THERE is a scene in the Wizard of Oz when the little mutt Toto pulls back the curtain and reveals the truth behind the “Wizard.” So too, in Christ’s Passion, the curtain is drawn back and Judas is revealed, setting in motion a chain of events that scatters and divides the flock of Christ…
A FEW days ago, an American wrote me in the wake of their Supreme Court’s decision to invent the right to same-sex “marriage”: I have been weeping on and off a good part of this day… as I attempt to go to sleep I am wondering if you could help me understand just where […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for March 11th, 2017 Saturday of the First Week of Lent Liturgical texts here WHENEVER I have debated with atheists, I find that there is almost always an underlying judgment: Christians are judgmental prigs. Actually, it was a concern that Pope Benedict once expressed—that we might be putting […]
IT was the most cunning of lies in the Garden of Eden… You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of [the fruit of the tree of knowledge] your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil. […]
Photo by EPA, at 6pm in Rome, February 11th, 2013 AS a young man, I dreamed of being a singer/songwriter, of dedicating my life to music. But it seemed too unrealistic and impractical. And so I went into mechanical engineering—a profession that paid well, but was totally unsuitable to my gifts and disposition. After […]
FEW writings have ever led me to the point of tears, as this one has. Three years ago, the Lord put it on my heart to write about The Great Poisoning. Since then, the poisoning of our world has only increased exponentially. The bottom line is that much of what we consume, drink, breathe, […]
Refugees, courtesy Associated Press IT is one of the most volatile topics in the world right now—and one of the least balanced discussions at that: refugees, and what do with the overwhelming exodus. St. John Paul II called the issue “perhaps the greatest tragedy of all the human tragedies of our time.” [1]Address to Refugees in Exile […]
While writing about the Storm of Fear, Temptation, Division, and Confusion recently, the writing below was lingering in the back of my mind. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to the Apostles, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” [1]Mark 6:31 There is so much happening, so fast in our world as we approach the Eye of the Storm, that […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 Liturgical texts here Peter’s Denial, by Michael D. O’Brien IT’s a bit surprising, really. After speaking with astounding wisdom and performing mighty deeds, onlookers could only sneer and say, “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?”
Look Up by Michael D. O’Brien If there is a Storm in our times, will God provide an “ark”? The answer is “Yes!” But perhaps never before have Christians doubted this provision so much as in our times as controversy over Pope Francis rages, and the rational minds of our post-modern era must grapple with the mystical. Nonetheless, […]
“You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14) AS I attempt to pen this writing to you today, I confess, I have had to start over several times. The reason is that The Storm of Fear to doubt God and His promises, The Storm of Temptation to turn to worldly solutions and security, and The Storm […]
Hurricane Sandy, Photograph by Ken Cedeno, Corbis Images WHETHER it has been global politics, the recent American presidential campaign, or family relationships, we are living in a time when divisions are becoming more glaring, intense and bitter. In fact, the more we are connected by social media, the more divided we seem to be as Facebook, […]
Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images TEMPTATION is as old as human history. But what is new about temptation in our times is that sin has never been so accessible, so pervasive, and so acceptable. It could rightly be said that there is a veritable deluge of impurity sweeping through the world. And this has […]
IT can be almost fruitless to speak of how to battle against the storms of temptation, division, confusion, oppression, and such unless we have an unshakable confidence in God’s love for us. That is the context for not only this discussion, but for the entire Gospel.
