Painting of the “last vision” of Sr. Lucia
IN what has become known as the “last vision” of Fatima seer Sr. Lucia, while praying before the Blessed Sacrament, she saw a scene which carries many symbols for the period which began with the Virgin’s apparitions up to our present time, and the times to come:
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers… —Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 675
I have quoted this passage several times. Perhaps you have read it several times. But the question is, are you ready for it? Let me ask you again with urgency, "Are you ready for it?"
Carl Bloch, The Transfiguration
First published June 13th, 2007.
WHAT is this great grace that God will give to the Church in The Coming Pentecost? It is the grace of the Transfiguration.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
California
BEFORE Christmas Eve Mass, I slipped into the church to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Suddenly, I was overcome with a terrible sorrow. I began to experience the rejection of Jesus upon the Cross: the rejection of the sheep whom He loved, led, and healed; the rejection of the high priests whom He taught, and even the Apostles whom He formed. Today, once again, Jesus is being rejected by the nations, betrayed by "high priests," and abandoned by many disciples who once loved Him and sought Him but who now compromise or reject their Catholic (Christian) faith.
Did you think that because Jesus is in Heaven that He no longer suffers? He does, because He loves. Because Love is being rejected all over again. Because He sees the terrible sorrows we are bringing upon ourselves since we do not embrace, or rather, let Love embrace us. Love is pierced once again, this time by the thorns of mockery, the nails of unbelief, and the lance of rejection.
"Be Not Afraid", by Tommy Christopher Canning
This writing was placed on my heart last night… the woman clothed with the sun appearing in our times, labouring, about to give birth. What I didn’t know was that this morning, my wife was going into labour! I will let you know the outcome…
There is much on my heart these days, but the battle is very thick, and writing has been as easy as jogging in a neck-high swamp. The winds of change are blowing hard, and this writing, I believe, may explain why… Peace be with you! Let us hold one another in prayer that in these times of change, we will shine with the holiness proper to our calling as sons and daughters of a victorious and humble King!
First published July 19th, 2007…
Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (Rev 11:19)
THE sign of this ark of the covenant appears before a great battle between the dragon and the Church, that is, a persecution. This ark, and the symbolism it carries, is all part of that "sign."
The recent fire near the broken statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje
THE emails continue to roll in on the seeming phenomenon of hands breaking off of Marian statues, sometimes without any apparent reason. Here’s one more sampling of letters:
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Artist Unknown
MORE letters continue to come in from reader’s whose Marian statues have a broken left hand. Some can explain why their statue broke, while others cannot. But perhaps that is not the point. I think what is significant is that it is always a hand.
YES, this is the time to truly wait and pray in The Bastion. The waiting is the hardest part, especially when it seems as though we are on the cusp of enormous change… But timing is everything. The temptations to rush God, to question His delay, to doubt His presence—will only intensify as we reach deeper into the days of change.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Pt 3:9)
TWO things happened after Pentecost as the Apostles began to proclaim the Gospel in the name of Jesus Christ. Souls began to convert to Christianity by the thousands. The second is that the name of Jesus sparked a renewed persecution, this time of His mystical body.
AFTER the first Pentecost, the Apostles were infused with a deeper understanding of who they were in Christ. From that moment on, they began to live, move, and have their being “in the name of Jesus.” Continue reading
Coptic icon of Pentecost
First published June 6th, 2007, the content of this writing comes back to me with a new sense of immediacy. Are we drawing nearer to this moment than we realize? (I have updated this writing, inserting recent comments from Pope Benedict.)
WHILE the meditations of late are somber and call us to deeper repentance and trust in God, they are not a message of doom. They are the herald of the end of a season, the “fall” of mankind, so to speak, when the purifying winds of Heaven will blow away the dead leaves of sin and rebellion. They speak of a winter in which those things of the flesh which are not of God will be brought to death, and those things which are rooted in Him will bloom in a glorious “new springtime” of joy and life!
