For so very many years, I have been sobered by this thought, a thought that unsettles me increasingly:
Back in 1917 in a little villiage in Fatima Portugal, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children between May and October. She predicted that the war that was then raging, the one we know now as WWI-in which some 37,000,000 people were killed-would soon end. It did end the next year in 1918. She went on to say "but if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out during the reign of Pius XI". Then the world experienced the 7 years of WWII with all of its attrocities and the use of horrible weapons including the atomic bomb-an other 60,000,000 dead.
Where are we now? Have we ceased offending God? No! Sin is not only increased, it is practically glorified! Divorce as common as marriage, co-habitation, contraception, abortion, homosexual "marriage", and rampant pornography, sex, sex, sex, sex, and more sex!!! In the grocery store, in the kindergarten class, in the library. Worship the earth, global warming, -oh, I mean climate change, yes, that's what they call it now, yes, climate change- swallow the lie, pay the carbon tax, save the trees, sustainable development, don't offend anyone.....keep smiling, it's all good.
Children now use the Lord's name in vain routinely, something which cuts me to the core. The Sabbath Day is go-to-the-mall-day and fix-the-car-day and build-a-fence, paint-the-house, and mow-the-grass-day. Church? What's that?
No one needs to look far beyond the tip of his nose to see that mankind has a serious spiritual illness. If the earth is convulsing, it is because man has lost his sense of balance.
If this seems a bit disjointed, read on a bit; let's go on a little mental trip and come back to Fatima later.
Think about the beauty of what God made. We begin the Credo "We believe in One God, the Father the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, and in Jesus Christ His only son, Our Lord............through whom all things were made...............We believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord the giver of Life.........."
Creation is astoundingly beautiful, incomprehensible really. Consider all of what science has taught us about God's creation. Can a single person comprehend it? I am filled with wonder at it all.
What is the most amazing part of creation? I think that it is the order of it all. It's all ordered so magnificently that it's mind boggling! Atoms, genes, gravity, light, chemistry, mathematics, resonance, cells, germs, physics, biology, biochemistry, astronomy, etc. It all follows a beautiful and often elusive order.
Then there is man. His body alone is magnificent! A lifetime can be spent on studying the body and who can fathom it? Then there is the mind, and then the spirit. What a marvelous trinity that is.
Then there is the human will. Is it ordered? Think about the 10 Commandments, are they ordered? Yes, I think profoundly so. The first three are about God: God is First, His Name is Holy, Keep The Sabbath. The fourth? Honour thy Father and Mother. God is to be honored by man and similarly children are to honor their parents. Very orderly I would say.
So now, back to the world of sin. What is going on today? Man has made himself God and has decided that he can destroy God's most magnificent creation-the baby in the womb-at will. So man denies God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If 60,000,000 dead in WWII is horrific, what of the 45,000,000+ EVERY YEAR by abortion!? The blood of the innocents cry to heaven for justice.
Denial of God, blasphemy of His Holy Name BY CHILDREN, and disregard for the Sabbath. The Bible too says that in the last times that children would be disobedient to parents. One, two, three, four.........
Now look back at the Fatima prophecy and compare the weight on the scales in 1917 as compared to now. Getting the picture?
God loves us so much and we are in a time of tremendous Mercy! This hour of Mercy is getting stretched very thin, VERY VERY thin!
If the world in 1917 was deserving of WWI, and in 1939 of WWII, we need to sober up quick and make use of this time of Mercy. The Lord is truly slow to anger and rich and abounding in Mercy and Forgiveness. BUT If men will not turn to Him, what is He to do?!
When a child learns to ride a bike he starts with training wheels to get the feel of it and to enjoy just riding and believing the day will come when training wheels won't be needed. Then his dad removes the training wheels and breaks his back for a couple of hours guiding the child without wheels, catching him, and helping to learn to balance. "Look around. Keep your head up. Watch where you are going. Sit up nice and straight. Relax and have fun!" And in no time the child learns the laws, the feel, and the limits of gravity. He may get a scrape or two and that's maybe a good thing to drive home the point that there are rules that are there in nature. The child always wears a helmet with the hope that it will only ever need to look nice and sparkly blue rather than needing to actually protect his head in a crash. Riding sure is wonderful!
Creation is so magnificent and our will is the thing that we must keep in balance. When we keep the balance according to the laws, we experience freedom and joy. Living in joy magnifies our freedom and we don't need to worry about the helmet we wear! We must keep joyful hope simply because that is the best way to live.
I don't know of anyone who rides a bike grudgingly without joy with the attitude that it is only a matter of time before he falls off. Right now though, there are a host of people riding drunk, no-hands through life on the precipice without a helmet. And if you are on a precipice, the helmet may not do you much good when you finally lose your balance.
Young people often look to mentors for inspiration. Perhaps they look to an Olympic Champion for inspiration on how to ride a bike competitively. That's what the whole brand endorsement industry is about, after all. "Be fashionable just like William and Kate!" How about we imitate a TRULY deserving model? What about trying in simple ways to be like Mary and keep a pure intention in everything we do? In my next blog I will try to give some concrete ideas about what that really means.
Let us pray for conversion-of our selves-and for peace.
