Kur û Keçên hêja

 

VA gelek ciwanên ku dixwînin hene Gotina Nuha her weha malbatên ku ji min re gotine ku ew van nivîsan li dora masê parve dikin. Dayikek nivîsand:

You have changed my family’s world because of the newsletters I read from you and pass on. I believe your gift is helping us live a “holier” life (I mean that in the way of praying more often, trusting Mary more, Jesus more, going to Confession in a more meaningful way, having a deeper desire to serve and live a saintly life…). To which I say “THANK YOU!”

Here’s a family who has understood the underlying prophetic “purpose” of this apostolate: 

…prophecy in the biblical sense does not mean to predict the future but to explain the will of God for the present, and therefore show the right path to take for the future… this is the point: [private revelations] help us to understand the signs of the times and to respond to them rightly in faith. - Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), "Peyama Fatima", Commentîroveya ologicallahiyatê, welatê civako.va

At the same time, many prophecies from saints and mystics alike do speak of the future—if only to call us back to God in the present moment, impelled as it were by the “signs of the times.”

Pêxember kesek e ku li ser hêza têkiliya xwe ya bi Xwedê re rastiyê dibêje - heqîqeta ji bo îro, ku ew jî, bi xwezayî, pêşerojê ronî dike. -Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), Pêxemberiya Xiristiyan, Kevneşopiya Post-Bibncîl, Niels Christian Hvidt, Pêşgotin, rûp. vii

So, reading Gotina Nuha is admittedly sobering from time to time as we appear closer to the fulfillment of many prophecies that speak of “chastisement”, “tribulation”, etc. As such, many young people are wondering what the future is bringing: Is there hope or just desolation? Is there a purpose or just pointlessness? Should they make plans or just hunker down? Should they go to college, get married, have children… or just wait out the Storm? Many are beginning to fight tremendous fear and disillusionment, if not depression.

And so, I want to speak from the heart to all my young readers, to my little brothers and sisters and even my own sons and daughters, some whom have now entered their twenties.

 

HOPVE RAST 

I can’t speak for you, but the approach of Spring, the trickling of melting snow, the warm touch of my wife, the laughter of a friend, the sparkle in my grandchildren’s eyes… they daily remind me of what a great gift jîyan is, despite any suffering. That, and there is the joy of the realization that Ez hez dikim:

The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted, his compassion is not spent; they are renewed each morning — great is your faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Yes, never forget this: even when you fail, even when you sin, it can no more impede God’s love for you than a cloud can stop the sun from shining. Yes, it’s true that the clouds of our sin can make our souls overcast with sadness, and selfishness can plunge the heart into deep darkness. It is also true that sin, if serious enough, can completely negate the bandorên of God’s love (i.e. grace, power, peace, light, joy, etc.) the way a heavy rain cloud can steal away the warmth and light of the sun. Yet, just as that same cloud cannot snuff out the sun itself, so too, your sin can qet extinguish God’s love for you. Sometimes this thought alone makes me want to cry for joy. Because now I can quit trying so darn hard to get God to love me (the way we try so hard to win another’s admiration) and just rest and bawerî in His love (and if you forget çiqas God loves you, just look at the Cross). Repentance or turning from sin, then, is not about making myself lovable to God but becoming who He created me to be so that I have the capacity to love Him, who already loves me.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)

In fact, St. Paul reveals that his happiness in this life wasn’t based in having things, fulfilling worldly pursuits and dreams, gaining wealth and notoriety, or even living in a country free of war or persecution. Rather, his joy came from knowing that he was loved and pursuing the One who is Love itself.

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)

Therein lies rast hope for your future: no matter what happens, hûn têne hez kirin And when you accept that Divine Love, live by that Love, and seek above all else that Love, then everything else on earth—the best foods, adventures, and even holy relationships—pales in comparison. Total abandonment to God is the root of eternal happiness.

