By Charlie Johnston
Thursday’s Congressional hearing with disgraced FBI Agent Peter Strzok was both frightening and revealing. The script for it could have been written by William Peter Blatty. Strzok was defiant and unapologetically evil, mockingly calling it patriotism. Equally chilling were the legion of Democrats who cheered him on and wished they could give him a purple heart. It was nakedly revealed Thursday that, “we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12).
Regular readers know I do not like to speak at all of the devil. He is real, he is powerful, he is seductive, and he is pure malevolence. His sole joy is to mock what God has created, to disfigure and maim God’s highest creation – man. If he can get men to cooperate with him in the mutilation, it gives him an especially malevolent frisson of dark joy. Nothing thrills him more than to destroy those who falsely thought they had entered high into his counsels after he has used them. They do not even have to know that it is him they serve. It is sufficient for them to think themselves superior beings, intent on dominating and proving their superiority over their inferiors.
When the devil ceases to worry about staying hidden, when he starts to openly celebrate his disorder, when he starts taunting the victims who still resist that disorder, some sort of endgame is afoot.
Until early last fall, the left and Democrats could plausibly argue they really believed there had been collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians to tilt the election. Even if so, it would not have been a crime, but it would have been an outrage. Nonetheless, the left could, at that time, plausibly claim honest concern rather than just a malicious effort to overturn an election that did not go their way. But in the fall, real evidence started trickling in. It was not what the media narrative and Democratic claims had insisted it would be. The evidence started showing that there was no collusion at all involving Trump or his campaign – but there was massive collusion between the Clinton campaign and both British and Russian intelligence agents, in cooperation with the FBI, the American Justice Dept. and Intelligence community and the State Dept. to spy on the Trump campaign before he was elected and to force a bureaucratic coup against him after he took office. At that point, the left could have honorably chosen to step back from the abyss, to support full investigation of these abuses, dismiss those involved, and accept the results of the election while trying to retool for the next. Instead, they doubled down on resistance.
As this year began, the trickle of evidence became a flood. ALL the evidence showed that the Russian collusion narrative was an utter fraud, a manufactured instrument by which a bi-partisan Deep State sought to manage a coup d’etat. It is the biggest political scandal in American history – and is an existential threat against the Republic. Shockingly, the only Democrat of stature to denounce this effort has been Alan Dershowitz, the great civil libertarian. The rest of the party leaders have doubled down, trying to obstruct Congressional investigations and using Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a partisan cudgel – and to perform a malicious form of political performance art.
Last February, Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies, charging them with waging “information warfare” against the US – of trying to influence the American election. This was absurd. Nations constantly try to influence the succession of other nations. The first serious foreign effort to influence an American presidential election came in 1796, when France threatened war if America did not elect Thomas Jefferson over John Adams. There has been foreign meddling in every presidential election since. America has been a consistent meddler in other nation’s elections. This is the way of the world. It has ever been so and will ever be so that nations seek to influence the succession in other countries. Enemies do it – and so, frankly, do allies. The time-honored way of dealing with it has been through diplomacy. You either ignore it as a mere nuisance, impose sanctions if it is serious – and even consider war if it is egregious enough. You do NOT treat it as a criminal matter for the rather obvious reason that foreign nationals are not subject to American law for actions that are not committed on American soil. Yet the indictments Mueller made in February were useful as theatre for the left’s narrative, even if absurd as a legal matter. Make something Russian sound really nefarious. There was no chance Mueller could extradite the Russian nationals he had indicted, so this was a seemingly safe way to make an inflammatory charge without ever having to make an actual case. It got more absurd when one of the Russian companies DID show up to contest the charges. Mueller was completely unprepared to deal with this: those indictments were show, not law. It got most absurd when it was revealed that one of the companies Mueller indicted had not even existed before the election. It was all show.
We have gone from what could be called an honest disagreement early on (though the left’s allegations always strained credulity, one could argue that they honestly held their ignorant and paranoid beliefs) to desperate efforts to defend a collapsing narrative, to making it up as they go along to try to save that narrative. It lacks honor and it lacks dignity…or any sense of justice. As reality was revealed, the left was given a choice: would it embrace honor and shared principles of justice or would it seek power at any price by any means, no matter how malicious or false? It failed that test – and that is, itself, a revelation.
With the Strzok hearing, we have reached a whole new level of disorder. If I were to give it a title, I would call it the, “Yeah, I did it…so what are YOU going to do about it?” hearing. The smugness, the smirking, the transparent and defiant lies all combined (along with Strzok’s absolutely creepy wiggling) to show utter contempt for honor, decency, and the system of law. That Democrats were cheering him on was, frankly, astonishing and completely disheartening. You did not need to be anywhere near that room to notice the whiff of sulfur wafting about the hearing. Both Strzok and the Democrats on the committee nakedly celebrate their assault on the rule of law, defiantly demanding of Republicans, “What you gonna do about it?”
Many years ago I began to wonder whether it was possible for an entire political party to become possessed. Then I began to wonder whether an entire culture could become possessed. At terminal stages of possession, the possessed are destructive of everything, including themselves. The leftist project, if it were to succeed, would destroy even itself – as in Venezuela. Paradoxically, the only way for individual leftists to survive is for their political movement to fail. Though they hiss and snarl at us for it, when we advocate for Christ, we advocate for them, too.
A couple of years ago a prominent cleric who is not given to flights of fancy (most here would recognize his name) took a ride with me while I was traveling. Horrified by the ugly, vulgar acts of “feminists” en masse, he told me, with some fearful awe, that he thought perhaps the demonic spirit of Jezebel had settled over and perverted the feminist movement. I have many friends in religious authority, some who have a mystical bent, many more who do not. I was shaken by this conversation because this man does not. He speculated on how much of this stuff is now overtly satanic, behind the scenes. I thought of my own speculations over the years.
The Congress has, in this case, done a good job of what it CAN do – which is to investigate and reveal the evidence of what happened. Yes, no one has been held to account. The Justice Dept. and FBI still resist every effort of Congress to perform its legitimate oversight responsibilities. Strzok is still an FBI agent. Lois Lerner still collects her pension. Rod Rosenstein, the day after the Strzok hearing, tried a reprise of Mueller’s February gambit, this time announcing indictments of 12 Russian intelligence agents, once again brazenly making an un-prosecutable legal matter of what is entirely a diplomatic matter. Done on the eve of President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, this was just raw Deep State defiance – that if we can’t get you directly, we will undermine your every effort for peace and national security. Much of the prancing smugness comes from the fact that, whatever revelations are unveiled, however much outrage accompanies the unveiling, the Congress cannot hold these people to account. It is the president and his justice department that must act.
Thus far, the president has done well to act with restraint. It has allowed documentary evidence – and the left’s own behavior – to reveal who these people are. It has been revealed and there has been no repentance, no re-commitment to the rule of law and equal standards of justice, not even any shame. When Trump gets back from the Russia summit, it is time to hold people and agencies to account. Otherwise, we will continue to see nothing but prancing malice as they celebrate their open defiance of the law and all standards of decency and honor. We are headed for decisive confrontation.
