Despise Not Prophecy But Prove All Things

"Extinguish not the spirit. Despise not prophecies. But prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thessalonians 5

This is not a topic that I frequently write about, but I am absolutely fascinated by this particular prophecy. I first read about these events and prophecies some 12 years ago and I remember being struck by them. I happened to be re-reading a book in my library this past weekend when I read the prophecy detailed below and I was struck momentarily dumb. Reading it again just ten years later made the clarity of this prophecy leap off the page. I suppose a little background may be in order.

Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (1563-1635) was a Spanish Nun who helped found a convent in early 17th century Ecuador. Our Lady appeared to Mother Mariana and commissioned the creation of a statue. The statue, Our Lady of Good Success, has a fascinating miraculous story of its own that is well worth reading about, but that is not today's topic. Mother Mariana was given a series of prophecies specifically for the late 20th century. She even prophesied that these would not become well known until the late 20th century. Some additional writings of Mother Mariana were not discovered until the 1980's. That discovery made her prophecies more well known, as anticipated.

St Paul tells us "not to despise prophecy, but to prove all things." I want to present to you a 400 yr. old prophecy from Mother Mariana and ask you, does it prove itself trustworthy? Mother Mariana tells us about the situation the Church and the world will find itself in during the late 20th century. Emphases mine.

“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and deeply profaned. Freemasonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the aim of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin and encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church. The Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of Faith will gradually be extinguished until there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. Added to this will be the effects of secular education, which will be one reason for the dearth of priestly and religious vocations.

“The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and despised, for in this Sacrament, the Church of God and even God Himself is scorned and despised since He is represented in His priests. The Devil will try to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every possible way; he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation and will corrupt many of them. These depraved priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will make the hatred of bad Catholics and the enemies of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church fall upon all priests.

"This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church, the many good priests, and the Supreme Pastor and Vicar of Christ on Earth, who, a prisoner in the Vatican, will shed secret and bitter tears in the presence of his God and Lord, beseeching light, sanctity, and perfection for all the clergy of the world, of whom he is King and Father.

“Further, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which will ensnare the rest into sin and conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women. In this supreme moment of need of the Church, the one who should speak will fall silent."

I don't think any modern commentator could do a better job describing the evils of our time. Further, the description of the effect that a small group of "depraved priests" would have on the Church and on the good priests made the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

All genuine prophecy is about hope and this is another aspect of this particular story. There is hope.

Our Lady told her that in our lamentable times, heresies would abound, the corruption of manners and customs would be almost complete, and the light of the Faith nearly extinguished. To atone for the many profanations, blasphemies, and abuses and to hasten the day of the triumphant restoration, this 17th century sister was asked to become an expiatory victim for our times.

But Our Lady promised Her intercession at the very moment "when the evil will appear triumphant and when the authority abuses my power." This would "mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and accursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss." These words harmonize perfectly with the message of hope Our Lady delivered to the three children at Fatima in 1917: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

While obviously no one is obliged to believe in this or any other private prophecy, we are cautioned by St. Paul not to despise and to test. What do you think, does this pass the test?