Observing the world one can see global change in many facets of life from moral customs to norms, to cultural ways of life and even to nature. Many would say that we are living in time that were prophesised from the Bible, however there are prophecies for our times that date back to the 17th Century.
Prophecy in the Bible, especially in the Book of the Apocalypse (Revelation) speak of future catastrophic events. However, from the 17th Century onwards there are chosen mystics that give insight into the 19th and 20th Centuries. A private revelation of prophetic events occurred to a holy nun in the 17th Century where all but one of the prophecies have come true.
A popular Saint of the Catholic Church in Saint Francis of Assisi made a future prediction that will send chills down one’s spine. This prophecy took place just before his death on 3 October 1226.
Here is the Prophecy is full:
“The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase.
The devils will have unusual power, the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who will obey the true Sovereign Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal hearts and perfect charity. At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, by his cunning, will endeavor to draw many into error and death.
Then scandals will be multiplied, our Order will be divided, and many others will be entirely destroyed, because they will consent to error instead of opposing it.
There will be such diversity of opinions and schisms among the people, the religious and the clergy, that, except those days were shortened, according to the words of the Gospel, even the elect would be led into error, were they not specially guided, amid such great confusion, by the immense mercy of God.
Then our Rule and manner of life will be violently opposed by some, and terrible trials will come upon us. Those who are found faithful will receive the crown of life; but woe to those who, trusting solely in their Order, shall fall into tepidity, for they will not be able to support the temptations permitted for the proving of the elect.
Those who preserve in their fervor and adhere to virtue with love and zeal for the truth, will suffer injuries and, persecutions as rebels and schismatics; for their persecutors, urged on by the evil spirits, will say they are rendering a great service to God by destroying such pestilent men from the face of the earth. but the Lord will be the refuge of the afflicted, and will save all who trust in Him.
And in order to be like their Head, [Christ] these, the elect, will act with confidence, and by their death will purchase for themselves eternal life; choosing to obey God rather than man, they will fear nothing, and they will prefer to perish rather than consent to falsehood and perfidy.
Some preachers will keep silence about the truth, and others will trample it under foot and deny it. Sanctity of life will be held in derision even by those who outwardly profess it, for in those days JESUS CHRIST WILL SEND THEM NOT A TRUE PASTOR, BUT A DESTROYER.”
Whilst this prophecy is dated to the 13th Century, it is daring that one should apply it to one of the Popes from the 13th Century onwards. There are several that would fit the Prophecy but it is not the aim of the author to draw any conclusions in this article.
Did God forewarn France of the ‘French Revolution’?
God, in His infinite Wisdom, and through His Son forewarns France a hundred earlier of the French Revolution that would see major persecutions and kills of Catholics. Jesus requested that the King of France Consecrate France to His Sacred Heart.
God chose His servant and messenger Margaret Mary Alacoque. On June 17, 1689 the Sacred Heart of Jesus manifested to Margaret Mary Alacoque in the walls of her convent in France.
Jesus gave her a command to give to the King of France that the King was to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart.
The King at the time was Louis XIV who reigned from 1643 to 1715. King Louis XIV ignored the request and for 100 years to the day the Kings of France delayed, and did not obey. Therefore, on June 17, 1789 the King of France, Louis XVi was stripped of his legislative authority and four years later, in 1793 was guillotined.
The Kings of France had ignored the request of Our Lord, therefore, misfortune had befallen both the King and his country.
The French revolution commenced on 5 May 1789 till 9 Nov 1799.
The devastation that came from the French Revolution and other movements that pre-ceded and succeeded, would usher in challenging times for the Catholic Church both outside and inside. The ideologies prompted from these movements include:
- liberty,
- progress,
- tolerance,
- fraternity,
- constitutional government, and
- separation of church and state.
Who are the main influencers of these periods?
A number of Philosophical thought would arise during this period. An often held belief that “bad philosophy (how one thinks), leads to bad theology (how one makes sense of God), leads to bad morality (what is right or wrong), leads to sin, leads to hell”.
The Catholic Church preserved, for the large part, a philosophy built on Aristotle, a theology built on Thomas Aquinas and the many Fathers and Doctors of the Church, a morality built on the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Graces from a Sacramental life that would lead souls to Heaven.
