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The Council teaches that “the obedience of faith must be given to God who reveals Himself”.(14) This brief but dense statement points to a fundamental truth of Christianity. Faith is said first to be an obedient response to God. This implies that God be acknowledged in his divinity, transcendence and supreme freedom. By the authority of his absolute transcendence, God who makes himself known is also the source of the credibility of what he reveals. By faith, men and women give their assent to this divine testimony. This means that they acknowledge fully and integrally the truth of what is revealed because it is God himself who is the guarantor of that truth. They can make no claim upon this truth which comes to them as gift and which, set within the context of interpersonal communication, urges reason to be open to it and to embrace its profound meaning. This is why the Church has always considered the act of entrusting oneself to God to be a moment of fundamental decision which engages the whole person. In that act, the intellect and the will display their spiritual nature, enabling the subject to act in a way which realizes personal freedom to the full.(15) It is not just that freedom is part of the act of faith: it is absolutely required. Indeed, it is faith that allows individuals to give consummate expression to their own freedom. Put differently, freedom is not realized in decisions made against God. For how could it be an exercise of true freedom to refuse to be open to the very reality which enables our self-realization? Men and women can accomplish no more important act in their lives than the act of faith; it is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth and chooses to live in that truth.
To assist reason in its effort to understand the mystery there are the signs which Revelation itself presents. These serve to lead the search for truth to new depths, enabling the mind in its autonomous exploration to penetrate within the mystery by use of reason's own methods, of which it is rightly jealous. Yet these signs also urge reason to look beyond their status as signs in order to grasp the deeper meaning which they bear. They contain a hidden truth to which the mind is drawn and which it cannot ignore without destroying the very signs which it is given.
In a sense, then, we return to the sacramental character of Revelation and especially to the sign of the Eucharist, in which the indissoluble unity between the signifier and signified makes it possible to grasp the depths of the mystery. In the Eucharist, Christ is truly present and alive, working through his Spirit; yet, as Saint Thomas said so well, “what you neither see nor grasp, faith confirms for you, leaving nature far behind; a sign it is that now appears, hiding in mystery realities sublime”.(16) He is echoed by the philosopher Pascal: “Just as Jesus Christ went unrecognized among men, so does his truth appear without external difference among common modes of thought. So too does the Eucharist remain among common bread”.(17)
In short, the knowledge proper to faith does not destroy the mystery; it only reveals it the more, showing how necessary it is for people's lives: Christ the Lord “in revealing the mystery of the Father and his love fully reveals man to himself and makes clear his supreme calling”,(18) which is to share in the divine mystery of the life of the Trinity.(19)
14. From the teaching of the two Vatican Councils there also emerges a genuinely novel consideration for philosophical learning. Revelation has set within history a point of reference which cannot be ignored if the mystery of human life is to be known. Yet this knowledge refers back constantly to the mystery of God which the human mind cannot exhaust but can only receive and embrace in faith. Between these two poles, reason has its own specific field in which it can enquire and understand, restricted only by its finiteness before the infinite mystery of God.
Revelation therefore introduces into our history a universal and ultimate truth which stirs the human mind to ceaseless effort; indeed, it impels reason continually to extend the range of its knowledge until it senses that it has done all in its power, leaving no stone unturned. To assist our reflection on this point we have one of the most fruitful and important minds in human history, a point of reference for both philosophy and theology: Saint Anselm. In his Proslogion, the Archbishop of Canterbury puts it this way: “Thinking of this problem frequently and intently, at times it seemed I was ready to grasp what I was seeking; at other times it eluded my thought completely, until finally, despairing of being able to find it, I wanted to abandon the search for something which was impossible to find. I wanted to rid myself of that thought because, by filling my mind, it distracted me from other problems from which I could gain some profit; but it would then present itself with ever greater insistence... Woe is me, one of the poor children of Eve, far from God, what did I set out to do and what have I accomplished? What was I aiming for and how far have I got? What did I aspire to and what did I long for?... O Lord, you are not only that than which nothing greater can be conceived (non solum es quo maius cogitari nequit), but you are greater than all that can be conceived (quiddam maius quam cogitari possit)... If you were not such, something greater than you could be thought, but this is impossible”.(20)
15. The truth of Christian Revelation, found in Jesus of Nazareth, enables all men and women to embrace the “mystery” of their own life. As absolute truth, it summons human beings to be open to the transcendent, whilst respecting both their autonomy as creatures and their freedom. At this point the relationship between freedom and truth is complete, and we understand the full meaning of the Lord's words: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn 8:32).
