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THE PROPHETS
AND
OUR TIMES
By
R. GERALD CULLETON
"It shall come to pall in the last days. says the Lord, that I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughtera shall prophesy. and your young men shall see visions. and your old men shall dream dreams. And moreover upon my servants and upon my handmaids in those days will I pour forth of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy."
( Acts 2: 17-1 8)
"In all ages men have been divinely instructed in mallers expediem for the salvation of the elect ... and in all ages there have been persona possessed of the spirit of prophesy. not for the purpose of announcing neW doctrines, but to direct human actions."
(St. Thomas: Summa: 2: 2 :174 :Res. et ad 3)
TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC.
Rockford, Illinois 61105
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE
A few words need to be said about reissuing Father Gerald Culleton's The Prophets and Our Times. First of all it is now thirty-three years since the book was first published, and Father Culleton had an idea the world was then witnessing the events foretold by the prophecies he had recorded, the colossal occurence of that time being of course, World War II, the greatest struggle the world has ever known. Yet, from our view we realize those prophecies he presented and interpreted have not been fulfilled. Then too, there appeared in 1970 Mr. Yves Dupont's Catholic Prophecy-The Coming Chastisement, which for its brevity and command of the significance of the prophecies' meaning, has no equal in any book that I am familiar with, and certainly the present volume will not replace his nor eliminate the need of students interested in this subject reading Catholic Prophecy as well. Father Culleton's work traces many of the same prophecies as Mr. Dupont's and in general restricts itself to the same era; however, Father's book is considerably larger and more comprehensive in its coverage, for which reason, mainly, we have thought to reprint it. Added to this, however, is the general accuracy of The Prophets and Our Times, despite Father's penchant for interpreting the prophecies as being fulfilled by the events of his day.
Probably the most provocative characteristic of this book, especially to readers who have had no introduction to the subject, is the cohesiveness of the various prophecies-how they coalesce, dovetail, agree, and complement one another-this despite the fact that they were made in different centuries, from the fourth down to our own, and at times generally when transportation and communication were very poor, a factor which would preclude collusion (this is virtually unthinkable, given the conditions). The question arises then, do these prophecies, taken together, form a body of knowledge, or even a quasi body of knowledge? The author certainly treats them as if they do. Still the contemporary reader will ask: "Well, do they?" This, I believe, each person will have to answer for himself, based largely upon the interior evidence of the prophecies themselves. For my own part, I think they do. This judgment, however, is more mature than perhaps most readers will be able to make and comes from having read in various books prophecies other than those appearing here or in any recent editions, all of which prophecies I feel fit the general pattern laid down by Father Culleton in The Prophets and Our Times. Moreover, it has been my good fortune to come across a number of books from which he draws his material, some of these over a hundred years old. The impression which a reading of these older books gives, most decidedly, is that people in those days were just as interested in the prophecies as we are today, and the writers of those books were extremely careful to cite their sources and would be judged by their work as sane, sensible and careful academicians, giving most scrupulously their own sources and filling in many details about the lives of the various saintly prophets. In this regard I am thinking especially of The Christian Trumpet. The present author, moreover, has not exerpted all that he could from these books, but rather has selected only the most apropos material.
If we are to grant that this group of prophecies forms a sort of corpus of knowledge, what are the general outlines of this information? Here, I believe, we all owe a great debt to Father Culleton for his grouping of this information into two general categories, the first of which he covers in the present book and the second of which he treats in his Reign of Antichrist (1951), also being reissued concomitantly with the present book, and one which the reader, if he is interested in this subject at all will surely want to peruse, in order to flesh out his view or perspective of events. In general, the information covered by his two books concerns the time of Antichrist, on the one hand, and the time generally which precedes it, on the other. The time preceding Antichrist we might well refer to as the "dress rehearsal" period. Now the time of the Antichrist will be the most distressing the world has ever known, and the Bible is very explicit in specifying that his reign will last three and one-half years or forty-two months or 1,290 days. These figures are given in several different places in the Bible (Daniel 12:7; 12:11; Apoc. 11:2-3; 13:14), in order that, it would seem, we do not in any way understand them symbolically; the reason for this is obvious: God wishes to console the good people of that time with the knowledge of precisely when their great tribulation will end-in truly :t touching measure of His mercy toward frail humanity. Shortly after the end of Antichrist comes the End of Time, the most prophesied event in the Bible, otherwise referred to as "the Day of the Lord," which is a time not to be longed for: "Woe to them that desire the day of the Lord" says the prophet Amos (5: 18). In the view of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Day of the Lord immediately precedes the General Judgment. At that time Our Lord returns in triumph and in judgment as the Lord of lords and King of kings. Now, the whole affair is so jmportant, it would seem, considering both the Biblical prophecies and the saintly prophecies (which Father: Culleton concerns himself with here), that it is not sufficient for it simply to happen once. Rather it seems we are to have a foretaste of both the agony and the joys at that later set of events, during a time which serves very much as a warning to the world. This period is dominated by the personage of the Great Monarch: the world in his time enters a severe period of tension (social, political, and religious), which eventuates in terrific military struggles (none of which appear to be Armageddon, it might be added), the final result being the world-wide triumph of this Catholic prince, under whom and through whose influence virtually the entire world becomes Catholic. During his reign there is unprecedented peace, prosperity, and progress. But toward the end of his time, the stiffnecked, hard-hearted men of that day descend once more into widespread sin, and shortly after the Great Monarch, Antichrist makes his appearance. Just as Our Lord at His second coming, the Great Monarch is a king of kings and lord of lords, who rules in justice and who brings an unheralded Pax Christiana, thus it would seem, forming a "type of Christ" in His second coming. Such, then, is a rough delineation of the events recorded in Father Culleton's two books. whether or not it is valid the reader can judge for himself.
A number of other questions arises in this regard which might be considered briefly. "Are we in the Great Apostasy)" mentioned by St. Paul in 2 Thessalonians, Chapter 2? One encounters among troubled Catholics today a good deal of mention about this. The answer is that it would seem we are not, but in view of the "dress rehearsal" concept elucidated above, we are most certainly experiencing a serious loss of faith on the part of a large portion of the Catholic population; yet many are still holding fast, despite the confusion rampant in the Church. When the reader has read the prophecies contained here, he will begin to see that most likely "the eat Apostasy" will come after the reign of the Great Monarch and refers to the general falling away after his time.
