{"id":25734,"date":"2017-01-23T19:38:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T01:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=25734"},"modified":"2017-05-11T13:24:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T17:24:21","slug":"the-storm-of-confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-storm-of-confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"The Storm of Confusion","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"“You\u00a0are the light of the world”\u00a0(Matt 5:14)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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AS <\/strong>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<\/a><\/em> to doubt\u00a0God and His promises, The Storm of Temptation<\/a><\/em> to turn to worldly solutions and security, and The Storm of Division<\/a><\/em> that has sown judgments and suspicions in people’s hearts… means that many are losing their capacity to trust\u00a0as they are engulfed in a whirlwind of confusion<\/em>. And so, I ask you to bear with me, to be patient as I too pick the dust and debris from my eyes (it’s awfully windy up here on the wall!). There is <\/em>a way through this Storm of Confusion<\/em>, but it will demand your trust\u2014not\u00a0in me\u2014but in Jesus, and the Ark He is providing. There are crucial and practical things I will address. But first, a few “now words” on the present moment and the big picture…<\/p>\n

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THE “STORM”<\/p>\n

Where did this word “Storm<\/em>” that I am using come from? Many years ago, I went for a drive in the country to pray and watch the sunset. There was a thunder storm forming on the horizon, and in my heart I sensed the Lord say that a “Great Storm, like a hurricane is coming upon humanity.<\/em>” I had no idea what this meant. But over the past decade as the Lord led me to the writings of the Popes (see Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?<\/a><\/em>), the\u00a0Church Fathers (see Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!<\/a><\/em>), and the words of Our Lady that mirror and echo the former, a clear picture began to emerge: we are seemingly entering the “birth canal”\u00a0into hard labour, which will give way to a new springtime in the Church. Of course, you’ve heard St. John Paul II say this very thing.<\/p>\n

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\u2026turning our eyes to the future, we confidently await the dawn of a new Day\u2026 \u201cWatchmen, what of the night?\u201d (Is. 21:11), and we hear the answer: \u201cHark, your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing for joy: for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion\u201d\u2026. Their generous witness in every corner of the earth proclaims: \u201cAs the third millennium of the Redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity and we can already see its first signs.\u201d May Mary, the Morning Star, help us to say with ever new ardor our \u201cyes\u201d to the Father\u2019s plan for salvation that all nations and tongues may see his glory.<\/strong> \u2014POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message for World Mission Sunday, n.9, October 24th, 1999; www.vatican.va<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I have never quoted the following from Our Lady before, but it is an echo of John Paul II’s words:<\/p>\n

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In order to free men from bondage to these heresies, those whom the merciful love of my Most Holy Son has designated to effect the restoration will need great strength of will, constancy, valor and confidence in God. To test this faith and confidence of the just, there will be occasions when all will seem to be lost and paralyzed. This, then, will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration. <\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u2014Our Lady of Good Success to Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, on the Feast of the Purification, 1634; cf. catholictradition. org<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So, while this message is incredibly hopeful, we must also courageously acknowledge that, before springtime, there is winter; before dawn, there is night; and before restoration, there is a dying. This is why I have not hesitated as a “watchman”\u2014to take the “risk” one could say\u2014to speak about this “night,” because even this truth will “set us free.” Those who are prepared for a storm are far more likely to survive than those whom\u00a0the hurricane catches by surprise. The intense winds will be less disorienting\u00a0for the very reason that they were expected. <\/em><\/p>\n

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I have told you this so that you may not fall away… I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you. (John 16:1, 4)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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STORM IN THE CHURCH<\/p>\n

At this hour, there is a great whirlwind of confusion in the Church as various interpretations of the Synod on the Family and its summary\u00a0document Amoris Laetitia <\/em>continue to spark controversy, division and contradiction. Many people are beginning to feel “lost and paralyzed.”<\/em> Whose interpretation do you believe? Which do I follow? Sr. Lucia of Fatima spoke\u00a0of a time of confusion coming, a “diabolical disorientation” as she put it.\u00a0Jesus explained why to Servant of God Luisa Picarretta:<\/p>\n

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Now we have arrived at approximately the third two thousand years, and there will be a third renewal. This is the reason for the general confusion, which is nothing other than the preparation for the third renewal. If in the second renewal I manifested what my humanity did and suffered, and very little of what My divinity was accomplishing, now, in this third renewal, after the earth will be purged and a great part of the current generation destroyed\u2026 I will accomplish this renewal by manifesting what My divinity did within My humanity.<\/em><\/span><\/strong> \u2014Diary XII, January 29th, 1919; from The Gift of Living in the Divine Will<\/em>, Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, footnote n. 406<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I recall again how for about two weeks in 2013, after Pope Benedict XVI resigned, I sensed\u00a0over and over again in my heart the Lord saying, “You are now entering into dangerous and confusing times.” <\/em>Well, four years later, here we are. Suddenly, the metaphor of a “hurricane<\/em>” makes perfect sense\u00a0as insults, contradictions, accusations, compromises, misunderstandings, and judgments hurl past us like the debris\u00a0of a powerful tempest. The word “schism” is being whispered in dark corners as we begin to openly see “cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops.”<\/em> [1]<\/sup><\/a>Our Lady of Akita, 1973<\/span><\/span>