The Hard Truth — Part II
WHY? Why would the Catholic Church be against love?
That is the question many people ask when it comes to the Church’s prohibition against gay marriage. Two people want to get married because they love each other. Why not?
DAILY JOURNAL
Control! Control!
This word has been strongly placed on my heart again this past month. We are seeing it come to fruition before our very eyes with increasing government intervention into our basic freedoms for the sake of “safety”; interference into what we may eat, what we may teach our children, what information we should hear, and more and more, what we should think. First published April 19th, 2007:
WHILE praying before the Blessed Sacrament, I had the impression of an angel in the mid-heavens hovering above the world and shouting,
“Control! Control!“
As man tries more and more to banish Christ’s presence from the world, wherever they succeed, chaos takes His place. And with chaos, comes fear. And with fear, comes the opportunity to control.
Arcātheos
LAST summer, I was asked to produce a video promo for Arcātheos, a Catholic boys summer camp based at the foot of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. After much blood, sweat, and tears, this is the final product… In some ways, it is a camp that portends the great battle and triumph to come in these times.
The following video portrays some of the events that occur at Arcātheos. It’s but a sampling of the excitement, solid teaching, and pure fun that happens there each year. Further information on the specific formation goals of the camp can be found throughout the Arcātheos website: www.arcatheos.com
The theatrics and battle scenes herein are intended to inspire fortitude and courage in all areas of life. The boys at the camp quickly realize that the heart and soul of Arcātheos is love for Christ, and charity towards our brothers…
Watch: Arcātheos at www.embracinghope.tv
Removing the Restrainer
THE past month has been one of palpable sorrow as the Lord continues to warn that there is So Little Time Left. The times are sorrowful because mankind is about to reap what God has begged us not to sow. It is sorrowful because many souls do not realize that they are on the precipice of eternal separation from Him. It is sorrowful because the hour of the Church’s own passion has come when a Judas will rise up against her.1 It is sorrowful because Jesus is not only being neglected and forgotten throughout the world, but abused and mocked once again. Hence, the Time of times has come when all lawlessness will break forth across the globe.
Before I go on, ponder for a moment the truth-filled words of a saint:
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and everyday. Either he will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings. —St. Francis de Sales, 17th century bishop
Indeed, this blog is not here to scare or frighten, but to confirm and prepare you so that, like the five wise virgins, the light of your faith will not be snuffed out, but glow ever brighter when the light of God in the world is fully dimmed, and darkness fully unrestrained.2
Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt 25:13)
FOOTNOTES:
- cf. The Seven Year Trial-Part VI [↩]
- cf. Matt 25:1-13 [↩]
A Black Pope?
THERE is a matter which I believe is unsettling many souls. I pray, with Christ’s help, that you will find not only peace, but a renewed confidence through this meditation.
A BLACK POPE
There is talk, not only in evangelical circles, but also among some Catholics that there may appear a “black pope”1 —a pontiff who co-operates with a diabolical new world religion thereby leading millions astray. (Some, in fact, believe we’ve had false popes in place since Vatican II.)
Perhaps this perception is based in part upon the alleged message given in 1846 to Melanie Calvat in La Salette, France. Part of it read:
Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist.
FOOTNOTES:
- nb. “black” does not refer to the color of his skin but refers to evil or darkness; cf. Eph 6:12 [↩]
A Sliver of His Light
DO you feel as though you are an insignificant part of God’s plan? That you have little purpose or usefulness to Him or others? Then I hope you have read The Useless Temptation. However, I sense Jesus wanting to encourage you even more. In fact, it is crucial that you who are reading this understand: you were born for these times. Every single soul in the Kingdom of God is here by design, here with a specific purpose and role that is invaluable. That is because you make up part of “the light of the world,” and without you, the world loses a little color…. let me explain.