Elijah and Elisha by Michael D. O’Brien
As the prophet Elijah is taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, he bestows his cloak on the prophet Elisha, his young disciple. Elisha in his boldness has asked for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit. (2 Kings 2:9-11). In our times, every disciple of Jesus is called to bear prophetic witness against the culture of death, be it a small piece of the cloak or a large one. —Artist Commentary
WE are on the verge, I believe, of a tremendous hour of evangelization.
Christ Grieving by Michael D. O’Brien
Christ embraces the whole world, yet hearts have grown cold, faith is eroded, violence increases. The cosmos reels, the earth is in darkness. The farmlands, the wilderness, and the cities of man no longer reverence the Blood of the Lamb. Jesus grieves over the world. How will mankind awake? What will it take to shatter our indifference? —Artist’s Commentary
HE is burning with love for you like a groom separated from his bride, longing to embrace her. He is like a mother bear, fiercely protective, running toward her cubs. He is like a king, mounting his steed and rushing his armies into the countryside to protect even the lowliest of his subjects.
Jesus is a jealous God!
FEAST OF ST. PATRICK
THOSE who have read and meditated upon the message of Mercy that Jesus gave to St. Faustina understand its significance for our times.
You have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for [granting] mercy. —Virgin Mary speaking to St. Faustina, Diary of St. Faustina, n. 635
What I want to point out is that the Divine Mercy message is inextricably tied to the Eucharist. And the Eucharist, as I wrote in Meeting Face to Face, is the centerpiece of St. John’s Revelation, a book which intermingles Liturgy and apocalyptic imagery to prepare the Church, in part, for the Second Coming of Christ.Continue reading
I WROTE not long ago about Our Lady’s Battle, and the role that a “remnant” is being urgently prepared for. There is one other aspect to this Battle I wish to point out.
BATTLE CRY
In the battle of Gideon—a metaphor of Our Lady’s Battle—the soldiers are handed:
Horns and empty jars, and torches inside the jars. (Judges 7:17)
When it was time, the jars were broken and Gideon’s army sounded their horns. That is, the battle began with music.
The Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene, by Alexander Ivanov, 1834-1836
THERE is one other way in which Jesus reveals Himself after the Resurrection.Continue reading
IN my travels throughout North America, I have been hearing remarkable conversion stories from young people. They are telling me about conferences or retreats they’ve attended, and how they are being transformed by an encounter with Jesus—in the Eucharist. The stories are almost identical:
I was having a difficult weekend, not really getting much out of it. But when the priest walked in carrying the monstrance with Jesus in the Eucharist, something happened. I have been changed ever since….
LOVE REVEALS ITSELF
HE was not a righteous man. He was a liar, a thief, and everyone knew it. Yet, in Zacchaeus, there was a hunger for the truth which sets us free, even if he did not know it. And so, when he heard that Jesus was passing by, he climbed a tree to catch a glimpse.
Of all the hundreds, perhaps thousands that were following Christ that day, Jesus stopped at that tree.
Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house. (Luke 19:5)
Jesus did not stop there because He found a worthy soul, or because he found a soul full of faith, or even a repentant heart. He stopped because His Heart was filled with compassion for a man who was out on a limb—spiritually speaking.
The Prodigal Son, by Liz Lemon Swindle
ASH WEDNESDAY
THE so-called “illumination of conscience” referred to by saints and mystics is sometimes called a “warning.” It is a warning because it will present a clear choice for this generation to either choose or reject the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ before a necessary judgment. The choice to either return home or remain lost, perhaps forever.
War-torn district in Bosnia
WHEN I visited former Yugoslavia just over a year ago, I was taken to a little make-shift village where war refugees were living. They came there by rail-car, fleeing the devastating bombs and bullets which still mark many of the apartments and businesses of Bosnia’s cities and towns.
St. Michael the Archangel by Michael D. O’Brien
AS we come to see and better understand the vast scope of the enemy’s plan, The Great Deception, we should not be overwhelmed, for his plan will not succeed. God is revealing a far greater Masterplan—a victory already won by Christ as we enter the time of the Final Battles. Again, let me turn to a phrase from Hope is Dawning:
When Jesus comes, much will come to light, and the darkness will be scattered.
I want to take the word which I heard Our Lady speak in Hope is Dawning, a message of tremendous hope, and develop its powerful contents over the course of the next writings.
