Pope Francis’ “Last Christmas” Warning
In a grim speech, the Pope said that the current chaotic state of the world marks the beginning of the “end times”, and that this time next year the world is likely to be unrecognisable. 
Francis, who previously announced the beginning of World War 3, had labelled this year’s Christmas as a “charade” during a Mass at the Casa Santa Maria earlier in the month.
“We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes – all decked out – while the world continues to wage war,” he said earlier in December.
The Pontiff, who turned 79 on Thursday, elaborated on his views this weekend, telling a crowd, “While the world starves, burns, and descends further into chaos, we should realise that this year’s Christmas celebrations for those who choose to celebrate it may be their last“. Source
Comment
Does the fact that he holds the key to ending all this war never enter the head of this pontiff? Is he really that blind that he doesn’t know that by obeying Our Lady’s simple request to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart, there will be – as she promised – a period of peace in the world? Or does he share Pope Benedict’s faithless view that, to paraphrase (but only slightly) “it can’t be that simple”? Do they also consider it an exaggeration of Our Lord to query whether or not, when He returns to earth at the end of time, He will find any faith – even in the Vatican? Speak!
Comments (96)
I’d say the Pope doesn’t believe in Fatima because if he did, he would know that Our Lady said that the Consecration would be done, although late, and that there would be a period of peace after that. That must mean that the end of the world will come after that period of peace. He’s obviously not a Fatima believer or he wouldn’t have said what he did about this being the last Christmas on earth.
Margaret Mary,
I completely agree. I don’t think the Pope believes in Fatima at all, or he’d have consecrated Russia by now. He’s always on about the wars, terrorism etc. so it’s not as if hey doesn’t know the danger in the world.
It’s not the Pope’s job to consecrate Russia. We have to be patient and trust in God’s timing. For there is an anointed one whose job it will be to make this happen. But is not Pope Francis. There is a time and place for everything to occur. We must be on God’s time not ours. And will happen when it is meant to happen.
Aprylla
We know that God brings all things to a conclusion in His own good time, but that does not excuse man from doing his duty before God.
Our Lady specifically requested that the Pope and the bishops make a public and solemn consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, promising peace if her request was granted and much suffering in the world if it was delayed. In other words, the matter was put to the free will of the Pope and bishops. So far they have chosen not to grant that request. God does not interfere with our free will, or abuse of it, so let’s not make excuses for the Pope and the bishops by saying that they really don’t have a choice. They do have a choice, just like the rest of us, to obey or disobey God. So far the have chosen the latter course.
What was it a saint said? Oh yes, “Know that all depends on God, but act as though all depends on you”. In other words, do your duty before God, not letting yourself off the hook by claiming that it’s all in God’s hands and so we don’t need to act.
The consecration of Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart was, surely, performed by St John Paul II on 25 March 1984 ? (Hence the fall of Communism).
Tony,
No. Pope John Paul signalled clearly that he had not conducted the Consecration as Our Lady specified. The only truly reliable Fatima source, with facts and figures to substantiate what they claim, is here
And Our Lady didn’t say that Communism would fall (which it hasn’t, in fact) but she did promise a period of peace in the world and for the life of me, I can’t see it.
Help!
“Do not be afraid”
The Pope doesn’t say it’s the last Christmas. Just that,things were going to be different. In other words it’s the “Beginning ” of the end….it’s not the end. All beginnings start anew.
Margret Mary wasn’t there one secret that our Lady of Fatima kept secret , due to its potential of destruction for all? Did not want to panic the people.
Kay,
No, I think it was Pope Benedict (or maybe it was the Cardinals, he was one of them, at the press conference in 2000) who made the excuse that the full contents of the Third Secret were not published because it would cause panic. Our Lady said that the Third Secret was to be disclosed no later than 1960. It was definitely not Our Lady.
Editor
Are you sure your source is authoritative? It bears no resemblance to any statements reported by The Vatican or mainstream media.
With regards his comments about sham Christmas celebrations. I assume you would agree with him. He surely means those celebrations in which Christ has no part.
Just another foolhardy Protestant rambling from a Pope who sounds like a Protestant on a daily basis.
Not sure how you connect all this with calling it a “foolhardy Protestant”. How do the Pope’s comments sound like what Protestants believe?
Our Lord said to Sister Lucia at Rianjo, “Like the King of France they will repent of it, and they will do it (the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary), but it will be late”. With the current mindset, I can’t see the necessary repentance occurring, and I think something terrible is going to have to happen first in order for the Pope and the Bishops to do it. http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/rianjo.asp
Westminster Fly,
I completely concur with your belief that something terrible is going to happen first before the Pope does what is long overdue and consecrates Russia. I also think the Pope does realise the seriousness of the world situation but so far can’t see the answer. I think we should pray that he has a Eureka moment, soon. I keep thinking that Fr Gruner’s death which was so unexpected at this point in time, was a sign that the terrible catastrophes which are descending on our world, are now unstoppable. He had done his best, but was speaking to the deliberately deaf IMHO.
Madame Editor,
I visited the source page provided by your link. I was not happy with what else was being publicised on that page. It is possible that a troublemaker sent you the link and that you have not had time to consider the environment from whence the story came.
I urge you to take down this thread please – the content of the source is not acceptable.
I think it is also untrue!
Crying for Mercy and Justice,
Most of the stuff in the news is untrue. That’s a well known fact!
Fidelis,
LOL! That’s definitely a well known fact! Where’s a reliable source these days, Rupert Murdoch? LOL!
Oh dear. Oh dear. I’m going to answer all complaints in this one-off post. Thereafter, anybody who doesn’t want to contribute to the discussion, feel free to visit the other threads.
Listen, nobody sends me malicious links. I know who sends me what. This link I found all by my pretty little self, because I thought we might have a discussion on an aspect of Advent and/or Christmas. This was first to come up and while I didn’t like the website any more than I like most of the sources giving information today (shucks. I don’t like going into a tube station due to the stuff staring me in the face, but I gotta get outa the house….) I thought it would make for a good discussion on both Advent – end times – and Christmas in all its aspects, religious, spiritual, commercial.
I should have guessed there’d be the usual shock horrors about the source and the fact that that part of the sermon isn’t to be found on Vatican.va (now there’s a surprise) – I presume he said it, you see, because while the full text of every sermon is unlikely to be published by the Vatican (although I don’t know for sure and am happy to be corrected on that, by someone who can post a link to the full text of this sermon) everything else is quoted elsewhere – see the “Christmas is a charade” headlines all over the place. The source which is considered “unreliable” by some commentators here, exists precisely to publish what other sources don’t. Or, at least to be first. That’s why I thought it worth giving it a whirl, not least because we, at Catholic Truth, know what it’s like to the that voice crying in the wilderness.
I can’t see the problem. What HAS been more widely quoted (the Christmas is a charade/wars all over the place etc) implies exactly what is the discussion topic here – if Pope Francis didn’t go on to say this may be our last Christmas, I would be surprised because, take away Fatima, and I’d be thinking the same thing myself.