Recognizing this utter dependence with respect to the Creator is a source of wisdom and freedom, of joy and confidence... -Katekîzma Dêra Katolîk, n 301

That, too, is the testimony of countless saints and martyrs who’ve gone before you. Why? Because they weren’t fixated on what this world has to offer and were even willing to lose everything in order to possess God. Thus, some of the saints even longed to live in the days that you and I are now living because they knew it would involve heroic love. And now we’re getting down to it—and why you were born for these times:

Guhdariya Mesîh û perizîna Wî me ber bi hilbijartinên wêrek ve dibe, ku hin caran biryarên lehengî digirin. Jesussa daxwaz dike, ji ber ku Ew bextewariya meya rastîn dixwaze. Pêdiviya Dêrê bi pîrozan heye. Hemî pîroziyê têne vexwendin, û mirovên pîroz tenê dikarin mirovahiyê nû bikin. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Peyama Roja Ciwanî ya Cîhanî ji bo 2005, Bajarê Vatîkan, 27. Tebax, 2004, Zenit.org

But is there even a future to look foward to?

 

THE REALITY OF OUR TIMES

Several years ago, a distraught young man wrote me. He was reading about the coming purification of the world and was wondering why he should even bother to publish a new book that he was working on. I replied that there are a few reasons why he absolutely divêt. One, is that none of us knows God’s timeline. As St. Faustina and the popes have said, we are living in a “time of mercy.” But God’s Mercy is like an elastic band that stretches to the point of breaking… and then some little nun in a convent di navîn de tune gets on her face before the Blessed Sacrament and gains for the world another decade of reprieve. You see, that young man wrote me about 14 years ago. I hope he published that book.

Furthermore, what is coming upon the earth is not the end of the world but the end of this era. Now, I didn’t lie to that young man; I didn’t give him false hope and tell him that there’s nothing to be concerned about or that there wouldn’t be difficult times ahead. Rather, I told him that, like Jesus, the Body of Christ must now follow its Head through her own passion, death and dîsa jîyandin. As it says in the Catechîzmê:

Dê Dêra bi navgîniya vê Cejna Derbasbûnê ya paşîn bikeve rûmeta serdestiyê, dema ku ew ê di mirin û Rabûna wî de li pey Xudanê xwe here. -Katekîzma Dêra Katolîk, n 677

Still, the thought of this bothered him. It may even make you sad and apprehensive: “Why can’t things just stay the way they are?”

Well, I want to ask you a question: do you bicî want this world to continue as it is? Do you really want a future where in order to get ahead, you have to go into debt? A future of barely getting by, even with a college degree? A world where robots will soon eliminate tens of millions of jobs? A society where fear, anger, and violence dominates our daily news? A culture where tearing others down on social media has become the norm? A world where the planet and our bodies are being jehrî kirin by chemicals, pesticides and toxins resulting in new and horrific diseases? A place where you cannot feel safe walking in your own neighborhood? A world where we have madmen in control of nuclear missiles? A culture where sexually transmitted diseases and suicide are epidemic? A society where drug use is escalating and human trafficking spreading like a plague? A milieu where pornography is degrading and entrapping your friends and family if not yourself? A generation that says there are no moral absolutes, while reinventing “truth” and silencing those who disagree? A world where political leaders believe in nothing and say anything just to stay in power?

I think you get the point. St. Paul wrote that in Christ, "Hemû tişt bi hev ve girêdayî ne." ^[1]Kolosî 1: 17 So, when we remove God from the public sphere, all things come apart. This is why humanity has come to the brink of self-destruction and why we have arrived at the end of an era, what is called the “end times.” But again, the “end times” aren’t equivalent to the “end of the world”…

 

RESTORING ALL THINGS IN CHRIST

God did not create mankind for this kind of a mess. He’s not just going to throw up His hands and say, “Ah, I tried. Oh well Satan, you win.” No, the Father created us to live in perfect harmony with Him and creation. And through Jesus, the Father intends to restore man to this dignity. This is only possible, of course, if we live according to the laws He established which govern the physical and spiritual universe, if we “live in” the Divine Will. Thus, one could say that Jesus died on the Cross, not only to save us, but to nûvdekirin us to our rightful dignity, made as we are in the image of God. Jesus is a King, and He wants us to reign with Him. That is why He taught us to pray:

Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10)

God wants to restore in creation the original harmony He established “in the beginning”...

