Mark Shea on Elton John & Francis | NOVUS ORDO WATCH

The Illuminati: PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM FALSE PROPHETS AND THE FALSE PROPHET AND THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FIRES OF HELL.: false Church of the Illuminati, False Prophets, False Religions, PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE FALSE PROPHET AND THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FIRES OF HELL.

Mark Shea on Elton John & Francis | NOVUS ORDO WATCH

Mark Shea says Elton John’s Admiration for Francis shows he is “revisiting what the Gospel has to say”

The other day we reported on Elton John’s admiration for “Pope” Francis, Jorge Bergoglio. In a fundraising event to fight AIDS, the British Sodomite said he wants the putative Pope to be declared a “saint now”, and that he considers him his “hero.” While anyone who isn’t yet completely brain-dead would, in the context of who Elton John is and what has transpired so far with regard to “Pope” Francis, see this for yet another confirmation of what utter shame and disaster Bergoglio has brought on the name “Catholic”, the one American blogger who can always be counted on to come down on the wrong side of an issue (with very few exceptions), Mark Shea, sees this as proof that Elton John is opening himself up to the Gospel!

On his infamous Catholic and Enjoying It blog, the Protestant-to-Novus-Ordo convert Shea writes:

He [Elton John] joins a growing list of people (who represent millions more), hitherto disaffected from the Church, who find they trust and admire him and are revisiting what the gospel has to say because of him.

Meanwhile, it is the mark of the madness of our age that the Greatest Catholics of All Time [Shea’s moniker for traditionalists of all stripes —NOW] see this as an indictment of the Pope and not as an opportunity to evangelize.

When I made the remark on FB [Facebook] that the admiration of an Elton John for the pope represents an evangelistic opportunity, not a problem, for the Church, a depressing percentage of Catholics responded in ways best summed up by one reader: “Evangelism is Protestant, not Catholic.” 

Everything that is wrong with the Church today is summed up in those words. Everything.

(Mark Shea, "Elton John greatly admires Pope Francis”, Catholic and Enjoying It, Oct. 31, 2014)

Now obviously, the statement that “Evangelism is Protestant, not Catholic” is absolutely idiotic and totally antithetical to Catholicism. In condeming this, Shea is quite correct, but one will naturally always be able to find one person on the internet who, though considering himself a Catholic, nevertheless speaks nonsense. This is not exactly new, and Shea himself is a perfect example of this. But the irony is that it is precisely “Pope” Francis, Mark Shea’s hero and now also Elton John’s, who opposes evangelism, seeing it as “spiritual harassment” and denouncing it as “proselytism”, never preaching Jesus Christ to the unconverted, even going so far as hiding his pectoral cross in the presence of his Jewish buddies and confirming Muslims in their unbelief by telling them to adhere faithfully to the Koran and lauding Ramadan as being capable of producing “abundant spiritual fruit”. He does this, of course, while paying lipservice to the Gospel, telling people in sermons to “preach the Gospel always”, yet himself eschewing every opportunity to do so. Bergoglio has replaced the Gospel with a soup-kitchen humanitarianism bearing a cross — and even that cross has to go if the soup is being handed to Jewish people. (For a list of examples of this and other contradictions coming from the two-faced Jorge Bergoglio, click here.)

What Mr. Shea doesn’t understand — or refuses to acknowledge — is that Elton John is praising Francis not because the Argentinian Jesuit is such a wonderful Catholic but precisely because he isn’t. He extols him not because Francis practices the Gospel so well but because he doesn’t. Elton John is essentially saying, “Finally, there’s a man like me on the Chair of Peter, a man after my own heart. Finally, the church is starting to come around to my way of thinking! This deserves recognition! Long live Francis!” 

This, Mr. Shea, is why real Catholics rightly see Elton’s admiration of Francis as a further confirmation of the disaster that is Jorge Bergoglio and his anti-Catholic, impious, heretical Revolution. By way of analogy, this is like Judas praising St. Peter for his betrayal of Christ — not exactly an indication that Judas is getting closer to truth and holiness, even if he is “attracted by an Apostle”.

Shea’s brilliant analysis continues:

Our task is not to keep out the riff raff and repel boarders. It is to go out into the highways and byways and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame so that the wedding feast will be full.

Yes, yes, Mr. Shea, this is quite true, but there is one minor detail which, though you alluded to it, you nevertheless fail to grasp the import of: The wedding feast can only lawfully be attended by those who have on a wedding garment, the garment of sanctifying grace (see Mt 22:11-13). While we must go out into the streets to bring people in so as to clothe them in the wedding garment, this isn’t what Francis is doing. What he’s doing is going out to the “riffraff”, inviting them in, and then complimenting them on their beautiful clothes and that no wedding garment is needed but that this whole wedding garment business is, instead, only the sign of “narrow-minded rules” that leave out of account the “love of Jesus.” He’s made the wedding celebration into a brothel, where everyone is welcome except those with the wedding garment, where those who do wear it and take care to keep it unsullied are being castigated for insisting on having to wear it. That’s what’s going on here, Mr. Shea — and we have twenty months of “Pope Francis”, and years of “Cardinal” Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, to prove it.

