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An Eclipse of the Sun of Catholic Truth

2017 Solar Eclipse. Image courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (CC) 

Today, I stood in my back yard and watched as the sun was obscured by the passing of the moon. Things felt strange. The birds stopped singing. My dog stopped barking at the things he usually would, and sat there with his ears perked up. The temperature dropped noticeably. The air was still. Everything was eerily quiet, and while I wasn’t in the path of a total eclipse, the sunlight was dimmed enough that shadows changed and everything took on a different, unsettling hue.

I remarked to my wife that it felt like I was standing on an alien planet that only looked like Earth, but had a different solar arrangement.

As I watched with wonder and curiosity, I found myself remembering something I was told some time ago.

Early last year, feeling discouraged (as I sometimes do) by the situation in the Church, I reached out to a member of the clergy whom I greatly respect, seeking counsel. I had recently watched the pope’s video about “Care for Creation”, which I wrote about in an essay entitled, “Gaia Church: Love the Earth. Heaven Can Wait.”

“With so much focus on the temporal, the immanent, the passable,” I said to this true servant of Our Lord, “I cannot help but wonder if our Holy Father even believes in God, or consequently, the need to help souls attain heaven. All is humanism. All is immanentism.”

I mentioned the video. I also mentioned an interview Francis had given at the time about the situation in China. In it, he made not one mention of the suffering, imprisoned, or oppressed Catholics there. When asked about China’s slaughter of 400 million of it’s own children — often against the will of their parents — he referred to this only as a “mistake.” As though the Chinese had simply gotten their priorities out of order.

“I know the unchangeable truths of the faith.” I said. “I believe in them. I hold to them. But this man, I truly believe, is a chastisement on the faithful. … God must be so very angry with us.”

This alter Christus responded to me with compassion, agreeing that the situation with Pope Francis was quite sad. He said to me that this papacy presents a significant trial for our faith, as well as our supernatural view of the Church. But, he insisted, this is only happening by means of God’s mysterious permission. He advised me that the faithful should try not to take what Francis is saying and doing too seriously.

“Let us in some way ignore this pontificate,” he said, “which represents an eclipse of the sun of Catholic truth. The eclipse is temporal and passes. Let us pray fervently for the salvation of the poor soul of pope Francis and at the same time for the miracle of the next conclave to give us a traditional pope.  The darker it is getting in Rome, the brighter has to shine our faith and our love for Jesus. It is a challenge for our faith. Let us be in all humility soldiers and knights of Christ.”

This image has stayed with me ever since.

A solar eclipse obscures, it does not obliterate. As we know, it occurs when the moon — an object that generates no light of its own — passes in front of the sun — the source of all light in our solar system — allowing darkness to fall across the surface of the earth. It is merely the casting of a shadow, not the dying of the light.

Today, standing in my yard, I found that I could see more clearly why this analogy is so appropriate for our present ecclesiastical situation.

At the advent of today’s eclipse, many people were very excited. A few were concerned about what it might mean. Still, it seemed that it was all anyone could talk about. Websites, social media, TV & radio stations were all filled with chatter about this unique and once-in-a-lifetime event.

At the moment of apex, everyone — even many who claimed not to care — found themselves looking out windows, standing on porches, pulling their cars over to the side of the road, or planted in their yards, trying to make sense of what they were witnessing. The experience, while fascinating, was also very uncanny. Things looked almost the same, but everything was cast in the same strange light. Like a parody of a normal day, with many of the important details missing.

And then it was gone, and the light grew brighter, and the shadows slipped back into their normal places, and the warmth of the summer returned, and the people went back inside, back to school, back to work, back to the normalcy of life that did not come to a stop but was merely put on pause, just for that brief span of time. Just for the moment when things were perceptibly not as they should be.

As analogies go, it isn’t really much of a stretch, is it?

In the life of the Church, the eclipse we are now experiencing has lasted just four years, but it feels as though it has gone on for longer than many of us feel we can bear. What began as a cause of excitement for many has now gotten under their skin. The fascinating curiosity of the otherness of the event has given way to a nightmare that things will never again be the same.

But we must remember: it is merely the casting of a shadow, not the dying of the light. And in our case, it is not a natural phenomenon, but rather a preternatural one. Put another way, our ecclesiastical eclipse is not the work of the moon; rather, it is the doing of other celestial creatures: “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.” (Rev. 12:4)

For in Christian symbolism, Christ is the sun and Mary the moon. Mary, who does not generate her own light, but so beautifully reflects the light of Christ into the darkness of our sin and ignorance. Mary, that perfect creature who never occludes the life-giving light of her Son. Her brilliance never wanes, but her presence never obscures; she stands beside Him in her fullness, and yet ever in submission. This imagery is captured beautifully in the following prayer of St. Bernard:

O Blessed Queen! It is of thee prophet speaks when he says, “Who is she that riseth like the day-star, beautiful as the moon, brilliant as the sun?” Yes, thou didst appear in the world like the bright day-star, preceding by the light of thy sanctity the coming of the Sun of Justice. The day on which thou camest into the world may well be styled a day of salvation and a day of grace. Thou art beautiful as the moon; because as none of the celestial bodies so nearly resembles the sun as it does, so there is no creature whose perfections so nearly approach to those of God as thy own. The moon enlightens the night by reflecting the rays of the sun, and thou enlightenest our darkness by the splendor of those virtues with which God has adorned the. But thou art even more beautiful than the moon, because in thee is found neither spot nor shade; thou art brilliant like the sun; I mean that divine Sun who created the one which enlightens the earth, for, as He and His humanity is the most resplendent among men, so art thou the brightest among women.

We should pray, then, that soon the light of Christ the Sun and Mary the moon will shine forth brightly to destroy this momentary darkness that now hides the beauty and splendor of Holy Mother Church.

“Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.” – (Mt. 24:35)

181 thoughts on “An Eclipse of the Sun of Catholic Truth”

  1. The difference, however, is that a solar eclipse is an exciting thing to experience. Francis’ pontificate has just been annoying. I have never been angrier at any person than I have been at Pope Francis.

