1957). Sin is a hatred of God, virtue and prayer is a love of God. We need the love of God—a perfect a love as possible—to be able remove our fears: “Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear … And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity” (1 John 4:18). If we are addicted to sin, we have much to fear—if we are addicted to God, we have nothing to fear, even amidst the terrors of the “End Times”! They could, in a certain sense, be compared to a serious and dangerous surgical procedure, which will leave the patient in severe pain for a while, but which will be successful in saving the patient's life—in our case, eternal life. Our Lord says of these “End Times” that there will be “Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world” (Luke 21:26) and that “you shall hear of wars and seditions, and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled! Fear ye not! Be not terrified! These things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet presently” (Luke 21:9; Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7). For those who are in a state of grace, there is nothing to fear—this does not mean there will be not be pain and tremendous suffering—for, after all, sin is the greatest evil in the world and we are all sinners—but the “End Game” of the “End Times” for those in a state of grace, will be like coming out successfully from a very painful surgery. For others, well… only God knows! “End Times” Need To End The “Fun Times” The so-called “End Times” are coming because of our addiction to the “Fun Times”—the Gospel of Christ was never about “fun” but of the “cross” and “prayer” and “penance” and many other such like things: “And He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me! … And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!’” (Luke 9:23; Matthew 10:38). “And He spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Jesus also demanded penance from everyone, for everyone is a sinner: “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish!” (Luke 13:3). |
Work and Suffer Now—Have
Fun Later
At the Last Supper, He speaks not of fun, but of sorrow—telling His Apostles that in this world they will have sorrows, and that the “fun” will only start in Heaven: “Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy!” (John 16:20)—which is what Our Lady essentially said to St. Bernadette at Lourdes: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next!” And that “fun” is worth waiting for—“But, as it is written: ‘That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!’” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Fun is Behind the “End Times” The fact that we want “fun” to replace a spiritual life, is one of the chief reasons behind the necessity of the “End Times”. Too much fun—which is what plagues the world today—leads invariably to lukewarmness, because we have only so many hours in a day, and if we want to fill more of them with “fun”, then there is less time for God—Whom we were told to love with our whole, mind, heart, soul and strength: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). It is too much “fun” which Our Lady speaks about: “Their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures … [while they] have neglected prayer and penance … People will think of nothing but amusement … All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principle, to make way for materialism … Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … There will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost.” (Our Lady of La Salette & Good Success). This is why Blessed Jacinta Marto of Fatima, cries out: “Oh! Fly luxury! Fly riches! Love holy poverty and silence! … The sins of the world are too great! The sins which lead most souls to Hell are sins of the flesh! Certain fashions are going to be introduced which will offend Our Lord very much. Those who serve God should not follow these fashions. The Church has no fashions; Our Lord is always the same. Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God ... Men must do penance! If they amend their lives Our Lord will still pardon the world; but if they do not, the chastisement will come!” In essence, Jacinta is here preaching against things that world finds “fun”! The Heavenly Banquet of Fun God knows we like to have “fun” and so He invites to a never-ending party—not on Earth, but in Heaven. We see this, in essence, in the parable about the Wedding Banquet. Our Lord says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a king, who made a marriage for his son. And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage; and they would not come … But they neglected, and went their own ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise” (Matthew 22:1-5). St. Luke reports a similar parable of a banquet, perhaps the same one: “A certain man made a great supper, and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited, that they should come, for now all things are ready. And they began all at once to make excuse. The first said to him: ‘I have bought a farm, and I must needs go out and see it! I pray thee, hold me excused!’ And another said: ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to try them! I pray thee, hold me excused!’ And another said: ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come!’” (Luke 14:16-20). They were all having “fun” doing other things and so ignored their king’s or master’s invitation. The idea of a wedding banquet conjures up several thoughts or truths. Firstly, the idea of a wedding speaks of a ‘spiritual wedding’ to which everyone is called—in the spiritual life, it is pinnacle of spiritual progress: it is called the “Unitive Way”, which is what marriage is all about—the two shall be one. We are called to a ‘spiritual marriage’ with God—union with God. Secondly, a marriage banquet suggests celebration and, in turn, celebration suggests fun. God calls us to eternal “fun” in Heaven as a consequence of our having ‘spiritually married’ Him. Excuses! Excuses! In the parable of the Marriage Banquet for the king's son, the invitations are sent out for the banquet. The people were asked to put aside what they were doing and come to the king's son's marriage feast., But “they began to make excuses and would not come." God’s grace sends out invitations, by way of inspirations, inviting us to an extra Mass; or an extra Rosary; or this or that sacrifice of our money, possessions, or precious time; or to the performance of a good work. The response is still the same: “I am too busy! I have taken a wife! … I have bought a farm! … I have bought oxen!”—in other words too busy with persons, places and things. These things of the world lead to an indifference towards God. The material and temporal has taken precedence over the spiritual and eternal. Our indifference is there because our love of the world of pleasure distracts from the pleasures of the spiritual life. We see it those around us and we imitate them—others see it in us, and they imitate us. So we pass on what interests us in this world while neglecting God, the source of all that is the world. We prefer the gifts to the Giver, the creatures to the Creator! In other words—admit it or not, like it or not—we fall into idolatry. Our new god becomes our daily occupations and preoccupations. We give the attention that should be given to the eternal, to things that are merely temporal and temporary. We make gods out of merely passing phenomena in a temporary world. We seek first—not God, as Christ commanded—but our own concerns, advantages, pleasure and will. The devil has succeeded in reversing the true value of things, the true order of things. Deep down, we know the truth, buy we have become accustomed to ignoring it, twisting it, fudging or altering it. There has been no lightning bolt from Heaven to strike us on the knuckles—so we feel safe in dangerous path we have chosen. Besides—everyone is doing it! God won’t damn everyone—will He? Pope Pius XII, Lourdes and Fun On the occasion of centenary year celebrations at Lourdes, Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical in which he spoke of the dangers and ravages of materialism—or having “fun” for our intents and purposes, He writes: “But the world, which today affords so many justifiable reasons for pride and hope, is also undergoing a terrible temptation to materialism which has been denounced by Our Predecessors and Ourselves on many occasions. This materialism is not confined to that condemned philosophy. It rages also in a love of money, which creates ever greater havoc, as modern enterprises expand, and which, unfortunately, determines many of the decisions which weigh heavy on the life of the people. It finds expression in the cult of the body, in excessive desire for comforts, and in flight from all the austerities of life. It encourages scorn for human life, even for life which is destroyed, before seeing the light of day. This materialism is present in the unrestrained search for pleasure, which flaunts itself shamelessly and tries, through reading matter and entertainments, to seduce souls which are still pure. It shows itself in lack of interest in one's brother, in selfishness which crushes him, in justice which deprives him of his rights—in a word, in that concept of life which regulates everything exclusively in terms of material prosperity and earthly satisfactions. "And I will say to my soul” the rich man said, “Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years; take thy ease, eat, drink, be merry!” But God said to him, “Thou fool, this night do they demand thy soul of thee!" To a society which in its public life often contests the supreme rights of God, to a society which would gain the whole world at the expense of its own soul and thus hasten to its own destruction, the Virgin Mother has sent a cry of alarm!” (Pope Pius XII, Encyclical of July 2nd, 1957, “Warning Against Materialism On The Centenary Of The Apparitions At Lourdes”, §45-§49). More “Fun” Today Than 1957 If Pope Pius XII felt obliged to condemn the growing search for “fun” in his day—what would he say today, almost 60 years later? Has the search for “fun” abated or been reduced? Far from it! We are having more “fun” than ever before! It seems that what the Holy Father speaks of as being the problem in his day--“It finds expression in the cult of the body, in excessive desire for comforts, and in flight from all the austerities of life. It encourages scorn for human life, even for life which is destroyed, before seeing the light of day. This materialism is present in the unrestrained search for pleasure, which flaunts itself shamelessly and tries, through reading matter and entertainments, to seduce souls which are still pure”—could be multiplied by ten or even a hundred today. In his day, television was only just starting out—not everyone had a TV and scheduling was not yet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year long, and the local TV stations could be counted on one hand. There was no internet, no cell phones, no 24 hour opening for stores, etc. The words of Our Lady ring ominously true: “People will think of nothing but amusement … All the civil governments will have one and the same plan—to make way for materialism … Disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth … There will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost” (Our Lady of La Salette & Good Success). That is why the "End Times" are near--and they will make the "Fun Times" disappear! We could have done it the easy way, by listening to Our Lady's messages--but now it seems like having to learn the hard way, by watching God take all the "fun" away violently. Oh, well! Pass me another beer! Any donuts left? Where's the remote for the TV? |
Sr. Lucia and the “End Times”
We are all aware—or we should be—of what St. Lucia of Fatima has said about the “End Times”. Her thoughts and words are not her own invention or mere personal opinion, but they were communicated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are there for our benefit, as a warning to us, as a signal to us that we had better do something about it—much like the beeping or flashing (or both together) of a warning signal in our vehicle, warning us to do something about the problem to which the warning signal pertains. The words of Sr. Lucia—or more properly, the words of Our Lady, are as follows: “The Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground.” The Sign Manifesting the Beginning of the Tribulations Though many are aware of the above words of Sr. Lucia, very few are aware of what she said would be the sign that would indicate the start of the long series of tribulations that are to come our way—tribulations that Pope John Paul II said we could no longer avoid, but merely soften (Fulda, Germany, 1980). Sr. Lucia revealed this to a member of the Church’s hierarchy, who is now a cardinal. We will look at Sr. Lucia’s revealing comments and shall see that certain things, that are unfolding before our eyes right now, are part of that revelation about the commencement of the tribulations. Cardinal Caffarra and Sr. Lucia On Feburary 16, 2008, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra (Archbishop of Bologna), after a Mass celebrated at the tomb of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, granted an interview to Tele Radio Padre Pio, which was subsequently reported in the monthly magazine Voce di Padre Pio March, 2008. The relevant excerpt on the final sign before the tribulation comes is as follows: Question: “Your Eminence, there is a prophecy by Sister Lucia dos Santos, of Fatima, which concerns the final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan. The battlefield is the family. Life and the family. We know that you were given charge by John Paul II to plan and establish the Pontifical Institute for the Studies on Marriage and the Family.” Cardinal Caffarra: “Yes, I was! At the start of this work, entrusted to me by the Servant of God John Paul II, I wrote to Sister Lucia of Fatima through her Bishop―as I couldn’t do so directly. Inexplicably, however, since I didn’t expect an answer―seeing that I had only asked for prayers― I received a very long letter with her signature―now in the Institute’s archives. In it we find written: ‘The final battle between the Lord and the reign of Satan will be about marriage and the family.’ She added: ‘Don’t be afraid, because anyone who works for the sanctity of marriage and the family will always be fought and opposed in every way, because this is the decisive issue.’ And then she concluded: ‘However, Our Lady has already crushed its head.’ Talking also to John Paul II, one felt, too, that this was the crux, as it touches the very pillar of creation, the truth of the relationship between man and woman among the generations. If the founding pillar is touched the entire building collapses and we see this now, because we are at this point and we know it.” Are We Currently Seeking this Attack on the Family? Decades of Giving the Nod to Sin We have, of course, not failed to notice the gradual yet constant erosion of the Family, coming from the secular domain, over the last 50 to 70 years. Traditional family values have been progressively mocked and ridiculed, while modern family ‘values’ have been stuffed down our throats—infidelity and adultery (posing as “love”), divorce (posing as merciful release), contraception and abortion (posing are “good economic and social” decisions), and now their “icing on the cake”—the destruction of traditional God made marriage with a perverted man-made (with some help from the devil) abominations. To refuse these abominations against the Law of God—which Law should guide all human laws—is now called a “hate-crime”. Therefore, to hate sin is a crime, while to accept evil is a virtue! Of this kind of attitude, God says: “Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaias 5:20). The Synod or “Sin-Nod” of Bishops in Rome Now, this sinfulness has penetrated the Church itself. The words of Pope Paul VI—who lamented back in 1972 that the smoke of Satan had penetrated the Church—were echoed this month by one of the bishops attending the October Synod of Bishops in Rome. Archbishop Tomash Peta, of Kazakhstan, captured the magnitude of opinions that were dividing the bishops and raised not a little stir as he decried some of the policy changes, floated at the Synod meeting, as having the scent of “infernal smoke.” Other bishops have questioned the “Catholicity” of some proposals, while others have written a private (leaked) letter to the Holy Father in protest against the non-Catholic direction that Synod of Bishops has been taking. The level of disagreement is so high, that many observers are expecting a schism to result from this internal division among the hierarchy of the Church—with Pope Francis, despite occasional words to the contrary, seemingly being in favor of the Liberals and Modernists with their “non-Catholic” agenda. Our Lady’s Prognosis Coming True This disease of Liberalism, or Modernism, or Secularism, or whatever “-ism” you care to mention—was clearly forecast, by Heaven’s spiritual medical team, consistently over a period of more than 100 years. The “smoke of Satan” spoken of by Pope Paul VI and the “infernal smoke” smelled by Archbishop Tomash Peta (and others), is nothing else than the fulfillment of Our Lady’s prognosis—delivered repeatedly at Quito, La Salette and Akita. Our Lady of Good Success spoke of those who “will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil.” Our Lady of Akita warned that “the work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops.” We not only saw that during the Second Vatican Council, but now we are seeing it an even more serious way today. Our Lady of La Salette said: “The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God, have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence. They