Још једна света Ева?

КАДА Пробудио сам се јутрос, неочекивани и бизарни облак надвио се над моју душу. Осетио сам снажан дух насиље смрт у ваздуху свуда око мене. Док сам се возио у град, извадио сам своју круницу и призивајући Исусово име, молио се за Божју заштиту. Требало ми је око три сата и четири шоље кафе да напокон схватим шта проживљавам и зашто: то је халловеен данас.

Не, нећу се упуштати у историју овог чудног америчког „празника“ нити ћу ући у расправу о томе да ли да учествујем у њему или не. Брза претрага ових тема на Интернету обезбедиће довољно читања између гхоула који вам стижу на врата, претећи триковима уместо посластица.

Уместо тога, желим да погледам шта је Ноћ вештица постала и како је то предзнак, још један „знак времена“.

THE DANCE WITH DEATH

Halloween, in fact, is no longer restricted to October 31st. It has become a part of the cultural zeitgeist of American daily living. Vampires, zombies, witchcraft and the occult are woven continuously into the images, music, entertainment, and education of its citizens. More than that, and most alarmingly, are the barrage of headlines emerging of mass murders, shootings, butcherings, cannibalism, matricide, torture, and other violent crimes that have become the “new normal.” That is to say, Halloween is being “lived out” in the culture. As Madonna House foundress Catherine de Hueck Doherty once wrote to Thomas Merton:

Из неког разлога мислим да сте уморни. Знам да сам и ја уплашен и уморан. Јер лице Принца Таме ми постаје све јасније и јасније. Чини се да му више није стало да остане „велики анонимни“, „анонимни“, „сви“. Изгледа да је дошао на своје и показује се у свој својој трагичној стварности. Тако мало људи верује у његово постојање да више не треба да се крије! -Compassionate Fire, The Letters of Thomas Merton and Catherine de Hueck Doherty, March 17th, 1962, Ave Maria Press (2009), p. 60.

Indeed, many people seem to believe in ghosts—but not the Devil, whom Jesus called a “murderer from the beginning.” ^{[КСНУМКС]}Џон КСНУМКС: КСНУМКС And that is what is so disturbing: while violent crime is rising in America; ^{[КСНУМКС]}ввв.усатодаи.цом as its government continues to put weapons into the hands of drug cartels and terrorists; ^{[КСНУМКС]}www.foxinsider.com; ввв.глобалресеарцх.ца as citizens continue to arms themselves in record numbers; ^{[КСНУМКС]}money.msn.com as Homeland Security continues to prepare for domestic chaos and martial law… ^{[КСНУМКС]}www.fbo.gov the populace continues to spend billions of dollars and millions of hours lapping up increasingly aggressive and violent video games, movies, and television series. People no longer recognize evil when they see it. As America goes, so it seems, goes the rest of the world. Even in countries where Catholicism is bursting at the seams, like India and parts of Africa, sectarian violence continues to destabilize regions.

... сведоци смо свакодневних догађаја у којима људи постају агресивнији и ратоборнији ... —ПАПА БЕНЕДИКТ КСВИ, Педесетница, 27. мај 2012

It is the fulfillment of The Judas Prophecy. ^{[КСНУМКС]}The Judas Prophecy

С обзиром на тако тешку ситуацију, сада више него икад требамо имати храбрости погледати истини у очи и назвати ствари правим именом, не препуштајући се погодним компромисима или искушењу самообмане. С тим у вези, пророков пророк је крајње непосредан: „Тешко онима који зло називају добрим, а добро злим, који таму стављају за светлост, а светлост за таму“ (Из 5). —ПАПА ЈОВАН ПАВЛЕ ИИ, Евангелиум Витае, „Јеванђеље живота“, бр. 58

The desensitization of America, and ultimately the world who import its culture as the “standard” of “freedom”, is actually a припрема. Као што сам написао у Упозорења на ветру, Our Lady appeared in Africa, 12 years before the Rwandan genocide, to warn that bloodshed was coming. As proof to every unbeliever, atheist, and apathetic Christian, she revealed in visions to several children the horrors that were approaching if the people did not repent (and that were ultimately fulfilled, just as prophesied). However, her warnings, Our Lady said, were not just for Africa, but for the whole world:

Свијет жури у своју пропаст, пашће у провалију ... Свијет се буни против Бога, чини превише гријеха, нема ни љубави ни мира. Ако се не покајете и не преобратите своја срца, пашћете у провалију. -ввв.кибехо.орг

ABOUT TO BOIL OVER

This past week, the Lord has continually put before my heart the image of a kettle or pot of boiling water. It will sit there for minutes, appearing to be doing nothing other than emitting the odd little noise or releasing tiny bubbles. Then all of a sudden, the water begins to bubble and gurgle, and within seconds, the whole pot has reached boiling point. That is a powerful metaphor of what fomented for years in Rwanda, and then suddenly burst out literally overnight.

That image of the pot is a warning to society that we cannot continue to dance with death. The entire world is reaching a boiling point. Increasing food shortages (in third world countries), bizarre weather shifts, unmanageable personal and national debts, higher costs of living, breakdown of the family, breakdown of trust between nations, and degradation of self-respect through pornography and unrestrained passions, is leading the world to the brink of chaos. The masks of Halloween are in some ways раскринкавање the true state of our souls, marred and distorted by sin.

