Why Mary is sent from Heaven.

Hi.

I am having a different time at the minute. I stopped work on Wednesday and don't go back until next Wednesday, the day after Saint Padraig's Day. Its different , because not working throws me off my usual schedule and forces me to think and pray a lot more than I usually do. I think , you know this is part of the Holy Spirit's plan for us. When we are constantly stuck like a train on tracks I think we are in danger of rushing ahead and missing the scenery and chances for change right round us. So often things that look bad, like maybe the car breaking down or having to take time off work for a period are not really so bad but work as God's chance to get a chink in the armour of our busy- ness and sit us down to give us a good talking too!!

Or to look at it another way a chance for a mini retreat. In either case its nice to have a retreat of this kind thats at the same time a holiday.

One of the ways God spoke to me was yesterday when I happened by 'chance' to get Father Corapi from EWTN on my computer and hear him talking for a while. I was more delighted in that my computer has truned mutinous and won't play many video's anymore but relented this once.

The very holy priests message was very simply. We all need to become very, very holy because the Church and the world is in such very,very desperate need of holiness. I think what touches me so much about Father Corapi is that , looking into his eyes he is such a very,very holy man himself. It seems clear to me too that this priest has been and is in a very real struggle with the forces of darkness, or to put it another way Satan is trying as hard as he can to shut him right up/ So I'll be praying for him at mass this morning and I invite you to pray for him too.

The Holy Spirit , when He wants to get through to our thick skulls is often like a drummer and keeps beating and beating away till he gets the message through. SO this morning I was not too surprised when I got an email from Robert Moynihan of 'Inside the Vatican', a well worthwhile Catholic Magazine.

cf:

http://www.insidethevatican.com/

Robert gave in full a recent letter from poor Pope Benedict who seems to be on the ropes at the minute and has sent a letter out, very sadly defending himself from attacks, not least from his fellow, Bishops, Cardinals and priests!! :shock:

But the important thing about this letter is that, just like Father Corapi, it is a call to holiness.

I enclose this email here, in full:


""Like a flame without fuel": Benedict writes a letter‏
From: Dr. Robert Moynihan (editor@insidethevatican.com)
Sent: 13 March 2009 19:07:09
To: padraigcaughey@hotmail.com


"The Faith Is in Danger of Dying Out" — The Pope Writes a Letter

Today, Friday, March 13, we send you the text of a very unusual letter -- unprecedented really -- by Pope Benedict XVI, which he signed on March 10 and which the Vatican released yesterday, March 12
The letter is remarkable. Entitled Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Concerning the Remission of the Excommunication of the Four Bishops Consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre, it is extraordinary for two reasons:

(1) It is an "insider" letter.

(2) It is very personal.

Here is our analysis:

(1) An "inside" letter. This "word of clarification," as the Pope calls it, gives us an unprecedented glimpse into the inner workings of the Vatican, and into the Pope's own personal feelings regarding the bitter controversy over his January 21 decision to lift the excommunication of the four Lefebvrist bishops, including the Holocaust-minimizing Bishop Richard Williamson ("I was saddened," he says, "that even Catholics thought they had to attack me with open hostility").

The Pope and the Vatican almost never offer after-the-fact explanations or apologies for even the most controversial decisions and actions.

But here, the Pope takes personal responsibility for lax research prior to promulgating a decision that he acknowledges was entered into without a complete investigation of the facts ("I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the (Williamson) problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news," the Pope writes).

Notably, in this letter, Benedict does not suggest that Williamson's opinions on the Holocaust, now that they are known, will impel the Vatican to take some further action against him; the issue of Williamson's views and their consequences is simply not addressed in a direct way.

The Pope then acknowledges a "mistake": that the decision to lift the excommunications was not made public with sufficient accompanying explanation ("Another mistake, which I deeply regret, is the fact that the extent and limits of the provision of 21 January 2009 were not clearly and adequately explained at the moment of its publication," he writes.)

Reading this account of oversights and mistakes, one catches a rare glimpse of a Vatican bureaucracy apparently at odds with itself, as if bumbling, un-focused, disorganized. That the Pope decided this matter was so important that he should reveal this "inside information" is the first extraordinary thing.

(2) A personal letter. The letter is a moving and personal "cri de coeur" ("cry of the heart") from this Pope.

Benedict reveals in these brief paragraphs his own understanding of the deepest meaning of his own mission, of the deepest problem the world faces, and asks with great humility whether his brother bishops do not agree with his understanding of that deep mission.
The central message of this letter is this: that the world, humanity, is experiencing a tremendous disorientation due to the loss of faith in a transcendent reality (God).

He writes: "In our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make God present in this world and to show men and women the way to God... The real problem at this moment of our history is that God is disappearing from the human horizon, and, with the dimming of the light which comes from God, humanity is losing its bearings, with increasingly evident destructive effects."

He then says quite specifically: "Leading men and women to God, to the God who speaks in the Bible: this is the supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and of the Successor of Peter at the present time." And he adds: "A logical consequence of this is that we must have at heart the unity of all believers."