    Reply
    • – “He that winketh with the eye forgeth wicked things, and no man will cast him off:
      In the sight of thy eyes he will sweeten his mouth, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and on thy words he will lay a stumblingblock. I have hated many things, but not like him, and the Lord will hate him.”
      (Sirach 27,25-27)

      Reply
    • I have never loved a pope more or prayed for a pope more than for him because God commands us to go after the one who is straying, and there’s something weird in me that is drawn to the diamonds in the rough. I ask that Jesus transforms him into a lion for the Church and that his eyes are opened to holiness and if not, that his eyes are closed in holiness.

      Reply
  2. On this day we indeed endure an eclipse – one of faith and reason. It has been at is apogee since March 13, 2013 and there is no evidence that it will pass anytime soon.
    Oremus.

    Reply
  3. Wow, Steve, you really don’t like Francis, do you?

    I continue to be surprised by people who think the brief tenure of one pope makes a significant impact on much of anything. Most Catholics’ experience of Church centers on Sunday Mass, and to a lesser extent on weekday Mass, confession, other sacraments, and maybe some social justice/prolife activity through their parish. Has anything changed since Francis became pope? No. Same old – same old. You might think that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but the fact is very little changes when a new person enters the papacy.

    Reply
    • You may find it odd, but Catholics tend to look poorly upon men who attempt to belittle, undermine, and forever destroy their beloved faith. They take a particular dislike when such individuals happen to sit upon the Petrine Throne.

      Reply
    • No, you are wrong. Benedict got me and countless others out of our slumber. We were dead in the faith for decades under super-star pope who was a jolly, lax, Old World uncle, although personally holy. Benedict with his luminous teaching, love of beauty and promulgation of the TLM, I daresay, may have saved Western Civilization.

      Reply
      • That’s a very good way of putting it and I share this view very much. Putting aside the horrific consequences of his abdication, Benedict put me and I think many others on a new trajectory. I have to thank him and of course Divine Providence for that.

        Reply
        • Yes, Benedict lived up to his name, and was a blessing. But then he left. I’m reminded of a ruin on (IIRC) the big Aran Island. The people there talk about this or that saint, but not about the one who built this particular church, back in the 700s or whenever. And if you ask them about why he’s not remembered or popular, they shrug and say simply, “He left.”

          Reply
    • Delusional. Unless, of course, you are not invested in the faith at all, and merely show up on any Sunday of your convenience to get some communion.
      Entirely symptomatic of a laity deprived of catechesis for over fifty years.
      Exactly what Bergoglianism is going to nurture itself upon for decades to come.

      Reply
    • Excuse me, Jenni. Much has changed: tacit blessing of communion for divorced and adulterous Catholics, homosexual agenda aggressively pushed, Luther on the door of canonization, praise of Islam, meddling in politics, belittling of several portions of the Bible (the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes was that the poor were fed? Really?).

      And he’s packing the Curia with his own type. His BFFs push for homosexual cocaine addicts to be elevated to bishoprics.

      Shall we continue?

      Reply
      • Is the average Catholic (the ones who go to church every week) aware of these developments? I don’t think so, They are still real Catholics. Many are very pious. They are concerned with their lives and their faith is part of it, but they don’t pay attention to the Vatican. Nor should they.

        Reply
        • I agree with everything except your last sentence. Catholics should be concerned re what’s going on in the Vatican. However, most people are concerned with the everyday things – home, kids, school etc.

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        • I would never dare to say somebody is not a real Catholic and if what I said implied that then I am even less eloquent than I previously believed. With that said, I find it difficult to believe that a very pious Catholic would not be paying attention to all that’s going on.

          Reply
        • Jenni, I am an average Catholic: I go to Mass 3 or 4 weekdays plus Sunday. Well, perhaps that makes more than average. I’m a real Catholic concerned with my life and my faith is part of it. I am VERY aware of these developments. Who cannot be, considering that it’s all available so easily on the internet.

          Reply
        • This is why this crisis has escalated out of control. Many people in the pew are not paying any attention, and these prelates are
          taking down the Church. Do you know how Joseph Cardinal
          Bernadin got Communion in the hand passed in the US?
          He was determined as head of the USCCB to get this done,
          but he couldn’t get it to pass. So…..he changed the rules, and
          included his older liberal “friends” who were retired and outside the voting age, lobbied them and passed Communion in the hand on their “illegal/now legal” votes. The Vatican told him to STOP this practice of Communion in the hand in the United States. AND he blatantly ignored the Vatican. So, what does God actually think of this practice that the “real Catholic on the
          ground” has pretty much slept thru and still continues to
          sleep thru? Catechesis is so poor that the “real Catholic
          on the ground” has no idea anything is even wrong. If that
          change (Communion in the hand) didn’t wake anyone up I doubt anything will.
          I mean — did EVERYONE’S hands all of a sudden get
          consecrated so that they can touch the Host?
          Unfortunately, Francis has got them on a slow boil
          like the proverbial frogs and it smells like frog stew!

          Reply
    • “…but the fact is very little changes when a new person enters the papacy.”

      Those of us who lived through the entire pontificates of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI know the above statement to be untrue.

      Reply
    • The last pontificate made an extraordinary change for the better on my life and my family’s and on that of many people I know personally.

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    • Not necessarily. I have listened to priests who think this pope is the best thing to have happened to the Church and quote or paraphrase him constantly in Sunday homilies (which, as you say, is the total experience of most Catholics). In order to protect our spiritual health, we left a parish because of the skewed catholicism [sic] that began to be preached four years ago and are grateful to God that He led us to a parish where tradition (while not officially celebrated) is respected.

      If I had my way, this papacy would never have been, but I trust God is using this eclipse to build holiness in His true Church.

      Reply
    • What you are saying is one of the few reasons I still have hope. But that does not, by any means, mean we should be silent about the nonsense spewing from Rome these days. It is simply a consolation when all seems lost.

      Reply
  4. Wonderfully said, Steve. You’ve hit your mark again. When I pray my Rosary, one of my intentions is always for his conversion to pious, traditional Catholicism. Not because I would malign him, but because I hope for him to save his soul. Thank you for this piece.