… Afirandinek ku Xwedê û mêr, jin û mêr, mirovahî û xweza di ahengekê de, di diyalogê de, di civatê de ne. Vê plana ku ji guneh şûnda bû, bi rengek ecêbtir hate pêşwazî kirin ji hêla Mesîh ve, yê ku ew bi nehênî lê bi bandor di rastiya nuha de, li hêviya pêkanîna wê pêk tîne  —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Lijneya Giştî, 14ê Sibatê 2001

Did you catch that? The pope said this will be fulfilled “in the present reality,” that is, within dem, not eternity. That means that something beautiful is going to be born "Li erdê çawa ku li ezmanan e" after the labor pains and tears of this present era are over. And what is coming is the padîşahiyê of God’s will.

You see, Adam didn’t just do His Creator’s will, like a slave, but he xwedî kirin God’s will as his very own. Thus, Adam had at his disposal the light, power, and life of God’s creative power; everything Adam thought, spoke and did was imbued with the same power that created the universe. Adam thus “reigned” over creation as though a king because God’s will reigned in him. But after the fall into sin, Adam was still capable of bikin God’s will, but the interior likeness and communion he had with the Holy Trinity was now shattered, and the harmony between man and creation broken. All could only be restored by narînî. That restoration began with Jesus through His death and resurrection. And now, in these times, God wants to tevî this work by restoring man to that “first” dignity of the Garden of Eden.

Clearly, a great portion of humanity has lost not only its harmony but even its dialogue with the Creator. As such, the entire universe is now groaning under the weight of man’s sin, awaiting his restoration.^[2]cf. Rom 8: 19

Pawlos got, "Hemî afirîn," heya nuha gilî û xebat dike, "li benda xebata rizgarîxwazî ​​ya Mesîh e ku têkiliya rast di navbera Xwedê û afirandina wî de vegerîne. Lê çalakiya xilasiya Mesîh bi serê xwe her tişt venegerand, ew bi tenê karê xilasiyê gengaz kir, wê xilasiya me dest pê kir. Çawa ku hemû mirov di neguhdariya Adem de hevpar in, wusa jî divê hemî mirov jî di pabendbûna Mesîh a bi daxwaza Bav re bibin hevpar. Rizgarî wê biqedîne tenê gava ku hemû mirov guhdariya wî bikin… - Evdê Xwedê Fr. Walter Ciszek, Ew Rêberiya Min dike (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1995), rûpel 116-117

When will men share His obedience? When the words of the “Our Father” are brought to fulfillment. And guess what? Hûn are the generation that is alive to realize this. Hûn are the ones born for these times when God wants to re-establish His Kingdom in the human heart: the Kingdom of His Divine Will.

And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)

As Jesus said to Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta:

In Creation, My ideal was to form the Kingdom of My Will in My creature’s soul. My primary purpose was to make each man the image of the Divine Trinity by virtue of the fulfillment of My Will in him. But by man’s withdrawal from My Will, I lost My Kingdom in him, and for 6000 long years I have had to battle. - essa ji Xulamê Xwedê re Luisa Piccarreta, ji rojnivîsên Luisa, Vol. XIV, 6ê Mijdarê, 1922; Di Vîna Xwedê de pîroz by Fr. Sergio Pellegrini; p. 35

As we enter the “seventh millennium” since the creation of Adam and Eve…

… Em îro gilî dibihîzin wekî ku kesî berê qet nebihîstiye Papa [Yûhenna Pawlos II] bi rastî hêviyek mezin dihesibîne ku hezarsaliya dabeşan dê bi hezarsalek yekbûnan ​​re bê peyde kirin. -Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (BENEDICT XVI), Saltê Erdê (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997), ji hêla Adrian Walker ve hatî wergerandin

 

THE BATTLE OF OUR TIMES

Now, in your lifetime, that battle is coming to a head. As St. John Paul II said,

