Second Pentecost

JEREMIAH AND THE SECULARIST

2010-02-14T13:17:00.010-05:00

In Church today the following wisdom saying from Jeremiah was read:

"Yahweh says this:
"A curse on the man who puts his trust in man,
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from Yahweh.
He is like a dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabitated.

"A blessing on the man who puts his trust in Yahweh,
with Yahweh for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes he feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit." (Jr. 17:5-8)

As I heard these words, they seemed to me to be such an appropriate description of the way that today's secularist has "no eyes" for Truth, nor does he even seem to recognize the parched wilderness in which he lives!

IS JOHN M. HAFFERT ONE OF THE MAJOR PROPHETS OF OUR ERA?

2010-01-01T08:48:00.038-05:00

In the Preface to the biography, Herald of the Fatima Apparitions: John M. Haffert, I write that: “it is clear that John is not only co-founder of the World Apostolate of Fatima (Blue Army), but also one of the major prophets of our times.” The prophet, John the Baptist, is described in Scripture as “the man the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said: A voice cries in the wilderness: Prepare a way for the Lord.” (Mt. 3:3) Like John the Baptist, John Haffert is also a prophet. But in Haffert's case he is the herald crying out in the wilderness of our era, to make way for Our Lady of Fatima's messages and the Second Coming of Christ.

Many say that Mary is the Prophet of the End Times and the coming Era of Peace. Just as John the Baptist has been called the preeminent prophet who preached in the time of Christ, is there anyone, other than John Haffert, who could be called the preeminent prophet of the Mother of God in our era?

As we begin this second decade of the third millennium, many have forgotten the predictions of Our Lady of Fatima, the efforts of the Blue Army, and John's role of making the Fatima messages known. In addition, they are either ignoring or disclaiming the warnings of contemporary visionaries, never thinking to ask themselves if their actions are stifling the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Who of us can look at the decade that has just ended, and not wonder if the problems encountered by the whole world, are not vivid examples of the tribulations foretold by Our Lady of Fatima, as well as by many of our contemporary visionaries? But most of us fail to see any connection between the many calamities which occurred during the past decade and the warnings of recent prophets to the effect that, in ignoring God, the human race will continue to bring even more serious catastrophes on itself!

Perhaps, the most striking example of disaster was last year's financial collapse. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in the USA alone, to bail out some of the major banks. And the consequences of the burst real estate bubble have impacted governments and their central banks all over the world. These governments have also implemented huge stimulus programs which portend enormous financial difficulties in the future for many of these governments and their peoples.

John Haffert spent most of his adult life trying To Shake the World into a realization of the importance of Our Lady of Fatima’s apparitions and her “conditional” predictions of disaster that included the prophecy that: “several nations would be annihilated.” It was John’s mission to make known to the world that, if people continued to ignore God, there could be only one result – the world would continue on its downward spiral and many souls would be lost. In other words, the Era of Peace would be ushered in via a purification rather than by grace. And, to think, that this outcome depends on our own choices!

Herald of the Fatima Apparitions: John M. Haffert by Edna McGrew

2009-08-09T12:08:00.012-04:00

The first biography of the late John M. Haffert is now available from BuyBooksOnTheWeb.com. For information and/or, to purchase the biography CLICK HERE. Or phone Infinity Publishing toll free at: (877)-289-2665.

For more information, including excerpts from the biography go to my website:

http:///www.EdnaMcGrew.com

New Guidelines to Help Bishops Evaluate the Validity of Apparitions

2009-07-30T10:13:00.005-04:00

The owners of the Emmitsburg.net website state that they have generated a new web page on their site because they were alarmed by the June 28, 2008 message of Our Lady of Emmitsburg in which she warns the world of the possibility of a coming astronomical catastrophe. It is called: "'Our Lady of Emmitsburg' Cult Watch." One of the most recent entries is titled: "Pope declares 'holy war' against people who falsely claim to have seen the Virgin Mary." It is written by Simon Caldwell of the DailyMail.CO.UK.

This highly charged article reports that Pope Benedict XVI will soon publish guidelines to help Bishops evaluate visionaries. If this is true, I think that it is a good development for visionaries such as Dr. Gianna Sullivan. It appears to me that in the past, the members of the Diocese of Baltimore did not conduct a thorough job of evaluating Dr. Sullivan and the alleged messages she has been receiving. This has been said not only by the Sullivans themselves, but also by many of the priests who support her.

Is It Possible That a Prediction of the Mother of God Would Not Come to Pass?

2009-07-17T10:52:00.005-04:00

Many people have entertained doubts about Our Lady of Emmitsburg's [OLOE] messages to Dr. Gianna Sullivan because one of Our Lady's predictions did not seem to come true. This is the prediction that Our Lady made:

"I have waited patiently for 2000 years for my plan to unfold....I requested, over 80 years ago at Fatima, sacrifice for sinners' conversion in reparation for sins committed against My Immaculate Heart....I predicted a future miracle that all might believe; and now as my plan commences, I once again predict a sign for this October." (OLOE 7-13-2000)

On Sept 8, 2000, the feast of the Birth of Mary, Cardinal Keller of the Baltimore diocese issued a statement to the effect that he was going to investigate Gianna Sullivan and that, until further notice, the Prayer Group in St. Joseph's Church should be suspended. Thereafter, the predicted sign that was to occur in October, did not seem to occur in any obvious way. Was this a false prediction or did Our Lady change her plans?

In the past, when I read comments about visionaries and prophets, I was often puzzled by the fact that the commentator would indicate that, while some of their prophecies came true, others did not. I did not know what to make of this. It certainly put doubts in my mind about those alleged saints and holy people.

