If you look at this picture, you might see something that, at first glance, seems mystic.
I took this photo myself.
If you look at the leaves and branches of the trees, you see what seems like ice dripping from the trees, yet, the trees are in full with green leaves. I took this photo on June 22, so, the trees should be full of leaves, but not full of ice. The ice is the rain pounding on my windows.
Oh. My. Goodness!
In the middle of the photo, you see what appears to be candles burning in the tree tops with a bird flying above them.
Yes, they do look like candles, but they are really the chandelier in my dining room with the cover for the wires, hanging loose.
The cover looks like a bird.
To the left you see what appears to be a home with the lights in the windows turned on.
That is the reflection of of my kitchen lights.
As you look further down, you see what appears to be a reflection in the water of the trees.
I don't even have a swimming pool or pond to cause that. This reflection comes from the glass in the windows and the time of day.
Each "aspect" that I have pointed out is not miraculous or mystic. This is a photo I took, and there is nothing mystical, nothing predictive, nor is there anything that could be called a sign of the times.
Things happen.
That's the way of life.
A flare of the sun does not mean that this is an omen from God.
A "blood moon" only means that this is a blood moon.
Many people are now obsessed with the end of times. Events, even of the most ordinary, become predictive of the "end of times."
Many people live in fear because these "prophets" of our time say that everything will change. Millions upon millions of people will die.
I've seen this happen in my church where a group of fervent women pray, but they live in fear.
Whereas prayer is good, fear is not from God.
I'm not saying that things won't happen, they might. If they do, God will use events to bring people to Him.
That might be part of His Plan, but I don't know.
Neither do these "prophets" who so willingly engage in speculation.
Even some of the great saints and mystics of the Church have been wrong in their prophesies,
and they had God on their side.
Jesus said, "“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come."
Mark 13:32
And we don't know when the time will come. People in the early Church believed that Jesus would return before they died. They died without seeing His return.
Today, thousands of people around the world died, and this became their "end of times."
When we live in fear, we are not living fully, nor are we aligning ourselves to the Will of God which is to
TRUST HIM, TO KNOW HIM, AND TO LIVE A LIFE WHICH GLORIFIES HIM.
So, speculating that we are living in the end of times, and we might be because we are all surely going to die one day,
how can we prepare for the end of times, just in case.
1) Follow the advice of St. Padre Pio:
"Pray. Hope. Don't Worry."
Hope is a fruit of the Holy Spirit gifted to us through prayer.
Peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that comes when we cease to worry.
2) Trust God. Surrender to His Holy Will.
These events may or may not be the Holy Will of God.
When you don't trust God and step aside to let Him work, fear becomes the fruit and fear is not of God.
Trust that our God who created the heavens and the earth, knows what he's doing.
Pray, but don't pray out of fear.
Pray because you love God and you Trust Him above all else.
Give Yourself to Him, and let Him guide you.
Forget the fear mongers. They might have good intentions, but trust and obedience to the Will of God is far more important than one's good intentions.
3) Invoke the Holy Spirit often during your day. Ask Him to guide your prayer. Ask Him to help you surrender your fears to Jesus who has said:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Matthew 28: 19-20
I am with you...
It doesn't matter.
Jesus will be with us always.
4) Read and meditate on Sacred Scripture daily.
Trust that this is the
Word of God
and through sacred scripture,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
have left us with the Words of True life.
In these words we find love, trust, consolation, and courage.
We just don't know when we will die.
We don't know when the world will end.
We don't know!
5) Practice humility and use common sense.
Think objectively of those who seem to "know and propagate" their "knowledge" of the end of times.
Pray for them.
Love the sinner and hate the sin.
Fear is the food of satan. Through fear, he preys upon God's children. satan is not humble.
he does not exalt God. he wants you to be anxious. he wants you to be unhappy.
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world."
1 Peter 5: 6-9
In the end, we are all going to die. When, where, and how are up to God.
Honor God through your love of God.
Let others walk away from you knowing more about God and seeing His Love in action through you.
Be His Hands, His Feet, His Mouth, His Eyes, and His Most Sacred Heart.
We are only promised this second that we are living and nothing more.
God has promised that He will be with us always.
God cannot lie, and if we can't trust our God who keeps the world going, keeps us from flying off into space with gravity, then whom can we trust?
Just like the photo I took, satan is deceptive. he wants us to be fearful and frightened. he doesn't want us to trust God.
If you want peace in this world, no matter what happens,
TRUST GOD.
No comments:
Post a Comment