Is Something Coming?
Recently I had the occasion to chat with some friends of mine on the happenings of the day. One of the friends is a practicing Catholic and one is not much of anything. As different as these folks are, they had similar thoughts on the future. The near future. The Catholic friend told me that she feels that all the events of the last forty years are coming to a head. That the time is now. Tribulation. Triumph.
I appreciate her point of view and admit that I wonder sometimes myself. The next day I had a conversation with a slightly left leaning friend of mine. As is typical of us, we began chatting about the events of the past months. Initially hopeful about the election of Obama (although he won't tell who he voted for. I think he is scared of me.) he has since soured. Remarkably, although not in the same terms or context, he also senses that the U.S. and the world are facing dramatic crises and changes in the not too distant future. He sees a poorer world, a simpler world. A new world having gone through the crucible of what is to come.
Two very different people and perspectives but with a common vision. Something is coming. Something soon. Something that will change everything.
In writing this post I have reflected on all that has transpired just since the new year. Stock market crashes, attacks on the Pope, attacks on the Church (from inside and outside), the funding of embryonic child destruction, and so much more.
For certain the Church and our country have been through worse crises. It is also certain that the Church, eventually, will triumph. But I can't help but wonder. My friends feel it, I think I may feel it too. Something is coming, perhaps already begun. It is not pessimism, I don't think, and it is not resignation either. I am still prepared for the fight however long it takes. But I realized when I decided to write about my friends sense of the future, I feel it too.
Is something coming? Do you feel it?
36 comments:
Patrick - gee thanks, now you've got Phil Collins in my head.
No, you're not alone. Every day I wonder how much more patience must God have. How much more can He take and sit back and watch His children screw up His creation????
Live each day as it it were your last.
I have similar feelings, Patrick. It's neither paranoia nor pessimism. Just a sense of an impending rendevous with...something. For the past year or so I've had a strong desire to remain in a state of grace, and to go to Confession much more frequently.
And to add what TragUnhipMom said - some day, God's patience will expire, and Judgment will be served.
I feel it. I waver between worry and tinges of excitement. A little like Mother Angelica when asked about End Times: "Bring it on! I'm ready!"
I think we are living in "big history." But...I've still got so many books to read!
The FatMan
I love the site. I have to say I to feel somethng big is coming, but its a combination of things; first, with the lifting of the SSPX excomunications and their rejoining the church along with the Tradtional Anglicans, the church is on the verge of epic renewal! Second the collape of 500 years of protestantism is begining. An lastly the possible reunification of the Orthodox and the Catholics ending 1000 years of disunity. All of this in my lifetime!
The church is being strengthened for a fight. The armies are forming. But don't lose hope the Catholic Church will win and peace will come. The fight is coming!
From all these tragedies will rise extreme positions. People will cling to faith to withstand these hard times.
The scary version is that new faiths will arise. There can be a negation of the divine through atheism, negation of the capitalistic model through socialism, negation of freedom through the cult of personality.
The hopeful version is that traditional faith will achieve new depths and religion can be transformed into authentic relationships with God that will bear fruit in service.
In a word, heaven or hell will come.
I think people are starting to feel that are culture and mores, just like our economic system, are no longer sustainable. I certainly feel that way; the world of abstract finance is over- and so is the world of careless irresponsibility. Now is a good time to spread the message of transcendence- that true happiness and lasting satisfaction can only come through rising above the self. There is an opportunity here for the Christian message.
Let's all pray for the Church and our Pope in the murky days to come! The enemy can read the signs as well, as evident by the near constant attacks on the Church in the last few months (Williamson, Brazil, Connecticut, ESCR, Mexico City, Orissa and on and on...)
Intriguing blog topic today. It be prudent, me thinks, to consider the attempt to introduce legislation in Connecticut as yet another (significant and worrisome) sign of things to come. Such a blatant attempt to interfere with the Church is entirely wicked, and it appears that the proposed legislation is the echo of an ideology that has its origin with certain catholics-in-name-only. Traitors! This is bold stuff... dark skill akin to that of the devil.