Let’s look at a little more of what Shea writes on this:

Will those attracted to Francis’ beautiful witness and obvious holiness [sic!!] need to repent of things? Of course. Don’t we all? But here’s the thing (and the point Francis tried to make last year in hisAmerica interview): You don’t start a life of discipleship with a set of moral precepts. You start it by an encounter with a person. The *real* magnetic force in Francis’ life is Jesus Christ. It is for us to introduce a person like Elton John (or whoever) to Jesus so that they can begin to grapple with his astonishing person. The changes in lifestyle *flow* from that encounter. They do not *precede* that encounter. If you march up to somebody and start demanding that they reorder their entire life because Sez You, you will have no success. If they have an encounter with Jesus, realize who he is and what he has done for them and the universe-shattering implications of that: they are the ones who conclude “I have to re-order my entire life.”

You see, for 1,900 years Holy Mother Church converted sinners the wrong way, using futile and insensitive tactics that only repel people instead of attracting them. Right? That’s what Shea wants you to believe.

Ah yes, that “encounter” stuff… Let’s see if we all remember our Catholic history: In the eighth century, St. Boniface Winfrid, Apostle of Germany, converted a number of pagans to Catholicism by means of the following somewhat insensitive “encounter”:

To show the heathens how utterly powerless were the gods in whom they placed their confidence, Boniface felled the oak sacred to the thunder-god Thor, at Geismar, near Fritzlar. He had a chapel built out of the wood and dedicated it to the prince of the Apostles. The heathens were astonished that no thunderbolt from the hand of Thor destroyed the offender, and many were converted. The fall of this oak marked the fall of heathenism.

(Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “St. Boniface”)

Even Mark Shea will have to admit that this isn’t exactly the type of “encounter” or “witness” you’ve heard about from Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, or Francis.

Of course there are different strategies to evangelization, as each person to be evangelized is different, and one has to take into consideration factors such as good will (that’s the most important), education, intelligence, temperament, social status and upbringing, current religious beliefs, etc. But that’s beside the point. Shea’s idea, based entirely on Vatican II theology, that if only we are all like Francis, then people like Elton John will slowly be led to Christ and to conversion, is not only preposterous but has also long been proven itself to be unworkable. The proof is in the pudding.

It’s the old “let’s open the windows” nonsense of “St.” John XXIII and his Modernist Second Vatican Council. When the Vatican II Church, in its very infancy, “opened itself to the world” beginning in 1962, what happened was not a conversion of the world to Catholicism but a conversion of Catholicism to the ways of the world. Not the Gospel was let loose on the world, but the world polluted and diluted the Gospel instead. And this isn’t just some “theory” or some “prediction” — this is historical fact. Just look at history. The Church of Vatican II has not produced massive conversions, but massive apostasy, as documented in the book Index of Leading Catholic Indicators.

In his sermon of June 29, 1972, Antipope Paul VI complained that the “smoke of Satan” had entered his church — but somehow he couldn’t manage to trace this back to his predecessor John XXIII’s opening of the windows. How strange.

If we saw the smoke of Satan in 1972, at this point it’s a raging inferno. Besides Paul VI, the other individual who is singly most responsible for ensuring that the smoke would turn into an unquenchable conflagration is “Saint” John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). He was very big on telling pagans how wonderful they were, not only they as human beings but also their false religions. The following two shocking articles give a detailed account of what transpired in 1986 and 1993 when John Paul II traveled to India and Benin, respectively:

• Wojtyla Gets a Third Eye: John Paul II’s Pilgrimage to India
• Voodoo You Trust? John Paul II’s Betrayal in Benin

To comment on just one example, in Africa in 1993, John Paul II praised the satanic Voodoo cult in these words (quote found in the second article linked above):

You have a strong attachment to the traditions handed on by your ancestors. It is legitimate to be grateful to your forbears who passed on this sense of the sacred, belief in a single God who is good, a sense of celebration, esteem for the moral life and for harmony in society.

Sounds just like the kind of “encounter” Mark Shea has in mind, doesn’t it? So then, we ask: Where are the converts?Where is that flood of people abandoning the Voodoo religion and embracing Catholicism because of John Paul II’s “encounter” with them in 1993? And for every single person who did perhaps convert, how many abandoned the Faith because of Wojtyla’s scandalous praising of witchcraft and paganism?

In India, John Paul II received the heathen Mark of Shiva, as proved beyond doubt in this video, which also includes a powerful refutation of Jimmy Akin’s attempt to spin it into something else. Wojtyla did not preach Jesus Christ to the pagans, but the “dignity of man”.