CHRISTMAS is over? You’d think so by the world’s standards. The “top forty” has replaced Christmas music; sales signs have replaced ornaments; lights have been dimmed and Christmas trees kicked to the curb. But for us as Catholic Christians, we are still in the midst of a contemplative gaze at the Word who has become flesh—God become […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Saturday, December 31st, 2016 The Seventh Day of the Nativity of Our Lord and Vigil of the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God Liturgical texts here Embracing Hope, by Léa Mallett THERE is one word on my heart on this eve of the Solemnity of the […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Tuesday, December 20th, 2016 Liturgical texts here The Annunciation; Sandro Botticelli; 1485 AMONG the most powerful and prophetic words spoken to Mary by the angel Gabriel was the promise that her Son’s Kingdom would never end. This is good news for those who fear that the Catholic Church is in […]
YES, God’s Word will be vindicated… but standing in the way, or at least trying to, will be what St. John calls a “beast.” It is a false kingdom offering to the world a false hope and false security through technology, transhumanism, and a generic spirituality that makes “a pretense of religion but denies its power.” […]
As I continue to study the “beast” of Revelation 13, some fascinating things are emerging which I wish to pray and reflect on further before writing them. In the meantime, I am receiving letters of concern again about the growing division in the Church over Amoris Laetitia, the Pope’s recent Apostolic Exhortation. For the moment, I want […]
SEVERAL weeks ago, I wrote that it is time for me ‘to speak directly, boldly, and without apology to the “remnant” who are listening. It is only a remnant of readers now, not because they are special, but chosen; it is a remnant, not because all are not invited, but few respond.’ [1]cf. The Convergence and the Blessing That […]
St. Maximillian Kolbe I concluded Trajectory saying that we are being prepared for a new evangelization. This is what we must pre-occupy ourselves with—not building bunkers and storing food. There is a “restoration” coming. Our Lady speaks of it, as well as the popes (see The Popes, and the Dawning Era). So do not dwell on […]
Pope Francis Closes the “Door of Mercy”, Rome, Nov. 20th, 2016, Photo by Tiziana Fabi/ AFP POOL / AFP THE “Door of Mercy” has closed. All across the world, the special plenary indulgence offered at cathedrals, basilicas and other designated places, has expired. But what about the mercy of God in this “time of mercy” in which […]
I received a number of letters and comments over the weekend from my American friends, nearly all of them cordial and hopeful. I get the sense that some feel I am a bit of a “wet rag” in suggesting that the revolutionary spirit afoot in our world today has not nearly run its course, […]
Photo by John Blanding courtesy of The Boston Globe/Getty Images This wasn’t an election. It was a revolution… Midnight has passed. A new day has come. And everything is about to change. —Daniel Greenfield from “America Rising”, November 9th, 2016; Israelrisiing.com OR is it about to change, and for the better? Many Christians in […]
A word that has given me strength for many years now came from Our Lady in the famed apparitions of Medjugorje. Mirroring the urging of Vatican II and the contemporary popes, she also called us to look at the “signs of the times”, as she implored in 2006: My children, do you not recognize the […]
This week, I have been reflecting on the past three decades since Our Lady reportedly began appearing in Medjugorje. I have been pondering the incredible persecution and danger that the seers endured, never knowing from day to day if the Communists would dispatch them as the Yugoslavian government was known to do with “resistors” (since […]
Photo by Janice Matuch A friend connected to the underground Church in China told me of this incident not long ago: Two mountain villagers descended into a Chinese city looking for a specific female leader of the underground Church there. This elderly husband and wife were not Christians. But in a vision, they were given […]
THE confusion these days stemming from the Synod on the Family, and the subsequent Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, is reaching a bit of a feverish pitch as theologians, pundits, and bloggers go back and forth. But the bottom line is this: Amoris Laetitia can only be interpreted in one way: through the lens of Sacred Tradition.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Friday, September 1st – 2nd, 2016 Liturgical texts here Associated Press I have returned from Mexico, and am eager to share with you the powerful experience and words that came to me in prayer. But first, to address the concerns noted in a few letters this past month…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Wednesday, August 17th, 2016 Liturgical texts here Our Lady of Grace and the Masters of the Order of Montesa Spanish School (15th century) I AM so blessed, in many ways, by the present mission Jesus has given me in writing you. One day, over tens years ago, the […]