This, he says, was why he felt it so important to lift the excommunications of the four Lefebvrist bishops: because it is a step toward the unity which he sees as critical to implementing the "fundamental priority" of the Church.

And then, in an extraordinarily personal way, he, as Pope, asks his brother bishops -- and, by extension, world public opionion, since the letter is published worldwide -- whether they do not agree with him.

He is still seeking consensus in this letter.

He writes, regarding his decision on Williamson and the three others: "But I ask now: Was it, and is it, truly wrong in this case to meet half-way the brother who 'has something against you' (cf. Mt 5:23ff.) and to seek reconciliation? Should not civil society also try to forestall forms of extremism and to incorporate their eventual adherents – to the extent possible – in the great currents shaping social life, and thus avoid their being segregated, with all its consequences?"

In these lines, the Pope seems to be trying still to justify his "un-excommunication" of the four bishops, even Williamson, despite all of the uproar the decision has caused.
And he seems also to be proposing a model of social inclusion, rather than exclusion, which could perhaps serve in dealing with other cases of "extremism" (could one think of radical Muslims) -- "to incorporate their adherents... and thus avoid their being segregated, with all its consequences."

This "inclusive" model is rejected by many today, he says. "At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate," he writes.

The Pope is telling us that he thinks our very "tolerant" society can, in some cases, be very intolerant.

"And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the Pope – he too loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint," Benedict writes.

Here, again, one catches a glimpse of Benedict's own personal feelings: he felt he was treated "hatefully." One senses the personal anguish that the Pope seems to have felt (and Father Lombardi below confirms this) as everyone in recent weeks, inside and outside of the Church, publicly condemned him.

Then, as he nears his conclusion, the Pope quotes a passage from St. Paul where St. Paul warns the Christians of Galatia not to "bite and devour one another" in order that "you are not consumed by one another.” Benedict then writes: "Sad to say, this 'biting and devouring' also exists in the Church today, as expression of a poorly understood freedom."

Here we see Beneedict clearly calling on his fellow bishops, and on all in the Church, to stop fighting with each other ("biting and devouring one another") lest the Church be destroyed by internal dissension ("consumed by one another"). —The Editor

=========
Document #1

LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
concerning the remission of the excommunication
of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre
(Rome, March 10, 2009)

Dear Brothers in the Episcopal Ministry!

The remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated in 1988 by Archbishop Lefebvre without a mandate of the Holy See has for many reasons caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time. Many Bishops felt perplexed by an event which came about unexpectedly and was difficult to view positively in the light of the issues and tasks facing the Church today. Even though many Bishops and members of the faithful were disposed in principle to take a positive view of the Pope’s concern for reconciliation, the question remained whether such a gesture was fitting in view of the genuinely urgent demands of the life of faith in our time. Some groups, on the other hand, openly accused the Pope of wanting to turn back the clock to before the Council: as a result, an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment. I therefore feel obliged to offer you, dear Brothers, a word of clarification, which ought to help you understand the concerns which led me and the competent offices of the Holy See to take this step. In this way I hope to contribute to peace in the Church.

An unforeseen mishap for me was the fact that the Williamson case came on top of the remission of the excommunication. The discreet gesture of mercy towards four Bishops ordained validly but not legitimately suddenly appeared as something completely different: as the repudiation of reconciliation between Christians and Jews, and thus as the reversal of what the Council had laid down in this regard to guide the Church’s path. A gesture of reconciliation with an ecclesial group engaged in a process of separation thus turned into its very antithesis: an apparent step backwards with regard to all the steps of reconciliation between Christians and Jews taken since the Council – steps which my own work as a theologian had sought from the beginning to take part in and support. That this overlapping of two opposed processes took place and momentarily upset peace between Christians and Jews, as well as peace within the Church, is something which I can only deeply deplore. I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news. I was saddened by the fact that even Catholics who, after all, might have had a better knowledge of the situation, thought they had to attack me with open hostility. Precisely for this reason I thank all the more our Jewish friends, who quickly helped to clear up the misunderstanding and to restore the atmosphere of friendship and trust which – as in the days of Pope John Paul II – has also existed throughout my pontificate and, thank God, continues to exist.

Another mistake, which I deeply regret, is the fact that the extent and limits of the provision of 21 January 2009 were not clearly and adequately explained at the moment of its publication. The excommunication affects individuals, not institutions. An episcopal ordination lacking a pontifical mandate raises the danger of a schism, since it jeopardizes the unity of the College of Bishops with the Pope. Consequently the Church must react by employing her most severe punishment – excommunication – with the aim of calling those thus punished to repent and to return to unity. Twenty years after the ordinations, this goal has sadly not yet been attained. The remission of the excommunication has the same aim as that of the punishment: namely, to invite the four Bishops once more to return. This gesture was possible once the interested parties had expressed their recognition in principle of the Pope and his authority as Pastor, albeit with some reservations in the area of obedience to his doctrinal authority and to the authority of the Council. Here I return to the distinction between individuals and institutions. The remission of the excommunication was a measure taken in the field of ecclesiastical discipline: the individuals were freed from the burden of conscience constituted by the most serious of ecclesiastical penalties. This disciplinary level needs to be distinguished from the doctrinal level. The fact that the Society of Saint Pius X does not possess a canonical status in the Church is not, in the end, based on disciplinary but on doctrinal reasons. As long as the Society does not have a canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church. There needs to be a distinction, then, between the disciplinary level, which deals with individuals as such, and the doctrinal level, at which ministry and institution are involved. In order to make this clear once again: until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.