As I said in my opening paragraph, we are not contending with flesh and blood, but with powers and principalities – with the dragon rampant. In just a month, Fr. Richard Heilman, President of the Holy League, begins the 54-day Novena for Our Nation. It will begin on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on August 15 and culminate on the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7. Fr. Heilman calls it a “Nineveh moment,” and I entirely agree. I think this is the most important Novena of my lifetime…that it may well be a pivot of civilization.
I appreciate the good work both the Congress and the president have done, thus far. But the great crisis cannot be avoided unless the left re-commits to standards of honor, law and justice. Congress cannot compel them. I do not have confidence that the president will be able to compel them. We each have to do our part to see justice prevail and honor restored. But in the end, it is only the power of Christ that can compel them.
A Sign of Hope 
Something came to me last night, we over complicate the book of Revelations by applying too much symbolism and make it all about our physical relality that we leave no room for the spiritual reality. When the book mentions Babylon & Beasts that seem undefeatable, it’s because these are actual spiritual entities that manifest in many different ways here in our physical reality, but can never be vanquished by people here, because we would only be dealing the symptoms and not the sources. This is probably also why we see these spirits manifest in many different ways among us adding to the confusion of the source, because the sources of these evils are not of our world. Like St. Paul once said “we fight against the principalities & powers…”
Revelations says, the destiny of those entities are to be thrown into the lake of fire, so these must be real entities, and not symbols for organizations & ideals.
That’s all I have… There’s way too much information in that book for me to process…
LikeLiked by 7 people
There was a time when I voted and too often sat back and trusted whose we elected if my choices were accepted. But now more than ever with our broken world more prayers ongoing for our leaders are needed than ever before. As for Russia, while many nations seek to influence other nation’s elections I do believe that hacking, if proven, is over the limit and must be resisted. I prayerfully hope that relations between Russia and the US do improve, and Russia with it’s signs of re-Christianization shows signs of progress. And yet Putin with his former KGB history is a sly fellow and should be trusted a bit carefully I do believe. That said the rage on the left has an increasingly demonic edge to it and I was reminded last night of how Jesus said that some can only be removed by prayer and by fasting.
LikeLiked by 7 people
As President Reagan said, “Trust, but verify.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
This on prayer against the occult:
https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/catholics-plan-to-battle-hex-event
LikeLiked by 3 people
Somebody needs to get Melania Trump to do the Novena with us. October 7th will change the world.
Melania is a woman of faith!
LikeLiked by 6 people
A couple of people have emailed or tweeted to her. Hopefully more will and she will call for a day of prayer on October 7 Rosary Rally.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Oh that would be awesome!
LikeLiked by 4 people
I hope that our great First Lady will do this, I believe she is a woman with a good heart.
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://gloria.tv/article/EcnMd7Yvv9Hk1xCUT1S1coiDF
In this article Blessed Elena Aiello tells us that Russia with her secret armies will overun Europe and combat America. I am not sure of the church’s attitude to her prophesies which are very dark in their content.
LikeLike
It seems that Blessed Elena’s prophesies can still be mitigated.
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART – August 22, 1960
The Madonna speaks: “The hour of the justice of God is close, and will be terrible!”
“Tremendous scourges are impending over the world, and various nations are struck by epidemics, famines, great earthquakes, terrific hurricanes, with overflowing rivers and seas, which bring ruin and death.”
“If the people do not recognize in these scourges (of nature) the warnings of Divine Mercy, and do not return to God with truly Christian living, ANOTHER TERRIBLE WAR WILL COME FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST. RUSSIA WITH HER SECRET ARMIES WILL BATTLE AMERICA; WILL OVERRUN EUROPE.
The river Rhine will be overflowing with corpses and blood. Italy, also, will be harassed by a great revolution, and the Pope will suffer terribly.”
“Spread the devotion to my Immaculate Heart, in order that many souls maybe conquered by my love and that many sinners may return to my Maternal Heart. Do not fear, for I will accompany with my maternal protection my faithful ones, and all those who accept my urgent warnings, and they — especially by the recitations of my Rosary — will be saved.”
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hey Joe. Was it Our Lady of All Nations (Peoples) who showed Ida the Oder river in Poland red with blood? What could cause this? I think of the rivers running through Hiroshima in August ’45.
I had an unsettling waking vision while walking through Rembrandtpark, Amsterdam, in 1994. I looked up into the cloud-covered afternoon sky when i envisioned a devastating nuclear detonation over the city that obliterated everything. Ground zero was out of my line of sight. I had no chance of survival and was swept up in the wind and debris.
It seems likely that Europa is going to fulfill Charlie’s prophesy that they will become that enfeebled outpost he spoke of…if they aren’t there already.
Actually, I’ll just say it here with conviction: Europe, you are a cluster of useless, feckless socialist governments. Thanks for absolutely nothing.
It’s unlikely we’ll be able to count on our European allies for much of anything when SHTF. All we will get is a plea for help. Of course, conflict between Russia and the US/Europe would be a great benefit to China’s grand scheme. Russia’s place in the world is a serious concern to them regarding their long-term goals, and as long as their resources are trained on the west, well,….this is good for them.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Patrick
I cant remember the Amsterdam prophesy about Poland but there will be much blood shed in Europe according to Padre Pio.
“According to Garabandal, “communism will again be a force to be reckoned with in one final attempt at world domination.”
“If we don’t amend our ways, Russia will take possession of the whole world.” Words in ecstasy witnessed by Conchita’s aunt Antonia.
“The great wonder of God (Miracle) must be paid for with much blood through Europe.” Padre Pio.
On failure of the Church (clergy and people) in Spain to reform….she (Russia) will again be the enemy by which God will punish her.” Sister Lucy of Fatima, 1943.”
I know Fr Pel prophesied nuclear attacks on Paris as France is destroyed by Russia so your vision of Amsterdam my well be an accurate picture of what will also happen to that city once famous for its Eucharistic devotion and processions.
I agree: Europe has become worse than useless. It is a nation of political, social, economic and spiritual necrotising fasciitis. It cannot survive as it is.
It seems that according to Fr Pel its only fate will be a scorched earth when nothing is left that could support the corruption that led to its demise. Mitigation, interestingly, will still benefit the inland parts of Normandy, the land of The Little Flower, which will survive.
Hopefully you will be swept up only by a whirlwind that drops you gently in heaven.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict roundly criticized the EU for writing God out of their constitution and failing to acknowledge Europe’s Christian roots. My Goodness! We humans are infamous for turning our backs on the Lord and/or decidedly banishing Him from our lives and, then, we wonder at the suffering, destruction and deterioration of life which results. Eleven years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the EU’s founding, Pope Benedict said it best: “… Benedict said Europe was committing a form of ‘apostasy of itself’ and was thus doubting its own identity. The Pope, who like his predecessor John Paul, often calls for a mention of God and Christianity in the European Constitution, said leaders could not exclude values that helped forge the ‘very soul’ of the continent… ‘A community that builds itself without respecting the true dignity of the human being, forgetting that each person is created in the image of God, ends up doing good for no one,’ he said.” Full article here.