Mary said,
Jesus is coming, coming as Light, to awaken souls steeped in darkness.
Jesus is returning, but this is not His Final Coming in Glory. He is coming to us as Light.
THE "word" below is from an American priest at whose parish I gave a mission. It is a message which restates what I have written here several times: the critical need at this juncture in time for regular Confession, prayer, time spent before the Blessed Sacrament, reading of the Word of God, and devotion to Mary, the Ark of Refuge.
EARLIER this week, I thought I heard the Lord say,
Listen very carefully to the Advent readings!
THE past few days, my spirit has felt as if an anchor is tied around it… as if I am looking up towards the surface of the ocean at fading Sunlight, as I sink deeper and deeper into weariness.
At the same time, I hear a voice in my heart saying,
Don’t give up! Stay awake… these are the temptations of the Garden, of the ten Virgins who fell asleep before their Bridegroom’s return…
The Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem
FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF MARY
AS I wrote in The Time of Transition, I sensed a quickening in that God is going to speak very plain and direct to us through His prophets as His plans reach fulfillment. This is the time to listen carefully—that is, to pray, pray, pray! Then you will have the grace to understand what God is saying to you in these times. Only in prayer will you be given the grace to hear and comprehend, to see and to perceive.
ONCE again, I wish that the trumpets being blown by God’s angels would be heard more clearly in our hearts!
The time is very short!
ONCE again, the image of a smoldering candle has come to mind, barely any wax left upon the burned down Candle (see The Smoldering Candle to understand the symbolism).
And this is what I sensed with this image:
IT is as though the scales are falling from many eyes. Christians around the world are beginning to see and understand the times around them, as though they were waking from a long, deep sleep. As I pondered this, the Scripture came to mind:
Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
Today, the prophets are speaking words which in turn are putting flesh on the inner stirrings of many hearts, the hearts of God’s servants—His little children. Suddenly, things are making sense, and what people could not put into words before, is now coming into focus before their very eyes.
The other day, I seemed to hear the Lord speak with authority and love:
Come out of the closet!
I believe at the height of the coming storm—a time of great chaos and confusion—the eye [of the hurricane] will pass over humanity. Suddenly, there will be a great calm; the sky will open up, and we will see the Sun beaming down upon us. It’s rays of Mercy will illuminate our hearts, and we will all see ourselves the way God sees us. It will be a warning, as we will see our souls in their true condition. It will be more than a “wake-up call”. —Trumpets of Warning, Part V
Noah’s Ark, Artist Unknown
THERE is a quickening of events in nature, but also an intensifying of human hostility against the Church. Yet, Jesus did speak of labor pains which would be “only the beginning.” If that is the case, why would there be this feeling of urgency which so many people sense about the days in which we are living, as if “something” were imminent?
Photo by Chip Clark ©, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
THE LAST HOPE OF SALVATION
Jesus speaks to St. Faustina of the many ways He is pouring out special graces upon souls during this time of Mercy. One is Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, which begins with the first Masses tonight (note: to receive the special graces of this day, we are required to go Confession within 20 days, and receive communion in a state of grace. See The Last Hope of Salvation.) But Jesus also speaks about the Mercy He wishes to lavish on souls through the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Divine Mercy Image, and the Hour of Mercy, which begins at 3 p.m. each day.
But really, every day, every minute, every second, we can access the mercy and grace of Jesus very simply:
I OPENED the scriptures recently to a word which quickened my spirit.
Actually, it was November 8th, the day the Democrats took power in the American House and Senate. Now, I’m a Canadian, so I don’t follow their politics much… but I do follow their trends. And that day, it was clear to many who defend the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, that powers had just shifted out of their favor.
THERE is much talk these days of darkness: "dark clouds", "dark shadows", "dark signs" etc. In the light of the Gospels, this could be seen as a cocoon, wrapping itself around humanity. But it is only for a short time…
Soon the cocoon withers… the hardened eggshell breaks, the placenta depletes. Then it comes, quickly: new life. The butterfly emerges, the chick spreads its wings, and a new child emerges from the "narrow and difficult" passage of the birth canal.
Indeed, are we not on the threshold of Hope?