In 1985, the same John Paul II had gone to Togo, Africa, and was only too happy to explain in a General Audience following his trip, just what he had done there: “Particularly striking was the prayer meeting in the sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy at Lake Togo, where I also prayed for the first time with animists" (General Audience, Aug. 21, 1985, n. 8; italics added).

Okay then: Where are the pagans that have converted and abandoned their paganism because of all the interreligious dialogue, the interreligious prayer, the peace initiatives, etc., since Vatican II? Where are the converts from Judaism that came as a result of Benedict XVI blaspheming Christ in a synagogue in Cologne in 2005? Where are the fruits we have been promised by the likes of Mark Shea for decades? Fruits we have seen indeed, but not the kind of fruits that Shea is still trying to convince people will eventually follow.

Elton John - Ready for Catholicism?

Only Mark Shea could come up with nonsense like that...

By the way, Elton John is by far not the only celebrity of the pagan left endorsing Francis. There’s another one who has said he is quite “impressed” with the Jesuit “Pope”: Barack Obama. According to Mark Shea’s reasoning, this shows that Obama is drawing closer to Catholicism and he is now more ready to be evangelized than before. Gee, look at all these “converts” Francis is making! A few more years of Bergoglio and his new-found “mercy”, and the whole world will be Catholic!

Get a different job, Mark Shea — one that has nothing to do with religion.

Related Links:

• Mother Teresa: “I Love All Religions!”
• Should Catholics Respect False Religions? Examining Scripture & Tradition
• Fr. Faber on what will make the Antichrist so deceptive

The answer to the above is True Paradosis, True Apostolic Tradition: 


The Justice of God: Re: the so-called "Traditio" site and the rest of pretend tradition

The whole game of Apostate Babylon presenting the "Universal earthly head over the non-church."

"So, sedevacantists do not even reject the pope, but profess they need one and want one. This means with "greater reason" their consecrations are recognized as valid."

That is the whole game of Apostate Babylon, both traditionalist recognize and resist (i.e. SSPX) and the Sedevacantist (there is no valid Pope since the Apostate Antipope John XXIII, but we have to have one) in regard to presenting the"Universal earthly head over the non-church." i.e. - The Ecumenical Church, see: Οικουμένα in Greek Isopsephia is exactly 666

Real Tradition was and is much simpler.

True Tradition is to be observed.

True Tradition is parádosis.

House Churches are to preserve True Tradition.

PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM FALSE PROPHETS AND THE FALSE PROPHET AND THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FIRES OF HELL.

PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE FALSE PROPHET AND THE ANTICHRIST AND THE FIRES OF HELL. Click on picture

 
click on picture

Various False Prophets to mention only a very few from among numerous:

The Illuminati: Groeschel

The Illuminati: Οικουμένα in Greek Isopsephia is exactly 666: see all the false prophets, antipopes, pagan and gnostic false teachings and teachers herein

The Illuminati: Mother Angelica

The Illuminati: Ikeda

The Illuminati: (Sadanaga) Williams

The Illuminati: Bab and Bahai

The Illuminati: Al Hakim

Frankist--followers of Jacob Frank, 
Masonry, 
Mormonism, 
Rosicrucianism, 
Sabbateanism


The Illuminati: 7th - 14th Century

The "Muhammad" of the Hadiths and the "Muhammad"of the Shi'ites are both false prophets. There is no way to know what the original Muhammad of history actually thought and believed, the Quran was compiled later and if interpreted properly backs up the Gospel, except it leaves out the most crucial, Baptism and Communion, which we cannot do. See The Final Trial

622 - "Birth" / Islam - "On June 15th, 622, the Prophet Muhammad [570-632 A.D.] fled to Medina. His preaching was soon accepted, and the community-state of Islam emerged."

Anyone calling himself the Universal Bishop according to one of the four Great Church Fathers of the West (the four Great Doctors of the West) Pope St. Gregory the Great, died 604 A.D., (Gregory did not style himself as Universal Bishop, but instead reviled the term as from the Devil) is a precursor of the Antichrist and therefore a False Prophet.

607 - "Pope" Boniface III / Rome, Italy -

The Bishop of Rome is the bishop of the Holy See and is more commonly referred to as the Pope. The first Bishop of Rome to bear the title of "Pope" was Boniface III in 607, the first to assume the title of "Universal Bishop" by decree of Emperor Phocas. [....]" [Based on:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_of_Rome]

All the Jew's Rabbis since Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared on earth have been false prophets and antichrists.

600 - Talmud Completed - "The Talmud was completed about 600 A.D."