It might well be asked, "Are we close to the End of Time, or to the time of Antichrist?" Many authoritative writers think that we are. Personally, I, would not discount the possibility, especially since some of the conditions are now fulfilled, and it takes little imagination to see how others could be. In this regard writers, and even saints, have been mistaken in the past, for which reason none of us should be too hasty to say yes to this question. Referring to the End of Time, Our Lord Himself told us, "But of that day or hour no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father." (Mk. 13: 32). Nonetheless, we are certain that it will come and come "as a thief in the night." (1Thess. 5:2). St. Paul tells us that Our Lord will return "in very little while" (Heb. 10:37), and St. Peter tells us that "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Pet. 3:8), from which we can safely infer that the present Christian era is not going to be all that long. If indeed we are close to the End of Time, or at least close to or beginning the "dress rehearsal" period, it would seem providential chat these prophecies would be made known now on so widespread a basis, enabling those who thus desire to be advised on the matter.
"Have some of the prophecies about the first of these two periods ill fact been fulfilled?" The answer to this question is yes, some of these prophecies seem to be coming true, notably the widespread loss of faith, confusion in the Church (even in matters of Faith), bankruptcy of the democracies in Western Europe (that is to say their inability to cope with problems of labor, inflation, political unrest, social justice, international finance, and simple "planning for the future"). Already, we are hearing more and more about an imminent eruption in Italy, which will be one of the hallmarks of the period of the Great Monarch. Given the space to develop the notion in a substantive way, and citing additional prophecies to this effect, I believe I could quite easily support this answer.
Despite the fact that these prophecies, taken together, form a compelling tract, we must remember that they are not dogma, that is, do not concern de fide pronouncements of the Church. They are simply given for our instruction, to help us, it would seem, in a trying time. If some good Catholics choose not to accept them or choose to lay little stock in them, it is not the duty of any one of us to coerce his mind into assent (as if that were possible). These prophecies are not needed for salvation, but they may indeed be needed for sanity, and certainly for hope, by some or many of us. Indeed, there is a great deal of hope in the personages of the Great Monarch and the Angelic Pastor (a holy Pope) mentioned here. They are truly romantic figures, in the best sense of the word, and so much after the style of God, who in His action among men tends to be both simple and surprising, subtle and irresistible; in His own good time surely something like the events predicted in this book are bound to occur-they are, as it were almost wrapped up part and parcel in the confusion of the world's current life. With the development of that confusion, so trying on us all, is bound to emerge the solution from a most unpredictable quarter. Hence, the enemies of God and of His
Holy Church will not know where or how to prepare themselves to resist successfully the advent of the Great Monarch. God will nurture this man in His own manner, who the prophecies seem to indicate, will not even be known to himself until a late moment. When that man finally takes the field, it will be all over for the enemies of God, despite their numerical superiority and seeming greater power.
With these thoughts in mind we are pleased to reissue The Prophets and Our Times and hope that it will bring enlightenment and consolation to those who read it.
Thomas A. Nelson
June 26, 1974
Feast of Sts. John and Paul
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PREFACE
My modest attempt to put before modern readers many prophecies which their forefathers used to read has been very graciously accepted. As the orders for copies of the book have exceeded my supply I present this second edition. Readers of the first have expressed regret that the prophecies were not arranged chronologically nor indexed. I have been guided by this constructive criticism.
I am sure that there are still private prophecies which have escaped both me and my past readers. If any new reader knows of any such I would greatly appreciate a communication from him. This would make a third edition as complete as humanly possible.
There has been, of course, some destructive criticism. It has come chiefly from those who read only the title of the book. To those and to all I would say: "If we arrange our things spiritual on the presumption that we are dealing with true prophets and living in the times forecast, but our thing$ material as though it were a waste of time to read this book. we shall find ourselves pleasing God and not making fools out of ourselves before sensible men."
There are many individuals and institutions to whom I am greatly indebted for their kind help with this work. On them I pray God to bestow appropriate blessings.
-Feast of Easter. 1943
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
PREAMBLE
In all times of international or at least widespread strife a number of oracles are brought off musty shelves and the Scriptures are searched to learn, if possible, the divine reasons behind it and its likely outcome. In all such times there is a conflict, more or less pronounced, between good and evil hence often the question: Is this the time of Anti-Christ or at least is it a combat of such tremendous importance in the history of the Christian Church that it has merited pre-mention in the Scriptures1 and the expressions of long buried wise or holy 'men?
In our days there progresses a war, the equal of which has never before disgraced the earth. Is it merely the natural development of war science and the interdependence of nations that makes each succeeding conflict more terrible and extended than its predecessor? Or is this war more sinister because it is a strife "par excellence" of error against truth?
We may feel quite sure that the present world engagement lacks the signs for the end of the world. There is no reason to suspect any modern war lord of being the Anti-Christ. Could the struggle be a type or symbol or even an announcement of the Anti-Christ? Scripture tells us to expect many an Anti-Christ before the real one comes. Many there have been, are, and doubtless will be. For a certainty there are anti Christian leaders and armies in the field today so we must admit that this war comes under the Scripture text: "There shall be many false Christs ... but the end is not yet," but to go farther and say that this conflict is an announcement of the near approach of the Anti-Christ is another question.
1 "We feel that the present hour is a phase of the solemn story of humanity predicted by Christ." Pius XII Radio Address, 11-24-40.
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THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK
There are gathered together between the covers of this book a number of Scripture texts. Some of them certainly and others probably refer to the latter (but not necessarily the last) days of the world. To these have been added many sayings of saints and sages which bear on things to come after their day, yet apparently before the appearance of Anti-Christ.
The author has divided the prophecies used herein into two groups: the public prophecies (Scripture and the Fathers) and the private prophecies as found in the Apocrapha and the works of pious or learned men. The whole collection quotes over 200 seers. The extracts are arranged more or less chronologically so that the development of the ideas concerning the latter days may be more apparent. The prophecies are prefaced by an exhaustive topical index and the author's concordance of them.
With this in mind the gentle reader will realize that the author possesses not the gift of prophecy, nor does he profess even reasonable certainty for his own interpretations or correlations. On the contrary, he furnishes his texts to the reader and reminds all that where the Universal Church is silent each may draw his own conclusions provided he draw with caution.
The prophetic texts recorded are of certain divine origin only in the instances where they form parts of Sacred Scripture or Tradition, and the interpretations of these are matters of faith only in those few instances 'where the Church has given the meaning.
