Divine Mercy and Prophecy

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author.

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Thomas is doubting, because what he’s lived has been so dark, so much sin, so much evil, and even sensing the sin and weakness of himself and the other Church leaders, the apostles. And in that situation, it’s hard to believe that God will act, that God will fulfill promises, which are so extreme that they’ve never been done before. And it’s we can find ourselves in a similar situation when we experience a lot of evil and darkness, even in the Church, even in the hierarchy of the Church, and it can cause us to doubt. As I said, we’re in this crucial time for the Church right now with the death of Jorge Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis. And so, we entrust his soul to the Lord, and we pray for the Church as it prepares for a new Conclave. And I’ll be coming back to that point in a little bit. But so, this is, as I say, a crucial time right now. And so, let’s take a little bit of time on this Great Feast of Mercy to reflect. Do you remember what the second reading was today? Think, if you remember the second reading, it was on this Feast of Divine Mercy, it was a reading from the apocalypse, the beginning of the apocalypse. St John said, “I John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance.” John, when he’s writing, this is now old, he’s been exiled on an island, and he has an apparition of Jesus. And so, this is different from the gospel. When John tells us about what he experienced with Jesus many years ago, when Jesus was alive on this earth. This is John also talking about Jesus, but a Jesus who is alive right now, present to him majestic, and Jesus talking to him about what He is going to do. So, it’s the same Apostle John, but who is now having a prophetic experience. You know, each year we look at different aspects of this Feast of Divine Mercy. And so today, I felt the Lord is calling us to look at Divine Mercy and prophecy – Divine Mercy and prophecy. So, if you’re trying to wonder what was Father John Mary talking about today, it’s Divine Mercy, mercy and prophecy. And so, you can say, well, he’s always talking about prophecy, and that’s kind of true, that it has a special relationship to Divine Mercy. In the reading today, in the beginning of the Apocalypse, it says, “Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of this prophecy.” So, the book of Revelation, the apocalypse is a prophecy. “And blessed are those who hear and keep what is written in them for the time is near.” And there’s other moments in the book of Revelation where it talks about it as a book of prophecy. And right after the beginning, then it gives messages to the Church in seven different cities, prophetic messages. For some, it’s a warning. For others, it’s consoling and encouraging them, but to each one of them, he says, and this is a key passage. He says, “Let he who has ears, hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.” And that’s important for us right now, in this crucial moment of the Church, “let he who has ears hear what God wants to say,” what the Holy Spirit is saying to us right now, in this moment.  The book of Revelation goes on in a later chapter to talk about a beast with two horns, like a lamb, a beast like a lamb, which is the False Prophet, and that beast is cooperating with the other beast, which represents the Antichrist. And then, the Marian Movement of Priests, which there was a book of locutions which a priest received, Don Gobi in the 70s. throughout the 90s, our Blessed Mother gave him prophetic messages. And it explained this passage as representing the beast like a lamb, as representing the evil spirit that has infiltrated the Church. And it said this is the spirit of ecclesiastical freemasonry, an evil spirit which has penetrated the Church to cause a false Christ and a false Church to develop a false Christ and a false Church. And that’s what we’re living today, this deceptive, subtle spirit that is not just in the world but has penetrated into the Church. But the Book of Revelations is a book of great hope about what God would do. It’s realistic about the evil, but it’s above all what God will do. And it says John sees the risen Lord. He says, “He touched me with His right hand and said, Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive, forever and ever. I hold the keys to death in another world.” So, this book is telling us, no matter what happens, no matter how great are the struggles, and how dark are the times, everything is in the hands of our Lord Jesus, He is the victor. So we’re given today that prophetic book in the book of Revelation. But these prophetic graces didn’t end with the book of Revelation. We know they continue. The Holy Spirit continues to speak to the Church, and we have a great example right now with this feast today. Why are we here today? Why did St John Paul Institute this new Feast of Divine Mercy? That’s a big major thing for the Church. Why did he do that? And if you wanted a Feast of Divine Mercy, why, particularly this day, the first Sunday after Pentecost, why did he choose it? And we know it was because precisely of a prophetic message. St John Paul is a great example of a pastor, of a pope who is who is faithful and full of faith and responds to prophetic words. And so, because of the prophetic words of Saint Faustina, he instituted this feast, this day, Saint Faustina, who is the great prophet of Divine Mercy. And there’s a passage of which compares her to the prophets of the Old Testament. She says in her diary, today, I heard the words –  “in the Old Covenant. I sent Prophets wielding thunderbolts to my people. Today, I am sending you with my mercy to the people of the whole world.” Notice what he says, “today, I am sending you.” This is not her idea. This is God Himself, who is sending her. “I do not want to punish aching mankind. I desire to heal it, pressing into My Merciful Heart. I use punishment when they themselves force me to do so. My hand is reluctant to take hold of the sword of justice. Before the day of justice, I am sending the day of mercy.” In her diary, there’s a mysterious passage which was given on December 17, 1936, and it wasn’t till later that people pointed out, some people pointed out, that that’s actually the birth that the day that Jorge Begoglio was born. And this is what that passage says today – “I have offered this day for priests. I have suffered more today than ever before. I have suffered more today than ever before, both interiorly and exteriorly. I did not know was possible to suffer so much in one day, I tried to make a Holy Hour and the course of which my spirit had a taste of the bitterness of the Garden of Gethsemane. I am fighting alone, supported by His arm against all the difficulties that face me like unassailable walls. But I trust in the power of His name, and I fear nothing.” So again, it might seem surprising to talk about divine prophecy on this Feast of Divine Mercy. But prophecy is one of the great gifts by which He transmits His mercy in this very, as I say, the very feast day and all that, all the messages of Saint Faustina are part