Pope Francis opening “doors of mercy”, December 8th, 2015, St. Peter’s, Rome Photo: Maurizio Brambatti/European Pressphoto Agency FROM the very beginning of his pontificate, when he refused the pomp that often accompanies the papal office, Francis has not failed to stir controversy. With deliberation, the Holy Father has purposely tried to model a different […]
IT is a refugee crisis unseen in magnitude since World War II. It comes at a time when many Western nations have been or are in the midst of elections. That is to say, there is nothing like political rhetoric to cloud the real issues surrounding this crisis. That sounds cynical, but it is a […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGSfor Thursday, August 4th, 2016Memorial of St. Jean Vianney, Priest Liturgical texts here EVERY day, I receive an email from someone who is upset by something Pope Francis has recently said. Every day. People aren’t sure how to cope with the constant flow of papal statements and perspectives that seem at odds […]
St. Stephen the Martyr, Bernardo Cavallino (d. 1656) I am at the beginning of hay season for the next week or so, which leaves me little time to write. However, this week, I have sensed Our Lady urging me to republish several writings, including this one… WRITTEN ON THE FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN THE MARTYR […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Friday, July 1st, 2016 Opt. Memorial of St. Junípero Serra Liturgical texts here MUCH has been said in this Jubilee Year of Mercy about the love and mercy of God toward all sinners. One could say that Pope Francis has really pushed the limits in “welcoming” sinners […]
Yonhap/AFP/Getty Images WHAT would it be like to stand in the winds of a hurricane as the eye of the storm approached? According to those who have been through it, there is a constant roar, debris and dust are flying everywhere, and you can barely keep your eyes open; it is hard to stand […]
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS for Tuesday, June 14th, 2016Liturgical texts here POPE Francis has thrown open wide the “doors” of the Church in this Jubilee of Mercy, which has passed the halfway mark as of last month. But we might be tempted to deep discouragement, if not fear, as we see not […]
The Last Trumpet, photo by Joel Bornzin I have been shaken today, literally, by the voice of the Lord speaking in the depths of my soul; shaken by His inexpressible grief; shaken by the deep concern He has for those in the Church who have utterly fallen asleep.
WE are witnessing one of the greatest collapses of logic in human history—in real time. Having watched for and warned about this coming Spiritual Tsunami for several years now, seeing it arrive on humanity’s shores does not diminish the stunning nature of this “eclipse of reason”, as Pope Benedict called it. [1]Address to the […]
I have received many letters asking me to comment on Amoris Laetitia, the Pope’s recent Apostolic Exhortation. I have done so in a new section in the greater context of this writing from July 29th, 2015. If I had a trumpet, I would blare this writing through it… I often hear both Catholics […]
Many new readers have come on board in the past few months. It is on my heart to republish this today. As I go back and read this, I am continually startled and even moved as I see that many of these “words”—often received in tears and many doubts—are coming to pass before our eyes… […]
LENTEN RETREAT Day 21 EVERY now again in my research, I’ll stumble across a website that takes exception to my own because they say, “Mark Mallett claims to hear from Heaven.” My first reaction is, “Gee, doesn’t every Christian hear the voice of the Lord?” No, I don’t hear an audible voice. But I certainly hear […]
For those who are taking the Lenten Retreat, I made a boo-boo. There are 40 days in Lent, not counting Sundays (because they are the “Day of the Lord“). However, I did a meditation for last Sunday. So as of today, we are essentially caught up. I will resume Day 11 on Monday morning. However, […]
St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow IT came to me last summer like lightning, a bolt out of the blue. Russia will be a refuge for God’s people. This was at a time when tensions between Russia and the Ukraine were heightening. And so, I decided to simply sit on this “word” and “watch and pray.” […]
ON THE VIGIL OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD EVERY year, we see and hear again the familiar motto, “Keep Christ in Christmas!” as a counter to the political correctness that has neutered Christmas store displays, school plays, and public speeches. But one could be forgiven for wondering if the […]