"For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24: 37-39).
St. Louis de Montfort teaches us, in True Devotion to Mary, that "Blessed are those who enter into her as into another Noah's ark! The flood waters of sin* which engulf so many will not harm them because, as the Church makes Mary say in the words of divine Wisdom, 'Those who work with my help - for their salvation - shall not sin.'" (No. 175, citing Sirach 24: 22).
* Our Lady has warned of a new flood. This time a flood of fire which will fall on a sinful humanity if people do not repent.
I believe there are no coincidences in the spiritual life. In our own day, we are faced with another chastisement. A new flood. But this time a flood of fire. At Akita, Japan, Sister Agnes Sasagawa was given a series of messages from Our Lady. The third message on October 13, 1973, the actual anniversary of the final visions and miracle of Fatima is as follows: "As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead."
ReplyDeleteThe Akita apparition has been approved by the Church. And although the faithful are not bound to accept private revelation (see No. 67 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church), still it would be foolish indeed to ignore this warning from Our Lady.
In these latter days, many are being seduced by the spirit of Antichrist. Many have come to hate the Vicar of Christ and the Mystical Body of Christ. They have chosen to believe lies and the Father of all lies (John 8: 44).
Remain firm in faith. Pray the Holy Rosary. Enter the New Ark - the refuge which may be found in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In a Blog post titled "Why Are You Surprised"?, Mark Mallett touches upon those people who hear of an apparition and when a prophecy isn't immediately fulfilled, begin to ridicule as those in the time of Noah did.
ReplyDeleteHe writes: "Noah did not build the ark overnight. It could have taken as long as a hundred years. I think of how long it has been since Our Lady appeared in Fatima… 1917. That, to some, is a "long" time.
During the construction, many would have watched Noah and said he was crazy, delusional, paranoid. Others may have been alarmed, and recognized that perhaps they were living contrary to the law written on their hearts…. but as the decades wore on, and nothing happened, they soon ignored Noah altogether, even though the ark was plainly and daily before their eyes. And yet others followed Noah’s every move, mocking him, discrediting him, doing whatever they could to prove that he was not only delusional, but that his God did not exist, and the world would carry on as usual.
That’s a direct parallel to our times. Yes, Our Blessed Mother has been appearing for many decades, centuries even. Many have thought the authentic apparitions to be nonsense or at the very least irrelevant. Others have heard their messages, and for awhile, followed them while reforming their lives… but as time has gone on, and the prophetic aspects remain yet to be fully fulfilled, they have fallen asleep, sometimes sliding back into worldly thinking and pursuits. And yet others have watched the apparitions intently, publishing books and articles at every turn to debunk the phenomena, denounce the visionaries, and for some, use this as an opportunity to attack the Faithful.
Jesus said that, before His return, the world would be "as in the days of Noah" (Luke 17:26). That is, very few would be ready for the many events that would shake the earth, those labor pains and the events that would follow. In Noah’s time, eight in all the land were ready.
Only eight boarded the ark."
Today there is a remnant faithful. And others will laugh and mock. And they will perish.