Listen to Our Lady of Fatima

After the election of Pope Francis, I began to see many who wrote that the St. Malachi prophecies and all the other papal prophecies were clearly wrong, just like every other end time prophecy. I for one was never sold on the whole Malachi prophecies to begin with, and I knew that there was more to them than I thought. And as I discussed it with my fellow parish Priests, I learned that the St. Malachi prophecy doesn’t actually say that immediately after Benedict XVI will be "Peter the Roman", it only says that "Peter the Roman" will be the last Pope. So clearly we aren't done just yet!

Now, I don't know if its just me, but I still have that sense that something big is about to happen. Even after Pope Francis walked out onto the balcony in St. Peter's… I still had this feeling that we are still in the midst of something very extraordinary about to happen. It's this feeling of nervous-excited, almost that feeling that the Apostles probably had on Holy Thursday. They knew from what Jesus told them that he would be betrayed and crucified, and on the third day, rise again. The fear and horror of seeing Our Lord arrested, beaten, scourged, mocked and then crucified was upon them. That same feeling seems to exist today in this world as sinful deeds are being done, and once again it feels like Christ is about to be arrested, beaten, scourged, mocked and then crucified again!

During this Holy Week my wife and I have been trying to watch some good saintly movies before we go to bed at night. Last night we watched a children's movie on the story of Fatima. And suddenly Our Lady's words began to make me think.

"…God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father."During this time, World War I was going on, and just as Our Lady said, it did end and then in 1939 shortly after the death of Pius the XI, World War II began… Even though it was already underway before that time during his pontificate.

"To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world." 

Now this is were things get controversial. Our Lady reappeared to Sister Lucy on June 13, 1929 at Tuy, Spain, and announced that "the moment has come for God to ask the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart. By this means, He promises to save Russia."

But did it happen? No. The pastors of the Church, chose to delay and, on August 19, 1931, Our Lord Himself appeared to Sister Lucy in Rianjo, Spain and expressed His displeasure, saying "make it known to My ministers that, given they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution My command, they will follow him also into misfortune."

So did it happen then? No. In 1942 Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and it included substantial involvement of the bishops. Yet Sister Lucy has written that this imperfect act of obedience, while not fulfilling Our Lady's Fatima request, nevertheless hastened the end of the Second World War, thus sparing the lives of tens of millions of souls.

Since then several popes have undertaken consecrations of the world (including Pope John Paul II in 1982 and 1984), sadly, none of these have fulfilled the specific requirements of Our Lord and Our Lady's requests. In repeated visits to Sister Lucy, Jesus and Our Lady have insisted that it is Russia (and Russia only) that is to be the object of this public act of obedience and prayer. In addition, Our Lord and Our Lady have indicated that the Holy Father is to be joined in the act of consecration by all the Catholic bishops of the world on the same day and at the same time in their respective dioceses.

Some will say in response to this that these consecrations have counted, but as Our Lady has predicted, Russia has "spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church." What errors are these? Communism! The Cold War did not end Communism. It is still alive and weeding its way into the world. Look at China where Catholics have to practice underground, and many who have been caught have been killed. Europe is loosing its faith and even in the United States, many communistic ideas are being implemented, and many Catholics are having to fight for religious freedoms.

"The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer." We all have begun to see the persecution of the Church, and many who have been killed because they have followed her teachings. And I do find it ironic that Pope Benedict XVI resigned out of the blue. Leading me to believe what my previous article talked about that possibly Our Lady told Benedict to resign so a new and stronger Pope could take his place for the years to come. Why do we need a stronger Pope in the years to come? 

"Various nations will be annihilated." I believe that a great chastisement is coming just as Our Lady predicted. And I believe that there may be some reason why Pope Benedict XVI had to step down and Pope Francis had to take his place. Something big is about to happen and we need a strong shepherd to guide us through it. This may even be why Mirjana from Medjugorje looked so worried in this photo when she was receiving her apparition from Our Lady in March. Something is going to happen.