LikeLiked by 5 people
As my rapture-believing Protestant friends are fond of saying, “I’ll see you here, there, or in the air.”
LikeLiked by 4 people
I found it, Joe. These are the four last elements of Ida’s vision on December 10, 1950.
“THE CROSS LAID UPON THE WORLD.”
✝️ FRANCE
Next the Lady says to me, “Now we move on. France is in a dreadful plight.” I see France before me, and the statue of Napoleon on it in the center. I hear, “France, militarily, economically and spiritually you have sunk very deeply. Where are your glory and your pride?”
Then I see many red spots upon France. I hear that voice say, “And yet so very little is necessary to make these people see the error of their ways.”
Then the Lady points at various countries and says, “Why don’t they join together?” Now I see the Netherlands, France, Belgium and England.
✝️ THE IRON CURTAIN
The Lady points at a thick line in Germany, and she says, “Europe is divided in two.”
I remove that line with one sweep of the hand. Now I see a very black area, except for the coastal countries, which I see very clearly. Then we arrive above a river. The Lady said, “The Oder.” I see no water flowing, but a red flood.
“And it is red with blood”, says the Lady. I see red streams flowing westward.”
☪️ TURKEY
Then I hear, “Turkey, are you on your guard?” Then I see the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. I have to do something strange. I have to make my hands into claws and place them firmly on the map. My arms I have to hold like the paws of a beast. The Lady says, “You only represent that. You are as a beast standing with two paws upon Europe, ready to pounce.”
Then I actually see a beast, ready to pounce on Europe. It looks to the left and to the right, but then very slowly it draws back its paws.
✝️ THE SHEPHERD AND HIS FLOCK
Then I hear that voice say, “Then, after fear and sorrow, you will see the following.”
And then all of a sudden I see a peaceful landscape before me, with lambs and sheep at pasture and a shepherd in their midst. The Lady says, “Understand all this well and pass it on.”
Then all of a sudden the Lady is gone.
from https://www.amsterdamapparitions.com/1950
So in the interior of Europe Ida sees a very black area. Is this the present heart of Europe?
Map of the Oder: https://cdn.britannica.com/73/64473-004-489A166F.gif
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well done Patrick. Russia may well try to reclaim Poland.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A sound interpretation, Joe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Could mean many things. I would not read much into it.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Ha, Doug! I can’t make head or tail of most of these messages at all. I’ve got a bunch of ideas, but I let them go as soon as they surface. My new outlook on prophesy is firmly: Wait and see without anticipation.
Prophesy belongs in the past. (Oooo…that’s downright zen.🙂)
LikeLiked by 3 people
The following is from Glenn Hudson of Messages of Garabandal. It fits in well with what Blessed Elena Aiello has prophesied. Albrecht Weber receieved his information directly from Conchita the principle seer of Garabandal.
“Tom Fahy confirmed to me on Sept. 15, 2017 , that when he interviewed Albrecht Weber in 2006 for research for his book “Suddenly and Unexpectedly”, Albrecht told him that when the Pope returns from Moscow there would be a revolution at the VATICAN”, involving Northern Spain,Italy & France, from the advance of ” Communism “.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I feel our Nation is now where Ninivah was in job’s time. If we do not take our Blessed Mother’s many messages seriously & repent, we are in for God’s justice.
The BIG Divider is the life of the unborn issue. I pray that GOOD & LIFE will WIN over evil & death !!!
LikeLiked by 7 people
With you in prayer, David, and in believing that the pervasive and great offense against God, in our day and time, is life, yet, not only life in the womb. Sr. Lucy, the Fatima seer who lived to old age before going Home, said the final battle would be centered on the family. In this, I see that abortion, gender perversion, pornography, sins against chastity, so called same sex “marriage,” euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research and cloning have all been battle grounds which have savagely attack the family. It is our Mother’s adversary’s most repulsive and insufferable affront against the Holy Trinity. God’s Plan for the human family is one wherein the family is a reflection of the union of the Holy Trinity. Theologically, it is taught that the LOVE between the Father and Son is so dynamic that it is expressed in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Great mystery! Just as the Trinity is united in Perfect Love, so families are to be united in Love. I do believe the evil we see being unmasked has been here for a long, long time, however, it’s been hidden in layers of deception. Now that the evil one’s work is being revealed, he presses harder and, in desperation with great noise, incites more evil in an attempt to do as much damage as possible while Our Lady continues to crush the head of this serpent. Maranatha!
LikeLiked by 10 people
Brilliantly succinct comment Beckita.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Yes a brilliant comment. I need to print Beckita’s comment and tape it to my daily reading material to calm my churning stomach and spinning head. There are so many issues raging right now it is very difficult to focus.
LikeLiked by 5 people
So true, Bill. Most with whom I speak are feeling the burn of these times. Lifting you, and all here, in prayer for strengthening, refreshment and consolation as onward we go…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have No Doubt that we are living in The Times as Jesus says: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man ….” or as Ol’ Isaiah wrote about: “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. Woe to you that rue wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own conceits.” All foretold millennia ago!
The below is just another SIGN of many “These Days”. Smear and adulterate all that is good in our society be it The Constitution/Our Founders in general or Christianity in particular. Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” is being played out in Our USA daily! The Democrat Party has become nothing but an amalgam of radical fringe groups of which the LGBTQs are a “prime” example. There is a very evil/dangerous power behind this and the story is an old one. You can read about it in histories of the French/Russian Revolutions and the rise of Hitler/Mao/Castro/Pol Pot. Radical fringe groups used as dupes to further the goals and ideals of the evil Puppet Masters. What these fringe groups don’t realize is, once the evil goals are achieved the Fringe Groups find themselves being “Liquidated” by their Puppet Master when their usefulness has expired.
“LGBTQ Totalitarianism in Boston: The Destruction of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade–Amy Contrada”
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/07/lgbtq_totalitarianism_in_boston_the_destruction_of_the_st_patricks_day_parade.html
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
LikeLiked by 7 people
PS & Re: LGBTQ Totalitarianism in Boston: The Destruction of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
The Devine Mercy Message/Image given to St Faustina to be spread Worldwide some 80+ years ago is a favorite of mine and has been deemed Worthy of Belief by The Church. The message, I believe, is for “These Days”! Likewise the image of Jesus and His exact words to be displayed: “Jesus, I Trust in You”.
Voris’ rant today dovetails with the Boston article and forces me to recall Cdl. Dolan’s caving and participation in the NYC St Patrick’s Parade fiasco a few years ago…. actions that only encouraged the “folks” who despise all The Church stands for … her faithful as well! Yes!! JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!!!!
“Why It Matters”
https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-why-it-matters
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Michael Voris is spot on. Thanks for keeping up with these Crewdog!