Tribulation??? Dude, you need to stop listening to the Protestant Fundamentalists.
yeah, I also feel that something big is coming. Not sure what, but life as we know it won't be the same.
Just remember that whatever trials this old world goes through, that Our Lady of Fatima promised an era of unprecedented peace after it. Hopefully, by the Grace of God, I can make it through the trials.
I have to agree. In the past year, there is a feeling among almost all my friends that something is on the horizon. Part of it is unease and the other part is hope. This topic comes up at every coffee get together, dinners out etc. If I think about it too much it scares me so I just keep very close to the sacraments, pray every moment I can and place my trust in Jesus.
Perhaps it's already here - perhaps it's been here all along and we're just realizing it now. I have felt a call toward simplicity, basic things, the Church, the silence of the monastery, time with God for a year now. I fear more that those in power will fail to see the signs and heed the call and our society will have to suffer a bigger fall as a result.
Not to downplay your premonitions, but in a sense something is always coming.
The little daily interactions we have with each other, the prayers we say or don't say, and the sacrifices we make or neglect have effects on others, some of whom we may never meet.
As C.S. Lewis wrote, we often forget it, but every day we work and eat and talk with immortals.
And as Fr. Corapi often says, we are in a war.
Courage, brothers!
I, too, feel like something is coming. I truly mourn for the United States. I was too young to really remember what it was like when Clinton came into office, but this feels too different. It's not all about political party, but at least with Bush, you knew his heart was in the right place, even if his execution was sometimes lacking.
With Obama and his new policies, I can't help it, I feel a new evil has been unleased. Forget the economy or health care reform (except to the degree that abortion will become a fundamental health obligation in universal care). The brazenness of the attacks on life and marriage are about my worst-case scenario. It's as if Satan has turned all of his attention to the U.S., now that he has pretty much gutted Europe. I foresee real persecution of my wife and our growing family in the coming years, along with the whole Church.
As LarryD said, I want to receive Confession frequently and remain in a state of grace. I will try to strengthen my faith, so the Lord can use me as his soldier in whatever battles he needs me.
Do you feel it?
I do feel it. But then, I've felt it before, and nothing happened.
I've spent time trying to figure out how what I would do now would be any different if this WAS the end of time compared to if it was NOT the end times. Ultimately, I haven't gotten any taps on the shoulder from God saying that this is the end, but God did orchestrate a cross country move for our family and I've felt called to the wilderness.
Medical issues stemming from my difficulties in childbirth have given me the zeal to read just about every midwifery text book I can get my hands on. If people have to start going off the grid to have babies due to forced "family planning" numbers, it will be very important to have people who know how to safely deliver babies in low tech situations.
I think we have at least 15 years left before a serious confrontation, if one is coming. Other than that, our obligations remain the same: love God, serve Him and love one another in kindness and truth.
Oh, IT is coming alright. Rest assured, IT is coming. Now, I don't know what IT is, but IT is very, very bad.
I feel like a cloud of darkness is descending on everything. I feel IT in my bones and in my spirit.
God save us from IT.
I don't think it's the end times so much as the end of America. Which, while sad (come on, admit it, we all managed to convince ourselves that we were 'the city on a hill') is hardly unprecedented or a harbinger of the end of days.
So, I think I must feel a lot like the Romans did when the Pax Romana dissolved and barbarians started sweeping across Europe.
Or like Europeans did during the plague, or the crusades.
I probably feel like the French did on the eve of their revolution, or like the British did as their empire broke up.
But, as disasterous as all these things were, the Church continued. Nations have always risen and fallen. Civilations crumble as the barbarians inside and out attack.
But the Church continues. Even if we don't, even if our whole civilization doesn't....
That said, even though I DON'T think this is the endtimes, it is the end of something big. And it's going to hurt a lot. Rome brought peace and prosperity to the known world, but Rome failed.