have become wandering stars which the old devil will drag along with his tail to make them perish. God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family … The devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the Earth.” As they say: “Ain’t that the truth?!” The First Attack of the Final Battle Of course, the attack on the Church has been going on since the time of Our Lord. Yet as wars draw to a conclusion, the battels are often more heated, more intense, more crucial, more destructive and more bloody.. This attack on the Family—which has spread from the world and civil governments into the heart of the Church—seems to be last straw for Heaven, for the Family is the last bastion, being the first “building-block” of both Church and State. When war arrives, there can be no pacifism—we either fight or lose—as they say: “Kill or be killed!” We are, by nature, pacifists—or we should be—but pacifism only goes so far and no further. God is a pacifist, but when He is has been offended to a certain degree, that pacifism stops and the opposite takes over! Sr. Lucia seems to indicate that the time for pacifism is over, because “the Most Holy Virgin has made me understand that we are in the last times of the world. She has told me that the devil is about to wage a decisive battle with the Virgin, and a decisive battle is a final battle, in which one side wins, the other side loses. Also, starting with the present time, we belong either to God, or we belong to the demon—there is no middle ground .. The devil is about to wage a decisive battle against the Blessed Virgin. The devil knows what it is that most offends God and which, in a short space of time, will gain for him the greatest number of souls. Thus the devil does everything to overcome souls consecrated to God, because in this way the devil will succeed in leaving the souls of the faithful abandoned by their leaders, thereby the more easily will he seize them.” You see—the devil is not about pacifism, he wants a fight. Actually, he wants to fight, but he wants us to exaggerate the principle of “turning the other cheek”—he wants to lie down and let ourselves, the Faith, and the Church be trampled upon and brought into his control, or, if that won’t work, to destroy. Hence the words overheard by Pope Leo XIII, in the 1880’s, when the devil said to Our Lord: “I can destroy Your Church!” Look Away, Turn a Blind-Eye and Turn the Other Cheek The attitude of most today is same as the attitude of Cain in relation to his brother Abel, whom he had killed. When asked by God where his brother was, Cain came out with the immortal, yet vain, excuse: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” These words were a mere ruse to try and deflect his guilt and throw God “off the scent”—it was a manner of saying: “What he does and where he goes is none of my business—he’s a big boy now and he can go where he wants, do what he wants, and look after himself! It is of no concern to me!” We could well say the same of the happenings in the Church today--“Hey! I mind my own business! They are the pope, cardinals, bishops and priests—they are big boys—they don’t need me to tell them what to do! They can think what they want, say what they want, go where they want and do what they want! Why bring me into it?” Sounds good—but it is quite false. The Mystical Body of Christ is similar to our own body. All the parts must work together for the good of the body. If one part of the body wants to drink or eat or do something pleasurable that another part of the body knows to be harmful for the good of the whole body, then the sweet-tasting slow poison must be refused. Or if one part of the body must be amputated or cut-out, because the gangrene or cancer risks killing the whole body, then it must be amputated or cut-out: “If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into Hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into Hell” (Matthew 5:29-30). When these things happen, pacifism and passivity must give way to anger and action. Even God does that—and He is pacifism and passivity to a perfection! God will not stand by and let His enemies destroy everything—the terrible prophecies of the “End Times” retribution and chastisement by God clearly point that out. Synod or Sin-Nod? The political lobbying machine is working “full-blast” in the Catholic Church in general and the October Synod of Bishops in particular. It seems as though certain Modernist and Liberals bishops want to give sin the nod. For them, all things change—even truth and morals. So what was true yesterday, may not be true today or tomorrow, and vice-versa. What was immoral yesterday, might not be immoral today or tomorrow, and vice versa. The machine of gradual change has had its wheels well-oiled and is grinding change little by little—just as does in the political, economic and social world. Any controversial, unsavory, morally risky things must go through the slow decompression chamber of change—first just mention and shoot it down; next time mention it and say there may be a little bit truth to it, but still shoot it down; the next time mention it and pull on the emotional and guilt strings of people, saying that it is unfair on the minority, and reluctantly shoot it down; next time find persons who will give the controversial position considerable vociferous support and look for exceptions to the rule; the next time say that it would be cruel and hateful not to accept the controversial position where reasonable cause for it exists; the next time make those who desire the controversial position into martyrs and victims of society; the next time… and so on and on until evil is accepted as a good. This has been seen to be the practice with the Synod of Bishops. The first meeting in October of last year (2014), set the tone for what was to come and found considerable approval amongst Liberals and Modernists—who were “gung-ho” for allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion; to consider accepting homosexuality within the Church, which would be a step away from same-gender marriages. This would be the near fatal blow to the Family as God envisaged it and made it. The “Thesis—Antithesis—Synthesis” Syndrome or 'Sin-Drome' The triad “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” is often used to describe the thought of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel never used the term himself—it originated with Johann Fichte. The triad is usually described in the following way: 1. The thesis is an intellectual proposition. 2. The antithesis is simply the negation of the thesis, a reaction to the proposition. 3. The synthesis solves the conflict between the thesis and antithesis, by reconciling their common truths and forming a new thesis—which then allows the process to start over again. It is a compromiser's tool and a tool of Liberalism and Modernism. Our Lady of Akita said that the Church would be full of those who make compromises: "the Church will be full of those who accept compromises" (Akita, October 13th, 1973). The “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” syndrome or ‘sin-drome’ is the ideal tool for change and compromise. Let us take some of the discussion points at the Synod of Bishops and load them into the “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” syndrome or ‘sin-drome’. |
1. The thesis is an intellectual proposition: for example, the Modernist bishops say that Catholics who have divorced and then remarried should not be left feeling that they are outside of the Church—they should be allowed to participate by receiving the Holy Eucharist.
2. The antithesis is simply the negation of the thesis, a reaction to the proposition: the Conservative bishops deny that this can be done, for it goes against the laws of the Church. 3. The synthesis solves the conflict between the thesis and antithesis by reconciling their common truths and forming a new thesis, starting the process over. So the Modernists accept that the “divorced and remarried” Catholics cannot be allowed to receive Holy Communion “all across the board” while the Conservative bishops accept that “the times they are a changing” but they will not allow things to change too fast. So they agree that SOME “divorced and remarried” Catholics, who find themselves in SOME “exceptional circumstances” could be allowed to receive Holy Communion at SOME times, for example at Easter, in order to fulfill the obligation of receiving Holy Communion at least once a year. So the “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” arrives at a compromise. That compromise will be the starting point for another “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” debate at a future date. Thus the “NEVER” becomes a “RARE EXCEPTION” which in turn becomes a “FREQUENT EXCEPTION”, which later becomes an “OPTION”, and which finally ends up being the “NORM”. Easy, eh? When you feed everything into the “Change-Machine” and put settings to “thesis—antithesis—synthesis”, your desired change will not be far away! When Conservatives and Liberals meet And each other politely greet And if what makes those discussions tick Is a “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” dialectic Then their only result or feat Will be to make of truth mince-meat! Sins Send Synod Schismatic The liberal Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia, said in an interview with The Washington Post: “Some of them are talking now like this is Armageddon! … They see themselves as the sons of goodness and others as the sons of darkness and evil. I have been very surprised by this apocalyptic view of things at the synod . . . This isn’t the way discussions are done!” The sniping has gone surprisingly public — and personal. The powerful conservative Cardinal George Pell, for instance, suggested in an interview with Le Figaro that an epic “battle” was taking shape in the church between the conservative theology of Benedict XVI and the liberal German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is seen as a Francis ally and the architect of some of the most progressive measures being fielded at the synod. Pell’s comment provoked a rare public rebuke this week from the German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who called out Pell by name at a Vatican press conference. “In the synod, we are not in a battle. We are not Ratzinger vs. Kasper!” Marx said, using Pope Benedict’s birth surname. “That is not okay!” The plot thickened further on Thursday, October 22nd, as an article entitled “The Failed Francis Pontificate”, appeared on a conservative Catholic Web site, that claimed the article to be from “a very wise, knowledgeable and highly influential cleric” and, In it, the author writing under the pen name “Don Pio Pace” and using insider terminology, argues that the divided church is now “intrinsically ungovernable” and decried this “strange synod” for being overwhelming focused on “adulterous couples and homosexual couples.” Serious Synod Split While a precarious and wobbly public face of some kind of unity was cosmetically presented, behind the scenes of the Synod was a deep rift and divide. Some were even calling for the conservative bishops to stage a ‘walk-out’ in view of the blatant Liberal and Modernist machinations that were taking place in trying to ‘railroad’ doctrinal and moral changes in the Church’s stance on marriage and sinful relationships. This unease and worry about the potential non-Catholic direction that the Synod might take, prompted a number of participating cardinals and bishops to write a letter to Pope Francis, expressing their fears and concerns. Basically, the letter from the conservative cardinals to Pope Francis, complained that the meeting was stacked against those who wished to maintain the traditional stance of the Church on marriage and sexuality, being stacked in favor of those who wished for revolutionary changes. The essential paragraphs, from this short letter, are as follows: “Your Holiness … While the synod’s preparatory document has admirable elements, it also has sections that would benefit from substantial reflection and reworking … given the concerns we have already heard from many of the fathers about its various problematic sections … The new synodal procedures … discourage open debate and to confine discussion to small groups … Additionally, the lack of input by the synod fathers in the composition of the drafting committee has created considerable unease. Members have been appointed, not elected, without consultation. Likewise, anyone drafting anything, at the level of the small circles, should be elected, not appointed. “In turn, these things have created a concern that the new procedures are not true to the traditional spirit and purpose of a synod. It is unclear why these procedural changes are necessary. A number of fathers feel the new process seems designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions. Finally and perhaps most urgently, various fathers have expressed concern that a synod designed to address a vital pastoral matter – reinforcing the dignity of marriage and family – may become dominated by the theological/doctrinal issue of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried. If so, this will inevitably raise even more fundamental issues about how the Church, going forward, should interpret and apply the Word of God, her doctrines and her disciplines to changes in culture. The collapse of liberal Protestant churches in the modern era, accelerated by their abandonment of key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation, warrants great caution in our own synodal discussions." The letter was allegedly signed by 13 cardinals and bishops—some of whom, once the letter was leaked to the media, protested that they had not signed it! Among the signatories were, in alphabetical order, Carlo Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy, theologian, formerly the first president of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family; Thomas C. Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada; Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, United States; Willem J. Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht, Holland; Gerhard L. Müller, former bishop of Regensburg, Germany, since 2012 prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa; George Pell, Archbishop emeritus of Sydney, Australia, since 2014 Prefect in the Vatican of the Secretariat for the Economy; Robert Sarah, former archbishop of Conakry, Guinea, since 2014 Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline; Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, Italy; Jorge Urosa Savino, Archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela. So these are not “small-fry” bishops from the backwoods of the Church, but those who are in charge of some of the key congregations in the Vatican. Synod Split Makes the International News As the news agency, Reuters, reported on October 13th, 2015: “Four of the conservative cardinals cited by the magazine, L'Espresso newsweekly, later disassociated themselves from the letter. Several said private letters should remain so and one said he signed a similar, but different version. The leak of the letter added a new layer of intrigue and confusion in the debate between conservatives and liberals on a host of sensitive issues. One topic is how to reach out to Catholics who have divorced and remarried in civil ceremonies. They are considered by the Church to be still married to their first spouse and living in a state of sin. Some bishops want a change to the rules that bar them from receiving sacraments such as communion. Conservatives are trying to block change to the current teaching on divorced Catholics. They also oppose resolutions that could be interpreted as a weakening of the Church’s teaching against homosexual acts.” USA TODAY reported on October 20th, that the “Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput on Monday rejected what he took as a swipe at him by Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl, also a member of the U.S. delegation at this gathering of global bishops. The Philadelphia archbishop has been a regular critic of the synod process that Francis set out, and of those at the synod who want to explore reforms to Church practices so that, for example, divorced Catholics, who remarry without an annulment, could receive Communion. The reformers would like the Church to find ways to be more welcoming to gay Catholics, among other things. In a Wall Street Journal column last Friday (October 16th), Chaput struck again, knocking the synod’s methods — which have been backed by Francis — but also taking a dig at the motives of the reformers. In the article, Chaput said the more the champions of reform insist they are not changing church doctrine on marriage, the less believable they are to the other cardinals and bishops at the synod.” Writing in CRUX, the respected journalist, John L. Allen Jr., says in his article of October 18th, 2015: “Now, here’s some of that inside ecclesiastical baseball. This past week, a controversy broke out over reports of a letter to Pope Francis signed by several high-ranking cardinals, such as Australia’s George Pell and America’s Timothy Dolan, raising concerns about the process at the Synod of Bishops … As “letter-gate” was breaking out … I asked … Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC .., a veteran of many Vatican synods and is currently serving on a 10-member committee to draft this summit’s final document, to compare this synod to past sessions in which he’s taken part, and he didn’t mince words in expressing his sense of things. “The single biggest difference is that unfortunately we all came to this synod with a hermeneutic of suspicion already floating out there,” he said, created by “the number of things published