    Reply
  5. In many images as well as in the book of Revelations, Our Lady is represented as standing on the moon, or the moon under her feet. I see the moon as the symbol of Islam, which tries to obscure the Sun, which represents Christ.
    For a time only, Islam will seem to “eclipse” the True Church of Christ, but will not prevail, and Christ and His Church will shine bright once again.

    Reply
    • That’s an interesting point; I hadn’t thought of that before. But just the other week I was speculating about that same image from Revelations myself and I wondered if it might not be a symbol of the Immaculate Conception. Let me explain. In ancient cultures the world over, the moon was considered the source of fertility and birth because its cycle is the same time span as the female menstrual cycle. Hence most of the moon deities were Goddesses, and women still refer to their period as their “moon time.” Now, if women labor in pain to give birth because of original sin, perhaps “the way of women” that makes them “unclean” is also a consequence of original sin. So, if Mary was conceived without sin, maybe she didn’t have to experience any unclean “moon time.” Thus the moon would be under her feet.

      Reply
        • I didn’t mean she didn’t have a cycle but that her cycle wasn’t marked by bloody discharge (or, as you say, PMS or cramps, i.e. “moon time”). That’s what made women “unclean” according to Moses, the blood.

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      • I’m a crasle Catholic from the era of Pius XII. We were taught (and from the Douay-Rheims) that Rev. 12 is Mary who gives birth to a man-child (Jesus), whom the dragon (Satan) wants to devour, but who is caught up to God (Ascension).

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  6. I have been on a brief partial hiatus for the past two weeks, attending to things personal (celebrating a Nephew graduating from Basic Training, and entertaing my brother for a couple of weeks) and things Public (funeral Mass, burial, Masses, confessions, construction on one of my parishes etc…) and all is well in the pressing unwellness of our day.

    The Lord God is good and has given us the Moon and the Stars (Mary and the Saints) to remind us of the Eternal Lite even in the Dark of Night. A greater focus on Our Blessed Mother Mary and her reflective light, in these times of sorrow for Our Mother the Church, is necessary if we are to endure in Hope while the Son lies in the Tomb.

    Dearest Mother Mary, show forth thy blessed light upon us who suffer in this dark night. For the light of thy Beloved Son is besmirched by the mire of filth splattered upon the garment of Holy Church by the legions of wicked shepherds who have no love of the sheep or their Lord. O Holy Mother, let thy light shine forth to cast fear into their hearts and joy into ours that they may know that their time is short and that we may know that thy Blessed Son is Eternal. Let us gaze upon thee and believe all that the Lord thy God has spoke to thee until we can look upon Him with unveiled faces and reflect His Light forever with thee in Paradise. Amen.

    Reply
    • Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the eclipse of the day, Steve; however, you write:

      “the eclipse we are now experiencing has lasted just four years…”

      The eclipse obscuring the face of Holy Mother Church has been present for over 50 years now. I suggest it’s not time to remove your sunglasses yet.

      Reply
      • Not merely 50 years, but 500. Like a solar eclipse, the shadow has been creeping across the face of Christ’s bride since Luther’s rebellion and Francis, instead of consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart, plans to “concelebrate” with the Lutherans (and perhaps canonize the heretic) on the 500th anniversary of Luther’s revolt.

        Reply
        • We are in the “minor apostasy” of Revelation. The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary will bring about a brief period of restoration and peace before the Antichrist and the great apostasy and then the end.

          Reply
          • The “minor aoostasy” occurred when Catholics joined Luther, Calvin, Wesley and the anabaptists. The great apostasy began in 1966 after the close of the council and the beginning of the “reforms”, which started with those who actually left the Church and continues today with those who leave AND those who stay, but don’t believe and have bought into the modernist lie. One does not have to leave to be an apostate.

          • What you say is persuasive; however if this is the “great apostasy” then we will shortly (3.5 years?) be seeing THE antichrist, and there will be no time for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the “period of peace” wherein the Church will be restored before the final antichrist, the final persecution and the end. . . . I shortly expect abrupt and bloody European wars as part of increasing tribulations; but followed by the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart. . . . .

  7. On September 23rd (thirty three days from now), we will witness the sign in the sky that some call the Revelation 12 sign. I understand that both the eclipse today and the upcoming celestial event are rare/ unusual. Are these thing omens?

    Reply
    • This is very significant. In the Douay Rheims Bible (authoritative) the woman of Rev 12 is considered to be the Church, and she is in labour to bring forth her children and Christ in them. Perhaps this means us, and Christ in us.

      Reply
          • Not mocking, I’m honestly asking. Is this the only version we are obligated by our Faith to read….again I’m honestly asking here and no offense is intended

          • I don’t know too much about the Septuagint except that the Septuagint OT has always been used in the Eastern Catholic Tradition.

          • The various episcopal conferences have authorized versions, such as in the U.S. it is the New American Bible. However, all these are since Vatican II and have modernist translations. The most accurate and faithful is the Douay-Rheims, which is an English translation of the official bible of the Church, the Latin Vulgate produced by St. Jerome who used the Septuagint fir the Old Testament and, as I recall, himself translated the books of the New Testament into Latin from their original languages. Therefore, the Douay-Rheims is the one to read! And there are several apps for Android as well as print editions.

          • The Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, the New Jerusalem Bible, the New American Bible, Msgr Knox’s translation of the Bible, the Navarre Bible, the Latin Vulgate — I believe all of these have been approved by the Catholic Church.

          • It would be an interesting exercise to compare the translations you mention, Susan, with the Douay-Rheims. You are right, of course, that ‘the Church’ allows many translations but I would be on guard – just because the spokesmen from ‘the Church’ can no longer be trusted. Any deviance should show up quickly.

          • I have the RSV-CE, The American Bible, the Knox Translation and the Navarre Bible. I do not have the Jerusalem Bible or the Douay Rheims versions, but I suppose these two would be easy enough to get on line. Yes, comparison of the versions would be interesting. I agree. Nothing that comes from the Vatican or the Vatican spokespeople can be trusted.

          • The Douay, the King James, and the RSV PLUS the Latin Vulgate are all to be found free online in columns so you can compare them. This is fascinating, and I highly recommend taking some portion you like and enjoying how the translations differ.