In any case, may I make a humble suggestion? Thanks.
If you dislike a topic or a source yet feel compelled to comment, why not use whatever communication skills at your disposal to turn the conversation to a suitable “side issue” if you like – e.g. strong hint given in the blue editorial comment – Fatima/Consecration or just the secularisation of Christmas, the lack of “warning” i.e. prophetic sermons about the end times. After all Advent is all about the end times. We are, on one level, preparing for the birth of the Saviour at Christmas, but on another level our spiritual reading/preparation throughout Advent should make us reflect on the end times.
Of course, feel free always to express disapproval of a source – I seldom like them myself (thinking The Tablet/Catholic Herald, whatever) but there are not a lot of “traditional” sources around and using the same few all the time, isn’t a good idea.
However, I repeat, better to use whatever communications skills you have to take the discussion into safe and productive waters, if you think I’ve done the wrong thing by posting a particular source. It’s a much better approach than exhorting me to remove a thread, which I have absolutely no intention of doing. “Like it or lump it”, springs to mind 😀
PS – I’m really up to my eyes trying to do some Christmas preparation myself, especially if this is going to be the last one, so I want my family presents and wining and dining to be something to remember, if that’s not a contradiction in terms! So, please don’t expect me to be engaging in further discussion on the choice of source – the Pope may or may not have said what is quoted by our source – talk away about that. No problem. We’re all about “telling the truth”.
Surely a Christian discussion should be based on facts and not malicious tittle tattle?
CMJ
I suggest you read my comment carefully and then take the hint.
I have read what you wrote.
You pride yourself on this being, in your view, an educative site. If even only one person reads only the article, and not the subsequent comments, you have done them, and The Church, a disservice, and may cause them unnecessary distress.
Editor: this blog is second in the Google list for anyone who tries to check the claim about “last Christmas”. So, they either read only the Newswire article (in which case they have been caused, according to you, “unnecessary distress”) or they read this blog and see the comments. In which case, all “unnecessary distress” will be gone in the twinkling of an eye, not least because there isn’t anything in my blue editorial comment to suggest that we are pushing the idea that this may be the “last Christmas” (after the hassle – and expense – of Christmas shopping, does anybody really care?!) Why on earth would anybody be “distressed” anyway. I don’t get it. Catholics are supposed to be ready for death / the end times ALL the time, for “we do not know the day nor the hour”.
You will note in my original comment, on this thread, I also offered a legitimate comment, and possibly an insight, into something The Pope said with which you disagree. I then used, quote you, ” whatever communication skills” I had at my disposal ” to turn the conversation to a suitable side issue”.
Editor: I can’t remember your original comment – I’ve been and gone and done a million things since then and life’s too short to hunt for it now.
It is surely foolish, and unchristian, to disagree with something he hasn’t said.
Editor: nobody has disagreed with something the Pope hasn’t said. We’re all concerned that he hasn’t DONE something – i.e. consecrated Russia, so that, instead of worrying himself to death about all the wars around the world, he could actually act to end them. If anything is “foolish and unchristian”, it’s the Pope’s refusal to obey Our Lady of Fatima in this crucial matter. I think we’d all be interested to learn what you think of this blatant disobedience of the Pope to Our Lady’s request to consecrate Russia. Are you shocked? Do you wish he would get on and arrange the Consecration? Lemme hear…
And what of your criticism of the use of Wikipedia if you then use dodgy sources to aid your cause?
Editor: I’ve not criticised the use of Wikipedia; I use it myself, but only if there are reliable sources given in the footnotes. I distinctly remember having difficulty tracing sources when I wrote an article on the history of fashion (don’t ask) and Wikipedia was the only site with footnoted original sources which I could trace. It’s taking the statements in the body of the text as gospel truth that is a big mistake with Wiki. I remember once signing up to go into an article on Wiki to amend a blatant historical error about the Catholic Church. Next time I visited to check that my correction was still there, it wasn’t. It had been removed and the original error restored. So, there you go. As for my alleged use of dodgy sources. Listen, pal, if I want to use dodgy sources, dodgy sources I will use. Any academic will tell you that it’s great fun basing a discussion on a dodgy source. Look at the discussions emanating from the multifarious climate change websites! 😀
Editor,
LOL!
Crying for Mercy and Justice,
Where is the evidence that it is malicious tittle tattle? It looks like the website is quoting his words and it does fit in with the other stuff he’s said in the same sermon.
I don’t think it’s a surprise that the part about the end times isn’t report by the Vatican – they don’t believe in all that stuff, witness the way they venerate the UN, Climate Change agenda etc.
If it was a quote it would appear on other than their site, and this.
Further, as someone who receives daily briefings on his public statements I think I would be able to even source it myself.
CMJ,
You could be right. None of us has claimed that the report is accurate. Reports often let us down that way. Remember “weapons of mass destruction…. 45 minutes?” Definitely don’t believe everything you read (or hear in Parliament!)
It is not from any sermon published on this or any other site, That is my point.
CMJ,
That’s a good point. I’ve just said elsewhere on this thread that it is puzzling why the Newswire people would think to make up something like that. It’s a pity if he didn’t say it, though, as it would have been a real wake-up call to those who think the world is going to last forever and they can eat, drink and be merry (especially at Christmas time) with no consequences of the worrying kind. What are people LIKE?
It’s almost impossible to quote anything Pope Francis said without it being “explained” (away” by the Vatican spokesmen. The priest Fr Rosica (well known liberal type) says he didn’t even use the word “charade” which has been reported all over the place.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pope-christmas-world-at-war-1.3330823
My guess is that we’ve heard about the “last Christmas” part of his sermon because only that source has picked it up, not thinking it’s that important.
The thing is, if this pope didn’t say this, it’s not defamatory or anything, because really it’s what he’s supposed to be saying, warning about the end times, but he doesn’t say what popes usually say very often, so this is being regarded as suspicious even on the CT blog. LOL!
As for the “source” problem – we don’t reject Matthew’s Gospel because he was a thieving tax collector, do we? LOL!
The Vatican doesn’t publish all he says at his daily celebration of Holy Mass, and they explained why*, but they do publish all of his public addresses. (*Holy Mass in Saint Martha’s House is not classed as a public event.)
His comments about a sham Christmas celebration, that is without reference to Jesus Christ, is consistent with that of every Pope.
The stuff you quote from the dodgy website is not consistent with his recent addresses, or his hopes for The Year of Mercy, nor with the teaching of Jesus himself about the end times, and the fact that no-one knows the day, or the hour, he will come.
Reform of The Curia, as he called for only the other day, should hardly be a priority if we are all doomed!
CMJ,
Thank you for that information about the sermons at St Martha’s not being published. That’s helpful to know.
I agree about the “sham Christmas celebration, without Christ” – of course he is right to warn against that.
Third paragraph, good point about the hopes for the Year of Mercy, which I guess don’t include finishing with the end of the world! Having said that, he’s so confused, Papa Francis, that you just never know.