beforehand claiming that somehow this wasn’t going to be an open and fair synod.” (“Hermeneutic” is a popular term in Church-speak, meaning a way of interpreting things). “Everything looks yellow to the jaundiced eye,” he said. “If you start with the idea of a conspiracy,” Wuerl said, then you end up seeing evidence of it everywhere. Later in the week, I had the opportunity to ask Pell, who heads the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, for his view on where the earlier gentlemen’s agreement among the bishops now stands. “Let me just say this: all the bishops are gentlemen, but that’s defined differently in different cultures,” he said, laughing. Pell argued that if there was a “hermeneutic of suspicion” coming into this synod, it didn’t drop out of a clear blue sky, but was based on perceptions left over from the last one. “I think in the last synod, there were some rather surprising developments,” Pell said. “I think Pentin’s account of the last synod, his suggestions and accusations, are substantially unanswered.” Weaken the Church by Weakening the Authority After receiving the letter, Pope Francis publicly spoke about conspiracies at the Synod, saying that he thought some bishops were too conspiratorially minded and too narrow-minded. Thus, essentially sided with the reformers of the Church. On Saturday, October 17th, Pope Francis called for “healthy decentralization” of power in the Roman Catholic Church, including changes in the papacy and greater decision-making authority for local bishops. The Pope thought that national and regional bishops’ conferences should have more authority to make decisions affecting the faithful in their areas rather than always looking to Rome for a centralized decision that has to fit all. “In this sense, I feel the need to move ahead with a healthy decentralization,” he said. We see that this is exactly how marriage laws have been changed in the USA—on a state-by-state basis. It is the “take one brick out of the wall and you weaken the whole wall” method. The exception eventually becomes the rule. With all the opposition over changing Church attitudes to the “remarried divorcees” and homosexuals—which is something that the Liberal and Modernist bishops must have foreseen—the solution for the revolution is to switch to “Plan B”—which is called “Decentralization of Church Government”. In essence, this takes dealing with “remarried divorcees” and homosexuals out of the spotlight of a worldwide basis, and lets the local bishops decide for themselves what to do. In this way, you can gradually bring in the changes by establishing customs in certain dioceses which will never be revoked. Pope Francis gave “Plan B” a boost on October 17th, at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, in which he called for greater reflection on “intermediate types of collegiality” — basically, code for “decentralization”. The Cardinal Kasper proposal—to admit the “remarried divorcees” and homosexuals—was always ultimately about decentralization of authority: delegating papal authority to the local bishop in these matters. Its advocates never expected blanket universal authorization for all divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to return to the Sacraments. Instead, they floated the idea of providing permission for local bishops to handle such requests on a case-by-case basis. The motto offered last time by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Germany was, “Not for everyone, and not for no one.” The Synod of Bishops ended on Sunday. In the next article we will look at the final speech of Pope Francis and try evaluate “Who really won at the Synod?” and if it has apolcalyptic consequences for us. |
Sailing Down The “Swanee River”
The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee, Swanee, Swanny ) is a major river of southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about 246 miles. George Gershwin's song, with lyrics by Irving Caesar, and made popular by Al Jolson, is also spelled "Swanee" and boasts that "the folks up North will see me no more when I get to that Swanee shore". "Suwannee" developed through "San Juan-ee" from the 17th-century Spanish mission of San Juan de Guacara, located on the river. It is therefore a deformation, deviation and alteration of the initial name and meaning. The “San Juan” (St. John) no longer finds it place in the modern deformation. In that context, you could say that recently held Synod of Bishops, during this month of October which finished today (Sunday), can find itself linked to the “Suwannee” or “Swanee” river, for some Liberal and Modernist cardinals and bishops sought a “a deformation, deviation and alteration” of the Faith, to permit those to sail on the waters of grace who have, in the eyes of God and the Church, no right to do so—until they offload some of their sinful cargo. Furthermore, the Suwannee River is a federally designated wild river. It is the only major waterway in the southeastern United States that is still unspoiled. Water is a symbol of grace and the Catholic Church should preserve the grace of God and contaminate it, so to speak, by introducing into its waters man-made pollutants — the mortal sins of those obstinately wishing to remain in a lifestyle that is grievously wrong. The Church’s “Swanee River” Sailors The expression “to go down the Swanee” means “to go down the drain”, or “to go to the dogs” ... all being idioms referring to a project, scheme, a business, or anything that is headed for disaster in the near future. When Our Lady of La Salette speaks of Rome with many bishops and religious Orders losing the Faith—she is speaking of the Church sailing or going “down the Swanee”. Who are the “Swanee River Sailors” of the Catholic Church? They are, quite simply, the Liberals and Modernists. They, currently, are following the current of the world—and trying to make the Ark of the Church, St. Peter’s Barque, float along with them, “down the Swanee” to the deep blue sea and shipwreck! Fatal Indifference If we do not understand—or worse still, if we do not care to understand—the boring yet crucial technicalities of what is going on, then we may well find ourselves carried down the Swanee to the deep blue sea, where we will sink like the Titanic. For most people, learning medical facts and procedures is a tedious, draining and painful thing—but the pain that comes from ignorance in an emergency is even more painful and sometimes fatal. If there is no doctor around to help (as is the case with the shepherds of the Church, many of whom have the disease of Liberalism already and feel comfortable with it), then the injured person must do what he or she can for themselves. Sr. Lucia of Fatima speaks in this vein, when she says: “Father, we should not wait for an appeal to the world to come from Rome on the part of the Holy Father … Nor should we wait for the call from our bishops in our dioceses, nor from the religious congregations. No! Our Lord has already, very often, used these means and the world has not paid attention. That is why now it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform ourselves spiritually. Each person must not only save his own soul, but also the souls that God has placed on our path” (Sr. Lucia to Fr. Fuentes, December 26th, 1957). Fatal Distractions The easy way to deal with something that makes us feel uncomfortable, is to reach for something that makes us comfortable. In pain, we reach for a painkiller. In sadness, we reach for some joyful activity. The same applies to the state and predicament of the world today. It is sad! It is serious! It is sinful! It is sinking. We can fight or flee. We can deny or we can see. We can take a ‘painkiller’ and pretend the pain is not there. Or we can try do something if we really care. We can turn to beer, wine, food, music, sports, socials, parties because everything seems dark and stark. Or we can get on knees, pray, fast and try build a spiritual ark. Your life! Your choice! Your fate! Do something before it’s too late! Follow the Crowd or Follow the Truth? Today we have that fatal attitude of feeling safe in numbers! It never was and still isn’t the best idea! In Noe’s time, the majority were wrong and perished, the minority was right and survived. In Moses’ time, the majority were wrong and perished, the minority were right and survived—for out of 2 million Israelites that left Egypt, only two of them (Josue and Caleb) survived to enter the Promised Land: the rest were “second generation”. The same will be true for our day, for Our Lord complained: “The Son of man, when He cometh, shall He find, think you, Faith on Earth?” The question is rhetorical, for He is really saying: “No! I will not find Faith upon the Earth!” Our Lady of Good Success reinforces this fact, when she speaks of “the small number of souls, who hidden, will preserve the treasures of the Faith” … for many “will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil” aided by the fact that “in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost” while “the secular [diocesan] clergy will leave much to be desired, because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. They will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches”—a point that is also implied at La Salette: “People will think of nothing but amusements … Further reinforced at Fatima, when she said: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will still remain, etc.” Matrimony and the Family Attacked The Synod of Bishops were majorly concerned with the Family and especially in finding ways to incorporate the remarried divorcees and homosexuals into the Church, without obliging them to repent of their sins. This brings to mind the warning of Our Lady on this matter: “As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament. This will make it easy for everyone to live in sin [which is what a good number of bishops at the Synod wanted to do in effect] and will encourage the procreation of illegitimate children born without being incorporated into the Church. The Christian spirit will rapidly decay and the precious light of Faith will gradually be extinguished until it reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of morals [which there undoubtedly is at this time, and getting worse from year to year]” Slaves of Corruption, Depraving the People The words of Blessed Pope Pius IX are especially appropriate to our days in general, and to the machinations of the Liberal and Modernist cardinals and bishops at the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome, whereby they tried to force permission for obstinate remarried divorcees to receive Holy Communion and the acceptance persons within the Church who had embraced the homosexual lifestyle: “Our Predecessors, have, with Apostolic fortitude, constantly resisted the nefarious enterprises of wicked men, who, like raging waves of the sea foaming out their own confusion, and promising liberty whereas they are the slaves of corruption, have striven by their deceptive opinions and most pernicious writings to raze the foundations of the Catholic religion and of civil society, to remove from among men all virtue and justice, to deprave persons, and especially inexperienced youth, to lead it into the snares of error, and at length to tear it from the bosom of the Catholic Church” (Blessed Pope Pius IX, Encyclical Quanta Cura on Condemning Current Errors). Enemies of Christ, Full of Deceit Pope St. Pius X, who fought an energetic battle against Modernism, already back at the start of the 1900’s, writes: “The efforts of the enemy of the human race, have never been lacking― ‘men speaking perverse things’ (Acts 20:30), ‘vain talkers and seducers’ (Titus 1:10), ‘erring and driving into error’ (2 Timothy 3:13). It must, however, be confessed that these latter days have witnessed a notable increase in the number of the enemies of the Cross of Christ, who, by arts entirely new and full of deceit, are striving to destroy the vital energy of the Church, and, as far as in them lies, utterly to subvert the very Kingdom of Christ. Wherefore We may no longer keep silence, lest We should seem to fail in Our most sacred duty” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis on the doctrine of Modernists). “Modernists … with an affectation of great submission and respect, proceeded to twist the words of the Pontiff to their own sense, while they described his action as directed against others than themselves. Thus the evil has gone on increasing from day to day” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis on the doctrine of Modernists). Fight the New Order of Christian Life The passivity and apathy of the Catholic world, both clergy and laity, is astounding. Rather than fight error, we prefer to make a false peace with error. We look at things too optimistically, and fail to see reality or do not want to see reality, so we "tune-out" reality and "tune-in" to a virtual reality. Pope St. Pius X gained many enemies is seeing reality and fighting Modernism in his day. He says to us: “Combat novelties … remembering the admonitions of Leo XIII―‘It is impossible to approve … the introduction of a new order of Christian life, on new directions of the Church, on new aspirations of the modern soul, on a new social vocation of the clergy, on a new Christian civilization, and many other things of the same kind’” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis on the doctrine of Modernists). “We have already mentioned congresses and public gatherings as among the means used by the Modernists to propagate and defend their opinions. In the future, Bishops … when they do permit them, it shall only be on condition … that absolutely nothing be said in them which savors of Modernism” (Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis on the doctrine of Modernists). This "savor of Modernism" was clearly and unashamedly present in the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome. The Church has been cooked in the fires of Liberalism and Modernism for so long, that there is no fear and no restraint on the part of Liberals and Modernists in any area whatsoever. Nothing is sacred anymore! Nothing is taboo anymore! There only remains an ever-decreasing thin red or purple line (cardinals and bishops) that weakly prevents the Church from being overrun, to the point where Our Lady's prophecy at La Salette will come true: "Rome will lose the Faith!" Gradual Loss of Faith Let us not imagine that the loss of Faith in Rome will be sudden and instantaneous—like an earthquake or heart attack: even though neither of those are really instantaneous, but have building-up, unseen, for quite a while. Likewise with the loss of Faith—throughout the world in general, and in Rome in particular. Try to look at things from the devil’s point of view—it is better if the damage is done imperceptibly than openly. Why is cancer so effective a killer—it is because in its initial stages it is rarely detected. When little changes occur, we are less likely to kick up a storm about them—we almost feel guilty and very self-conscious in even addressing them! It makes us feel like we are “splitting hairs” or “making much ado about nothing”! Watch, Listen—But Do Nothing! That is exactly what the devil and his stooges in the Church want—passivity, reluctance to address issues, exaggerated tolerance, false charity. All of this contributes enormously to his undercover operations. It is said that the devil’s masterstroke is to make people believe that he doesn’t exist—and this is translated in human terms to make people think that conspiracies don’t exist. Best Form of Defense is Attack Which, coincidentally, brings us to one of Pope Francis’ comments during the Synod of Bishops: “not to give in to the conspiracy hermeneutic, which is sociologically weak and spiritually unhelpful.” The comment, as reported by all the news outlets, was aimed at the letter he was given by the conservative cardinals and bishops at the Synod, questioning the avenues that the Synod was heading down, which they perceived as being contrary to the Faith—Pope Francis, in a veiled manner, painted those cardinals and bishops as being conspiracy theorists. Likewise Cardinal Wuerl, a liberal at the Synod, who “said that in his view, changes to the process introduced by Pope Francis have made the synod remarkably ‘open,’ but acknowledged that not everyone sees it that way. ‘Everything looks yellow to the jaundiced eye,’ he said. ‘If you start with the idea of a conspiracy,’ Wuerl said, then you end up seeing evidence of it everywhere. To be clear, he wasn’t just talking about pundits and agitators outside the synod. He also meant some of the bishops taking part. ‘There are people inside the synod who talk about this,’ he said. ‘The media didn’t create these stories.’” (Crux, John L. Allen Jr., October 18th, 2015). Yet that method of ridicule is spoken of by Pope St. Pius X, as being a typical tactic of Modernists: “they use the weapons of ridicule and contempt” and “with expressions savoring of mockery or contempt” … “the Modernists vent all their bitterness and hatred on Catholics who zealously fight the battles of the Church. There is no species of insult which they do not heap upon them, but their usual course is to charge them with ignorance or obstinacy” (Encyclical Pascendi Domici Gregis). |
Another cardinal at the Synod, Australian Cardinal George Pell ,“argued that if there was a ‘hermeneutic of suspicion’ coming into this synod, it didn’t drop out of a clear blue sky, but was based on perceptions left over from the last one. ‘I think in the last synod, there were some rather surprising developments,’ Pell said. ‘I think [the journalist’s, Edward] Pentin’s account of the last synod [on the Family, in October 2014], his suggestions and accusations, are substantially unanswered.’” (Crux, John L. Allen Jr., October 18th, 2015).