          • Just look for the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur for ‘Official’ Catholic Church approval. Even though VII rescinded this requirement for Catholics, It is always a good starting point for all things Catholic. Good Catholic books will have it.

          • Possibly – it happens on my smartphone too. That’s why I double check my posts before submitting them.

        • The Septuagint IS the version of the Old Testament that Catholics have always used. If you are reading the Douay OT, you are reading the Septuagint.

          The Protestant Bible uses the Masoretic version, which omits several books, and parts of others.

          Reply
          • I have a Septuagint Greek to English OT…i just wanted to be sure I have what the Church authorizes…its very helpful in doing exegesis

      • There is a video on the Remnant website that describes the sun, moon, star and planetary alignment that will occur on September 23rd. It does a far better job than I could ever do of explaining things. If you can’t find it on the Remnant, just google September 23, 2017 sign or woman clothed with the sun — something along those lines as a search should get you an astronomer official explanation. Very rare for this to happen.

        Reply
        • Watch out — The Protestants were all over this date before anybody Catholic noticed or dared publish anything about it; so there are lots of u-tube videos on it which explain the astronomy, but which are anti-catholic or tainted with “the rapture” nonsense.

          Reply
          • True, they really are big on their rapture nonsense, guess they’re going to be surprised when the events start and they don’t get their ride up to heaven, that’s gonna be a big mind blower for these folks. Try to tell them it’s not true, good luck, they won’t believe you.

          • You make me ponder (again) “Lex orandi, lex credendi.” — and the role of sacred art in aiding (or not) our faith.
            Protestants like the cross without the corpus– or they like the image of “Resurrection Christ” before the cross. They criticise Catholics for devotion to the crucifix, as they say Christ is now beyond suffering.

            Protestants like to avoid the notion that we, individually, and as the Church, must go to Calvary in union with Christ before we can reach resurrection glory: as St Paul said, “I must make up in my own body what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.” As Jesus said, “Take up YOUR cross and follow me”.

            The Protestants don’t want to hear this: they hope their “Rapture” takes them away from their own Calvary rendezvous nailed with Christ to the cross in his ultimate sacrifice.

            However– when the crunch comes, and the Protestants find they”are not beamed up, Scotty” they will realise the “rapture” was false theology, and the Catholic theology is the true one; and thus our take on reality is the only game in town.

            Then, realising the falsity of Protestantism, they will quickly join the Catholic Church– and meet their Calvary as part of the one, holy, Catholic, bride of Christ. No cross, no crown !

          • You make me ponder once again “Lex orandi, lex credendi” and the role of sacred art in helping (or hindering) our understanding of our faith.

            Protestants like the empty cross, and denigrate the Catholic crucifix, holding that “Christ is in glory, and suffers no more.” They erroneously believe in “the rapture” which will “Beam them up, Scotty” to avoid the nastiness of the Antichrist, and to escape the need to be crucified with Christ in the last persecution. They forget we have a destiny, as St Paul said, “to make up in my own flesh what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ” –who as the the Lamb of God, has been sacrificed from the beginning of the world (to its end, to save all souls).

            However when the last tribulation is upon is and the Protestants realise their Rapture isn’t going to happen, they will see that the Catholic Church’s realistic theology is the only game in town; so they will renounce their protestant heresy, and with us, the one, true Church and Bride of Christ “take up our cross” and follow the Divine Bridegroom to martyrdom under the Antichrist on the last Calvary. Then and only then will they enter into glory: “No cross, no crown.”

    • Today is also the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Knock, with is associated with the book of Revelations. The silent tableau included St John preaching from a book on the gospel side of an altar atop which was a little lamb. One further indication that Revelations is relevant to the apparition was the detail that St. John was wearing a short mitre of the type worn by eastern bishops, and of course Revelations is addressed to seven churches in Asia. In hindsight, Knock looks like a prelude to Fatima, those being the 13th and 14th Marian apparitions approved by the Church.

      Reply
      • Donal Patrick Foley wrote an eye-opening book “Marian Apparitions, the Bible and Modern times” in which he relates a typological pattern of Marian Apparitions which echo the historical sequence of the Bible.

        Foley observed that the silence of Knock suggested the “silence in Heaven after opening the 7th seal” in the Apocalypse. I highly recommend this book; so did noted theologian Fr Aidan Nichols, O.P. who wrote the book’s introduction.

        Reply
        • Thank you for pointing us to this book. It is for sure a book that I will read.
          Btw. When you go to the site http://www…bol…com/nl (which is similar to amazon), you cannot believe what stated as summary of the book…
          https://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9780852443132
          By google translated engine (which is pretty accurate) the ‘summary’ sounds like this:
          “Resume
          This is a reference for diagnosing and managing disease. This edition covers: alternative medicine; practice guidelines; impact of genetics on clinical practice; infertility and fertility control; adolescent health care; gene therapy; and the latest treatment strategies from the experts.”

          Reply
        • Thanks, just picked it up from Christendom College’s library—good stuff.

          Not to say this is WHY the vision was silent, but I was thinking, one reason it makes sense that the vision was silent, has to do with the language issue in Ireland, especially at that time. Most of the witnesses probably could not speak Irish, but it would have been a controversial and confusing sign had Mary spoken English to the Catholic Irish in persecuted and oppressed Ireland.

          As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words, so the Irish peasants saw a divine tableau instead.

          Reply
    • Within the two years prior to Jonah’s arrival to preach repentance or disaster to the Ninevites, Nineveh experienced a brutal war and two devastating plagues. These calamities were followed by a total eclipse of the sun, by which time the king and all his subjects were sufficiently chastened to hear Jonah’s call to repentance, and they were given forty days to ‘get their act together’, which, as history records, they did. Forty days from August 21 takes us to September 30, (which I think may coincide this year with the Jewish Day of Atonement). And just over one week later, we encounter the centenary of the final Fatima apparition and the particularly sobering Miracle of the Sun. All of this may mean nothing in particular. Or. it may indicate that the next six or seven weeks will reveal whether the people will start to come to their senses, or suffer a chastisement of unprecedented magnitude.