Today, we can see the adoption of these norms, ideas, thoughts and emotions and have put aside Catholic Church teachings (knowingly or unknowingly). These main influencers are set out below:
Philosophers of the 17th and 18th Centuries
René Descartes (1596–1650): French philosopher and scientist. “I think, therefore I am.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679): theory that all humans are inherently self-driven and evil and that the best form of government is thus a single, all-powerful monarch to keep everything in order.
Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677): Undermine religious authority in Europe. Believed in God, but rejected miracles and the supernatural. Denied the Bible was divinely inspired. Ethics determined by rational thought were more important as a guide to conduct than was religion.
David Hume (1711–1776): Asked why a perfect God would ever create an imperfect world, and even suggested that our own senses are fallible, bringing all observations and truths into question.
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804): Theorized that all humans are born with innate “experiences” that then reflect onto the world, giving them a perspective.
John Locke (1632–1704): Believed that men are all rational and capable people but must compromise some of their beliefs in the interest of forming a government for the people. Famous Two Treatises of Government (1690), he championed the idea of a representative government that would best serve all constituents.
Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755): Promoted the ideas of a division of state and separation of powers.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778): Believed that man was at his best when unshackled by the conventions of society where all citizens contribute to an overarching “general will” that serves everyone at once.
Voltaire (1694–1778): Criticized religion and advocated freedom from the ploys of religion.
This period also gave us Sir Isaac Newton; Mozart; Handle; Franklin, Jefferson; Bach.
Influences of the 19th Century
Charles Darwin and John Huxley who developed evolution and the former published the ‘Origin of Species in 1859.
As a critical influence over our way of thinking, education, seminaries, understanding of our very uniqueness in Creation – DO NOT DISCOUNT the influence of Charles Darwin
Do you think that Heaven did not know about this period and such thinkers and the challenge they would have to the Church, Catholic culture, morality, separation of church and states, pre-cursors to socialism and communism and ultimate salvation of souls and the role of the Church?
Indeed, Heaven knew!
What were the Prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success from the 17th Century?
Several Prophecies, through private revelation to a holy nun, Mother Marianna de Jesus Torres were given for both Ecuador and the Church. Note that all have (or are) being fulfilled, expect for one.
Firstly, Our Lady foretold Mariana’s death on Feb 2, 1634 which would occur on 29 January 1635.
Secondly, Our Lady foretold two dogma’s – the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854; and the Dogma of the Assumption, declared by Pius XII in 1950.
Thirdly, our Lady prophesised a truly Catholic President in Ecuador in the 19th Century would dedicated the Country of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and would be given special Graces, however, the President, Don Gabriel Garcia Moreno would meet an untimely death on August 6, 1875, where he was assassinated. His last words were:
“I am dying, but God does not die”.
Our Lady also made some horrific revelations to Mother Marianna for the 20th Century. You can read these in our article Our Lady of Good Success and for a comprehensive read on the life of Mother Marianna, the revelations and the prophecies, visit the two volume books:
The Admirable Life Of Mother Mariana (Volume I, Father Manuel Sousa Pereira, Translated by Marian T Horvat PhD.)
The Admirable Life Of Mother Mariana (Volume II, Father Manuel Sousa Pereira, Translated by Marian T Horvat PhD.)
What are some of the Prophecies for the 20th Century?
Our Lady revealed the following:
“There will be an almost complete and universal decline in morality. In those unhappy times an unlimited luxury will come about which will lead many, many people astray into sin.
How many frivolous souls will be lost forever!
Innocence will not often be found any more in children, nor modesty in women.…
The Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the communion of Christ with His Church, will be attacked and profaned. Disgraceful laws will make it very easy to live in sin.…
Children will be born without being received into the communion of the Church.…
The devil will try ceaselessly, through wicked men with great power, to annihilate the Sacrament of Penance.
The same will happen with Holy Communion.
Ah! How it pains me to have to reveal to you the many horrifying sacrileges that will occur both publicly and also in secret through the profanation of the Holy Eucharist!…
During this time people will think little of Extreme Unction, so that many of them will die without receiving it.…
The Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, suppressed, and despised.
The devil will try to persecute the priests of the Lord in every possible way.
With subtle cunning he will work to draw them away from the spirit of their vocation and to ruin many of them.”
About the Priests in our times She said:
These vicious and immoral priests, who will cause a scandal among the Christian peoples,
will stir up the hatred of many bad Catholics and of the enemies of
the Roman, Catholic, Apostolic Church so that it falls on all priests.
