Tervetuloa foorumi, Daria, voit lähettää nyt. Welcome Daria from Isllama, Eastern Finland, you can post now.
Thanks, good to be here! I am from Iisalmi - nice try! I've been reading your forum for a while and have been feeling comfortable and safe here... Mother of God must have shown me this forum, because in spite of that I've read a lot "catholic stuff" this is the only forum, where people are talking of just the same topics as I have read for three months now. I have found the same locutionists and apparitions and made my conclusions, too - quite similarly as you here! It's amazing, I think. The new pope has been the biggest reason why I started all this searching, but I have found so much more interesting, too. It's a long story! Today I decided to start writing here, because I was so concerned about MDM messages! I read them for a while and noticed kind of "sick" interest beginning to develope towards them (messages coming almost every day, it's kind of hypnotism). But I also noticed that everything was not all right. And now the messages are uglier and uglier. Somebody already posted an example, the newest one, today and I have another which I maybe post to MDM-thread. I'm just practising to use this system and my English is not perfect... But I try. I'm a translator but not Finnish-English - other way round. And I do Finnish-Russian translations, too. Perhaps I some day can tell something about Russian Orthodox prophecies - and their differences and similarities with catholic ones...
I would love to read some Orthodox prophecies, Daria, especially those that agree with the Catholic ones. Are you Catholic yourself?
No, I'm not Catholic but Orthodox. There are so much interesting to know in this world of prophecies and the most interesting would be if we could find similarities in Catholic and Orthodox prophecies - because then there would be a great opportunity that we have found the true ones! I have earlier studied a lot of Protestant prophecies,too, and they are so far away: those people just don't have same kind of faith as we have and it is easy to notice: their explanations of the end times are quite a mess. Sadly they get so much attention on the Internet! I live in this Lutheran country and I'm used to their teachings but nowadays I think that they are heretics and that's it! In this country you can never say so but it's the truth. They try to interprete Book of Revelations but how is that possible if they don't know the teachings of the Fathers!
Daria, again we are so glad you're here, and to hear that you have seen through the MDM lies and false messages. We have a MDM thread here ,to educate and inform our readers to the truth. If you have any questions about the apparitions at Garabandal,please don't hesitate to ask me, as I am a volunteer worker for Joey Lomangino & Conchita Gonzalez Keena.
Hello, hello! I was wondering, Daria, if you have ever heard of the approved apparition of Our Lady of Soufanieh from Damascus, Syria. She appeared in the home of a Catholic/Orthodox couple and the Orthodox bishop approved it prior to the Catholic Ordinary. Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
I think the central failing of Protestant prophecy is that they have fallen away from Mary the Mother of God and the Church So without Mary and the Church to guide them they end up all over the place in a desert of personal discernment. A key failure is to believe that we in the events right before the End of the World, rather than the beginning of the Tribulation period. Also a very modern belief in this, 'Rapture' stuff. Also a bizarre fixation on Israel and the City of Jerusalem. Here however is one very good true prophecy given by a 90 year old Protestant Norwegian woman many years ago.
Thanks a lot for this warm welcoming! Of course I was pondering a while can I really begin to write here because I'm from different religion and culture, but perhaps it's only interesting for all of us... And I must tell that the miracle of Damascus is the first part of my journey to get know catholic traditions and in this case Marian apparitions. I found these miracles perhaps two years ago when searcing orthodox miracles on the net. I instantly felt something very special in them and in Myrna's story and then there was that beautiful icon in the center of it all. I must say that it was very important that I could see an icon as an "instrument" of the miracle - it was familiar, it was so Orthodox that I felt safe. But when I read the locutions and about stigmas and so one I began to get a bit frightened. To us Orthodox has been always told that we must not believe supernatural happenings and that they may be dangerous deceit. If we are not monastics it's nearly impossible to experience things like Myrna and also for monastics it's not recommended to search that kind on things in one's religious life. I must say this is a very safe road, but of course there's much variaton depending on different countries and jurisdictions, too. Now I have been digesting those happenings in Damascus for two years and when new pope was elected I began to search all Catholic information around pope and his Church. This fraternity-thing between Orthodoxy and Catholism interests me very much nowadays. It's not easy to swollow in the first place but if you think of it thoroughly it's beginning to make a lot of sense. Because of what HE, our Christ, said about unity... Those things about Protestantism are familiar me, too. It's sad how cutting of the good things in Reformation began to produce more and more heresies and nowadays their situation is catastrophic: they don't know the genuine Christian faith. In Scandinavia, especially in Sweden, people don't know basic Christian teachings anymore and for example a lesbian woman is working as a bishop... They have fought for women's rights in the church so much because they don't "have" our Mother of God in their religious life. Fortunately we Orthodox don't have a problem of that kind: our most young and educated theologian-women (how to say properly?) discuss only a bit of diaconesses and they know it's not worth demanding anything more - and diaconesses are far away in the future, too. Perhaps never... It's a long story, and I must ponder nearly every word....have to continue some other time.
