THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Sunday, October 18th, 2015
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Liturgical texts here
WE are not facing the end of the world. In fact, we are not even facing the last tribulations of the Church. What we are facing is the final confrontation in a long history of confrontations between Satan and Christ’s Church: a battle for one or the other to establish their kingdom on earth. St. John Paul II summed it up this way:
I WANT to give a message of hope—tremendous hope. I continue to receive letters in which readers are despairing as they watch the continual decline and exponential decay of society around them. We hurt because the world is in a downward spiral into a darkness unparalleled in history. We feel pangs because it reminds us that this is not our home, but Heaven is. So listen again to Jesus:
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, March 28th, 2015
Liturgical texts here
ONE of the most common questions I hear on the possibility of a coming “era of peace” is why? Why wouldn’t the Lord simply return, put an end to wars and suffering, and bring about a New Heavens and New Earth? The short answer is simply that God would have utterly failed, and Satan won.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent, March 27th, 2015
Liturgical texts here
St. Sophia the Almighty’s Wisdom, Nicholas Roerich (1932)
THE Day of the Lord is near. It is a Day when the manifold Wisdom of God will be made known to the nations. [1]cf. The Vindication of Wisdom
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. The Vindication of Wisdom |
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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent, March 25th, 2015
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Liturgical texts here
from The Annunciation by Nicolas Poussin (1657)
TO understand the future of the Church, look no further than the Blessed Virgin Mary.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Tuesday of the First Week of Lent, February 24th, 2015
Liturgical texts here
PONDER again these words from today’s Gospel:
…thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Now listen carefully to the first reading:
So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.
If Jesus gave us this “word” to pray daily to our Heavenly Father, then one must ask whether or not His Kingdom and His Divine Will shall be on earth as it is in heaven? Whether or not this “word” we have been taught to pray will achieve its end… or simply return void? The answer, of course, is that these words of the Lord will indeed accomplish their end and will…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday, January 27th, 2015
Opt. Memorial for St. Angela Merici
Liturgical texts here
TODAY’s Gospel is often used to argue that Catholics have invented or exaggerated the significance of the motherhood of Mary.
“Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
But then who lived the will of God more completely, more perfectly, more obediently than Mary, after her Son? From the moment of the Annunciation [1]and since her birth, since Gabriel says she was “full of grace” until standing beneath the Cross (while others fled), no one quietly lived out the will of God more perfectly. That is to say that no one was more of a mother to Jesus, by His own definintion, than this Woman.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | and since her birth, since Gabriel says she was “full of grace” |
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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 17th, 2014
of the Third Week of Advent
Liturgical texts here
HOW are we to understand the prophetic texts of Scripture which imply that, with the coming of the Messiah, justice and peace would reign, and He would crush His enemies beneath His feet? For would it not appear that 2000 years later, these prophecies have utterly failed?
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for June 16th – June 21st, 2014
Ordinary Time
Liturgical texts here
Elijah
HE was one of the most influential prophets of the Old Testament. In fact, his end here on earth is nearly mythological in status since, well… he didn’t have an end.
As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. (Wednesday’s first reading)
Tradition teaches that Elijah was taken to “paradise” where he has been preserved from corruption, but that his role on earth has not ended.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 20th, 2014
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
‘VICTORY over the “prince of this world” was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life.’ [1]Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2853 The Kingdom of God has been coming since the Last Supper, and continues to come into our midst through the Holy Eucharist. [2]CCC, n. 2816 As today’s Psalm says, “Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations.” If that is so, why does Jesus say in today’s Gospel:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for May 12th, 2014
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Liturgical texts here
Peace is Coming, by Jon McNaughton
HOW many Catholics ever pause to think that there is a global plan of salvation underway? That God is working each and every moment toward the fulfillment of that plan? When people look up at the clouds floating by, few think of the near infinite expanse of galaxies and planetary systems that lay beyond. They see clouds, a bird, a storm, and continue on without reflecting on the mystery lying beyond the heavens. Soo too, few souls look beyond the present day triumphs and storms and realize that they are leading toward the fulfillment of Christ’s promises, expressed in today’s Gospel:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for April 2nd, 2014
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Liturgical texts here
IN yesterday’s first reading, when an angel took Ezekiel to the trickle of water that was flowing to the east, he measured four distances from the temple from where the small river began. With each measurement, the water became deeper and deeper until it could not be crossed. This is symbolic, one could say, of the “four ages of grace”… and we are on the threshold of the third.