"In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world." This last message should tell us regardless to not be afraid and that good will win. And Our Lady's mention of a period of peace does correlate with other end time prophecies about the time of peace to come and the coronation of the Great Monarch.

These times ahead are exciting and scary. We must all be prepared.

God love you all!! Pray the Rosary daily!!

Our Dear Holy Father!

It's a little bit embarrassing to hear so many of my Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) friends chattering, questioning and even bashing our new Holy Father. Some begin to say how they fear that he will suppress the Latin Mass. That even in his home country, he was very apathetic to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass which is why there are little to no Latin Mass Churches in Buenos Aires. Some are even going as far to say that he is a "sworn enemy to the TLM!" There is panic over all the forums; will he undo what Bl. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI did? Or will he continue it?

First things first… STOP IT!! I will say this once more… You DO NOT rebuke Satan using Satan's ways!! Can't you see that he is already trying to turn us against this new Pontiff? Clearly any bit of temptation to gossip, bash or even threaten disloyalty to our Holy Father is the work of Satan himself! So STOP IT!!!

Second, I remember asking my Dad once if a Pope could ever undo what another Pope did? And he answered me saying no. Yet at the time I think I was referring to a Pope declaring something a Dogma of the Church; no Pope would ever undo something like that. Yet practices and rituals have been changed when certain ways of doing things just weren't working out. For example, Pope Benedict before he resigned made some changes in the process of electing a new Pope. Things like that can be done. But on the topic of the TLM which has become such a powerful movement in the Church, gathering such great responses in faith, reverence to the Mass and an increase in vocations, I would highly doubt that the Pope would want to undo what is going so well in the Church. Plus it is also providing a step in the right direction for those who are of the SSPX to make a full communion with Rome. This is something every Pope desires to do; bring the Church back into one fold. Why would he want to challenge that? I highly doubt that is the mission of this Pope to undo what has been done with the Latin Mass in the Church.

I would venture to guess that this Pope has a main focus on getting us back to the basics of being a Christian. Reminding us of the importance of prayer, humility and aversion to worldliness. As I even said in my last article, I believe this Pope is going to work on rebuilding the Church family. And with this focus on the traditional family, I believe that it is then and only then that a traditional church will flourish!

Who cares if he is a Jesuit! From what I hear most Jesuits who are of the political left way of thinking, dislike Pope Francis. This to me is a good sign that we are in for good things! I even read another source that said that Fr. Fessio, who founded the Adoremus – Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy speaks highly of him. Specifically, he stated when asked his thoughts: “You’ll love him. The other Jesuits hate him. I’m ecstatic.” He also has a deep devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, is said to practice the Five First Saturday Devotions, and prays 15 decades of the Rosary each day. So really, what's not to like about him? 

So many of the TLM followers desire for the whole Church to be turned on its end and for us to revert completely back to pre-Vatican II, so that everywhere, everyone will be practicing the Latin Mass again and the Church will be as beautiful as she once was almost 50 years ago. Then there will be no more scandals, no more problems, just good sold Catholicism the way it used to be. But you have to sit back and realize when you wish a thing like that, that you are forgetting something… Vatican II happened for a reason. The Holy Ghost is in the driver seat of the Church and He allowed it to happen for a reason. Therefore, if it was never supposed to happen in the Church, then it would have never happened at all. I remember the words of St. Padre Pio saying how we are all like little children sitting on a very small stool looking up at the tapestry of our world that God has created. We can't see the full picture, and to us it doesn't make sense why God allows such things to happen. But if we could only see what God sees, we would notice the full beauty of God's work and see the tapestry in the way that it was meant to be seen. There is something to Vatican II that I believe will eventually be ironed out. But maybe not right now.

The way God seems to always do things is to uproot from the bottom up. I believe with Pope Francis he is starting with bringing us back to our Christian roots as I mentioned earlier, and from there in time we will eventually see the beauty of the Church restored!