In light of this situation, it is my intention henceforth to join the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” – the body which has been competent since 1988 for those communities and persons who, coming from the Society of Saint Pius X or from similar groups, wish to return to full communion with the Pope – to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This will make it clear that the problems now to be addressed are essentially doctrinal in nature and concern primarily the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the Popes. The collegial bodies with which the Congregation studies questions which arise (especially the ordinary Wednesday meeting of Cardinals and the annual or biennial Plenary Session) ensure the involvement of the Prefects of the different Roman Congregations and representatives from the world’s Bishops in the process of decision-making. The Church’s teaching authority cannot be frozen in the year 1962 – this must be quite clear to the Society. But some of those who put themselves forward as great defenders of the Council also need to be reminded that Vatican II embraces the entire doctrinal history of the Church. Anyone who wishes to be obedient to the Council has to accept the faith professed over the centuries, and cannot sever the roots from which the tree draws its life.

I hope, dear Brothers, that this serves to clarify the positive significance and also the limits of the provision of 21 January 2009. But the question still remains: Was this measure needed? Was it really a priority? Aren’t other things perhaps more important? Of course there are more important and urgent matters. I believe that I set forth clearly the priorities of my pontificate in the addresses which I gave at its beginning. Everything that I said then continues unchanged as my plan of action. The first priority for the Successor of Peter was laid down by the Lord in the Upper Room in the clearest of terms: “You… strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:32). Peter himself formulated this priority anew in his first Letter: “Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15). In our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make God present in this world and to show men and women the way to God. Not just any god, but the God who spoke on Sinai; to that God whose face we recognize in a love which presses “to the end” (cf. Jn 13:1) – in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. The real problem at this moment of our history is that God is disappearing from the human horizon, and, with the dimming of the light which comes from God, humanity is losing its bearings, with increasingly evident destructive effects.

Leading men and women to God, to the God who speaks in the Bible: this is the supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and of the Successor of Peter at the present time. A logical consequence of this is that we must have at heart the unity of all believers. Their disunity, their disagreement among themselves, calls into question the credibility of their talk of God. Hence the effort to promote a common witness by Christians to their faith – ecumenism – is part of the supreme priority. Added to this is the need for all those who believe in God to join in seeking peace, to attempt to draw closer to one another, and to journey together, even with their differing images of God, towards the source of Light – this is interreligious dialogue. Whoever proclaims that God is Love “to the end” has to bear witness to love: in loving devotion to the suffering, in the rejection of hatred and enmity – this is the social dimension of the Christian faith, of which I spoke in the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est.

So if the arduous task of working for faith, hope and love in the world is presently (and, in various ways, always) the Church’s real priority, then part of this is also made up of acts of reconciliation, small and not so small. That the quiet gesture of extending a hand gave rise to a huge uproar, and thus became exactly the opposite of a gesture of reconciliation, is a fact which we must accept. But I ask now: Was it, and is it, truly wrong in this case to meet half-way the brother who “has something against you” (cf. Mt 5:23ff.) and to seek reconciliation? Should not civil society also try to forestall forms of extremism and to incorporate their eventual adherents – to the extent possible – in the great currents shaping social life, and thus avoid their being segregated, with all its consequences? Can it be completely mistaken to work to break down obstinacy and narrowness, and to make space for what is positive and retrievable for the whole? I myself saw, in the years after 1988, how the return of communities which had been separated from Rome changed their interior attitudes; I saw how returning to the bigger and broader Church enabled them to move beyond one-sided positions and broke down rigidity so that positive energies could emerge for the whole. Can we be totally indifferent about a community which has 491 priests, 215 seminarians, 6 seminaries, 88 schools, 2 university-level institutes, 117 religious brothers, 164 religious sisters and thousands of lay faithful? Should we casually let them drift farther from the Church? I think for example of the 491 priests. We cannot know how mixed their motives may be. All the same, I do not think that they would have chosen the priesthood if, alongside various distorted and unhealthy elements, they did not have a love for Christ and a desire to proclaim him and, with him, the living God. Can we simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical fringe, from our pursuit of reconciliation and unity? What would then become of them?