All other oracles found herein are to be classed as private. Some of them are said by their authors to have been revelations from God either to the author himself or to one or other pious or saintly person known to the author. Others of them have come down in the tradition of one or other nation and no doubt represent what the national bards were given to understand by the early national saints. The remainder are rather commentaries on oracles. They are by authors who do not profess to have had revelations, but who were wise men and who based their ideas of the future on Scripture, the Fathers, the saints and an intimate knowledge of history, the effects of evil and the capabilities of human ingenuity.
Without going into the various arguments in favor of, or against the authenticity, either of the present documents which contain these private oracles, or the oracles themselves the writer has felt justified in using all those quotations which seem not to contradict the teaching of the Church, and which, at the same time, have merited acceptance in the works of other authors better equipped than he to pass on their merit. L,et us say this: they are (unless otherwise noted) oracles which have for generations intrigued the children of earth.
SOME NOTIONS ON PROPHECY
In our day it is common, even among some men of faith, to pay little or no regard to any prophecy and to consider one who does pay heed, a relic from a dark age. Such an attitude is to some extent unreasonable as well as quite unchristian. Human reason teaches that God, and He alone, knows the future and that He can and may reveal it to His intelligent creatures. It is an article of faith, as well as historically established, that God did make certain revelations about the future to man and that some of them have not yet been fulfilled. Scripture teaches that there is a gift of prophecy which the Creator may bestow and has bestowed on whomsoever He pleases. A time limit was set and is passed for public revelations but none exists for private. No man may refuse to study public oracles, and, while a reasonable person may shut his ears to any particular private prophecy, he may not deny the value of all.
There are certain characteristics of prophecy which it is well to know. For example, events are portrayed as it were in a deep mist. Thus a prophecy may be in process of fulfillment before one's eyes and he may not be aware of it. Christ's birth, life and death are clearly forecast in the Old Testament; yet, in all Judea scarce a hundred of His contemporaries recognized Him.
Then too, a prophecy often reminds one of an Egyptian picture. There is no perspective. Events centuries apart may be forecast in one vision with divine disregard for time. The reason for this is to be found in a certain nontemporal relationship of spiritual events. One that happened in one century may be the type of another to come a thousand years later, or again an earlier may be the sign of a subsequent one. Thus St. John the Baptist was both a type of Christ and a sign of His near approach, whereas the destruction of Jerusalem was a type of the destruction of the world. In this connection it must be remembered that one prophetic utterance can portray even several types of a great spiritual event, as well as the event itself. The prophecy in the Apocalypse concerning Babylon refers to ancient Rome, its emperors and its fall, but the text is not exhausted with this. For a certainty the civil government of Anti-Christ is also spoken of and there is reason to believe that the words foretell the future of all cities or governments which substitute materialism for true Christianity.
This peculiarity of prophecy makes the oracle credible by virtue of reason. as well as by virtue of faith. for when the type or sign is verified it is reasonable to expect the main event.
On the other hand. one momentous event is often forecast by many separate prophecies. from various angles and often over many centuries. In these instances. as the generations go by and the individual utterances increase. man gradually gets a more recognizable picture. Yet even here the event may have come and gone before all of these separate references are recognized as facets of one majestic gem. This feature is best noted in the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.
Prophetic ideas are often conveyed in visions. The recipient may not understand the meaning of the picture which passes before his mind. Sometimes further divine aid enlightens his mind. This aid may come immediately after the vision, later on in his life or not to him at all but to some one else. The "someone else" may be a contemporary or may not come into being till hundreds or even thousands of years later. In some instances only the incomprehensible vision proceeds from God. Actual history. probably centuries later, gives the first inklings as to what the picture means. The seer may give his personal opinion as to the meaning of one of his visions but such remains merely his opinion. In scripture divine inspiration guarantees that the revelations and their interpretations. when given. are free from error. We have no such guarantees in the case of the private prophecies.
Prophecies are sometimes conditional. Such usually contain or imply "unless penance be done" such and such will follow. True prophets may be saints or sinners as is evident from the Old Testament. False prophecies are easiest detected by the false doctrine they contain or their failure to materialize. The devil and his votaries cannot forecast the contingent future. but some writers contend that the devil can bring to pass sometimes one or other forecast of his servants. Such events. however. may be curious but must be unimportant. Propagandists, necromancers and astrologers are often authors of false prophecies, nor would God use them for truth without manifesting His presence as He did in the case of the Witch of Endor.
In this regard it must be remembered that the phenomena of the subconscious is sometimes truly remarkable and that this psychological character differs greatly in different individuals. It is almost certain that there are persons who by purely natural means. for example. mental telepathy, can know what others have in mind and therefore can foretell what will happen if those persons carry out their plan. Such persons also in their sub-conscious minds work on all the information they have, and often not knowing whence their conclusions come. nevertheless draw them and find out in time they have been very accurate. These phenomena however are easily distinguished from genuine prophecy, for the latter deals also with a future unknown to any human (even thus hypothetically) and must be accurate in all its parts. Phenomena of the subconscious are sometimes correct, more often incorrect, and always related to an unknown but actual present or future event which is already in the process of unfolding.
In cases of doubt one should presume that phenomena are to be explained rather by natural means than by the preternatural or supernatural.
All true prophecy is from God for His glory and the sake of the "elect." As it becomes fulfilled it establishes its own divine origin and the reliability of the documents which convey it. It is a consolation to the faithful for it warns them what to expect as individuals and members of society, and at the same time assures them of the means for their personal salvation, the perpetuation of their Church, and the ultimate triumph of Christian civilization. Then, too, it instills into the hearts of sinners a salutary fear of divine vengeance.
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WHAT WE MUST VERSUS WHAT WE MAY BELIEVE
One hesitates about printing a book like this; not because he has failed to make himself clear, but because despite the clarity many insist upon being so certain of the interpretation of oracles obscure in themselves that they work themselves into a depression of spirit. This is folly not only be-cause they consider certain. and immediately before them, a danger they may never encounter, but also because God's revelations are intended for the comfort and strength of the good. So true is this that if a private revelation which supposedly comes from God terrifies and weakens a good man he Il1USt either dismiss his interpretation of it or if his interpretation be correct then he must dismiss the revelation. In the case of the sinner God's words are intended for his conversion. He need not wonder then, if knowing he be in sin and chooses not to repent, should the words of God terrify him.
To be more certain that the reader will clearly realize the difference between what Christians should believe and ,"That they may or may not believe, I recount here (based on Hermann: Institutiones Theologiae, vol. II, pg. 812 ss.) what seems to be the common teaching of approved theologians concerning Anti-Christ and the end of the world as illustrative of what we should believe. Then I will give a summary containing also what it seems to me Christian saints and sages add to this common teaching. As for these additions, the Christian is free to accept any of them or reject all.