Thirdly, in order to bring some peace of mind to this whole issue, I would like to point out that one of the first things that Pope Francis did while in the Basilica, was that he went and knelt in front of a tomb of a Pope. Which Pope? Pope St. Pius V (1504-1572), the Pope who, being a Dominican, declared the Dominican St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church and commissioned the first edition of his complete works. The He also patronized the sacred music composer Palestrina, and, in his the Apostolic Constitution Quo Primum on July 14, 1570, promulgated the 1570 edition of the Roman Missal, making it mandatory throughout the Latin rite of the Catholic Church, except where a Mass liturgy dating from before 1370 AD was in use.
 
This “St. Pius V” form of the Mass remained essentially unchanged for 400 years until Pope Paul VI’s revision of the Roman Missal in 1969–70. It is this form of the Mass that we know today as “the Tridentine Latin Mass,” or, the “Extraordinary Form” of the Mass. It seems clear that by kneeling and praying before the tomb of this great, and holy, Pope, Pope Francis was making a statement of respect for him and his work, and so, by implication, for the form of the Mass that he implemented.

Therefore, all-in-all I would not worry at all about what Pope Francis is about to bring to the table. Instead I would pray for him as he has asked us to do, and learn from him. He may have a lot to teach us. For those of us who are Traditional Latin Mass Catholics, we need to let go of this pride of always thinking that we are better than the rest of the church and that everyone needs to conform to us. We are apart of a Universal Church that has many different parts. It would be wrong of us to say one part is better than the other. The Body of Christ should be working together as one, so that as one we may enter into that Heavenly home where we all belong.

Viva Christus Rex!

Habemus Papam!!

What a joy it brings to the Catholic Church that we now have a new Holy Father, Pope Francis I! Awe yes, I remember it like it was yesterday… Oh wait, it was! 

This is another moment in history when one can say, "I was [here] when this happened." For myself, I was working with my headphones on and my iPhone turned onto EWTN. After hearing black smoke on the last vote, I had looked away for sometime. Not long after, I turned it on again to find a chimney with white smoke bellowing out of the top of it. Habemus Papam!!! My heart began to beat really fast. Who was it? Who did the Holy Ghost pick?? The wait seemed like forever as I was also trying to keep busy at my cubical. Soon the doors opened and the Cardinal came out to announce, "Habemus Papam!" Then he said the name of the chosen Cardinal in Latin. I along with many of my other traditional friends were expecting to maybe hear a "Raymond Burke" announced. But suddenly I heard a name I didn't recognize. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio? Who is he? I knew nothing about this man who had been elected Pope. Soon the curtains opened and he came out. Immediately I began to love him. He was humble. Truly a man who wanted nothing of himself. And as he prayed with everyone for Pope Emeritus Benedict, and later asked everyone to pray for him, I was awed by his desire and promotion of prayer. 

I wanted to learn more about him. I wanted to know why God had chosen him? A man from Latin America… A Jesuit, none the less! After going through a Jesuit college, I have been a bit jaded by the Jesuits and their lack of reverence and tradition on most topics regarding the faith. Yet right away I learned that when most Jesuits were teaching about liberation theology, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio stayed with the traditions of St. Ignatius. Which is good!! Plus he was said to be a doctrine conservative - another plus!! And the fact that he was made a Cardinal by Blessed John Paul II, I knew that this man must have some very good qualities to be our new Holy Father. And I trusted in my heart that the Holy Ghost made the right choice.

As I continued to research him and look for more information, I was soon appalled at what some were beginning to say in some traditional and orthodox circles. I discovered many of the Traditional organizations I was apart on Facebook begin to bash the new Holy Father, saying he was an enemy to the Latin Mass… And that it was time for us all to be ready to go "back into the catacombs!" This was horrible to me! How dare they say such things about our Holy Father? A man who so humbly asked us all to pray for him! I highly doubt that the Holy Father who has so much love for our faith and for the Church would be so against it's traditions, especially the age old Traditional Latin Mass? There must be some misunderstanding on this issue. All I know is that whether his views are more modern than conservative, or not… He has been chosen as our Holy Father and therefore we must respect him and lend him our prayers. It would be wrong of us to judge him so quickly! I remember even St. Padre Pio saying to a man who was rebuking a Bishop that we "do not cast away Satan with Satan's ways!" Plus I also hear that supposedly Pius IX was a Freemason prior to his election. So I would venture to say that, whatever a man's views are before they are Pope, they are often changed once they are Pope!

