AMEN, “come, Lord Jesus!”
Pope Francis: Times of Persecution Mean the Lord is Near
Worldly powers that wish to make religion something private exists in this world. This was the warning Pope Francis gave this morning during Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
The Holy Father reflected on the first reading where Daniel is thrown in the Lion’s den for praying to God, while the Gospel recalled Jesus’ description of the end of days.
Speaking on the final battle described by Jesus, the Pope said that there is an underlying temptation that will be faced by all which he called “the universal temptation”: the desecration of the temple, the desecration of faith.
“What does this mean? It will be like the triumph of the prince of this world: the defeat of God. It seems that in that final moment of calamity, he will take possession of this world, that he will be the master of this world,” he said.
An example of this desecration of faith can be shown in the book of Daniel who is condemned to death for adoring God. This desecration has a specific name: “the prohibition of worship.”
“[There] religion cannot be spoken of, it is something private, no? Publicly it is not spoken about. Te religious signs are taken down. The laws that come from the worldly powers must be obeyed. You can do so many beautiful things except adore God. Worship is prohibited,” the Pope said.
“This is the center of this end. And when this arrives in its fullness - to the ‘kairos’ of this pagan attitude, when this is fulfilled - then yes, He will come: ‘And they will see the Son of man come on a cloud with great power and glory.’ Christians who have suffered in times of persecution, in times of the prohibition of worship are a prophecy of that which will happen to all.”
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful to be loyal and patient. The times of persecution mean that that the victory of Jesus Christ is near.
“This week it will do us well to think of this general apostasy, which is called the prohibition of adoration and ask ourselves: ‘Do I adore the Lord? Do I adore Jesus Christ, the Lord? Or is it half and half, do I play the play the prince of this world,” he said. “To adore till the end, with loyalty and faithfulness: this is the grace that we should ask for this week.”
Pope: faith is not ‘private,’ worship God firmly despite apostasy and persecution
There are worldly powers that want religion to be simply a private matter and today’s persecuted Christians are a sign of the trials that precede Jesus’ final coming – that’s the message Pope Francis imparted to the faithful gathered for early morning mass Thursday at the Santa Marta Guest house inside the Vatican.
In the final battle between God and evil that we read in the liturgy in these days, there’s a trap which Pope Francis calls “universal temptation.” It’s the temptation to give in to the deceitful ways of those against God. But those with true faith can look to Jesus for the strength to withstand the insidiousness of evil. Jesus, who endured insults and lies in his public life and the trials of evil in the desert, bore them to his death on the Cross. But, as Prince of Peace, Jesus triumphed over the prince of the world through the Resurrection.
In his homily, Pope Francis pointed to these events in Christ’s life because, he said, as we hear the Gospel recount the tumultuous time of the end of the world, we become aware that the victory of the prince of the world over God would be more disasterous than a devastating natural disaster.
“When Jesus speaks of this calamity in another passage, he tells us that it will be a profanation of the temple, a profanation of the faith, of the people: it will be an abomination; it will be desolation and abomination. What does this mean? It will be like the victory of the prince of this world: the defeat of God.”
Today, the Pope observed, people are discouraged from speaking of religion in public. “It’s (considered) something private, no?” It’s something you don’t talk about in public, he said, pointing to the fact that religious objects have become tabu’. “One has to obey the orders that come from worldly powers. One can do many things, nice things, but not adore God. It’s forbidden to worship. This is at the heart of the “end of times.” It is when this pagan attitude reaches its height, that’s when the end times will come, the Pope stressed. This is when the Son of man will return in glory.
“Christians who suffer times of persecution, times forbidding worship,” are a prophetic sign, the Pope said, of “what will happen to everyone.”
“This week it will do us good to think about this general apostasy which is called a ban on worship and ask ourselves: ‘Do I worship the Lord? Do I adore Jesus Christ the Lord? Do I in some measure play the game of the prince of this world?’ Worship to the end with trust and fidelity,” the Pope said, “this is the grace that we must ask for this week.”
“Worshipping until the end...”? The end of what? and what is to follow the end?
**This week we would do well to think of this general apostasy , which is called the prohibition of worship and ask: ‘Do I adore the Lord ? Do I adore Jesus Christ, the Lord, or only a little, ‘half and half, I play the game of the prince of this world ? ‘ . Worshiping until the end, with the trust and faithfulness: this is the grace that we ask this week.”**
Amen to the Pope’s last sentences!
He wants the athiest-marxists to win elections and then persecute Christians so they go directly to heaven.
I think the leaders of satans world are aware that many people do not pray openly but go into that closet with in them to pray to God.
Matthew 6:6
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.