Consider that the Jewish Talmud - which Rabbis declare outranks the Torah or anything in the Bible - is loaded with the most venomous hatred of Jesus, the New Testament, and Christians. The Talmud calls Jesus "a bastard" (Yebamotth 49b), has Him boiling in excrement in hell (Gittin 56b), says Christians deserve to be killed (Sanhedrin 43a), that the New Testament is "blank paper" (Shabbath 116a), etc. Talk about "Hate Crimes"! 

The Illuminati: Mani and Manichaeism

The prophecies of the Apocalypse show that Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition to the Church of Christ

"The prophecies of the Apocalypse show that Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition to the Church of Christ "Antichrist will assume the role of Messias; his prophet will act the part of Pope, and there will be imitations of the Sacraments of the Church. There will also be lying wonders in imitation of the miracles wrought in the Church. (p.119)     "And, there seems to be no reason why a false Church might not become universal, even more universal than the true one, at least for a time." (p.155) Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, D.D., The Church of Christ, An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise. Herder, St. Louis and London, 1927 & 1941. "16.  The followers of Antichrist will be marked with a character in imitation of the sign that St. John saw upon the foreheads of the servants of God.  This indicates that Antichrist and his prophet will introduce ceremonies to imitate the Sacraments of the Church.  In fact there will be a complete organization ―― a church of Satan set up in opposition to the Church of Christ.  Satan will assume the part of God the Father; Antichrist will be honored as Saviour, and his prophet will usurp the role of Pope.  Their ceremonies will counterfeit the Sacraments and their works of magic be heralded as miracles.  A similar project was attempted in the fourth century when Julian the Apostate counterfeited Catholic worship with pagan ceremonies in honor of Mithras and Cybele.  He established a priesthood and instituted ceremonies in imitation of Baptism and Confirmation." Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, D.D. The Apocalypse of St. John Discussion on Apoc: xiii, 16. John W. Winterich, Columbus, Ohio, 1921 Rv:6:9: 9 ¶ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. (DRV) This is the below and in part would be the Palestinian Christian Martyrs. For the beginning of the Palestinian Christian Martyrdom see: http://www.fatherfeeney.org/point/55-apr.html Father Feeney excerpt: A communique from Brother Anthony Bruya, O. F. M., on the plight of the town of Rameh, bears vivid witness to the special hatred which has been shown to Catholics in the Holy Land. Israeli forces occupied Rameh, a two-thirds Christian community, and while permitting the Mohammedan Arabs to stay, ordered all Catholics to “leave within half an hour.” To back up the order, the Israeli commander reminded the Christian townspeople of what had happened to the residents of Deir Assin and Tireh — who were massacred in the streets for daring to question the authority of a Jewish army leader. Similar atrocities have taken place in Haifa, Sheframr, Maslia, Tarshiha, and a hundred other places. But perhaps the most touching and tragic report is the one dated January 15, 1952, in which Archbishop George Hakim of Galilee protested in vain to the Israeli government over the mass destruction of the totally Catholic village of Ikret. Church, schools, rectory, homes — everything was in shambles. And what is more, wrote the Archbishop, the Jews perpetrated all this on Christmas Day itself. The assault on Ikret, like all the rest of Israel’s anti-Catholic outrages, was in no sense an “unavoidable casualty” of the recent Jewish-Arab warfare. All of the first-hand Catholic observers are quick to make this point. Indeed, in his summary report on the Holy Land situation, the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Hughes, has very plainly charged that there is now in operation a “deliberate Jewish effort to decimate the Arabs and to destroy Christianity in Palestine.” End of Father Feeney excerpt. Rv:6:9: 9 ¶ And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. (DRV) “At the breaking of the fifth seal St John sees the souls of the martyrs beneath the altar where they enjoy eternal happiness in union with Christ, yet they cry out for justice. They beseech God to manifest His Glory, His justice and His mercy by the resurrection of their bodies, the punishment of His enemies and the general judgement of all men. The imagery of this vision seems to refer to the altar of holocaust which stood in the inner court of the temple before the Holy Place. In the Jewish ritual the blood of the victim was poured out at the foot of the altar. The life of the victim was said to be in the blood: “the life of the flesh is in the blood” and again. “Beware of this that thou eat not of the blood, for the blood is for the soul and therefore thou must not eat the soul with the flesh”. Hence the life or the soul of the victim was conceived as being under the altar. In like manner the souls of the martyrs are seen beneath the altar because they too have become victims to God through martyrdom and the voice of their blood cries out to God for justice. “The voice of thy brothers blood crieth out to me from the earth”. The martyrs have received the white robes of eternal happiness and glory, but they must wait for the resurrection of the body until the number of their fellow martyrs has been filled up. They have but a short while to wait since the whole course of ages is as a few moments when compared with the eternity that follows: “For a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday which is past and as a watch in the night” This verse clearly foretells that there shall be martyrs other than those of the first ages of the church. There shall be witnesses to God by their blood in every age especially in the days of Antichrist and at the end of the world. The resurrection and general judgement shall not take place until after this last persecution. On opening of the sixth seal we