So How Did It All End? What’s the final take? What’s the punchline? What’s the outcome? Well—it’s all about semantics or word games if you like! You get out the Synod what you want to get! The modern Church-speak is no speak at all—it is so carefully and craftily worded, that anyone and everyone gets the feeling that they’ve won! “Everyone is a lucky winner!” as they say. Here is what some of the newspapers say on the outcome—if this doesn’t confuse you, then nothing will! CNA (Catholic News Agency) reported that “This year's discussion tended to be reduced in Western secular media to two issues: communion for divorced-and-civilly remarried, and Church teaching and pastoral care regarding homosexuality ... With a two-thirds majority vote, the more than 200 bishops gathered for the Vatican's synod on the family supported Church teaching on hot-button issues such as homosexuality and communion for divorced and remarried persons … Only two of the 94 paragraphs showed a disparity in the voting, both of them surrounding the topic of pastoral care for divorced and remarried persons. Despite the calls by some for the Church to change its doctrine by allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics without an annulment to receive communion, the synod’s final report upheld current Church teaching and practice on the issue. ‘It’s therefore the responsibility of pastors to accompany the persons concerned on a path of discernment according to the teaching of the Church and the guidelines of the bishop,’ paragraph 85 read.” (CNA, October 24th). The Church’s own Vatican Radio reported: “On Saturday evening the Synod of Bishops on the Family came to a close when Synod Fathers voted paragraph by paragraph on the final text. At the end of the vote the text was presented to the Holy Father. All 94 points received the required two-thirds majority vote … The Holy Father said now that the Synod has come to an end he asks ‘What will it mean for the Church to conclude this Synod devoted to the family?’ The Holy Father said it was about making clear that the Church is a Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners seeking forgiveness. He said that it was about trying to ‘broaden horizons, rising above conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints’." (Vatican Radio, October 24th). Crux reported: “While not advocating that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics should receive Communion, the bishops nonetheless declared that the Church should figure out whether they can be included in any elements of Church life from which they are now excluded. They also said that they should be more integrated into the life of the Church and not made to feel that they have been excommunicated — not only for their sake, but for the sake of their children. The bishops acknowledged that some couples live together for financial reasons, sometimes while waiting for a more stable job and steady income, because ‘getting married is perceived as a luxury,’ and many eventually ask for a church wedding. Others simply reject ‘the values of marriage and family.’ Whatever the situation, the Church should approach it constructively, and look to turn it into an opportunity to point couples to ‘the fullness of marriage and the family.’” (Crux, October 24th). The Liberal, Thomas Reese, of the NCR (National Catholic Reporter) stated: “All right. Let’s get it over with. I was too pessimistic in my prediction of how the synod would end. I should have trusted the Spirit. I was convinced that the opposition to allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to go to Communion (unless they had annulments) was so strong that the synod could not do anything. The best I hoped for was that the bishops would recommend further study of the possibility. The worst outcome would have been the synod saying definitively that Church practice could not change. My mistake was writing my column before the German-language small group made its report. To the amazement of all, the Germans [a mix of Liberals and Conservatives] reached unanimous agreement on their report that included a discussion of the internal forum. ‘There must be perhaps a way of going with the people in these situations, with the priest to look if and when they can come to a full reconciliation with the church,’ explained Cardinal Reinhard Marx [Liberal], speaking of divorced and remarried persons. ‘That is the proposal.’ “This unanimity was significant because in the German group were theologically sophisticated cardinals representing different points of view, including Cardinals Walter Kasper [Liberal], who originally proposed the idea of the ‘penitential path,’ and Gerhard Muller [Conservative], the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), known to oppose that path. That these cardinals [Liberal and Conservative] could agree meant their recommendation carried great weight with the synodal fathers. Muller was especially crucial in bringing around bishops who were on the fence. ‘If the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says it is OK, it must be OK,’ was the thinking. What did the synod finally say about divorced and remarried Catholics in its final document or recommendations to the pope? Like the Germans, the synod suggested the use of what is called the ‘internal forum,’ where the document says priests can help remarried Catholics ‘in becoming conscious of their situation before God’ and in deciding how to move forward. ‘The conversation with the priest, in internal forum, contributes to the formation of a correct decision on what is blocking the possibility of a fuller participation in the life of the church and on steps that might foster it and make it grow,’ states the document” (NCR, October 24th). The Washington Post had this to say: “The synod on family issues marked the Vatican’s second in two years, with a meeting last year touching off the debates on divorce and homosexuality. Unlike last year, when several controversial clauses failed to garner a required two-thirds majority, all the recommendations made this time reached that bar. But some said that was partly because of an attempt to make the language more palatable and ambiguous. Signaling the intensity of the debate, there were more than 1,300 amendments proposed by the more than 260 delegates” (Washington Post, October 25th, 2015). The New York Times reported “After a three-week global assembly on family issues that exposed their deep divisions, Roman Catholic bishops produced a consensus document on Saturday that reinforced church doctrine but appeared to give Pope Francis enough support to advance his vision of a more merciful Church. The Church doors opened just a crack for Catholics who divorced and remarried without receiving an annulment of their first marriages, and for those living together without being married. They remained firmly shut to same-sex marriage, even as the document said gay people should be treated with respect. The document, which offers recommendations to the pope, was so carefully worded that it was immediately open to competing interpretations and allowed both the conservative and liberal flanks in the Church to claim victory. Conservatives rejoiced that the bishops held the line on church doctrine that a marriage is permanent and that homosexuality is unacceptable, although some worried that the document introduced confusion about whether divorced couples can be given the sacrament of communion. Church liberals exulted that Francis had gotten the Church’s hierarchy to take up issues that were long considered taboo, and that the bishops’ final report did not include anything that would block him outright from making change. The next steps are now with Francis, who after three weeks of assembly meetings, backbiting and intrigue now has a clearer picture of the forces arrayed for and against change” (The New York Times, October 24th, 2015). The English newspaper, The Guardian, reports: “Pope Francis has warned Catholic bishops against sticking too rigidly to doctrine, marking the end of a high-level summit on the family at the Vatican that saw the church hierarchy approach a more open attitude towards divorcees. Speaking in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, the pontiff said clergy should avoid the temptation of falling into a ‘scheduled Faith’ and failing to adapt to new circumstances that could lead to people’s suffering being ignored. The pope’s homily hinted at how he may move forward following proposals tabled by bishops at the synod on family issues, who on Saturday evening released a concluding document addressing issues such as gay and divorced Catholics” (The Guardian, October 25th). The English newspaper, The Times, ran the audacious headline: “Pope wins his battle to let divorcees take Communion” and reports that “The Pope has secured a victory in his mission to propel the Catholic Church into the 21st century, agreeing with conservative cardinals to allow remarried divorcees to take Communion. Speaking at the end of a three-week synod on the family, he said: ‘A faith that is not rooted in the life of the people remains arid and, rather than an oasis, it creates other deserts…’” (The Times, October 26th). The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) reported: “Doctrine towards divorcees has been softened but there is no change in the church's stance on homosexuality. At the synod, the name given to the meeting of Roman Catholic leaders, bishops voted on 94 articles dealing with how the church treats the family. The most contentious, dealing with whether divorced and remarried believers should be allowed to play a full role in the church, only just passed. The approved text calls for a case-by-case approach … The language of compromise is apparent throughout the final document. But what the Pope does with it ― and how he takes it forward ― is not yet clear. Pope Francis himself used his end of Synod speech as an opportunity to criticize ‘blinkered viewpoints’. What is obvious is that he wants a Church that is more merciful and less judgmental of those who stray from the path of righteousness: less finger-wagging, more hand-holding” (BBC, October 24th). Individual Comments Prove the Ambiguity On Saturday, October 24th, a spokesman for Cardinal George Pell – head of the Vatican's economy secretariat – said in a statement that the prelate was “very pleased with the document.” … “It expresses well what the current pastoral practice and teaching of the Church are on sexuality, marriage and families,” the statement read. “No doctrinal developments, no doctrinal surprises, no doctrinal backflips. No changes in praxis or discipline,” but rather a “beautiful commendation of large families and of the witness of happily married spouses and their children as agents of evangelization.” (CNA Catholic News Agency, October 24th). Two days later, things were not quite as clear as Cardinal Pell had hoped for. The Catholic Herald (United Kingdom) of Monday October 26th reported: “Australian Cardinal George Pell [Conservative] said the final report of the synod on the family did not create an opening for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive Communion. Other synod members took a different view and acknowledged that the paragraph in question was being read differently. ‘The text has certainly been significantly misunderstood,’ Cardinal Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, told Catholic News Service on Sunday. ‘There is no reference in paragraph 85 or anywhere in the document to Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried; that is fundamental,’ he said. “But other synod members said the text represented an opening to discernment, on a case-by-case basis, of the possibility of eventual absolution and Communion for some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. Cardinal Reinhard Marx {Liberal], president of the German bishops’ conference, told reporters the final report marked ‘a real step forward’ in the pastoral care of the divorced and civilly remarried. “Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris said the document is firm in saying ' there can be no general rule that applies equally' to all the divorced and remarried without considering their personal situations. “Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna told reporters the final report was not a blanket “yes or no” to Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried, but a call to careful discernment, recognizing that the amount of blame different people bear for a broken marriage and the different situations which led them to remarry vary widely. Therefore, the consequences in terms of absolution and Communion vary as well, he said” (The Catholic Herald, October 26th). To add to the ambiguous presentation and interpretation of the Synod’s final document, The Catholic Herald (UK) reports that: “the Gay Catholics have said they are encouraged by the Pope’s closing address to the synod and are hopeful for a “new era” of pastoral care. The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics (GNRC) said that while it was not always happy with terminology used to describe gay people, it felt it was the ‘beginning of a new era of inclusive pastoral care for LGBT people and their families.’ It added it hoped dioceses could take on this attitude across the world. In a statement, the group said it felt there was also ‘no longer any reason’ to not include same-sex couples as well as children with same-sex parents in pastoral plans as the synod mentioned ‘specific attention should be paid to families that have a member with homosexual tendencies’ ... GNRC said it felt there were ‘expressions of apology’ during the synod for what it termed ‘harmful and inaccurate language’ when discussing gay people. It added it felt ‘the door for a more sensitive attentiveness to LGBT issues in the Church has been opened … and despite opposition cannot be closed.’” (The Catholic Herald, October 26th). Confused? So too are the cardinals quoted above! You are meant to be confused! That is how Liberals and Modernists work. Clarity must be sacrificed for ambiguity. Truth must fall to compromise. Logic gives way to emotions. Certitude is replaced by complications that create uncertitude. Objectivity is replaced by subjectivity. The Rights of God are replaced by the Rights of Man. Tomorrow, we will wrap up and bury the Synod as we look at what Pope Francis said at the end of the Synod and compare that to Scripture and the pronouncements of other popes. |
“I Did It My Way!”
Some may be old enough to remember Frank Sinatra’s song “I Did It My Way!” It could well have been the theme song for another Francis, a namesake of Frank—Pope Francis. He seems dead set on doing things his way and not the Church’s way! Before we look, with all due respect, at Pope Francis’ “Swanee River” song, or speech, with which he ended the October Synod of Bishops in Rome, let us look at the lyrics of Frank Sinatra’s song, which are so amusing when taken in the context of Pope Francis’ pontificate thus far. Therefore, at the risk of boring many, here are the lyrics to “I Did It My Way!” And now, the end is near; And so I face the final curtain! My friend, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case, of which I'm certain. I've lived a life that's full. I've traveled each and every highway; And more, much more than this, I did it my way! Regrets, I've had a few; But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course; Each careful step along the byway, And more, much more than this, I did it my way! Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew When I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall; And did it my way! I've loved, I've laughed and cried. I've had my fill; my share of losing. And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing. To think I did all that; And may I say ― not in a shy way, "Oh no, oh no not me, I did it my way"! For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels; And not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows ― And did it my way! Yes, it was my way! Pope Francis’ Way Pope Francis does not want to change his ways—we have that telling revelation that he made, which has been reported in the worldwide media: “I said to myself,” mused Pope Francis not long after his election: “‘Hey, Jorge! Keep going the way you are! Anyway, you're too old to change! You would be ridiculous!’” Walking Contradiction? God has said to us through His prophet Isaias: “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways’, saith the Lord. ‘For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts!’” (Isaias 55:8-9). It seems Pope Francis wants to do the same! His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are his ways our ways! At times, his thoughts are not the Church’s thoughts, and the Church’s ways are not his ways! At other times, his thoughts and ways are more Churchlike than the thoughts and ways of many of his clergy, yet there are times when his thoughts and ways leave one scratching one’s head. It seems that he is a walking contradiction—at times good and at times dangerous. People have quite strong views of the Argentinian Pope. Not everybody likes his style. Many decry the fact that he has streamlined much of the pomp and ceremony that surrounded the 2,000-year-old papacy. When the new Pope decided to live in the bland Santa Marta guesthouse with 70 other priests, the residents were initially delighted. To have the Pope in the same house, queuing up in the refectory for his meals, was quite a novelty. But that could not last. Soon, it became like having the headmaster at the table. Several clergy are relieved when he occasionally has his meals behind a screen and has "working lunches" with guests. It also curbs the “selfies”, because some clergy have been noticed to possess a sense of being celebrities in the Vatican. When Pope Francis Open His Mouth—Look Out! If there were a prize for plain speaking or politically incorrect speaking, Pope Francis would win hands down. He refers to some sour-faced nuns as those “who look as if they swallowed a lemon” and he berates some priests for their vanity. “Look at them! Like the peacock, they look great when they are coming towards you. But when they pass by, you get another view.” Pope Francis’ tendency for plain speaking has also landed him in trouble. When he referred to some Catholics as “breeding like rabbits” and compared the illegal drug trade in his native Argentina to Mexico, he had to issue an apology. Where Does Pope Francis’ Heart Lay? When asked by a journalist about gay priests and gay people in general, he turned the question on its head and simply asked: “Who am I to judge?” At these two October Synods of Bishops (2014 & 2015), it came across clearly that Pope Francis’s heart lay on heart of the homosexuals, since he was firmly endorsing and pushing forward Cardinal Kasper’s proposal that the Church change her policy on matters regarding gay people and remarried divorcees. This provoked comments from fellow cardinals and bishops that this was not Catholic and that one could smell “infernal smoke” in the background. Yet on the other hand, if Pope Francis won’t judge gay priests and people, he does judge others. He has blasted the Mafia, excommunicating those who support organized crime. He has put metal into the spine of the Italian bishops and urged them to oppose the Mafia and their associates who have impoverished southern Italy. Comparing the Church to a military field hospital, Francis stated: “I prefer to have the Church out in the field getting dirty, rather than staying nice and clean behind the front lines.” Wheeling and Dealing Pope The New York Times , on March 19th, 2013, under the headline “On Gay Unions, a Pragmatist Before He Was a Pope” reported that “Argentina was on the verge of approving gay marriage, and the Roman Catholic Church was desperate to stop that from happening.” Many Catholic saw such attempts to recognize gay marriages as the work of the devil. The Church in Argentina was vociferously against such legislation. “But behind the scenes, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio [the future Pope Francis], who led the public charge against the measure, spoke out in a heated meeting of bishops in 2010 and advocated [suggested] a highly unorthodox solution―that the Church in Argentina support the idea of civil unions for gay couples.” The New York Times reports that this stance and maneuver by Cardinal Bergoglio “inflamed the gathering” saying that “the very idea was anathema to many of the bishops in the room.” This maneuver by Cardinal Bergoglio “showed another side as … a deal maker willing to compromise and court opposing sides in the debate.” The New York Times says that “In the end, though, a majority of the bishops voted to overrule him, his only such loss in his six-year tenure as head of Argentina’s bishops’ conference” (The New York Times, March 19th, 2013). This explains why Pope Francis was so supportive of the German Liberal Cardinal Kasper, who wanted the Church to do the same thing—accept gay couples within the Church. The CNA Catholic News Agency, on June 4th, 2015, reported: “For decades, German Cardinal Walter Kasper has promoted a proposal to allow divorced-and-civilly-remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion after a period of repentance. His controversial position has drawn intense criticism from some and rapturous support from others. Cardinal Kasper said last fall that a growing majority of synod members supported his position. And he has claimed to be promoting what Pope Francis wants.” Synod Seeks to Give Sin the Nod Life Site News, in an article from May 15th, 2015, speaking of the first of the two October Synods of Bishops (the one held last year, in 2014), quotes cardinals Burke (USA) and Pell (Australia) as revealing the true agenda of these Synods: “Cardinal Burke who said that the synod: ‘found itself addressing, in a confused and sometimes erroneous manner, practices which contradict the Church’s constant teaching and practice regarding Holy Matrimony. I refer to practices which would give access to the Sacraments to those who are living in a public state of adultery, and which would condone, in some manner, conjugal cohabitation outside of the Sacrament of Matrimony and sexual relations between persons of the same sex.’ He went on to describe the interim report as “a manifesto, a kind of incitement to a new approach to fundamental issues of human sexuality in the Church.’ “George Cardinal Pell expressed a similar view. There were, he said, ‘radical elements’ within the hierarchy who were using the issue of Holy Communion for the divorced and ‘remarried’ as, in his words, ‘a stalking horse’. What they really want, said Cardinal Pell, is the acceptance of cohabitation and same-sex unions. No wonder then, that the world’s media reported the document as a ‘revolution’ within the Church.” (Life Site News, May 15th, 2015). Pope Francis and Cardinal Kasper—Birds of a Feather? The National Catholic Reporter (NCR), in an article from April 6th, 2015, reports: “When Benedict retired in 2013, it paved the way for the surprising election of the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Francis ― and the re-emergence of Kasper as the standard-bearer of a more progressive Catholic theology. A year ago, Francis tapped Kasper to address the entire College of Cardinals, setting the stage for ongoing debates about changing pastoral practices to accommodate divorced and remarried Catholics, for example, or to better welcome gay people and unmarried couples living together.” The Catholic Herald (UK) in an article on August 20th, 2015, under the headline “Does Francis Think Cardinal Kasper Is Right?”, states that ever “since Pope Francis invited Cardinal Walter Kasper to address the February 2014 consistory of cardinals, the question of whether the divorced and civilly remarried can receive the sacraments has been front and center. Every time the “Kasper proposal” has been rejected, Pope Francis has kept the discussion going, to the extent that it will now dominate the synod on the family to be held in October. Francis did not express himself directly on the question during months of debate, leaving Catholics to speculate on what he thought. In his general audience, on August 5th, 2105, he addressed it head on. And what he did not say in his address might well indicate that he thinks Cardinal Kasper is right” (The Catholic Herald UK, August 20th, 2015). The Italian daily, Il Giornaleve, of October 27th, 2015, published an interview with the very pleased Liberal German Cardinal, Walter Kasper, under the headline: “Hosts for Divorced, If Penitent” and the subtitle: “The prelate talks about the closing of the Synod as though his progressive line had succeeded.” The newspaper interview cited Kasper with the words: “I am very pleased and am overjoyed by the Synods successful work ... I am pleased to open the door to the possibility of the divorced and remarried to communion ... The closing report is a good text, and we only await the Pope's decision.” So What Does the Pope Say? The entire discourse and homily of Pope Francis is available as a PDF file and will be found at the end of this article. What follows is merely an extract of the key contentious points within that discourse. At the close of the 2015 Synod of Bishops, on October 25th, Pope Francis addressed the participants, saying, among other things: “As I followed the labors of the Synod, I asked myself: ‘What will it mean for the Church to conclude this Synod devoted to the family?’ Certainly, the Synod was not about settling all the issues having to do with the family, but rather attempting to see them in the light of the Gospel and the Church’s tradition and two-thousand-year history, bringing the joy of hope … seeing these difficulties and uncertainties in the light of the Faith, carefully studying them and confronting them fearlessly, without burying our heads in the sand.” So far, so good—if you stick to the light of the Gospel and the Church’s 2,000 year old tradition. Reconciling Irreconcilables Then, after correctly stating that the Synod “was about urging everyone to appreciate the importance of the institution of the family and of marriage between a man and a woman, based on unity and indissolubility, and valuing it as the fundamental basis of society and human life”, Pope Francis then subtly shifted into words of admonition for the traditionalists or Conservatives, saying that the Church “ is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family” and that “the Gospel continues to be a vital source of eternal newness [meaning, things can and should change] ... to transmit the beauty of Christian Newness, at times encrusted in a language which is archaic or simply incomprehensible.” The Synod “was about trying to open up broader horizons, rising above conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints, so as to defend and spread the freedom of the children of God … against all those who would indoctrinate it in dead stones [meaning, old defunct teachings and attitudes] to be hurled at others. It was also about laying bare the closed hearts, which frequently hide even behind the Church’s teachings, or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families … ” In other words, he is saying: Okay, marriages are indissoluble—that’s what the Church has always taught—but the Gospel is about “Christian Newness” an “eternal newness”—meaning or suggesting that new things must always be happening, changes always occurring, attitudes always shifting so as not to have “blinkered viewpoints” that are “encrusted in a language which is archaic or simply incomprehensible” like “dead stones”. |
Pope Implies Truth Is Different For Different People
To try and encourage, or blatantly force, change, the Pope tried to point out that, within the worldwide Church, there are opposing or differing ways of handling various situations. He uses this to try and cement this idea of accepting change. Pope Francis painted a picture of a Variable Church, where “anything goes” depending on who you are and where you live. He said: “We have also seen that what seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion.” In other words, what is true for you, might not be true for me; and what is true for me, might not be true for you. Nevertheless, though we may disagree over what is true, it is still true for each of us! Objectivity gets thrown out of the window, and subjectivity sits on the throne! I Believe, But… All this talk of the doctrine of the Church cannot change, BUT we are talking about a PASTORAL application of the doctrine of the Church. We are not changing beliefs, we are simply changing practices! Besides these poor people—the remarried divorces and homosexuals—are suffering greatly! We cannot be coercive with them in their unfortunate situation! We cannot be narrow-minded, intolerant and uncompromising! This just smacks of Liberalism in its undiluted form. As the renowned book, Liberalism Is A Sin, points out, this is a Liberal Protestant mentality: “Protestantism naturally begets toleration of error ... Through lack of any decisive voice of authority in matters of Faith, it is forced to recognize any belief that springs from the exercise of private judgment … It then seeks to shelter its inconsistency under the false plea of liberty of conscience. Belief is not imposed by a legitimately and divinely constituted authority, but springs directly and freely from the unrestricted exercise of the individual’s reason or caprice … "It is true the Liberal accepts the Magisterium of the Church, yet he does not accept it as the sole authorized expounder of divine truth. He reserves, as a coefficient factor in the determination of that truth, his own private judgment. They have a horror of any coercive element in matters of Faith; any chastisement of error shocks their tender susceptibilities, and they detest any Catholic legislation in the direction of what they are pleased to call intolerance ... Narrow! Intolerant! Uncompromising! These are the epithets of odium hurled by Liberal votaries of all degrees at Conservatives …Thus they erect into a dogma what is called ‘the principle of toleration’. The differences of belief are, after all, they complacently argue, due to differences of temperament, education, etc.; we will not exactly approve them, but we should at least condone them.” (Fr. Felix Salvany, Liberalism Is A Sin). Mixture of Truth and Error The prevalent modern-day trend of the Catholic Church is undoubtedly one of Modernism and Liberalism, which unfortunately finds its flag-bearer in Pope Francis. It is a spirit of mixing everything together into one paste—truth and error are blended; Catholics and non-Catholics are thrown into basket of a false ecumenism; the just man and the sinner must share the same tub; the God of Truth has become tired of all that Truth, and has decided to become a God of Surprises! Pope’s End of Synod Homily The day after his End of Synod Address, the Pope came back to Synod matters in his homily on Sunday, October 26th. The Readings of the Mass to which Pope Francis refers: Jeremias 31:7-9; Responsorial Psalm 126:1-6; Hebrews 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52. The Pope first of all painted the picture of God as a kind and loving Father. He said: “The three Readings for this Sunday show us God’s compassion, His fatherhood, definitively revealed in Jesus. In the midst of a national disaster―the people deported by their enemies―the prophet Jeremias proclaims that “the Lord has saved His people, the remnant of Israel” (Jeremias 31:7). Why did He save them? Because He is their Father (Jeremias 31:9); and as a Father, He takes care of His children and accompanies them on the way, sustaining “the blind and the lame, the women with child and those in labor” (Jeremias 31:8). His fatherhood opens up for them a path forward, a way of consolation after so many tears and great sadness. If the people remain faithful, if they persevere in their search for God―even in a foreign land―God will change their captivity into freedom, their solitude into communion: what the people sow today in tears, they will reap tomorrow in joy (Psalm 125:6).” The Pope then paints the same picture—of kindness and compassion—for Jesus. He stated: “The passage, from the Letter to the Hebrews, shows us Jesus’ compassion. He also “is beset with weakness” (Hebrews 5:2), so that He can feel compassion for those in ignorance and error. Jesus is the great High Priest, holy and innocent, but also the High Priest who has taken on our weakness and been tempted like us, in all things, save sin (Hebrews 4:15). “Today’s Gospel (Mark 10: 46-52) is directly linked to the First Reading: as the people of Israel were freed thanks to God’s fatherhood, so, too, Bartimaeus is freed thanks to Jesus’ compassion. Jesus has just left Jericho. Even though He has only begun His most important journey, which will take Him to Jerusalem, He still stops to respond to Bartimaeus’ cry. Jesus is moved by his request and becomes involved in his situation. He is not content to offer him alms, but rather wants to personally encounter him. He does not give him any instruction, or response, but asks him: “What do you want Me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). It might seem a senseless question―what could a blind man wish for if not his sight? Yet, with this question, made face to face, direct, but respectful, Jesus shows that He wants to hear our needs. He wants to talk with each of us about our lives, our real situations, so that nothing is kept from Him. After Bartimaeus’ healing, the Lord tells him: “Your faith has made you well” (Mark 10:52). It is beautiful to see how Christ admires Bartimaeus’ faith, how he has confidence in Him. He believes in us, more than we believe in ourselves.” All of this is good and true—thus far. The Pope then proceeds to go down an avenue that seems to castigate those who will not show the mercy of Christ to all and sundry. Yet he avoids dealing with what the conditions of mercy are—namely sorrow for sin; a firm purpose of amendment (change of lifestyle from sinful to non-sinful); and making amends or restitution; topped-off with penance! The Pope goes on as follows: “There is an interesting detail. Jesus asks His disciples to go and call Bartimaeus. They address the blind man with two expressions, which only Jesus uses in the rest of the Gospel. First they say to him: “Take heart!”―which literally means “have faith, strong courage!” Indeed, only an encounter with Jesus gives a person the strength to face the most difficult situations. The second expression is “Rise!”―as Jesus said to so many of the sick, whom He took by the hand and healed. His disciples do nothing other than repeat Jesus’ encouraging and liberating words, leading him directly to Jesus, without lecturing him. Jesus’ disciples are called to this, even today, especially today: to bring people into contact with the compassionate Mercy that saves. When humanity’s cry, like Bartimaeus’, becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make Jesus’ words our own and, above all, imitate his heart. Moments of suffering and conflict are for God occasions of mercy. Today is a time of mercy!” This paints a beautiful picture of mercy, but it is like a building a house without a foundation or framework. The Pope then proceeds to attack those who turn their heads the other way, and do not show mercy. “There are, however, some temptations for those who follow Jesus. The Gospel shows at least two of them. None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did. They continued to walk, going on as if nothing were happening. If Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf: his problem was not their problem. This can be a danger for us: in the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus, but we do not think like Him. We are in His group, but our hearts are not open. We lose wonder, gratitude and enthusiasm, and risk becoming habitually unmoved by grace. We are able to speak about Him and work for Him, but we live far from His Heart, which is reaching out to those who are wounded. “This is the temptation: a “spirituality of illusion”: we can walk through the deserts of humanity without seeing what is really there; instead, we see what we want to see. We are capable of developing views of the world, but we do not accept what the Lord places before our eyes. A Faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts.” This is a great tug at the heart-strings—the violins reach a crescendo! Yet the problem remains and rests with the poor, blind sinner—does he really want to see? Does he really want a change of life? Is he prepared to leave his sin and reform his life? Or does he simply seek acceptance of his sinfulness, or at least a toleration? Bartimaeus, the blind man, wanted to see—there are many sinners who obstinately do not want to see. They just want us to see them as acceptable. To God, this is unacceptable: “The soul that sinneth, the same shall die … But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die” (Ezechiel 18:20-21). As Jesus said to the Jews who would accept His Truth: “You shall die in your sin! Whither I go, you cannot come!” (John 8:21). Man must conform to God’s Truth and Law, and not expect God to change His Truth and Law out of a false notion of mercy. Mercy will be given--“If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18)―but mercy has its price, it is not a freebie! The Pope then finishes his homily with a criticism of those who would exclude certain persons from the Catholic community (a thinly veiled allusion to the remarried divorcees and homosexuals), by using the tactic of exaggerating a situation or manner of acting. He paints a picture of the followers of Christ as being harsh, exclusive and simply not interested in the plight of those “kept on the fringes”, while those who are on the fringes are painted in the light of “crying out to Jesus” but being rejected as being too bothersome. “There is a second temptation, that of falling into a “scheduled Faith”. We are able to walk with the People of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother. We run the risk of becoming the “many” of the Gospel who lose patience and rebuke Bartimaeus. Just a short time before, they scolded the children (Mark 10:13), and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us, or is not of our stature, is excluded. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to Him. They, like Bartimaeus, have Faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus. “In the end, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on His path (Mark 10:52). He did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus. Dear Synod Fathers, we have walked together. Thank you for the path we have shared, with our eyes fixed on Jesus and our brothers and sisters, in the search for the paths which the Gospel indicates for our times, so that we can proclaim the mystery of family love. Let us follow the path that the Lord desires. Let us ask Him to turn to us with His healing and saving gaze, which knows how to radiate light, as it recalls the splendor which illuminates it. Never allowing ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.” (End of homily of Pope Francis). The problem here is the mixing of the "good" with the "evil" and the "truth" with the "lie". Part of what Pope Francis says is certainly good and true, yet part of what he says is also bad and untruthful. God Himself is, what Pope Francis disdainfully terms as being "scheduled". With God "everything is listed" and written down―our good actions as well as our sins. Hence, Our Lord, speaking of the End Times, says: “For these are the days of vengeance, that all things may be fulfilled, that are written” (Luke 21:22). I guess Pope Francis should take God and Our Lady to task, because they are not showing the pope’s brand of ‘mercy’! They too, to quote the Pope, “run the risk of becoming the “many” of the Gospel who lose patience and rebuke”! God and Our Lady are also guilty of the bad attitude spoken of by the pope, “whoever bothers us, or is not of our stature, is excluded”—because Our Lady was so rigid as to say: “If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them!” The message that Pope Francis, and his followers, sought to communicate at the Synod of Bishops, was not the message of Heaven and this was thankfully seen by a good number of cardinals and bishops present. Just as Pope Francis, in 2010, was outvoted in Argentina―then still a cardinal―when he tried push his bishops into accepting gay unions, so too were the more radical changes voted out at the Synod of Bishops this October. However, all is not well, for as the Liberals joyfully said—the door has been left ajar for the next push to get what they could not get now. It is merely one blow of the “Liberal Battering Ram” which knows that with one single blow the doors will not fall—but steady repeated blows will finally achieve the objective. It seems that Our Lady prediction that many bishops and religious orders will lose the Faith, and that Rome, too, will lose the Faith is just a few more blows away. Brace yourself for the next blow. As for what the Pope will do after this Synod—which had no legislative power, but was there to merely advise the Pope of its opinions—it will probably transpire that the Pope, seeing the amount of opposition he met, will only make minor, but nevertheless significant changes in a rulings he might make. Too go too far too soon might cause the potential schism that everyone was talking about before the Synod. Yet, a schism within the Church, in our days, is mentioned in Catholic prophecy! Never a dull moment in the Church, eh? In the next article, we will look at the message Pope Francis SHOULD have given to his cardinals, bishops, priests and the remarried-divorcees and so-called "alternate lifestyle" advocates in the Church. |
Miserable Mercy or Merciful Misery?