Certainly, for some time now, and once again on this specific occasion, we have heard from some representatives of that community many unpleasant things – arrogance and presumptuousness, an obsession with one-sided positions, etc. Yet to tell the truth, I must add that I have also received a number of touching testimonials of gratitude which clearly showed an openness of heart. But should not the great Church also allow herself to be generous in the knowledge of her great breadth, in the knowledge of the promise made to her? Should not we, as good educators, also be capable of overlooking various faults and making every effort to open up broader vistas? And should we not admit that some unpleasant things have also emerged in Church circles? At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the Pope – he too loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint.

Dear Brothers, during the days when I first had the idea of writing this letter, by chance, during a visit to the Roman Seminary, I had to interpret and comment on Galatians 5:13-15. I was surprised at the directness with which that passage speaks to us about the present moment: “Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.” I am always tempted to see these words as another of the rhetorical excesses which we occasionally find in Saint Paul. To some extent that may also be the case. But sad to say, this “biting and devouring” also exists in the Church today, as expression of a poorly understood freedom. Should we be surprised that we too are no better than the Galatians? That at the very least we are threatened by the same temptations? That we must always learn anew the proper use of freedom? And that we must always learn anew the supreme priority, which is love? The day I spoke about this at the Major Seminary, the feast of Our Lady of Trust was being celebrated in Rome. And so it is: Mary teaches us trust. She leads us to her Son, in whom all of us can put our trust. He will be our guide – even in turbulent times. And so I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to all the many Bishops who have lately offered me touching tokens of trust and affection, and above all assured me of their prayers. My thanks also go to all the faithful who in these days have given me testimony of their constant fidelity to the Successor of Saint Peter. May the Lord protect all of us and guide our steps along the way of peace. This is the prayer that rises up instinctively from my heart at the beginning of this Lent, a liturgical season particularly suited to interior purification, one which invites all of us to look with renewed hope to the light which awaits us at Easter.

With a special Apostolic Blessing, I remain
Yours in the Lord,

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
From the Vatican, 10 March 2009

=======

Document #2

The World Jewish Congress has already reacted to the pope’s letter in the following statement:

Ronald S. Lauder: “Continue to work with Vatican to strengthen understanding”

NEW YORK / BRUSSELS — The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald S. Lauder, has praised Pope Benedict XVI for issuing a personal letter to Catholic bishops explaining the circumstances of the Williamson affair. “The Pope has found clear and unequivocal words regarding Bishop Williamson’s Holocaust denial, and he deserves praise for admitting that mistakes were made within the Vatican in the handling of this affair,” Lauder said

“The Pope’s letter conveys the essential requirements for inter-religious dialogue: candor and the willingness to tackle difficult issues squarely. His expressed anguish at the events following the Holocaust-denying statements by Williamson reflects the similar emotional pain felt by Jews worldwide during this affair. We reciprocate his words of appreciation for Jewish efforts to restore inter-religious dialogue and will continue to work with the Catholic Church to further strengthen mutual understanding and respect,” the WJC president stated.

==========

Document #3

The Vatican’s official spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi S.J., issued the following statement March 12 on the letter of Pope Benedict:

The difficult commitment to reconciliation

The “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre” is definitely an unusual document and deserves all our attention. Never before in his Pontificate has Benedict XVI expressed himself in such a personal manner and intensity on a controversial subject. There isn’t the slightest doubt: this Letter bears his mark, from beginning to end.

The Pope has lived this event, the remission of the excommunication, and the following reactions with an involvement and suffering that are manifest. He speaks of a “discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time”, and has felt the need to intervene to “contribute to peace in the Church”, a peace that has been disturbed.

With his usual lucidity and humility, he recognises the shortcomings and the mistakes which have had a negative influence on the course of events; and with great nobility, he doesn’t make others shoulder the responsibility, thus showing his solidarity with his collaborators. He speaks of insufficient information pertaining to the Williamson case, and lack of clarity in presenting the measure of remission of excommunication and about its meaning. However, this is not the most significant aspect of his reflexions.

Whereas the “Williamson case”, misconstrued as a denial of the path of reconciliation between Christians and Jews, is fortunately behind us, the Pope reminds us, with legitimate pride, that the sharing and promotion of all the steps accomplished for the reconciliation since the Council, have been “since the beginning the objective of his own theological work”; and he thanks the “Jewish friends” for their contribution in re-establishing quickly an atmosphere of trust, although a certain sadness still lingers because of the attacks coming from certain Catholics on this subject.

The Pope then sets out to clarify the nature, the meaning and the intentions of the remission of excommunication; he explains that, since excommunication was a punishment for persons who had accomplished an act that endangered Church unity by not recognising the Pope’s authority, therefore, now that the persons who were thus sanctioned have shown their acknowledgment of the Pope’s authority, the remission of the excommunication was a warm invitation to their returning within the unity of the Church.

The Pope makes a distinction as far as the problem of the juridical recognition of the Saint Pius X Fraternity is concerned, linking it clearly to doctrinal questions about the acceptance of Vatican II Council and the magisterium of the Popes since that Council. Until that happens, their representatives will not be able to fulfil any recognised ministry in a legitimate way in the Church.