SOME questions and answers on the “era of peace,” from Vassula, to Fatima, to the Fathers.
Q. Didn’t the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith say that the “era of peace” is millenarianism when it posted its Notification on Vassula Ryden’s writings?
I have decided to answer this question here since some are using this Notification to draw flawed conclusions regarding the notion of an “era of peace.” The answer to this question is as interesting as it is convoluted.
NOT only can we hope for the fulfillment of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, the Church has the power to hasten its coming by our prayers and actions. Instead of despairing, we need to be preparing.
What can we do? What can I do?
AS Pope Francis prepares to consecrate his papacy to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13th, 2013 through Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, Archbishop of Lisbon, [1]Correction: The consecration is to happen through the Cardinal, not the Pope in person himself at Fatima, as I mistakenly reported. it is timely to reflect on the Blessed Mother’s promise made there in 1917, what it means, and how it will unfold… something that seems more and more likely to be in our times. I believe his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, has shed some valuable light on what is coming upon the Church and the world in this regard…
In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. —www.vatican.va
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Correction: The consecration is to happen through the Cardinal, not the Pope in person himself at Fatima, as I mistakenly reported. |
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TO His Holiness, Pope Francis:
Dear Holy Father,
Throughout the pontificate of your predecessor, St. John Paul II, he continually invoked us, the youth of the Church, to become “morning watchmen at the dawn of the new millennium.” [1]POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12)
…watchmen who proclaim to the world a new dawn of hope, brotherhood and peace. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Guanelli Youth Movement, April 20th, 2002, www.vatican.va
From Ukraine to Madrid, Peru to Canada, he beckoned us to become “protagonists of the new times” [2]POPE JOHN PAUL II, Welcome Ceremony, International Airport of Madrid-Baraja, May 3rd, 2003; www.fjp2.com that lay directly ahead of the Church and the world:
Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ! —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World, XVII World Youth Day, n. 3; (cf. Is 21:11-12)
Footnotes
| ↑1 | POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12) |
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| ↑2 | POPE JOHN PAUL II, Welcome Ceremony, International Airport of Madrid-Baraja, May 3rd, 2003; www.fjp2.com |
Dawn…
WHAT does the future hold? That’s a question nearly everyone is asking these days as they watch the unprecedented “signs of the times.” This is what Jesus said to St. Faustina:
Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. —Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 848
And again, He says to her:
You will prepare the world for My final coming. —Jesus to St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary, n. 429
At first glance, it would appear that the message of Divine Mercy is preparing us for the imminent return of Jesus in glory and the end of the world. When asked if this is what St. Faustina’s words meant, Pope Benedict XVI answered:
If one took this statement in a chronological sense, as an injunction to get ready, as it were, immediately for the Second Coming, it would be false. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Light of the World, A Conversation with Peter Seewald, p. 180-181
The answer lies in understanding what is meant by “the day of justice,” or what is commonly referred to as “the Day of the Lord”…
WE are approaching, not the end of the world, but the end of this age. How, then, will this present era end?
Many of the popes have written in prayerful anticipation of a coming age when the Church will establish her spiritual reign to the ends of the earth. But it is clear from Scripture, the early Church Fathers, and the revelations given to St. Faustina and other holy mystics, that the world must first be purified of all wickedness, beginning with Satan himself.
THE future hope of an “era of peace” based on the “thousand years” that follow the death of Antichrist, according to the the book of Revelation, may sound like a new concept to some readers. To others, it is considered a heresy. But it is neither. The fact is, the eschatological hope of a “period” of peace and justice, of a “Sabbath rest” for the Church before the end of time, does have its basis in Sacred Tradition. In reality, it has been somewhat buried in centuries of misinterpretation, unwarranted attacks, and speculative theology that continues to this day. In this writing, we look at the question of exactly how “the era was lost”—a bit of a soap opera in itself—and other questions such as whether it is literally a “thousand years,” whether Christ will be visibly present at that time, and what we can expect. Why is this important? Because it not only confirms a future hope that the Blessed Mother announced as imminent at Fatima, but of events that must take place at the end of this age that will change the world forever… events that appear to be on the very threshold of our times.
