Wednesday, November 04, 2015

I think what is happening today has to be the unfolding of the Third Secret ...



“Tell everybody that God grants graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary...” - Blessed Jacinta

I've said it before and each time I repeat it I am more convinced.  I repeat it because we get ourselves embroiled in arguments and criticism and condemning everything happening in the Church and the world which we cannot process fast enough intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

Repeating myself again:  I think we're there. Before she died, Sr. Lucia said we were going towards the trials foretold "little by little." Closer to the date of the beatifications she told the pope we were "going towards it with great strides." Which is why I think we are there now.

"I saw the Holy Father in a very big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him." - Blessed Jacinta
Consider Jacinta's vision in light of how the Holy Father is being treated - even by Catholics - and what he himself has been saying since the beginning of his pontificate.
"Only God knows the stories of those people who have given their lives, who have died, and continue to be stoned with the hardest stone that exists in the world: language.” - Pope Francis 




The migrants and the bodies of martyrs piling up.

I watched CBS evening news last night.  They interviewed Christians who have taken refuge someplace in Syria - of all places.  The Christian woman said she would never go back to Iraq, explaining it was bad enough living with Muslims before, but now with ISIS it is intolerable.  The mass migration includes more than Christian refugees of course, what does it mean for the West?  Especially when states concede rights - as in the German example of giving up Christian festivals so as not to offend Muslims?

The mass migration crisis.
While the flow of migrants to Europe this year already represents the biggest influx from outside the Continent in modern history, many experts warn that the mass movement may continue and even increase — possibly for years to come. “We are talking about millions of potential refugees trying to reach Europe, not thousands,” Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, said in a recent Twitter posting. Many of the migrants are fleeing persecution, poverty, ethnic and religious strife and war, but these afflictions are often symptoms of more profound changes.
In the Middle East and Africa, borders drawn by Ottoman dynasts and European colonialists are breaking down as the autocratic Arab states that enforced a grim peace for generations continue to implode.
As traditional lines of authority break down, militant groups like the Islamic State and Boko Haram, in Nigeria, seek to fill the vacuum while minority sects and ethnic groups suffer unspeakable treatment at their hands. - NYT

The following is that one part of the Secret Lucia told Jacinta not to speak about - since it referred to the third part which wasn't revealed until the year 2000.
"Look! Don’t you see many roads, paths and fields full of people crying of hunger, not having anything to eat? And the Holy Father in a Church praying next to the Heart of Mary?" - Blessed Jacinta
I think this is it.

I'm not talking about the end of the world.  However, I do not think anyone could ever have predicted what we are witnessing today - the overwhelming influx of immigrants and refugees, among them may be a sort of Fifth Column movement of Islamic terrorists?  I don't know - and heads of state appear not to know as well.

It's all very confusing and frustrating.  All the negativity online, especially among Catholics is really depressing.  Bloggers talk about war - priests and canonists and scholars discuss religious issues generated by the Synod in terms of war - one in particular, Rachel Lu, a professor from a local college kept calling liberals and fellow progressive academics losers and heretics.  Declaring war along with Ross Douthat.  As if war is a game - as if all of these events can be managed, controlled by human endeavor.  It seems to me, Catholics like these writers speak in opposition to peace.  They speak like the disciples, who before the descent of the Holy Spirit wanted to call down fire upon those who rejected them.

The temptation against faith.

The greatest temptations are now.  Against faith, against hope, and against charity.  It is a very difficult time.  We need to pray more than condemn and judge.  It's a grave temptation to fall prey to the critical spirit.  Even good people, even priests online constantly focus upon the negative, pointing out particular sins - but there seems to be little online offering encouragement and hope.

Being online, reading Catholic blogs, is getting to be like living in a concentration camp - but even there, in the camps, the light of faith could never be extinguished.  The mystery of Divine Providence - the Presence of God - never forsakes those who pray.  No matter the state of soul.  Pray.  Pray without ceasing.  All day.  Every day.  Pray as you know how - or better yet - pray the rosary - pray many rosaries.  As many as possible.  Prayer isn't an art form, a specialty reserved for monks or nuns - prayer itself is a teacher - it is the door which leads you to that interior communion with the Holy Trinity.  Prayer is the life of the soul ...  The rosary is the best teacher.

Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at his side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God entrusted it to her. - Bl. Jacinta to Lucia

15 comments:

  1. You have put into words what has been in my thoughts and in my heart for a few years now. It's why I finally removed myself from Facebook, and why I'm very particular about which blogs I read, and any website for that matter. The absolute tearing down of everyone who doesn't think and believe like oneself is extremely disheartening to me. I'm not running away from anything as there is not one thing that I can do to stop what is happening except unceasing PRAYER, and locally giving my time and what little money I have. Mostly time and love to the inmates at the county jail. There but for the grace of God go I. I relate to them, and they to me. I used to think that I was running away if I didn't watch and read every detail of all of the horror and evil that was going on. I don't think that any more. I realize how much time and energy I wasted. Our souls are what matter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to avoid all the negative reports.

      What a great work you do - visiting the inmates. God bless you.

      Delete
    2. Maggie - thank you for reminding of what is important.