A. THE COMMON TEACHING BY APPROVED THEOLOGIANS:
I. There shall be certain signs which precede the end of the world, of these vole may consider some remote and
others proximate:
(a) Remote signs:
1. The total abolition of the Roman Empire;
2. The coming of Anti-Christ (though before him there shall be other anti-christs)
3. The appearance on earth of two great prophets of the Lord;
4. The preaching of the gospel in the whole world;
5. The conversion of the Jews which would at least be begun by the two prophets;
6. A general apostasy from the faith.
The order in which these signs are to occur is not given.
(b) Proximate signs:
1. The sun, moon and stars shall be darkened:
2. Stars shall fall upon the earth;
3. There shall be other and grave commotions in the sky, air, sea and earth.
II. There shall be the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and the universal judgment.
III. The world shall be reduced to ashes, or otherwise transformed by fire.
No one may dare assert as certain anything concerning the time for the consummation of the world and the second coming of Christ (Leo X in the 5th Lat. Council d. Matt. 24:3; I Cor. 13: 13; I Tim. 6: 14) .1
1 Pastor Kerr: The History of the Popes. vol. VIII. pg. 404.
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B. THE ABOVE WITH My CORRELATION OF THE IDEAS OF SAINTS AND SAGES ADDED:
I. There have been and will be types of Anti-Christ.
II. The life of mankind on earth is, as it were, divided into ages, and the last age may be considered divided into two stages. The first stage is to end with the overthrow of Anti-Christ, and
the second with the second coming of Christ, Universal Judgment, etc.
III. During succeeding generations evils would multiply with individuals and nations drifting even farther from God. and ever increasing numbers losing all faith. Certain scourges would afflict
various countries such as wars, revolutions, tyrannical rulers. class struggles, persecutions and the like, but none of these would bring in its wake peace, unity or mass conversions.
IV. It is unlikely that the first stage of the last age commenced with the apparently irreparable loss of unity among Christians which was consummated in the 16th century.
V. Towards the end of this first stage there would be a preview to or an event particularly typical of the reign of Anti-Christ and his overthrow. It would take the form of three powerful
but evil rulers who would cause a "flesh hewing course of warfare" and persecute Jews and Christians. They are to overcome their enemies. Two of them. however, seem destined to
be overcome by the third and he is to fall before a good ruler aided visibly by God. This visible aid is to be in some way a type of three days darkness noted below.
VI. Peace and a notable return of Governments and individuals to God and Christian unity shall follow. A great Pope and a great civil leader shall be responsible. This good sign. although a
preview or type cf what may be expected after Anti-Christ will be of short duration for the forces of evil will not have been vanquished but only momentarily upset. (Here ends the
subject matter of this volume.)
VII. This peace is to be followed by the end of the first stage of the last age; namely, the three and one-half years of almost universal domination by Anti-Christ. The persecutions of that
time will exceed in cruelty and extent anything that the world has seen and in no other time shall evil have so triumphed. Very few will remain faithful to God and live. It will seem as
though the Church has ceased to exist. On the other hand, Henoch and Elias, the prophets of the Lord, by word and deed shall combat Anti-Christ and his diabolical hoards. The two
prophets shall be martyred shortly before the end of the period. During the last terrible battle when all seems lost, will come three days darkness with the exterminating angels. When
the darkness lifts there will not remain alive on earth an unconvertible evil man.
VIII. There follows at once a millenium in a less strict sense. It is the peace previewed before Anti-Christ and in turn a type of the true millenium. It would seem that Christ would appear in
the skies or at least that there would be some happening typical of His Second Coming. and that it would be apparent that there was a preview of the Last Judgment. Would the Just
martyred by Anti-Christ then rise from the dead. this being the first resurrection spoken of in the Apocalypse? Would an earthly reward symbolical of heavenly rewards be bestowed
upon the confessors who had escaped the beast? This seems not too clear but we are led to expect at least this, that there follows the fall of Anti-Christ an interval during which there
will be universal peace and union in one faith under one shepherd with Christian life marvelously exemplified in the individual and in society. How long this symbol of a millenium will last is
not clear but the common opinion of the Fathers was that it would not be long. (Here ends the subject matter of the Second Volume.)
IX. Near the very end of this last stage of the last age the powers of Hell would again be loosed. Evil would rule but for a short time only. This time upheavals in nature would announce
approaching doom, and in the end all men would perish from the earth. This final and universal destruction is certainly to be by fire. The real Second Coming of Christ seems to be
connected with this time.
X. Then follow the resurrection of the dead, the universal judgment and the new Jerusalem or true millenium. (Here ends the subject matter of the third and last volume.)
APOLOGY FOR THIS BOOK
Even if in one or other, or for that matter all instances, my tentative application of prophecy be not justified in the light of the future, it means merely that I am wrong. The private prophets may also have erred, but they may have had in mind other things than those which I have supposed. At any rate, it is the future alone that will praise or condemn both private commentators and private prophets. Some prophecies recorded here and applied by me to times before Anti-Christ may in whole or in part have been intended for his reign only.
We must also remember that many have, ever since the beginning, thought or professed to think that they saw signs of Anti-Christ and the rest in their generations. The future contradicted them. What the sincere ones noted were rather signs or types of Anti-Christ and the rest. Despite this, one seems to err not when, despite the errors of the past, he tries in his day to understand, for in one generation or other what true prophets have foretold must come to pass; and on the other hand, God tells us that certain of these things will come as a thief in the night and that we must ever be prepared.
The only apology one might have for thinking that our age may be a critical one in Christian history is that in past Christian times evil organizations were either among non... Christians or Christians in circumscribed localities, whereas in our day the great anti-Christian forces and the anti-Christian philosophies of materialistic secret societies are already widespread, well armed and in the field for world-wide domination. On the other hand, their leaders and even the rank and file are for the most part Christians by baptism, and even natives of lands steeped in Christian traditions.
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ESTIMATE OF THE PROPHECIES
It will be noted by the reader that the private oracles recorded herein do not always agree. This could mean that one or other is not genuine, but it could also indicate that we err in relating them to the same event.1
It is also worthy of remark that frequently there is a relationship between Scripture and private prophecies in that the latter seem to make an effort at particularizing prophecies of the Sacred Text which are in themselves quite general. Not infrequently a private prophet assigns a date often vaguely but now' and again quite precisely. Some of these precise dates have passed but so far as we can see the event has not occurred. Unless, there be reason to suppose such oracles conditional it seems better to reject them.
