A vision from Brother Ed - 09/17/07 02:25 PM
Brother Ed, who used to post here, gave me permission to post this here. As many of you may know Brother Ed is soon to head to the monastery after the death of his wife. Keep him in your prayers. It is a bright and hopeful vision.
My dear brother Richard --
I was so pleased to receive your letter and it is indeed with a great deal of joy that I reply to verify to you what you have only heard as rumor on the mission field where you are serving. It is true that the Lord, for purposes of His own and for His glory, has blessed us with a most wonderful and peculiar outpouring of His Spirit which has resulted in a most dramatic change in both the Church and the society in which we live.
I hardly know where to begin with all this, but I find it noteworthy that this "revival" (I hate to use a word associated with those heretic fundamentalists, but I would say it is most accurate) of the Lord's began with a politician, of all people! Surely you remember our governor, who for a long time has been known for his adamant support of abortion while still insisting that he be allowed to attend Mass at the Cathedral. A new priest was assigned to the Cathedral last year, and from the beginning he made it quite clear that business would not be "as usual" regarding this situation. In a public pronouncement on his first Mass, he announced that not only would he not present the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist to anyone supporting or procuring an abortion, but he was organizing a prayer and fasting group, which he himself would lead, to pray for the conversion of those souls who were damning themselves by doing so. I watched with interest as about a dozen various people got up during this announcement and walked out of the Mass, some of them visibly angry.
"Now there's a priest with holy character," I thought to myself as I vowed to become part of that group. For such a long time I had been grieved in my spirit at the brazen way our governor had flouted the Church's rules, acting as if he were a law unto himself.
Well, the showdown was not long in coming. The governor was out of town for a month on "business" (another of his little junkets at the taxpayer's expense). I'm sure the news of this announcement had already reached his ears. He showed up at Mass and marched right up to the altar rail, fully expecting to be katowed to in his rebellion.
"My God forgive you, my son, " the priest intoned loudly, "You must repent first before you can receive our Lord."
I saw the governor's mouth open as if to protest, but no words came out. His eyes suddenly got as big as saucers and he ran out of the Cathedral, screaming as if terrified by something he had seen. Fr. Mark continued the Mass, almost as if nothing had happened. But something had happened, something wonderful.
It was reported later that at that exact moment in all the parishes over our state, the same effect was seen in all the so called "pro-choice" Catholics who were attempting to blaspheme the Mass with their presence. Asked about this later, the governor said that he saw a vision of hell and of the damned, and a demon who turned to him and said "This is reserved for all those who murder the innocent! We are waiting for you." The governor came later to Fr. Mark and not only made a good confession, but was allowed by Fr. Mark the following week to stand up after Mass and make a public recantation of all the evils which he had endorsed from his office, swearing that he would now govern with the authority of the Church, for the Church, and by the Church.
Thus began a most incredible experience which is going on even now as I write to you. The Spirit of God seemed to without reservation pour out the spirit of repentance upon even the most hardened of hearts throughout our state. Parishes were inundated with long lines of fallen away Catholics anxious to make a good confession for the good of their souls. And not only was this the laity, but men of power and influence from all walks of life came and repented of their wickednesses and vowed that they would no longer live outside the will of God for them. This has had a most profound effect upon our whole state and how it is run. Let me just for a minute share some of these effects with you so that you may see just how blessed we have been.
1. The penal system, that ungodly and wretched system which God never commanded men to do to one another, has been completely abolished. Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures did God ever call for men to enact such a cruel and unusual punishment upon their fellow men. Those who have done but small crimes have been made to make restitution to those who they wronged and have been returned to their families. There is nothing as corrective as a loving family to help young men straighten themselves out. Far better than locking them up with hardened criminals.
Those who have done crimes worthy of death have been retried. We have had a very serious concern that justice -- if you could really call it that in this country -- has been so perverted for so long that we had to be very sure that those imprisoned for capital crimes were actually guilty. Those who were guilty -- who have been found guilty by a preponderance of evidence -- have put to death. For many of them, this brought them to repentance before God. Once they knew that this was not a game and that they were seriously facing death, the majority of them became quite serious about the condition of their souls. Grace was poured out upon them to make good confessions, and the report of many of them was that they died with the praises of God's mercy upon their lips.