      Delete
  2. Terry why the pessimistic turn? Durning the Synod you were discounting the negative and downplaying the possibly of schism? Now you seem 180 degrees in the other direction. What happened to you? The followers of Garabandal are seriously preparing for the beginning of the end days. If you follow them on line they see it being very close, within the next year. Medjugoriests too are uneasy. The persecurtion of Christians in the Middle East is not new just more known now. In Serbia
    and Bosina a few years back it was also news. The alarming news here at home is the total lack of respect for each other. Dark days maybe ahead, but it is too a large degree because of the choices we are making to mock God and think man is smarter then He. It is the original sin of Adam and Eve being played out in a contemporary form. Not sure there is any turning back now but we have some powerful weapons for self protection in the rosary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been infected by all the negativity online. It's my own fault - I follow the stories and the negative responses to the synod keep growing.

      As for the migrants in Europe the NYT article really seemed shocking - the scope of it - and I struggle with the cultural changes Islam seems to demand from the West. Minneapolis has an area called little Mogadishu and may be a recruiting ground.

      So as I say - it is a temptation - a grave one - to fall prey to the negative atmosphere. The diehard traditionalists can be rather oppressive in their relentless attack of Vatican II and the popes - now with the Internet their presence and influence seems amplified.

      So that's what has happened - in posting this I was trying to explain my dissatisfaction and tendency to snark and sarcasm.

      I do recognize that what is need is charity - love - heroic charity not to join in with the pillorying and sectarian and ideological assaults on one another.

      Fatima has been my only inspiration - hence my recourse to the message. I do not follow the other purported sites and the sensationalism which surrounds them. Fatima laid it out - and over my lifetime, I've sometimes been surprised when events directly parallel what was made known there. (I also just finished my version of the Third Secret - so I've been meditating it very much. The painting I began in 2009 is finished now.

      Anyway - thanks for asking, thanks for your concern. God bless.

      Delete
    2. I should probably add, one of the online priests I most admire and respect and have great affection for is Fr. Blake. His post today was one of the saddest I have ever read.

      http://marymagdalen.blogspot.com/2015/11/towards-what.html

      Delete
    3. "All the negativity online, especially among Catholics is really depressing"

      I can't tell you enough how much I have benefited spiritually from quitting websites on both sides of the Catholic spectrum. When I began to go online about four years ago to read about my Catholic faith, I went on with the intention of learning and growing and online fellowship. I have met great folks, (you Terry being one of them) but I have also encountered sarcastic, mean-spirited folks. This was sorta shocking coming from a Catholic perspective.

      I visited NC Register, NC Reporter, Fr. Z's site, Rorate Caeli, Crux, and other sites too late now to remember their names. Anyway, after Papa Benny announced his resignation and Papa Francis was elected, it seems all hell broke loose. Everything got ugly and mean and so lacking in charity that I found it all too much and too poisonous for my already weak faith. An online friend told me he understood where I was coming from and thought it best I bail from all these websites.

      Anyway, I did and like I have told you many times before, yours is one worth keeping as are Deacon Greg's, who is now on Aleteia by the way. I like their site more now as it is more balanced and encouraging all of us whop visit to grow in the faith as well as to press onward.

      Thanks again Terry as I have learned from you too!

      Be assured of my prayers and regard. ^^

      Delete
  3. <>

    Yesterday’s first reading explains (Romans : 5-16) and offers advice to the ‘communion of saints’.

    Paul says that we form one body in Christ and as parts of it we belong to each other. He goes on to say: “Rejoice with those who rejoice and be sad with those in sorrow.”

    As with the weather, our moods and disposition can change daily. Even news bulletins can dictate our daily living and outlook. Do we really need to know what is happening on the other side of the world when most of the time we don’t even know what is happening to our neighbours next door or in the same street?

    There is so much generalising these days about the state of the world. A neighbourly smile or greeting can do much to change the way we perceive the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Today it is a very dark, dreary fall day - heavy overcast and a hint of fog. You spotted my mood. You are right though - the kindness towards one another is so necessary. Thanks my friend.

      Delete
  4. I love Jacinta. I have a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and found a little figurine of a shepherd girl in a thrift store. She is kneeling. So I put her in front of my statue and am looking for Lucia and Francisco whenevery I'm "junking." Pray and penance: "O my God for love of you, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in atonement for sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary." These are great times -- martyr making times -- which means many souls will be converted and saved through suffering. "O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine." Courage!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes indeed - courage and fortitude - how we need them. Let's keep praying for one another!

      Thanks Mary Ann.

      Delete
  5. I am reminded Terry of how the children in a dysfunctional family are always the ones to suffer at the hands of the adults. It is either outright abuse or neglect but it damages the child throughout life unless addressed through therapy and the Grace of God to heal and forgive. We have no power over the future as it unrolls on the world stage, but we can control our own reaction and be prepared on a personal level. I agree that Fatima is unique and still unfolding. The other events see themselves as the continuation of Fatima. It will be 100 years since the apparitions occurred and this maybe significant. Two signs could be a Papal visit to Russia and odd and dramatic events in the sky. I do not dismiss nor embrace the other events after Fatima.but remain open minded. The Church is certainly in a state of disarray and dysfunction. Like the family I wrote about we are the children suffering neglect and sadly for some abuse. The good news is we can go directly to the Father and our Mother for direct attention and guidance. I will,pray that you receive and feel that Divine grace Terry.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are putting my thoughts into words. I totally agree.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The one promise that speaks to me always now and until the Lord Jesus returns:

    "In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

    Let us pray to live to see that glorious day after so many of us have walked Calvary here on earth.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete


Please comment with charity and avoid ad hominem attacks. I exercise the right to delete comments I find inappropriate. If you use your real name there is a better chance your comment will stay put.