A Prophetic Response
One
During a 40-year period, from 1594-1634 in Quito, Ecuador, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Venerable Mary de Jesus Torres, Mother Superior of the Conceptionist Sisters, a missionary order from Spain. The messages from these apparitions to Mother De Jesus Torres are as amazingly accurate as they are disturbing, predicting 400 years ago events in our own day. In one of the messages, Our Lady said, “Unbridled passions will give way to a total corruption of morals because Satan will reign through the Masonic sects, targeting the children in particular to insure general corruption. Unhappy, the children of those times! Seldom will they receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. As for the sacrament of Penance, they will confess only while attending Catholic schools, which the devil will do his utmost to destroy by means of persons in authority.” Our Lady goes on to predict the existence of a small number of souls who will secretly preserve the treasury of faith and virtues by how they live. I am utterly convinced that she foresaw the existence and purpose of Movements like ours. Everyone needs a group of family and friends with whom we share life and integrate our faith so we can enrich one another by our gifts and stretch each other by our weaknesses. And this is the very place where we invite those who have lost sight of God so that they too may share in our joy. This is how we transform the culture. And by doing it in homes, we will grow this movement in secret, hiding in plain sight.
Two
God sends prophets to prepare His people for His plan, especially when that plan entails painful purifications to uproot sin from its depths. The prophet Zephaniah—a contemporary of Jeremiah—preaches against the sins of Jerusalem some 40 years before its destruction in 587 BC. He details the reasons for Jerusalem’s coming calamity: blasphemy, idolatry, and sexual corruption (sound familiar?) God’s punishments, however, are designed to bring about restoration, and He always has a faithful remnant who, despite persecution, remains as leaven amidst the corruptors of their age. “But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid” (Zeph 3: 13-14). Lord, grace those of us seeking to serve you well in the sanctuaries of our homes, to live this simple way of life rooted in your Holy Family preparing for your restoration.
Three
Zephaniah ends his prophetic letter with these Messianic verses as a hope for Jerusalem and hence for us, “At that time I will bring you home, at that time when I gather you together; yea, I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, sayeth the Lord” (Zep 3:20). Our age is so similar to Zephaniah’s. His prophecy, as do all prophecies, offers clarity and hope during times of great turmoil and strife. Our age shares the wickedness of theirs. Our Lady of Fatima told the children that the sins of sexual impurity are most responsible for souls going to hell. Her solution was to have the children offer acts of self-denial to Jesus during the morning offering and at Mass. These penances, coupled with the rosary and the Holy Sacraments will bring about her Triumph over modern iniquities. There is an old proverb which states that a falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest. The noise of our modern culture is more of a cacophony as there are many trees falling. Let us not get distracted with the noise, but rather, let us grow and spread so that the members of this Movement of the Holy Family can be soldiers of her Triumph and witnesses of Christ’s restoration.
Four
Our Lady’s solution to the principal evils of our age revolves around the rosary. This is because the rosary accomplishes four things when prayed with devotion: Friendship with God; Community; Formation; and Mission. First, we give time to God in prayer to purify our hearts to lead us into deeper union with Him. Our Lady promises to give all her powerful assistance to this end when we pray her rosary. Second, we come together in community and friendship. Our homes and relationships experience renewal when we do this. If you feel that your homelife is a disaster, and/or feel a sense of isolation from others, then getting off your couch and getting your team together to share life and pray will transform you. Third, the reflections of the rosary teach us our faith and help us avoid manipulation by the enemy and his worldly minions who use ignorance and error to enslave us. Jesus tells us that He is truth, and this truth sets us free! But we must study and apply it. Finally, in sharing friendship and the rosary with others we have a simple and clear mission to bring them to Jesus through friendship, conversation, and this rosary. This is why Our Lady established the rosary as the privileged means to defeat evil and bring her victory.
Five
The sin of the world creates its own painful consequences which the Scriptures call punishments. Or, as the prophet Hosea put it, what we sew in the wind we will reap in the whirlwind! Penance involves practicing self-denial and prayer, but it also involves a Sacrament: The Sacrament of Penance or Confession. As we pray this decade, let us examine our excuses as to why we avoid utilizing this sacrament. What are your excuses? The prophets warn us about what God must do in a world which refuses to turn from sinful living. The punishments are great. But all we need to do is simply go to this sacrament and have these evils removed.
There’s a beautiful scene in the miniseries The Chosen, when Mary Magdalen comes back to our Lord after having abandoned Him to revert back into sinful living. Our Blessed Mother greets her return, and brings her to Jesus, standing with Mary Magdalen to comfort and strengthen her as she comes before our Lord. Take the rosary into your examination of conscience and ask Mary our Mother to stand with you when you go to the Sacrament of Penance or confession so you won’t feel alone and fearful. And know that great saints experienced backsliding and returned to former sins. They persevered, however. Don’t let shame keep you from responding to Jesus. Persevere! Our Mother greets us all there at the Sacramental doorway and will always guide us and lead us to her Divine Son.