Maybe God's plan is to promote prayer and humility? It would certainly fit with a name like "Francis" chosen. I even remember thinking to myself before I heard the news of how humbled I would be after years of being jaded by liberal Jesuits, to hear that a Jesuit would be our next Pope! And here I am… Humbled.
Another thing I learned about Pope Francis is that when he was a Cardinal he was also a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Maybe God's looking at the world from a different perspective? Maybe He wishes to start from the basics of building up the family and prayer, and from there renew the Church from within. If the traditional family is growing, so will the traditional Church!I am not worried about what our new Holy Father brings to the table, since I know that he was chosen by God and has a purpose for our Church in this time in history. I believe after all my writings on Papal Prophecies and the end times, that the end is still near… But we still have some "soul-saving" and "house cleaning" to do before the tribulations come. I believe that with this Pope, God is using him to continue to build His army to fight the Devil in the end. And who knows, maybe He is using this Jesuit Pontiff to fix up the other Jesuits who were at once great solders for Christ!!

I pray too for an increased humility and understanding that God's ways are not our ways. And that we can all fall in love with this Pope as we did with both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. I truly would love to develop a prayerful relationship with this Pope. I wish to love him in all the things he does and pray for him in the things he may struggle to do. The world is a nasty place, and he can use all the prayers and help he can get.

Viva il Papa!!

Things to Think About...

Here are some articles I recently found online that I truly think are worth reading!

Did the Blessed Virgin Ask Pope Benedict to Step Down?
Canturbury Tales reported on February 25, 2013:

How does a Pope make the decision to resign from the Papacy? The effects of such a decision are staggering. It's a decision that affects every Catholic, and even every person on earth. He is the Vicar of Christ. His prayers and actions (through participation in the High Priesthood of Christ) win graces for the world.

It is obvious that Pope Benedict XVI appreciates and venerates the Petrine Office. His Holiness also has a profound understanding of redemptive suffering. Pope Benedict, it would seem, would desire to fight it out to the end. Failing physical health and old age have captured Pope since Saint Peter. Surely, poor health alone would not lead our Holy Father to step down from the Holy See of Saint Peter.

This raises the question: Why, then, is Pope Benedict making this historic decision? Is his decision based solely on poor health...or something else?

I recently heard a homily from a priest that I greatly admire. This priest suggested that Pope Benedict was getting "orders from above." Pope Benedict, after all, does have a superior whom he must obey: Jesus Christ Our Lord. 

This priest suggested that Pope Benedict received a message or apparition from the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is speculation, but the announcement of His Holiness' abdication on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes may indicate a Marian origin to his decision.

There are enemies both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Personally, I believe there is spiritual rot festering in the machine work of the Vatican. When he became Pope, His Holiness referred to the "wolves" that were within the Church. It is no secret that there are cardinals who are opposed to Pope Benedict. I suspect (and this is pure speculation), that Heaven is about to intervene in a way that we could never foresee.

I believe that Pope Benedict would have never resigned unless he was told to do so through a heavenly command. I believe that Jesus and Mary told His Holiness to make this historic decision and announcement. Our Lady is the Exterminatrix of Heresies. She is about to clean house. 

As Saint Peter (our first Pope) once said: "For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God." (1 Pet 4:17 DRB)

Pope Benedict XVI implicitly indicated that he had received a heavenly command just the other day is hisfinal Angelus address from the papal window:

"But this does not mean abandoning the Church, indeed, if God is asking me to do this it is so that I can continue to serve the Church with the same dedication and the same love with which I have done thus far, but in a way that is better suited to my age and my strength." - Pope Benedict XVI "Angelus Address" Feb 23, 2013.

Divine judgment begins first with His own people. The resignation of Pope Benedict may be the first domino to fall leading to a chain reaction of important events. Again, I think we are seeing a mystery of supernatural intervention. Who would have thought that Year of Faith would require so much faith!