Entering the Prodigal Hour
THERE is much on my heart to write and speak about in the days ahead that is serious and important in the big scheme of things. In the meantime, Pope Benedict continues to speak lucidly and candidly about the future the world faces. It is no surprise that he is echoing the warnings of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, in her person, is a prototype and mirror of the Church. That is, there should be a consistency between her and Sacred Tradition, between the prophetic word of the body of Christ and her authentic apparitions. The central and synchronous message is one of both warning and hope: warning that the world is on the very precipice of disaster due to its present course; and hope that, if we turn back to God, He can heal our nations. I want to write more about Pope Benedict’s powerful homily given this past Easter Vigil. But for now, we cannot underestimate the seriousness of his warning:
The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Easter Vigil Homily, April 7th, 2012 (emphasis mine)
And thus, the world has arrived at The Prodigal Hour: a period of both hope and warning…
The Useless Temptation
THIS morning, on the first leg of my flight to California where I’ll be speaking this week (see Mark in California), I peered out the window of our jet at the ground far below. I was just finishing the first decade of the Sorrowful Mysteries when an overwhelming sense of futility came over me. “I am just a mere speck of dust on the face of the earth… one of 6 billion people. What difference could I possibly make??….”
Then I suddenly realized: Jesus also became one of us “specks.” He too became just one of the millions who lived on earth at that time. He was unknown to most of the population of the world, and even in His own country, many did not see or hear Him preach. But Jesus accomplished the Father’s will according to the Father’s designs, and in so doing, the impact of Jesus’ life and death has an eternal consequence that extends to the very ends of the cosmos.
The Rescuer
The Rescuer, by Michael D. O’Brien
THERE are many kinds of “love” in our world, but not all triumph. It is only that love which gives of itself, or rather, dies to itself that carries the seed of redemption.
Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. (John 12:24-26)
What I am saying here is not easy—dying to our own will is not easy. Letting go in a certain situation is hard. Seeing our loved ones go down destructive paths is painful. Having to let a situation turn in the opposite direction we think it should go, is a death in itself. It is only through Jesus that we are able to find the power to bear these sufferings, to find the power to give and the power to forgive.
To love with a love that triumphs.
The Great Vacuum
A vacuum has been created in the souls of the youth generation—whether in China or America—by an onslaught of propaganda which centers on self-fulfillment, rather than on God. Our hearts are made for Him, and when we do not have God—or we refuse Him entry—something else takes His place. This is why the Church must never cease to evangelize, to proclaim the Good News that the Lord wishes to enter our hearts, with all His Heart, to fill the vacuum.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. (John 14:23)
But this Gospel, if it is to have any credibility, must be preached with our lives.
Warnings in the Wind
Our Lady of Sorrows, painting by Tianna Mallett
THE wind is blowing hard today, as it often does when I sense Our Blessed Mother compelling me to give a warning. We exchange tears, and when the moment is right, I sit down to repeat what I believe she has been saying over the past few days, weeks, and months in a word that has finally ripened…
Persecution! …and the Moral Tsunami
As more and more people are waking up to the growing persecution of the Church, this writing addresses why, and where it’s all heading. First published December 12th, 2005, I have updated the preamble below…
I will take my stand to watch, and station myself on the tower, and look forth to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it.” (Habakkuk 2:1-2)
THE past several weeks, I have been hearing with renewed force in my heart that there is a persecution coming—a “word” the Lord seemed to convey to a priest and I while on retreat in 2005. As I prepared to write about this today, I received the following email from a reader:
I had a weird dream last night. I awoke this morning with the words “Persecution is coming.” Wondering if others are getting this as well…
That is, at least, what Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York implied last week on the heels of gay marriage being accepted into law in New York. He wrote…
…we do worry indeed about this freedom of religion. Editorials already call for the removal of guarantees of religious liberty, with crusaders calling for people of faith to be coerced to acceptance of this redefinition. If the experience of those few other states and countries where this is already law is any indication, the churches, and believers, will soon be harassed, threatened, and hauled into court for their conviction that marriage is between one man, one woman, forever, bringing children into the world.—from Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s blog, “Some Afterthoughts”, July 7th, 2011; http://blog.archny.org/?p=1349
He is echoing Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, former President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who said five years ago:
“…speaking in defense of the life and the rights of the family is becoming, in some societies, a type of crime against the State, a form of disobedience to the Government…” —Vatican City, June 28, 2006