LikeLiked by 3 people
LikeLiked by 6 people
Thank you for this Beckita!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Amen Beckita!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Of course, Becks, I fully credit the pious wisdom of PP. But it may be worth noting he is talking about a time of combat as opposed to a time of consequence. And of course punishment itself can purify and get the monkey off one’s back. Even the terrible conditional Chastisement which is clearly described as a punishment is purposed to draw us closer to God. Only faith driven by love can enable us to face and accept that. Meanwhile the combat continues.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes, Joecro! Although, I do believe the times of combat and times of consequence are not always mutually exclusive. In fact, as I see it, they most often overlap. For anyone who is not signed up for Fr. Heilman’s latest prayer initiative which, for the next month, is really about strengthening us – in mind, body and soul – for action in this current spiritual combat of worldwide scope here’s a peek at Day 2 of the prep for the 54 Day Novena. Sam Guzman’s treatment of understanding the roots of our fears as well as the antidote to any fear is especially worthy of consideration. Onward Christian Soldiers!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Becks – I understand your comment and have for some time appreciated the wisdom such as that shared in Day 2. Time, however, is not unlimited. I do not believe the times of combat and consequence mostly overlap. I doubt they even sometimes overlap. Ask any soldier who has gone through a time of war or any athlete who has tried to complete a race within a certain time. One time leads into another. I doubt they would see those times as overlapping. The time of victory or defeat follows the time of combat. One is a time of power, the other a time of powerlessness. That is why we must make the best use of our time. But in spiritual combat the end of times still holds hope for some. Faith comes into its own when we have tried our best but the best outcome is found wanting. Thankfully in that case heaven still awaits the faithful and hell those who have rejected The Word of God. As Padre Pio also supposedly said to one doubter “You do not believe in hell… you will when you get there.” There is no overlap between heaven and hell.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I agree with every point you’ve made, Joe, as you describe the definitive times. There is another definition of “overlap” which shaped my original reply: “to have something in common with.”
As a kid, I memorized the Baltimore Catechism with the foundational question, “Why did God make you?” With its answer: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” At the same time, the contemplative saints, such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, both doctors of the Church, teach us that Christ did not only die to have union with us on the other side of the veil. He wants union with us NOW as we live on earth. The CCC speaks to the idea that Christian life and prayer are inseparable because “…we pray as we live and we live as we pray…” and “…it is prayer that strengthens and deepens our union with God…” The CCC goes on to say, “…prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God.” This is developed richly here.
So the result of every battle in spiritual warfare either draws us to closer union with God or draws us away from Him. In His Mercy, when we fall we know we can begin again and again and again. All this is to say, what we choose in these spiritual battles determines how we live our heaven. Perhaps, St. Ignatius of Loyola best makes my point about the overlap between spiritual combat and our intended victory: “The vigor with which you resist the enemy will be the measure of the reward which will follow the combat.” And Catherine of Sienna captures the importance of loving as we engage in our spiritual battles “You are rewarded not according to your work or your time but according to the measure of your love.” Again, the overlap between how we battle and how we are, hopefully, rewarded.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you and of course that education about sin is what will be offered to us in the Warning prophesied at Garabandal.
While I have no doubt or uncertainty about Garabandal I cannot reconcile this statement allegedly from Padre Pio with his written witness to the seers of Garabandal that their conversations with Our Lady would find faith albeit too late. In one of these conversations Our Lady herself told the seers that few would see God. The alleged statement from Padre Pio about very few going to hell is also at odds with the vision of St Teresa of Avila who saw souls as numerous as snow flakes in a storm falling into hell. I will not include the “many called” and “few chosen” as I know you and Fr Wang see that as referring to vocation to the consecrated life. My purpose in entering this debate is to show that I too believe that Ann is correct in her quest to authenticate the source of such quotations. In the past I have written to the Padre Pio Centre in this regard.
LikeLike
Amen to the education we shall receive. Like Anne and like you, Joe, I agree it’s important to verify sources. (See my previous comment, please, about seeking the original source whenever possible.) It would be GREAT if someone could find an original source for both quotes from St. Pio.
LikeLike
Hi Becks
You say “Again, the overlap between how we battle and how we are hopefully rewarded.” Again I contend that your view demonstrates not an overlap between the time of combat and the time of consequence but a relationship of cause and effect. The effect does not overlap with the cause but results in it. I have heard it said that teachers like to have the last word so please be my guest. (Readers please do not be alarmed – Becks and me often disagree.)
LikeLike
Yes, Joe. I absolutely see your point about cause and effect. Surely, our choices in the spiritual battle (cause) produce the effect of where we spend our eternal life. In my use of the word “overlap” I only attempted, perhaps poorly conveyed, to express the encouragement from a Retreat on Heaven which I attended: “Live on earth as citizens of Heaven.” So, while we hope to achieve Heaven as our reward, we also strive to live and bring the fullness of God’s Kingdom to earth.
St. Paul says in Ephesians, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
I especially appreciate Paul’s words in Colossians 3 as an expression of what is possible, as we pray in the Our Father: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” In my own ways of reckoning and pondering as I use the word “overlap” to convey what Heaven and earth might have in common. So I close my part in this discussion with an excerpt from St. Paul:
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have been meditating lately on the Lord’s Prayer. It has been reported that Pope Francis is desirous of amending the words of the prayer to exclude the words ” lead us not into temptation”.
The idea being God would never lead us into temptation.
But we know Jesus WAS tempted. He was lead into temptation by the Holy Spirit after His baptism in theJordan River. Three temptations are reported: 1. Make bread which is related to human satisfaction; 2. Jump from the Temple parapet which is related to fame and notoriety; and 3. Bow down before me and I will give you Power over the whole world.
The disciples noticed that Jesus often went out alone to pray. They asked the Lord to teach them how He prayed. So we have the wording of the Lord’s Prayer.
But try substituting the words My and me into the prayer which would be a more normal way of expressing oneself:
My Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give me this day my daily bread, and forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me. Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from Evil.
This was the prayer he prayed at Gethsemane. Let this cup pass but your will not my will be done.
Jesus had the experience of temptation. And He prayed to be delivered from it. Just as Paul prayed. Jesus was human and He had to experience to its fullest which included dealing with choices stemming from temptation.
Jesus chose wisely. Temptation and dealing with it would appear to be central to accomplishing the right choices stemming from free will. In that sense we need temptation to be fully human and to freely choose God and love and not Evil and death. Cause and effect,
Sadly, what is described here is poor choosing. Choosing death over life. A pandemic of poor choosing. With catastrophic consequences.
How do we know we are making good choices and living righteously?
Your catalogue of the advice and instruction of St Paul shows us the answer. By doing it. By loving and forgiving as best we can. To keep trying. To never despair. And never lose hope or trust in the power of God to save us.
Jesus prayed Thy kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Heaven on Earth. That humanity live as
the heavenly inhabitants do. As St Paul describes. This as the product of choosing wisely. Exercising free will wisely.
The alternative? A Kingdom on Earth as it is in Hell. Hell on Earth. That humanity live as the inhabitants of Hell do. This as the product of very poor choosing. Exercising free will extremely poorly and self destructively.
We are witnessing some of each in the world today. Some good choosing and some very bad choosing. We are hope filled by the good being done in the world. We are appalled at the evil being done. And the size and scope and dimension of evil which seems to be metastatizing like a deadly cancer. A pandemic of poor choice sweeping so many to destruction.