However, when this prophecy of OLOE did not seem, to me, to have been fulfilled, I felt that there had to be some explanation that I was unaware of. The many years that I had spent reading all the Lessons from Jesus, that Gianna Sullivan had received and the many messages from Our Lady, left me with an enduring conviction that they were, indeed, from God!

Years later, a message from OLOE to Dr. Gianna Sullivan gave me a new insight into this issue. When Our Lady explained that her plans change due to our permissive will, I began to realize how Our Lady could make a prediction that did not come to pass. Our Lady explains:

There are two wills. There is the Divine Will and the permissive will. I have a plan for the salvation of the world for which I have prayed for a very long time on your behalf. Oftentimes, my plan changes, although it will be fulfilled according to God's Divine Will. It changes because you are gifted with a permissive will. You have the freedom to choose. God, in His Mercy and kindness, allows you to choose. He does not force you. (OLOE 8-5-2007)

There is an interesting example in the life of St. Catherine Laboure relative to how Our Lady's plans changed. Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal appeared three times to St. Catherine Laboure in the Chapel of the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Rue du Bac in Paris, France in 1830. Our Lady asked St. Catherine to have a medal struck which was initially called "Medal of the Immaculate Conception" but is now universally referred to as the "Miraculous Medal," because of the many miracles and wonders associated with the medal.

In this case, we learn that Our Lady's plans changed because of the lack of cooperation of St. Catherine's superiors. Speaking of the pilgrimages and miracles taking place at Our Lady of Victories Church in Paris, St. Catherine said: "You know, these miracles could have happened in our chapel." [Fr. Rene Laurentin as quoted in Roses in December, by Dom Forker, p 43.] Further, St. Catherine said that the pilgrimages associated with both Our Lady of Victories Church and with Lourdes, represented changes in the plan of the Blessed Virgin to compensate for what had failed to occur at the Apparition Chapel in Rue du Bac in Paris.

Another example of how the permissive will of human beings interfered with the original plans of Our Lady, happened at Fatima, Portugal. With regard to the famous Miracle of the Sun, Our Lady is said to have indicated to the visionary, Sr. Lucia, that because the Civic Administrator of Fatima had imprisoned the three little visionaries of Fatima and threatened to boil them in oil, that the predicted miracle would not be as great as Our Lady had originally planned!

It seems to me, that it is highly likely, that when Cardinal Keeler had the prayer meetings in St. Joseph's Church in Emmitsburg, MD halted, that this action influenced Our Lady's plans and that the predicted sign was not given by Our Lady in October 2000.

When the investigations of Dr. Gianna Talone-Sullivan were concluded by the archdiocese of Baltimore, Gianna was told that she could continue to hold prayer meetings, as long as she did not do so in any Church or other property of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Thereafter, the public messages of OLOE to Gianna Sullivan, which had stopped in Sept. 2000, were resumed in August 2002 and continued until Oct. 5, 2008. However, the prayer meetings were not held on any church grounds, etc. of the archdiocese. Then on Oct. 8, 2008, the new Archbishop of Baltimore, Edwin F. O'Brien, issued a Pastoral Advisory regarding Dr. Gianna Sullivan, and once again the OLOE Prayer Meetings were stopped. And once again, Dr. Gianna Sullivan and her husband, Dr. Michael Sullivan, accepted the requirements of the Pastoral Advisory.

The Escalating God Debate

2009-06-30T18:23:00.022-04:00

In the Books section of the Philadelphia Inquirer, 6-7-2009, John Timpane reviews Terry Eagleton's latest book, Reason, Faith, and Revolution, Reflections on the God Debate. According to John Timpane: "The oldest questions of all -- Does God exist? Can science prove or disprove it? Is religion good or bad? -- have become the highest-profile intellectual debate of the decade."

Timpane points out that Eagleton's book was the result of a 2006 review that Eagleton wrote about Richard Dawkin's book, The God Delusion. As the result of Eagleton's review, Yale University invited him to give the Dwight H. Terry lectures in April 2008 relative to how "science and philosophy inform religion." The four lectures Eagleton gave form the basis of his newest book.

Eagleton's premise is that the great atheist writer's of our time, such as Dawkins, Hitchens and Sam Harris, have missed the point in thinking that the argument is about proving the existence of God. Rather, Eagleton believes that the issue is: "not about subscribing to some supernatural entity. It's about the image of Jesus in the gospels, a far more radical, subversive image than anybody is willing to accept. The idea is that of transformative love: having the courage to abandon oneself for others, a cause, for justice, in the radical way the New Testament presents Christ as doing." This last quote reminds me of G. K. Chesterton's words: "Christianity was never tried and found wanting. It has never been tried."

While reading John Timpane review was extremely interesting, instead of concentrating on Eagleton's argument, I found myself concentrating on the place of miracles in this recent God Debate. For example, Dawkins in his book, The God Delusion, claims that belief in miracles is not only unscientific but also childish. He writes in a tone of ridicule, about a God who not only created the universe and maintains it, but "who also intervenes in it with miracles, which are temporary violations of his own grandly immutable laws."

I think that it is unfortunate that so few people in our modern world admit to believing in miracles, including the clergy. I can't help but be reminded of the importance of history in understanding how the beliefs that seem so dominant in today's world, slowly developed. While I have been following the God Debate over the last decade, I have to admit that I am more familar with today's atheists, than I am with Marx, Engel and Lenin. While I knew that atheism and Communism were connected, it was only recently that I learned that atheism has been a part of Marxism since its inception. Nor did I realize that Lenin has said: "Our revolution is international, and our first enemy is religion." Then, about the middle of the 20th Century, the Communists started to emphasize a form of Scientific Atheism, which stresses that it is only through sound education in science that religion will ultimately be abolished!