In the Catholic Church too we are taguht to be very,very careful of things like visions and locutions, Daria. Not to ignore them entirely but to e very careful of them as they may very well be false. The Catholic Church changed a lot with Vatican Council 2, in a special way they changed with a Church Document called, 'Lumen Gentium' (Light of the Nations). This Church Document pointed the way to the fact that Catholic lay people are called to the highest holiness, just as much as any monk in a monastery or hermit on a mountaintop. This is shown in Chapter Five. On the Universal call to holiness. 40. The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and everyone of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life: "Be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect".(216)(2*) Indeed He sent the Holy Spirit upon all men that He might move them inwardly to love God with their whole heart and their whole soul, with all their mind and all their strength(217) and that they might love each other as Christ loves them.(218) The followers of Christ are called by God, not because of their works, but according to His own purpose and grace. They are justified in the Lord Jesus, because in the baptism of faith they truly become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature. In this way they are really made holy. Then too, by God's gift, they must hold on to and complete in their lives this holiness they have received. They are warned by the Apostle to live "as becomes saints",(219) and to put on "as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, patience",(220) and to possess the fruit of the Spirit in holiness.(221) Since truly we all offend in many things (222) we all need God's mercies continually and we all must daily pray: "Forgive us our debts"(223)(3*) Thus it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity;(4*) by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history. 41. The classes and duties of life are many, but holiness is one-that sanctity which is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. These people follow the poor Christ, the humble and cross-bearing Christ in order to be worthy of being sharers in His glory. Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity.
I believe holiness and sanctity can be found everywhere as can be charsms of the Spirit. We were wrong in the Catholic Church for so many cnetruies to have an elitist clerical cast were the poor lay people were also rans. But if we do not look for and indeed expect holiness inpeole then I don't think we wil lever find them. I think it is the same with the supernatural charisms , if we do not expect them to be present or if we avoid them or are afraid of them thenwe wil lnever see them. To be cautious in their use and to use discernment is certain. But they are gifts of the Hoy Spirit and are not I think to be thrown back in his face when they become evident, either in a Spirit of misplaced fear or false humility.
To not hide the light of the Holy Spirit but to let it shine from the mountaintop as St Seraphim of Sarov did: http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/sermon_st_seraphim.htm
Interesting points, thanks Padraig! St Serafim of Sarov is one of my favourite/friend saints. The others are St Blessed Matrona Moskovskaya, St Blessed Ksenia Peterburgskaya and St John Kronstadskij from Russia. Then very important is St martyr Trifon from town called Lampsakos. They have helped me a lot in my spiritual and every-day life. I have translated biography of St Matrona from Russian language to Finnish and it was very important work and special task to me. I learned a lot of it, and now "we walk together". I translated her akafist, too, and now I read it every day. I would be happy if they would be published, but I have not found publisher yet. I keep on praying on it anyway... I mentioned earlier that lesbian bishop in Sweden, and I hoped I remembered it wrong but it was true information... Here is the link: http://www.thelocal.se/23148/20091109/#.UZoWc8ocu24 The other woman mentioned in the article is from Finland. But nowadays we have a woman bishop here in Finland, too, in Helsinki. Some woman priests are especially eager to get permission to wed gays and lesbians. So mistakes made by Lutheran churches are accumulating!
THE VISION OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN, WONDERWORKER OF KRONSTADT http://www.orthodox.net/articles/vision-of-st-john-of-kronstadt.html
Hi Daria. Cool avatar! I'm Catholic but I have a fascination with Orthodox spirituality, art, and history. Look forward to reading your posts. Are you familiar with Locutions.org? Do you have an opinion on their authenticity? Also, have you read anything by the Orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart? He has a good article on the division between East and West entitled 'The Myth of Schism' http://fatherdavidbirdosb.blogspot.com/2012/05/myth-of-schism-by-david-bentley-hart.html