I suppose this report may shock you a bit, given the sensibilities which I know you have, but you must understand that neither our Holy Church nor the Holy Scriptures teach against the death penalty. It is far more cruel to keep men locked up like animals where they brutalize one another, especially the weaker young ones who are jailed for very small crimes. We have also allowed to be released many who were in prison for life for suspision of committing murder. This again may shock you, but the evidence against them was so shaky, or the testimonies so transparently false, that we had no other choice. Only those guilty by an overwhelmingly clear evidence will be executed.
(As a sidebar, you would not believe the legion of lawyers who lined up to repent of the injustices and lies they committed in the courtrooms. One thinks that perhaps now for the first time ever, we might actually have justice in our state)
2. Truth has taken over the marketplace. You have no idea how many public displays of repentance we have had -- from politicians, to newscasters, to business owners, right down to married couples. It is amazing to hear these people stand up and declare that they have lied before God and their fellow man, making false claims for just one purpose -- to make money!! St. Paul surely knew what he was talking about when he said that the love of money is the root of all evil. Now we have lawyers in courtrooms actually seeking the truth of a case rather than making inflated claims on behalf of questionable clients.
Furthermore, the Lord's Day is now honored instead of profaned. Parishes are filled to capacity every Sunday, and afterwards the parish halls are filled as we have begun to really be the family of God to one another. Malls and businesses are closed. You cannot even buy a paper on Sunday, so great is the desire of all to honor the teaching of the Church on this issue. If I may say so, making money has now become secondary to making holy lives pleasing to God.
3. Our governor has been every bit good to his word, and has outlawed abortion in this state. The president of our country -- our so called "pro-life" president has challenged him on this and his response was this 'If you want a civil war, you go ahead and send in your troops. We are no longer going to tolerate the murder of our innocent children". That one single declaration was followed by such an overwheming response from our 16 million citizens that the president at this time has found himself unable to carry out his threat. Almost every single man in the state has enlisted in the militia and are armed to the teeth against such an arrogant incursion by the federalists in Washington. I think the president knows that we are serious in this state about putting God first, even to the point of death if necessary, to oppose this evil. We are simply not going to tolerate it anymore. It is one thing for him to make politically expedient statements about stopping abortion for the purpose of duping people into re-electing him. We have done it. That is the difference.
Oh, it is true that not everyone in our state felt the same way, but those who for some reason God's Spirit did not touch have moved out of the state and have become something of martyr/heroes as they are interviewed on TV and radio. I must say that I feel sorry for them, for as you watch them speak, you can see that they are so clearly under the power of the evil one. The hatred in their faces, the anger in their voices. It is very sad.
4. The poor are taken care of, and not by these absolutely fraudulent government programs which really only enrich the politicians who enact them. No, the Church is in charge of this now, and of every single dollar given to benefit the poor, one whole dollar of it actually gets to the poor! This is why only the Church should be in charge of caring for the poor. This has resulted in a reduction of taxes, which in turn has resulted in more money being given to the Church. On top of that, because the Church has choosen holy men to oversee the disbursement of monies to the poor, we no longer have lying frauds approaching the poor box asking for alms. Oh, they tried at first, but the healthy were told to get to work, those with children out of wedlock were told to find the fathers of the children and make families before they would get one red cent (sounds cruel, I know, but it really was the best thing for both the parents and the children), and drug addicts were sent to counseling and rehabilitation. Again, many of these con artists, upon finding out that they could no longer run a scam on the public treasury, left the state and have taken up residence elsewhere. But for every one who left, ten have repented -- by God's grace -- of their wretched and dissolute lives, and are well on their way to becoming productive citizens in our state.
In addition to this, the grace of God has changed men and women so much now that they are no longer captivated by a consumerist mindset, but are rather concerned with loving their neighbors as themselves. Thus, many of these poor have had not only the help from the Church, but private contributions of love -- meaning not only money, but time spent with them to help them learn valuable skills of parenting and family. It is absolutely extraordinary to see the love of God which permeates our society and makes us treat one another with such brotherly concern. Yet despite all this, the newspapers and media in surrounding states still speak of our state as having lost its collective mind and as a "facist state of repression of human rights" How little they really know. How sad.
