Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Artist Unknown
WHEN the Seven Year Trial is over, a smaller but purified Church will emerge in a purified world. There will rise from her soul a song of praise… the song of the Woman.
A new hymn I will sing to my God. (Judith 16:13)
Christ the Word of Life, by Michael D. O’Brien
I will choose the time; I will judge fairly. The earth and all its inhabitants will quake, but I have firmly set its pillars. (Psalm 75:3-4)
WE have followed the Passion of the Church, walking in the footsteps of our Lord from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. It is seven days from Passion Sunday to Easter Sunday. So too, the Church will experience Daniel’s "week," a seven year confrontation with the powers of darkness, and ultimately, a great triumph.
Whatever has been prophesied in Scripture is coming to pass, and as the end of the world approaches, it tests both men and the times. —St. Cyprian of Carthage
Below are some final thoughts regarding this series.
Jesus Taken Down From The Cross, by Michael D. O’Brien
Go into the ark, you and all your household… Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights. (Gen 7:1, 4)
THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE
With the Seventh Bowl poured out, the judgment of God upon the Beast’s kingdom is reaching its climax.
Crucifixion, by Michael D. O’Brien
The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, 677
AS we continue to follow the Passion of the Body in relation to the Book of Revelation, it is good to recall the words we read at that book’s beginning:
Blessed is the one who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near. (Rev 1:3)
We read, then, not in a spirit of fear or terror, but in a spirit of hope and anticipation of the blessing which comes to those who "heed" Revelation’s central message: faith in Jesus Christ saves us from everlasting death and grants us a share in the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.
"Jesus is condemned to death by Pilate", by Michael D. O’Brien
Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
PROPHETIC WARNING
The Lord sends the Two Witnesses into the world to call them to repentance. Through this act of mercy, we see again that God is love, slow to anger, and rich in mercy.
The Crowning With Thorns, by Michael D. O’Brien
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. (Joel 2:1)
THE Illumination will usher in a period of evangelization that will come like a flood, a Great Flood of Mercy. Yes, Jesus, come! Come in power, light, love, and mercy!
But lest we forget, the Illumination is also a warning that the path the world and many in the Church itself have chosen will bring terrible and painful consequences upon the earth. The Illumination will be followed by further merciful warnings that begin to unfold in the cosmos itself…
The Flagellation, by Michael D. O’Brien
For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:15)
WE continue to follow Christ’s Passion—a pattern for the Church’s own present and coming trials. This writing looks in greater detail at how a Judas—the Antichrist—will rise to power.
Unborn Baby at 8 Weeks Lobster
First published December 15th, 2006.
TOLERANT, Humane, Equal. This is the new Trinity of the modern world, the image in which we have recreated ourselves. As such in this new world order, animals have been given the same rights as humans… if not more.
THERE is more coming on the Seven Year Trial series which I am continuing to write and pray about. In the meantime, more signs of the times…
A child in His mother’s arms… (artist unknown)
YES, we must find joy in the midst of this present darkness. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and therefore, ever-present to the Church. Yet, it is natural to be afraid of losing one’s security, or fearful of persecution or martyrdom. Jesus felt this human quality so intensely that He sweat drops of blood. But then, God sent Him an angel to strengthen Him, and Jesus’ fear was replaced by a quiet, docile peace.
Herein lies the root of the tree which bears the fruit of joy: total abandonment to God.
He who ‘fears’ the Lord is ‘not afraid.’ —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Vatican City, June 22, 2008; Zenit.org