In trying to be merciful, we can actually lead souls into misery—eternal misery! On the other hand, misery can sometimes lead to mercy! “Haste (to show mercy) makes waste (can end in misery)” , or “Marry in haste (fast-track mercy), repent at leisure (leads to misery)”―whereas “Every cloud (misery) has a silver-lining (mercy)”. Watered-down medicine will never effect a cure—watered down mercy or a fake mercy, will fail to cure the sinner. The Label of Mercy Pope Francis wants to be kind and merciful—don’t we all? Or shouldn’t we all?—but if you are going to dispense mercy, it has to be real and not adulterated mercy. Watered-down medicine is useless—it may bring a person hope at first, but it will not bring the body health. The same applies to mercy for the soul. God is the pharmacist who made mercy and we have to dispense a God-made mercy, not a man-made mercy. Man-made mercy may have some of the ingredients of a God-made mercy, but it is not the real thing and it will not achieve what God wants to achieve by mercy. Francis Not Frank Pope Francis has to be truthful about mercy—he has to be frank about mercy. Mercy is a bitter-sweet pill, not just a sugar-coated pill with a sweet center. When the Pope speaks about mercy, he is not being frank. He hides the truth, he does list all the ingredients of mercy on his label. Here is an example of his version of mercy from March of this year. It was given during one of his daily Mass sermons at the Santa Marta Hostel’s chapel. It essentially makes the same points that Pope Francis has been making all year, as he prepares the Church for a "Year of Mercy". “A man, a woman, who feels bad at heart, sad, who has made so many mistakes in life, at a certain moment feels the waters move, it is the Holy Spirit who moves something, or he hears a word, or, ‘Ah, I would want to go!’ … and he gets the courage and goes. And how many times, today, in the Christian community he finds the doors shut: ‘But you cannot, no, you cannot. You have made a mistake here and you cannot. If you want to come, come to Mass on Sunday, but remain there, don’t do anything else.’ And that which the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of these persons, Christians with the mentality of doctors of the law, destroy ... This displeases me … The Church always has her doors open … She is the house of Jesus and Jesus is there welcoming. But not only welcoming, he goes to find the people just as he went and found this one. And if the people are wounded, what does Jesus do? Does he reprove them because they are wounded? No, he comes and carries them on his shoulders. And this is called, ‘mercy’. And when God reproves His people — ‘I want mercy, not sacrifice!’ — He is speaking of this!” (Pope Francis, homily at Santa Marta Hostel, March 17th, 2015). A False or Fake Francis? We have heard of the expression: “Tell it as it really is!”—which means not twisting, fudging, altering or deforming the reality or truth. The Protestant religions are false religions—not because they are totally wrong (for they have some truths), but because they do not “tell it as it really is.” When Pope Francis is talking about “Mercy”—is he lying? No! He is not lying, but, at the same time, he is not “telling it as it really is”! His version of the truth has some foundation in Scripture, Tradition and reality, but then, somewhere along the line, it devolves into something that does quite ring true. At times, it even comes close to Martin Luther’s idea of mercy (see further below)—or walks a parallel path to it. The same can be said of Cardinal Kasper—popularly called “The Pope’s Theologian”—whose thoughts and ideas were deeply embedded in the recent Synods of 2014 and 2015. The whole blow-up at the Synod of Bishops—both in October 2014 and October 2015—was basically over the so-called “Kasper Proposal”, which wanted to bring major changes in how the Church views the remarried divorcees and homosexuals. The CNA Catholic News Agency, on June 4th, 2015, reported: “For decades, German Cardinal Walter Kasper has promoted a proposal to allow divorced-and-civilly-remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion after a period of repentance. His controversial position has drawn intense criticism from some and rapturous support from others. Cardinal Kasper said last fall that a growing majority of synod members supported his position. And he has claimed to be promoting what Pope Francis wants.” Smell of Infernal Smoke This is why, at the recent Synod, some cardinals and bishops protested that some proposals being put forward were not Catholic, one of them even going so far to say that he could smell “infernal smoke”. These were the words of Archbishop Tomash Peta of Kazakhstan, spoken on Saturday October 10th, 2015. He said: “Paul VI said in 1972: ‘From some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.’ I am convinced that these were prophetical words of the Pope … During the Synod last year [October 2014], ‘the smoke of Satan’ was trying to enter the hall of Paul VI” [the meeting room]. According to Archbishop Peta, this devilish infiltration was primarily evident in the proposal to let divorced adulterers receive Holy Communion and in the attempt to see the normal, positive elements in homosexuality and premarital cohabitation. The archbishop then warns that one can still perceive “the smell of this infernal smoke” at this year's Synod [October 2015]. He went on to say: “Some Synod Fathers have not understood correctly the appeal of Pope Francis for an open discussion, and have started to bring forward ideas that contradict the 2,000 year old Tradition of the Church, rooted in the Eternal Word of God! Unfortunately, one can still perceive the smell of this 'infernal smoke' in some items and interventions of some Synod Fathers this year." “Be A Sinner and Sin Boldly!” Luther speaking of sinners and their tendency to sin, wrote to his disciple Paul Melanchthon: “If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here [in this world] we have to sin. It is enough that by the riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner.” Here, Luther also implies an unconditional mercy on the part of God, which is what Pope Francis, Cardinal Kasper and others are proclaiming. Truth and Error Pope St. Pius X, speaking of Modernists within the Church, points out this tendency to mix truth with error, saying: “Hence in their books you find some things which might well be expressed by a Catholic, but in the next page you find other things which might have been dictated by a rationalist ... Feeling no horror at treading in the footsteps of Luther, they are wont to display a certain contempt for Catholic doctrines, or the Holy Fathers, for the Ecumenical Councils, for the ecclesiastical magisterium; and, if they happen to be rebuked for this, they complain that they are being deprived of their liberty” (Pope St. Pius X, Pascendi Dominici Gregis, §18). A False Mercy We live in a world of falsity. False or fake things are increasingly popular, but they portray something that is not reality, they project a false reality, a virtual reality—something that looks real, but is not real. Cosmetically we have false teeth, false hair (wigs), false limbs, false finger nails, false eyelashes, etc. Buildings and furnishings use false brick or stone, false marble, false wood, false gold, false crystal, false fabric, false leather, etc. There are so many areas where false things are used or passed-off, at least visually, as being real. We like it! Especially if we can’t afford or don’t want to pay for the real thing. We are false about ourselves—trying to project a persona that is not really our true self. We pretend to be better, more intelligent, more capable, or more whatever, than what we really are—and we like it, for it avoids us having to make the efforts to really be what we pretend to be. The same is true in the life of the Church—we can present God as He really is, or we can do a cosmetic job on Him and present Him how we would like Him to be. The Liberals and the Modernists in the Church do just that—they do not present the true face of God, but they put the ‘make-up’ of the world on Him and give Him a face that the world would prefer to face. It is a false face, a made-up face, a fake face. The True Face of God “The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 144:8-9). But “the Lord will reward every one according to His justice” (1 Kings 26:23). “For mercy and wrath are with Him. He is mighty to forgive and to pour out indignation! According as His mercy is, so too His correction judgeth a man according to his works. The sinner shall not escape … All mercy shall make a place for every man according to the merit of his works” (Ecclesiasticus 16:12-15). “For the Son of man … will render to every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). “For we know that the judgment of God is according to truth … Knowest thou not, that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance? But according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou treasurest up to thyself wrath, against the day of wrath, and the just judgment of God, Who will render to every man according to his works. To them who, according to patience in good work, seek glory and honor and incorruption―He will give eternal life. But to them that are contentious, and who obey not the truth, but give credit to iniquity―He will show wrath and indignation. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. But glory, and honor, and peace to everyone that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:2-11). The True Face of Mercy Have no doubt that the Lord is merciful--“The Lord is gracious and merciful: patient and plenteous in mercy. [9] The Lord is sweet to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 144:8-9). “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18)—but at a price, it is not a freebie. “Let him do penance for his sin” (Leviticus 5:5). “Hear, I beseech you, my words, and do penance!” (Job 21:2). “No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). “But if the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die” (Ezechiel 18:21). And, on top of this, as Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery: “Go, and now sin no more!” (John 8:11) and to the man He had healed at the Pool of Bethsaida: “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee!” (John 5:14). “My son, hast thou sinned? Do so no more! But, for thy former sins, also pray that they may be forgiven thee!” (Ecclesiasticus 21:1). “Be not without fear about sin forgiven, and add not sin upon sin!” (Ecclesiasticus 5:5). Ah, if Pope Francis and his supporters would only be as frank as this! Mercy Needs Justice There is a beautiful verse in the Psalms that is, at the same time, simple yet profound: “Mercy and truth have met each other―justice and peace have kissed” (Psalms 84:11). “Mercy and Truth”―To receive God’s mercy we must first be truthful and honest in admitting our wrongdoing, which we do in confession. If we do not say the truth we fail to receive mercy, if we lie about our mortal sins, we fail to receive forgiveness—even though the misled priest still pronounces the words of absolution over us: they are invalid because we have not been truthful. “Justice and Peace”—Isaias tells us “And the work of justice shall be peace” (Isaias 32:17). When we sin, we know that we deserve a just punishment, we almost crave it and would not be at peace without it! The souls that die in a state of venial sin, would not dare or presume to enter Heaven until they have expiated the debt for their past forgiven mortal and venial sins. We see a similar attitude recommended by child educators: “No willful transgression ought to be forgiven children without chastisement―less or more―as the nature and circumstances of the offence may require. Nor, perhaps, should the child’s subsequent penitence exempt him from punishment, though the punishment given should certainly be modified by the child's sense of his wrongdoing. In some instances this will lead to an expectation of punishment, or even a craving for it, as his just desert, and, because the proper endurance of it will furnish to the child an opportunity of manifesting the sincerity of his penitence. When this is the case unconditional forgiveness would only tend to corrupt the child's conscience, to diminish his abhorrence of wrongdoing on account of its intrinsic evilness, and thus in all probability permanently damage his moral nature. The administration of such a wise and righteous government a parent owes to his family, and by it he meets the requirements of those precepts of Sacred Writ we have just quoted. This we take to be the import of Solomon's statement―‘He that spared, the rod spoileth the child.’” Emotional Mercy versus Practical Mercy Pope Francis is invoking and evoking a very emotional mercy—it is clearly seen from the words he chooses and the analogies he uses. . “Jesus’ disciples are called to this, even today, especially today: to bring people into contact with the compassionate Mercy that saves. When humanity’s cry, like Bartimaeus’, becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make Jesus’ words our own and, above all, imitate his heart. Moments of suffering and conflict are for God occasions of mercy. Today is a time of mercy! ” He paints a picture of the followers of Christ as being harsh, exclusive and simply not interested in the plight of those “kept on the fringes”, while those who are on the fringes are painted in the light of “crying out to Jesus” but being rejected as being too bothersome. “Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to Him.” |
St. Thomas Aquinas, in speaking of God’s mercy, does not understand Divine Mercy as a “feeling” or a “passion” that “overwhelms” God. It is not affective, but effective, by healing the defects of the creatures and making them participate in the divine perfection. In other words, not being “affective” means it is not about emotions, affections, feelings, etc., but it is “effective” in that it produces something more than emotion, affection, feeling, or even hysteria. Divine Mercy heals and does not simply kick-up a commotion of emotion and feeling. It is the difference between a surgeon, who through surgery, saves the life of person seriously injured in a car accident and eventually heals him—and not the panicky, emotional, hysterical bystander at the accident, who runs round like a headless chicken, screaming: “Somebody help him! Somebody do something! Don’t let him die!” Both the surgeon and the bystander want the well-being of the injured person—but the surgeon’s approach is “effective”, whereas the bystander’s approach is merely “affective” (based on affections and emotions). Both are exhibiting mercy towards the injured person—one practically, the other emotionally.