One of the most common concerns I hear is from family members worried about their loves ones who have fallen away from the faith. This response was first published February 7th, 2008…
WE often say “Noah’s ark” when we speak of that famous boat. But it wasn’t just Noah who survived: God saved a family.
Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. (Gen 7:7)
IN the Spring of 2006, I received a very strong word that is in the forefront of my thoughts these days…
With the eyes of my soul, the Lord had been giving me brief "glimpses" into the various structures of the world: economies, political powers, the food chain, the moral order, and elements within the Church. And the word was always the same:
The corruption is so deep, it must all come down.
The Lord was speaking of a Cosmic Surgery, down to the very foundations of civilization. It seems to me that while we can and must pray for souls, the Surgery itself is now irreversible:
When foundations are being destroyed, what can the upright do? (Psalm 11:3)
Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Luke 3:9)
At the end of the six thousandth year, all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years [Rev 20:6]… —Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (250-317 A.D.; Early Church Father and ecclesiastical writer), The Divine Institutes, Vol 7.
We must use every means and exert all our energy to bring about the utter disappearance of the enormous and detestable wickedness so characteristic of our time—the substitution of man for God; this done, it remains to restore to their ancient place of honor the most holy laws and counsels of the Gospel…—POPE PIUS X, E Supremi “On the Restoration of All Things in Christ”,Oct 4th, 1903
THE “Age of Aquarius” anticipated by new agers is merely a counterfeit of the true Era of Peace to come, an era spoken of by the Early Church Fathers and several pontiffs of the past century:
Mary crushing the serpent, Artist Unknown
First published November 8th, 2007, I have updated this writing with another question on the consecration to Russia, and other very important points.
THE Era of Peace—a heresy? Two more antichrists? Has the “period of peace” promised by Our Lady of Fatima already happened? Was the consecration to Russia requested by her valid? These questions below, plus a comment on Pegasus and the new age as well as the big question: What do I tell my children about what’s coming?
THERE has been a danger in the past to see the “thousand year” reign described by St. John in Revelation as a literal reign on earth—where Christ dwells physically in person in a world-wide political kingdom, or even that the saints take global power. On this matter, the Church has been unequivocal:
The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the “intrinsically perverse” political form of a secular messianism. —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC),n.676
We have seen forms of this “secular messianism” in the ideologies of Marxism and Communism, for example, where dictators have attempted to create a society where all are equal: equally wealthy, equally privileged, and sadly as it always turns out, equally enslaved to the government. Likewise, we see on the other side of the coin what Pope Francis calls a “new tyranny” whereby Capitalism is presenenting “a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.” [1]cf. Evangelii Gaudium, n. 56, 55 (Once again, I wish to raise my voice in warning in the clearest possible terms: we are headed once again toward an “intrinsically perverse” geo-political-economic “beast”—this time, globally.)
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. Evangelii Gaudium, n. 56, 55 |
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A Mustard Tree
IN Evil, Too, Has a Name, I wrote that the goal of Satan is to collapse civilization into his hands, into a structure and system rightly called “a beast.” This is what St. John the Evangelist described in a vision he received where this beast causes “all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave” to be forced into a system whereby they cannot buy or sell anything without a “mark” (Rev 13:16-17). The prophet Daniel also saw a vision of this beast similar to St. John’s (Dan 7:-8) and interpreted a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in which this beast was seen as a statue made up of different materials, symbolic of different kings who form alliances. The context for all of these dreams and visions, while having dimensions of fulfillment in the prophet’s own time, is also for the future:
Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end. (Dan 8:17)
A time when, after the beast is destroyed, God will establish His spiritual Kingdom to the ends of the earth.Continue reading
AS I prayed this morning, I sensed the Lord offering a tremendous gift to this generation: complete absolution.
If this generation would just turn to Me, I would overlook all her sins, even those of abortion, cloning, pornography and materialism. I would wipe away their sins as far as the east is from the west, if only this generation would turn back to Me…
God is offering the very depths of His Mercy to us. It is because, I believe, we are on the threshold of His Justice.
