Archbishop Diarmuid Martin: Catholicism in Ireland at "breaking point."

The Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, is saying that Catholicism is at the "breaking point" in Ireland.  See here.

An obscure book entitled, "The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings," recounts a remarkable prophecy which was given to Saint Patrick in a vision.


Chapter CLXXV of this work explains that, "The different States of Hibernia* are in a Heavenly Vision shown unto the Saint. And the man of God anxiously desired and earnestly prayed that he might be certified of the present and the future state of Hibernia, to the end that he might be assured of the faith, or of the value that his labors bore in the sight of God. Then the Lord heard the desire of his heart, and manifested the same unto him by an evident revelation; for while he was engaged in prayer, and the heart of his mind was opened, he beheld the whole island as it were a flaming fire ascending unto heaven; and he heard the angel of God saying unto him: 'Such at this time is Hibernia in the sight of the Lord.' And after a little space he beheld in all parts of the island even as mountains of fire stretching unto the skies. And again after a little space he beheld as it were candles burning, and after a while darkness intervened; and then he beheld fainter lights, and at length he beheld coals lying hidden here and there, as reduced unto ashes, yet still burning. And the angel added: 'What thou seest here shown, such shall be the people of Hibernia.' Then the saint, exceedingly weeping, often repeated the words of the Psalmist, saying: 'Whether will God turn himself away for ever, and will he be no more entreated? Shall his mercy come to an end from generation to generation? Shall God forget to be merciful, and shut up his mercy in his displeasure?'

And the angel said, 'Look toward the northern side, and on the right hand of a height shalt thou behold the darkness dispersed from the face of the light which thenceforth will arise.' Then the saint raised his eyes, and behold, he at first saw a small light arising in Ulydia, the which a long time contended with the darkness, and at length dispersed it, and illumined with its rays the whole island. Nor ceased the light to increase and to prevail, even until it had restored to its former fiery state all Hibernia. Then was the heart of the saint filled with joy, and his heart with exultation, giving thanks for all these things which had been shown unto him: and he understood in the greatness of this fiery ardor of the Christian faith the devotion and the zeal of religion, wherewith those islanders burned. By the fiery mountains he understood the men who would be holy in their miracles and their virtues, eminent in their preachings and their examples; by the lessening of the light, the decrease of holiness; by the darkness that covered the land, the infidelity which would prevail therein; by the intervals of delay, the distances of the succeeding times."

Let us remember the needs of the Church in Ireland, as well as our own spiritual and physical needs, as we pray the prayer of Saint Patrick:

May the Strength of God pilot us.

May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Host of God guard us.
Against the snares of the evil ones.
Against temptations of the world


May Christ be with us!
May Christ be before us!
May Christ be in us,
Christ be over all!

May Thy Salvation, Lord,
Always be ours,
Amen.

* Ireland.

The Grand Taboo Comes At A Price...

As I said in a previous post, the Culture of Sodomy has made extensive inroads into the Church. Father Charles Fiore, a Catholic priest who fought the homosexual subculture in the Church for years, once said that, "the grand taboo in U.S. culture is to focus on homosexuality." Father Emile "Mike" Boutin railed against Cardinal Bertone at his Blog because His Eminence had the courage to proclaim that homosexuality is at the root of most of the abuse within the Church. Father Boutin referred to the Cardinal's claim as "absolutely outlandish" and asserted that "the attitudes of bishops like Cardinal Bertone..certainly contributed to the climate that encouraged it" [the sexual abuse scandal]. This was, of course, before Father Boutin was charged with indecent assault and battery on an adult male at a highway rest stop. The grand taboo.

I certainly can identify with His Eminence. I have received much hate mail and comments left at this Blog which were, in a word, demonic. One homosexual activist threatened to end my life with a high-powered rifle. I learned of this from the Clinton [Massachusetts] Police Department.

Now, in Connecticut, police have arrested a Catholic priest and have charged him with first degree larceny after an investigation revealed that he pilfered 1.3 million dollars of church money over the course of seven years while serving as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Waterbury, Connecticut.

And what was Father Kevin Gray spending this money on according to a financial review conducted by police? Luxury hotels, dining in lavish restaurants, clothing and, you guessed it - male escorts for homosexual sex. See here.

The Catholic Church in the United States, and other parts of the world, is paying the price [both in scandals and damage to credibility as well as in financial costs], for refusing to address the grand taboo. But the greatest damage has been to souls created in the image and likeness of God. In the Imago Dei.

By the grace of God this will change. But these events have all been prophesied.

Related reading here.

"Every sin of a priest is a sin of malice..."

A Boston priest has just been accused of adult sexual misconduct and a Connecticut priest of stealing one million dollars. Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, in his book entitled Dignity and Duties of the Priest, says that, "Every sin of a priest is a sin of malice; it is like the sin of the angels that sinned in view of the light, says St. Bernard, speaking of a priest; hence he adds, 'He has become an angel of the Lord, and sinning as a priest he sins in heaven.' He sins in the midst of light, and therefore his sin, as has been said, is a sin of malice: he cannot allege ignorance, for he knows the great evil of mortal sin: he cannot plead weakness, because he knows the means by which, if he wishes, he can acquire strength; if he is unwilling to adopt the means, the fault is entirely his own...Our Saviour prayed on the cross for his persecutors, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But for bad priests this prayer was a source rather of condemnation than of salvation: for they know what they do.." (Dignity and Duties of the Priest, pp. 71-72).