There is nothing wrong with emotion, as long as the practical is not hindered and harmed. Sin can be forgiven in confession—if everything has been correctly done—whether or not we “feel” sorry, or whether we have tears rolling down our cheeks or not. It is not the “feelings” or the “tears” that essentially bring about the forgiveness of our sins, but the simple practical facts of (a) having fully and properly, without fudging, confessed all our mortal sins, (b) having a firm desire to take certain concrete means to avoid committing those mortal sins again, (c) having a sorrow based on either a fear of God’s punishments, or sorrow based on a love of God, (d) and being prepared to make reparation, restitution, and do penance for our sins. These are not feelings, but clinical, cold, logical decisions taken by the mind. Tears and feelings can help, but they are simply the icing on the cake and not the cake itself. Justice and Mercy God is never merciful without exercising His justice at the same time; and God never exercises His justice without tempering it with His mercy. We would like to have His mercy without His justice—but that is not realistic—it would be like the seriously injured man in the car-wreck wanting to live without surgery; or a woman to give birth without labor pains; or sinning freely without being punished for it. “Justice without mercy is cruel”, says St. Thomas. But, “Mercy without justice is the mother of decay"—and, one might add, therefore cruel as well. This close connection between justice and mercy is not sufficiently obvious in human life. The situation is different with God. “The work of divine justice always presupposes the work of mercy and it founded in it,” says St. Thomas. So if God is merciful, then He is not in opposition to justice. That is because in God, unlike in man, justice and mercy are not separated from one another. Pope Francis, Cardinal Kasper and their followers, are separating justice from mercy—or at least are changing the proportions or ratios of justice and mercy. They want to give the sinner less of the cake and more of sweet icing. It is like changing the proportions of the ingredients in a medicine. It will no longer work. Pope Francis, Cardinal Kasper and their followers, are separating justice from mercy—or at least are changing the proportions or ratios of justice and mercy. They want to give the sinner less of the cake and more of sweet icing. It is like changing the proportions of the ingredients in a medicine. It will no longer work. The Pope wants to remove a misery from the remarried-divorcees and homosexuals by ignoring their sin and admitting them to Holy Communion. By pretending to remove their ‘misery’—and it is only a pretense—he plunges them into a deeper misery at a future date: “Whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and of the Blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). By pretending to open a door of mercy, they merely open the door to Hell! There are therefore erroneous forms of mercy, which turn out to be forms of cruelty upon closer inspection. Unconditional mercy is not mercy, for we see and should not forget that among the Spiritual Works of MERCY are to be found the COMMANDS to teach the ignorant and admonish or rebuke the sinner, the neglect of which also increases misery—for the uncorrected sinner will pile up even more penalties that must come from the justice of God. Sometimes, as the cardinals and bishops have suggested, some people are “stuck” in a sinful relationship—for example, they have children born of the invalid and sinful second ‘marriage’. This does not dispense them from the divine law. If it is judged that for the sake of the children they must stay together, then they must live as “brother and sister”. Given that kind of misery which cannot be eliminated without damaging justice, the only way out of the dilemma is this: the acceptance by the very person who does not will the suffering that this particular misery causes by keeping his eyes fixed on the suffering of Christ on the Cross. This advice may sound at times unbearable. Nevertheless, it is and remains the only advice that one can give for the consolation of those mourning in situations of this kind. Because true justice is not merciless and true mercy is not sentimental. Grace will be given to help them heroically endure this and they can be helped by keeping their eyes fixed on the suffering of Christ on the Cross. In this way they pay for their sins, satisfying God’s justice while being eligible for His mercy. His Way? God’s Way? Or the Highway? There is no doubt about Pope Francis! He certainly wants to do it his way! But is it God’s way? Which highway is he taking us down? The Church is without doubt at a crossroads. Does she suggest her children take the Way of the Cross, or the Way Out? Does Pope Francis want to tell the world the bitter truth about its sins—and then help them reform their ways and do penance? Or does he want us to turn a blind-eye to the sins of the world, give them a discount, and leave them in their sin because it would be too “Narrow! Intolerant! Uncompromising!” to make them leave their sinful ways and do penance? God―whom Pope Francis likes to call “The God of Surprises” ―has those ominous words spoken through Isaias: “My thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the Heavens are exalted above the Earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts” (Isaias 55:8-9). This “God of Surprises” leaves no surprises as to His thoughts about sinners. He wants to show them mercy, He loves to show them mercy, He will show them mercy—provided that they play their part in obtaining that mercy. If their sins be like scarlet, He will make them white as snow, if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool (Isaias 1:18). He does not want the death of a sinner, but that he repent of his sin, stop doing it and pay through penance (Ezechiel, chapter 18). “Moses spoke to the people: ‘You have sinned a very great sin! I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime!’ And returning to the Lord, he said: ‘I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold: either forgive them this trespass, or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written!’ And the Lord answered him: ‘He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book! But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs!’ The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made” (Exodus 23:30-35). “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the just let them not be written” (Psalm 68:29). Thoughts & Ways of God on Marriage, Divorce & Adultery When children have an argument, they will often go to a higher authority—their father or mother—for a final solution. When men have a disagreement, they might go to the higher authority of the Church or a court to settle the argument. When the Church argues amongst herself, she needs to go to the higher authority of God—for God’s Law is the ultimate law. Speaking of marriage and divorce, Jesus said: “And the Pharisees, coming to Jesus, asked Him: ‘Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife?’― tempting Him. But He answering, said to them: ‘What did Moses command you?’ Who said: ‘Moses permitted to write a bill of divorce, and to put her away!’ To whom Jesus answering, said: ‘Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you that precept. From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother; and shall cleave to his wife … Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if the wife shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery” (Mark 10:2-7; 11-12). The Old Testament consequences for adultery were severe: “If any man commit adultery with the wife of another, and defile his neighbor’s wife, let them be put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress” (Leviticus 20:10). This was still the practice in the time of Our Lord, we see this in the case of the woman (whom the Roman Church says was Mary Magdalen) caught in adultery by the Pharisees, who wanted to stone her to death. Our Lord wants, like Pope Francis, to show mercy—so He punctures their zeal for justice saying: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her!” This ‘stumps’ them and, one by one, they withdraw. But this act of mercy was not unconditional, nor was it allowing her to continue her adulterous life—for He then says to Mary Magdalen: “GO, AND NOW SIN NO MORE!” Here is the full passage: “And the Scribes and the Pharisees bring unto Him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst, and said to Him: ‘Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest Thou?’ And this they said tempting Him, that they might accuse Him. But Jesus bowing Himself down, wrote with His finger on the ground. When therefore they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said to them: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her!’ And again stooping down, He wrote on the ground. But they hearing this, went out, one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. Then Jesus lifting up Himself, said to her: ‘Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?’ Who said: ‘No man, Lord!’ And Jesus said: ‘Neither will I condemn thee. GO, AND NOW SIN NO MORE!’” (John 8:3-11). No License to Sin—No Unconditional Mercy God does not grant licenses to sin, nor does He give unconditional mercy. The Church has always taught that for sinners to receive forgiveness and absolution for sin, the sinners must be found to have (1) sorrow for sin, (2) have a firm purpose to amend their lives, (3) and do penance for those sins. Continuation in sin is not part of the deal. Our Lord again points this out after having healed the man at the Pool of Bethsaida, who had been sick for 38 years: “Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the Temple, and saith to him: ‘Behold thou art made whole: SIN NO MORE, lest some worse thing happen to thee!’” (John 5:14). All this is very clear to understand—because it is not cloaked in ambiguity, vagueness, and complicatedness—which is something the Synod failed to achieve. Thus the Liberals feel the door has been opened, while the Conservatives feel the door has been closed. The truth is that the door is slightly ajar and the devil has his foot firmly in place so that the door will no longer be fully closed—unless God steps in and does something. Yet, God will not do that if we ourselves do not pray and do penance. Our Lady said, at Akita, that the devil would infiltrate the Church. At La Salette, she said the devil would gain control over a large number of clerics and religious, even bishops. Our Lord said that this kind of devil is not cast out except by prayer and fasting: “But this kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting!” (Matthew 17:20). “Am I my brother’s keeper?” said Cain (Genesis 4:9). Yes! So are we! The Church is in a great mess and you had better believe it. You can either respond to Our Lady’s constant repetitive appeal for prayer, penance and sacrifices, or you can reach for another donut, beer, or the TV remote. Your life. Your choice. Your fate. As Pope John Paul II said at Fulda, Germany, in 1980: “Many wish to know simply from curiosity and a taste for the sensational, but they forget that knowledge also implies responsibility. They only seek the satisfaction of their curiosity, and that is dangerous if at the same time they are not disposed to do something, and if they are convinced that it is impossible to do anything against evil.” The Pope grasped a Rosary and said: “Here is the remedy against this evil. Pray, pray, and ask for nothing more. Leave everything else to the Mother of God. We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ … With your and my prayer it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood! This time, too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.” |
Three Days of Hell, Heaven and Purgatory
We have entered a period of time which, under the surface, could be said to be a battle between Heaven and Hell. Today, October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day, which traditionally begins with the liturgy of First Vespers on (October 31st) the evening before All Saints Day (November 1st), has been turned into a glorification of pagan and diabolical customs. We will therefore, over the course of three days, a triduum of sorts, look at Hell (Halloween), Heaven (All Saints Day) and Purgatory (All Souls Day). Halloween or Hell-O-Ween? Few people know the history behind Halloween—they prefer to stop at the sweet superficial aspect of it, and have little or no clue about its origins. They are happy to pass over it with “two-bit” phrases or vague platitudes while smiling at the quaintness of much of the customs. In a nutshell, Halloween has pagan origins, which the Church tried to replace with a Christian overtone, and which now has reverted back to pagan overtones. One could almost say it parallels the fate of the Church—which was born in a time of pagan darkness, Christianized much of that darkness, and is not falling back into an increasingly pagan atmosphere. The Gods of Gentiles and Pagans Are Devils Holy Scripture clearly tells us that: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5). “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “For you have provoked Him who made you, the eternal God, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God” (Baruch 4:7). God tells them to stop this devilish and hellish practice: “And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity” (Leviticus 17:7). Which leads St. Paul to warn us: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:15). Pagan Celtic and Druid New Year Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient pagan Druid and Celtic festival of Samhain―variously pronounced as “sow-in”, “sah-win”, “sam-hayne” plus more. A Druid was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples. The pagan Celts―who lived over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France― It was the beginning of their new year and was generally celebrated on October 31st, but some preferred November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. Communication With The Dead On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. It is one of the two “spirit-nights” each year, the other being Beltane. It is a ‘magical’ interval when the mundane laws of time and space are thought to be temporarily suspended, and the “Thin Veil” between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is thought to be easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the “Summerlands”. It is a time to study the “Dark Mysteries” and honor the “Dark Mother” and the “Dark Father”, symbolized by the “Crone” and her aged “Consort”. To commemorate the event, Druids (the Celtic ‘priests’) built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the pagan Celtic deities. Originally the “Feast of the Dead” was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the “wandering dead”. Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter. Human Sacrifice “He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord: but he that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36). There is a debate among scholars as to whether human sacrifices were performed during Druid/Celtic celebrations of Halloween. Of course modern druids will say that they were not. They say that the only evidence that this custom was practiced is a reference in an ancient Roman document by Julius Caesar (see below). We do know that human sacrifice was practiced among the Celts in ancient times because of several “bog men”, or mummies preserved in the peat bogs that show signs of ritual killing. Of course, there would be no remains of any humans that were sacrificed in the fire. At any rate, the word “bonfire” comes from a compound of the Middle English words bon (bone) and fir (fire) ... meaning a fire kindled upon bones. The author Merle Severy, in his book The Celts (National Geographic, May 1977, pages 625-626), describes "the eve of Samhain... the start of the Celtic new year: “According to the Dinshenchas―a medieval collection of the lore of prominent places―firstborn children were sacrificed before a great idol to ensure fertility of cattle and crops. Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger. At this juncture of the old year and the new, our world and the otherworld opened up to each other. The dead returned, ghosts and demons were abroad, and the future could be seen.. . . Behind such Halloween games as bobbing for apples lie Celtic divination arts to discern who would marry, thrive, or die in the coming year. Behind the masks and mischief, the jack-o-lanterns and food offerings, lurk the fear of malevolent spirits and the rites to propitiate them.” Page 601 gives additional insight: “Tacitus tells us of the bloodstained Druid altars of Anglesey in Wales.” Julius Caesar, speaking on Celtic sacrifices said: “The whole nation of the Gauls is greatly devoted to ritual observances, and for that reason those who are smitten with the more grievous maladies and who are engaged in the perils of battle either sacrifice human victims or vow so to do, employing the druids as ministers for such sacrifices. They believe, in effect, that, unless for a man's life a man's life be paid, the majesty of the immortal gods may not be appeased; and in public, as in private life they observe an ordinance of sacrifices of the same kind. Others use figures of immense size whose limbs, woven out of twigs, they fill with living men and set on fire, and the men perish in a sheet of flame. They believe that the execution of those who have been caught in the act of theft or robbery or some crime is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but when the supply of such fails they resort to the execution even of the innocent.” The classical author, Diodorus Siculus, also reported scenes of human sacrifice by the Druids: “When they attempt divination upon important matters they practice a strange and incredible custom, for they kill a man by a knife-stab in the region above his midriff.” After the sacrificial victim fell dead ... “they foretell the future by the convulsions of his limbs and the pouring of his blood.” The 1984 discovery of a sacrificial victim in Cheshire, England, helps validate the reality of ritualistic human sacrifice. The well-preserved young man had apparently belonged to an elite social class in the second century BC. After two sharp blows to the head, he had been strangled. Then, like the countless sacrifices to Aztec and Mayan gods, his body had been drained of the human blood needed to please and appease their gods Here Come the Pagan Romans! By 43 A.D., the pagan Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of pagan Roman origin were combined with the traditional pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. Pagan + Pagan = More Pagan. The first pagan Roman celebration was Feralia, a day in late October, when the pagan Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the pagan Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween. Throw-Out Devil & Put In Christ! Early Christianity developed in an era of the Roman Empire during which many religions were practiced, that are, due to the lack of a better term, labeled paganism. Paganism is commonly used to refer to various, largely unconnected religions from the time period before and after the birth of Christ. The Church found itself in direct conflict with centuries of pagan—and sometimes barbarically evil—customs. Many of these pagan and evil customs the Church sought to Christianize—this was often done by keeping the timetable or schedule but replacing the pagan with the Christian, the evil replaced by good. For the first 300 years or so, Christianity was on the defensive and largely kept a low profile due to persecution. After the time of the Emperor Constantine, more freedom was obtained—though freedom and persecution alternated, ebbed and flowed. The persecutions produced so many martyrs, that there were not enough days in the year to give each martyr his feast day. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. On May 13th, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13th to November 1st. By the 9th century the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted the older Celtic rites. In 1000 A.D., the Church would make November 2nd to be “All Souls’ Day”, a day to honor the dead. It is widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holy day (holiday). All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Mass (“hallow” means “holy” as in “hallowed by Thy Name”), much like “Candlemas” on February 2nd, means “The Mass of Candles”) and the night before it was celebrated with the singing of First Vespers (which always starts the celebration of great feasts on the evening prior to the feast), and thus began to be called All-hallows Eve and Hallow-even’ [ing], eventually becoming Halloween. The word ‘'Halloween'’, therefore, is a contracted form of ''Holy Evening'' and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1st), when the Church traditionally remember the saints of bygone days; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ. Christianizing the Pagan Samhain As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31st and November 1st as the "Holy Evening" and Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the Gospel over pagan superstition. There was no need to ''placate'' the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife — eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the ''tricks'' of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own journey to the true after life and Heaven; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution. |