      Reply
      • Something else is going on also. I have to bring up something
        from Garabandal. These visions are not approved by the Church,
        but someone asked Padre Pio once and he said yes, the Virgin was
        appearing there. I don’t want to argue about it’s approval just want to
        point out that in one interview, Conchita said that the Pope will go
        to Russia and when he returns to the Vatican, hostilities will
        break out all over Europe. Cardinal Secretary of State Parolin is
        in Russia NOW trying to set up a trip for the Pope to go there.

        http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/parolin-in-russia-vatican-diplomacy-has-a-key-role-in-global-debate-40834/

        If anyone wants to learn about these 1963 visions in Spain, I would
        suggest reading one of the old Garabandal books. There are all
        kinds of odd ball things floating on the internet about these visions.
        I do know that Fr. Nicolas Gruner (RIP) was there. I found that
        interesting.

        I think it’s time everyone was wearing a blessed Brown
        Scapular. If any of you don’t have one, call either:
        The Fatima Center 800-263-8160 or
        The Universal Living Rosary Assn of St Philomena
        281-309-9821 http://www.philomena.org

        Reply
        • A former Bishop of Santander, Juan del Val Gallo, stated after retirement that “the message of Garabandal is theologically correct, and very important.” He also said that “condemned” is a word the Church has never used in connection with Garabandal. But he did think that the message; “many bishops and priests are on the road to perdition, and taking many souls with them” was “a bit harsh”. But he can be excused for that. Consider the Blessed Virgin’s observations about the Church at La Salette: “The priests, ministers of My Son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their love of money, their love of honors ……. the priests have become cesspools of corruption. And; “Many convents are no longer houses of God, but temples of Asmodeus” This didn’t sit well with many priests, initially, including St. Jean Vianney. And the message of Akita regarding “Cardinals opposing cardinals, bishop opposing bishop. Priests who venerate Me will be scorned by their confreres ………..” That didn’t go down too well with some bishops and priests. But what have we go now? Cardinals opposing cardinals; bishops opposing bishops ……”
          I have never doubted the veracity of the Garabandal message regarding a future pope going to Moscow, and all hell breaking loose on his return to Rome. As I have often said to people: When you hear that the pope will be going to Moscow, you will know that it’s time to batten down the hatches!

          Reply
    • Yes, but I can’t help but wonder when the great red draggin will appear, especially since he is already rushing about devouring the woman’s children? 😉

      Reply
        • Since it is called “another sign” [in heaven] I will not be surprised for a reddish astroid or meteor, etc. to appear suddenly near the feet of the constellation Virgo shortly after the 23 September “Great Sign.” Time will tell.

          Its abrupt and possibly threatening appearance would validate the “Great Sign” as prophecy fulfilled, not merely “an astronomical coincidence.” Of course to those alert to the signs of the time, such validation would be unnecessary.

          Reply
          • I’ve been told that there is a meteor shower that is supposed to take place in October. It is called the Draogonid meteor shower because it appears to originate in the constellation Draco (“The Dragon”). Certainly this would appear to fit the criteria of a great dragon sweeping a third of the stars from the sky.

    • Are these omens ?
      (Is the Pope Catholic?)

      Jesus said there would be signs in the heavens. He told us to watch for “signs of the times”. Some people will, some won’t.

      Reply
    • This same alignment has occurred several times just in the last 1000 years. The sun will be in the constellation Virgo, the moon will be east of the sun, under Virgo’s feet, there will be 12 “stars” above Virgo’s head (9 stars in the constellation Leo and the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars), and the planet Jupiter will spend 9 months within Virgo. But it will not be a “great sign” appearing in the heavens precisely because the Virgin is clothed with the sun and the heavenly bodies will be invisible in the light of the sun.

      Reply
  8. I just find the timing of this total solar eclipse all so very prophetic and appropriate in light of the centenary of the Apparitions at Fatima. Tomorrow we commemorate the Queenship of Mary and today we honor that great defender of Catholic Truth against modernism, Pope St. Pius X. Our Lady hasn’t forgotten Her children and she once again calls us to repentance and penance. The things of this world are quickly passing away, yet God’s justice and mercy may just be on the horizon.

    Reply
  9. Steve,
    Is this pontificate that momentary? He is absolutely rushing to pack the magisterium with his cadre. Frankly, I am very concerned about the next 30 years….

    Reply
    • The next thirty years????? As a certain erstwhile tennis superstar was wont to demand: “You cannot be serious!” What we are currently suffering cannot possibly endure for another thirty, or twenty years. All the detritus that has been piling up and fouling the Church will have been consigned to the scrapheap of history long before 2047. I’. not banking on seeing the Day of Deliverance, since I have all-but attained my allotted ‘three score and ten’. But that’s for God to know. As T.S. Elliot observed: “Ours is just to try; the rest is not our business.”

      Reply
      • Brian W and Stewart Davies, I keep bringing up the Copts. Or the Assyrian Christians.

        1400, FOURTEEN HUNDRED, years of dhimmitude under the heel of Islam. Are we better people than they, or just more fortunately geographically located? We certainly had “fighting popes” in the past who organized, promoted, begged for military forces to hold off Islam. Two-thirds of the Christian world was lost to Islam, the entire Near East, cradle of the Faith, all of the Byzantine Empire, the Persian Empire was mostly Christian (Nestorian, perhaps, but still…) before the Muslim advent. North Africa would have been another Spain or Southern Italy speaking a Romance-style language had not the Muslims swept over it, bringing their goats and sheep and destroying its ecosystem, turning it into a desert (millennia of careful ecological engineering lost to marauding Bovidae of the subfamilies Caprinae).

        Has He not heard the cries of His people in bondage? (To sound a bit like Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments). Of course He has; but He operates on (shall we say) a different level than we do. He said we’d be persecuted, slaughtered, hounded, crucified. But then, once He makes a Covenant, He NEVER breaks it. Look what the Jews have endured, yet they survive. True Christianity will too, but we may well end up like the Copts. I don’t write this to negate the spirit of Steve’s article but we have to be honest about it, and always keep things in perspective.

        As I’ve written before, reading articles here on the history of Vatican II, or Dr. Peter Kwasniewski’s wonderful new book, Noble Beauty, Transcendent Holiness, as I am now, brings home to me the profound depth, extent, and organization of those who would turn Catholicism into a spaghetti version of the dying Anglican Communion (it is apparently not expected to last another generation).

