AM+DG
Prophecy: Churches closed
Prophecy:
“Then, the Churches, including all those who love God, the one triune God, will begin to withdraw their services and close their doors. The number of Churches which will close down, will be seen, in all western countries.” (17th April, 2013)
Prophecy being Fulfilled:
- 5 Nov. 2014 Huffington Post
Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Sunday (Nov. 2, 2014) announced that nearly a third of the archdiocese’s 368 parishes would be merging, and some would close. The changes were to take effect on Aug. 1 2015.
- 5 Dec. 2016 LifeSite News:
“L’Osservatore Romano published a report … 600-700 Catholic churches in the Netherlands will be decommissioned by 2018. In 2010, (a report) said two churches a week are closing due to lack of congregations.…Of the 170 monasteries which are still in use for religious purposes, approximately 150 will close in the next 10 years… In his own diocese of Utrecht 326 parishes are being “melted” into 49 “very large” territorial amalgamations in each of which one church is to be designated as a “Eucharistic centre.”
- The closing of churches partially and/or temporarily has been seen all over the world since 2019 due to the declared pandemic, where a ‘virus’ was used an excuse to do this. In fact, many bishops volunteered to do this before the government even requested them to do so! Few objected. It was not a real excuse, especially when places such as gyms, liquor stores, tattoo parlours, take aways and large scale shopping centres were left open. As a result, the faithful have been slowly acclimatized to not attending Mass, to staying at home and watching it being live-streamed or just having Sundays to themselves. Masses were not being offered, Holy Water was removed and not used to make the Sign of the Cross. All the Sacraments were greatly inhibited or inaccessible. Families were kept from each other! The devil is laughing at us. Eventually, with viruses as the excuse and the fear caused by this, the remaining churches will close. There is already a huge reduction in donations so the empty, unused churches become financially unviable. After almost 2 years the churches were still predominantly closed. We had a gap of almost normal church services, but then we were back to closure and lockdowns. At this time (August 2023), there are still many churches which have not re-introduced Holy Water. Many of us have witnessed our teenage and young adult children lose their Faith through sloth and stop going to Mass altogether, even after the lockdowns ended.
This has affected the Church in numerous ways. Our Legion of Mary groups could not function, Sacramental classes could not take place to prepare children for Confession and Holy Communion, the teaching of Catechism wasn’t happening, no youth groups for the young people, no Adoration hours before the Blessed Sacrament, no community to strengthen, console, meet, unite or form ties; a broken body with disconnected parts. The elderly could not register online, in order to attend a half empty church for ‘social distancing’ and so were kept from Mass even longer.
At this time, mostly things seems to be back to “normal”, but we know it is just a lull in the storm. Even so often, the media tries to whip up a new fear. The latest buzz words being extreme climate emergencies and extreme climate shelters. When did distance, snowfall, water on the road or a bushfire in the next town, ever stop a Mass before? Very rarely. Our ancestors knew the Power of a Mass.
The shut downs also seem to be creating a new breed of Catholic, who do not make the effort to attend Mass, when it is available. It seems clear and probable that only a remnant will remain faithful, and therefore, many church buildings will close completely and be used for other purposes.
In China, France and elsewhere, churches are desecrated, burned to the ground, shut down, confiscated, sold off, rented out or destroyed. Sometimes Bishops turn congregations of healthy numbers out of a church, in order to sell off the property. Even monasteries and convents are in rapid decline so the chapels and churches associated with them, used for daily prayers and offering Masses, cease to be. The nuns and brothers go to retirement homes or live in small, rented premises in very small numbers- no longer thriving communities.
When churches closed, we were denied the Sacraments as foretold and in our hour of greatest need. Weddings, Holy Orders, Baptisms And Confirmations were delayed indefinitely or even cancelled, Reconciliation was not offered, Communion was not available and even the sick and dying were not able to be visited and receive the Last Rites. It is hard to imagine that my 70 year old friend, who attended Mass daily and served God in as many ways as he could, died alone and without the Sacraments. He had not been to Mass in almost 18 months or been able to pray his beloved Rosary in his Church group. He was isolated and alone- living up the mountain, a fair distance from everything. He couldn’t register online to attend Mass. So in the 6 months after churches opened, he was still absent. I tried to text him to offer him our family’s spot. He never made it. Although not previously unwell, he suddenly died alone and undiscovered in his home. I found out by accident- even bulletins were not being printed and there was no church news. I did not even get to attend his funeral. I was so aggrieved! He deserved better.
Throughout all this, the underground Masses or simply defiant priests, who honour God’s Laws above men, bravely continued. Many of us attended Masses illegally and risked heavy fines or arrest. We sought out spiritual refuges and travelled long distances, often early in the morning and alone. Some people walked several kilometres taking hours to arrive. We ran to attend extra Masses before the next closure, whenever Churches temporarily opened. We adored the Eucharist through brick walls and prayed with friends as we ‘exercised’ in the park. We yearned, we suffered, we sorrowed – we prayed and we persisted. Herein lies the real church; spurned and castigated for ‘disobeying’ the dictatorships and for ‘being selfish’. But we were with Jesus.
The fulfillment of each stage of the schism unfolds before us; previously unthinkable.We could be pardoned for thinking that this global medical affair was designed to dismantle the Church – well it certainly seemed to play more than just a small part. But on the other hand, it sorted out the wheat and the weeds, and made a stronger and bigger Remnant, who grew in number and in strength because of it all. Praise be to God!
This is the 8th post in this series.
The next post will be “Summoning Mary”.
RemnantDisciplesJtM 
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