Throughout history, we have witnessed the attempt of various leaders to eradicate organized religion in their societies. We are all familiar with the persecution of the early christians in Rome. In more recent times, we have read about Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, PolPot and other government leaders who destroyed churches and synagogues and routed out their adherents. In all instances, those communities went underground and emerged victoriously after the fall of their persecutors.
The secularist trend emerging in today's society is worldwide. In China, for example, it has taken the form of two Catholic Churches - one approved by the Chinese government which decides its bishops and an underground Catholic Church, faithful to the Magisterium with bishops and cardinals appointed by the Holy Father. I recall one consistory where the Holy Father's newly appointed Cardinal for China was kept nameless to protect his identity. The same pattern is now emerging in VietNam where the government has intervened in Church governance by rejecting Cardinal appointments. To ensure the Holy See gets the message, they recently confiscated Church property.
One need only watch the news to see how far the tentacles of secularism have spread around the globe. Here in the US, children are no longer allowed to say a prayer in school. There is a growing movement to remove the words: 'In God We Trust', from our currency. In GB, a growing number of christians are seeking to be "un-baptized".
Where will this lead? In his final lenten reflection, Fr. John Corapi addressed the topic of suffering and why God allows it. He pointed to 9-11. On 9-10, no child was allowed to pray in school; on 9-11, children prayed in schools across the US. On 9-10, women came to abortion clinics for their appointments; on 9-11, not one woman showed up at an abortion clinic. In fact, in the days following 9-11, Planned Parenthood began offering free abortions to encourage business. On 9-10, the churches were nearly empty; on 9-11, lengthy lines formed for the Sacrament of Confession at churches across America.
Today, it seems our memories of 9-11 have been wiped clean. Abortions continue to rise. To this, our new president has approved fetal stem cell research, yet one more opportuity to destroy life. Certain states and internatioal countries have approved euthanasia, while others are legalizing gay marriage. In GB, the government has legalized experimentation of human/animal hybrids.
The day and hour of Christ's return is known only to God. We do, however, have a sense of timeliess based on our Lord's words to St. Faustina. He asked her to be the Secretary of His Divine Mercy and instructed her to keep a journal in which to record what He said. She was a poorly educated woman but her diary has passed scrupulous scrutiny and been approved by the Holy See. Note the following comments our Lord made to St. Faustina regarding the Feast of Divine Mercy, which is to be celebrated on the Sunday following Easter.
“ I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment." (699) "Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity...tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near.” (965)
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He further instructed Faustina:
Write this: before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Saviour were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day. (83)
Wishing you a beautiful Palm Sunday and a blessed Holy Week.
Thank you for the beautiful reply. I have Devine Mercy Sunday marked on my calendar but didn’t know the significance of it at all.
Thank you for the good wishes. I just came from Mass and our Priest and his helper SANG the Mass in Latin! It was so beautiful and moving. I could pick out enough words to know what they were singing and my mind just followed the story. I’ll never forget this day and how it touched my soul. I wish everyone could experience this. Is this happening in regular (Novus Ordum?) Mass today, too?