The Great Apostasy? What would you call it?
I'm becoming more fascinated by her revelations, and the fact Pope Benedict XVI is so devoted to her. I came across some interesting postings at Unveiling the Apocalypse regarding the Saint and the Pope...
Frequently I feel almost certain we must be in the throes of the Great Apostasy - but how does one know for sure? Especially when we are assured everything is okay? Smile, be happy. Like Colbert said Friday night with Cardinal Dolan: “Are there flaws in the church? Absolutely. But is there great beauty in the church? Absolutely.”The fact that St. Hildegard is one of the most revered saints in Pope Benedict's native Germany, helps to further cement the relationship between the "filth" described by the Holy Father and the "filth" depicted in the vision of the battered Church in Scivias. And it also reflects the Pope's connection of the Third Secret to the "sin" existing within the Church during his pilgrimage to Fatima in 2010:As for the new things which we can find in this message today, there is also the fact that attacks on the Pope and the Church come not only from without, but the sufferings of the Church come precisely from within the Church, from the sin existing within the Church. This too is something that we have always known, but today we are seeing it in a really terrifying way: that the greatest persecution of the Church comes not from her enemies without, but arises from sin within the Church, and that the Church thus has a deep need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to learn forgiveness on the one hand, but also the need for justice.
The "filth" that now pervades the Church, described by both St. Hildegard and Pope Benedict is a direct consequence of the apostasy we have been enduring for the past 52 years, since the passing of the date of 1960 mentioned by Sr. Lucia as when the contents of the Third Secret would be "better understood". It is from this date which marked the beginning of the sexual revolution, that we have witnessed the greatest decline in the two thousand year history of the Catholic Church, thus firmly establishing the Great Apostasy foretold in the New Testament. - Source
But what about the "filth"?
If we are now living in the Apostasy, why are things getting better? Keep in mind that much of what surfaces now is stuff that happened decades ago. The Church seems to be reforming, albeit slowly.
ReplyDeleteWe also forget the millions upon millions of Christians in the world - new Christians, in places like Africa and China. We are living a great age of conversion and a great age of martyrdom.
We are so focused on the USA and Europe. The old lands of Christendom are being lost - sometimes I think what we are seeing is a sort of "judgment of the nations" - Europe has absolutely no future, and I think it's because they abandoned the faith, creating a century of bloodshed in the name of disgusting ideologies and then an age of hedonism. The USA is no different, though there are different factors at play.
But seriously - what of the bigger picture? We look at what is happening in our little corner of the world and think it is everywhere. Heck, I can guarantee you that the Church here in my area is more solidly orthodox than in other areas - all of that colors our perceptions.
How many ages did people think they were living in the Great Apostasy? What about when Islam swallowed up the entire East, and people converted by the millions for earthly advantage? Arian heresy? Protestant Reformation? World War II? There will always be apostasy, always filth. And the Church has survived, and it will now. What we are shedding is the people who never cared in the first place.
Btw, did you know the mass conversion of Mexico and Our Lady of Guadeloupe came just after whole nations were lost to the Reformation? Maybe God is doing that with the West.
Btw, here is Fr. Hardon in 1997 when asked if the end was soon, if this was the Great Apostasy. If anyone was aware of the filth in the Church and the loss of faith, it was him:
ReplyDelete"Oh no! Centuries, even millennia to go. I think within the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Papacy will not be needed anyway. First of all, I don’t blame people for writing questions like this because we are living in difficult times. But the end of the world is not – oh no – is not coming soon. And don’t, for a moment, let anybody tell you that the year 2000 is the dawn of the end of the world. No! I could shout no! There’s too much work to be done. That is why I said what I did before. The secret of growing in sanctity is - loving the Cross. You’ll get discouraged or worse still, will be tempted to even despair what’s going on. It’s tremendous to be alive today! We’re the Church Militant! Did you know that? There’s a war going on! And we’re all conscripted."
I think I remember reading something else where he mentioned all the things that would have to happen before the end, and concludes we're probably nowhere near it.
I often recall how at various epochs in history everyone thought it was the end as well.
DeleteJust thinking out loud here.
Oh - and when a desert father was asked what he would do if he was told Christ was returning at that moment - he said he would continue on with his basket weaving.
DeleteHa! True, what would we have to worry about in that case that we wouldn't have to every day. I can get hit by a bus and it's time for my final judgement.
Deletewe had 4 men from Ghana educated at our seminary, who returned home a few months ago. They'll be ordained in another few months. They receive hundreds into the Church at a time; they don't really proselytize with words but rather with actions, bringing people in with their lives.
ReplyDeleteGreat Apostasy?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.audiosancto.org/categories/end-times.php
(If you didn't know these are sermons by FSSP priests, completely in line with the Church)
Filth?
http://www.churchmilitant.tv/daily/?today=2012-09-14
(Not a huge fan of Voris but still...)
I see it, and it may not be the end now, but it's at least a prefiguring of it.
The true faith can be hard to find. When I converted I went to 5 (honest!)different parishes in my diocese before I found one that didn't teach outright heresy or had blatant disregard for Church teachings. The one I found was an Institute of Christ the King apostalate. Deo Gratias for that!