I Will Lead You Into the Desert

In May of 1975, as a part of the Holy Year, the International Conference on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal was held in Rome. It was held there at the invitation of Pope Paul VI, who addressed the group in St. Peter's Basilica. At that same session of the conference, with Pope Paul present, a prophecy was given that was quite controversial. It spoke of a coming time of trial & purification. It was rejected by some as being too negative.

At the time I had only been active in the Charismatic renewal for a yaer. When I heard it, I thought that it would the time of trail would come soon & pass quickly. As time passed, I forgot about what was said. Recently I came across this article by Fr. Collins. It reminded me of that prophecy. He talks about that prophecy (& 2 others) & whether they hav&/or are coming true.

He also talks about a prophecy from the 1976 Notre Dame Conference which I attended. I had totally forgotten about this prophecy until I was reminded of it in this article.

I present this article for your consideration & reflection. I will share my opinions afterwords.

A Prophetic Understanding of the Signs of the Times

by Fr Pat Collins CM

Fr Pat Collins CM, a well known author of many books and a retreat leader based in Dublin, Ireland, reflects on some of the prophecies that have been circulating recently and what they might mean.

Over the years I have heard many prophecies. It is notoriously hard to know whether they come from God or not. However, there are some which have considerable authority because of the circumstances in which they were spoken, the acknowledged giftedness of the people who spoke them, and the way in which they evoked an answering amen of approval in the Christian community. On Pentecost Monday 1975 such a prophecy was given by Ralph Martin in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, in the presence of Pope Paul VI. It seems to contain a number of distinct but interrelated points which are particularly relevant for the Church in Western countries.

A time of darkness and purification in the Church
The Lord seemed to predict that a time of purifying darkness was about to afflict the Church. “Open your eyes, open your hearts to prepare yourselves for me and for the day that I have now begun. My church will be different; my people will be different; difficulties and trials will come upon you…I will lead you into the desert…I will strip you of everything that you are depending on now, so you depend just on me.” The Lord went on to say more about the purpose of the time of trial and purification. “You need the power of my Holy Spirit in a way that you have not possessed it; you need an understanding of my will and of the ways I work that you do not yet have.”
Thirty three years later, would it not be true to say that this aspect of the prophecy has been fulfilled. It is as if the powers of hell have been unleashed, in order to mount a full frontal attack on the people of God. The effects of this time of trial are fairly obvious. Many people, including members of the clergy, have failed in the day of testing. For instance, in western countries practice rates, together with vocations to the priesthood and religious life have fallen rapidly. For instance, in 2004 only 15 men were ordained in Ireland while over 160 priests died. There also has been a decline in Christian morality. This is particularly obvious in the form of sexual permissiveness, rising levels of violence, binge drinking, drug taking, dishonesty etc.

Faithful remnant
While all of this was happening, however, there has also been a growing minority of Christian men and women who not only have remained faithful during the years of darkness, but have grown in age, wisdom, and grace. For example, they adhere to the magisterium of the Church while avoiding reductionist tendencies which try to water down the doctrinal and ethical teachings of the scriptures in order to make them more acceptable in the context of secular culture. Nowadays there is a significant number of praying people, happily many of them charismatics, who are firmly committed to Christ and who try conscientiously to answer the universal calls to holiness and evangelization.

Disruption and breakdown in secular world
The prophecy given in St Peter’s in 1975 seemed to say that the time of darkness in the church would be followed by a time of darkness in the secular world. “Days of darkness are coming on the world, days of tribulation.” I have believed for many years that a time was coming when there would be great disruption and even breakdown in the secular world. Indeed I can remember saying something on those lines in Unveiling the Heart which was published in 1995. At one point I suggested that, “In the coming years it is possible that, as a result of growing irrationality and moral blindness, we may have to endure a time of economic and political disruption…No matter how painful the dislocation of society may be, it could lead many people to reject questionable philosophical and economic beliefs, just as it has already done in the former Soviet Union.”
I discovered recently that a prophecy was spoken at the American NSC in 1976 which said, “Son of man, do you see the city going bankrupt? Are you willing to see all of your cities going bankrupt? Are you willing to see the bankruptcy of the whole economic system you rely upon now, so that all money is worthless and cannot support you?” As breakdown occurs it will have three predictable effects. It will tend to unleash the dark irrational aspects of the human unconscious. As unrest increases it will cause some people to say despairingly, “let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die!” (Cf. Eccl 8:15), and others to say, “let us seek the Lord while he may still be found” (Is 55:6). At the time of writing, early Nov 2008, it looks as if the predicted time of secular darkness has already begun in the form of collapsing financial institutions, a falling share price and the likelihood of a world wide recession or even depression.