A central point of the Letter concerning the Pope’s decision - in the light of the mainly doctrinal nature of the needed clarification - is the join the Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, for the relations with the traditionalist communities, with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, thus ensuring a better practice of collegiality in the procedure and decision making. With this perspective of a renewal in the Curia’s organisation, the Pope gives an answer to most of the objections concerning the making of the recent measure, especially to the episcopates more directly implicated.

However, there still remains the question of many people, in the light of the recent tensions: Was this measure of remission of excommunication really necessary ? Weren’t there in the Church questions of greater importance and urgency ?

The answer to this question makes up more than half of the Letter. The Pope’s writing becomes more and more intense. Benedict XVI feels deeply challenged in his responsibility as Pastor of the universal Church, and compelled to clarify, without hesitation, his brothers in the Episcopate, co-responsible of the well-being of the Church, about the priorities and the spirit in which he carries out his service.

In a nutshell, he recalls the great priorities of his Pontificate, which were anyway clearly said from the very first day: lead men to God, the God who revealed himself in the Bible and in Christ; Christian unity; dialogue between those who believe in God, at the service of peace; testimony of love according to the social dimension of Christian life.

However, the Pope then goes on to invite his interlocutors to a personal and ecclesial reflexion in a committed and urgent manner. That a gesture, intended to be merciful in view of reconciliation, should give rise to a situation of acute tension, is a paradox that should compel us to questioning so as to discern about the spiritual attitudes that have been manifest and at work in this event.

The first criterion that the Pope asks to reflect upon is the commandment of reconciliation with the “brother who has something against you”, according to what the Lord said on his ‘Sermon on the Mount’.

The Pope’s questions become pressing, animated by a vivid preoccupation for unity. Without losing any sense of realism, for he recalls the grave defects of the traditionalists, but equally critical in a realistic way, the Pope feels obliged to ….. in the conflict between members of the Church and of society who seem to oppose, with unyielding intransigence, every effort of reconciliation, or simply any recognition of positive elements in others. The spiritual realism reaches its zenith when he evokes saint Paul’s injunction to the Galatians “not to bite and devour each other”.

The reflexion concludes with yet another passionate invitation to love as an absolute priority for the Christian, and a profound aspiration for peace in the Church community.

Beyond the errors or mishaps, which are recognised in a fair manner and overcome when possible, beyond any human prudence that calls to avoid touching sensitive points, the Pope brings us back, with firmness and courage to the Gospel as fundamental and ultimate criterion, not only of Christian and Church life, but of the government of the Church as well.

For it is only through mutual conversion to this Gospel that we can hope to overcome the divisions, and to be able to understand the profound convergence between Tradition and Council.

Finally, we are led to understand that our Pope, by his personal commitment in these situations of crisis, brings us to rediscover the essential point, more profound and radical, which will enable us to resume our journey.

F.L. (Federico Lombardi)

 

What struck me was the poor Pope is so isolates and unloved
by so many who call themselves 'Catholic' and amongst
his own brothers, priests, bishops and cardinals. We are
living right in the middle of the Garabandal warnings -

'Many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are on
the road to perdition and taking many souls with them'

That is why the light of faith is dimming - the shepherds are
afraid to lead and many have become lukewarm and infected
with the spirit of the world; easy compromise and easy living
lead to lax spirituality.

That is why holy priests like Father Corporati are so important and
need our prayers. They are a great beacon in the great darkness
in the midst of our world.

I have had the feeling in the last while of a GREAT DARKNESS like a
blanket being laid over our lands and souls are becoming lost
in unprecedented numbers as in the Fatima vision of Hell. We are
in great danger because MAN has lost the sense of sin promotes sin
as a good, justifies sin, has divorced himself from the creator, therefore,
has lost a sense of the dignity of the human person and therefore man
is capable of any evil in these times. These are evil times like none
before due to the rebellion in people's hearts and their love of self.
THE SEEDS HAVE BEEN SOWN OF OUR OWN DESTRUCTION.
Chastisments are coming at the hands of man as never before. This
generation will eat of the dust of the ground for having rejected the
great grace of Divine Mercy and ignoring our Blessed Mother at
Medjugorge and all of the Marian sites.

Therefore, let us love the Lord so wounded by the pride and arrogance
of this generation. Thanks be to God for all on this forum who love God.

Praised be to Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
Allelulia, Allelulia!

 

Such an unusual letter. The Church is being attacked from all sides, including from the foolish people within. What strange times we live in.

 

Strange indeed. I don't think even during the so called, 'Reformation' Cardinals and other high Churchmen turned so opnely against the Holy Father in this way.

I believe the mistake they make is this, to see the Pope in a political or social way, in a human rather than supernatural sense. Rather like the President of a country or the Chairman of a large Corporation. Thus they see themselves as right thinkers moving to take the proper corrective measures to overcome him.

However they would not have been deceived by Satan like this if they had prayed as they ought. For if they HAD prayed the Holy Spirit would have guided them in the ways of the Spirit in proper obedience and humility rather than pride and rebellion, the sins of Satan. However the whole Church needed and needs much prayer.