catch a glimpse of the last persecution and the destruction of the world. This is to show that the prayers of the martyrs have already been heard in the designs of God and shall be answered in due time. These verses make it clear that there is no question of real locusts such as those that ravaged Egypt in the days of Moses. They are purely symbolic, and their ravages chiefly spiritual. Their sting burns and poisons the soul with false doctrines but has no power to injure those who remain faithful to the graces received in Baptism and Confirmation. For a short time these locusts are permitted to harass and persecute without killing, but they cannot destroy the church. In those days men shall seek death and find it not. The good would welcome death as an escape from the evils and miseries that surround them. Many who have been led astray by false doctrines would likewise welcome death as a relief from their doubts and remorse of conscience.  The locusts resemble horses accoutred for war. Heresy and schism are ever fruitful sources of religious wars and persecutions. The crowns indicate that rulers – emperors, kings, and princes will be arrayed against the Church as actually happened at the reformation of the 16th century. The crowns merely resembled gold, because there was but a mere semblance of real Christian charity in those days. The human faces prove that these locusts symbolize real persons. The hair of the woman probably signifies vanity and immorality; the teeth of a lions strength and cruelty. The breastplates of iron show preparedness for defense as well as for attack. The sound of their innumerable wings resembles the thunder of chariots rushing to battle. This indicates their great numbers and impetuousity. The scorpion like sting is a symbol of heresy that stings and poisons the soul. Its location in the tail signifies deceit and hypocrisy. The king of these symbolic locusts is called the destroyer (Exterminans). He is Lucifer, the angel of the abyss, the leader of the rebel angels. His minions on earth are the leaders of heresy, schism and persecution. The invasion of the locusts is the first woe predicted by the eagle. The two yet to come will fill up the mystery of iniquity with the appearance of Antichrist and his prophet. God sends a sixth angel to instruct and guide the church. This mission will still further reveal the thoughts of many hearts. The wicked continue to be separated from the just. A voice from the golden altar commands the captive angels of the Euphrates to be released. As noted above the altar is Christ who makes trials and tribulations a means of sanctification for souls and an increase of fervour and holiness in the church. They also serve to spread the blessings of the Gospel for as Tertullian says “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Christians”. Christ Himself gives command to release the captive angels thus showing that the enemies of the Church have no power against her unless God Permits. The Church can say to her enemies as Christ said to Pilate “Thou shouldst not have any power against me unless it were given thee from above”  The captive angels are demons who will arouse new enemies and increased enmities against the Church. In a figurative sense they represent the new enemies thus aroused against the Church, whether they be nations, individuals or secret societies hostile to her. Four, the number of universality indicates how widespread will be their influence. With the prophets of old the region of the Euphrates was ever the country whence came the enemies of God’s people. Its mention here indicates that these new enemies will arise among nations already hostile to the church. In a secondary sense the term may be taken literally to represent peoples from that region who are hostile to the church. The Four angels of the Euphrates now ordered to be released may be the same as those whom Christ forbade to injure the earth until the Church should be formally established after the persecutions. Even the time for the manifestation of these evil spirits and their minions has been accurately fixed in the designs of Providence. The very day and hour has been determined. Great numbers will be done to death in the religious wars and revolutions stirred up by these angels from the Euphrates. The prophecy may also mean that large numbers will be lead into new errors and schisms. Both interpretations are fully justified by the history of the pretended Reformation and the wars that followed it. These scourges shall be more terrible than any yet predicted. The first plagues were brought to earth by the four horsemen. Then we saw four charioteers, the four winds, ready to scourge mankind. Here we find a vast array of cavalry. The chastizements sent upon the world increase with the growth of iniquity and the approach of Antichrist. The description of horses and riders in this vision gives some idea of their boldness, strength and cunning ferocity. They inflict upon men the plagues of fire smoke and sulphur. The fire is persecution and war. Smoke symbolizes the obscuring of doctrine and the weakening of faith, sulphur the moral depravity which follows. The fire smoke and sulphur issue from the mouth of the horses. From the mouth should process words of wisdom instead there comes forth heresies and incitements to revolt and revolution. It should be noted that Luther openly preached revolt and revolution to the peasants of Germany but when they put his words into practice, he turned to the princes and urged them to stamp out the revolt with fire and sword. The horses of this vision inflict injuries with their tails which resemble serpents. Amongst all peoples the serpent is a symbol of lying and hypocrisy. These vices have ever characterized the enemies of the Church. There is no question here of real artillery as some have imagined. St. John is giving only the broad outlines of the Church’s history. He is not concerned with the material means employed by men to wage war against her. The vision of locusts and the vision of cavalry horses are not two representations of one and the same event. They foreshadow two distinct events that follow one another in the order of