“Reform of the Curia ” – yes, somebody else said the same thing (Frankier I think) so that’s another good point, notwithstanding my observation about the Pope’s tendency to take contradictory positions – think: “Catholics needn’t be/ breed like rabbits” one day, with his praise for large families the next” You have to laugh…
For The Day of Prayer for World Communications, in 2009, Pope Benedict, in speaking of the use of the internet as a tool for Evangelisation, that is spreading The Gospel, said:
“The new technologies have also opened the way for dialogue between people from different countries, cultures and religions. The new digital arena, the so-called cyberspace, allows them to encounter and to know each other’s traditions and values. Such encounters, if they are to be fruitful, require honest and appropriate forms of expression together with attentive and respectful listening. The dialogue must be rooted in a genuine and mutual searching for truth if it is to realize its potential to promote growth in understanding and tolerance. Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth. ”
Dare I say to say publish and be damned is hardly the attitude worthy of a Catholic, especially one preparing for the end times and/or the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
I can’t see anybody saying “publish and be damned” – so I don’t get your point.
I think the Pope is right to emphasise the dangers caused by all the wars in the world today and to say that Christmas is a charade if it’s all about tinsel, parties etc and not about the genuine message of Jesus. I’d hope we would all agree with him there, but where I am personally offended is that he is refusing to do what he can to bring peace, which is obey Our Lady and consecrate Russia. That’s what I see as the real point of this thread and I think those who are clutching on to the source are mischief makers.
Sorry, Editor, if that is a personal remark at the end, feel free to delete it but I never see this sort of stuff on any other sites I visit, such as Fr Z, The Remnant, Catholic Herald, Eponymous Flower and a few others. I just never see the administrators criticised. Maybe that’s because all of them are -pre-moderated and I suggest that you do the same, to filter out the troublemakers. That’s just a suggestion, please do as you think best.
Don’t Panic is the word. This is not exactly news. Pope Francis has a reputation for talking about he end times.
http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/01/25/apocalyptic-beliefs-may-explain-why-francis-is-a-pope-in-a-hurry/
So, I’m at a loss to know why anybody here thinks it’s a big deal.
“We are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes – all decked out – while the world continues to wage war,” he said earlier in December.
These words were spoken by the Pope on his morning homily at the Domus Sanctae Marthae on Thursday, November 19, 2015 (Not earlier in December, as it says before!)
The original text reads: “siamo vicini al Natale: ci saranno luci, ci saranno feste, alberi luminosi, anche presepi… tutto truccato: il mondo continua a fare la guerra…”
Anyone interested to read the whole report of that homily can see it at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/cotidie/2015/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20151119_la-strada-della-pace.pdf
I believe some of you read/speak our language too.
As for the other part: “While the world starves, burns, and descends further into chaos, we should realize that this year’s Christmas celebrations for those who choose to celebrate it may be their last“.
The article says that the Pope “elaborated on his views this weekend, telling a crowd…
I understand this weekend to be between Friday, December 19 and Monday, 21 December; all I can say is that I have looked very closely at the speeches during these days and have found nothing even similar to these contents; also, the local and national press have not reported anything about it and I think that to be very strange! Also the failure to be exact in reporting the first date makes me distrust the journalism of that paper
I do not believe that the Pope would ever say a thing like that, but when I go into the office tomorrow I will search through the Osservatore Romano daily press and see if anything is there. I do not expect to find anything.
Extra Omnes,
I don’t think for a second that you’ll find any such report in L’Osservatore Romano. I can’t imagine what would inspire the Newswire people to make up such a quote, but since, as others have pointed out, it’s not been picked up anywhere but here, it may be that Papa Francis said no such thing. I didn’t know when I posted the article whether or not he’d said it, and I still don’t know. But, if it helps to calm fears, be assured that we are not claiming that the Pope said any such thing, merely citing one independent news-source where the claim is made.
It puzzles me, though, why you (and some others) are so amazed that the Pope might say something like that. Some of us (my unworthy self included) often query whether we’ll all be here this time next year (I say it often, January, February, March, April, May, June etc. you’ll get my drift) because things are so bad in the world around us and there is a sense of imminent danger – I remember once, some months back, hearing one of our radio broadcasting journalists (Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2 discussion show every day, between 12 – 2pm – good to hear when driving) remarking to his guest in astonishment that “the world is on fire right now”.
So, “what’s going on in the world?” is a question lots of people are asking. Breaking News: it’s actually a very intelligent question and it would be very prophetic of the Pope to warn us that since we do not know the day nor the hour when the world will end, it behoves us to stop fighting wars and celebrate Christmas worthily because it may well be our last. What’s so controversial about that? she asked, but then she admits to being a simple gal.
“I don’t think for a second that you’ll find any such report in L’Osservatore Romano…”
The Osservatore Romano (20 Nov 2015) bears the first part of the speech reported by “Newswire”. As to the second “quote”, which was attributed to the Pope who “elaborated on his views this weekend, telling a crowd, “While the world starves, burns, and descends further into chaos, we should realize that this year’s Christmas celebrations for those who choose to celebrate it may be their last“, I did some checking, made easier by the time frame (last weekend) and “the crowd”. The only “crowd” the Pope addressed during that time was on the occasion of the Angelus on Sunday and there is nothing in his address that even comes close to what is attributed to him. He had a number of public meetings with groups, but here too there is nothing of the kind.
“I can’t imagine what would inspire the Newswire people to make up such a quote”
I cannot say whether or not they made it up and I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt on the side of their innocence, for they can also be deceived or misled by any number of factors, but…
“It puzzles me, though, why you (and some others) are so amazed that the Pope might say something like that”…
this is the point I want to make: I would not be amazed if he were to say something similar, Christians are, indeed as someone has said, the people of the Last Times. The point, however, is that he did not say it and that he, as anyone, has the right to be quoted with accuracy, especially by journalists with the task of informing the public.
At the very least, my only complaint would be one of shabby investigation of the reliability of sources. Unfortunately, none of us is entirely immune from such a danger, no?
Dear editor, may I take this opportunity to wish you, and all the community of the Catholic Truth Blog, a happy and holy Christmas. I enjoy reading your input and, although I disagree with much of what you believe, on some points I do share your concerns and positions. From this side of the Tiber, tanti auguri di Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!
Extra Omnes
Thank you for your interesting contribution. I think you misunderstood my reference to L’Osservatore Romano – I meant that they would hardly (in my opinion) include the disputed quote, and you confirm that they quote merely the first part. You are, of course, right not to attribute bad motives to Newswire. I shouldn’t have suggested that they would make it up, but it would be interesting to know where they found that disputed quote. If I can find a contact email for them, I will write to ask them.
However, it puzzles me that there is so much concern about a source when the source is not the topic. The source gave an angle that suited the Advent theme of the Second Coming – that this may be our last Christmas (which is true). If you read the sermons of St Alphonsus, It would be a hardened sinner indeed who didn’t race to confession after hearing or reading one of his sermons! he is much more hard-hitting about death and judgment that Papa Francis ever could be, with his “liberal” mindset.