No, this is not just another “hallowed eve.” The unrestrained gore, horror, and evil in costumes this year ^{[КСНУМКС]}цф. www.ctvnews.ca are as much a “sign of the times” as the violent music we listen to, horror movies we watch, and wars we incite. ^{[КСНУМКС]}цф. The Progresion of Man But in all of this… in all of this… I see Jesus reaching out to us with the most compassionate smile and чежња. The more broken our world becomes, the more, in fact, Our Lord’s compassion and mercy are enkindled until they become like a raging fire, longing to be spent.

Пламен милосрђа гори ме - вапећи да се потроши; Желим да их и даље изливам на душе; душе једноставно не желе да верују у Моју доброту. —Изус до Свете Фаустине, Божанско милосрђе у мојој души, Дневник, н. 177

The paradox of God’s love is that, the worse the state of one’s soul, the more Love wishes to expend mercy upon it. ^{[КСНУМКС]}цф. Велико уточиште и сигурна лука

О душа огрезла у тами, не очајавај. Све још није изгубљено. Дођите и поверите се свом Богу, који је љубав и милосрђе ... Нека се ниједна душа не плаши да ми се приближи, иако су њени греси гримизни ... Не могу казнити ни највећег грешника ако призове Моје саосећање, али на напротив, оправдавам га Својом недокучивом и неупитљивом милошћу. —Изус до Свете Фаустине, Божанско милосрђе у мојој души, Дневник, н. 1486, 699, 1146

This is not an easy blog to write. In fact, I want to run the other way, pretending that life will not change; that I will watch my kids grow old in a world that is the same as it was yesterday. Yet, there is no hope if it is false hope—if we fail to recognize the signs of the times and пажње them. As St. Paul wrote:

Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them. (Eph 5:10-11)

ШТА ДА РАДИМО?

The first thing is to be very careful not to foment and collapse into a spirit of despair. Pope Francis is like a beacon of light in our times. Rather than hiding in the Vatican, ^{[КСНУМКС]}…and neither did his predecessors. he has chosen to walk among the “tax collectors and prostitutes”, reminding them that they are loved. We all know the headlines are bad. Even articles like this have to be read with a certain balance, keeping the flame of hope alive.

Не можемо сакрити чињеницу да се на хоризонту скупљају многи претећи облаци. Међутим, не смемо клонути духом, већ морамо одржавати пламен наде у нашим срцима. —ПАПА БЕНЕДИКТ КСВИ, Католичка новинска агенција, 15. јануара 2009

Indeed, my blog is intended to prepare you, not for the Antichrist, but for Jesus Christ! To receive Him now, in the present moment. To prepare you to enter into the Triumph of His Sacred Heart. But Jesus’s ultimate triumph was the Cross—and it will be no different for the Church. She will triumph through her own Passion united to His.

When Autumn comes, we may be tempted to despair as the beauty of summer fades into the corruption of fall, when leaves die, vegetation disappears, and the land rests beneath the cold of winter. But it is this very dying that prepares for a new springtime. That is to say, the signs all around us in this култура смрти are not signs of Satan’s victory, but of his present and coming defeat. God is now exposing the works of corruption and darkness; He is bringing them to light so that they may be wiped from the face of the earth. So to paint a future full of flowers and bliss alone is out of the question, out of the sphere of reality in light of the Gospels. We are called to follow our Master through a martyrdom of the false self, if not the shedding of our very blood.

But today’s reading, on the vigil of All Saint’s, reminds us that God’s love is greater than death, greater than the corruption that is seemingly winning out in our times.

Уверен сам да ни смрт, ни живот, ни анђели, ни кнежевине, ни садашње ствари, ни будуће ствари, ни моћи, ни висина, ни дубина, ни било које друго створење неће моћи да нас одвоје од љубави Божје у Христу Исусе, Господару наш. (Рим 8: 38-39)

We are loved. And because we are so loved, we can rest assured that God will be with us in the most difficult and trying moments; that His grace will bring us to a greater glory than we can imagine. We need faith that winter will be followed by spring, no matter how dark and cold the present trial may appear to be. In a word, васкрсење.

Yes, I see this too on the horizon…. there is an outpouring of power and grace coming to the Church that will give us supernatural strength for the difficult times ahead. This is why Our Mother is coming among us, to prepare us for the coming of the Holy Spirit. “Не бој се,” she says with joy. “Something beautiful is coming for the Church!"

Lastly, as I have written several times, we are not to be spectators but participants in the Велика олуја that is now beginning to boil over in the world. We are called to deny ourselves, renounce our possessions, and ask, “What now, Jesus? What do you want of me at this Hour in the world?”

And I hear Him saying,

Be My light in the darkness; be My Hope to the hopeless; be My shelter to the lost; be My love to the unloved.

It is something we can do everyday, wherever we are, because darkness, hopelessness, despair and coldness are all around us in our broken world. 

I see clearly that the thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. —POPE FRANCIS, interview, ввв.америцамагазине.орг, Септембар КСНУМКСтх, КСНУМКС

Furthermore, through prayer and fasting, as Our Lady has requested, we can break the strongholds of Satan, tearing away the masks that distort the human face, and help to bring about the restoration of the face of Jesus in others. So do not give up. The darker it gets, the brighter you and I must become—воља become, if we give ourselves completely to Jesus.

…be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world. (Phil 2:15)

No, this is not just another Halloween… but it can be another Holy Eve by countering the powers of darkness with the love and light of Jesus through your smile, your kindness, your reflection of the face of Christ…. not a mask, but a mirror.