I suspect the reason they come out into the open like this is because their hopes have been dashed in that their own man, that is to say Satan's man was not elected as Pope in the last election. This very highly intelligent, very charismatic Cardinal from Italy was just about favourite in the last election but was defeated. I have the deepest distrust of this person, although on the surface he looks wonderful and even very holy.

I think Garabandal is right and things are going to come out right into the open. Since they cannot get their own man as Pope they'll kind of create their own Pope without an election.

...and of course Governments and the media will be right behind this rebellion because they'll make all the right noises about things like abortion and 'Gay Rights'.

But I hope I'm wrong. A lot of earnest prayer could defeat this still. I hope not to many Catholics will be fooled by all this, I hope that praying Catholics won't anyway. Forgive me if I am being alarmist about this. This is a very small forum and I'm just sharing with friends. I cannot prove any of this to be true, its just a prayerful feeling. Still when you read the Pope's letter and read between the lines...

 

I have a friend in County Cork, a lady who suffers very much. She has had many visitations from Our lady and always sees her on St Patricks day. last year Our lady was very sad and requested her to pray much for the Holy Father as the church is on the brink of a schism. Our lady told her that this is the most serious threat to the church by Satan in church history. It really looks now that we are seeing this schism coming out into the open. I pray that the bishops of our country remain loyal to Pope Benedict.

Mary

 

garabandal,

The Holy Father has written the most personal and vulnerable letter I 've ever seen from the hand of a pope. In one sense, it strikes me as a prelude to the Warning. There is an invitation to reconciliation which Pope Benedict extends to all. I will join him on this quest even if it leads to the valley of the shadow of death!

Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us!

 

I'm a bit saddened by Pope Benedicts letter. What a great responsibility he has! I've a funny feeling that although the church may be 100% correct at the top, as you go through the layers below that,-everyone seems to have their own opinion as to how the church should be operated. Schism indeed!

Yes-its all about prayer.

I'm in a very normal situation. Nobody I know practices the Faith. It's all about "if it feels good-do it!
Are there really 1 billion Catholics in the world. "Practicing" I doubt it.
The priest in my parish-(and I don't know if this is correct or not) won't say the creed during mass as "sure people are here for that reason exactly and there is no reason to say it-as in they have said it already by going to mass"
I love the Creed-it defines my faith.
Whenever a visiting priest comes,(who would'nt be aware that it is not been said) the congregation say's it with such gusto! We do miss it!
If everyone is not singing off the same hymnsheet-we've got problems.

 

I'm a bit saddened by Pope Benedicts letter. What a great responsibility he has! I've a funny feeling that although the church may be 100% correct at the top, as you go through the layers below that,-everyone seems to have their own opinion as to how the church should be operated. Schism indeed!

Yes-its all about prayer.

I'm in a very normal situation. Nobody I know practices the Faith. It's all about "if it feels good-do it!
Are there really 1 billion Catholics in the world. "Practicing" I doubt it.
The priest in my parish-(and I don't know if this is correct or not) won't say the creed during mass as "sure people are here for that reason exactly and there is no reason to say it-as in they have said it already by going to mass"
I love the Creed-it defines my faith.
Whenever a visiting priest comes,(who would'nt be aware that it is not been said) the congregation say's it with such gusto! We do miss it!
If everyone is not singing off the same hymnsheet-we've got problems.

 

Siobhain. For me the little key I always look for in folks is whether or not they have a Devotion to Our Blessed Lady. If they have I always think they are in safe ground, if not.... for Mary is the Great Sign of Contradiction in these Latter Days. Folks have a million 'good' reasons to dump such devotions, its old fashioned, its unecumenical, etc Another great sign is lack of obedience and loyalty to the Pope.

Another little Sign is lack of openess to the Holy Spirit by rejecting out of hand the fact that Our Lady is being sent down from heaven with urgent messages for the world. I heard one priest saying that priests dare not mention these apparitions because they would end up in trouble with their Bishop. But why is this? Certainly some apparitions are not approved {yet} and I can understand reticense there, but many others such as Fatima, Akita, Betania and Kibeho HAVE BEEN APPROVED. Why then the silence? Form if Mary comes with this huge sense of urgency, why not a huge urgency in passing these, Church approved messages on.

I was touched when I noticed Our Lady had said in one of the apparition sites mentioned that she had been 'sent by God'. This seems to me such a very humble, Marian thing to say. She had been sent. not acting on her own behalf.

But why Mary? Why not Jesus Himself? Why not the Holy Spirit ? Or a host of angels? Or the pantheon of Saints? I think the clue comes in the Book of Revelations when we see The Great Sign mentioned that appears in the Heavens:

"And there appeared a great sign in heaven; a woman clothed with the Sun, and the Moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and screamed in the anguish of delivery."

I believe it is because Mary is fulfilling the role prophetically appointed to her in Revelations as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate to lead the people of God in the Final Great Battle against Satan. I suspect this was signalled by her apparitions starting around 1860 with places like La Salette, Lourdes and the Rue De Bac and which moved into highest gear round about 1981.