What can we do for ourselves and our neighbors? Prayer and repentance. Do love and do forgiveness. As Christ said at the Last Supper : DO this! DO it in memory of me. DO as I did. Love and forgive. And trust in God’s love for us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen, Ed.
LikeLike
“I believe that not a great number of souls go to hell.
God loves us so much. He formed us at his image. God loves us beyond understanding.
And it is my belief that when we have passed from the consciousness of the world,
when we appear to be dead, God, before He judges us, will give us
a chance to see and understand what sin really is.
And if we understand it properly, how could we fail to repent?”
Another saying attributed to Padre Pio.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Beautiful quote, Joe. The twentieth century mystic Venerable Maria Concepción Cabrera de Armida, also known as, Conchita, received a similar message from Jesus which is contained in her spiritual journal. And it matches one of my favorite stories from St. John Vianney concerning the death of a Frenchman who had been an official in the French Revolution; he committed suicide by jumping from a bridge and, then, according to St. John Vianney was given just what St. Pio describes: “…when we appear to be dead, God, before He judges us, will give us a chance to see and understand what sin really is. And if we understand it properly, how could we fail to repent?”
LikeLiked by 2 people
San Sebastian,
June 23, 1962
“The Virgin has told us:
The world continues the same…That it has not changed at all. FEW WILL SEE GOD. They are so few that it causes The Virgin much sorrow. What a pity that it does not change. The Virgin told us that the Chastisement is coming seeing that the world is not changing. The cup is filling up. How sad the Virgin was although She didn’t let us see it because She loves us so much and She suffers alone. She is so good! Be good everyone so that The Virgin will be happy. She told us that We who are good should pray for those who are bad. Let us pray to God for the world for those who do not know Him. Be good…be very good everyone?’
Maria Dolores Mazon
13 years old
Jacinta Gonzalez
13 years old“
LikeLike
Yes, Joe. And only God knows, at this time, what kind of mitigation impact has been/will be had by the prayers, penances, sacrifices and good deeds of those who have responded to Our Lady’s messages. As longtime Garabandal supporter and promoter, Maria Saraco, previously wrote:
“FEW WILL SEE GOD” is conditioned upon whether or not we… the world… are willing to LIVE all of the Garabandal Messages so as to hold back the conditional Chastisement that is threatening all of humanity. How long… how long does Our Blessed Mother have to wait for us to turn back to Her Divine Son! HERE AND NOW IS OUR LAST CHANCE!
I thank each of you with all my heart for the necessary support I know you will continue to give us both in generosity and in prayer in order to continue making Our Blessed Mother more known and loved in the world.
May St. Michael accompany us always particularly when we kneel at the feet of Our Lady.
Pray for me and be sure of my prayers too – GOD BLESS YOU!
Maria Carmela Saraco
Full article found here.
LikeLike
I have changed my mind – you do not deserve the last word Becks.
This exchange began with me trying to ensure that the reader saw clearly that your quotation allegedly from Padre Pio was about a time of combat as opposed to a time of punishment
Our Community Police Officer tells me that criminal youth, although combatative, has little or no sense of consequence.
In Akita Our Lady warned us that the time will come when because of the increase in number and gravity of sins they will not be pardoned. Padre Pio himself said that by the time people believe it will be too late. Mitigation is not possible unless the stipulated conditions are met.
The conditions laid down by Our Lady to avoid Chastisement have not, by any stretch of the inmagination, been met and in fact conditions have become infinitely worse.
Of course we can mitigate our own particular judgement through penance, prayer, the sacraments and good works. On that we agree. But that was neither my point nor purpose.
In your other quote Maria Saracao is saying that the only time for mitigation for the world at large is now.
This time is the time of combat. When it ends we shall experience the consequence. There will be no over-lap. In these days our most powerful weapon is the rosary. Mary tells us so.
LikeLike
The seers of Garabandal say the Virgin told them on June 23 1962 that “Few will see God”. This was not their words but hers. It is clear however through the last message for the world given by Mary at Garabandal on June 18 1965, that this was not the final word on the matter: the offer of conditional mitigation was still in place at that time. This, as far as I know has never been rescinded. These last Warnings of Garabandal were also given at Akita. This is why Maria Saraco says the words of Mary are conditioned on our willingness to live the messages. Maria includes Akita on her website garabandal.org. The offer of mitigation, as far as I know, will stay in place until after The Great Miracle when we will see if The World has persevered in its conversion. We do not know how much time will be given to test our resolve. Perhaps the worsened state of the world means that we have less time than ever. Whatever the outcome of that time I am sure that
without The Warning the world would have no chance whatever. Even with it, mankind may still revert to kind. We may still fall prey to the promptings of false faith that we are self-reliant and more powerful than we really are. The enemies within and without will exploit those age old human defects: pride, self-pity, intolerance, self-centeredness, selfishness, greed, envy, arrogance, impatience, lust, gluttony, jealousy, dishonesty and sloth tying us up in ourselves with a chain of anger at our personal limitations and of God’s place and power and person. This is the battle to which we are called. The devil’s envy brought sin into the world and St Michael proclaims the greatness of God “Who is like God.” Sadly there is little indication in our history that man will change of his own accord. Sadly Our Lady too saw little hope of that as she said, “Chastisement is coming.” And yet we are assured of the greatest miracle worked by Jesus to bring about true conversion of the world. So there is still much hope. None of this is far away – the seers asked that children of the village be taken so that they would not suffer the Chastisement. Our Lady said they would be adults when it came. She did not say ‘if’ it came. Mary is The Seat of Wisdom. And we Catholics are so graced by the advantages of our faith. Its was the opinion of one of the seers that Catholics would survive The Warning better than non-Catholics. Of course only we have the sacrament of reconciliation (I prefer ‘confession’) I intend to put it to full use. It is a while since I have made a General Confession. It’s time to prepare another.
LikeLike
Joe;
Seek out a parish that offers a First Saturday Devotion regardless of the distance involved. Then go every month. I’m blessed to have one available in my area (less than 30 minute drive). It’s a great way to get in the rhythm of monthly confession while offering prayers of reparation to The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For what it is worth, in my way of reading this quote from Padre Pio about few going to hell does not sound like him at all. Mother Teresa of Calcutta also suffers having words put into her mouth.
LikeLike
Padre Pio or any saint stating that few go to heaven is just a forward to the Bible stating the same thing ( Matt 7:13) and the bible needs no confirmation, it IS the confirmation of what any saint has said about this.
We have MANY remedies to this these days and we can afford many a soul the chance of final contrition by our supplications.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral is hosting Padre Pio’s relics on September 28 and 29. Come one, come all!
https://www.rapidcitydiocese.org/cathedral-will-host-padre-pio-relics-for-veneration/
Another bit of related news is I’ve assembled a new choir at the cathedral. We will hopefully have our first “performance” during Padre Pio’s visit. Called “Our Lady’s Choir,” we will perform “A Contemplative Rosary” by Bob Hurd. He set the Rosary to music and includes scripture reading and meditation.