No, I didn’t ask readers what they thought of Pope Francis’ supposed comment about the end times. I think I made it perfectly clear in my blue editorial comment that the topic is focused on why it is that Pope Francis goes on and on and on about war, laments that the world is full of war, holds ecumenical events for peace, plants trees for peace, but ignores the fact that he holds the key to peace, and all he has to do is consecrate Russia as prescribed by Our Lady in order to win us a period of world peace. That, not whether or not he said that this may be our last Christmas (which it may) is the point of this thread. Frankly, in my view, if he really believed this was to be our last Christmas I think he just might give the consecration of Russia a whirl ! Anyway, I return to the preoccupation of some, to the matter of sources. There is no such thing as an infallible source.
One blogger cited Rorate Caeli as a “very trustworthy source” despite a discussion some time ago on this blog focused on one of their reports which turned out to be false, for which they apologised blaming their… source! They are generally thought to have highly placed sources in Rome, which is why we all tend to accept their reports without question. Yet, the email I received yesterday containing the newsletter of the SSPX Great Britain District, contained the following remarks (I append the two links which are embedded in the email version of their newsletter):
FROM THE SSPX NEWSLETTER, DISTRICT OF GREAT BRITAIN:
“During the recent Synod on the Family, a Rorate Caeli blog post praised the Polish bishops for their robust defence of the interdiction of “remarried” divorcees to receive Holy Communion. (see link no. 1) The trouble is, their arguments appear to use a theology of grace which is not found in the Catechism of the Council of Trent. Can you spot the problem? (See the next email announcement for an exposé).”
“With regards to the Rorate Caeli blog post that praised the Polish bishops (see below – link no. 2), the main error is in the idea that a person living in mortal sin can benefit from extra-sacramental sources of sanctifying grace without repentance. This (commented text – link 2) points out the problem. Another weakness of the text is the absence of any call to repentance.
1) http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.in/2015/10/synod-simple-and-to-point-polish.html?m=1
2) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzNXXt0ppu4-cm9uTzM5UlgwZW8/view?pref=2&pli=1
So, I repeat what I have often said here.
a) If the information is true, the source is irrelevant.
b) no source is infallible.
c) remember that headlines are intended to spark discussion, not to be taken literally as an infallible dogma of the faith
d) the blue editorial comment is a better indicator of the purpose of the discussion than any headline or source.
e) it is noteworthy that the headlines and sources used on other blogs, and the topics chosen for discussion, are seldom, if ever, criticised – in other words, administrators of other Catholic blogs do not seem to enjoy (suffer!) the same level of scrutiny and criticism as does the humble administrator of this blog. But then, as one blogger here reminded us, the other Catholic blogs are, all of them, I think I’m correct in saying, pre-moderated, so only the administrator would see such comments which, we can take for granted, are not published. The only other explanation possible is that they always pick headlines and sources which are universally popular. I must try that. 😀
I’ll be posting a “Happy Christmas” thread, as usual, later, but in case you’re too busy to pop in, allow me to wish you every grace and blessing for Christmas and the coming year… And we hope to be talking again with you NEXT Christmas: Newswire, eat your heart out! 😀
Extra Omnes,
I found your comments very interesting indeed. Of course you are absolutely correct in saying that everyone deserves to be quoted correctly in the press, particularly the Holy Father. I just wish His Holiness would be a little more careful to explain himself, however, as it seems from many previous reports that he rather courts controversy with his off-the-cuff ambiguous statements.
At any rate, I was quite surprised by your declaration that you disagree with much of what we here on Catholic Truth believe. Since we merely cleave to Tradition, what has always been believed and taught by the Church, that statement was rather disconcerting. Remember, we haven’t changed anything of the Faith handed down, unlike the post-conciliar folks. There’s safety in antiquity, as one saint wisely put it. Living Tradition has nothing in common with revolution, a fatc that seems lost to many of today’s progressive Churchmen. I hope you will reflect on this.
In the meantime, permit me to reciprocate your good wishes. I wish you and yours abundant blessings from the Holy Family this Christmas, and always.
.
What’s the fuss about? No Catholic should be surprised if a pope mentions that this may be our last Christmas. When I was young the priests said that every Lent, that this could be our last Lent so make it a good one. Why should that distress anyone? It’s a true saying, “We have here no lasting city”.
I’ve never seen any other administrator challenged about headlines and sources the way this one is. I wonder she doesn’t blacklist people who are obviously out to cause trouble. If they were really worried about sources they would be on to their priests to stop selling the so-called Catholic papers because they are misleading people all the time, they are full of liberalism.
I noticed the headline Afraid of Pope Francis on The Remnant website the other day and thought I’d post it here just now because it shows that sources are not that important if the content is, this anonymous priest probably speaks for many more priests than himself.
http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/1581-afraid-of-pope-francis-a-sobering-email-from-father-anonymous
I don’t see anybody pulling Michael Matt up for the headline in case it distresses readers or the letter doesn’t appear anywhere else. Maybe they’re stronger in the faith in America than here!
MM
“When I was young the priests said that every Lent, that this could be our last Lent so make it a good one.”
I remember that, as well. In fact, I recall one of our priests saying every year that someone in the parish is likely to die this Lent, and we should all think about that, the implication being it could be any one of us. Happily, there were 3,000 souls in the parish so, I thought, the chances of it being fourteen year old moi, were surely slim through to negligible. 😀
This attitude among Catholics, that speaking about death or the end of the world is undesirable, is – I suppose – the logical consequence of the modernist belief that Jesus came to save us from poverty and that justice requires that we are all able to climb the material latter of success aware of our EU and UN rights. Gimme strength!
‘Slim to negligible’?
Now I agree with the first part but “negligible”? No way, José. (Or should that be ‘No way, Jorge’?)
Spudeater,
I see what you mean… yes… you are right…. I may be (when wishful thinking takes over) “slim” but not “negligible”. I didn’t think of it that way but you are right… Well, law of averages, Spuddie. You had to be right about something eventually! 😀
I think the world is terrifying at the moment! I have four beautiful little grandchildren under the age of five and another on the way and I tremble for them. If there is, as Our Lady promised, a time of peace after the Consecration of Russia then why oh why will the Pope not just get on and do it?!!
Christiana,
Exactly. I just cannot believe how often he goes on about the wars around the world but still the penny doesn’t drop that he could end them all with that short prayer of consecration with all the bishops of the world. Surely he could find a reason to bring them all to Rome and do it there. I wonder if it has to be made public or could he get away with a private ceremony, because I think they’re so lacking in faith that these popes and bishops are afraid to do the consecration in case (in their minds) it doesn’t “work” and the wars continue. We know that’s not the case but it might be what they think. Nothing else, to my mind, explains the failure to consecrate Russia.
I’m also noticing that in the USA they are wishing “Happy Holiday” instead of Happy Christmas. So far I’ve not come across it here, although I see “festive greetings” on cards with no mention of Christmas (I never buy them) but I hope Catholics across the pond are making their protest about this.