A great number of statements seem to fit persons, events and conditions today but very often there are in the very same oracle ideas which do not fit. While this might mean that two events are considered without temporal perspective, it could also mean that the whole text despite its partial description of the present may refer to events still far in the future. l As a matter of fact parts of many of these prophecies have in times past been referred to Napoleon or the French Republican disorders and one or other of them to the First World War.
This merely means that caution must be used about even the value of any particular private prophecy and that we should not be too hasty in interpreting beforehand even the oracles of Sacred Scripture.
Despite this there is true value for every generation in all genuine prophecy. The burden thereof is always the same,
namely: Organized evil cannot truly harm the elect nor even bring them any sorrow but the sorrow of Christ which is joy; no human, natural or preternatural agency can destroy the Church or Christian civilization; when evil becomes unbearable to the individual who trusts God, or to society, God will work a miracle if necessary to overcome it; physical and mental suffering exists for the perfection of the good and the conversion or destruction of the wicked.
As has been evident to the reader, the prophecies of Sacred Scripture seem not to apply to our modern conflict any more than they do to any other in the past where the Christian cause has been involved.
With a bit of imagination on the other hand the private oracles can be marshalled into a fairly good description of the present war to date and then taking the unfulfilled portions we can make a forecast of the future which would seem quite logical in the circumstances. But we must remember, too, that without prophecies and with a history of the combat to date we can also make a fairly logical estimate of the future course of events. At any rate the author is no better equipped than is the reader. Wishful thinking often plays so great a part in the application of prophecy that it is sometimes better for one to keep his own interpretations to himself.
Whether this war be a particularly crucial one in Christian history or not makes little difference, for this much is certain: if a powerful anti-Christian force should emerge victor from this or any other conflict and its victory be anything like universal it may take one of two courses: Either it will throw off its anti-christian character, which is unlikely, or it will endeavor by force to destroy Christianity. In this latter event, we may lay aside all private prophecy and use just Scripture and Tradition. These tell us with infallible truth that when universal control means Christianity or Anti-Christianity the victor is Christianity, and this irrespective of what miracles may be needed or what blood may be shed. "I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."
1 Prophetic texts are sometimes changed in transmission and in translating.
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Come, Thou Holy Ghost, come,
And from Thy celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine.
Come, Thou Father of the poor,
Come, Thou Source of all our store,
Come, within our bosoms shine.
Comforter art Thou the best,
Thou the sour's most welcome guest,
Sweet refreshment here below.
In our labor rest most sweet,
Grateful coolness in the heat,
Solace in the midst of woe.
CHAPTER 1
EVILS OF THE LATTER DAYS
An important sign of the latter days is the prevalence of false teachings with the natural consequences: defections from religion. lack of faith even among Catholics and great moral degeneration.
Several prophecies written long before the time of Christ speak of an age when many Gentile nations would deny the existence of God. and their oppressive and unjust fillers unite against Christianity, while much of the populace, would devise vain things instead of the truth,
Since it was the Gentiles who accepted Christ when the Jews rejected Him, any reference to the Gentiles as nations united against Christ would apply rather to the 12tter times than to any previous period in the history of the Christian world. It would seem that when the Jews begin to return to Palestine. which is the start of their. return to God, that the time would have arrived when God begins to reject the Gentiles before accepting the returning Jews.
That the Gentiles have already begun to reject Christ is certainly evidenced in the recent events in Russia, Mexico, Germany, and for that matter in nearly every nation. Christ is rejected when ignored or spurned as well as when He is proscribed by law. In some countries God has been rejected entirely while in others Christ has been made subservient to one or other form of nationalism Of internationalism, which is merely another way of speaking. Both systems substitute the created for the Creator. Despite these modern evil symptoms, it would not be necessary to presume that the Church would not in the ordinary course of events, be quite able, without miracles, to overcome them.
Some such rebellion against God and His Christ is to extend itself throughout the world shortly before the reign of Anti-Christ, with even Catholics in great numbers abandoning the true faith. Coincidental with this general indifference toward religion. in fact even actual hatred of it. there is to be the complete degeneration of the morals of the people. a degeneration similar to that which existed among the pagans before the dawn of Christianity and civilization as we have known it.
[size=medium] These signs of the approaching end have. of course. been true in varying degrees in earlier ages. The essential difference. however. between former defections and those which pressage the end. is to be found in the universality and sinister character of the latter apostasy. Men of the latter days are to set out. either to banish Christ from the memory of man. or in other instances to turn Christianity into a form of materialism and one to be used to gain unworthy objectives.
Several years before this general apostasy there were to be false teachers who would cause great confusion and darkness in the minds of the people. resulting in the loss of entire nations to the true faith. This would very effectually prepare the way for Anti-Christ. Some say that this has already been fairly well accomplished by the so-called Reformation with its consequent evils. Much more and far worse evils were to befall the world immediately before the reign of Anti-Christ.
We have also been warned against various prophets and those who claim to have had visions that foretold a sign or a wonder. Although those signs or wonders may actually occur as foretold. we will know the prophets are false because their doctrines are false. They will seem to make the people forget the True God even while claiming to be sent by Him. thus profaning His Holy Name. They will rob the poor. give and take bribes. and though preaching peace. will. if their greedy demands are not complied with. wage war. Thus they say: "Peace. Peace"; yet there is no peace. However, their time will come to an end because God merely permits this to happen to try our faith and increase our love for and dependence on Him.
There will also be those who will indulge in fruitless discussions of so-called learned things. and by so doing will miss the real truth and the real faith because the things which engage their attention are based on false knowledge instead of the truth. The reason for this, primarily, is the education without religion which will exist in those days. for this education will not really educate but will have as its basis vain works and false ideals. This so-called education will be one of the most effective means used by Satan to prepare the world for Anti-Christ.
After the birth of Anti-Christ and shortly before the rise of the Great Monarch. the false doctrines were to multiply and spread to such an extent that even Catholics would doubt many of the articles of faith. resulting in their perversion. this to apply not only to the laity but even to many priests and some of the hierarchy. The zeal of these latter will be greatly affected by this lack of faith. There will be dissentions among the clergy. Many will be proud. selfish, unjust, covetous, and even forgetful of vows made at ordination regarding chastity. Many will even offer Mass and confer the Sacraments sacrilegiously.
When the zeal of the clergy fails they will see the faithful leaving the churches and turning to the world. The House of God will be deserted. singing of hymns will cease. and the observance of festivals abandoned. The relics of saints will be considered powerless and any contributions the laity will make to the church will be made grudgingly.