Click on play below Bob’s picture to hear this gem:
https://www.ocp.org/en-us/songs/16189
Visit: https://www.ocp.org/en-us/collections/dg/478 and click on the “View Songs” box to hear more samples.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Beautiful, Patrick! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
That quote of padre pips is so good….where did you find it??? And….. Is the source absolutely trustworth?? I only ask to make sure that is a real quote. Thank you.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I understand your caution, Anne. I often search for primary sources when something somehow doesn’t ring true or I simply wish to verify information. On this quote, when you enter Padre Pio’s name and the beginning of the quote you can find all manner of Padre Pio sites wherein this quote is attributed to him. Are these primary sources? No. Might this quote, very widely attributed to him, be incorrectly ascribed to our dear spiritual father? Of course. Such has happened, as well, with words claimed to be those of St. Teresa of Calcutta. Until I see a correction that these words came not from St. Pio, I’ll trust that they are his. And if corrected, I’ll freely accept that it wasn’t St. Pio who spoke them. Even then, as I do now, I’ll appreciate the wisdom and truth contained in these words. They are words which reflect teachings of our faith.
The full quote not contained on the poster is: “Jesus permits the spiritual combat as a purification, not as a punishment. The trial is not unto death but unto salvation.”
LikeLiked by 4 people
Oh dear…. Padre Pio!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
May all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hs, reading Padre Pips made me smile. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I heard say Peter Herbeck say the quote attributed to st Francis….we will preach and if necessary us words….. Is a rumour, no truth to it. So being very careful….. But hoping quote of Padre Pios is true…. As very encouraging.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well Anne, for what it’s worth, I found these words on a spiritual warfare document drawn up for an apostolic work in which Peter Herbeck has been engaged for many years, Crossing the Goal. As you scan the document, you can find the quote and its attribution to Padre Pio. God bless us one and all.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re right that St. Francis never said “Preach the Gospel always; when necessary, use words”. As Herbeck points out, St. Francis was a fiery preacher who would preach in up to five villages a day.
I think this saying was dreamed up by someone who either devalued the Scriptures or perhaps had some hostility towards them. I have encountered these people. They forget that our Lord Himself said, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.”’ (Mark 1:38). Again in Luke 4:43 He says “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” And of course there’s the famous quote from Romans 10:
“And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? … As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!” … So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.”
I have a passion that Catholics immerse themselves in the Scriptures and that priests base their homilies on the Scriptures found in the Lectionary.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Food for thought on the debate of how many will be saved.
“The number of the saved is as few as the number of grapes left after the vineyard-pickers have passed. St. John Mary Vianney
The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few – not as many as ten – went strait to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as snowflakes in mid-winter. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi.
The greater number of Christians today are damned. The destiny of those dying on one day is that very few – not as many as ten – went strait to Heaven; many remained in Purgatory; and those cast into Hell were as numerous as snowflakes in mid-winter. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi
I was watching souls going down into the abyss as thick and fast as snowflakes falling in the winter mist. Blessed Benedict Joseph Labre
I had the greatest sorrow for the many souls that condemned themselves to Hell, especially those Lutherans. […] I saw souls falling into hell like snowflakes. St. Teresa of Avila
As the Roman Rota attests, St Teresa never fell into any mortal sin; but still Our Lord showed her the place prepared for her in Hell; not because she deserved Hell, but because, had she not risen from the state of lukewarmness in which she lived, she would in the end have lost the grace of God and been damned. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
I do not speak rashly, but as I feel and think. I do not think that many priests are saved, but that those who perish are far more numerous. St. John Chrysostom
On Priests – They who are to be saved as Saints, and wish to be saved as imperfect souls, shall not be saved. Pope St. Gregory the Great
Lukewarm are lost. They who are enlightened to walk in the way of perfection, and through lukewarmness wish to tread the ordinary path, shall be abandoned. Blessed Angela of Foligno
Live with the few if you want to reign with the few. St. John Climacus
Many begin well, but there are few who persevere. St. Jerome
The saints are few, but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few. O God, too few indeed they are; yet among those few I wish to be! St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
Those who are saved are in the minority. St. Thomas Aquinas
If you wish to imitate the multitude, then you shall not be among the few who shall enter in by the narrow gate. St. Augustine
We were so fortunate to be born in the bosom of the Roman Church, in Christian and Catholic kingdoms, a grace that has not been granted to the greater part of men, who are born among idolaters, Mohammedans, or heretics. […] How thankful we ought to be, then, to Jesus Christ for the gift of faith! What would have become of us if we had been born in Asia, in Africa, in America, or in the midsts of heretics and schismatics? He who does not believe is lost. He who does not believe shall be condemned. And thus, probably, we also would have been lost. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori
So vast a number of miserable souls perish, and so comparatively few are saved! St. Philip Neri
The number of the elect is so small – so small – that, were we to know how small it is, we would faint away with grief: one here and there, scattered up and down the world! St. Louis Marie de Montfort
Bad confessions damned the majority of Christians. St. Teresa of Avila
Among adults there are few saved because of sins of the flesh. […] With the exception of those who die in childhood, most men will be damned. St. Regimius or Rheims
The Lord called the world a “field” and all the faithful who draw near to him “wheat.” All through the field, and around the threshing-floor, there is both wheat and chaff. But the greater part is chaff; the lesser part is wheat, for which is prepared a barn not a fire. […] The good also are many, but in comparison with the wicked the good are few. Many are the grains of wheat, but compared with the chaff, the grains are few. St. Augustine
The more the wicked abound, so much the more must we suffer with them in patience; for on the threshing floor few are the grains carried into the barns, but high are the piles of chaff burned with fire. Pope St. Gregory the Great
What do you think? How many of the inhabitants of this city may perhaps be saved? What I am about to tell you is very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated city with its thousands of inhabitants not one hundred people will be saved. I even doubt whether there will be as many as that! St. John Chrysostom
Taking into account the behavior of mankind, only a small part of the human race will be saved. Lucy of Fatima”
LikeLike
Pretty negative, eh Joe? All the reason to consecrate yourself to Jesus through Mary: 33 days to Glory, Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC
“The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves us – all of us. And, he wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy”
https://www.thedivinemercy.org/message/
A- Ask for His Mercy
B- Be merciful
C- Completely trust in Jesus
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Although, I do believe the times of combat and times of consequence are not always mutually exclusive. In fact, as I see it, they most often overlap.” (Beckita, above)
This quote from our beloved Beckita was intended to be placed immediately after the comment. However, this discussion (JoeCro/ Beckita) has evolved into a ‘novel with chapters’. I place this here as having read through the ensuing string of commentary, it was best I address my few points.
First, [you’se guys] need to make a point brief. wow. jumping from one discussion to another then back.
Second (Joe): times and combat do exist. real life as we humans know and especially as Spirits and humans know. Did not God change the future circumstances of a human, when the human repented? Numerous instances abound, notably contained in the daily missal of the Divine Liturgy of the Hours.