5. And here is the greatest miracle of all -- the heretics are converting in record numbers, including many heretical priests and a certain bishop whom you remember. Do you also remember that Bible thumper who used to stand on the corner of Market and Vine every Sunday and just trash our Holy Church with his ridiculous lying claims? To borrow one of his pet phrases PRAISE THE LORD!!! He was one of the first to repent of his heresies and enter RCIA. The parishes are just filled to overflowing with catechumens! I do not think it a stretch to say that we are going to offer this country the first ever completely Christian state -- one operated upon the principles of the Church and governed by Her wisdom.
Yes, my brother, the little temples of Fundamentalism and Calvinism have all but disappeared. Imagine, if you can, all of them changed into Catholic parishes. Many of the former "pastors" of these assemblies have entered seminary to train for the priesthood. In fact, our sole seminary is so filled that we have had to build a new three new ones. Again, with the love of God and His Church being in the hearts of all, this was completed in record time and with no lack of funding.
I could go on and on. The change in our state is just astounding, and we have heard a most encouraging report that in Ohio, the same thing appears to be taking place. We are much in prayer that our Blessed Lady would so grace not only that state, but indeed the whole of our country. What would it be like to live in a truly Christian country rather than one which for 200 years claimed to be Christian but was founded by Masons and Diests and acted in according wickedness? Could this be the start of His Kingdom on earth, to which He will surely one day return and rule supreme from the New Jerusalem in Rome?
When you return, you will find one other thing that will please you immensely, knowing your love for our gracious Queen. After the revival began, it was not long before icons and statues of our Lady began to be displayed everywhere. There is not a place you can go that She is not honored. Truly the Holy Scriptures are fulfilled in that She said "and all men shall call me blessed." Three times a day we have loudspeakers that broadcast the Angelus. The Divine Chaplet is broadcast at three, and the Rosary is broadcast twice a day -- all 15 decades!! I swear, if I didn't know better, I would think that I have died and gone to Heaven!! Neighborhoods are filled with the sound of church bells rather than that obscene noise called rap music. Public profanity is punished, but it really is extremely rare to begin with. There is a peace about our land which we hope never leaves. To this end we have set up teams of people to pray day and night before the public Monstrance set up on the top of the capitol steps. Every Sunday, our governor leads the adoration at noon. He is a devout man now, and profoundly thankful that God saw fit in his mercy to forgive him of his sins rather than send him to the hell he admits he deserved.
Such is our state now. I hope soon our whole country might be so graced. Hurry home my brother, just so you can experience this wonder. A great blessing awaits you.
Your brother,
Ed
My dear brother Richard --
I was so pleased to receive your letter and it is indeed with a great deal of joy that I reply to verify to you what you have only heard as rumor on the mission field where you are serving. It is true that the Lord, for purposes of His own and for His glory, has blessed us with a most wonderful and peculiar outpouring of His Spirit which has resulted in a most dramatic change in both the Church and the society in which we live.
I hardly know where to begin with all this, but I find it noteworthy that this "revival" (I hate to use a word associated with those heretic fundamentalists, but I would say it is most accurate) of the Lord's began with a politician, of all people! Surely you remember our governor, who for a long time has been known for his adamant support of abortion while still insisting that he be allowed to attend Mass at the Cathedral. A new priest was assigned to the Cathedral last year, and from the beginning he made it quite clear that business would not be "as usual" regarding this situation. In a public pronouncement on his first Mass, he announced that not only would he not present the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist to anyone supporting or procuring an abortion, but he was organizing a prayer and fasting group, which he himself would lead, to pray for the conversion of those souls who were damning themselves by doing so. I watched with interest as about a dozen various people got up during this announcement and walked out of the Mass, some of them visibly angry.
"Now there's a priest with holy character," I thought to myself as I vowed to become part of that group. For such a long time I had been grieved in my spirit at the brazen way our governor had flouted the Church's rules, acting as if he were a law unto himself.
Well, the showdown was not long in coming. The governor was out of town for a month on "business" (another of his little junkets at the taxpayer's expense). I'm sure the news of this announcement had already reached his ears. He showed up at Mass and marched right up to the altar rail, fully expecting to be katowed to in his rebellion.
"My God forgive you, my son, " the priest intoned loudly, "You must repent first before you can receive our Lord."
I saw the governor's mouth open as if to protest, but no words came out. His eyes suddenly got as big as saucers and he ran out of the Cathedral, screaming as if terrified by something he had seen. Fr. Mark continued the Mass, almost as if nothing had happened. But something had happened, something wonderful.