If you look at the Popes letter , the words that he says could almost be a tissue of texts drawn from these apparitions. This is because , I very much suspect the Holy Father has been reading the messages of Mary, has meditated very deeply on them and is now bringing forth the Fruits of the Holy Spirit by reading the Signs of the Times correctly in his recent letter. It could be Mary herself talking when he says:

"The Faith Is in Danger of Dying Out"

Mary, if you heAr anything from that lady round Saint Padraig's day about what Our Lady says, I would love to hear it!! What a gift! What a Saint PAdraig's Day present!!

 

I don't mean to be judgemental or negative in any of this. But this is the Time of the Great Apostacy. Things are very deceptive. Some will go one way, others another. It is important now, more than ever not to be decieved by fair words and face.

Devotion to Mary and Loyal obedience to the Holy Father, on this we must stand.

 

Padraig,

You are so right - I know of a priest in Fermanagh censured
by his Bishop for continually mentioning Medjugorge from the pulpit and was
moved parish.

You could probably preach all kinds of heresy from the pulpit
and get away with it nowadays but mention Marian apparitions
and you are a fruit-cake!

And I know 'Little Mary' has been suspended by a previous bishop
and her messages forbidden to be published and placed on the
internet. If she had been preaching woman's ordination I guarnatee
she wouldn't have been dealt with in this way. It is almost as if the
holy people are being silenced.

It does look like schism is a real possibility but of course schism
has already happened in the hearts of many. There is a real
Protestant tendency in may Catholics today that they can choose
those parts of Church teachings that suit their lives. The Pastors
are not going to challenge them.

In my last parish my wife and I were looking for someone
to teach us natural family planning and thanks to God's providence
there was a lady who only lived a few doors down from us
who was an expert. When we asked her why the local church
did not promote natural family planning she said the parish priest
told her it was 'too controversial an area' of peoples' lives. In other
words let the laity make up their own mind about contraception and
we won't annoy them. I have never heard a sermon on these issues
yet they are so important. Many don't know of the abortifacient nature
of the regular pill.

So the issue of catechesis and instruction are at the heart of the
current problems.

That is why our Lady has come too - she wants to instruct us in the
faith and the path of holiness for she knows that we are like sheep
without a shepherd.

 

garabandal,

It is one thing to be instructed, it is another to possess a teachable spirit. I thank God that you and your wife sought out help! Somewhere in Proverbs 10 we hear:

He who heeds instruction is on the path of life, but he who rejects reproof goes astray!

 

Padraig,

We were blessed with a family of seven - three boys
living and four 'miscarriages' [8 to 12 weeks] so we have
four wee angels in heaven interceeding for us
constantly. We gave them all girls' names and
they are baptised by desire of their loving
parents, and I can't wait to see them in heaven!
It was a most difficult time for us both when we
lost our wee angels and its taken a long process
of healing for us both to come to terms with the
loss, as the pain was incredible and broke our
hearts.

But God has his plan and his purposes and we trust
in His loving goodness and mercy.

 

You both have very great faith. Prayer, as Mary told me is the bread of faith.

You're right Garabandal to call them angels, how wonderful to have the blessed assurance that they are in heaven and that you shall both meet them in heaven, the summit of and only true result of all our ambitions.

That we should reach heaven and that all mankind should reach heaven. So many, many souls are falling into hell fire at the minute like showers of little leaves, such great danger, it is good at least that they have avoided this.

 

Padraig, you mentioned a devotion to Our Lady as a sign of a faithful and humble Christian, and I couldn't agree more. Our Lady herself has often stated to many Saints and Blesseds and lay people that those who entrust themselves to her by way of her Immaculate Heart and by the Rosary will never be lost. Indeed, it is one of the promises of the Rosary: "The soul that recommends itself to me by way of the Rosary shall not perish". I love praying to Our Blessed Mother myself and anything I ever asked of her she has granted. The same with Our Lord. I have learned that answers to prayer do not come immediately, but come over a period of time, months and even years. I could not understand this at first and was often frustrated when things didn't seem to be working. But over time, I received the help and graces I asked for, and understood that help from Heaven comes when God deems it most fitting, not when we might think we need it.

"What a sweet and lovely mother we have in Heaven!" (Fr. Luis Andreu of Garabandal, shortly before he died of joy after seeing her.)


Seán

 

People hate the Catholic Church for many reasons, but one of them is because our devotion to Mary. I think in the end it'll be a battle between those who call her Mother and those who don't.

The faith is dying out, indeed. Perhaps this is what prompted Jesus to say, "When the Son of man comes, shall he find any faith left on earth?"

 

I wonder, Deanna if what is happening now is maybe one of the things Jesus saw in the Garden of Gethsemane and that caused Him to sweat blood?

Blessed Mary of Agreda says that after the death and Resurrection of Jesus all the devils fled to hell sure that they were defeated for good. For they could not believe that men could be tempted again after such a defeat. But they soon found out different. I suppose faith is like a flame and we all need to tend it by the oil of our prayers. If their is no oil the flame dies out.