time. The one is the great revolt against the Church brought about by the fallen star. The other consists of wars and disturbances which follow in the wake of that revolt. After these plagues have passed there still remain many who worship idols and many guilty of robbery, murder and immorality. This is verified today. Although nineteen hundred years have elapsed since the first preaching of the Gospel, whole nations are still steeped in idolatry and Christendom seems hopelessly divided by heresy and schism. An angel coming in clouds of grace and glory brings to St. John a book of further prophecies. The rainbow about his head symbolizes mercy while the brightness of his countenance expresses the power of his teachings to enlighten souls. The feet as of fire indicate that he shall lead the Church in the ways of truth and justice as the pillar of fire guided the Israelites in the wilderness. The book is open to signify that the prophecies therein revealed to St. John are intelligible and shall be understood in due time according to the needs of the Church. The angel places one foot upon the sea, the other upon the land to express God’s supreme dominion over all things. The voice like the roar of a lion is the voice of the Gospel which shall penetrate the very ends of the earth teaching divine truth, condemning error and threatening persecutors with the vengeance of God. Here as elsewhere the thunders may symbolize the anathemas of the church against all wickedness and error; but it would be useless to comment on their exact meaning since St. John was ordered to seal up the words of his prophecies until the time appointed by God for their publication. The words of the seven thunders may also have been such as St. Paul heard – “secret words which it is not granted to man to utter”. Lifting his hand to heaven the angel calls upon the God of all creation to witness the truth of his words that time shall be no more. This does not mean that the end of the world is at hand, but that the time for judgement against obstinate sinners and persecutors has arrived. This judgement shall be the greatest persecution of Antichrist and his attendant evils. Then shall be accomplished the “mystery of God” which has been announced (evangelized) by the prophets of old. To evangelize is to announce good tidings hence this mystery of God is probably the plenitude of the Redemption applied to all nations of the earth. After the destruction of Antichrist and his kingdom all peoples shall  accept the Gospels and the church of Christ shall reign peacefully over all nations. Eating the book symbolizes an intimate union with the Holy Ghost by which the mind of the Apostle is illuminated with the spirit of prophecy. St John finds the book sweet to the taste because it announces mercy to the elect and the final triumph of the church. It is bitter in so far as it predicts dire persecutions for the church and terrible punishments for the wicked. The followers of antichrist have been warned of defeat and eternal punishment – the faithful have been encouraged by the promise of victory here and the eternal happiness hereafter. The time of judgement is at hand; the final conflict now begins. The separation of the good from the bad will be still further accomplished. As on the last day Christ sends forth His angels to gather the wheat in the barns while the cockle is being bound into bundles for the fire, The gathering in of the good through martyrdom is represented as a harvest. The destruction of the wicked is depicted as the vintage of God’s wrath. The realization of this judgement will be found in the complete destruction of the kingdom of Antichrist in subsequent chapters. The reaper sitting upon a bright cloud is an angel who comes in the name of Christ to execute His orders. Hence he bears the resemblance of Christ and is surrounded by a cloud of glory. He also wears a crown of gold, the emblem of royalty because as representative of Christ he exercises dominion over all peoples. The cloud of glory and the crown of royalty might lead one to accept the reaper as Christ Himself. Yet the context makes it plain that the reaper cannot be identified with Christ since he is commanded by an angel to thrust in his sickle. Furthermore Christ has told us in the Gospel that angels shall be commissioned to separate the wheat from the cockle. The voice from beneath the altar commanding the vintage to be gathered is the voice of a martyr whose blood cries to heaven for vengeance. The martyr who has “power over fire” is probably Elias who will destroy Antichrist by sending down fire from heaven. The prohet Joel also describes the judgement of God against unholy nations as a vintage and a treading of the wine press. The wine press of divine wrath shall be trodden outside the city of Jerusalem. Final victory over Antichrist will be won through great slaughter and bloodshed in a battle near the Holy city, perhaps in the valley of Josaphat. The prophecy of Joel may refer to this event instead of the last Judgement; “Let the nations come up into the valley of Josaphat: for there I will sit to judge all nations round about…in the valley of destruction: for the day of the Lord is near” Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, D.D. The Apocalypse of St. John “In this passage there is an evident allusion to some particular son of the Church whose power and influence shall be such that Satan will seek his destruction at any cost.  This person can be none other than the Pope to be elected in those days.” Obviously this is Cardinal Siri elected at the 1958 conclave and who was Pope Gregory XVII, but reigned in exile. Now that he has died, truly the throne is vacant. “forgoing chapter” is the 12th Chapter. “In this chapter” is the 13th Chapter. “all errors which have afflicted the Church may be summed up in these seven: Judaism, paganism, Arianism, Mohammedanism, Protestantism, rationalism, and atheism.” Today these are Diabolically called the Ecumenical church. The modern Libellus is Nostra Aetate and the Teserea (Mark of the Beast) is the Novus Ordo. The equivalent to the Roman judges persecuting Christians is the RCIA and even more ominously Opus Dei. “In the forgoing chapter St. John outlines the history of the Church from the coming of Antichrist until the end of the world . . . In this chapter he shows us the true nature of the conflict.  