Most people who do not believe in miracles turn to science to support their arguments. And many, many more are simply swayed by what our common culture either approves or disapproves. My interest in miracles has increased over the last two decades, because the number of reported apparitions of Our Lady, together with numerous messages and miracles, have increased dramatically. If God doesn't exist, as the atheists claim, all of these alleged apparitions of Our Lady are just that, alleged but not factual. And concomittantly, when you strip away miracles from the Christian belief in God, you have to ask: "Why believe in Jesus Christ?" If not miracles, "What supports your belief in Jesus as the Second Person of the Triune God?"

PENTECOST SUNDAY, May 31, 2009

2009-05-31T09:50:00.005-04:00

Today, Pentecost Sunday, seems a good time to resume my postings. I just got an email from a reader of my blog who wanted to know if I planned to continue. Well, I do! Last Wednesday I submitted my second book to Infinity Publishing. I hope to get the first proof from the publisher in six to eight weeks. Its title is: HERALD of the FATIMA APPARITIONS: JOHN M. HAFFERT. So now I have more time for my two blogs!

When I first started to write the biography it seemed a daunting task. It took me approximately one and a half years to write, edit and make a "print ready" CD. But it turned out to be one more of those special gifts that God the Father loves to delight His children with! I am totally amazed at how much I learned in writing this book about the Father's plans for all of His little ones!!!

Holiday Greetings

2008-12-20T15:41:00.003-05:00

I would like to wish all the readers of this blog Happy Holidays, and to Christians I pray that you will have a very blessed and special Christmas, and to all, a New Year filled with Hope!

I have been very busy writing my second book. As soon as I finish it some time next year I hope to resume postings on this blog on a regular basis.

News about Our Lady of Emmitsburg's Apparitions

2008-11-22T15:53:00.016-05:00

On Oct. 8, 2008, the Rev. Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, issued an advisory regarding Our Lady of Emmitsburg’s messages to Dr. Gianna Sullivan. The Archbishop writes: "The alleged apparitions to Gianna Sullivan have not been recognized by the authority of the Church. Studied in detail by experts in theology and other pertinent fields, the investigations have come to the conclusion that the alleged apparitions are not supernatural in origin. This has been confirmed by the authority of the Church."

The net directive from the Diocese seems to be that Gianna should not in any way disseminate information within the diocese of Baltimore about her alleged apparitions. For more information, including Dr. Gianna Sullivan’s response as well as the Advisory put out by the Archbishop of Baltimore, click here. (www.prourladyofemmitsburg.org/latestnews.html )

It appears to this writer that the investigations of which Archbishop O’Brien speaks are not new. On Sept. 8, 2000, Dr. Gianna Sullivan received notification from Archbishop Keeler’s office that they were suspending the Marian Prayer Meetings which were being held in St. Joseph’s Church, Emmitsburg, MD pending an investigation of her mystical experiences. The report of the Commission was never made public.

In Sept. 2002 Cardinal Keeler sent a letter to the pastor of St. Joseph’ parish apparently indicating that they were continuing the ban on the use of Church facilities in the Diocese of Baltimore for the dissemination of Gianna’s messages. After Gianna and her husband, Michael, received a brief communication from Cardinal Keeler’s Delegate for Canonical Affairs, Gianna’s husband, Dr. Michael Sullivan, was quoted in the Frederick News-Post of Dec. 8, 2002 as saying that: "the church only restricted using the church property to deliver the messages and the Commission did not specifically condemn or approve the messages."

Most of the priests who back Gianna felt that the Commission’s investigation was flawed and asked for a second investigation. To my knowledge, the Diocese never authorized a second investigatory commission. For more information click here to see the website of the Foundation of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. (www.centeroftheimmaculateheart.org/foundation/welcome.asp )

It appears very likely to me that the message from Our Lady of Emmitsburg on June 1, 2008 upset some of the Archbishop’s parishioners. In particular, the warning that: "Approximately 60-70% of the world’s population, as you know it, will cease... Prayer is the answer! Prayer can mitigate much of anything to come." Such a warning does not seem to me to be sufficient reason to issue an "advisory" about Dr. Gianna Sullivan! Quite the contrary, this message of June 1, 2008 should be made known to all Catholics!

Why? Because very similar warnings have been reported by Church approved visionaries. For example, at Fatima Our Lady warned Sr. Lucia that "several entire nations would be annihilated" unless the people of the world started to pray more and amend their lives. And, on Oct. 13, 1973, the anniversary of the Fatima Miracle of the Sun, Our Lady appeared to Sister Agnes Sasagawa in Akita, Japan and said: "If men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity." As I said, both these warnings have been approved by the Catholic Church. Our Lady of Emmitsburg gave the same type of warning on June 1, 2008! Is it possible that this warning was one of the prime movers in Archbishop’s O’Brien’s decision?

One more thing needs to be stressed. Two of the visionaries, Sr. Lucia and Dr. Gianna Sullivan, have reported that Our Lady is also predicting that there will be an Era of Peace which will come either through Grace or chastisement, depending on our response! In the book, The Fatima Prophecies , by By Thomas W. Petrisko, et al, the Era of Peace is described by a commission of six experts as referring to the "true reign of Christ". This amazing statement reads as follows: "At Fatima a commission of six experts appointed by the Bishop to interpret the message of Fatima rendered the opinion that the ‘Era of Peace’ promised by Mary implied a ‘true reign of Christ’ on the earth. This was because, they said, there ‘could be no other meaning of the word peace’ on the lips of the Mother of Christ and ‘no other meaning to her words’ my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

TWO SUNS ON THE HORIZON

2008-07-29T10:21:00.011-04:00

A private message to Gianna Talone Sullivan was given to her on Memorial Day, May 26, 2008, by Our Lady of Emmitsburg. In this message Our Lady introduced the idea of “stars aligning and moving in their own orbits.” Mary says that this event, which could come: “ sooner than you know, could result in the death of 70% of this world’s population.”

