DURING one Mass, I was attacked by the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev 12:10). The entire Liturgy rolled by and I had barely been able to absorb a word as I wrestled against the discouragement of the enemy. I began my morning prayer, and the (convincing) lies intensified, so much so, I could do nothing but pray aloud, my mind completely under siege.
An apostle of love and presence, St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
by my daughter
Tianna (Mallett) Williams
ti-spark.ca
THE Diabolical Disorientation I wrote about seeks to drag everyone and everything into a sea of confusion, including (if not especially) Christians. It is the gales of the Great Storm I have written about that is like a hurricane; the closer you get to the Eye, the more fierce and blinding the winds become, disorientating everyone and everything to the point that much is turned upside down, and remaining “balanced” becomes difficult. I am constantly on the receiving end of letters from both clergy and laity that speak of their personal confusion, disillusion, and suffering in what is taking place at an increasingly exponential rate. To that end, I gave seven steps you can take to diffuse this diabolical disorientation in your personal and family life. However, that comes with a caveat: anything we do must be undertaken with the Divine Orientation.Continue reading
BEFORE the Blessed Sacrament, the words “Faustina’s Creed” came to mind as I read the following from St. Faustina’s Diary. I have edited the original entry to make it more succinct and general for all vocations. It is a beautiful “rule” especially for lay men and women, indeed anyone who strives to live these tenets…
The secret of happiness is docility to God and generosity to the needy…
—POPE BENEDICT XVI, Nov 2nd, 2005, Zenit
If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other…
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta
WE speak so much of how heavy our crosses are. But did you know that crosses can be light? Do you know what makes them lighter? It is love. The kind of love that Jesus spoke about:Continue reading
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)
FAITH is the key, which unlocks the door of hope, that opens to love.
Continue reading
Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea,
but the encounter with an event, a person,
which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
—POPE BENEDICT XVI; Encyclical Letter: Deus Caritas Est, “God is Love”; 1
I AM a cradle Catholic. There have been many key moments that have deepened my faith over the past five decades. But the ones that produced hope were when I personally encountered the presence and power of Jesus. This, in turn, led me to love Him and others more. Most often, those encounters happened when I approached the Lord as a broken soul, for as the Psalmist says:Continue reading
IT is no longer a fringe notion that the world is plunging into a deep crisis. All around us, the fruits of moral relativism abound as the “rule of law” that has more or less guided nations is being re-written: moral absolutes have been all but abolished; medical and scientific ethics are mostly ignored; economic and political norms that maintained civility and order are rapidly being abandoned (cf. The Hour of Lawlessness). The watchmen have cried that a Storm is coming… and now it’s here. We are heading into difficult times. But bound in this Storm is the seed of a coming new Era in which Christ will reign in His saints from coastland to coastland (see Rev 20:1-6; Matt 24:14). It will be a time of peace—the “period of peace” promised at Fatima:Continue reading
Embracing Hope, by Léa Mallett
OVER Christmas, I took time away from this apostolate to make a necessary reset of my heart, scarred and exhausted from a pace of life that has hardly slowed since I began full-time ministry in 2000. But I soon learned that I was more powerless to change things than I’d realized. This led me to a place of near despair as I found myself staring into the abyss between Christ and I, between myself and the needed healing in my heart and family… and all I could do was weep and cry out.Continue reading
DEAR friends, my recent post Off Into the Night ignited a flurry of letters unlike anything in the past. I am so deeply grateful for the letters and notes of love, concern, and kindness that have been expressed from all over the world. You have reminded me that I am not speaking into a vacuum, that many of you have been and continue to be deeply affected by The Now Word. Thanks be to God who uses all of us, even in our brokenness.Continue reading
SINCE the election of two men to the most influential offices on the planet—Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States and Pope Francis to the Chair of St. Peter—there has been a marked shift in public discourse within the culture and the Church itself. Whether they intended it or not, these men have become agitators of the status quo. All at once, the political and religious landscape has suddenly changed. What was hidden in the darkness is coming to light. What could have been predicted yesterday is no longer the case today. The old order is collapsing. It is the beginning of a Great Shaking that is sparking a worldwide fulfillment of Christ’s words:Continue reading