Keep praying the Rosary daily, go to confession weekly, say your morning and evening prayers, begin reading the Bible daily. Make it a good Lent.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 Cardinal Raymond Burke, a Strong Candidate for the Papacy...
 Cardinal Burke has been widely known around the world for his defense and love of the orthodoxy and traditions of the Church. He is one of the few cardinals and bishops in the Catholic Church who publicly state that they will not give Holy Communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians. 
He recently told Irish priests that they should deny Holy Communion to any Irish Catholic politician who supports the new abortion laws in that country. He is one of the Church’s foremost supporters of the traditional Latin Mass. During his time as bishop, archbishop and finally cardinal, Burke helped found several religious orders that followed the rules of the Church before Vatican II. In fact, Cardinal Burke has spent much time traveling across the world offering solemn Pontifical Latin Masses and ordaining traditional priests who are faithful to the Church. He has been vocal in his condemnation of the anti-Christian policies of the government in America. He warned that Christians will soon be persecuted in America and that it is the duty of all Catholics to act as martyrs for the faith.

Long Live Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Photos from today's events. Love you Papa, we'll miss you!!

The Bishop In White

There are definitely things moving in the Church, and as the time is coming closer for the election of the new Pope, it is becoming quite interested what is developing. As for many of us, our understanding of Pope Benedict’s resignation was due to his “advanced age” as he stated and inability to carry on with the mission that was handed to him to lead the Church. But recently I came across some new information behind the Holy Father’s reason to resign, information that I found very intriguing.  

According to “These Last Days Ministries” website, Pope Benedict’s action is something that is unprecedented in the history of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. On their site they state that “Yes, there were a couple of other resignations of popes in the past, but the circumstances were totally different. Never has a pope resigned because he felt too tired and weak to carry on.” This along with another site that I found bringing attention to the two lightning strikes onto the dome of St. Peter’s that evening added an mysterious emphasis that the Pope’s action demanded the world’s attention.

So what is happening? Well… if my research is leading me in the right direction, this is something really big and revolutionary in the Church.

According to Robert Moynihan, a reliable, long-time Vatican observer and Founder of Inside the Vatican magazine, who also finds himself disturbed about the Pope’s announcement, wrote:

“Are there facts the Pope has weighed in making this decision that we simply don't know about, or don't know fully? … Does the Pope have information about the possible course of events in the months ahead that led him to conclude that he needed to allow a younger, more energetic man to take over his office from him, so that the Church's highest authority could take action quickly and decisively as events unfold?”

It is clear to me that the Holy Father’s fatigue has come about from much more than aging. In reading other commentators online, they have revealed an aggressive battle going on within the Catholic Church and a notably rising tide of hatred towards authentic Christianity from outside. Moreover, a comment from Benedict, adds to the impression that resignation was decided for strategic reasons. A new pope had to be quickly chosen because of the pace of alarming events both within and outside the Church. During his Ash Wednesday homily, Benedict stated: 

“I am thinking in particular of the sins against the unity of the Church, of the divisions in the body of the Church.”

And then we should remember these words from his first Mass as Pope: 

“Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.”

Is he fleeing from the wolves, especially those within the Church, who he knew would inevitably, incessantly attack him during his pontificate? I highly doubt it. They have been even more brutal than he anticipated in response to his determined rolling back of some of the chaos that followed Vatican II and his strong rebukes to all the elements of the Culture of Death. According to Life Site News, they say that “Benedict’s resignation should instead, be seen as a deeply humbling self-sacrifice to pave the way for an urgently needed stronger pope and stronger Church.”

Benedict's radical action and sense of urgency for doing so makes more sense in the light of excerpts from what then Fr. Ratzinger stated in a series of 1969-70 radios addresses on German and Vatican radio. These were published in 2009 in the book, Faith and the Future.

“The church will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning.

She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes…she will lose many of her social privileges…. As a small society, [the Church] will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members…."

"…But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.”

