My husband and I stayed after Mass this morning to pray the Miraculous Medal Novena for the poor people of Joplin and other places struck by natural disasters. I know I will make some people mad by saying this, but our world has sowed the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind -- literally. These mega-hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes are predicted as part of the chastisement. Read Matthew 24.
We are a sinful nation. The U.S. has been incredibly blessed and we have responded with contempt toward our Creator. Our sins have unleashed disasters. If you doubt that it's possible, consider the Blessed Mother warning the three little children of Fatima that World War I was a punishment for sin and that if mankind did not change there would be another worse war. It happened!
Can anyone look at us today and pretend that we are better than the people of the 1920s and '30s? Today we murder millions around the world by surgical and chemical abortions every year. So-called "contraception" dwarves those numbers killing millions more. Promiscuity, both homosexual and heterosexual, has turned many into rutting brutes. Divorce destroys families. Every week it seems there is another attack on Jesus and the Blessed Mother through obscene books, art shows, movies and plays. Mary said at Fatima that clothing would come into fashion that would offend her son very much. Watch Dancing with the Stars if you want an example.
We deserve the chastisement!
Joplin is no more guilty than any other place. Neither is Birmingham or New Orleans or any other city experiencing disasters. If God targeted evil places, I think Washington, D.C. would head the list. Joplin is Anytown, USA. They have (or had) their Planned Parenthood facility that offers the morning after pill and a local crisis pregnancy center that tries to save the babies and offers help to women. They have a Catholic church and school (St. Mary's) with adoration in the parish. Both were demolished and the pastor had to be dug out of the rubble after taking refuge in the bathtup of the rectory. Many protestant churches were destroyed as well.
The purpose of discipline is to call us to repentance. Pray and help the people of Joplin by choosing a worthy charity and donating money to the relief effort. But then help our poor country by falling on your knees and begging for mercy, especially through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God. If we don't change and convert look for more of the same.
I can't possibly improve on that. Thank you, Mary Ann!
ReplyDeleteMary Ann, I agree 100% with you, and it is about time that someone had the integrity to write this.
ReplyDeleteIt is true. Instead of walking around wringing our hands asking "Why?", we should be simply asking "Why not?"
We are reaping what we have sown. As you put it so very well, if we do not change, expect more of the same and even worse.
These events are wake up calls. So far, they are not doing well at all in waking folks up because when someone posts the truth as you did, they get shot down. People are so used to shifting the blame for their actions onto whatever is close by or handy, that they can no longer bear responsibility for their actions. And the worse part is, I often get the impression that most people are quite pleased with the way things are and have no desire to change at all.
Veronica
Amen! Amen! Our Lady of America, pray for us!
ReplyDeleteI too agree.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stating this. Too many people would rather stick their heads in the sand rather than look at the situation realistically. Too many people are too afraid and deluded to believe we are living through biblical prophecy. Instead of being afraid, I'm praying all the more and asking God to keep my heart close to His. I am finding a lot of peace in that.
ReplyDeleteMy mother used to tell me many stories of saints all the time, and I can't remember where this is from, but I know she told me (and she was very much read when it came to religious books) that the saints wished they were living in our times, that the greatest saints to ever live will come from this period of persecution and heresy. That's an amazing thought and serves as encouragement for myself and my family. There is nothing wrong with striving to be saintly....and I think that's what the world needs more than anything else right now.
Really? You believe that natural disasters are God's way of punishing humanity? So a house fire must be to punish an individual family? What about cancer? Punishment for a person? Miscarriage? Is it the mother or the baby who needs correction.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad and scary worldview. I pity you.
Jamie, you've twisted what I said to make it the opposite. Yes, God chastises humanity. But the innocent suffer along with the guilty. I'm a cancer survivor. I did not feel like God was "punishing" me. I realized after working through it that he was bringing much good out of my suffering for me personally, for my family, and for others.
ReplyDeleteWhen the innocent (and I'm certainly not one of them) suffer they are most united to the innocent lamb who died on the cross for our sins. It gives us the privilege of joining our sufferings to His for the salvation of the world.
The chastisement is biblical. I feel sorry for those who don't see it as an opportunity to repent and atone for our own sins and those of all mankind.
Thanks for your lovely sharing, Chudah. Sounds like your mom was a holy woman.
The bible is full of instances of God not forestalling disaster both natural and manmade. He visited plagues upon Egypt after all.
ReplyDeleteThe innocent suffer with the guilty. We are all under the dominion of Satan since he remains the Lord of this world. It's rather obvious that as Mark Twain pointed out of Satan: [he is] ... A person who has for untold centuries maintained the imposing position of spiritual head of four-fifths of the human race, and political head of the whole of it, must be granted the possession of executive abilites of the loftiest order. ...
It may well be that Satan delivers the chastisement and God does not forestall him. It is how Job was tested after all. Satan delights in all such things. Were we all to serve the Lord as we ought then we might well be transported to the parousia immediately.
Mary Ann, I think you have hit the nail on the head. Many priests and ministers have said the very same thing, and of course, those dedicated to sin, pooh, pooh them, or try to shut their mouths. Never-the-less, the wise know it is true, and we had better be on our best behavior when and if he comes. It can happen anywhere.
ReplyDelete