IF the Illumination is to occur, an event comparable to the “awakening” of the Prodigal Son, then not only will humanity encounter the depravity of that lost son, the consequent mercy of the Father, but also the mercilessness of the elder brother. It is interesting that in Christ’s parable, He does not tell us […]
ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS Soul-soothing music… life-giving message led by Mark Mallett These are not normal times. Ask the average passerby if "something strange" is going on in the world, and the answer will almost always be "yes." But what? There will be a thousand answers, many of them conflicting, several speculating, often adding more […]
THE Holy Father has been greatly misunderstood not only by the secular press, but by some of the flock as well. [1]cf. Benedict and the New World Order Some have written me suggesting that perhaps this pontiff is an “anti-pope” in kahootz with the Antichrist! [2]cf. A Black Pope? How quickly some run from […]
The Prodigal Son, the Return by Tissot Jacques Joseph, 1862 THE Lord has been speaking non-stop since I arrived here in Paray-le-Monial. So much so, that he has been waking me up to converse in the night! Yes, I would think I was crazy too if it were not for my spiritual director ordering […]
FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF MARY LATELY, I have been in a near hand-to-hand combat with a terrible temptation that I don’t have time. Don’t have time to pray, to work, to get done what needs to be done, etc. So I want to share some words from prayer that really impacted me […]
THOSE who have been following the prophetic pulse in the Church will likely not be surprised at the turn of world events unfolding by the hour. A Global Revolution is slowly picking up steam as the foundations of the post-modern world begin to give way to a “new order.” Hence, we have arrived […]
I AM the spiritual head of my wife and children. When I said, “I do,” I entered into a Sacrament in which I promised to love and honor my wife until death. That I would raise the children God may give us according to the Faith. This is my role, it is my duty. […]
I remember a young man coming to my house several years ago with marital problems. He wanted my advice, or so he said. “She won’t listen to me!” he complained. “Isn’t she supposed to submit to me? Don’t the Scriptures say that I am the head of my wife? What’s her problem!?” I knew the […]
WHEN my spiritual director asked me to write further about “false prophets,” I pondered on how they are often defined in our day. Usually, people view “false prophets” as those who predict the future incorrectly. But when Jesus or the Apostles spoke of false prophets, they were usually speaking about those within the Church […]
THE Ark God has provided to ride out not only the storms of past centuries, but most especially the Storm at the end of this age, is not a barque of self-preservation, but a ship of salvation intended for the world. That is, our mentality must not be “saving our own behinds” while the rest […]
It’s May 21, 2011, and the mainstream media, as usual, are more than ready to pay attention to those who brandish the name “Christian,” but espouse heretical, if not crazy ideas (see articles here and here. My apologies to those readers in Europe for whom the world ended eight hours ago. I […]
Crucifixion, by Michael D. O’Brien AS I watched again the powerful movie The Passion of the Christ, I was struck by Peter’s pledge that he would go to prison, and even die for Jesus! But only hours later, Peter vehemently denied Him three times. At that moment, I sensed my own poverty: “Lord, without your grace, […]
Lot Fleeing Sodom, Benjamin West, 1810 THE waves of confusion, calamity, and uncertainty are pounding upon the doors of every nation on earth. As food and fuel prices soar and the world economy sinks like an anchor to the seabed, there is much talk of refuges—safe-havens to weather the approaching Storm. But there is a danger […]
THE Age of Ministries is ending… but something more beautiful is going to arise. It will be a new beginning, a restored Church in a new era. In fact, it was Pope Benedict XVI who hinted at this very thing while he was still a cardinal: The Church will be reduced in its dimensions, it […]
THE past 24 hours since writing After the Illumination, the words have been echoing in my heart: Like a thief in the night… Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief […]
WATCHING the snow fall outside the window of my retreat, here at the base of the Canadian Rockies, this writing from the Fall of 2008 came to mind. God bless you all… you are with me in my heart and prayers…
Thanks to all those who responded to my computer woes here and donated so generously your alms and prayers. I have been able to replace my broken computer (however, I am experiencing several “glitches” in getting back on my feet… technology…. ain’t it great?) I am so deeply grateful to all of you for your […]
WHEN Heaven promises “refuge” to us in this present Storm (see The Great Storm), what does that mean? For Scripture appears to be contradictory.