The Holy Father’s words in these radio excerpts echo to me the same kind of words that Our Lady of Good Success spoke when talking about the end times, and the Church’s faithful becoming less and less. This is not saying that we are loosing members to our Church, no, but I would venture you to consider how many of our members are all good practicing Catholics who follow their Catechism to a T? And don’t get me wrong; I am guilty of this too in my lack of full knowledge of all Church teachings. It is not too far off to say that we all need a restart in our faith, since our faithful members are becoming less.

So, something needs to be done. According to Our Lady of Good Success, we should not be afraid because as she points out, “The Church will return to her former beauty.” A reset is at hand I believe. And Benedict's past Sunday Angelus prayers, as reported by Vatican Insider, fit this same theme. He prayed:

“The time of testing is here. We must not use God for our own ends.”

Recently in last December 2012, Pope Benedict promulgated Intima Ecclesiae Natura, a law whose consequences will have a serious and lasting impact, especially in the United States.

As Christopher Manion of Crisis Magazine reports: “In the next twenty years, we will witness one of the biggest shifts in Church’s educational and charitable activities. When Intima Ecclesiae Natura, is fully implemented, the Church will have to sever its ties with an increasingly hostile, even hedonistic, secular government, and cease accepting government funding for its charities, its educational institutions, and its hospitals. The results will be revolutionary—and liberating.”

“Benedict has set in motion dramatic processes to correct the abuses and damages and steer all Catholic agencies back onto their correct path of being part of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Very many have strayed far from that primary role of Christian charities and in fact, as we have shown, many Catholic Church-funded groups actively oppose Christian principles on life, family and other crucial issues.”

Australian Cardinal George Pell's response to the resignation explains more of why Benedict felt he had to make way for a more energetic pope to carry on the multifaceted reforms that he began. Pell states, as reported by CathNews: The new Pope must save the Catholic Church from waning influence amid the evils of modern society "If we go under, we surrender to the tides that are breaking up families, decreasing the birth rate, the challenges of alcoholism and drugs and pornography. If we collapse or we wobble disastrously, it won't be for the good of the western world at all," he said.

It is also important to note something else that I forgot to look at in my research for my article on “Papal Prophecies”. A lot of these events that are occurring are also surprisingly pointing us to the events that are described in the Third Secret of Fatima. Yes, Fatima!

In the portion of the Third Secret revealed by the Vatican in the year 2000, there is a vision of the Holy Father passing “through a big city half in ruins”, who is then “killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions”.  Earlier in the same vision, Sister Lucia also reports seeing one she refers to as “a Bishop dressed in white”.  Yet she did not refer to the Bishop in white as the Holy Father, but only said “we had the impression that he was the Holy Father”.

This is very interesting why Sister Lucia used the term “Bishop dressed in white” in the first part of the vision, rather than the name “Holy Father”, who she later identified as being killed? Does this vision refer to two different men: one who is the Pope and another who is only dressed like a pope? Prophecies are usually unclear until they unfold, but recent events may shed a new light on this curious phrase used by Sister Lucia.

As we know now according to Fr. Georg Ratzinger, the brother of Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father will continue to wear white after he has resigned, and he will retain his papal name, yet be referred to as His Holiness Benedict XVI, Bishop Emeritus of Rome. So basically he will be “a Bishop dressed in white”. Is this the future bishop dressed in white that Sister Lucia was referring to? If so, is it he who is killed by the group of soldiers, as shown in the Vision? Or is the Vision perhaps referring to a future pope – the one Sister Lucia calls “the Holy Father” who is reigning while Benedict XVI is still alive? 

It is interesting to note that Pope St. Pius X also had two visions that were similar to the Fatima Vision of Sister Lucia. In 1909, during an audience with members of the Franciscan Order, St. Pius X had a vision of a future pope fleeing Rome. He said:

"What I have seen is terrifying! Will I be the one, or will it be a successor? What is certain is that the Pope will leave Rome and, in leaving the Vatican, he will have to pass over the dead bodies of his priests!" 

Just before he died Pope St. Pius X had another similar vision, in which he saw a future pope of the same name fleeing over the bodies of his brethren, before being killed himself.       