Purification followed by a new Springtime for the Church
This brings us to a third point in the prophecy. The Lord intends to use his committed followers, whom he has raised up and equipped during the church’s time of darkness, to evangelize those who will seek him during the time of darkness in the secular world. As the Lord said in the prophecy in St Peter’s, “A time of darkness is coming on the world, but a time of glory is coming for my church, a time of glory is coming for my people…I will prepare you for a time of evangelism that the world has not seen.”
I was interested to see that Ralph Martin said in Goodnews (May/June 1999) that he had reason to believe that the fulfillment of the 1975 prophecy might be imminent. He wrote: “I believe that we are now in a time of visitation… we are on the verge of a significant action of God [my italics], an action that will function as a two edged sword, depending on our preparation and willingness to respond to the prophetic message we are being given. And is it not possible that the fullness of the “new springtime” will not come until we are first purified through judgement or chastisement, and awakened to the holiness of God?” When this process is well advanced in the secular realm the Lord will bring in the new Springtime by means of widespread evangelization.
From a Biblical point of view, the new Springtime has a paradoxical dimension. The Jews planted their seeds in the Autumn when the early rains fell. They harvested the crops in the Springtime following the later rain (Cf. Deut 11:14-15; Joel 2:23-24; Jm 5:7). Some writers say, that reference to the early and late rains can be applied in a symbolic way to an initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit, e.g. at the birth of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, and hopefully a new outpouring of the Spirit in the not too distant future, as a preparation for harvesting a great number of souls for God. There is a Biblical precedent for this expectation in Acts 2:1-12 and 4:27-31.

A time of rebuilding in preparation for great harvest
Until that time comes the followers of Christ have to continue to rebuild the breaches in their own lives and the life of the Church (cf. Neh. 2 & 4). Many centuries ago St Francis engaged in prophetic action of a symbolic kind. With the help of friends, he set himself to repair five churches in Assisi. He did this because he heard the Lord say, “Francis, go and build up my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.” When the work was completed we are told that, “he began to preach the gospel.” In the next few years a great deal of restoration will be required in the lives of the people of God so that it will be ready to engage, not only in the new evangelization mentioned in the prophecy given in St Peter’s in 1975, but also in receiving into the Christian community those newly evangelized people who will want to joyfully commit their lives to Christ.

________________

My opinion, Father is right. It seems to me like some parts have already started to come true & others are on the verge of being fulfilled. I also believe that the Lord has been warning us for a long time through His mother Mary, especially at Fatima & Akita, of the same thing. We are definitely going through a time of trial & purification. That is what chastisement is about God chastises to correct us & make us purer.

I have said several times on this blog that we are entering this period because of how we have failed to heed God's warnings. I don't think it is coincidential that I should come across this article at this time. God wants us to know & understand what we are going through. It won't be fun, it probably will even include persecution. But, as Father points out, when we are rebuilt we will then be able to go out & reap the harvest of that New Springtime that will be fully manifest.

Note: I know in that for some the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is very controversial. I will admit that over the past 30+ years I have been involved I have seen some people give good cause. They may claim to be Catholic & Charismatic, but they don't represent the reality of the Renewal. I can honestly say that the leadership is solidly Catholic. The International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services in Rome has even gotten formal recognition from the Vatican under Canon 116.

Popes Paul, John Paul & Benedict have all spoken to Charismatic gatherings in Rome. All have given it their blessing & approval. Back in the 90s when the new Catechism came out the Renewal was at the forefront of promoting it. The leadership has used the 2000 Jubilee as well as this year of St. Paul as special ways to show our Catholic identity as well as oportunities to help people know what the Catholic Church actually teaches.

My involvement in the renewal has led me to a greater desire to know & live the Catholic faith. It has led me to a deeper devotion to the Eucharist as well as Mary & the Saints. I know that may strike some as odd, a Charismatic who is fully supportive of those who love the Traditional Latin Mass. But I see no conflict. If you are at the heart of the Church, then you want what the Holy Spirit wants, not those who are out to destroy the Church. & if the Holy Spirit is leading the Pope to restore greater use of the TLM, who am I to argue?