I feel like I'm living in the last days of Rome. The republic is crumbling, we've decided we want an emporer. Rome hung on longer because it was revitalized by the church. (Contra Gibbons!) But the US? I have a feeling we're just going down....
Sorry to be so depressing guys-- maybe it's just the change in the weather.....
Is something painful coming? Definately.
End times? I doubt it. I think the end will be much less obvious.
The Church will see us through, that I'm not worried about.
So long as we don't run out of wine, whiskey, and songs, I think we'll be fine.
Yes, I've felt that sense of foreboding for some time now. Remember how 9/11 shook people to their core -- even non-religious people. "Everything has changed". I was hopeful that out of the rubble, people would come back to God. Almost 8 years later, the country is back to normal -- only it's worse now. I agree that we probably aren't in the end times. People can predict it all they want, but Jesus said no one knows the day, nor the hour. But I do agree that the trajectory of America is swirling downward. How can we survive like the America of the 40s & 50s when 4,000 American citizens die EACH day? God will not be mocked. Something definitely is coming and I've felt this urge to start preparing physically and spiritually. Gird your loins, this is spiritual warfare at its most intense. Thank God for our Rock, the Catholic Church. Pray unceasingly. God bless.
Deirdre,
I agree with you about the waning days of the United States (though in the course of history, this might take 20-50 years or more). The question is, who or what replaces the US as the reining empire? Does the Muslim takeover of Europe via immigration and birth, hastened by European "culture," signify the rise of a Muslim state? Or will China actually get its act together? Russia has depopulated itself too much to ever be more than a significant regional menace, and I see that issue arising with China's rapidly aging demographics, too.
Perhaps there will not be one or two dominant world forces, but 4-5 major regional forces and alliances (US, China, India, Brazil?). If a Central or South African nation could really transform itself, I could see a century of prosperity based in Africa. The Middle East is too fragmented, and Europe's spine was removed a few decades ago, though it would like to think otherwise.
The world is very different now than the times when other nations crumbled. I don't know who or what would fill the vacuum.
Join the club!
Yes, we had better batten down our spiritual hatches. Chastisement? Likely. Persecuation? It is upon us with the rescinding of conscience clauses, the attacks on the church in CT and so on. The spending of tax dollars for the creating and destroying of embryos and for the killing of the unborn here and abroad. How long will this evil be allowed to reign with impunity?
Speaking only about our nation's future, I can't help but think that many many people who voted for Obama based on those promises of Hope! and Change! are wondering where the hope is. We got the Change...no argument there.
It's a fair thing to say that the era of good feelings has not materialized, and anyone who is honest with themselves has to see that in many ways, The Chosen One is making things much worse (on the financial front and on social issues) very quickly. He simply doesn't seem to have a moral core for his decisionmaking, he's motivated mainly by ideology, and he is deeply inexperienced (trying to do too much too soon). It's all a recipe for disaster.
The Church has always been locked in a great battle here on earth. I think we've all taken for granted what a gift it is to be American and there's a palpable sense that we're losing what we've had here for so long.
Plus I don't feel physically safe at all. I fear Obama is going to be such a screwup in the area of foreign policy/homeland security that something very bad is going to happen again, on American soil, before he is out of office.
Tragically Unhip: It made me think of "West Side Story." Awesome song.
But you did it again, Patrick. I was just working on a post on the feeling of doom and change in the air, and, in a moment of writer's block, saw this post.
You know, there was a similar ennui back in the early 90's when it was Hal Lindsey all the time.
I keep feeling the need to speak more German. Maybe that's a sign.
Maybe the Mayans were right after all :)
Keep up the good work.
Absolutely, Patrick, I am watching the live feed on AirMaria.com and have the surreal feeling that America has been overtaken overnight by atheists.
I know better, however,the sad truth is that we voted them in!!
Have mercy on us, Lord, and bring us to our senses for the sake of our children.
Patrick--
As someone who grew up subjected to a Mom gleefully preparing for the chastisement and 3 days of darkness "promised" by Medjugorje, I'll just say we live in interesting times and continue to trust in God's unfailing mercy.