In many religious houses humility and poverty will be forgotten. pride and desire for worldly luxuries will characterize the inmates instead of the spirit of simplicity which is the mark of a true religious.
Because of these defections Catholics will be severely punished, for only by chastisements can God bring back to the minds of His people, a realization of their dependence upon Him. As a consequence. widespread persecution of priests and people will come upon the Church in order that faith and love of God may be revived, for as surely as night follows day, so will civilization crumble and the world become steeped in the darkness of ignorance, hatred, misery and vice when God, Who is the Light of the World, will no longer rule in the hearts of His people.
It is true that many people will seem to honor God but this will be chiefly lip service and not based on real faith and love. They will be unwilling to recognize evil because they will prefer to follow the easy path of pleasure. Truth will be deserted and in its stead false doctrines eagerly embraced, because it will seem the people even wish to be deluded. As the prophets; say: "It will be a lying generation, given to covetousness, deceit and even blasphemy."
The wickedness of the people during these days will be multiplied. Iniquity will be so general throughout the world that scandalizers and betrayers will abound and hatred for one another will replace charity in the hearts of men. Every man will oppose his neighbor, the base man against the honorable, the few really good people will be opposed en all sides by the unrighteous, while the wicked alone will prosper. Laws will be ignored and personal possessions will become the property of the strong, since force alone will rule. If the one who sows has not the strength to defend his possessions, he will see another reap the fruit of his toil.
Even family life will be completely disrupted. There in the heart of the family group, where, above all, there should abound genuine love and loyalty, will be found only bitterness and betrayal. Children, lacking respect for their elders, will rise against their parents, and even the parents in turn, will be without a natural love for their offspring, resulting in mutual mistrust.
The lowly among the people shall overtake those rightfully in power. Treaties will be broken with less compunction than if they were mere snaps of paper, the chief consideration being selfish advancement.
Family unity and fidelity we find glaringly absent in Communistic Russia and by no means satisfactory in other lands,
our own being among the foremost offenders. Lack of respect for treaties we find almost daily exemplified, and when a true history of our times is written we will discover that many modern rulers have conveniently disregarded solemn promises. The dreaded "Secret Police" of some nations operates everywhere and for all one may know, relatives of his may be members sworn to betray even their own flesh and blood. Despite this, however, the prophets seem to suppose times more universally evil than ours today.
In the last days before Anti-Christ there are to appear many anti-christs. This is the sign by which we will know that the hour of the great evil is at hand. Of course at this time evil will abound more than at any other period in the history of the world. However, as mentioned above, we can expect a preview of this culmination of evil in the world. During the preview we will observe pride, greed, intemperance, immorality, hypocrisy, unjust laws, lack of natural affection and dissemination of false knowledge rampant in the world.
Another peculiar thing about some of the false teachers is that they will teach doctrines more severe even than those laid down by God, such as commanding abstinence from certain foods and drinks, and certain innocent pleasures, which God intended for our proper use. In these days fiction will be preferred to truth because the people of the world will wish to be seduced.
There will not be many who will be really wise, the intelligent will be very few in number and even these will be in great part silent, because they know that they would be either not listened to, or laughed at. The prophets say also that evil and falsehood will increase as the world grows weaker with age.
We are told that in remote preparation for Anti-Christ there was to be the beginning of the loosing of devils upon the world, and that many more would be loosed shortly before his reign. During these days people were to become inhospitable toward each other, willing to betray either for honor or personal gain, the rich were to become poor and the poor rich, the land was to become less fruitful and the animals less prolific than of old. At this time there were to arise three oppressive rulers who would exceed in tyranny and injustice all who were before them. They would bring to a head, as it were, the wickedness of Satan. Secularization of church property was a sign to precede their reign, also the persecution of priests, especially on "trumped-up" charges. Many governments would strive to control the Church, however God will not abandon the Church entirely at this time, but will make use of the demons to whom these rulers have abandoned themselves.
Towards the end of the world the Jews are to commit some atrocious crime for which they will be gravely persecuted. Could the crime be a veering away of many Jews from the belief in a personal God and personal Messiah and all that such belief implies?
We have been warned in Holy Scripture against those who deceive with empty arguments. These are the platitudes so often heard in defense of evil and so willingly accepted everywhere today. They have for their premise presumption on God's mercy and an unwillingness to recognize the true nature of sin and its evil consequences. As a result, vice more often than not is made to appear as virtue.
Among other things to happen during these evil days is the changing of God's laws by unscrupulous leaders to suit their own convenience. This shall lead to universal sin and a gradual lack of obedience to all of God's commandments. The prophets here could well refer to the sanction of divorce by the various Protestant churches and national legislatures, as well as the tacit or actual approval of the practice of artificial birth control. In this latter respect, even Catholics, as individuals, have become greatly contaminated in recent years. It is obvious that it is but one step from easy divorce and artificial birth control to widespread immorality.
As a result of these evils, great social disturbances were to appear on every side. With the family, which is the basis of society, breaking up, the fate of society itself must hang perilously in the balance. Only God's hand can stay it. Throughout the history of the world, whenever these evils have infected any nation, they have eventually caused the destruction of that nation. That they will spread disastrously before the rule of Anti-Christ into every strata of society over the entire world, causing the malignant growth of complete moral degeneration, is a warning given us by many prophets. There will be no standard by which morals will be regulated. Marriages will be solemnized without witnesses, and many young women will cohabit with men without marriage and this unblushingly and without secrecy. The various forms of immortality will become so widespread and habitual that only some terrible punishment will be able to eradicate them, for in these times men will live according to their own lusts and desires and not according to God's will and commandments.
Finally, it has been foretold that by the time Anti-Christ is twenty years old, most of the world will have become atheistic and be oppressed by its rulers.
In concluding this chapter, I shall quote from a recent statement of the present Pope to the Lithuanian minister, in which he said that as Supreme Pastor he could not close his eyes "When precisely for the salvation of souls arise new incommensurable dangers - when on the face of Europe, (Christian in all its fundamental lineaments), the sinister shadow of thoughts and deeds of enemies of God casts itself closer and more threateningly every day. In such circumstances more than in any other period of its history, the preservation, care, and if necessary, the defense of the Christian patrimony acquires for the future destinies of Europe and the prosperity of its people, large or small, a decisive importance."