        And unless something is done, and fast, in 30 years we really be divided up into various “in Communion” separate Churches, divided along linguistic lines. We can already see that strongly happening even now (consider the German Church, or the Latin-American one). The one prayer I can think to keep saying is, “Thy will be done.” It most certainly will. But will we be able to accede to it?

        Raghn

        Reply
        • Thank you, Raghn, for a very thoughtful and erudite response. Salvation history mirrors the six days of Creation, and as such, for simplicity’s sake, can be divided into three two-thousand year periods. Approximately two thousand years after Adam’s transgression, evil, which had gained almost total ascendancy, was purged from the earth by the Deluge. This purification we attribute to God the Father, though of course it was an act of the one Divine Will which unites the three Divine Persons. A further two thousand years saw the same pattern repeated, and the Infernal Powers were vanquished by the Blood of Christ on Calvary. And now, we have arrived at the end of the third period, or the end of the sixth day, two thousand years since humanity received the full revelation of Jesus Christ. So this present generation is without the slightest doubt the most culpable and corrupt generation in all of human history. This unparalleled level of evil will be cleansed by the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit, as the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima indicates to us, and this was re-iterated at Akita in 1973. The Church must be made ready as the spotless Bride of Christ in readiness for the return of the Heavenly Bridegroom, at a time in history known only to God. But since we are now at the point of nightfall on the sixth day, there simply is not sufficient time for the Church to continue on its accelerating descent into degeneracy over a period of several decades. It is the Church’s destiny to follow in the footsteps of her Christ, to ascend her Calvary and be put to death, and after a very brief eclipse, to be resurrected, and gradually attain a beauty, by the power of God that will surpass all previous glories.

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          • Very interesting post. I am curious if/how our Lady’s promise of 1000 years peace might fit into this timeline when she predicted that even though it would be late, Russia would be consecrated and her immaculate heart would triumph, bringing about a period of peace. Ironically though, 6000 plus the 1000 for peace would equal 7000= 7 days including the Sabbath. Your thoughts??
            God bless!!!!

          • All I can do is tell it as I see it. Our Blessed Lady didn’t explicitly promise a 1000 year Era of Peace, but rather: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, Russia will be converted, and a period of peace will be given to the world.” A literal interpretation of “a period of peace” suggests a rather low-key affair, characterised by a world-wide absence of conflict, for the first time in centuries. But many mystics of the Church describe this particular period as one of relatively short duration. We are told that one generation, (twenty five or thirty years), will be sufficient for men’s hearts to once again grow cold, and that this will usher in the prophesied Chastisement, in which two thirds to three quarters of humanity will perish. This is alluded to in the message of Akita, in which “fire will fall from the sky, destroying the greater part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, and sparing neither priests or faithful …….”. This is also referred to in Sacred Scripture, (Jeremiah, I think), in which two thirds are taken, and the remaining third will be tested by fire, as gold is tested by fire.

            But obviously, if this terrible chastisement destroys only “the greater part of humanity”, then human history will not have run its full course.
            God created humanity to be the pinnacle of creation. This doesn’t merely mean ‘the smartest’. man was specifically created by God to share fully and intimately in the Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity, in a way that sets man apart from the rest of creation, including the angels. Adam received from God, as gift, the very Divine Will. Thus Adam became a divinised being, and so everything Adam did while he remained in his created state of perfection was a divine act which became a part of the eternal creative work if the Blessed Trinity. The very purpose of creation was for the Blessed Trinity to gaze upon Their creature, ‘man’ and be enraptured by man acting in a divine manner in all things. Had Adam, when put to the test, not asserted his infinitely inferior human will over the perfect and omnipotent Divine Will, this divine gift would have been passed on to Eve and all their descendants until the conclusion of history.

            Unless the original order of creation is restored, then God’s plan for creation; the sole raison d’etre of creation, will have been a complete failure. And God cannot fail. If there is one thing that is impossible for God, it is failure. Therefore the original order of creation must be largely restored, in which a representative number of the human race will once again possess the Divine Will as gift. Obviously things cannot be fully restored to their original state, because Original Sin can never be expunged from humanity’s record. But this restoration will take place, and the original harmony in creation, which was lost by Adam’s sin, will be restored in those times when, as Isaiah describes, “the lion will lie down with the lamb.” Isaiah also tells us that to die at a hundred years of age will be to die young, ths the longevity which characterised the lives of the first generations of humanity will be restored and “to die at a hundred will be seen to die young.”

            Speaking of these times, St. John the Evangelist tells us that “A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.” These will be the times of the Millennial Kingdom of the Kingdom of the Divine Will for which we pray in the Our Father; “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth [just] as it is done in heaven.” This will indeed be the ‘seventh day’ when God’s plan for creation has been restored. It’s actual duration is unknown, except that it will be a period of time, ‘more or less prolonged’.

            So, maybe the the Era of Peace and the Millennial Kingdom are distinct from each other, and are separated by the purging og eveil from the world as indicated in Scared Scripture and approved Catholic private revelation, most notably Fatima.

          • Thank you for this response! I guess I had thought that the restoration on mankind wouldn’t happen until God created the new heaven and the new earth for all eternity, which is when the lion lies down with the lamb, etc…… and that it would be for all those who achieved salvation during their earthly journey. This subject intrigues me and is fun to contemplate, a welcome idea in the midst of this chaos, eh?
            Bless you again:-)

          • Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus was asked; “When will you restore the kingdom to Israel?” His response was; “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has determined by His own authority?” It is necessary to understand that by the time of the Ascension, Jesus had already revealed to the Apostles the entirety of Salvation history, from the creation of man until the conclusion of history, the Parousia and the General Judgement. Hence they fully understood the original order and perfect harmony of creation prior to Adam’s sin, during which time, Adam possessed the Divine Will as gift, and therefore acted in all things in a divine manner, such that the Blessed Trinity could gaze upon Their creature, man, and be enraptured, as though to say; “Look at Our creature, man, who does everything as We Ourselves do it.” Adam had an infused knowledge of God, and he saw that everything God had created, the entire universe no less, had been created by God as a gift for man. And seeing this, Adam returned to God in full and perfect measure all of the love and glory which the Divinity had lavished upon him. This was God’s purpose for the whole of creation until the conclusion of history, but God’s plan for humanity was frustrated by Adam’s sin. But since this is the Divine plan, it still must be fulfilled on this earth before God ‘brings down the curtain on creation. But the kingdom to which the Apostles referred prior to the Ascension was not a secular kingdom or any form of civil government. It is none other than the Kingdom of the Divine Will, which reigned supreme on earth through Adam before he sinned, and must reign again on this earth before the return of Christ in glory at the end of time.