I recall having the same feeling of foreboding during the Cold War under Ford & Carter. Now that feeling is back, I noticed it's resurgence over the past few years as more & more of the politically correct/secularist elite in this country seemed to gain clout.
Where are we going? HellifIknow, but as has already been stated, we live in interesting times.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Trust in God.
COD
Rule #1 - Never mention the M-word in polite company!
Rule # - See Rule #1
P.S. As far as I know - the Three Days Darkness was never mentioned there.
Not to add to your sense of doom but...don't forget all the acts of God, forest fires, tsunamis, etc that have been occurring more frequently in the past few years.
And yes, the Three Days of Darkness have been prophetized by several saints/mystics but not by M-word...
Cathy wrote:
Tribulation??? Dude, you need to stop listening to the Protestant Fundamentalists.
Well... to be fair, the Catholic Church teaches (and has always taught) that the Church will suffer one final and massive (and unparalleled) tribulation before the Second Coming of Our Lord. It's the so-called "rapture" which is pure fiction; when the final trials come, the only way for anyone to "escape" that final trial is to die bodily (in a state of grace).
As for me, I'm mixed (or mixed up?). On the one hand, it's fairly arrogant of us to assume that, just because the USA is now on the fast-track toward destruction, it means the end of the world; Jesus promised that the Church would remain until the end of time, but He never gave that promise to the United States. On the other hand, it seems that a large portion of the world is aligning itself with a "pleasingly erudite evil" in ways that are downright sobering; Europe certainly seems to have the Obama-esque disease (or did Obama catch the disease from Western Europe?), and China is... well... China. Africa has great hope for the Church, but it's a horse-race between Radical Islam, secularism, and Christianity. God only knows...
At any rate, pray. Fast. Take up Matthew's example, and go to Confession regularly. Get close to the Divine Mercy. Learn about the Sacred Heart. Purge evil from your life as you've never done before. All of the above are safe bets, no matter *what* Our Lord's parousial timing is...
When we look at our own socity, with its manifest evils, sometimes it's difficult ot keep things in perspective. we can find ourselves stuck on a downward emotional spiral, thinking that ours must be the worst of all times. That lack of Hope is the work of the devil.
History shows us that the past is replete with examples of worse moments and disasters. In the Middle Ages, the Church faced severe problems: moral decadence, corruption (including simony, laxity, the peddling of indulgences, obsession with money, and the seeking of temporal gain), the poor example set by the so-called Renaissance popes (Sixtus IV, Alexander VI, Julius II, and Leo X), and the vice displayed by princely bishops. Among priests, celibacy was ignored and severe doctrinal irregularities were commonplace. Exacerbating the situation was the institutionalized nature of the corruption and the close identification of the Church in many countries with the crown, thus giving the hierarchy little incentive to promote reform or constructive change.
What assisted the Church in overcoming these difficulties was the same burst of hope that is so needed today – AN AUTHENTIC SPIRITUAL REFORM.
The reform of the medieval Church was already well under way before Luther began the Protestant Reformation. From the efforts of the Brethren of the Common Life, St. Catherine of Siena, Nicholas of Cusa, and Christian humanists such as Erasmus, the demand for change was considerable. When their calls were given direction and the full weight of the Holy See – starting with Pope Paul III (who convoked the Council of Trent), the way was set for the Catholic Reform. What followed was one of the greatest eras in Church history, marked by the genuine revitalization of the Church in virtually every sphere.
I remain optimistic that the darkness we are facing, which Satan is trying to take full advantage of, will be followed by a new springtime if we, the Church, put our hope and trust in God.
The elements of the new day are there for us to see: the global movements of Catholic societies and apostolates; the embrace of the Catholic faith by people all over the world, especially in Africa and Eastern Europe; the gradual reflowering of authentic Catholic theology and spirituality in many schools and theologates; and the continued direction provided by Pope Benedict XVI whose very sufferings stand as a model for all of us in embracing the Cross in our daily lives.