Naha em rûbirûbûna dawîn a di navbera Dêr û dij-dêrê de, di navbera Mizgîn û dij-Mizgîn de, di navbera Mesîh û dijberê de ne. —Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA for the bicentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; some citations of this passage omit the words “Christ and the antichrist.” Deacon Keith Fournier, an attendee at the event, reports it as above; cf. Liserxetê; 13ê Tebax 1976

You’ve probably noticed that your generation tends to the bêfêhm zêde these days: skateboarding off of railings, jumping from building to building, skiing from virgin mountaintops, taking selfies from atop towers, etc. But how about living and dying for something totally epic? How about engaging in a battle whose outcome will affect the entire universe? Do you want to be on the sidelines of the mundane or on the rêzikên pêşîn of miracles? Because the Lord has already begun to pour out His Spirit upon those who are saying “Yes, Lord. Here I am.” He has already begun a renewal of the world in the hearts of a remnant. What a time to be alive! Because…

…towards the end of the world, and indeed soon, Almighty God and his holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will surpass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon tower above little shrubs… These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be chosen to oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all sides. They will be exceptionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin. Illumined by her light, strengthened by her food, guided by her spirit, supported by her arm, sheltered under her protection, they will fight with one hand and build with the other. -True Devotion to The Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Louis de Montfort, art. 47-48

Yes, you are being called to join Rabûna me ya piçûk a Mêrê me, beşdarbûn Eroreşa Têkoşer to restore truth, beauty and goodness. Don’t get me wrong: there is a lot that must be purified in this present era so that a new era can be born. It will require, in part, a Emeliyata Kozmîkî. That, and Jesus said, you cannot pour new wine into an old wine skin because the old skin will just burst.^[3]cf. Marqos 2: 22 Baş, you are that new wineskin and the New Wine is a Second Pentecost that God is going to pour out upon the world after this winter of sorrows is through:

"Her ku hezarsaliya sêyemîn a Xilasbûnê nêz dibe, Xwedê ji bo Xiristiyantiyê biharek mezin amade dike, û em dikarin berê nîşanên wê yên yekem bibînin." Bila Mary, Stêrka Sibehê, alîkariya me bike ku em bi agirekî herdem nû "erê" -ya xwe ji nexşeya rizgariya Bav re bibêjin ku hemî milet û ziman rûmeta wî bibînin. -POPE JOHN PAUL II, Peyama Mîsyona Cîhanê Yekşem, n.9, 24-ê Çirî, 1999; welatê civako.va

 

NO FALSE HOPE

Yes, your skills, your talents, your books, your art, your music, your creativity, your children and above all your rûhanî are what God is going to use to rebuild a civilization of love in which Christ will reign, at last, to the ends of the earth (see Jesussa Tê!). So, don’t lose hope! Pope John Paul II did not start World Youth Days to announce the end of the world but the beginning of another. In fact, he called you and I to become its very heralds. 

Ciwanên delal, li we ye ku hûn wiya bin notirvan the sibehê yê ku roja hatina rojê vedibêje yê ku Mesîh Rizgar e! OPPOPE JOHN PAUL II, Peyama Bavê Pîroz ji Ciwanên cîhanê re, XVII Roja Ciwana Cîhanê, n. 3; (cf. 21: 11-12)

Many of you were just hitting your teen years when his successor, Benedict XVI, was elected. And he said the same thing, even suggesting that he was forming a “new Upper Room” to pray with the youth for this new Pentecost. His message, far from despair, was anticipating the coming of the Kingdom of God bi rengek nû. 