IMAGINE it’s Christmas morning, your spouse leans over with a smile and says, “Here. This is for you.” You unwrap the gift and find a small wooden box. You open it and a waft of perfume rises from little resin chunks. “What is it?” you ask. “It’s myrrh. It was used in ancient times […]
Christ In Front Of Pontius Pilate by Henry Coller Recently, I was attending an event where a young man with a baby in his arms approached me. “Are you Mark Mallett?” The young father went on to explain that, several years ago, he came across my writings. “They woke up me up,” he said. “I […]
FOR several years, I have asked Jesus why it is that I am so weak, so impatient in trial, so seemingly devoid of virtue. “Lord,” I have said a hundred times, “I pray every day, I go to Confession every week, I say the Rosary, I pray the Office, I’ve gone to daily Mass […]
IF you read Custody of the Heart, then you know by now how often we fail to keep it! How easily we are distracted by the smallest thing, pulled away from peace, and derailed from our holy desires. Again, with St. Paul we cry out: I do not do what I want, but I […]
IT was with a strange heaviness of heart that I boarded a jet to the United States yesterday, on my way to give a conference this weekend in North Dakota. At the same time our jet took off, Pope Benedict’s plane was landing in the United Kingdom. He has been much on my heart […]
Photo by Carveli Studios DO you long for peace? In my encounters with other Christians in the past few years, the most evident spiritual malady is that few are at peace. Almost as if there is a common belief growing among Catholics that a lack of peace and joy is simply part of the […]
THE world is thirsting to experience God, to find the tangible presence of the One who created them. He is love, and therefore, it is the Presence of Love through His Body, His Church, that can bring salvation to a lonely and hurting humanity. Charity alone will save the world. —St. Luigi Orione, L’Osservatore […]
IF I may once again bare my soul to you, that somehow you may benefit from my weakness. As St. Paul said, "I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me." Indeed, may He dwell with you! THE ROAD TO DESPAIR Since […]
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem by Rembrandt van Rijn, Rijks Museum, Amsterdam, 1630 FROM a reader: In my prayer life and in praying for very specific things, particularly my husband’s abuse of pornography and all the things that result from this abuse, such as loneliness, dishonesty, mistrust, isolation, fear etc. Jesus tells me […]
FROM a reader: So what do I do when I forget that sufferings are His blessings to bring me closer to Him, when I am in the middle of them and get impatient and angry and rude and short tempered… when He’s not always at the forefront of my mind and I get caught […]
HIDDEN it seems from the ears of the world is the collective cry I hear from the Body of Christ, a cry that is reaching the Heavens: “Father, if it is possible take this cup away from me!” Letters I receive speak of tremendous family and financial strain, lost security, and growing concern over […]
Photographers in Staffordshire WHY is God letting me suffer in this way? Why are there so many obstacles to happiness and growing in holiness? Why does life have to be so painful? It feels as though I go from valley to valley (even though I know there are peaks in between). Why, God?
MY sixteen year old recently wrote an essay on the improbability that the universe occurred by chance. At one point, she wrote: [Secular scientists] have been working so hard for so long to come up with “logical” explanations for a universe without God that they have failed to truly look at the universe itself […]
WE live in an extraordinary time where there are answers to everything. There is not a question on the face of the earth that one, with access to a computer or someone who has one, cannot find an answer. But the one answer that still lingers, that is waiting to be heard by the […]
Summer Landscape by George Inness, 1894 I have longed to give you the Gospel, and more than that, to give you my very life; you have become very dear to me. My little children, I am like a mother giving birth to you, until Christ is formed in you. (1 Thess 2:8; Gal 4:19) […]
Rembrandt van Rijn, “The return of the prodigal son”; c.1662 MY time in Rome at the Vatican in October, 2006 was an occasion of great graces. But it was also a time of great trials. I came as a pilgrim. It was my intention to immerse myself in prayer through the surrounding spiritual and […]
OVER the past month, there have been several questions which I feel inspired to respond to here… everything from fears over Latin, to storing up food, to financial preparations, to spiritual direction, to questions on visionaries and seers. With God’s help, I will try to answer them.
First published May28th, 2007, I have updated this writing, more relevant than ever… IN a dream which increasingly mirrors our times, St. John Bosco saw the Church, represented by a great ship, which, directly before a period of peace, was under great attack: The enemy ships attack with everything they’ve got: bombs, […]
AS I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, I heard the words clearly in my heart: The world is going to change. The sense is that there is an enormous event or turn of events coming, which will change our day to day lives as we know them. But what? As I have pondered this […]
The Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket, by Michael D. O’Brien THERE is a strange new "virtue" which has appeared in our culture. It has crept in so subtly that few realize how it has become so highly practiced, even among high ranking clergy. That is, to make peace at all costs. It comes with […]
I have spent several weeks dialoguing with an atheist. There’s perhaps no better exercise to build one’s faith. The reason being is that irrationality is a sign itself of the supernatural, for confusion and spiritual blindness are hallmarks of the prince of darkness. There are some mysteries the atheist cannot solve, questions he cannot […]
Christ the Word of Life, by Michael D. O’Brien I will choose the time; I will judge fairly. The earth and all its inhabitants will quake, but I have firmly set its pillars. (Psalm 75:3-4) WE have followed the Passion of the Church, walking in the footsteps of our Lord from His triumphal […]
Crucifixion, by Michael D. O’Brien The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, 677 AS we continue to follow the Passion of the Body in relation to the Book of Revelation, […]
“Jesus is condemned to death by Pilate”, by Michael D. O’Brien Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets. (Amos 3:7) PROPHETIC WARNING The Lord sends the Two Witnesses into the world to call them to repentance. Through this act of mercy, we see again […]
Seven years shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. (Dan 4:22) During Mass this past Passion Sunday, I sensed the Lord urging me to repost a portion of the Seven Year […]
IT is only in hindsight now that perhaps Romans Chapter 1 has become one of the most prophetic passages in the New Testament. St. Paul lays out an intriguing progression: denial of God as Lord of Creation leads to vain reasoning; vain reasoning leads to a worship of the creature; and worship of the […]
Elijah Sleeping, by Michael D. O’Brien RECENTLY, I answered your questions regarding private revelation, including a question about a website called www.catholicplanet.com where a man who claims to be a “theologian” has, on his own authority, taken the liberty to declare who in the Church is a purveyor of “false” private revelation, and who […]