In essence, we have seen this all before – so it is in history that we find our comfort and optimism. For we should never forget that in history we can see the progress of the Gospel across the globe and in countless hearts.
An acknowledgement of this does not absolve us form the duty of trying to remedy the evils around us, but ti does hlep us maintain mental clarity.
Fear is a powerful thing. I used to worry a huge amount. I would lie in bed at night and be unable to sleep for hours because I was turning over dozens of awful possibilities in my mind. It hit a climax after I had my first child. I was very afraid of the end of the world, tribulation, my child's death and suffering, etc... Sometimes when I thought about it I would literally tremble. I couldn’t function. I was desperate. What ultimately saved me was the prayers of St. Michael the Archangel. Well, it was really God who saved me, but it was through the intercession of St. Michael that I managed to seek and find His peace.
It was miraculous. One day in a rough moment I was suddenly inspired to say the prayer to St. Michael, and I felt so peaceful afterward that I decided to start saying it every time I felt worried or scared. It worked wonderfully. Within a day or two I was feeling peaceful most of the time, and when fear did overtake me, the prayer was a powerful weapon against it. Previously I had always tried to fight anxiety by reasoning myself out of it, and it worked… to a point. But it wasn’t until I finally was able to submit to grace and learn the most effective way to fight fear.
We know that fear is not from God (2 Timothy 1:7). I think that the fact that our culture has so embraced fear as a tool has made it a particularly effective way for the Enemy to worm his way into our hearts. THIS IS TRULY SPIRITUAL WARFARE. I think that’s why the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, who is traditionally invoked against Satan, worked so well to help drive fear from my life. Satan doesn’t want us to have God’s peace, hope and consolation; we have to fight for it.
Or maybe we're all just getting old at the same time and realizing that yes, we have sixty years, tops.
Or you might be on to something.
Revelation 12:12
... How terrible it is for the earth and the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, filled with rage, knowing that HIS TIME IS SHORT!
Revelation 13:7
It was allowed to wage war against the saints AND TO CONQUER THEM....
I think of the vision of Pope Leo and the conversation between Christ and the Devil, and how he gave el Diablo any century he wanted to do his worst, and he chose the 20th (an homage to the book of Job?).
Well, the 20th Century is over. We are in the 3rd Millenium. I am glad I'm living to see it, and I am hopeful that there is indeed something in the air; or something is no longer in the air.
As for something coming, something came a long time ago.
A few examples- I remember when the stores were closed on Sunday, and we- virtually the whole American society- did keep holy the sabbath day.
I remember when the Churches were packed every Sunday.
I remember the Legion of Decency- that held back the tide of filth for a long time.
I remember the years before television invaded our Catholic homes and secularized us.
Now it is okay to shop on Sunday. What's the big deal? Also, it's okay to do the week's laundry on Sunday-in fact, in our apartment complex it is laundry day.
Now it's okay for Catholic fathers to allow things into their homes via TV that their grandfathers would not have permitted in a million years. Now it's okay for Catholic high school girls to come and go from home looking trashy-in their school uniforms, to go to the pool wearing bikinis.
In my brief lifespan of 66 yrs, I have gone from living in a Church where the fight against sin was a ferocious knockdown drag-out battle to a Church where nothing is a sin, except perhaps abortion, and that, conveniently, is a sin that other people commit.
Honestly, I never understood the lightning and thunderbolts that flashed from our pulpits in the fifties. What was the big deal? But now I see that our priests then knew that they were salt and light. They were holding back the corruption in which we swim.
Oh yeah, when $50 Trillion goes to money heaven-as it has- you can bet that "something is coming." See the Cinderella Man for clues. We are all going to live it.
Our shopping centers, factories and offices are going to have, at long last, a sabbath rest.
And we are going to learn all the other commandments, too, from the top. Yes, something is coming alright, known to former generations as the wrath of God.
Reminds me of Thomas More's premonitions in Walker Percy's "Love In The Ruins" or was it "The Thanatos Syndrome".
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