Prayer works, also does ‘suffering’ for “sinners”; case in point: praying for the dead & offering Plenary Indulgences for these in Purgatory. My question to you (& all) if we offer our Plenary Indulgence to a (nother) sinner to whom does it go?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Amen, Sean. We’re so blessed with opportunities to seek mercy for ourselves and for others in our prayer lives. As seeking mitigation is a hoped for response from God via our response to any authentic prophecy, in this house, we’re not letting up on praying for the Heart’s desire of Our Lady: the conversion of all her children.
And it sure was a rambler discussion as it shifted from St. Pio quotes to Garabandal quotes which encompassed multiple ideas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
All the more reason to ask for His Mercy, Sean.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Sean
All joking apart ha ha I agree with you that the collection of Saints’ quotes on hell is rather negative – at the risk of drawing their displeasure on me they sound like a bunch of doom and gloomers. Conchita thought there were better ways than fear and terror to draw people to God and I agree with her. (Trying to keep it brief.) Of course those saints while on earth did not have St Faustina and her Divine Mercy. And yes, of course there are plenty of accounts of God relenting and showing mercy but that was not what the exchange was about. In exchanges with me Becks often changes direction and creates diversions to make her points. (I will suffer for that.) In answer to your question we can hand our indugences over to Mary to dispose of them as she sees fits. Blessed Mother knows best. In Fatima we are asked to pray for those who have nobody to pray for them. We might not know their names but God looks to the intention of the heart and Jesus knows who they are. I am sure you already know that.
You show a good command of the alphabet in your A, B and C. Thanks Sean.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Would love Charlie’s perspective and translation of all that’s going on.
So easy to get confused!
LikeLike
We simply CAN NOT assume that all is well on Planet Earth even with the “Breathing-Spell” that Prez Trump might provide…. Perilous Times!! …. I don’t really like being a Watchman on the Wall. I’d rather post about Grandma’s recipes and Squirrel Pics … but ….. ;-(
In my In-Box today:
MILINET: Three (3) Articles for Christians–21 July
============================
Pope accepts Honduran bishop’s resignation following misconduct allegations
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-bishop/pope-accepts-honduran-bishops-resignation-following-misconduct-allegations-idUSKBN1KA2W0
Ohio restaurant cancels Sunday church discount after outrage from secular organization
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2018/07/20/ohio-restaurant-cancels-sunday-church-discount-after-outrage-from-secular-organization.html
21 Chilling Quotes from Margaret Sanger that Planned Parenthood Doesn’t Want You to Know About
https://churchpop.com/2018/07/05/21-chilling-quotes-from-margaret-sanger-that-planned-parenthood-doesnt-want-you-to-know/
[COURTESY: LtCol Randy xxxxxx, USMC (Ret)
GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thank you, CrewDog, for being such a faithful Watchman. It is an unenviable task, and yet you man your post so well. God bless you. 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
These are times to look to the communion of saints and our holy angels! Persevere!
Consider joining in and doing the prayers of the Auxilium Christianorum. ( see Roman Catholic Man website…. or just google it!)
LikeLiked by 4 people
This is quite disturbing.
* When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?”
l Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
LikeLiked by 6 people
Still yet another false dawn with still more to come. The present order can save no one, nor can those who continue to embrace it. Satan will retaliate against the children of God with great furor so as to make the world so menacingly dark that he & his emissary appear to be a light of salvation. Then they will strike as the venomous snakes that they truly are. Then will come a true dawn one which will vanquish the power of Satan along with this age of evil as well as all of the current rulers & their immediate successors. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom not a republic, nor is it like any of the other strange forms of government & systems that have emerged within the last 300 years or so. Await in prayer & good works, await the proper time & watch intently for the hand of God to do that which is unfathomable in this present time, indeed that which needs to be done on global proportion. A world which will reflect in the temporal order as the Church is in the spiritual order, unified.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Amen to that and may that be so R. Sèy Moürre-Tissot!
LikeLiked by 2 people
The discussion of “how few” will be saved brought back unpleasant memories from my teenage years. I was raised a Catholic, by faithful, observant, but sometimes overly severe, parents. Having stories of how hard it was to obtain heaven implanted by well-meaning religious, I reached a point in mid-teens when I truly despaired of ever “living up to God’s, or the Church’s standards”. The great liar used that fear to lead me to the question “What type of God creates creatures so the majority of them can fail and be condemned to eternal suffering?” The secular logic of my young mind answered, “No such God. So, God must not exist.” This opened a period of agnosticism, bordering on atheism in my young travels.
Thanks to God’s unfathomable mercy, shortly after my eighteenth birthday I encountered Jesus and received His truth that my salvation was won by him on the Cross. That through His death and resurrection I am saved, not by my own works or words. I live now, with my successes and failures (of which there are many), clinging to God’s mercy and relying on His grace, in the belief that through the sacraments, prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, He will lead me safely home to Him. (I have come to realize that Mary’s intercession has no small part in this as well.)
Prophesy is a difficult thing. As Beckita alluded to, many prophesies can be those of Jonah to Nineveh. We can call for God’s mitigation through repentance and prayer. Jesus himself promises us that God can bring the camel through the eye of the needle. St. Faustina has announced God’s time of great mercy. A thought has come to me over and over again in recent months, that when we can see its fullness, we will be absolutely astounded and filled with awe at the depth and strength and power of God’s everlasting mercy.
I do not intend to contradict the words of the Saints. As another John said of his master, I am not worthy to untie the sandal strap of the least of the Saints. However, just as you cannot make a one month old child eat meat and potatoes, part of me feels that discussions of this type can be very difficult to souls who do not know, or are just coming to know, Jesus and God’s love for them. I do not mean to say that such conversations should not happen at all, nor do I find any fault with the participants here. I am just trying to show another viewpoint, one that admittedly is very personal to me.
As to the crisis our nation and world is now passing through, I fear we are approaching an impasse similar to that experienced by St. Thomas Moore.
St. Thomas Moore was a high official in King Henry’s court. Supposedly the king considered him friend, a confidant and a trusted advisor. After failing to produce and heir with his first wife, Henry was anxious to obtain a divorce the church would not accept. He determined that he would split the Church of England from Rome and make himself head in place of the Pope. Moore could not, in conscience agree. Moore did not speak out publicly against the King. He resigned his positions. He sought only to live quietly keeping his faith to himself.
Henry’s ego, or insecurity, or both, could not be satisfied with destroying the nearly thousand year union of English Catholics with the Bishop Rome. He insisted that Parliament pass laws requiring every subject in the kingdom to take an oath to Henry as the new head of the church. St. Thomas’ faith would not allow him to make such an oath. He was tried, found guilty of treason and sentenced to die. Before he placed his head on the block, his last words were: “The king’s good servant, but God’s first.”