"I have seen one of my successors, of the same name who was fleeing over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in some hiding place; but after a brief respite, he will die a cruel death”.

It will be very interesting if the next pope we see takes the name Pius XIII - “the same name” as Pius X. All-in-all it is clear that something big is happening here in the Church. And it is very possible that we are progressing towards to the events foretold at Fatima. May we renew our courage and zeal for the Faith, always remembering the words of Our Lady of Fatima: In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.  

Reform Your Heart... Not the Church!

­In the wake of Pope Benedict’s announcement, you may have heard many discussing how “they think the Church needs to reform.” Whenever I hear this I just want to bust out laughing. “Oh please, dear media, celebrities and pop culture enthusiasts… please tell us how you think the Church that Jesus Christ founded needs to reform!?” Are you serious? Where do these people come off thinking that they have this great knowledge of what is right for the Catholic Church?

One of the first things I often hear is that the Church needs to change the Sacrament of Holy Orders to allow women to be priests. According to them, this would help in the Church’s vocation problem and also show that the Church is “with the times” on the equality of women.

Right off the bat, I can’t believe that this argument still continues? It’s about as pointless as people demanding that the government release documentation on alien life! It’s ridiculous! And really a blasphemy to the Sacrament of Holy Orders!

Let’s get some things straight on this issue. Number one, it’s not up for debate in the Church, so making this an issue is only creating excuses aroused by the Devil to have aversion to the Church. If you are someone who thinks that the Church needs to allow women to be Priests, then you clearly have no knowledge of what the Sacrament of Holy Orders is all about, nor its meaning to our salvation. There are many arguments out there that have been said that truly hold no weight what-so-ever on this topic! And if you believe any of them, then you have truly been fooled, so let’s clear some things up.

The most common argument is that Jesus never ordained women because at the time it wouldn’t have been acceptable. This is such an ignorant statement. We know that historically Jesus did many things that were unacceptable at that time in history. So many unacceptable things including for example, even allowing women to be amongst His followers, that it eventually lead Him to His death. If Jesus wanted women priests in His Church to begin with, He would have ordained them, and instructed His Apostles to ordain them and the people of those times would welcome it because Jesus said so. However the mere fact that He didn’t even ordain His own beloved mother who was the best woman that ever lived, clearly points out that this was not a matter of social politics, but actually a matter pertaining to the spirit. Men and women are created equal in many ways, but we are not the same. We are still created wife and mother, husband and father. Roles that are not interchangeable. The role of a man being called to the priesthood is true poetic justice to his fall in the Garden of Eden. Because man failed to protect his wife in the Garden of Eden, it has been put upon men this task to now protect the Church who is the Bride of Christ.

When Christ came into this world, He came as a man. Why? Because the essence of man as created by God, is to be leader, protector and father. Jesus showed men how to truly act like men by showing Himself as the “New Adam.” Since the first Adam failed, Jesus shows us the true way to be, and therefore through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, man is called to act in Persona Christi, (in the person of Christ). To protect, lead and father the Church and the children she bares. This is not a feminine role. Of course Jesus showed us all how to live out our calling in Baptism to be priest, prophet and king. But this is a different kind of priesthood than that which is given to us in baptism. For any man, Christ has given us the example of how to live our lives as true men of God. And the Sacramental Priesthood is a good fulfillment to that nature as a man.

For a woman to want to be a priest, it wouldn’t make any sense. They want to become more manly like Christ? No. A woman should feel the call to be more feminine like Our Blessed Mother, who like I mentioned, was never ordained a priest. Mary was the only perfect woman that ever lived. She is even referred to as the “New Eve”. Who wouldn’t want to model their femininity after hers? Unless for some bizarre reason you think you are better than the Blessed Mother?

Besides the spiritual reasons behind why women can’t be ordained, the Church has made it clear for centuries that this is a dogma of the Church and cannot be changed. Even Blessed Pope John Paul II made it clear in his apostolic letter “Ordinatio sacerdotalis” in 1994 that even if the Church wanted to ordain women, they do not have the power to do so. He even concluded his letter by speaking from the Chair of Peter and declaring infallibly that, “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.” By the Pope stating “I declare” this is an infallible statement, it therefore should be understood that this issue is… case closed!

