Last Sunday We sent out a devotion written by Father Francis Dominic. As We celebrate 29 years in the papacy, We realize that the only truly sincere Christians are those who God has brought through the wall of fire, Father talked about. Father wrote: “Everyone has to come through that wall of fire is he is to become part of the True Church. That fire will burn up all his earthly ambitions, and his desire to live for himself.” We realized three and a half decades ago, that to be a true Catholic, one must come through this trial; this wall of fire. The Psalmist (16:3) says: “Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night, thou hast tried me by fire: and iniquity hath not been found in me.”
Saint Alphonsus is of the opinion that everyone must go through this trial. During this trial, he advises recourse to prayer, but warns us not to expect any sensible devotion. “We have nothing to do but say to the Lord: O Lord help me! O Lord help me!” When We were first considering this and found Saint Alphonsus’ explanation, We named it the Dark Night of the Great Apostasy, a trial all must come through in order to be sincere Catholics in these days of apostasy. Saint Alphonsus says: “Until we have come through that storm, which for the most part comes over all, let none of us think himself secure.” In fact, We pray that God will bring all of you through this wall of fire successfully, for the Church greatly needs all who read this to become sincere members of the Church militant.
Saint Alphonsus concludes: “And it is certain that he who with the help of divine grace is victorious in such a combat finds afterwards a double calm and peace in his vocation.” God is calling you to come through the wall of fire. Those of us on God’s side of the wall are praying for you. We are here to help you, to console and to guide you.
Proverbs (17:3) tells us: “As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts.” A time of trial of hearts is coming upon us. Throughout the last sixty years of trial, the persecution has been one of words and corruption of doctrine, rather than one of blood. In the decades prior to the usurpation of the Papacy by the second Antipope John XXIII in history in 1958, Catholics for the most part had become quite lax. For a century people have been compromising with the world, as We have often related and decried. Many who claim the name of Catholic, but do lie, (Apocalypse 3:9) are Catholic in name only, living a life worse than a pagan. Indeed, we should know better. We have the Sacred Scriptures. We have the writings of the Fathers of the Church and of many other saints. And yet, very few are ready to give themselves completely and without any reserve to Almighty God.
We have spoken of the contrast between three types of Catholics, spiritual, carnal and sensual. (I Corinthians 2:11-3:5) When people see the nay sayers on the outside of the wall of fire, criticizing those very few of us the inside, they do what the sensual man does, as the Douany notes: “he who measureth divine mysteries by natural reason, sense, and human wisdom only.” How can so few be right and the rest of the world wrong. In Our latest Pope Speaks, we discuss another time, when one man and his family were right, and the rest of the world wrong. (https://www.vaticaninexile.com/july_2019_noah.php) Saint Augustine observed that right is right, even if no one is doing it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Just as there was no safety in numbers, when the flood waters rose at the time of Noah, there is no safety in numbers today. Saint Augustine also observed that there were times in the Old Testament, where the Church was reduced to one faithful person.
The Lord then told them, “I will be to [Jerusalem-the Church], saith the Lord, a wall of fire round about: and I will be in glory in the midst thereof.” (Zechariah 2:5) We belong on the Lord’s side of the wall of fire. Let us pray that the Lord will lead us through the wall of fire onto His side.
“And Peter began to say unto him: Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee. Jesus answering, said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time; houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting.” (Mark 10:28-30) Yes, we may lose those who we thought were our friends. True friendship never ends, so a friendship that ends must not have been true. We may lose contact with family members. When we adhere to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, we will find that truth has a very ugly daughter, hatred. The Enemy (Ephesians 6:12) only hates Jerusalem, the true Church. He does not hate the imitations, but as the sewer of discord encourages them to deceive the elect. (Matthew 24:24)
“Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2) Today is the day to walk towards the wall of fire, and ask God to bring you through it. We are praying this day and for you.
With Our Apostolic Blessing on this, the 29th anniversary of Our election as Pope,
Michael by the grace of God, Pope.