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CHAPTER II
THE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
The persecution of Christians has always been a sign that the Catholic. Church was the true church founded by Christ. However it is clearly stated in the prophecies that this persecution would be greatly intensified shortly before and during the reign of Anti-Christ. On this point we might. in passing, call the attention of our readers to the grave sufferings of Catholics during the last decade in Mexico. Spain. Germany. Russia and Poland. We would. however, expect to find more widespread persecution were it a sign of the latter ages.
We are told that in the latter days three kings will rule in the world. Their reigns will be notable especially for their oppression. The Church will suffer much and it would seem from the prophecies that a great deal of this persecution is to be instigated by members of secret societies. This is often interpreted as a reference to Freemasonry, but we would likely not err if we added secret agents similar to those of certain national and international modern movements.
During the days of the three kings the yoke of Christ's Church is cast aside and they will set up their own insignia instead of the cross. the sign of Christ. It is a strange coincidence that in our day such anti-christian movements as Communism. Nazism and the rest put up their symbols everywhere.
On all sides blood is destined to flow. churches will be closed or desecrated. the celebration of church festivals forbidden. and the clergy banished from many lands. The tyrants and other hostile people will attack with bitter venom those who have been consecrated to God. robbing them of their meager possessions and subjecting them to most inhuman treatment. However. because of these persecutions. the clergy and religious will be forced to lead an apostolic life. Indeed it has been said by some prophets that so many of the clergy will be martyred that the Pope. forced to flee from Rome with his cardinals to seek sanctuary elsewhere. will have to walk over the dead bodies of his priests. while one or other oracle ordains that the Pope is destined to suffer a cruel death in his exile. In the last year of his reign, it would seem, he is to be in exile, and apparently, for the last three months he will be subjected to cruel torture. Pope Pius X saw a successor of his. one bearing his name. as the Pope who would leave the Vatican and go into exile, and after about a year, suffer a cruel death.
Other prophecies concerning this point tell us many of the clergy will have lost their zeal for God's work and will have forgotten their divinely appointed mission of saving souls. thinking rather of their own selfish interests. By these chastisements God will eventually bring them back to the true realization of their sacred duties.
Regarding the great number of those who will give up their lives for Christ before the end of the world, there are references to a chalice half-filled with the blood of martyrs. which. before the end, will be filled to overflowing. Those holy souls who have already shed their blood for the Word of God must wait until the blood of their fellow martyrs has filled this chalice before they can rejoice in the resurrection of the body. To date there have been, it is estimated. over thirteen million martyrs for the faith of Christ. and it is the belief of some students of prophecy, that before the end of the world approximately the same number must suffer a like fate. In this regard, however, we may be pardoned for doubting that mathematics will be discernible.
In addition there are to be spiritual locusts who will burn and poison souls with false doctrines. These, however, will have no power to injure those who remain faithful to the graces received in Baptism and Confirmation. They will be permitted to harass and persecute without killing for a short time, but will be powerless to destroy the Church. At this time man will long for death, welcoming it as an escape from his many miseries, but death will be denied him.
An old Saxon prophecy foretold that Spain would be split asunder by civil war, while another prophesied her glorious triumph over the enemies of God. This, no doubt, has already at least begun to come to pass. In 1534 it was foretold that the Jesuits would be driven out of Spain like dogs, but at a later date would return like nobles. This has occurred twice, the second time in conjunction with the recent civil troubles.
Other oracles refer to a division of the German empire and the persecution of the Church of Christ by a German ruler. A great war was prophesied for Europe, following the secularization of Church property. The prophets also mention that the late Pope Pius XI was destined to suffer "terrible immolation from within and without"; from within, they no doubt meant. by excruciating physical sufferings, and from without. by the persecution of his many children in Mexico, Spain, Germany, etc.
Finally, a bloody revolution has been foretold as coming upon the world during which time the Church of Christ is to suffer grievously, and her servants and leaders mocked, tortured and martyred. This revolution for a time (three months?) will triumph, but shortly thereafter a marvelous event will take place which will fill the world with astonishment. as well as save the faithful from further persecution. Likely this marvel will be darkness similar to the three days darkness often spoken of by the prophets. It would thus come first, at the conclusion of the world distress here noted, and as a sort of preview, then as a final occurrence at the end of the reign of Anti-Christ. However, the prophets foretell that this marvel will occur only after great changes in many kingdoms throughout the world.
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CHAPTER III
THE LATTER DAY JEWS
It has been foretold very definitely that the Jews are destined to return to Palestine toward the end of the world. According to Scripture, God did not cast the Jews off forever. nor was their dispersal intended by God to be everlasting. He promised them that in the latter times of the world's history the children of Israel. scattered throughout the world, would return to Palestine, that the temple would be rebuilt, and that God would make a new and everlasting covenant with His people.
As early as 1860 the Universal Israelite Alliance was formed for the purpose of promoting the emancipation of the Jews, their mental and moral improvement, and especially to encourage the Jewish colonization of Palestine. Following 1878, the year of the Russo-Turkish war, the trek of the Jews to Palestine really began, and after the establishment of the British Protectorate in 1917 they flocked there in considerable numbers. In 1920 the flag of Judah once more flew from the Tower of David, a symbol. as it were, of the prophet's words.
In the days in which these prophecies were to be fulfilled, the land of Israel was destined to become once more fertile so that the number of the Jewish inhabitants would increase and multiply. For ages the scarcity of rain in Palestine had made it impossible to raise crops in their former fullness, but between the years 1860 and 1900 the rainfall in Palestine increased over fifty percent, so that the land which had been arid for centuries is now much more fertile.
The Jewish population throughout the world is rapidly increasing. In the past two hundred years their numbers have grown from around three million to approximately twenty-four million. They have a high birth and very low death rate.
According to prophecies, the migration of the Jewish people to Palestine was to be brought about through their being persecuted at the hands of the Gentiles, while their final return to God will be effected directly through the chastisements of God. Throughout all the centuries following their unfaithfulness to God, thy have been reviled, persecuted, exiled, and dispersed, yet God has miraculously preserved them as a race for a purpose worthy of Himself. They were His chosen people originally, yet because of their sins, salvation came to the Gentiles-they became enemies of God. as it were. for the sake of the Gentiles. However, because of the fidelity of their forefathers, they remain dear to God, and it was promised them that "in fullness of the times of the Gentiles" their blindness would be taken
from them and that God's curse would be lifted.
The partial fulfillment of this prophecy has been in evidence for the past one hundred years or more during which ti.me the Jews have been steadily rising out of the depths of debasement and subjection in which they had lain for centuries. One of the most remarkable occurrences in the history of our age is the civil emancipation of the Jews. However, the complete bursting of the bonds of the Gentiles will not occur until the final overthrow of the Turks. After this, the Jews will return to godliness in the last days because of their fear of the Lord. They shall once more become a nation after they have repented and sought the mercy of God, and only then shall they attain peace.