But what about how it could help vocations in the Church? This is also a false accusation that is about as equal too Obama’s idea that if we spend more, our national debt will go away. The answer is no, ordaining women would not help the vocations problem. It would only hurt Holy Mother Church and her children. The vocations problem is not caused by not allowing women to be priests, it’s because currently no one is taking their faith seriously. Before Vatican II when the seminaries were overflowing with vocations, the faithful were serious about their faith. Now-a-days when there are such things as “Clown Masses” and homilies that start out with a joke, the seriousness of a vocation is lost. What is needed is a return to the reverence and traditions of the Church, along with a greater understanding of our Catechism. If you look at parts of the Church that are very traditional and have a stronger reverence for the Eucharist, there you will find many vocations growing day by day.

Another thing to mention is that the argument to allow priests to get married is another idea that truly holds no weight in helping the Church. Although even St. Peter himself was married and some priests who are apart of the Eastern Rites of the Church allow their priests to be married, this does not help vocations. It actually makes the vocation a lot tougher! Ask any married priest of one of the Eastern Catholic Rites of the Church and they will tell you that life, as a married Priest is no picnic.

Yet some will also say that allowing priests to get married would also help the abuse scandals in the Church. False. The abuse scandals were not caused because the practice of being celibate.  The abuse scandals came about because of temptations and feeling in these men that were never addressed and eventually a sin was committed. And because of these incidents, the Church is taking action to better council these men and helps them to fight these impure temptations.  Allowing them to marry is not a solution. Remember that even Protestant Ministers have had similar problems in their churches, and many of them are married.

On the issue of allowing even contraception in the Church… that also will never happen. God said from the beginning, “be fruitful and multiply,” do you really think that His Church would condone a practice that would put a stop to life? No. Even Humane Vitae states many of the dangers that contraception can cause. I think people often view contraception as a necessity when having a family and wanting to space each child out. Or people might also think that it is important to give it to your children so that they don’t get pregnant by “mistake”.

Lets all remember that a baby is not a mistake. If two people, whether they are married or not, engage in a sexual embrace, there is likely a chance that they could become pregnant. This is not a new phenomena people! If you don’t want to have children, then don’t put yourself into that scenario! And especially, if you are someone who doesn’t want kids… then marriage really isn’t for you. Marriage by historical definition from the beginning of time was made for a man and a woman to be joined together to bring life into this world and raise that life as mother and father. If you are not ready to be a father or mother, then you are not ready for marriage! And if you are married and are not open to life, then you might need a reform of your marriage because you are missing out on one of the greatest gifts that this sacrament holds. And don’t worry about the number of children God gives you. If a child is conceived, then they have a purpose and mission set by God to live out in this life. We must remember that God watches over all of us, and takes care of us. (Matthew 6:26) Therefore no one should every worry about how they will support their children because as long as you have faith in God, He will never give you more than you can handle. I was even told the story once of a family that was down to their last dime, and the father put that dime into the collection box at Church. His wife was so angry at him for what he did, but he knew God would provide for them. And sure enough when they arrived home, neighbors had left baskets of food on their doorstep. God is good!

You see the Church teaches these things not to be “behind the times”, but rather they are ahead of the times. The Church knows by the guidance of the Holy Ghost what is right and what is wrong for the faithful. Even Jesus preached about how it is wrong to follow the traditions of men (Mark 7:8) instead of the commandments of God. The traditions of the Church are not that of men, but are the teachings of Jesus Christ handed on down through the Apostles and Bishops of the Church. It is the Catholic Church herself that is the only Church that holds steadfast to the truth of God, because the Spirit of God runs her. Who are we, to tell God to reform His Church? It is those of us who find quarrel with the Church who rather need a reform of heart so that the next time we hear one of these fantasy stories about how the Church should be, we will know it is nothing more than a fantasy.