Lily
He doesn`t need to find a reason, he already has one, and it shouldn`t need to be explained to any of his bishops why he is either calling them to Rome or to gather inside their cathedrals, which should only be a couple of minute`s walk for most of them, even if it means getting out of their beds at all times of the night.
They could then catch up on their sleep the next day with a happy smile on their faces.
Christiana,
It is a real mystery why the Pope(s) have refused, to date, to consecrate Russia. We can only continue to hope and pray for a change of heart.
Don’t worry about the state of the world, though. We have Our Lady’s assurance that the consecration will be done, although late. How much later can it be, is what we’re all asking; not much, is my own personal view, but then, what do I know. I’m still waiting for that phone call from Papa Francis, but if he rings, I’ll be sure to ask him… 😀
Given that Pope Francis asked Cardinal Policarpo twice to consecrate his Pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima and according to this link the Cardinal complied with this request.
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2013/05/francis-pontificate-consecrated-to-our.html
I am sure I saw the prayer of this consecration somewhere, possibly on http://www.fatima.org
the prayer would likely take no more than 5 minutes, and no one else was apparently involved in this act.
That being the case, Pope Francis is not rallying the Bishops to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Our Lady of Fatima requested. He is one of several Popes who have not complied with the request of Our Lady. It does give food for thought that he does not believe in the consecration of Russia – therefore why make a request for his Pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima?
Despite chastisements that are happening – it seems too simple a solution for a five minute prayer to be carried out by the Pope and Bishops in their Cathedrals on the same day.
I agree with Westminsterfly’s post at 4.11p.m. about Our Lord’s warning to Sister Lucia that like the King of France they will repent of not carrying this Consecration.
We know that 100 years to the day of Our Lord’s request that France be Consecrated to His Sacred Heart, the French Revolution began.
Theresa Rose,
100 years to the day, means, in my opinion, 17th May, 2017. That’s the date of the start of the apparitions and I can’t imagine things going on as they are even to that date. Something will happen, surely, before then, to bring the Pope of the day to his senses and consecrate Russia.
Editor, if I may say so, some of the comments (not just on this thread but others) from one of the new bloggers reminds me of some of the trolls from the past. Is there no way that you can check if they are the same person, signing up with different usernames? I actually wonder myself about that source and the authenticity of the quote, but it really isn’t important since, as Nicky says, it’s what the pope should be warning about anyway! It actually puts him in a good light. So, I am suspicious of the motives of those who are attacking you re. the source.
I agree that the main thing about the Pope’s constant warnings about war across the world, is his refusal to obey the Fatima Consecration request. It’s as if he thinks it’s a private revelation which doesn’t bind the Church, even though Pope Benedict said “Fatima puts an obligation on the whole Church”. It is strange that he didn’t do the consecration either but he did ask us to pray about the “wolves” in the Vatican. Maybe they wouldn’t let him.
Laura,
I’m very conscious that CMJ is a troll. I suspected it on his arrival, but I now have clear evidence – he made a classic mistake today which gives away the fact that he is one (or ten) of our previous nuisance bloggers who is here for the sole purpose of entrapping my unworthy self and spoiling our discussions. He is at the moment in moderation under his new identity, and I’ve released his latest posts, but his future posts will be going into my spam box and deleted remotely with the rest of the rubbish, as soon as I finish catching up here. As one of our semi-regulars (SR) has pointed out to me in emails, this is someone who is obsessed with this blog (SR thinks the obsession is with moi, to which I say nobody could be that loopy) and he needs the help of our prayers.
I agree with you – Fatima is the key to world peace. No question about it.
Here is a more accurate account of Pope Francis’ words from a truly trustworthy source.
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2015/11/francis-no-justification-for-war-even.html#more
It beggars belief that the Pope can lament so many wars and yet remain completely deaf to the clear request and promise of Our Lady of Fatima. I don’t suppose it occurs to His Holiness that he plays a major part in present woes by his deafness to Our Lady.
Athanasius,
Thank you for that Rorate link – and, of course, I agree with you that it beggars belief that the Pope can go on about all the wars and yet ignore the key given to him by Our Lady, to end it all. Even a savvy businessman would say “let’s give it a try – might work, in which case ‘bingo’ and if it doesn’t, well nothing lost”.
However, just for the record, it’s not the first time Rorate has had to apologise for posting something inaccurate. I can’t recall the last time but I do recall it being quite a whopper. At the time I said I wouldn’t ever again report anything from them that wasn’t substantiated elsewhere. At that time, I would quote them in good faith believing their accuracy. I didn’t do that with this source, merely posted the article and link, but made no declaration of faith in it in my blue editorial comment, as I used to tend to do with Rorate. Maybe others will recall the issue, I can’t remember, and don’t have time to search for it, but I certainly wouldn’t describe them as “a truly trustworthy source”. Nope. What they quote, in fact, is quoted all over the internet now. Still, thanks for linking to it, as they’ve done a good job with highlighting key parts.
Madame Editor,
Leprechaun is taking this opportunity to wish a happy and holy Christmas to all his fellow bloggers (not forgetting the lurkers), and hopes to be able to do the same again this time next year, God willing.
Safe journey to each of you if you will be travelling.
God bless us all.
Leprechaun,
What do you mean, safe journey to those who will be travelling. Have you forgotten that I’m travelling to enjoy Christmas dinner with Mrs Lep and your good self? Arriving tomorrow in good time for breakfast, a full English will do, please and thank you!
Why would Pope Francis be so keen on saving the planet if he thinks it will be all gone by next year?
I just wonder if any of the Popes since 1960 actually believe(d) in the Fatima apparitions.
Frankier,
Now THAT’s a very good point – why worry about the climate or shaking up the Curia… having said that, he lives in the present moment and may be of the mindset, well, life must go on, until it stops, so to speak!
And that’s also a very good question, about the Popes and Fatima.
Editor
I just wish I knew for certain. I would then know what to do about the diet and the BP shares.
Frankier,
I know what you mean. I’m in two minds about whether to throw those extra Christmas cards in the bin or hold on to them for next year, just in case…
Have you met him? Justin Case? 😀
Ed
No, but I’m well acquainted with his breathless, red-faced cousin, Justin Time.
Frankier,
Actually, I believe Pope Francis was quoted out of context by the source for reasons of sensationalism. Yes, I know. Who could possibly quote Pope Francis out of context???
Athanasius,
It’s laughable, too, that there is nothing “sensationalist” about the claim, but it’s exactly right – he didn’t say this WILL be our last Christmas, according to the Newswire report, just “it MAY be”… and that’s true. Can you imagine what Pope Saint Pius X would be saying, were he alive today? I think he’d put Newswire et al well and truly in the shade.
Similarly, those trolls who accuse us of using this report to denigrate the Pope when we are saying the opposite (that warning of the Last Times is exactly what the Pope should be doing in the context of the state of the world today) are revealing their own ignorance and apparent malice towards us.