It was reported later that at that exact moment in all the parishes over our state, the same effect was seen in all the so called "pro-choice" Catholics who were attempting to blaspheme the Mass with their presence. Asked about this later, the governor said that he saw a vision of hell and of the damned, and a demon who turned to him and said "This is reserved for all those who murder the innocent! We are waiting for you." The governor came later to Fr. Mark and not only made a good confession, but was allowed by Fr. Mark the following week to stand up after Mass and make a public recantation of all the evils which he had endorsed from his office, swearing that he would now govern with the authority of the Church, for the Church, and by the Church.
Thus began a most incredible experience which is going on even now as I write to you. The Spirit of God seemed to without reservation pour out the spirit of repentance upon even the most hardened of hearts throughout our state. Parishes were inundated with long lines of fallen away Catholics anxious to make a good confession for the good of their souls. And not only was this the laity, but men of power and influence from all walks of life came and repented of their wickednesses and vowed that they would no longer live outside the will of God for them. This has had a most profound effect upon our whole state and how it is run. Let me just for a minute share some of these effects with you so that you may see just how blessed we have been.
1. The penal system, that ungodly and wretched system which God never commanded men to do to one another, has been completely abolished. Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures did God ever call for men to enact such a cruel and unusual punishment upon their fellow men. Those who have done but small crimes have been made to make restitution to those who they wronged and have been returned to their families. There is nothing as corrective as a loving family to help young men straighten themselves out. Far better than locking them up with hardened criminals.
Those who have done crimes worthy of death have been retried. We have had a very serious concern that justice -- if you could really call it that in this country -- has been so perverted for so long that we had to be very sure that those imprisoned for capital crimes were actually guilty. Those who were guilty -- who have been found guilty by a preponderance of evidence -- have put to death. For many of them, this brought them to repentance before God. Once they knew that this was not a game and that they were seriously facing death, the majority of them became quite serious about the condition of their souls. Grace was poured out upon them to make good confessions, and the report of many of them was that they died with the praises of God's mercy upon their lips.
I suppose this report may shock you a bit, given the sensibilities which I know you have, but you must understand that neither our Holy Church nor the Holy Scriptures teach against the death penalty. It is far more cruel to keep men locked up like animals where they brutalize one another, especially the weaker young ones who are jailed for very small crimes. We have also allowed to be released many who were in prison for life for suspision of committing murder. This again may shock you, but the evidence against them was so shaky, or the testimonies so transparently false, that we had no other choice. Only those guilty by an overwhelmingly clear evidence will be executed.
(As a sidebar, you would not believe the legion of lawyers who lined up to repent of the injustices and lies they committed in the courtrooms. One thinks that perhaps now for the first time ever, we might actually have justice in our state)
2. Truth has taken over the marketplace. You have no idea how many public displays of repentance we have had -- from politicians, to newscasters, to business owners, right down to married couples. It is amazing to hear these people stand up and declare that they have lied before God and their fellow man, making false claims for just one purpose -- to make money!! St. Paul surely knew what he was talking about when he said that the love of money is the root of all evil. Now we have lawyers in courtrooms actually seeking the truth of a case rather than making inflated claims on behalf of questionable clients.
Furthermore, the Lord's Day is now honored instead of profaned. Parishes are filled to capacity every Sunday, and afterwards the parish halls are filled as we have begun to really be the family of God to one another. Malls and businesses are closed. You cannot even buy a paper on Sunday, so great is the desire of all to honor the teaching of the Church on this issue. If I may say so, making money has now become secondary to making holy lives pleasing to God.
3. Our governor has been every bit good to his word, and has outlawed abortion in this state. The president of our country -- our so called "pro-life" president has challenged him on this and his response was this 'If you want a civil war, you go ahead and send in your troops. We are no longer going to tolerate the murder of our innocent children". That one single declaration was followed by such an overwheming response from our 16 million citizens that the president at this time has found himself unable to carry out his threat. Almost every single man in the state has enlisted in the militia and are armed to the teeth against such an arrogant incursion by the federalists in Washington. I think the president knows that we are serious in this state about putting God first, even to the point of death if necessary, to oppose this evil. We are simply not going to tolerate it anymore. It is one thing for him to make politically expedient statements about stopping abortion for the purpose of duping people into re-electing him. We have done it. That is the difference.