In this situation of utmost affliction within the Church, some who ought to speak will remain mute” (The Admirable Life Of Mother Mariana (Volume II, Father Manuel Sousa Pereira, Translated by Marian T Horvat PhD.).
Being observant and knowing what is going on in the culture both inside and outside of the Church, these are happening in the 20th and 21st Centuries and on a global scale.
However, there is hope and this is the one prophecy that has not been fulfilled.
Which Prophecy is yet to be fulfilled?
Heaven will send us help. He will be a Prelate that will renew the Church.
The Mother of God continues:
“… that in this time of the crisis in faith foretold for the 20th century, God will send a prelate, who will renew the Catholic priesthood:
Pray urgently…
and ask Our Father in Heaven to put an end to such sinister times as soon as possible for the love of the Eucharistic Heart of my most holy Son, and to send to the Church of that time a prelate who will restore the character of His Priests….
This is the prophecy from Our Lady that is still to manifest itself…
So keep praying, fasting and doing penance!
After all this, Mother Marianna is found unconscious.” (The Admirable Life Of Mother Mariana (Volume I, Father Manuel Sousa Pereira, Translated by Marian T Horvat PhD.)
As in all Prophecies, whilst Heaven warns of doom and gloom, however, Heaven gives the world hope. But this is contingent on our cooperation.
Here, we are asked to pray, fast and do penance for the arrival of the Prelate.
Never despair and always have hope.
What are the prophecies of the 19th Century?
There are two prophecies to mention from the 19th Century. The first is La Salette 1846 and the second is Blessed Elisabetta Canori Moira.
Note that I have written a comprehensive article on the events at La Salette France titled Our Lady of La Salette.
The following is a summary of the messages and prophecies:
- the imprisonment of Pope Pius IX during the upheaval in Italy in the 1850-1860.
- A dire warning to the bad examples of Priests – their irreverence and impiety in the celebration of the holy mysteries, love of money, honor and pleasures – cesspools of impurity.
- A warning of God’s wrath being unleashed on the world.
- Lucifer will be unleashed in 1864 – abolishing the faith little by little and even in persons consecrated to God.
- Loss of faith in religious orders.
- ‘Bad books will abound on earth.
- ‘Civil rulers will have all one same design which will be to abolish, and to make disappear all religious principle, in order to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and all kinds of vices.’
- ‘Nature is asking for vengeance for men, and she shudders with terror in waiting for that which must come upon the earth soiled with crimes.’
- That nature, the sun noon and the earth will change and produce disasters and unusual activity …
- ‘Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the antichrist.’
Blessed Elisabetta Canori Moira
Blessed Elisabetta Canori Moira who was born of noble and well-off family in Rome, on November 21, 1774 and died on February 5 1825.
Blessed Elisabetta Canori Moira was a married mystic who lived a virtuous and heroic life as a wife and mother. Her prayer and sacrifice led to the conversion of her husband Cristoforo, who following his saintly wife’s death, became a Conventual Franciscan and died a Priest on September 9, 1845.
Blessed Elisabetta Canori Moira was privileged with the following:
- Jesus revealed the sacrilegious intrigues of the empires, even in Rome, for the destruction of the Catholic religion, and he signified to her that he should at length bring down upon the world the frightful punishment. “do not beg me” he said “to suspend the effects of my justice; Henceforth I will no longer consider the sacrifices offered by my privileged souls, and I will not lend an ear to their ardent prayers .”
- At her pleading, sacrifice and penance the Lord answered her request:
“Our Lord …reassured her, and said to her: “have confidence in me; I promise you, as your God, that you shall gain the victory.”
Further, Our Lord said:
“You’re brave and generous sacrifices …… For the present, I suspend the merited chastisement, I still wish to show mercy. The church will not be dispersed, nor Rome deprived the Apostolic see. I will reform my people in my church. I will raise up zealous priest, I will send my spirit to renew the face of the earth, I’ll reform the religious orders by the aid of wise and holy reformers ;
They shall possess all the spirit of my beloved son, Ignatius of Loyola. I will give to my church and you and learns pastor, holy, and filled with my spirit ; In his ardent zeal he will reform the church.”
God in his wisdom hears our prayers and supplications. And the victim souls appease the Divine Justice.
Our Lord, raised holy men and women to combat the errors of these times
God be with you.