In Our Lady of Emmitsburg’s Public Message to the World on June 1, 2008, she says: “When you see the two suns on the horizon, you must know that this is a time of change, a time of this new beginning about which I have spoken to you before. After you see the two suns, there is only a short time before you will see a tremendous change in weather...I can tell you this: Even your governments and the Church authorities already have knowledge of the stars aligning and its implication upon you...Approximately 60-70% of the world’s population, as you know it, will cease. Of those who survive, 60% of them could die of disease and starvation.”

However, Our Lady of Emmitsburg continues to offer us hope. She says that: “PRAYER IS THE ANSWER! PRAYER CAN MITIGATE MUCH OF ANYTHING TO COME. Love and unity must be at the forefront, not survival of the fittest.”

If these predictions seem far fetched, consider the Catholic Church approved apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. In the Fatima apparition the Mother of God predicted that a great chastisement was imminent and that “several nations would be annihilated” IF the world did not turn back to God. To support her words, Mary promised that a miracle would be performed at a predicted time and place. The ‘Miracle of the Sun’ occurred as promised on October 13, 1917 in the Cova da Iria, Portugual before more than 100,000 people! For more information see the book, Meet the Witnesses, by John M. Haffert.

In another of his more than twenty books, John M. Haffert describes this amazing Miracle of the Sun as follows: “A light was seen in the sky which looked like the sun. It was visible within a radius of more than twenty miles, clearly defined (hence not something seen through a fog or mist), whirled in the sky like a wheel of fire, threw off shafts of colored light which colored objects on the ground. After several minutes, it seemed suddenly to loose itself from the sky and to plummet toward the earth, causing the crowd to believe that the world was about to end. It was over in twelve minutes.”

It is not so easy to be incredulous about the Miracle of the Sun, when we learn that not only was it witnessed to by over 100,000 people, but that it was attested to by the two most powerful, atheistic newspapers in Portugal, O Seculo and O Dia. Prior to the Miracle, these two newspapers : “had been blasting at the story of Fatima as being anything from a Jesuit fraud to rankest superstition.”

After the Miracle occurred both newspapers accurately printed what their reporters had seen. These descriptions were so thorough that the Vatican used them in the Beatification and Canonization proceedings of the two young visionaries, Jacinta and Francisco! Never before in the history of the Catholic Church had a miracle happened at the very time and place predicted in advance!

Is it too late for us to respond to these critical messages from God? The late Pope John Paul II, that great contemplative, spoke about the importance of the Fatima messages. He said that the key point was that at Fatima Our Lady had pointed the way for us to respond in order to “save mankind from self-destruction.”

Which Will You Choose?

2008-04-23T07:20:00.008-04:00

On April 8, 2008, God the Father through Dr. Gianna Sullivan spoke once again to humanity. He points out how we have been blessed and given life. And He asks us whether or not we realize that we are “special and savored by Heaven”? God the Father emphasizes that we "have every port of glory" at our fingertips.

Referring to the apocalyptic challenges that face mankind as never before, God the Father points out the two choices that face us and speaks of the tremendous graces that He is now making available to the whole human race. He tells Gianna:

“I am relinquishing all graces unto you, not one by one but as if a floodgate was to open to you so that you can be inebriated by My Love and come DROWN in the Precious Blood of My Son, protected and full of Life. "

“Or, if you do not desire that, then the floodgates of the human natural world will pour forth and overtake you; and there, at the mercy of nature, you will have the same opportunity to DROWN in another world."

Pope Benedict XVI and Prophecy

2008-04-16T15:59:00.005-04:00

I just purchased online for $61, including shipping, a newly published book, Christian Prophecy, The Post-Biblical Tradition, written by Niels Christian Hvidt. The list price is $74. The book has a hard cover with approximately 400 pages, printed on acid free paper, and is published by Oxford University Press. As far as I can tell this book, written by Dr. Niels Christian Hvidt whose degree in theology is from the Pontifical Gregorian University, is a major work on Christian Prophecy. It is a must read for anyone who wishes to get a new insight into the Divine interventions occurring today as well as during the last few centuries.

One thing that impresses me is the fact that the Foreword is written by Pope Benedict XVI! He begins by telling us what a prophet is not. He “is not a soothsayer; the essential element of the prophet is not the prediction of future events. The prophet is someone who tells the truth on the strength of his contact with God—the truth for today, which also, naturally, sheds light on the future." He makes an important point in that Moses speaks of himself as a prophet when he says to his people “God will send you a prophet like me.” Pope Benedict XVI says that Moses was a friend of God in a special way. He writes: “I tend to see the root of the prophetic element in that ‘face to face’ with God, in ‘talking with Him as a friend.’ Only by virtue of this direct encounter with God may the prophet speak in moments of time.”

Pope Benedict XVI points out that Niels Christian Hvidt worked within the framework of fundamental theology in his study of Christian Prophecy and therefore “investigates the purpose and preconditions of Christian prophecy in light of developments in the past 50 years in Revelation theology.” Most importantly he says that this book “offers a new approach to the actualization of Revelation, especially in the very life of the Church, which sociological investigations show in an interesting way.” The Pope ends with these words: “Niels Christian Hvidt has trod new theological land and therewith has made important contributions to a theme that needs further thought.”