THE DAY OF THE LORD — PART III
Creation of Adam, Michelangelo, c. 1511
THE Day of the Lord is drawing nearer. It is a Day when the manifold Wisdom of God will be made known to the nations.
Wisdom… hastens to make herself known in anticipation of men’s desire; he who watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall find her sitting by his gate. (Wis 6:12-14)
The question may be asked, “Why would the Lord purify the earth for a ‘thousand year’ period of peace? Why wouldn’t He just return and usher in the New Heavens and New Earth for eternity?”
The answer I hear is,
The vindication of Wisdom.
St. John Bosco’s Dream of the Two Pillars
THE possibility that there will be an “Era of Peace” after this time of trial which the world has entered into is something the early Church Father’s spoke of. I believe it will ultimately be “the triumph of the Immaculate Heart” which Mary foretold in Fatima. What applies to her also applies to the Church: that is, there is a coming triumph of the Church. It is a hope which has existed from the time of Christ…
First published June 21, 2007:
THE COMING ERA OF PEACE — PART III
THE first Mass reading this past Sunday (October 5th, 2008) resounded in my heart like thunder. I heard the sigh of a God mourning over the state of His Betrothed:
What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! (Isaiah 5:4-5)
But this too is an act of love. Read on to understand why the purification which has now arrived is not only necessary, but part of God’s divine plan…
Mary, prototype of the Church:
The Assumption of the Virgin, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1670’s
First published August 3rd, 2007.
IF the Body of Christ is to follow its Head through a Transfiguration, Passion, Death and Resurrection, then it will also share in His Ascension.
EASTER
IN the year of the Great Jubilee, 2000, the Lord impressed a Scripture upon me that penetrated my soul so deeply, I was left on my knees weeping. That Scripture, I believe, is for our time.
The young have shown themselves to be for Rome and for the Church a special gift of the Spirit of God… I did not hesitate to ask them to make a radical choice of faith and life and present them with a stupendous task: to become “morning watchmen” at the dawn of the new millennium. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12)
AS one of these “young”, one of the “children of John Paul II,” I have tried to respond to this overwhelming task asked of us by the Holy Father.
I will stand at my guard post, and station myself upon the rampart, and keep watch to see what he will say to me… Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.(Habb 2:1-2)
And so I wish to speak what I hear, and write what I see:
We are approaching the dawn and are crossing the threshold of hope into the The Day of the Lord.
Keep in mind, however, that the “morning” begins at midnight—the darkest part of the day. The night preceeds the dawn.
POPULAR among many Evangelicals and even some Catholics is the expectation that Jesus is about to return in glory, commencing the Final Judgment, and bringing about the New Heavens and New Earth. So when we speak of a coming “era of peace,” does this not conflict with the popular notion of Christ’s imminent return?
THE COMING ERA OF PEACE — PART II
WHY? Why an Era of Peace? Why doesn’t Jesus just put an end to evil and return once and for all after destroying the “lawless one?” [1]See, The Coming Era of Peace
Footnotes
| ↑1 | See, The Coming Era of Peace |
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WHEN I wrote The Great Meshing before Christmas, I concluded saying,
…the Lord began to reveal to me the counter-plan: The Woman Clothed with the Sun (Rev 12). I was so full of joy by the time the Lord was finished speaking, that the plans of the enemy seemed minuscule in comparison. My feelings of discouragement and a sense of hopelessness vanished like fog on a summer morning.
Those “plans” have hung in my heart for over a month now as I’ve eagerly awaited the Lord’s timing to write of these things. Yesterday, I spoke of the veil lifting, of the Lord granting us fresh understandings of what is approaching. The last word is not darkness! It is not hopelessness… for just as the Sun is quickly setting on this era, it is racing toward a new Dawn…
The Roman Coliseum
DEAR friends,
I write you tonight from Bosnia-Hercegovina, formerly Yugoslavia. But I still carry with me thoughts from Rome…
THE COLISEUM
I knelt down and prayed, asking for their intercession: the prayers of the martyrs who shed their blood in this very place centuries ago. The Roman Coliseum, Flavius Ampitheatre, soil of the seed of the Church.
It was another powerful moment, standing in this place where popes have prayed and little layman have aroused their courage. But as the tourists whisked by, cameras clicking and tour guides chattering, other thoughts came to mind…