It shall be a war unto death between the Church and the powers of darkness in a final effort to destroy the Church and thus prevent the universal reign of Christ on earth. “Satan will first attempt to destroy the power of the Papacy and bring about the downfall of the Church through heresies, schisms and persecutions that must surely follow . . . he will raise up Antichrist and his prophet to lead the faithful into error and destroy those who remain steadfast . . . . . . The Church, the faithful spouse of Jesus Christ, is represented as a woman clothed in the glory of divine grace . . . " . . . In this passage there is an evident allusion to some particular son of the Church whose power and influence shall be such that Satan will seek his destruction at any cost.  This person can be none other than the Pope to be elected in those days.  The Papacy will be attacked by all the powers of hell.  In consequence the Church will suffer great trials and afflictions in securing a successor upon the throne of Peter. “The words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians may be a reference to the Papacy as the obstacle to the coming of Antichrist:  ‘You know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold until he be taken out of the way.  And then that wicked one shall be revealed.’ “ . . . St. John  . . . sees in heaven a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns . . . The dragon is Satan red with the blood of martyrs, which he will cause to flow. The meaning of the seven heads and ten horns must be sought in the description of the beast that represents Antichrist where they symbolize kings or worldly powers. (II Thessalonians 2:6-7)  . . . Satan’s attacks against the Church will be organized and carried out by the governments and ruling powers of those days. “With the beast of Antichrist only the horns have diadems as symbols of royalty or governing power.  The heads are branded with names of blasphemy. (Apocalypse, 13:1)  Hence they symbolize the sins and errors that will afflict the Church . . . in this final struggle to prevent the universal reign of Christ all forms of sin and error will be marshaled against the Church . . .  all errors which have afflicted the Church may be summed up in these seven: Judaism, paganism, Arianism, Mohammedanism, Protestantism, rationalism, and atheism. “The dragon is seen in heaven which is here a symbol of the Church, the kingdom of heaven on earth.  This indicates that the first troubles of those days will be inaugurated within the Church by apostate bishops, priests, and peoples, — the stars dragged down by the tail of the dragon. “ . . .  The dragon stands before the woman, ready to devour the child that is brought forth.  In other words, the powers of hell seek by all means to destroy the Pope elected in those days. “. . . It is now the hour for the powers of darkness.  The new-born Son of the Church is taken ‘to God and to his throne.’  Scarcely has the newly elected Pope been enthroned when he is snatched away by martyrdom. The ‘mystery of iniquity’ gradually developing through the centuries, cannot be fully consummated while the power of the Papacy endures, but now he that ‘withholdeth is taken out of the way.’  During the interregnum ‘that wicked one shall be revealed’ in his fury against the Church.”  [In his interpretation of the Apocalypse, Fr. Berry suggests that it will the martyrdom of the Pope, immediately after his election, that will precipitate an extended interregnum, causing manifold tribulations to be visited upon the faithful.  However, the suppression of a true Pope, and the intense agony suffered by the rightful Pontiff, who watches helplessly as the Church is ravaged by demonic powers usurping his see for a generation, could certainly be compared to a type of prolonged martyrdom.] “It is a matter of history that the most disastrous periods for the Church were times when the Papal throne was vacant, or when anti-popes contended with the legitimate head of the Church.  Thus also shall it be in those evil days to come. “The Church deprived of her chief pastor must seek sanctuary in solitude there to be guided by God Himself during those trying days . . . In those days the Church shall . . . find refuge and consolation in faithful souls, especially in the seclusion of the religious life. “ . . . Our Divine Savior has a representative on earth in the person of the Pope upon whom He has conferred full powers to teach and govern.  Likewise, Antichrist will have his representative in the false prophet who will be endowed with the plenitude of satanic powers to deceive the nations. “ . . . As indicated by the resemblance to a lamb, the prophet will probably set himself up in Rome as a sort of antipope during the vacancy of the papal throne . . . “ . . . The ‘abomination of desolation’ has been wrought in many Catholic churches by heretics and apostates who have broken altars, scattered relics of martyrs and desecrated the Blessed Sacrament.  At the time of the French Revolution a lewd woman was seated upon the altar of the cathedral in Paris and worshipped as the goddess of reason.  Such things but faintly foreshadow the abominations that will desecrate churches in those sorrowful days when Antichrist will seat himself at the altar to be adored as God. “. . .Antichrist and his prophet will introduce ceremonies to imitate the Sacraments of the Church.  In fact there will be a complete organization - a church of Satan set up in opposition to the Church of Christ.  Satan will assume the part of God the Father; Antichrist will be honored as Savior, and his prophet will usurp the role of Pope.  Their ceremonies will counterfeit the Sacraments . . .”8 Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, D.D. The Apocalypse of St. John From the above: “Antichrist and his prophet will introduce ceremonies to imitate the Sacraments of the Church.” This is the Novus Ordo. Rv:18: 1 ¶ And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was enlightened with his glory. 