In what I have had an opportunity to read thus far, I find the book quite deep but very readable. It is a big help to me in understanding not only how prophecy developed, but also its role in the Christian church.

"'TWO EASTERS IS A HOUSE DIVIDED'"

2008-03-23T17:20:00.011-04:00

According to Western Christianity, which includes both Protestant and Catholic churches, today is Easter Sunday. However, the Eastern Orthodox Church does not celebrate Easter for five more weeks, that is, until April 27, 2008. According to www.religionfacts.com it was decided "at the Council of Nicea in 325, which decreed that Easter should be celebrated by all on the same Sunday, which Sunday shall be the first following the paschal moon (and the paschal moon must not precede the spring equinox), and that a particular church should determine the date of Easter and communicate it throughout the empire (probably Alexandria, with their skill in astronomical calculations).

"The policy was adopted throughout the empire, but Rome adopted an 84-year lunar cycle for determining the date, whereas Alexandria used a 19-year cycle. Use of these different "paschal cycles" persists to this day and contributes to the disparity between the eastern and western dates of Easter."

In the TLIG International e-news letter of March 19, 2008, it claims that "Two Easters Is A House Divided." In the past I had never really focused on this as being very important. However, as I now look forward to the Second Pentecost and Christian Unity (as yet undefined), I am impressed by the following excerpted from the TLIG international e-news:

"And, have you ever thought of what this looks like to the non-Christian world? Here is what Monsignor Isidore Battika, Greek Catholic Patriarchal Vicar in Damascus, Syria, where Christians are a minority has to say about it. 'For the Easter feast it is very important. We have two Easter feasts in Syria. It is a bad thing for the church. We don’t testify to Jesus Christ. To the Moslem, when they see us have two Easter, two Crucifixions, two Resurrections it is too much.'"

Consider expressing yourself by voting on the following petition to Unify the Dates of Easter:
http://www.onedate.org

A Second Spring

2008-03-17T10:13:00.003-04:00

We have just arrived home, after spending a month in sub-tropical, Hilton Head Island, SC having paid only winter rates. However, spring had already started when we arrived. Gardeners were in the process of planting yellow and violet flowering pansies all over the entrances to the island's plantations. The 'Empress of Winter', the camellia shrub with gorgeous red blooms, was already in flower, surrounding the entrance to Captain's Walk in Palmetto Dunes, where we were staying. And with each day we seemed to see new evidence of spring. The shrubs and the ornamental grasses began to grow. Day after day we saw more and more azaleas with many different colorings come into bloom. The yellow daffodils started to flower on the green shoots that had poked their heads through the earth almost everywhere we looked. The pink and white buds on the flowering trees were just about in full bloom. And of course, the grass was lush and green. As we departed gardeners were again planting annuals, this time impatiens and petunias. What a delight spring is!
And now that we are back home, about 700 miles north of Hilton Head Island, we are looking forward to experiencing a second spring. How blessed we are!

"A Wondrous Tomorrow" Will Explode

2008-03-10T09:46:00.008-04:00

On http://www.centeroftheimmaculateheart.org/, the Foundation of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary website, new words from God the Father, through Gianna Sullivan, were published on March 8, 2008. As usual, they are addressed to the Children of Humanity, to all of us! He tells us that because there is no peace in our hearts, there is chaos throughout the world. He urges us to "live in Truth", and to "come back to the Truth." God the Father says: "Every day is a new opportunity to give yourself unconditionally to the Truth, regardless of your sinful ways. I, your God of Mercy, am that indeed! If you do not, then the pain and suffering, the fear and panic and confusion, and the division and scandals will only escalate."

Then God the Father speaks these extraordinary words! "As the prophets before and as the prophets now all join in unity to give glory to God through My Son, there will explode a wondrous tomorrow! Painful it might be for those who do not know the Truth and for those who do and refuse to accept it. For those who do know it and accept it, painful it might be; but the overall safety of their souls will be preserved, and the world will be brought forth to its proper place from its inception in Creation.

The last sentence gives me a new and amazing insight into the Second Coming.

A Message from Our Lady for the United States

2008-02-18T11:11:00.013-05:00

In my blog posting of 11-27-07, titled New Era of Peace, I quote Our Lady of Emmitsburg as saying two things. One is that we need to prepare ourselves for this new Era of Peace. Second, that the new Era of Peace will be "proceeded by confusion and controversy, battles, pain and the other bowls of purification." Finally, in my 1-26-08 post I quote Our Lady of Fatima as saying that "various nations will be annihilated" if we do not listen to her warnings and change our lives.

Now, Our Lady has given a specific message for the United States. On 1-19-08 Our Lady of Emmitsburg gave a message to Gianna Sullivan for release on 1-31-08. The Mother of God begins:

"Little ones, I do not think that your country realizes the seriousness of the world's condition and the effects it will have on humanity worldwide. Those, who say they are Christian and love Jesus and who are prayerful and spiritual, and yet disconnect themselves via politics and other spiritual elements from moral values, are in most serious danger!"

Our Lady makes an interesting point about us here in the US. She says:

"There are people on other continents who are willing to die for what they believe in truth, and they do; and yet, this country allows people to die from lack of food, shelter and healthcare, and from the kind of death caused by lack of respect and lack of dignity, killing the hearts and the vibrancy of life through slander, malice, gossip and selfishness.

Later Our Lady addresses the apocalyptic aspects of her message:

"If you think any war in this world has been devastating up to this point, you have not witnessed what will come without change. You can dismiss only so much; however, you had best be prepared to answer for what you yourself have done."

"What will it take for you to realize your visitation is here at hand and the many gifts God wants to give you to protect you, to keep you safe, and to draw you to His Truth?"