of that. And from the book of Revelation through and then throughout the history of the Church. The apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe is another great example, because there was the prophetic message given to Saint Juan Diego. And our little Mission of Divine Mercy is also a little example of the graces, prophetic graces. And so prophetic messages always need prudence and discernment because, as scripture says clearly, there are false prophets. But we also need to be careful about not rejecting God’s mercy for our suffering times. Some people say we don’t need St. Faustina’s messages; the Gospel already talks about Divine Mercy. There’s a lot of Catholics who reject her messages, and it’s true, the gospel already it’s not God’s mercy. It’s not something that St Faustina discovered, but if God himself wanted to give us these special graces for today, shouldn’t we accept? Scripture also often talks about, what are the consequences of not receiving the prophetic messages, of not listening to God’s prophet, to God’s prophets? Just one example. This is from Second Chronicles in the Old Testament. It says, “the Lord, the God of their fathers sent persistently to them by His messengers, because He had compassion, He had mercy on His people and on His dwelling place.” But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, till the wrath of God rose against His people, till there was no remedy, and the consequences are disastrous for the people of Jerusalem. We know that satan is very active today, and he’s also very deceptive. That God is with this Church. He’s giving the graces necessary for us in these difficult times. He’s giving the graces that are necessary if we listen to Him. And here we’re at this little Mission of Divine Mercy, and there was a critical moment in our experience of prophetic messages began about over 30 years ago, when I was in Monterrey and two women came to me. I’ve talked about this in other occasions. Two women came to me saying that they were receiving interior locutions, and the Lord was asking me to be their spiritual director. And in the first message they gave me, I’ll read you just a few lines of that, that said, “my son, I want, I need priest, ministers of my Church who will not doubt My gifts from heaven, given to humanity through these small, through these my small, weak and ignorant children. Pray, pray much for priests without faith. They, more than anyone, hinder My mission on earth. Priests without faith, bishops, Cardinals, the Pope. And then several years ago, there was a surprise of Sister Amapola and some others to experience also, the Lord speaking to them in a prophetic way. And that’s what led to us building this Tepeyac, the Teocalli. And so the prophetic messages have inspired our community, even though they’re often a cross, It’s often very difficult. They are messages which are in line with the Gospel, the book of Revelation, like Saint Faustina, but they’re not just a repetition. I feel that they’re like continuing those messages. And you know that we recently, the Lord gave us, for that we were able to publish right before Holy Thursday, a message on the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, like we’re celebrating right now. And then, He also gave us a message that we just published a few days ago, precisely about His mercy, that His mercy does not negate His justice. They go together and His mercy is not weakness. It’s a very challenging path of trust and abandoning ourselves to the Lord. He said in that message, “My Mercy has no bounds. It stretches from eternity to eternity. It covers all that is created, reaching into the depths, soaring to the heights, light as a caress, powerful as a rushing stream, vast as the skies and the seas, fruitful and bountiful, bringing peace and healing, drawing you as a magnet to the heart of the Father.” So, I encourage you to read, to reread, to meditate, that profound message, and in that message, He says that what He is asking us now, because God asked special things at special moments in the Church, is what is needed depends on this, on the special situation the Church is in. And he said, “My children in this hour, what is needed is your faith, your trust and abandonment, letting Me act in you, faith so that God can act. And finally, I hesitated about reading this. This that I felt I would go ahead and do it. This was just a message that Sister Amapola received just last, just this past Monday, when we learned of the passing of Jorge Bergoglio. So, this was a message that wasn’t given. It wasn’t a public message. It was a message given to our little community, but I thought I would share it here today. Sister says, when I first read the news of his death, these were the words that the Lord said to me, “silence, wait. And then, then she got this following message. “My children, be at peace. Wait. I am acting. Everything is in My hands. My plan moves forward, the reconquest continues. One betrayal has been accomplished, established, an open door for the hordes of satan to take their places.” I’ll read that paragraph again. “One betrayal has been accomplished. Established an open door for the hordes of satan to take their places. Stay on guard My children, the battle has not ended. It begins. My children believe all things, all souls, all situations in My hands. I know, I see, I act. Pray for My little ones, so confused, so wounded, so distracted. My Mercy covers all, but it must be accepted. And in order to accept it, one must believe the need for My Mercy, repentance, faith, humility. Teach My little flock, be at peace, My children, seen from above, seen with My eyes what unfolds before you.” And Sister said that I asked her about that passage, and she said she had an image of like a river, and flood with all sorts of stuff in the river, the tree branches and so forth, and a person also being carried in that river, and another person standing on the bank above the river. And she said, even though they’re almost in the same place at the same time, one is just being swept along with the river in the chaos of the river, and one is on the bank, on a stable place, able to look, look and see things more clearly. So, I’ll read that part again. “Be at peace, My children, seen from above with Me, seen with My eyes what unfolds before you. Do not be afraid. Be at peace. Silence in your hearts, on guard. I will tell you what you need to know, when and how you need to know it. My soldiers prepare for battle. Your Abba blesses you, your God, thanks you.” She sensed Him smiling. “I love you. Be at peace.” And so, to conclude, we had the Gospel of Thomas, doubting, like so many people today, in the darkness and through the Apocalypse of St John, through St Faustina, through so many prophetic words, which continue from then all the way up till today. So, the one I just shared with you, the Lord, wants to encourage and sustain us, console us, guide us, lead us. He has great mercy being prepared for our times. “Let he who has ears, hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.” Jesus, we trust in You. Amen.  

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
John 20:19-31
Revelation 1:9-11,12-13,17-19