Still, I want to wish them a peace Advent and a Happy Christmas when it comes!
Athanasius
Mind you, when the warmongers in Westminster voted recently to carry out the bombings in Syria they made sure that there would be no more Christmases for many innocent people over there, and that includes this Christmas never mind next.
Maybe this is what Pope Francis meant but didn’t suit the agenda to Interpret it in that way.
Honestly, the Pope should obey the Mother of God and consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart as She required, if he does not, we are running into a gigantic chaos. It is as simple as that!
Honestly, the Pope, in union with the bishops, should obey the Mother of God in consecrating Russia to Her Immaculate Heart as She required; if he does not we are running to a gigantic chaos. It is as simple as that! we cannot escape.
Editor,
Please, excuse-me for the redundency! I thought that it did not work.
Lionel,
I was about to delete your repeated comment but I thought, no way, it bears repeating! Well said!
Sorry, Editor!
No apology required Lionel – you merely emphasised the importance of the Consecration (which is why I didn’t delete your second post!)
Thanking you for your kindness, I wish you all a safe and happy Christmas and send you and your entourage, my best wishes for 2016
Lionel,
I reciprocate your Christmas wishes – God bless you in the holy season, and may 2016 bring you every grace and peace… not to mention more time for blogging here 😀
Leprechaun,
Thank you for your kind wishes. I also wish you and your good lady a very blessed Christmas and new year. I extend those wishes to all bloggers (and lurkers).
At the risk of sounding uncharitable, for the sake of the Church I hope it’s pope Francis’s last Christmas.
Vianney,
By that, I take it you mean that you hope Papa Francis will take early retirement, say, as early as the first week in January?
I think St Catherine of Siena would second that – with bells on 😀
Editor, any chance the Pope would retire on the first DAY in January??? ☺. Is our “humble” Pope so proud that he cannot submit to his heavenly mother and arrange the consecration of Russia?! The whole of humanity would thank him if he did (or should anyway!). Wars only benefit a few very powerful and possibly very rich people. Happy Christmas to you and all our bloggers.
Well either early retirement or pop his clogs, I’m not really fussy.
Although I am more of a lurker than a blogger, may I wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas, especially our wonderful editor and her “entourage” whatever or whoever than may be!
Our Dear Editor,
Coming across this wonderful rather revolutionary site this year, I now consider it a moment of serendipity.
Many of the commentators on here have obviously had many years of hard graft on the chalkface of reluctant learners.
Others, I suspect, have either had the great privilege of the conferring of Holy Orders – the male correspondence naturally. My only connection with that august fraternity is the unwilling acceptance of tonsure.
How else could one account for the high degree of ecclesiastical comment on your erudite site?
As for ‘lurchers’ who are often referred to on here – I could consider myself one of that species.
But I would much prefer to be considered as a gentle house trained Irish Setter.
The present discussion about the end of times. Fear not. Our wonderful Pope has just agreed with his best pal Hussein O’Barma that they have stopped Armageddon in its tracks by signing a Global Warming Treaty in Paris. That, as we all know was the fifth horseman and he has just fallen at Beechers Brook
Mentioning teachers ( God bless them), reminds me of a little peon wot I rote to one who influenced me mightily
MY TEACHER
Not sat on lap of luxury
Nor fed with silver plated spoon,
Issued by my rural parents
As a non worldly wise gossoon;
A rustic type of happiness
With our homespun entertainment,
Intellectual restrictions
Fiscal limits on attainment.
Then one day as luck would have it
I met a teacher of renown,
Showing there were alternatives
To a young aimless amadhan;
She instilled the rules of culture
We got a grounding in the arts,
Opening limited horizons
Implanting learning in our hearts.
I salute that little lady
Who I remember dressed in green,
Then my eyes were opened wider
While a simple dumb spalpeen;
She imparted my first feeling
For the beauty that is the muse,
By pointing me at the masters
Like Liam Shakespeare Yeats and Hughes.
I reminisce with memories
That carefree childhood I look back,
Appreciating your efforts
To impart knowledge at Cnoc Breac;
I thank you for the time you spent
Implanting knowledge in my ears,
I’m still pursuing the great truths
Despite the passing of the years.
She was/is an extemporary example of the thankless teaching vocation.
I cannot be bothered to translate the Irish references therein, but rest assured they are all self depricationary, and not meant to insult others.
Happy Christmas to all the wonderful contributors on here (even the occasional troglodyte) and good hunting in 2016.
Waterside4
Thank you for your kind words and for that lovely poem. As for “Liam Shakespeare” – I presume he’s related to the famous Will? 😀
Waterside4,
I thoroughly enjoyed your comments, including the poetry and tribute to a special teacher. If I may make one correction, however. Ours is a counter-revolutionary site.
May the Holy Family bless you and yours this Christmas.
When the Pope says that “this may be our last Christmas” I can’t be sure whether that’s a statement which has been made with intentionally apocalyptic overtones or maybe he received advanced notice during his visit to the U.S. in September that world governments, spearheaded by Obama of course, are going to finally succeed where Oliver Cromwell failed and ensure Christmas is abolished permanently.
On the subject of the End Times, I just thought I’d mention the following which is quite interesting:
A pilgrim once asked Padre Pio, “Father, is there long to go before the end of time?” The saint replied, “If we begin with the creation of the world, we are not halfway yet.”
That’s quite possible, that we are yet centuries away from the end of the world, since “a thousand years is but a single day” in terms of eternity. It would also makes sense (and be very encouraging indeed) in the context of the promised period of world peace after the Consecration. A few centuries instead of a few weeks, months or years, would make perfect sense. Give us all a chance to enjoy the world instead of living in dread of the next war. It would also give you time to organise that avatar 😀
Ed.,
Ed.,
My avatar hasn’t been well for some time now. I think he’s got the flu. Serves him right for germinating for so long.
Indeed! And did St. Peter not say that with God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day? It’s foolish to speculate on the end of the world since Our Lord has clearly taught us that not even the angels in heaven know when the end will come.
I think it is more fruitful to meditate on the Redemptorist admonition: “You have one life to live and one soul to save. Death will come soon, then heaven or hell for all eternity.”
Now that would not be a very comforting thought if it were not for the promise of Our Lady to those who maintain a devotion to her.
Editor’s mention of Pope St. Pius X previously (December 23, 9.56am), brought to mind the great pastor’s first encyclical, issued 112 years ago, E Supremi Apostolatus.
http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_04101903_e-supremi.html
Well, all Catholics would benefit from reading the sainted Pope’s declaration of the challenges and objectives of his papacy. It makes for an interesting comparison with the words and actions of the Popes and bishops of the last fifty years, and has never been more worthy of attention than in these days of epic scandal amongst the highest echelons of the Church, when the blurring of the distinction between the natural and the supernatural, one of the hallmarks of Modernism, has taken on the frightening impetus of a runaway train under a Pope who on an almost daily basis implements a program which, to put it as mildly as possible, diverges wildly from the stated aim of his sainted predecessor to “restore all things in Christ”, as set out in the above encyclical.