Isn't it refreshing to hear the truth from this Doctor of the Church? There have been many scandals throughout the Church and just as many cheap attempts to offer poor excuses for misconduct, sexual and otherwise. But Our Lord Himself has said that, "Much more will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." (Luke 12: 48).

A holy Bishop prophesied long ago that a time would come when scandals would be rife in the Church. Woe to those from whom they come.

'Because of these, they forgot God..."

Saint Jerome said that, "Haughtiness, satiety of bread, the abundance of all things, idleness, pleasures, such were the sins of Sodom. Because of these, they forgot God, since the continual presence of riches seemed perennial and thus there was no need of recourse to God to obtain them."

The first sin of Sodom [as with our own morally bankrupt culture] is pride. In Ezekiel 16: 49, we read, "And look at the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy." The New Sodom is also a City of Corruption rooted in pride and arrogance. And as we know, many priests have joined the ranks of that City of Satan. Which is why our Holy Father Benedict XVI has said that sin, satanic influence and the toleration of error lie at the root of the priestly sexual abuse scandals.

Our age has riddled with satanic pride. And this pride has entered even the Church. But God humbles those who are proud. This because it is only through humility that men can become and remain faithful servants - saints.

Meditation: 1 Peter 5: 5

Related reading here and here.

Pope Benedict XVI: Sin, Satanic Influence and the Toleration of Evil Are at the Root of the priestly sexual abuse scandals

"The theology of the wandering people of God, who have 'no lasting city' here but are simply on their way to the Promised Land, to their inheritance, has here one of its basic starting points. The Eucharist is nourishment for pilgrims; Christ is the spiritual Rock, who is wandering along with us.....The Eucharist does not grant us any quasi-magical assurance of salvation. It always demands and involves our freedom. And therefore the risk of losing our salvation always remains; our gaze remains fixed on the judgment to come." (Pope Benedict XVI, Eucharist and Mission, Address given at the Eucharistic Congress of Como, September 10, 1997).

"..what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?" (1 Corinthians 10: 20-22).

Saint Paul instructs us to "shun the worship of idols." (1 Corinthians 10: 14). Anything which takes the place of God is an idol: money, power, fame, lust. God does not want us to be partners with demons.

"...it will seem as if the enemies of Christ and of His Holy Church...were about to triumph.."

Long ago a Catholic Bishop prophesied a time when scandals "will be but too rife."


Many believe the Man of Sin is already among us. Even Vatican officials believe that "certain forces" are out to destroy the Catholic Church because the Church alone stands in the way of a demonic World Order. There is hatred for the Pope. Even within the Church, there are those who are working to scatter.*

Bishop George Michael Wittman was given the following prophecy: "Woe is me! Sad days are at hand for the Holy Church of Jesus Christ. The Passion of Jesus will be renewed in the most dolorous manner in the Church and in her Supreme Head. In all parts of the world there will be wars and revolutions, and much blood will be spilled. Distress, disasters, and poverty will everywhere be great, since pestilential maladies, scarcity, and other misfortunes will follow one another. Violent hands will be laid on the Supreme Head of the Catholic Church; bishops and priests will be persecuted, and schisms will be provoked, and confusion reign amid all classes. Times will come, so pre-eminently bad, that it will seem as if the enemies of Christ and of His Holy Church, which He founded with His blood, were about to triumph over her. But the priesthood will remain firm and resolute, and good people will adhere faithfully to that body. A general separation will be made. The wheat shall be winnowed, and the floor swept. Secret societies will work great ruin, and exercise a marvellous monetary power, and through that many will be blinded, and infected with most horrible errors; however, all this shall avail naught. Christ says, He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who gathereth not with Me, scattereth. Scandals will be but too rife, and woe to those by whom they come! Although the tempest will be terrible, and will turn many in their passage, nevertheless they cannot shake the rock whereon Christ has founded His Church: 'Portae inferi non prevalebunt.'.. The faithful sheep will gather together, and in unions of prayer will offer potent resistance to the enemies of the Catholic Church. Yes, yes, the flock will become small..."



* Priest calls the Mystical Body of Christ "insidiously evil."

The Dragon's Tail...

New scandals in Spain and Austria.



Our Lady told Sr. Marianne de Jesus Torres (17th century - Our Lady of Good Success, Quito, Ecuador):

"The Church will find itself attacked by waves of a secret sect ... corrupted priests will scandalize the Church ... Moreover, in these unhappy times there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will lose themselves. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and, in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those whom it behooves to speak will fall silent."

“As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and deeply profaned. Freemasonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the aim of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin and encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church. The Catholic spirit will rapidly decay; the precious light of Faith will gradually be extinguished until there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. Added to this will be the effects of secular education, which will be one reason for the dearth of priestly and religious vocations. “The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and despised, for in this Sacrament, the Church of God and even God Himself is scorned and despised since He is represented in His priests.

The Devil will try to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every possible way; he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation and will corrupt many of them. These depraved priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will make the hatred of bad Catholics and the enemies of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church fall upon all priests. "This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church, the many good priests, and the Supreme Pastor and Vicar of Christ on Earth, who, a prisoner in the Vatican, will shed secret and bitter tears in the presence of his God and Lord, beseeching light, sanctity, and perfection for all the clergy of the world, of whom he is King and Father. Our Lord told her: "My Justice will be tried to the limit by the evils and sacrileges of the 20th Century ... I shall punish heresy, blasphemy and impurity."