"various nations will be annihilated."

2008-01-26T10:07:00.001-05:00

During my vacation in the Bahamas I was reading a number of books about Our Lady of Fatima, who appeared to three young children in Fatima, Portugal, beginning in 1917! Ultimately these apparitions of Mary were sanctioned by the Catholic church. One of the prophecies that the Mother of God made was that, if we did not turn our lives back to God, that “various nations will be annihilated.” It should be noted that this prediction was made long before the atomic bomb was detonated over Hiroshima. Although I had heard about the apparitions of Fatima many years ago, I did not become aware of this prophecy and it implications until very recently,

While the visionaries, Dr. Gianna Talone-Sullivan and Mrs Vassula Ryden, both say that they are not prophets of “doom and gloom”, there is, nonetheless, an apocalyptic element in their writings. What impresses me is that, what these mystics are saying, is amazingly consistent with the messages of Our Lady of Fatima!

World Poverty

2007-12-22T19:56:00.001-05:00

Ever since I first read about the apparitions which were occurring in Scottsdale, AZ and also read the Lessons from Our Lord that Dr. Gianna Sullivan was receiving, my major interest was not so much the apparitions or the visionaries; rather, my major interest was in how God seemed to be calling everyone in the whole wide world to mystical contemplation. In my book, Its Light is the Lamb, the main subject which I address, in one fashion or another, is the question of whether or not there is a universal call to contemplation. And in my blog of the same name, I also discuss mystical contemplation as my major topic.

However, in this blog which I have titled Second Pentecost, or which is synonymously expressed as the Second Coming, the Eucharistic Reign, the new springtime of the Church, the New Era of Peace, or as I like to think of it, as the “new Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2), my major interest is in trying to understand what God is trying to tell us, through His prophets, about the age in which we now live.

Today, I got a new insight as I was reading the book, Fatima, The Great Sign, by Francis Johnston. In this book the author speaks of the people in the Third World who suffer so much from hunger. Johnston says that, according to the Fatima message from Our Lady, she has promised that “the fulfillment of her requests would put an end to world hunger.” (p. 136) I had never heard this before! If Our Lady really said this, what an important message it is. Why have we not heard more about this promise of Our Lady?

'Signs of the Times'

2007-12-10T15:02:00.001-05:00

In my blog, titled New Era of Peace, posted Nov. 27, 2007, I quoted Our Lady as saying that this Era of Peace will be “preceded by confusion and controversy, battles, pain and the other bowls of purification.” On Sept. 23, 2006, Mary the Mother of God says to Dr. Gianna Sullivan, these sobering words relative to this ‘purification’

”Those who will survive future events must be sound in mind, body & soul, both whole and self-giving. Many people today are living as if nothing is expected to change in the future. Yes, only God truly knows the time and the place; but I can assure you that if there were ever to be a 'sign' given regarding the coming events in the world,it is now! It would be foolish not to read the 'signs of the times' as you now see them and foolish not to prepare in prayer with all your hearts and minds to blanket yourselves with humility, and therefore protection!”

Isaiah and the new Era of Peace

2007-12-02T11:43:00.002-05:00

The first Scriptural reading at today's Sunday Mass, which was from Isaiah 2, included these two, very familar sentences :

"They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore."

As I listened to the reading at Mass I could not help wonder if the entire passage, as shown below, did not refer to the new Era of Peace which I discussed in my last post?

Isaiah 2

The Mountain of the Lord

1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

2 In the last days

the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 He will judge between the nations

and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, O house of Jacob,

let us walk in the light of the LORD.

NEW ERA OF PEACE

2007-11-27T13:24:00.002-05:00

I have just been reading two booklets that I obtained from the Martin Todd Ministries, Inc. (www.prourladyofemmitsburg.org) which contain some of the private revelations that mystic and visionary, Dr. Gianna Sullivan, received from Our Lady of Emmitsburg during the year 2006. To learn more about Dr. Gianna Sullivan and her mission see my other blog, ItsLightistheLamb.blogspot.com, on the Foundation, which post I wrote on Friday, Nov. 23, 2007.

On Aug. 12, 2006 Our Lady speaks of the need we have to prepare for this new Era of Peace, which, in my thinking, refers to what has been called the "Second Pentecost" or the new "springtime of the Church". She urges us to set aside time "to prepare, to prepare for something great and glorious." However, Our Lady tells us that this Era of Peace will be "preceeded by confusion and controversy, battles, pain and the other bowls of purification." She says that, if the people who do not see the "sign of the times" which is all around us now, were to be given a sign by God, that they would not accept that sign either, "if they cannot even notice what is happening at this moment."

On Aug. 17, 2006, Mary, the Mother of God, says something which I think is very important and which I try to keep uppermost in my mind. She reminds us that we must be careful in interpreting her words!!! In this connection, Father Thomas Keating says that all mystical phenomena, including visions, apparitions and alleged messages from God must be viewed with caution. In this message, Mary is assuring us that we must trust in her words and be at peace. However, she adds this vital caveat: "You must remember that your analysis and understanding of even my words may be different than the true meaning."

BUY BOOKS ON THE WEB

2007-11-22T07:02:00.000-05:00

In addition to BuyBooksontheWeb.com, my book, Its Light is the Lamb, is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and also from Borders.

ITS LIGHT IS THE LAMB

2007-11-10T15:42:00.000-05:00

My book, Its Light is the Lamb, An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, has just been published. CLICK HERE for more information.

"NEW AND DIVINE" HOLINESS

2007-10-29T14:20:00.004-04:00

In my first blog post of 8-18-07 on the subject of the Second Pentecost, I indicated that I was interested in learning more about the “new and divine holiness” which John Haffert mentioned in one of his books. I also wondered if it had some relationship to the Second Pentecost or Second Coming.