            It was to enable us to implore the restoration of the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth that Jesus gave us the “Our Father ……”, though for two thousand years its meaning was not properly comprehended. It’s full meaning has been kept from us until this period, which is darkest night on ‘Day Six’ of Salvation history “Thy kingdom come, Thy Will BE DONE ON EARTH [just] as it is done in Heaven ….. refers to the restoration of the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth within history, thereby fulfilling the purpose of creation before Christ’s return. This will be the ‘Sabbath Rest’ or Seventh Day. But before this Kingdom of the Divine Will can be re-established on earth, all evil must be purged, and this is the Divine purpose of the chastisements that are set to befall humanity. Whether the Sabbath Rest is the ‘period of peace’ which Our Lady foretold at Fatima is unclear. I tend to take the view that, if certain mystics of the Church are correct, then this period of peace, lasting about a generation, is a brief respite before “hearts once again grow cold, and this will usher in the Great Tribulation which will be the definitive overthrow of the kingdom of hell wherein the Evil One will be bound and chained in hell “for a thousand years”, (figuratively speaking), after he will be released and “the mystery of iniquity will be revealed.” By this, one may assume that, prior to the return of Christ and the General Judgement, satan will come back “as himself” and not by proxy.

        • The thing that “needs to be done” is Our Lady of Fatima’s request for the Pontifical consecration of Russia IN UNION WITH THE BISHOPS OF THE WORLD which so far hasn’t happened, though so far (tho’ not much longer) chastisement has been mitigated by imperfect forms of consecration “of the world”.

          Reply
  10. As I remember the Lord told Padre Pio to also heed the warning of heaven of the 3 DAYS OF DARKNESS which will be cast upon the earth to do a spiritual cleansing. I doubt this will be another eclipse, but I am watching and praying. This will certainly incur fear of all people on the earth.. by comparison this eclipse may just be a preview of a greater supernatural occurrence by the hand of God.

    Reply
    • Ohhh but that’s astrology!!
      LOL, just kidding, I was just putting that out there before some ignoramus actually does.
      Many can’t differentiate between the constellations which were watched by man since forever including the three kings to come visit our Lord, and the psychic friends hotline which tells them how much money they will make this year.

      Reply
  11. Archbishop Fernandez, the ghost-writer of Amoris laetitia was at it again today, saying that critics of AL were locked in “death trap” logic, at least according to Francis-shill Ivereigh, over at Crux. More homoheresy from the “Heal Me With Your Mouth” weirdo. The guy is as queer as a wooden nickel.

    This is a premeditated, orchestrated attack on Catholic tradition. Any Luddites who still cling to tradition are “Pharisees”. They’re “rigid”, they’re in a “death trap”, they are just hopeless!

    This is a real test of our faith. Anything which went before is fair game for these deconstuctionists. Nothing is sacred. We’re going to be vilified, demonized, hounded, ridiculed, insulted and trashed by the lavender gang in Rome. It is indeed a true eclipse of the faith……all in the name of a bogus, fake “mercy”, which essentially means ditching Jesus’ hard sayings. I’m old enough to remember previous pontificates vividly and I have no trouble tuning out this charlatan but many can’t and will be deceived.

    Reply
    • Odd, we openly speak of the Amoris Laetitia ghost writer which we know of, but when I point out Thomistic writing supposedly from Paul VI but which everyone knows was actually from Cdl. Ottaviani, I get asked “do we have proof of this?”

      Reply
  12. The thought came to me today that God created a universe so precise that 39 years ago they could say with absolute certainty that today, August 21, 2017, a full solar eclipse would take place over a totally predictable path on this Earth. When it comes to moral Truths of a Church that has been around for centuries though, we have a God of surprises.

    Reply
    • Ouch! Nice sarcasm there. Pope Bergi is always saying that, “a God of surprises”. I’ve always preferred the saying, “God loves drama.” And of course the always unsettling, “God loves you just the way you are (beat, beat) but He loves you way too much to leave you that way.” 😀

      Reply
    • I know. I’m always saying “Revelations” and as it is my favorite NT book, I know full well what its title is, haha. I suppose I do that because subconsciously I’m thinking “It’s full of Revelations” or something, and perhaps others who make the same mistake are operating on the same lines. 😀

      Reply
  13. This eclipse of Catholic truth has been going on for a very long time — since “first contact” with the orotestant heresy. Like the ohysical eclipse of the sun, the diminishment of both sunlight and the light of truth isn’t really noticed until it is roughly 90% obscurred. Hopefully, this papacy (if it can be called that) is the total phase. I also pray the re-emergence of the full light of Catholic Truth takes far less time than it has to reach this point.

    I am on the centerline of the totality path of today’s eclipse. During the total phase the sun’s corona was a narrow shining band around the moon. It reminded me of a wedding band and a noose — Christ’s and His bride’s wedding bands and His eternal promise that ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail’ against her and a noose that His wedding band places about the neck of satan and the darkness he brings.

    Mary told us at Fatima that she would not be able to hold back hlmer Son’s arm and hus just wrath much longer. She warned that Workd War I was a chastisement for our increasing descent into sinfulness and, if we did not repent and reform, a worse war as a second chastisement woukd come. The okea for the consecration of Russia was vecause Russia was poised to embrace the godlessness of communism, whuch — true to her predictions — has spread that vasic error around the world. Although the Soviet Union has collaosed, the godkess core of communism has taken route and fliurished in virtually every nation, especially the developed countries where, because of our wealth, we have replaced God with ourselves and our selfishness has given rise to the erosion of morality and the development of the attitude of ‘anything goes’. My parents and grandparents used to say, ‘the world’s going to hell in a handbasket’. And it is, but the handbasket has gotten on the express elevator to the dungeon.