2  And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen: and is become the habitation of devils and the hold of every unclean spirit and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird: 3  Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication: and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; And the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies. 4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues. 5  For her sins have reached unto heaven: and the Lord hath remembered her iniquities. 6  Render to her as she also hath rendered to you: and double unto her double, according to her works. In the cup wherein she hath mingled, mingle ye double unto her. 7  As much as she hath glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her. Because she saith in her heart: I sit a queen and am no widow: and sorrow I shall not see. 8  Therefore, shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine. And she shall be burnt with the fire: because God is strong, who shall judge her. 9 ¶ And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived in delicacies with her, shall weep and bewail themselves over her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning: 10  Standing afar off for fear of her torments, saying: Alas! alas! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city: for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her: for no man shall buy their merchandise any more. 12  Merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones: and of pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet: and all thyine wood: and all manner of vessels of ivory: and all manner of vessels of precious stone and of brass and of iron and of marble: 13  And cinnamon and odours and ointment and frankincense and wine and oil and fine flour and wheat and beasts and sheep and horses and chariots: and slaves and souls of men. 14  And the fruits of the desire of thy soul are departed from thee: and all fat and goodly things are perished from thee. And they shall find them no more at all. 15  The merchants of these things, who were made rich, shall stand afar off from her, for fear of her torments, weeping and mourning, 16  And saying: Alas! alas! that great city, which was clothed with fine linen and purple and scarlet and was gilt with gold and precious stones and pearls. 17  For in one hour are so great riches come to nought. And every shipmaster and all that sail into the lake, and mariners, and as many as work in the sea, stood afar off, 18  And cried, seeing the place of her burning, saying: What city is like to this great city? 19  And they cast dust upon their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, saying: Alas! alas! that great city, wherein all were made rich, that had ships at sea, by reason of her prices. For, in one hour she is made desolate. 20  Rejoice over her, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets. For God hath judged your judgment on her. 21  And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: With such violence as this, shall Babylon, that great city, be thrown down and shall be found no more at all. 22  And the voice of harpers and of musicians and of them that play on the pipe and on the trumpet shall no more be heard at all in thee: and no craftsman of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in thee: and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee: 23  And the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in thee: and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth: for all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments. 24  And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. (DRV) "The angel speaks of the fall of Rome as something already accomplished to show that it must surely come to pass. It shall be left so desolate that wild beasts will find it a fitting abode and unclean birds will hover about its ruins. Thus also did Isaias prophecy concerning ancient Babylon: 'Wild beasts shall rest there and their houses shall be filled with serpents. . . and owls shall answer one another there, in the house thereof, and sirens in the temples of pleasure. "Some interpreters take the words of the angel to mean that the ruins of Rome shall become the lurking place of evil spirits according to the words of Christ: 'When an unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest.' "The terrible destruction and desolation of Rome is a punishment for her many sins and for the sins into which she has led other nations. The kings and merchants of the earth have been led into the sins and vices of Rome, and with her they have upheld Antichrist in his efforts against the Church. "Another voice from heaven - a voice of mercy - warns the faithful of the impending ruin and exhorts them to seek safety in flight. In like manner did our Lord warn His disciples to flee from Jerusalem upon the approach of the Roman army. Heeding these words of warning the faithful fled to Pella in Peraea and thus escaped the terrible sufferings of the siege. "These verses are an apostrophe to the ministers of God's judgments, apparently the ten kings of the preceding chapter. They are to punish the wicked and unfaithful city for all the evils she has heaped upon them, presumably the evils resulting from apostacy and adherence to Antichrist. They shall punish her also for her own apostacy and worship of Antichrist: 'Double unto her double according to her works: in the cup wherein she hath mingled mingle ye double unto her.’ "The ruin and desolation of Rome shall be commensurate with her former glory, riches and power. The proud city that 'sits a queen' with neither fear nor anxiety, shall be humbled in the dust. "The kings of earth who have shared her guilt shall lament the fate of the city, but they stand afar off fearing to come to her assistance. Such is usually the friendship between nations!" Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, D.D. The Apocalypse of St. John

......................... ---------------------------------------------- Lk:1:78: 78 Through the heart of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us: Posted Jun 28, 2007, 4:39 pm Ignored by: 0