It is at that time that the Tabernacle, the Ark, and the Altar of Incense, shall be found, which have remained hidden since Jeremias placed them in a hollow cave. Jeremias had told the people that they would remain hidden until God should gather together a congregation of the people and bring it to mercy.
The present war is causing great misery to the Jewish people. Its eventual effect upon Jewish aspirations in the Holy Land cannot well be forecast, but if its outcome opens up to them their ancient heritage, and we see at long last a Jewish state there, it means that interesting events in the history of the world are probably not too distant. The prophets do not necessarily forecast a Jewish Palestine.1
1 Hilaire Belloc: The Jews (3rd Edition. 1937) will be found the most valuable book extant on the modern situation of Jewry. The Introductory Chapter treats the Zionist movement.
David Goldstein: The Jewish Panorama (1941) is also of interest, especially from the American point of view.
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CHAPTER IV
DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART
There is evidence that it was the will of Our Divine Lord that Devotion to the Sacred Heart be reserved for the last ages of the world. so that. in the last great struggle between Himself and Satan. the souls that He loves so dearly may be drawn to Him with renewed warmth, and thus stengthened against the final desperate attacks of the enemy.
In the times preceding the end of the world, Satan and his cohorts were to be loosed upon the earth in a mighty effort to draw as many souls as possible away from God. before the power of Hell would be remarkably restricted, if not completely broken. Satan's mission is one of hate. God wins souls through love. Our Blessed Savior knew that the hatred which would be rampant in those evil days could be best conquered by a devotion which would inspire love and charity in the hearts of men. It was to serve, as it were, as a magnet and a bulwark of strength by giving men a clearer knowledge of God's deep and abiding love and mercy. It would provide a harbor of peace and security in those days of confusion and anguish, when men's souls would be tried almost beyond endurance.
In all times of great distress or danger, God has provided men with the means of conquering evil, as evidenced by the the history of the world. both before the time of Christ, but especially since the Redemption. To mention just one of the instances of Divine intervention when a special devotion was given to the world at a crucial period, let us consider the Rosary. In the 13th century when the Albigenses were preaching their vicious doctrines against marriage, and the spread of this heresy seriously endangered the morals of the people, St. Dominic began preaching against them. He had but little success until Our Blessed Lady appeared to him, and told him to encourage devotion to the Rosary. This was done and the heresy quickly disappeared.
St. Gertrude, in the 14th century, who often conversed with the Beloved Disciple St. John, on one occasion asked him why he, who loved our Blessed Lord so fervently, had never written anything about the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He explained to her his mission was to expound the Doctrine of the Incarnation and that as for the Love of the Incarnate Word as exemplified by His Divine Heart, it was reserved for the last ages to make it known. "so that the world, carried away by follies, may regain a little of the warmth of early Christian charity by learning of the love of the Sacred Heart."
It was on the feast of St. John the Evangelist. three centuries later in 1647. that Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and made certain promises to those who had a special devotion to His Sacred Heart, which promises were destined to become the means of salvation to so many countless Christians. Regarding this vision, the Saint explained, "I understand that this devotion to the Sacred Heart was a last effort of His love towards Christians of these latter times, by proposing to them an object and a means so calculated to persuade them to love Him."
In 1815 Mother Maria Rafols wrote concerning her own visions at the urgent insistence of Our Blessed Lord, in the hope that many, after reading what He told her, would turn from their evil ways, and have recourse to His Merciful Heart.
Much of what she has written is prophetic, and concerns itself. in part. with the destiny of Spain. Referring to her own Mother House, at Saragoza, Spain, Mother Rafols wrote that the Sacred Heart would perform such wonders there as to win many sinners away from their corrupted lives. It is worthy of note that although the Communists laid siege to the city of Saragoza. it was never captured. as foretold by Mother Rafols.
Our Lord promised her that no matter what means men might invent to destroy the faith in Spain, they would be unsuccessful and that He would reign there until the end of time. because of the love of the just and chaste souls who would always live in Spain. This prophecy. only recently unearthed, must have been of great comfort to the good Christians during the trying days of the Civil War,So forgotten would be the Word of God in the days to come. that men would even scandalize and pervert innocent children. and endeavor to obliterate His Blessed Name from their memory. This was true in Spain. and is true in many other countries today.
There would be such moral corruption, not only in Spain, but in the entire world, that God would be forced to destroy entire cities, should they fail to reform, after His call. This is already being fulfilled and no doubt vastly greater destruction will befall the world before God is appeased.
It was written that these things would be taking place when the documents would be found. They were found in 1931. Our Lord further told Mother Rafols that there is one thing that hurts His Sacred Heart still more, and that is to be forgotten, offended and despised by souls consecrated to Him. They sometimes forget how dearly He loves His chosen ones, how eagerly He waits in the Tabernacle for them to come to Him for inspiration and assistance in the great mission of saving souls. He wants them to be humble and chaste. and to practice true charity towards one another, and thus, avoid giving scandal. He desires that His priests be living models of Himself and that they propagate devotion to His Sacred Heart.
He wishes that all men have greater love for one another so that there can be peace on earth. and greater love for Him. The Sacred Heart was very sad because of the sacrileges men would commit on account of their coldness toward Him. He said that many would not only not heed the commands of Holy Mother Church. but would actually persecute Her and seek to destroy Her. Priests and religious would be treated with great disrespect.
He desires that men perform acts of satisfaction to forestall the wrath of Divine Justice, and that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be made a Holy Day of Obligation, and that all the Faithful receive Holy Communion on that day. (It is a Holy Day of Obligation in Spain.)
To those who devoutly wear the image of His Sacred Heart, He promised great graces and special protection at the hour of their death. He said that in times to come, many souls would propagate the devotion to His Sacred Heart,
Since these three holy women connect this devotion with the latter days it seems significant that its spread is quite modern. It was not extended to the entire world until 1856 by Pope Pius IX; the whole human race was commended to the Sacred Heart by Leo XIII only in 1899; and a special act of consecration was prescribed by the late Pope Pius XI just fourteen years ago (1929) to be recited throughout the entire world on the Feast of Christ the King.
In conclusion we may note that the prayers ordered by Pope Leo XIII to be said after Low Mass, to "restrain" Satan, are followed by the threefold repetition of the ejaculation invoking the aid of the Sacred Heart for this purpose: "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!"
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