The power of the Holy Spirit does not only enlighten and console us. It also points us to the future, to the coming of God’s Kingdom… This power can create a new world: it can “renew the face of the earth” (cf. Ps 104: 30)! Empowered by the Spirit, and drawing upon faith’s rich vision, a new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished – not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed. A new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty. A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships. Dear young friends, the Lord is asking you to be prophets of this new age, messengers of his love, drawing people to the Father and building a future of hope for all humanity. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Homily, World Youth Day, Sydney, Australia, July 20th, 2008; vatîkan.va

Sounds pretty beautiful, doesn’t it? And this is no false hope, no “fake news.” The Scriptures speak of this coming renewal and “period of peace,” as Our Lady of Fatima called it. See Psalm 72:7-9; 102:22-23; Isaiah 11:4-11; 21:11-12; 26:9; Jeremiah 31:1-6; Ezekiel 36:33-36; Hosea 14:5-8; Joel 4:18; Daniel 7:22; Amos 9:14-15; Micah 5:1-4; Zephaniah 3:11-13; Zechariah 13:8-9; Malachi 3:19-21; Matt 24:14; Acts 3:19-22; Heb 4:9-10; and Rev 20:6.  The Early Church Fathers explained these Scriptures (see Bavê Pîroz ê delal… Ew tê!) and, as I say, the popes have been proclaiming it (see The Popes… and the Dawning Era). Take some time to read these resources at some point because they speak of a future full of hope: an end to war; an end to many diseases and premature death; an end to the destruction of nature; and an end to the divisions which have torn at the human race for thousands of years. No, it won’t be Heaven, at least externally. For this hatina Padîşahiyê "Li erdê çawa ku li Ezmanan e" e an navî reality God will accomplish in the souls of His People in order to prepare the Church as a Bride, to be “without spot or blemish” for the final return of Jesus at the very end of time.^[4]cf. Eph 5:27 and Rêheval Navîn Thus, what you were destined for in these days, dear sons and daughters, is to receive a “pîroziya nû û xwedayî" berê qet given to the Church. It is the “crown of sanctity” and the greatest gift that God has reserved for the last times… for you and your children:

Living in the Divine Will bequeaths to the soul on earth the same interior union with God’s Will as enjoyed by the saints in heaven. —Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, teolog, Pirtûka Pîroz Dibe Divine, p. 699

And that can’t help but have an impact on all of creation.

 

AMADEKARÎ

Still, you might fear the trials that are already coming upon the world (e.g. war, disease, famine, etc.) and fear competes with hope. But in truth, it is only a cause for fear for those who remain outside of God’s grace. But if you are honestly trying to follow Jesus, putting your faith and love in Him, He promises to safeguard you.

Ji ber ku we peyama min a bîhnfirehiyê girt, ez ê we di gava ceribandina ku dê were tevahiya cîhanê ji bo ceribandina rûniştevanên erdê, we sax deynim. Ez zû têm. Tiştê ku we heye bilez ragirin, da ku kes taca we negirt. (Rev 3: 10-11)

How will He keep you safe? One way is through Our Lady. For those who give themselves to Mary and take her as their mother, she becomes that ewlekarî that Jesus promises:

Dayika min Keştiya Nûh e.—Jina bi Elizabeth Kindelmann re, Bêhna evînê, p. 109. Imprimatur Arşîv Charles Chaput

That, and returning to our opening theme on love, St. John states:

Perfect love casts out all fear. (1 John 4:18)

Love, and fear nothing. Love, like the sun dispelling the mists of morning, dissolves fear. This does not mean that you and I won’t suffer. Is that the case even now? Of course not. Suffering won’t end completely until the consummation of all things at the end of time. And thus…

Ma ji sibê çi dibe bila bibe netirse.
Heman Bavê evîndar ê ku îro jî bala we dikişîne dê
sibê û her roj ji we re xema.
An ew ê we ji êşan biparêze
an ew ê hêzek bêdawî bide we da ku hûn wê hilgirin.
Wê hingê di aştiyê de bin û hemî raman û xeyalên xemgîn bidin aliyekê.
—St. Francis de Sales, 17th century bishop

Tarî çiqas mezin be, divê ewledê me jî ew qas tekûz be.
- St. Faustina, Rehma Xwedê li Ruhê min, Rojname, n. 357

Tu hez dikî,
Delîl

 

Ku bi Mark re biçin rêwîtiyê Ew Naha Peyv,
li ser pankarta li jêr bikirtînin da ku qeydkirin.
E-nameya we dê bi kesî re neyê parve kirin.