The Coming Counterfeit

The Mask, by Michael D. O’Brien

 

First published, April, 8th 2010.

 

THE warning in my heart continues to grow about a coming deception, which may in fact be the one described in 2 Thess 2:11-13. What follows after the so-called “illumination” or “warning” is not only a brief but powerful period of evangelization, but a dark counter-evangelization that will, in many ways, be just as convincing. Part of the preparation for that deception is knowing beforehand that it is coming:

Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets… I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them. (Amos 3:7; John 16:1-4)

Satan not only knows what is coming, but has been planning for it for a long time. It is exposed in the language being used…Continue reading

The Thin Line Between Mercy and Heresy – Part III

 

PART III — FEARS REVEALED

 

SHE fed and clothed the poor with love; she nurtured minds and hearts with the Word. Catherine Doherty, foundress of the Madonna House apostolate, was a woman who took on the “smell of the sheep” without taking on the “stench of sin.” She constantly walked the thin line between mercy and heresy by embracing the greatest of sinners while calling them to holiness. She used to say,

Go without fears into the depths of men’s hearts… the Lord shall be with you. —from The Little Mandate

This is one of those “words” from the Lord that is able to penetrate “between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” [1]cf. Heb 4:12 Catherine uncovers the very root of the problem with both so-called “conservatives” and “liberals” in the Church: it is our fear to enter men’s hearts as Christ did.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. Heb 4:12

The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Part II

 

PART II — Reaching the Wounded

 

WE have watched a rapid cultural and sexual revolution that in five short decades has decimated the family as divorce, abortion, redefinition of marriage, euthanasia, pornography, adultery, and many other ills have become not only acceptable, but deemed a social “good” or “right.” However, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, drug use, alcohol abuse, suicide, and ever multiplying psychoses tell a different story: we are a generation that is bleeding profusely from the effects of sin.

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The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Part I

 


IN
all the controversies that unfolded in the wake of the recent Synod in Rome, the reason for the gathering seemed to have been lost altogether. It was convened under the theme: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” How do we evangelize families given the pastoral challenges we face due to high divorce rates, single mothers, secularization, and so forth?

What we learned very quickly (as proposals of some Cardinals were made known to the public) is that there is a a thin line between mercy and heresy.

The following three part series is intended to not only get back to the heart of the matter—evangelizing families in our times—but to do so by bringing to the forefront the man who is really at the center of the controversies: Jesus Christ. Because no one walked that thin line more than Him—and Pope Francis seems to be pointing that path to us once again.

We need to blow away the “smoke of satan” so we can clearly identify this narrow red line, drawn in Christ’s blood… because we are called to walk it ourselves.

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Removing the Restrainer

 

THE past month has been one of palpable sorrow as the Lord continues to warn that there is So Little Time Left. The times are sorrowful because mankind is about to reap what God has begged us not to sow. It is sorrowful because many souls do not realize that they are on the precipice of eternal separation from Him. It is sorrowful because the hour of the Church’s own passion has come when a Judas will rise up against her. [1]cf. The Seven Year Trial-Part VI It is sorrowful because Jesus is not only being neglected and forgotten throughout the world, but abused and mocked once again. Hence, the Time of times has come when all lawlessness will, and is, breaking forth across the globe.

Before I go on, ponder for a moment the truth-filled words of a saint:

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and everyday. Either he will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings. —St. Francis de Sales, 17th century bishop

Indeed, this blog is not here to scare or frighten, but to confirm and prepare you so that, like the five wise virgins, the light of your faith will not be snuffed out, but glow ever brighter when the light of God in the world is fully dimmed, and darkness fully unrestrained. [2]cf. Matt 25:1-13

Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt 25:13)

 

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. The Seven Year Trial-Part VI
2 cf. Matt 25:1-13

Possible… or Not?

APTOPIX VATICAN PALM SUNDAYPhoto courtesy The Globe and Mail
 
 

IN light of recent historic events in the papacy, and this, the last working day of Benedict XVI, two current prophecies in particular are gaining traction among believers regarding the next pope. I am asked about them constantly in person as well as by email. So, I am compelled to finally give a timely response.

The problem is that the following prophecies are diametrically opposed to one another. One or both of them, therefore, cannot be true….

 

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Missing the Message… of a Papal Prophet

 

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 Garden!

Pope Benedict XVI is not calling for a central all-powerful “global government”—something he and popes before him have outright condemned (ie. Socialism) [3]For other quotes from popes on Socialism, cf. www.tfp.org and www.americaneedsfatima.org —but a global family that places the human person and their inviolable rights and dignity at the center of all human development in society. Let us be absolutely clear on this:

The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person—every person—needs: namely, loving personal concern. We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need. … In the end, the claim that just social structures would make works of charity superfluous masks a materialist conception of man: the mistaken notion that man can live ‘by bread alone’ (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3) – a conviction that demeans man and ultimately disregards all that is specifically human. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est, n. 28, December 2005

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Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. Benedict and the New World Order
2 cf. A Black Pope?
3 For other quotes from popes on Socialism, cf. www.tfp.org and www.americaneedsfatima.org