Since that time I have done some illuminating research on the internet. I have learned enough to intrigue me, but not enough to end my research on this topic. However, I did learn that Pope John Paul II was one of those who have used the words “new and divine” holiness. In an address the Pope gave on May 16, 1997 to the Rogationist Fathers he said: “The modern means that human sciences and contemporary technology make available and that you rightly try to use in your apostolic work will only be effective if they are sustained and guided by the original charismatic inspiration of the blessed founder, who saw in the ‘Rogate’ the means God himself had provided to bring about that ‘new and divine’ holiness with which the Holy Spirit wishes to enrich Christians at the dawn of the third millennium, in order to ‘make Christ the heart of the world.’”

I also learned that Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi, a theologian, had written a book titled The Splendor of Creation in which he addresses the “coming era of peace.” In reviewing this book, Frank Rega says that it is a “must-have groundbreaking book” that discusses the not-too-distant future, the “coming era of peace known as the Millennium.” He writes that this “figurative thousand-year period” is “definitvely foretold in the twentieth chapter of St. John’s book of Revelation.” He concludes his review by indicating that this book, The Splendor of Creation, is “absolutely essential reading for those who wish to understand the prophecy of the ‘new and divine holiness’ and the ‘new springtime’ spoken of by Pope John Paul II. It will help the reader to stand in the evil day, looking ahead to the victory on the horizon.”

POPE JOHN XXIII and PRIVATE REVELATIONS

2007-10-20T09:49:00.001-04:00

In my first post, titled Second Pentecost, I mentioned that in Bishop Paul Kim's Pastoral Letter of Easter 1999, he spoke of the Second Pentecost (Second Coming). He says that, when Pope John XXIII received a revelation regarding the unhappy state of the Church, that it needed reform, the Pope convoked the Second Vatican Council. When he opened the council, Pope John XXIII prayed that it would be the beginning of a Second Pentecost for the Church. Relative to the private revelation that the Pope received, one of my readers left a comment. He wanted to know two things: “How often do Popes receive private revelations?” And “Do all Popes receive them?”

While I don’t have a precise answer to either question, I do have an opinion about them. First of all I don’t believe that all Popes receive private revelations from God. If every Pope received such revelations, I would think that we would have heard about it. Private revelations, when they are valid, are special charisms which come from God They are intended to build up the Church. As St. Paul says, the Spirit distributes them to each individual at will; and that “to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Cor. 12:7)

Since they are a free gift from God, it seems to me that the frequency of these private revelations cannot usually be predicted. However, with the modern day visionaries, there are some cases when the Lord Himself or Our Lady, tell a particular visionary when to expect future apparitions. This is occurring right now with the visionary, Dr. Gianna Sullivan of Emmitsburg, MD. There is a prayer service on the first Sunday of each month during which Our Lady of Emmitsburg gives a public message to the world. Gianna does not know how long this will continue. However, Our Lady told her that these private revelations had been “saved for the last”.

If you would like to see a video of one of these apparitions 'click here'. In order to listen to these public messages from Our Lady of Emmitsburg you can call toll free: 1-866-448-0711.

MY VIEW (Continued from 9-10-07)

2007-09-16T12:27:00.000-04:00

If we look at the Biblical quotes in my last post, we can see why many of the early Church members thought that the Lord's coming at the end of the world was not far away. Perhaps one of the most dramatic statements that Christ makes is: "...when you see all these things, you may know that the end is near, at the very door. I tell you this: the present generation will live to see it all." (Mt. 24:34) Obviously, it didn't happen! And the people of that time had to adjust and change their interpretation of this passage. So what did Our Lord mean?

I have always had difficulty with passages such as this until I read Vassula Ryden's True Life in God messages. Not only are they extraordinary messages, but they are also very enlightening! Other than Sacred Scripture itself, nothing I have ever read compares to her writings of over 1100 pages! As I read them I began to understand how necessary it was to realize that God often speaks, not just in parables as Jesus does in the New Testament, but figuratively, metaphorically. It seems to me that those things that God wants to say to us cannot be expressed in human language. He wants to raise us up as close to His level as possible; to point to the unlimited horizons of which He is trying to give us some insight. He wants us to expand our minds to the utmost and yet He also wants to help us understand how unable we are, with our limited human intelligence, to comprehend Him as He is. The I AM.

An example that I find helpful, is to consider us humans as if we were to God, in a certain way, as a dog or some other beloved animal is to us. How precious a dog can be to its human master. It seems to me that the dog owner often feels that he can communicate with the dog in different ways. For example, the owner feels that the dog understands what the owner says to it. Or the owner understands the dog’s body language and different sounding barks, etc. There is no question that there is an important relationship between the dog and its owner. Imagine if you could talk to the dog in a language that the dog could understand. Even if the dog understood your words, there still would be no possible way to convey to the dog what it is like to be a human being. Then think about how you would feel if you were God and you wanted to tell humans that you love them? What if you wanted to let humans do whatever they pleased? They could return your love or not as they pleased? How would you communicate with them, yet respect the very free will that you had given them?