    The Lord is not merely displeased, but is ferociously angered at the world, but especially with us so-called faithful, who are actually virtually faithless — if we were not, we would make far more effort to please Him — after all we claim we love Him. Yet, His rage is greatest against the hirelings who are supposed to be the shepherds of our souls and whose betrayal is worse than that of Judas Iscariot because they are dragging those entrusted to them into hell along with themselves

    Reply
    • I saw a crescent shape, the color of a beautiful blue with my naked eye, during the eclipse, yesterday.

      All I could think of at that moment, was Mary. The color was pure blue, of which I cannot describe, and my
      eyes wanted to remain fixated on it during the eclipse.

      Our Church stands at the precipice of a great moment perhaps.

      Reply
  14. “In the life of the Church, the eclipse we are now experiencing has lasted just four years …”

    Yes, OK, I know you are referring to this Pontificate in particular, but your statement above is a very exact rendering of the nature of mainstream Catholic blogdom and journalism, neither of which can bring themselves to see the true nature of the crisis. With this comment, Benedict XVI, John Paul II and the others are all white-washed of any responsibility.

    Vatican II is the proximate source of all the trouble (not Bergoglio – he’s just the inevitable consequence of Vatican II), while Vatican II itself was the effect of a variety of causes, all of which taken together were and are an eclipse of the Catholic religion.

    Four years? No. Many, many more than that. Decades. Centuries, in fact.

    Reply
    • You may not be aware but there are plenty of articles here talking about the problems stemming from Vatican 2, John Paul 2, et al. This is not an attempt to whitewash anything, I assure you.

      Reply
      • As I noted above, this site is a WONDERFUL site for Vat2 history and commentary. I can’t express my thanks enough for all that material you-all have posted and maintained. As the Irish used to say, “God bless the work.”

        Raghn

        Reply
    • I agree with this. Bishop Williamson’s “Christ to Antichrist” is an excellent presentation on the slide downward over the last 500 years.

      Reply
  15. I am a bit surprised that nobody mentioned the prophecy our Lady made at La Salette (France):
    “The Church will be eclipsed” . Which in my opinion cannot better illustrate the contents of this article
    More worrying, She added:
    “Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist”
    That means that we will have to cease looking at Rome, but elsewhere, as the bimillenary Beacon of our Faith.

    Reply
  16. Let us stay united in our faith. Blogs like this are vital to our connectivity and strength in faith. Thankyou Steve for your good and holy work.

    Reply
  17. Thank you and the good Father who gave you this analogy.
    I will pray for Bergoglio and all the bishops and cardinals who are so lost…

    Reply
  18. This is such an excellent essay. I love this analogy. It is very true Francis only obscures the light temporarily but the true light will return. Thanks so much for this. As a matter of fact I pray for the soul of Francis everyday and also that God will send us a true Catholic Pope SOON!

    Reply
  19. I pray for Bergoglio’s conversion every morning along with my morning prayers, that reminds me I need to change the prayer to be for his conversion and repentance.

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  20. If I may extend the analogy, the last four years have been “totality”. The eclipse has been going on for 50+ years.

    Reply
  21. I find myself, frequently now, trying to calm down amidst the crap storm of this papacy.
    I truely believe the Lord is always in charge and that what is happening now and what will happen in the near future is well above my pay grade. So be it.
    My reactions to the so frequent insults to tradition/traditionalists, never before heard, are dismay, sadness, almost unbelief. A Vicar of Christ who uses the words coprophagia and coprophlia in newspaper interviews. Am I in Neverland?
    Homosexual cocaine fueled orgies within the Vatican and we get no official Vatican comment. Yup, the silence bothers me.
    You can bet a paycheck this pope is stacking the Logia deck to ensure the next pontiff is not a JPII or BXVI. He plays for keeps, as do his lieutenants in the jesuit liberation theology movement play for keeps.
    Yes, its only an eclipse of Catholic reason. Time to go for a walk.

    Reply
    • Regardless of what he does he won’t have a say in the next Pope. I imagine the landscape will be completely different by the time the next Pope is elected.

      Reply
  22. Should this be interesting and will this have any positive impact on the crisis?!
    “(Berlin / Rome) Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, one of the four signatories of Dubia (doubt) on the controversial post-synodal letter Amoris laetitia , indicates the necessity that Pope Francis should confess a confession…”
    https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.katholisches.info/2017/08/kardinal-brandmueller-deutet-notwendigkeit-einer-professio-fidei-durch-papst-franziskus-an/%3Fpk_campaign%3Dfeed
    In the original language (german):
    http://www.katholisches.info/2017/08/kardinal-brandmueller-deutet-notwendigkeit-einer-professio-fidei-durch-papst-franziskus-an
    If the dead silence will not be again the answer, then it maybe.

    Reply
  23. watched the crowds who turned out to watch the eclipse and I wondered who or what drove them to observe. Was ir to acknowledge the mighty power of God . Dd they whisper in the hearts and minds my God how great Thou art. Nothing human in moving planets and moon around the sun and the heavens. Did any think what if the sun vanished blew itself up what would happen to us. I didn’t think so.

    Reply
    • Very good point. Being in a location with only about 80% “totality”, I spent most of the time watching various TV coverages of the event. Perhaps it was just a form of confirmation bias on the part of the “journalists” doing the coverage, but the distinct impression I had from the entire human side of the spectacle was of pagan nature worship, with a measure of Scientism thrown in. I know better than to expect any mention of God on secular TV, but the paganism really was palpable.

      Reply
  24. How do we know that the Eclipse is temporary? How do we know that the Pope after this one is not going to be as bad as or worse?

    Reply
  25. The loyal followers of Christ are surely being put to the test. The wheat is being separated from the chaff. The “people” rebelled against Moses. Now, Francis wants the people to become the Church of the new evangelization. He is against clericalism. It sure sounds like Les Miserables to me and the taking of the clergy to the guillotine.

    Reply

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