One of the things Mary said at Medugorje is so sad. That she came to prove God exists. It is awful we have reached this point. For myself, if I had no seen her I would never, never have believed.

I also notice she says that if necessary she would appear in every home in the world to convince us. Well I believe this has become very,very necessary now. I am afraid the call at places like Medugorje and Garabandal has not been answered , in fact the opposite had occured and things have gotten much, much worse. So I expect the Sing and the Illumination of Concience will involve Our Lady.

'A great Sign was seen in the Heavens......'

All that Mary says can be boiled down to one word

Pray

So simple!

It reminds me of what Mary's son Jesus said,

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants.

The difficulty for the wise and intelligent in the Church, our Bishops and Cardinals and Priests is that this great truth is hidden from them because they have lost the innocense of the children of Mary. They see things humanly,as adults, if you like, in political and social terms. A good example of this is the calls heard from Cardinals lately that priests be married. Of course humanly this seems so reasonable and logical. But the truth of the matter is much more simple the reason we do not have vocations is that we as a Church are not holy enough...and the reason we are not hily enough is that we do not pray enough.

The sames goes for a million ways of looking at things. From contraception, to abortion , to 'Gay rights' and so on. The problem was never the Church's teachings or the tradition of the Church itself. The real problem was that we , none of us prayer enough.

We can, all of us feel so very small faced with the huge difficulties the Church and the whole world faces. In fact it faces annihilation. However the Cure of Ars, Saint John Vianney was a great saint. One time Satan was heard to comment on Him from the mouth of a possessed man,

'Two more like the Cure of Ars,' he commented, '..and my Kingdom in France will fall,'

We have only to look at huge modern saints like Padre Pio and Mother Teresa of Calcutta to see how tru this is. Mary comes to call us all to be people of prayer; to be saints.

This seems impossible and of course it is, but only if we depend on ourselves but on the grace of God. To do this we must become very, very small infants.

Children of Mary, in fact.

 

HOW GREAT IS A SAINT?

To become a saint is a miracle of God - a saint someone so loves God fully and is infused
and saturated by the divine presence yet has free will and at any one time can reject the
help of God yet continues and persisit on the toughest path possible, the narrow road;
an interior path that lies hidden to everyone else except God.

I AM IN AWE OF THE SAINTS:

They are the most courageous people that the world has ever known; they are the soldiers of Christ:
They die a thousand deaths to self; they have destroyed ego, shattered the mirror of pride; they are
drunk on the spirit of God; they are aflame with divine life yet purified through the darkest of nights;
they have no illusions and understand self; their wills are bent towards God like a tree in the wind;
they are people of immense self-discipline and order; they are God's work of Art; they are God's
'play-things', and he takes delight in them. They are like the beautiful flower opening to the rays of
the Sun; they are full of virtue and goodness; their is no stain in them and they are God's joy.

God takes delight in his saints for they have freely chosen the path of love and in them he sees the image of His Son.
They are the joy of Heaven and above the angels in order for they have been through the crucible of suffering; they have
perfected themselves by Divine grace and become a new creation. They are incredible and will shine like a million
suns in heaven.

St Patrick; our friend and patron, pray for us that we might love Christ like you and imitate your vitues.
Give us the courage this day to become saints.




purified like the finest metals;

 

There used to be an old saying Garabandal which I just heard repeated on EWTN that the place to learn Theology is on your knees.

Well, that's not just true of Theology, its true of all things!

But in order to get down on your knees is something very, very difficult for our generation. It was easy for our parents because they did not go through the loss of innocense and rebellion we are undergoing. The hardest thing of all is that this rebellion, this loss of childhood hits exactly the folk who have spiritual leadership over us. We, the laity are prepared to let those given leadership over us, lead us. The problem being they are wolves in the sheepfold and are leading us to desolate pastures.

There's nothing new in any of this, we see heretics mentioned right from the very start, in scripture, those proud, clever folks who did everything but fall on their knee's.

Then on the other hand we get a child like Saint Francis, who falls to his knee's and lo and behold he saves the entire Church.

How did he do this? Because Francis was a child! He fell to his knee's!!

So I believe a good defintiion of a saint is someone who remains child.

"A Little Child Shall Lead Them"

Isaiah 11:1-10

 

Padraig,
What an inspirational post you have written here. The world grows darker by the day and I find that some times I get wonderful graces and feel totally uplifted but Satan is so busy straight away to rob me and he often suceeds. I feel I need constant top ups in grace to try and keep close to Our Lady. One of the graces I received was the little blue book and that gives me something every day. I also notice though the cares of the world, television and inetrests that take my focus off Jesus are constantly tugging. If I didnt go to daily Mass I would be feeling very lost at this stage. I really have to work on my disipline to keep praying and fasting or Satan will steal the prize set aside for me. I feel we are entering the heat of battle more and more. I am off to Knock next weekend and I will pray for all your intentions there.

happy St Patricks day.

God bless
Mary