A Catastrophic Storm is Approaching!

R. Thomas Richard

"Start getting ready now," the experts caution. This storm promises to be the most severe in recorded history, and will require planning and preparation in order to survive with minimum loss.

This bulletin has been issued by the Catholic Church, in her Catechism:

675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.<Cf. Lk 18:8; Mt 24:12> The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth<Cf. Lk 21:12; Jn 15:19-20> will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.<Cf. 2 Th 2:4-12; I Th 5:2-3; 2 Jn 7; I Jn 2:1 8, 22>

677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection.<Cf. Rev 19:1-9> The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.<Cf Rev 13:8; 20:7-10; 21:2-4> God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.<Cf. Rev 20:12 2 Pt 3:12-13>

The following steps are recommended for your emergency readiness, issued by your local parish:

• Increase your adult understanding of the true Faith! This is necessary to avoid falling into the "religious deception" that will come. Participate in every Adult Education opportunity that you can.
• Seek and receive and protect all the grace that God is offering you now! This means receive the Sacraments with true love and openness to God, and guard your souls against all temptations and all sins with all your might. This kind of grace-empowered strength will be needed if the coming "persecution", "unleashing of evil", and "cosmic upheaval" touches you personally!
• Grow in your personal prayer! Spend time with Christ, with Mary and the saints, and with your Father and the Spirit, talking, listening, and in quiet waiting. Learn how to pray more deeply. Join in the Oratory, and pray with others for one another and for the whole Church.

A local parishioner asked, "Should I be worried?" Sources in the Parish Office, speaking on condition of anonymity, would only say, "The more prepared we are, the less reason we have for worry. God is in control, and 'the good guys win in the end,' but there will be some hard times. Just as with any other emergency - hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, serious illnesses - we have to do what we can do, and leave the rest to God with confidence and peace. But if we don't do what we can and should do to get ready, we will suffer the consequences. It's only good common sense: seek first the Kingdom, while we have the time."