I don’t have the answers to these questions. But I think about them from time to time. It makes me realize that when God uses human words to communicate with us, He is immediately limiting Himself! That is, the very words He uses to define Himself and His actions are by their nature reducing God to our level. Yet, because He is infinite, it is not possible to contain God within the limits of any human languages! These thoughts serve to help me reserve judgment when I am puzzled by certain passages in Scripture. And more so now that I have read The True Life in God (TLIG) messages given by the Triune God to Vassula Ryden, the Greek Orthodox mystic and visionary

Somewhere in the TLIG Messages God speaks to Vassula about raising the dead to life and Vassula indicates, by a footnote, that God in that particular instance was talking about those individuals who were dead in sin, not those who were physically dead. Likewise, God does not always make it clear in Scripture whether he is speaking of physical death or spiritual death. For example, in the Book of Revelation we read: “These came to life again and reigned with Christ for a thousand years, though the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:4-5) In these passages is God speaking about physical death or spiritual death?

The most recent statements of the Catholic Church’s position that I could easily find in the Catechism relative to the resurrection of the dead, is in its description of the eschatalogical judgment. It reads: “The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through the final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.” (Cat. #677)

What then is my view of the Second Pentecost? I believe in the Church’s position on the final judgment, but I can see no reason why there cannot be a time in the Church’s history when God will again shed His Mercy on a world which has been deceived by Satan and has turned its back on God to a degree that has never before been seen in human history. To such a degree that even the earth we live on seems to be rebelling. Not only that, but I can conceive of a God who loves us so much, that no matter how much we turn from Him, and continue to disregard His commandment of Love, that this God, Our Father, will respond by showering His Holy Spirit on us in a way that has never before been experienced in history! A Second Pentecost!

MY VIEW

2007-09-10T15:22:00.001-04:00

I briefly discussed private revelations as well as an interesting quote from Pope Benedict XVI on the meaning of Revelation in my last post. The reason I did this was that my view of the Second Pentecost of the Church has been strongly affected by two contemporary visionaries who have received private revelations. These are not what I would consider recent, private revelations. In both cases, they have been occurring over more than 19 years. I have been reading them for more than 15 years. As I did, much to my surprise, I slowly began getting a better understanding of Holy Scripture!

In the early Church, it was commonly believed that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. This is not surprising considering some of the statements we find in the Bible. For example, in the First Letter of John, he writes these words: “My children, this is the last hour! You were told that the Antichrist was to come, and now many antichrists have appeared; which proves to us that this is indeed the last hour.” (1 John 2:18) In Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 24 refers to prophecies and warnings. We read that the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him: “Tell us, when will this happen? And what will be the signal for your coming and the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3) Jesus tells them that the “Time is coming when you will hear the noise of battle near at hand and the news of battles far away; see that you are not alarmed. Such things are bound to happen; but the end is still to come. For nation will make war upon nation, kingdom upon kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. With all these things the birth-pangs of the new age begin.” (Matt. 24: 6-8) Jesus tells them to learn a lesson from the fig-tree, that as the tree starts to leaf that the summer is not far away. Jesus continues: “In the same way, when you see all these things, you may know that the end is near, at the very door. I tell you this: the present generation will live to see it all.” (Matt. 24:33-34)

To be continued in the next post.

PRIVATE REVELATIONS

2007-09-02T18:18:00.001-04:00

What does the Catholic Church say about private revelations? The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Throughout the ages, there have been so-called 'private' revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith." (Cathechism #67) And in the second paragraph of #67 it reads: "Christian faith cannot accept 'revelations' that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment..."

However, in this regard, Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) has said that after studying the works of St. Bonaventura, that "the Revelation refers to the action of God in history in which the truth is gradually unveiled. The Revelation is the continuous growth of the Church in the fullness of the Logos." This view presents a whole new dynamic with which to study the meaning of Revelation. I discuss this in more detail in my book, Its Light Is the Lamb, An Unexpected Spiritual Journey, which book should be available on the internet at Amazon, etc. as well as popular bookstores in late October.

BLOG OBJECTIVE

2007-08-25T14:43:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine, knowing that I was self-publishing and promoting my book, Its Light Is the Lamb, strongly suggested that I develop one or more blogs to help make my book known. After evaluating her well considered suggestion, I started this blog as well as another, http://www.ItsLightIstheLamb.com. This latter blog addresses various topics related to mystical contemplation.

I asked my friend to be the first one to post comments on my blogs. She declined, sending me an e-mail instead! She made some key points. I think that she didn't want to embarrass me, so she didn't post her comments on my blog. One suggestion that she made, that I will mention here, is that I explain to my readers what I hope to achieve with this blog and what topics I plan to discuss. So here goes.

At the moment, there are two topics which are of major interest to me. One is mystical contemplation which I cover in my other blog mentioned above. The second is referred to by many names, including Second Coming, Second Pentecost, End Times, Day of the Lord and Eucharistic Reign. I hope that the two blogs will complement each other. In my 'Second Pentecost' blog I would like to explore the idea of a new Pentecost. In particular I am interested in learning where this idea originated, if possible, and in discussing what the Popes have had to say on this topic, as well as what current day visionaries are saying.

SECOND PENTECOST

2007-08-18T11:36:00.003-04:00

In Bishop Paul Kim's Pastoral Letter of Easter 1999, he speaks of the Second Pentecost. He says that, when Pope John XXIII received a revelation regarding the unhappy state of the Church, that it needed reform, the Pope convoked the Second Vatican Council. As it opened, Pope John prayed that the Holy Spirit would renew the Church in a manner similar to the first Pentecost. I knew that one of the Popes had referred to a Second Pentecost, but I didn't know that it was Pope John XXIII. Nor did I know that he had received a private revelation about the state of the Church. Does anyone reading this blog have more information about this alleged revelation that the Pope received?

The other question that I am puzzling about is the new era of holiness of which John Haffert writes in his book, Deadline, The Third Secret of Fatima. Although he writes that this "new and divine holiness" first started in the seventeenth century, I wonder if these words do not also refer to the Second Pentecost? Comments on this subject would be appreciated.