The Evolution of Halloween
"Trick-or-treating" is a modern tradition that probably finds it's roots in the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The distribution of “soul cakes” was encouraged by the Church as a way to replace the ancient pagan practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given drinks, food and money—but the praying for souls gradually fell away into neglect. So it was a case of all pay, but no pray! Dressing Up "Dressing up" for Halloween gets it roots from the pagan custom of dressing up around the ‘sacred’(?) bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest, this practice originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause harm to their homes. A tradition obviously taken from the ancient Celtic pagans. The Church would try to Christianize this “dressing up” and have folk dress up as saints. They would then organize a parade of saints on All Saints day. Reaction and Action Because of its Occult history and symbolism, many informed Christians avoid any activity that would appear to support, promote, or celebrate Halloween. Other Liberal Christians attempt to minimize the glorification of Halloween's Occult roots, by refusing to directly participate in costuming or activities where witchcraft, Satan, or demonic themes are prevalent. They feel that participation in Halloween and even trick-or-treating is acceptable if alternative costumes and themes are substituted. There is not total agreement among Christians concerning appropriate Christian responses to this pagan holiday. Biblical Blast The Bible has many warnings and examples of involvement with the Occult. Occult practices are an abomination to the Lord: “Neither let there be found among you any one that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) and Witchcraft was a crime punishable by death in the Old Testament: “Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live” (Exodus 22:18). The New Testament gives several examples of proper Christian response to the Occult: “And many of them who had followed curious [magical] arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all” (Acts 19:19); “What fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5) … “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works and served their idols, and it became a stumbling-block to them. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils” (Psalm 105:35-37). Wicca and Halloween Just before reaching a conclusion on the subject, let us find out what Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft, has to say about Halloween. Perhaps they view the day as simple fun and innocent neighborhood activity? “Shock” should be the only word to describe what the truth actually is on the matter. Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day. There is no question that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world. Witch Way to Go Here are some excerpts from a news report from ABC news (2009) on a typical witch! “Patti Wigington is a soccer mom. She is the vice president of her local PTA. And she's a witch. This Saturday while her neighborhood outside Columbus, Ohio, is crawling with costumed witches in search of candy, Wigington and a group of other local witches will not be celebrating Halloween, but the new year festival Samhain, which also occurs October 31st. In her backyard, Wigington and six other local women, who make up her coven of witches, will stand in a circle, each holding a lit candle dedicated to a dead ancestor. They will offer an invocation in each direction of the four winds. They will build an altar upon which they will offer their deceased ancestors gifts of food and wine and "celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year… and do a ritual that honors death." "Look," she says, “We welcome and celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year. It's at this time of year we communicate with the spirit world and we honor the spirit world," said Wigington, who writes extensively about her faith and hosts the page on paganism and Wicca at about.com. Wicca is a relatively new religion, which its practitioners say is based on ancient precepts. A hodgepodge of ancient European pagan practices and new age spirituality, Wicca is practiced by a small but growing number of Americans. In 2008, some 342,000 people identified themselves as Wiccans, up from 134,000 in 2001 and up significantly from 8,000 in 1990. Modern Wicca, which draws its practices mainly from pre-Christian Europe, was established in the U.K. in the 1950s. Its popularity coincided with an in interest in other ancient religions that emphasize beliefs in magic and nature. “Magical religions ― paganism, Wicca, the earth-based religions – have really gone mainstream," said Wigington. "The witches in Harry Potter are not wiccans, but it gets interested in wondering if magic could be real. The best thing that ever happened to Wicca is that it went mainstream, and the worst that happened is that it went mainstream." The Rev. Don Lewis established the Witch School to train the next generation of practitioners of Wicca and other so-called natural religions. With some 250,000 students enrolled in online classes, the school recently moved its physical location from Illinois, to the a far more likely setting – Salem, Mass., home of the famous 1692 witch hunt. "Interest in Wicca has been building for years, but every year there is a spike in interest around Halloween. It's a huge advertising campaign the world runs for us," he said. The practitioners all stressed that Wicca is in no way associated with Satanism or devil worship. "Satan is a Christian concept," explained Fox. "We don't believe in him at all." The Occult and Halloween While Halloween masquerades as childish fun and frolic, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, that on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween. Here are some testimonies from Satanists and writers on Satanism: “Samhain: This is the Witch’s New Year and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow” (Silver RavenWolf, Teen Witch, p. 42). “Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed. . . Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals” (Gerina Dunwich, The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120). Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes: “After one's own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (Witches Night, May 1st) and Halloween” (Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, p. 96). The Satanic High Priestess, Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween: “It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil ... I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Halloweens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts.” The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween: “One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice—male or female.” Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals, “Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists.” (Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192). Precautions and Praycautions The first thing is to be convinced that your enemy exists. The devil exists and we do not talk to the devil, we do not play with the devil. Some dangerous things to avoid include spells, charms, curses, witchcraft, ouija boards, seances and anything having to do with the occult. These kinds of things, some of them innocently done at children’s parties, are not only strictly forbidden by the Catholic faith, but dangerous, in that they open us up to evil spirits, which are real and not just imaginary. Please don’t ever let your children/teens attend parties (especially popular at slumber parties) where there are seances and ouija boards and/or playing with spells and witchcraft. Ask beforehand what will be done at before allowing your children to attend parties. Witchcraft and spells are becoming more popular due to books and movies and somehow we need protect our children from these dangers of without getting them fascinated with them or making them seem interesting to them. The chief spiritual weapons we have are, first of all, a state of grace—mortal sin puts us under the devil’s influence. Therefore frequent Confession and Holy Communion (in a state of grace) are the chief guardians of the state of grace. Much—once again, much prayer is another barrier—especially the prayer of the Holy Rosary—but well prayed, not just mechanically, routinely, hurriedly, distractedly said. Remember the words of St. Louis de Montfort: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if — and mark well what I say — if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins” (The Secret of the Rosary, “A Red Rose”). Add to this the use and wearing of blessed sacramentals—especially the Brown Scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Benedict Medal—these are big guns among the sacramentals. You can also wear a blessed Rosary too! Holy Water is another powerful weapon, as is a blessed crucifix (both are used in exorcisms). What Does Vatican’s Chief Exorcist Think? Fr. Gabriele Amorth (born 1925, ordained a priest in 1954, became an exorcist in 1986) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and former chief exorcist (now retired) of the Diocese of Rome, who has performed thousands of exorcisms. Fr. Amorth says: “Halloween is a trick of the devil. It is pagan, anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. It the creation of a devil and an obstacle to holiness and disrupts the plans of God. The young people follow fads and the devil knows how to use them. To celebrate Halloween is to give the devil a ‘Hosanna’! Which, if loved, even if it’s only for one night, gives the devil a claim or rights over that person … "I'm very sad to see that Italy, like the rest of Europe, is moving away from the Lord Jesus, and is even paying homage to Satan … Halloween is a kind of a séance, which is presented in the form of game. The cunning of the devil is here. If you notice everything is presented in a playful, innocent manner. Sin is no longer a sin in today's world. But everything comes disguised in the form of a need, a freedom, or a personal pleasure. I think that society is losing its mind, losing the sense of the meaning of life, losing the use of reason, and is becoming increasingly sick. People have lost the Faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or ouija boards have taken its place, which then opens all the doors to the presence of demons.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former Vatican Chief Exorcist). |
The Four Last Things
It is said that the most important things that we could ever meditate upon are the so-called “Four Last Things”―namely, Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Not very popular meditations, but nevertheless very efficacious meditations. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that in all things we must look the end. We have all heard of the saying: “As we live, so shall we die!” There is even a little rhyme that warns: “As a tree falls, so must it lie, As a man lives, so shall he die, As a man dies, so shall he be, All through the years of eternity!” You Get Out Of Something What You Put Into It Holy Scripture says: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Yet to reap eternal joy, we must undergo a life of sorrow. If we want nothing but a life of joy, we could undergo eternal sorrow. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 125:5). The road to Heaven and sanctity is nothing other than the Way of the Cross! Holy Cross—Cross of Holiness The Holy Cross is what makes us holy and fit for Heaven! Our Lord does not mince His words when: “He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me [to Heaven], let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). However, “the laborer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:18) and “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:12). For “as it is written: ‘That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!’” (1 Corinthians 2:9). You cannot outdo God in generosity! Rewards Amidst the Cross Yet, even among the sufferings of this world, in our strenuous efforts to be saints, we will also receive a reward—“Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29-30). This was Our Lord’s reply to St. Peter, who had asked Him: “Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee!” (Luke 18:28). St. Mark adds the unpleasant Cross in his report of Jesus’ reply to Peter: “Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time―houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions―and in the world to come life everlasting” (Mark 10:29-30). Wait For It! However, the full reward, the true reward, the lasting reward will come in the next life—as Our Lady told St. Bernadette: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next!” This merely echoes what Our Lord promised His Apostles and disciples before entering into His own Passion, Cross and Death: “They shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved … Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy … Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 24:9; 5:11-12; Mark 13:13; John 16:20). Not Always What It Seems! C.S. Lewis offers a beautiful reflection on the path to sanctity in his book Weight of Glory: “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of theses destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal … Our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins, in spite of which we love the sinner — no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ is the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden” (C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory). Preconceived Ideas About Saints Workers of miracles—readers of minds—makers of prophecy—severe penances—endless prayers—faultless lives—these and similar traits are what we tend to associate with saints and becoming saints. We forget that when in was announced in the Carmelite Convent of Liseux that one of the deceased sisters was “up for canonization”—when the sisters finally extracted the name of the candidate from “those in the know”, they were shocked to find out that it Thérèse of the Infant Jesus! The common reaction was one of “What did she ever do that was worthy of canonization?” Of course, we now know that ‘her way’ is what we now call “The Little Way”—and Pope St. Pius X calls her the model for sanctity in this modern world. Even Sinner Saints! For those discouraged about achieving sanctity, there can be no better thing than to read and study the lives of the great sinners who became great saints. They are walking proof of the words of God in Holy Scripture, Who said: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18). Around the time of Our Lord, we think of St. Mary Magdalen, who was possessed by seven devils and caught in adultery. Then there is St. Dismas, the Good Thief on the cross, who, by his sufferings and sorrow for sin, steals Heaven with his dying breath. There too, on Calvary, in the Roman legionary, St. Longinus, who pierces Our Lord’s heart with his spear, and ends up being pierced with sorrow in his own heart—finally converting, leaving the military and becoming a saint. Then there is St. Paul the persecutor of Christians, who converts and becomes a pillar of the Faith and paying for his sins through a lifetime of suffering. |
A little later in time, as the Church grows, we have St. Callixtus of Rome, who had a very sinful life before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. He embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century, when he reformed. Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, and died a martyr shortly thereafter, thereby sufficiently paying his debts for sin.
St. Mary of Egypt (c.344-c.421), at the age of 12, ran away from home to Alexandria, the most ‘exciting’ city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins, when a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God's intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary then spent the rest of her life as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert. The beautiful, teenage St. Pelagia would have been every parent’s nightmare. As legend has it, she was a dancer and courtesan by her early teens. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. The young girl was baptized, gave away her possessions to the poor and lived as a hermit for the rest of her life. Another sinner turned saint was St. Olga (879-969). When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, St. Olga, princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband's murderer and almost all of his people. In vengeance, she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev as a Christian, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her―even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.” Heaven’s Surprise I was shocked, confused, bewildered As I entered Heaven’s door, Not by the beauty of it all, Nor the lights or its decor. But it was the folks in Heaven Who made me sputter and gasp-- The thieves, the liars, the sinners, The alcoholics and the trash! There stood the kid from seventh grade Who swiped my lunch money twice. Next to him was my old neighbor Who never said anything nice. Herb, who I always thought Was rotting away in Hell, Was sitting pretty on cloud nine, Looking incredibly well. I nudged Jesus, "What’s the deal? I would love to hear your take!" "How’d all these sinners get up here? God must’ve made a mistake!" ‘And why’s everyone so quiet, so somber?" "Give me a clue!’ "My Friend," He said, "They’re all in shock!" "They never thought they’d be seeing you!" As St. Augustine says: “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital of sinners … There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future” (St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church—sinners need a good doctor!). Saints can seem remote and distant, close to God, but far from people. But they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Their lives were like ours, full of dilemmas and struggles, with bad choices as well as good. But their goodness won out in the end, as ours can. Interest in angels is quite popular at the moment, but it is the saints who are really like us in both their strengths and frailties. Museum or Hospital? As St. Augustine says: “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital of sinners … There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future” (St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church—sinners need a good doctor!). Saints can seem remote and distant, close to God, but far from people. But they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Their lives were like ours, full of dilemmas and struggles, with bad choices as well as good. But their goodness won out in the end, as ours can. Interest in angels is quite popular at the moment, but it is the saints who are really like us in both their strengths and frailties. They came to Heaven’s Hospital wounded by sin, and they found a cure—sometimes a painful cure—in Christ’s care. You’d Better Believe It and Want It! Let it be said and let it be understood and let it be believed and let it be desired: God expects you to be a saint and Our Lady will help you be a saint! Don’t question it and don’t doubt it! It is not, as you may think, an act of pride to want and expect to be a saint—it is an act of insanity not to do so! What’s the alternative to not wanting to and actually becoming a saint in this life? It is either Hell or Purgatory! Either way, it is insanity! Why pay a thousand times more or pay eternally for what could have been bought at a fraction of the effort and pain here below? You are expected to be a saint. You can be a saint. You must be a saint. Only saints go to Heaven. |