WITHOUT a doubt, the Book of Revelation is one of the most controversial in all of Sacred Scripture. On one end of the spectrum are fundamentalists who take every word literally or out of context. On the other are those who believe the book has already been fulfilled in the first century or who ascribe to the book a merely allegorical interpretation.Continue reading
What’s around the bend?
IN an open letter to the Pope, [1]cf. Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! I outlined to His Holiness the theological foundations for an “era of peace” as opposed to the heresy of millenarianism. [2]cf. Millenarianism: What it is and is Not and the Catechism [CCC} n.675-676 Indeed, Padre Martino Penasa posed the question on the scriptural foundation of an historic and universal era of peace versus millenarianism to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: “È imminente una nuova era di vita cristiana?” (“Is a new era of Christian life imminent?”). The Prefect at that time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger replied, “La questione è ancora aperta alla libera discussione, giacchè la Santa Sede non si è ancora pronunciata in modo definitivo”:
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. Dear Holy Father… He is Coming! |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | cf. Millenarianism: What it is and is Not and the Catechism [CCC} n.675-676 |
Photo, Max Rossi/Reuters
THERE can be no doubt that the pontiffs of the last century have been exercising their prophetic office so as to awaken believers to the drama unfolding in our day (see Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?). It is a decisive battle between the culture of life and the culture of death… the woman clothed with the sun—in labor to give birth to a new era—versus the dragon who seeks to destroy it, if not attempt to establish his own kingdom and “new age” (see Rev 12:1-4; 13:2). But while we know Satan will fail, Christ will not. The great Marian saint, Louis de Montfort, frames it well:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 13th, 2014
Liturgical texts here
THERE is no evangelization without the Holy Spirit. After spending three years listening to, walking, talking, fishing, eating with, sleeping beside, and even laying upon the breast of our Lord… the Apostles seemed incapable of penetrating the hearts of the nations without Pentecost. It wasn’t until the Holy Spirit descended upon them in tongues of fire that the mission of the Church was to begin.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 3rd, 2013
Memorial of St. Francis Xavier
Liturgical texts here
ISAIAH gives such a consoling vision of the future that one could be forgiven for suggesting it is a mere “pipe dream.” After the purification of the earth by “the rod of [the Lord’s] mouth, and the breath of his lips,” Isaiah writes:
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall down with the kid… There shall be no more harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea. (Isaiah 11)
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 2nd, 2013
Liturgical texts here
THERE are some texts in Scripture that, admittedly, are troubling to read. Today’s first reading contains one of them. It speaks of a coming time when the Lord will wash away “the filth of the daughters of Zion”, leaving behind a branch, a people, who are His “luster and glory.”
…the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. He who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 4:3)
Former Archbishop Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergogli0 (Pope Francis) riding the bus
File source unknown
THE letters in response to Understanding Francis couldn’t be more diverse. From those who said it was one of the most helpful articles on the Pope that they’ve read, to others warning that I am deceived. Yes, this is precisely why I have said over and over again that we are living in “dangerous days.” It is because Catholics are becoming more and more divided among themselves. There is a cloud of confusion, mistrust, and suspicion that continues to seep into the walls of the Church. That said, it is hard not to be sympathetic with some readers, such as one priest who wrote:Continue reading
TO His Holiness, Pope Francis:
Dear Holy Father,
Throughout the pontificate of your predecessor, St. John Paul II, he continually invoked us, the youth of the Church, to become “morning watchmen at the dawn of the new millennium.” [1]POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12)
…watchmen who proclaim to the world a new dawn of hope, brotherhood and peace. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Guanelli Youth Movement, April 20th, 2002, www.vatican.va
From Ukraine to Madrid, Peru to Canada, he beckoned us to become “protagonists of the new times” [2]POPE JOHN PAUL II, Welcome Ceremony, International Airport of Madrid-Baraja, May 3rd, 2003; www.fjp2.com that lay directly ahead of the Church and the world:
Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ! —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World, XVII World Youth Day, n. 3; (cf. Is 21:11-12)
Footnotes
| ↑1 | POPE JOHN PAUL II, Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9; (cf. Is 21:11-12) |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | POPE JOHN PAUL II, Welcome Ceremony, International Airport of Madrid-Baraja, May 3rd, 2003; www.fjp2.com |
THE “Illumination” will be an incredible gift to the world. This “Eye of the Storm“—this opening in the storm—is the penultimate “door of mercy” that will be open to all of humanity before the “door of justice” is the only door left open. Both St. John in his Apocalypse and St. Faustina have written of these doors…
AS promised, I want to share more words and thoughts that came to me during my time in Paray-le-Monial, France.
ON THE THRESHOLD… A GLOBAL REVOLUTION
I strongly sensed the Lord saying that we are upon the “threshold” of immense changes, changes that are both painful and good. The biblical imagery used over and over again is that of labor pains. As any mother knows, labor is a very turbulent time—contractions followed by rest followed by more intense contractions until finally the baby is born… and the pain quickly becomes a memory.
The labor pains of the Church have been occurring over centuries. Two large contractions occurred in the schism between Orthodox (East) and Catholics (West) at the turn of the first millennium, and then again in the Protestant Reformation 500 years later. These revolutions shook the foundations of the Church, cracking her very walls such that the “smoke of Satan” was able to slowly seep in.
…the smoke of Satan is seeping into the Church of God through the cracks in the walls. —POPE PAUL VI, first Homily during the Mass for Sts. Peter & Paul, June 29, 1972