Christian Revelation is the true lodestar of men and women as they strive to make their way amid the pressures of an immanentist habit of mind and the constrictions of a technocratic logic. It is the ultimate possibility offered by God for the human being to know in all its fullness the seminal plan of love which began with creation. To those wishing to know the truth, if they can look beyond themselves and their own concerns, there is given the possibility of taking full and harmonious possession of their lives, precisely by following the path of truth. Here the words of the Book of Deuteronomy are pertinent: “This commandment which I command you is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that you should say, 'Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it?' But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that you can do it” (30:11-14). This text finds an echo in the famous dictum of the holy philosopher and theologian Augustine: “Do not wander far and wide but return into yourself. Deep within man there dwells the truth” (Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi. In interiore homine habitat veritas).(21)
These considerations prompt a first conclusion: the truth made known to us by Revelation is neither the product nor the consummation of an argument devised by human reason. It appears instead as something gratuitous, which itself stirs thought and seeks acceptance as an expression of love. This revealed truth is set within our history as an anticipation of that ultimate and definitive vision of God which is reserved for those who believe in him and seek him with a sincere heart. The ultimate purpose of personal existence, then, is the theme of philosophy and theology alike. For all their difference of method and content, both disciplines point to that “path of life” (Ps 16:11) which, as faith tells us, leads in the end to the full and lasting joy of the contemplation of the Triune God.
The confusion within the Catholic Church was not always there, at least for those of us who carried out its precepts faithfully, and found it to be a haven of peace, joy, security and strength. Others may have been affected by confusion, but it was nothing that we, of the faithful, even gave a thought to. It must be stated that the mark of unity is in no way threatened by confusion. The Church still teaches a oneness of truth; there is still a oneness in leadership. This confusion has a source outside of the internal fabric of the Church. The Church is still One, Holy, Universal and Apostolic, and will be so till the end of time.
Today, it is evident that something has happened along the way to unsettle those of us who religiously held onto every precept given to us by our bishop, pastor, the sisters, etc. Confusion seemed to enter into the minds of the faithful after Vatican II. Why should anthing like that be? The Council was convoked by the saintly Pope John XXII, seen to its happy conclusion and promulgated by Pope Paul VI. It was a Council, as was every Council in the history of the Church, enlightened, inspired, and guided by the Holy Spirit. As such, it proposed nothing but that which was true, and that which was to bring to the faithful a solid spiritual base from which to enter into a world beset by confusion, plagued by every sort of error and moral aberration.
The one, true Church of Jesus was now to launch out into the waters of humanism, materialism, paganism, atheism, all fostered by the worldly, and enter into an excitingly new evangelization. It was to go out into the secular world, to renew all things in Christ, and with the Holy Spirit reigning within it, and with Mary, His Spouse, declared to be the Mother of the Church, to renew not only the Church, but the entire face of the earth.
In the next installment I will delve into why some of the decrees fell into enemy hands, how satan entered the sanctuary and what Jesus says about this in Sacred Scripture.
I ask you to ponder deep within your hearts that as Almighty God chose to bring to all men His Only-Begotten Son, the Savior through me, His Holy and Immaculate Mother, so now by His Almighty Will He allows me to prepare the world for my Son's Second Coming.
Therefore, ponder anew that in these days Joseph and I prepared. Together we prayed. We immersed ourselves fully in the Divine Will. This is necessary for each of you, my little ones. You cannot realize the fullness of God's Love, Mercy and Justice if you are not immolated to the Divine Will.
My little children, when you pray the Our Father, pray especially for God's Holy Will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
This, my little ones, is the age which lies at your heart's door. This is the glory which shall come swiftly when the Divine Justice has swept evil from the face of the earth. Pray! Pray ardently for this at every moment.
My little children, be not deceived. The age of great persecutions has already begun. Therefore, be united to the Divine Will and you shall persevere against all odds.
If you will be one with the Divine Will, you will come into my arms just as I held my Divine Son within my maternal embrace. If you will beg of the Father to allow my Immaculate Heart to triumph now, you will comprehend how vital are the generous victim souls who willingly surrender in love and trust to my Divine Son.
The age of the hardened heart, deaf ear, pride-filled ego is here, and the little ones who seek to serve the Truth shall be gravely persecuted.
Yet, I solemnly tell each of you - do not be afraid. This, too, must come to pass for all Scripture to be fulfilled. But by your steadfast love and ardent trust, by your humble obedience and faith you shall cause Almighty God to allow my Immaculate Heart to triumph now and many souls shall yet be saved from perdition.
Prepare. I am the Mother of God, the New Ark and I announce my Divine Son's Glorious Return. Pray! Pray! Pray! Thank you for responding to my Call!
I desire the rays of my Immaculate Heart to shine forth into this diabolical darkness. I ask ardent prayer. Say the rosary and offer your lives as victim souls in reparation for the sins of the world.
My Children, there will be many sufferings for all the world. No one shall be left untouched. Every nation shall be scorched by the evil one and in the time known only to the Father the Justice of Heaven shall be swift and complete. I ask each of my little ones to pray the Our Father with reverence and love. The words of this prayer are the fulfillment of these end times. Many of my little ones have received this understanding from the Holy Spirit. Now I solemnly tell you, the moment of the Divine Will is upon the world.
Offer yourselves as loving servants to the Divine Will and you shall persevere.
I love and bless you. O! Pray! Pray so ardently. Prostrate yourselves before my Divine Son in the Blessed Sacrament. Thank you for responding to my Call!