It really cannot be overstated how important it is for Catholics struggling to battle through the ongoing crisis of neo-modernist lunacy to read the encyclicals of the pre-conciliar Popes. The clear, concise, coherent, vigorous, forthright, unambiguous, unapologetic setting forth of the Catholic Faith are models in pastoral care. And there can be no return to sanity until a successor to Peter once more follows their example.
Lengthy blocks of quotes can be off-putting for some readers, but the following will hopefully offer some important highlights, or better still encourage people to read the entire encyclical.
Pope Saint Pius, with the supernatural outlook, befitting a true pastor of souls, got straight to the heart of the matter: combatting “apostasy from God” was the priority, not some earthbound humanistic, secularist utopia, or “youth unemployment”, or crackpot environmentalism with its more than cosy acquaintance with sinister globalist population controllers and New Age occultists.
“For who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction? You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is – apostasy from God, than which in truth nothing is more allied with ruin, according to the word of the Prophet: “For behold they that go far from Thee shall perish” (Ps. 1xxii., 17)…” #3
Whatever the accuracy of reports of Pope Francis’ recent comments, there is no doubt that Pope St. Pius X did in fact draw the world’s attention to the possibility, at least, of “a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning” of the End Times. One can only imagine what the saint would have to say about the atheistic barbarism of todays “perverse generation” (Acts of the Apostles 2:40) proudly drowning in a sewer of vice and greed, all the while shaking its fist at its Creator and Saviour.
“When all this is considered there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the “Son of Perdition” of whom the Apostle speaks (II. Thess. ii., 3). Such, in truth, is the audacity and the wrath employed everywhere in persecuting religion, in combating the dogmas of the faith, in brazen effort to uproot and destroy all relations between man and the Divinity! While, on the other hand, and this according to the same apostle is the distinguishing mark of Antichrist, man has with infinite temerity put himself in the place of God, raising himself above all that is called God; in such wise that although he cannot utterly extinguish in himself all knowledge of God, he has contemned God’s majesty and, as it were, made of the universe a temple wherein he himself is to be adored. “He sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God” (II. Thess. ii., 2). #5
Pope Saint Pius left nobody in doubt about what was required for true peace in the world, what was perfectly described by Saint Thomas Aquinas as the “tranquillity of order”. It wasn’t some Masonic, tower of Babel, Brotherhood of Man, or some Globalist forerunner of the United Nations. Humble submission of nations to the Social Kingship of Christ, was, is, and always will be to only means and guarantor of true peace.
“But to want peace without God is an absurdity, seeing that where God is absent thence too justice flies, and when justice is taken away it is vain to cherish the hope of peace. “Peace is the work of justice” (Is. xxii., 17)…For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God.” #7
“But, Venerable Brethren, we shall never, however much we exert ourselves, succeed in calling men back to the majesty and empire of God, except by means of Jesus Christ. “No one,” the Apostle admonishes us, “can lay other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I. Cor.,iii., II.)” #8
Pope Saint Pius also gave a perfect encapsulation of the role of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, is bringing amount true peace in the world. Note the emphasis on the “treasury of graces for the sanctification and salvation of souls”, and compare it with the earthbound outlook and agenda of the present successor to Peter, together with so many bishops and clergy, who give the impression that the pastors of souls see the Church as nothing much more than a worldwide, non-governmental aid organisation with a bit of feel good, sentimental, non-challenging, “community”-gibbering lifestyle coaching thrown in. The bitter fruits of conciliar human respect and bowing down before false religions are on display for all to see.
Here’s Pope Saint Pius:
“Now the way to reach Christ is not hard to find: it is the Church. Rightly does Chrysostom inculcate: “The Church is thy hope, the Church is thy salvation, the Church is thy refuge.” (Hom. de capto Euthropio, n. 6.) It was for this that Christ founded it, gaining it at the price of His blood, and made it the depositary of His doctrine and His laws, bestowing upon it at the same time an inexhaustible treasury of graces for the sanctification and salvation of men. You see, then, Venerable Brethren, the duty that has been imposed alike upon Us and upon you of bringing back to the discipline of the Church human society, now estranged from the wisdom of Christ; the Church will then subject it to Christ, and Christ to God… But if our desire to obtain this is to be fulfilled, we must use every means and exert all our energy to bring about the utter disappearance of the enormous and detestable wickedness, so characteristic of our time – the substitution of man for God…” #9
I asked on the Archbishop Lefebvre thread if anyone could “name one single, solitary ‘regularised’, ‘full communion’ bishop in the world today who has clearly, constantly, unambiguously, unashamedly, and unapologetically proclaimed the Social Kingship of Christ and the dogma of Outside the Church there is no salvation, and condemned false ecumenism and religious indifferentism for the evils that they are.”
Mention of the Social Kingship of Christ on which peace in the world must be founded must bring to mind Pope Pius XI’s encyclical, Quas Primas, written ninety years ago, ignored and forgotten about at Vatican II, and buried and de facto repudiated by the successors of the Apostles ever since.
Once again we have a Pope magisterially upholding and proclaiming the rights of God and the duty of Man, and setting forth the fruits of submission and the dire consequences or rebellion.
“When once men recognise, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony…For with the spread and the universal extent of the kingdom of Christ men will become more and more conscious of the link that binds them together, and thus many conflicts will be either prevented entirely or at least their bitterness will be diminished.” #19
“Oh what happiness would be Ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations, would but let themselves be governed by Christ! ’Then at length,’ to use the words addressed by Our predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, twenty five years ago to the bishops of the Universal Church, ‘then at length will many evils be cured; then will the law regain its former authority; peace with all its blessings be restored. Men will sheathe their swords and lay down their arms when all freely acknowledge and obey the authority of Christ, and every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.’”#20
Like his predecessors quoted above, the last Pope before the council was forthright and unambiguous in viewing this world with a supernatural outlook, fully in accord with the Church’s immemorial struggle as described by Saint Augustine’s words about the “two cities” in The City of God, and those of Saint Ignatius of Loyola on “the two standards” in Spiritual Exercises, n. 136
Has Pope Francis ever used words such as the following, from Pope Pius XII:
“Venerable brethren, you are well aware that almost the whole human race is today allowing itself to be driven into two opposing camps, for Christ or against Christ. The human race is involved today in a supreme crisis, which will issue in its salvation by Christ, or in its destruction ( Evangeli Praecones, 1951)
Along with humble, trusting submission to Her Son, the King, the world is obliged, not recommended, to entreat Our Mother, the Queen of Heaven and earth. Pope Pius XII magnificently proclaimed the Queenship of Mary in his 1954 encyclical, Ad Caeli Reginam. Can anyone fail to give adherence to the following words, or deny their connection with Our Lady’s request for the Consecration of Russia?