The forces of the left are no longer content with equal rights, or protection from governmental and social persecution. They are now demanding that everyone believe as they believe. It is not enough to have the freedom to live their lives as they see fit. We must now approve of what they believe and practice, or we will be persecuted. Our businesses and finances will be ruined if we do not assist them in their rituals (Thank God the Supreme Court stopped that legal train wreck for the moment.) Our children must be taught about same sex marriages and the world’s view of sexuality. Men who decide to call themselves women must be allowed into rest rooms with our wives and daughters. Teachers and professors are subject to discipline, or firing, if they do not submit to acknowledging a plethora of sexual personas, some of which are claimed to exist in total denial of biology and psychology. Actors and television personalities who do not submit will be prevented from working. Politicians who do not comply will be hounded from office. Supporters of those who do not conform to this regime will be driven from restaurants, forbidden to speak on college campuses and will have their homes, children’s schools and places of employment picketed and barricaded. In Canada some of these issues have been encoded into “hate-crime” legislation that make it illegal to not comply with the new agenda.
The time may be coming to the United States when Christians and conservatives in general will face court decisions and legislation that will force us to choose between God and the civil order. I am not a particular fan of President Trump. However, just as God used the pagan emperor Cyrus to free the Jews from captivity in Babylon, I believe his election victory has for a time spared us from a regime that would have sought to bring us into “conformity” with its liberal, leftist, anti-Christian and anti-constitutional views. My sense is that this time is only a stop-gap for the left and that they will attempt to regain power, with a vengeance. If that is true, St. Thomas Moore, moments may arise for us all. I pray for his intercession that we may be strong in faith if that time comes upon us.
JT (Sorry this is so long but as you can see this submission from Charlie and the thread that followed it has given me much to think and pray about. God’s blessings to all.)
LikeLiked by 5 people
Really great to hear from you, JT! Thank you for this insightful and edifying reflection.
It sometimes *is* difficult to engage in discussions concerning some of the things with which we mere mortals must wrestle… and to do so in light of how, so often, each of us contributes thoughts which reflect our own personal ways of reckoning while our own backgrounds enter into the sharing of our perspectives. In all my years in education, I marveled at how God created each one so unique, with strengths and weaknesses and with different ways of thinking as they process information and concepts in the striving to understand and apply what is being learned and/or shared. Some are definite linear thinkers while others more circular in reasoning. Some hone in on details and then expand to the broader view, while others begin globally and break things down to smaller pieces for consideration. And some employ a variety of these and other ways as they ponder and express. Ah! But we do come with good will and there is great building up of each other here. This brings to mind another Thomas, St. Thomas Aquinas, who, after his mystical vision, gave up the completion of the Summa Theologica, remarking that all he had written was merely straw. Surely, my own reflections, then, must sometimes be as if from one of the six blind men, trying to describe the elephant. As you acknowledge in your closing in parenthesis, even when the discussions become difficult, I appreciate the opportunities they provide in prompting more consideration and reflection and, as Charlie would say, refinement in our thinking as we listen to one another.
United with you in prayer of seeking the intercession of St. Thomas More, St. John Fisher and all the holy ones who have gone before us and who remained true to Christ to the end, no matter the cost.
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s simple. We are all family here Becks and if we all want to share heaven together, then we all have to learn how to get along 😎
LikeLiked by 5 people
Amen, Cool Doug. Amen.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha, Beckita,
The older I get the more I know that I don’t know much of anything at all. At times when I am praying and say, Lord, I’m not that smart as you well know…you will have to be very clear for me to understand.
Oh, that I may be as innocent as these new puppies we just got.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Love it, HandToThePlow: as innocent as new puppies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi JT, packed full of wisdom you are. It is good to see you wax here!
LikeLiked by 4 people
Doug: Hope your day yesterday was full of grace and God’s healing. I am alone at the cabin in the north woods this weekend. My own poustinia. It has given me some much needed time and quiet to catch up on things.
I am happy and blessed to share my retreat with you, Beckita and everyone here.
JT
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thanks so much, JT. Please, remember in your prayers Fr. Wang, soon to celebrate his 90th year, and our Chinese evangelization efforts. His latest book is a little red pocket book, a counter-revolutionary work that replaces the little red book written by Mao Tse-tung which was once in every pocket in China with citizens expected to memorize his personal quotes. Father’s gem is entitled: Biography of the God-Man Jesus Christ. It is being quietly distributed far and wide and we are ever seeking prayer that the Lord will bless us with the means to continue distribution. The Holy Spirit is blowing a mighty wind across Father’s land of birth, the former sleeping giant of Christianity, now awakening to a New Dawn of conversion.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Beckita: I still pray every day for Father Peter W. and for Fr. Wang in my morning prayers. I am glad that Fr. Wang is doing well. I will add praying for China’s conversion to my intentions. I believe that in the not too distant future China will take her rightful place as a world power equal to, or greater than the United States. In such a situation the conversion of the Chinese people to our Lord will be critical for the future of the planet and for God’s plan of salvation to be fulfilled.
Give Fr. Wang a hug for me and my warmest regards. My father would have been 91 this year. People of that age have seen an incredible amount of history in their lives. They have so much wisdom to impart to us!
JT
LikeLiked by 5 people
I will pass that hug and regards to Father, JT. He’ll love it and, I predict, he’ll ask me to thank you for your faithfulness in prayer for him, so, thank you, in advance.
LikeLiked by 2 people
If Fr. Wang’s book comes in English I would like to read it sometime!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ll try to keep this in mind, Bob. Please remind me if I forget. It’s a very simple, brief introduction to Christ, written to catch the interest of those who may not have, yet, heard of Jesus. With that purpose, I’m not sure if we’ll also publish this pocket book in English. 40,000 copies, translated in Chinese, have already been distributed in a major city known for its hard line communist influence. Some plans are being made to reach additional worthy targets for distribution. For now, just two of Father’s other books have been published in English and, at his request, I’m writing an introduction to the third one which will be published and distributed as part of his 90th birthday celebration in October. He’s living up to both of his given names. Chinese name: Rong Qin which means glorious industrious one! Christian name: John the Baptist: the voice of one crying in the wilderness (of these times).
LikeLiked by 3 people
Love, love, love the passion and the ministry. I am praying for many continued blessings and graces for you and Father Wang and for all people in China. ❤
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Dear Jen. xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi JT, I think your retreat is not far from our retreat. We will have to coordinate something sometime. God bless you! Doug
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beckita: Thank you for your comment. Having been educated in college by the Dominican Fathers (another of God’s great blessings that I barely understood at the time) I am aware of St. Thomas Aquinas’ realization that all his life’s work (which brought together the scriptures, the Church fathers and the Greek philosophers in a logical system. In many ways he laid the basis for the theological and secular scholarship that became our modern system of understanding the world) was nothing compared to the majesty and wonder of the living God. It should make each of us pause before thinking too highly of ourselves.
Just as there are many viewpoints expressed by the contributors here, the Church in her wisdom, has given us a multitude of saints, each of whom expresses the reality of Christ and God in their own unique way. Likewise the different religious orders with their varied charisms and works allow the message of Christ to be spoken to the world in many varied ways.
The various commentators here with their many view points and their ability to share them without rancor and argument has impressed me from the first time I became acquainted with Charlie’s work.
JT
LikeLiked by 6 people
Yes, JT! This brings to mind Romans 12: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”
LikeLiked by 5 people
Yes! St. Paul can always get to the heart of the matter.
JT
LikeLiked by 3 people