Oh, it is true that not everyone in our state felt the same way, but those who for some reason God's Spirit did not touch have moved out of the state and have become something of martyr/heroes as they are interviewed on TV and radio. I must say that I feel sorry for them, for as you watch them speak, you can see that they are so clearly under the power of the evil one. The hatred in their faces, the anger in their voices. It is very sad.
4. The poor are taken care of, and not by these absolutely fraudulent government programs which really only enrich the politicians who enact them. No, the Church is in charge of this now, and of every single dollar given to benefit the poor, one whole dollar of it actually gets to the poor! This is why only the Church should be in charge of caring for the poor. This has resulted in a reduction of taxes, which in turn has resulted in more money being given to the Church. On top of that, because the Church has choosen holy men to oversee the disbursement of monies to the poor, we no longer have lying frauds approaching the poor box asking for alms. Oh, they tried at first, but the healthy were told to get to work, those with children out of wedlock were told to find the fathers of the children and make families before they would get one red cent (sounds cruel, I know, but it really was the best thing for both the parents and the children), and drug addicts were sent to counseling and rehabilitation. Again, many of these con artists, upon finding out that they could no longer run a scam on the public treasury, left the state and have taken up residence elsewhere. But for every one who left, ten have repented -- by God's grace -- of their wretched and dissolute lives, and are well on their way to becoming productive citizens in our state.
In addition to this, the grace of God has changed men and women so much now that they are no longer captivated by a consumerist mindset, but are rather concerned with loving their neighbors as themselves. Thus, many of these poor have had not only the help from the Church, but private contributions of love -- meaning not only money, but time spent with them to help them learn valuable skills of parenting and family. It is absolutely extraordinary to see the love of God which permeates our society and makes us treat one another with such brotherly concern. Yet despite all this, the newspapers and media in surrounding states still speak of our state as having lost its collective mind and as a "facist state of repression of human rights" How little they really know. How sad.
5. And here is the greatest miracle of all -- the heretics are converting in record numbers, including many heretical priests and a certain bishop whom you remember. Do you also remember that Bible thumper who used to stand on the corner of Market and Vine every Sunday and just trash our Holy Church with his ridiculous lying claims? To borrow one of his pet phrases PRAISE THE LORD!!! He was one of the first to repent of his heresies and enter RCIA. The parishes are just filled to overflowing with catechumens! I do not think it a stretch to say that we are going to offer this country the first ever completely Christian state -- one operated upon the principles of the Church and governed by Her wisdom.
Yes, my brother, the little temples of Fundamentalism and Calvinism have all but disappeared. Imagine, if you can, all of them changed into Catholic parishes. Many of the former "pastors" of these assemblies have entered seminary to train for the priesthood. In fact, our sole seminary is so filled that we have had to build a new three new ones. Again, with the love of God and His Church being in the hearts of all, this was completed in record time and with no lack of funding.
I could go on and on. The change in our state is just astounding, and we have heard a most encouraging report that in Ohio, the same thing appears to be taking place. We are much in prayer that our Blessed Lady would so grace not only that state, but indeed the whole of our country. What would it be like to live in a truly Christian country rather than one which for 200 years claimed to be Christian but was founded by Masons and Diests and acted in according wickedness? Could this be the start of His Kingdom on earth, to which He will surely one day return and rule supreme from the New Jerusalem in Rome?
When you return, you will find one other thing that will please you immensely, knowing your love for our gracious Queen. After the revival began, it was not long before icons and statues of our Lady began to be displayed everywhere. There is not a place you can go that She is not honored. Truly the Holy Scriptures are fulfilled in that She said "and all men shall call me blessed." Three times a day we have loudspeakers that broadcast the Angelus. The Divine Chaplet is broadcast at three, and the Rosary is broadcast twice a day -- all 15 decades!! I swear, if I didn't know better, I would think that I have died and gone to Heaven!! Neighborhoods are filled with the sound of church bells rather than that obscene noise called rap music. Public profanity is punished, but it really is extremely rare to begin with. There is a peace about our land which we hope never leaves. To this end we have set up teams of people to pray day and night before the public Monstrance set up on the top of the capitol steps. Every Sunday, our governor leads the adoration at noon. He is a devout man now, and profoundly thankful that God saw fit in his mercy to forgive him of his sins rather than send him to the hell he admits he deserved.
Such is our state now. I hope soon our whole country might be so graced. Hurry home my brother, just so you can experience this wonder. A great blessing awaits you.
Your brother,
Ed