“Following upon the frightful calamities which before Our very eyes have reduced flourishing cities, towns, and villages to ruins, We see to Our sorrow that many great moral evils are being spread abroad in what may be described as a violent flood. Occasionally We behold justice giving way; and, and the one hand and the other, the victory of the powers of corruption. The threat of this fearful crisis fills us with a great anguish, an so with confidence We have recourse to Mary Our Queen, making known to her those sentiments of filial reverence which are not Ours alone, but which belong to all those who glory on the name of Christian.”# 2
Countless Christians are facing dire persecution and martyrdom throughout the world this Christmas, many precisely because they choose to openly celebrate our Saviour’s birth. May we all dwell on the words of Pope Pius XII, before offering a prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
“May the powerful Queen of creation, whose radiant glance banishes storms and tempests and brings back cloudless skies, look upon these her innocent and tormented children with eyes of mercy; may the Virgin, who is able to subdue violence beneath her foot, grant to them that may soon enjoy the rightful freedom to practice their religion openly, so that, while serving the cause of the Gospel, they may also contribute to the strength and progress of nations by their harmonious co-operation, by the practice of extraordinary virtues which are a glowing tribute in the midst of trials.” # 50
“We are convinced that this feast (the Queenship of Mary) will help to persevere, strengthen and prolong that peace among nations which daily is almost destroyed by recurring crises.” #51
“Whatever the accuracy of reports of Pope Francis’ recent comments, there is no doubt that Pope St. Pius X did in fact draw the world’s attention to the possibility, at least, of “a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning” of the End Times. One can only imagine what the saint would have to say about the atheistic barbarism of todays “perverse generation” (Acts of the Apostles 2:40) proudly drowning in a sewer of vice and greed, all the while shaking its fist at its Creator and Saviour.”
You’ve really said it all there, Leo.
If Pope St Pius X were reigning today, the media would be having a field day with shock horror headlines – and rightly so. That’s what we need right now. Not this, did he really say that? To this one on a plane, to that one on the phone, to this audience which is not a sermon on the record… No, we’d know for sure that the Pope said and thought, were that Pope the saintly Pius X or a pontiff of his ilk.
Thank you for that excellent comment, Leo.
I’ve now emailed the Newswire people to ask how they came by the disputed quote, but, as you say, and as others, including myself, have said over and over on this thread, warning about the possible imminent end of the world is exactly what a pope is supposed to do and what Pope St Pius X did, in fact do, as you remind us. Such spiritual warnings should, in fact, be part and parcel of Sunday sermons in churches around the world, not something that is never mentioned, except – as one of our trolls describes it – by a “dodgy source”.
Truly, you couldn’t make it up 😯
I’ve posted to following excerpt from the classic biography of Father William Doyle SJ by Alfred O’Rahilly previously. It recalls Christmas Eve and Midnight Mass during the First World War in 1916. It was, no doubt, the last Christmas for many of the congregation, as it was for Father Doyle who eight months later was killed on the fields of Flanders, while carrying out his priestly role of administering the last rites to the wounded, having run “all day hither and thither over the battlefield like an angel of mercy.”
Of course the following recounts exceptional and extremely testing circumstances involving physical hardship, suffering, and the constant danger of death, but I think it offers all of us an eloquent instruction in what Christmas and the vocation of the priest will always be about.
“Christmas itself Fr. Doyle had the good luck of spending in billets. He got permission from General Hickie to have Midnight Mass for his men in the Convent. The chapel was a fine large one, as in pre-war times over three hundred boarders and orphans were resident in the Convent; and by opening folding-doors the refectory was added to the chapel and thus doubled the available room. An hour before Mass every inch of space was filled, even inside the altar rails and in the corridor, while numbers had to remain in the open. Word had in fact gone round about the Mass, and men from other battalions came to hear it, some having walked several miles from another village. Before the Mass there was strenuous Confession-work. ‘We were kept hard at work hearing confessions all the evening till nine o’clock’ writes Fr. Doyle, ‘the sort of Confessions you would like, the real serious business, no nonsense and no trimmings. As I was leaving the village church, a big soldier stopped me to know, like our Gardiner Street friend, ‘if the Fathers would be sittin’ any more that night.’ He was soon polished off, poor chap, and then insisted on escorting me home. He was one of my old boys, and having had a couple of glasses of beer — ‘It wouldn’t scratch the back of your throat, Father, that French stuff’ — was in the mood to be complimentary. ‘We miss you sorely, Father, in the battalion’, he said, ‘we do be always talking about you’. Then in a tone of great confidence: ‘Look, Father, there isn’t a man who wouldn’t give the whole of the world, if he had it, for your little toe! That’s the truth’. The poor fellow meant well, but ‘the stuff that would not scratch his throat’ certainly helped his imagination and eloquence. I reached the Convent a bit tired, intending to have a rest before Mass, but found a string of the boys awaiting my arrival, determined that they at least would not be left out in the cold. I was kept hard at it hearing Confessions till the stroke of twelve and seldom had a more fruitful or consoling couple of hours’ work, the love of the little Babe of Bethlehem softening hearts which all the terrors of war had failed to touch.’
The Mass itself was a great success and brought consolation and spiritual peace to many a war- weary exile. This is what Fr. Doyle says:
‘I sang the Mass, the girls’ choir doing the needful. One of the Tommies, from Dolphin’s Barn, sang the Adeste beautifully with just a touch of the sweet Dublin accent to remind us of home, sweet home, the whole congregation joining in the chorus. It was a curious contrast: the chapel packed with men and officers, almost strangely quiet and reverent (the nuns were particularly struck by this), praying .and singing most devoutly, while the big tears ran down many a rough cheek: outside the cannon boomed and the machine-guns spat out a hail of lead: peace and good will — hatred and bloodshed!
‘It was a Midnight Mass none of us will ever forget. A good 500 men came to Holy Communion, so that I was more than rewarded for my work.’”
May I wish everyone a happy and blessed Christmas.
You may. And may we reply on the soon to come dedicated Christmas thread?!
A holy and happ Christmas to all, and a special word of thanks to Leprechaun for his kind wishes for travellers. Having heard all the gloom and doom about the conditions to be expected on the northbound roads today, I had the best journey to Edinburgh ever. 😁
Christina,
Aw, shucks, you say the kindest things.
Our relatives are coming to us this year, and what is more, they are also doing the cooking when they arrive. Can’t be bad.
A very happy and holy Christmas everybody.
N O T I C E . . .
I’ve just posed a Christmas thread – click here
I thought it had already been done by Pope John Paul.
Tami,
My apologies – I’ve only just seen this, or I’d have replied much sooner.
I take it you refer to the Consecration of Russia being done by Pope John Paul.
This is a common misunderstanding. The Pope himself acknowledged that the Consecration has not been done as Our Lady specified. Read this totally reliable explanation from the only website that I know of, where the full truth about Fatima is to be found.
Our Lady promised that there would be a period of peace following the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, prayed with all the bishops of the world – not a consecration conducted only by the Pope and without naming Russia. That’s meaningless. To date, I haven’t been able to detect the promised period of peace in the world – have you? 😀
Again, my apologies for the delay in responding to your first (I believe) comment on this blog.
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