Hear Ye, Hear Ye: A Catholic Voice Crying in the Wilderness, "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord"

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

A Catholic Voice Crying in the Wilderness, Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

Conor Ward

ISBN 978-1-63844-510-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63844-511-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Conor Ward

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

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Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise stated, all the quotations from Scripture are taken from the New American Standard Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Introduction

This book is aimed primarily at Catholics but has much to offer any Christian who is prepared to approach it with an open mind and is interested in a Catholic perspective on the times we are living in. It is a call for a radical reappraisal of what it means to be a mainstream Catholic. By the grace of God, I am a loyal, believing, practicing Roman Catholic. I love my Church and consider myself blessed to have been born into the Catholic Christian faith.

Notwithstanding the above, it is my view that the Church, particularly in the Western world, has grown lukewarm and is in need of radical reformation, a true and genuine reformation from within. The people of God have largely lost sight of what it really means to be a follower of Christ, and many of the shepherds of the flock are themselves in need of radical renewal. Jesus said, I have come to cast fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled (Luke 12:49). Mostly, I do not see that fire in Catholics when we gather together to worship and pray. This book represents a sincere attempt to help rekindle that fire. Any criticism of the Church is to be taken in that context.

Among the most radical assertions in this book is the assertion that mainstream Catholicism urgently needs to reclaim the Christ-given power to cast out demons, lay hands on the sick and heal them and the Holy Spirit gift of tongues, according to the words of Jesus: These are the signs that will accompany those who believe in Me: In My name they will cast out demons; they will have the gift of tongues…they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:17–18). I urge readers to pay particular attention to the chapters which deal specifically with these issues.

Equally radical within Catholic circles is the strong suggestion, based on Scripture, that the second coming of Jesus is imminent, perhaps even in this generation, and that we are already living through the beginning of the end-times: the beginning of birth pangs (Matthew 24:8). The chapters on Daniel and the Last Days and The Book of Revelation are particularly relevant for those with a keen interest in the second coming, as they offer a well-reasoned insight into the probable identity of the beast system. It should be noted that this manuscript was written in 2012, well before ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and its associates came into existence, and that only very minor edits have taken place since then and the current time of publication.

It is absolutely vital that all Christians be properly informed and knowledgeable on end-times matters, lest they be led astray by false Christs and false prophets (Matthew 24:24). Remember the warning from Scripture: My people perish from lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).

In addition to the above themes, this book seeks to set out in simple, easy-to-follow, chronological narrative the story of God’s relationship with mankind from the fall of Lucifer right down to the last days. It is hoped that this will help readers get a better perspective on where they fit into the story of God’s unfolding divine providence and perhaps have a better understanding of the extraordinary times we live in.

In reading this book, it is most important that you do not skip lightly over the quotations from Scripture, which are sprinkled liberally throughout. Please study those quotations prayerfully, as they are the infallible word of God and form an integral part of what this book is about. Satisfy yourself that the quotations are accurate, in context, and that they uphold the point being made.

May the Holy Spirit guide you and enlighten you as you read.

Chapter 1

Fall of Lucifer

Many Catholics no longer have a clear overview of where they, as Christians, fit into the wider picture of creation and unfolding divine providence. Having a clear picture of where we fit into God’s unfolding plan leads to a sense of perspective in our lives and offers a great security in a sometimes-chaotic world.

First, it is important to remember and understand, in so far as we can, that God exists outside of time. He had no beginning and will have no end. He always was and always will be. He is eternal. And so before time began, there was only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: three persons in one God. It should be noted that although Jesus had not yet been born as a man, God the Son already existed out of all eternity. There was nothing in existence outside of God. And because God, by His very nature, is overflowing love, He decided out of that overflowing love to create creatures who would share in His wonderful existence. This action of God in creating creatures was an action of overflowing goodness and did not arise out of any need on the part of God.

First, He created angels. We do not know how many He created or how long ago this took place, but it is likely that He created a great many billions of them, and it is definite that angels were created before mankind. These angels were beautiful personal spirit beings with no physical body. They were highly intelligent, with a deep-infused knowledge of the wonderful attributes of the God who created them. They possessed extraordinary powers and were extremely beautiful in their person. God gifted them with free will and placed them in a place of great happiness called Paradise. It is important to note that this place of Paradise was not what we now call Heaven. We know this for certain because some of them rejected God, and it is impossible to reject God if one is in His presence in Heaven.

It was His will that every single one of those angels would choose to join Him in Heaven, but it had to be a free decision by them. This gift of free will was absolutely central to God’s plan. Without genuine free will, there could be no merit in any decision the angels would take, and if there was no merit, then God’s sense of infinite justice could not justify the reward of Heaven. It is the exact same for us humans.

To enable the angels to exercise their gift of free will, it was necessary to offer them a situation where they had a real choice. Those who freely chose good would be rewarded by God while those who freely chose evil would be punished by God. Because of their superior intelligence and their deep knowledge of the attributes of God, the test was quite different from the test that would later be offered to mankind. To the best of my knowledge, the Church has never pronounced officially on the exact nature of the test. However, it is widely held to have been twofold as outlined below. My source here is the Mystical City of God by Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, a sixteenth-century mystic nun who received extraordinary private revelation from God and whose writings became the bedside reading of half a dozen Popes in the centuries following. Because my source for this next part arises out of private revelation, it is important to point out that a Catholic is not bound to believe it. However, I consider that it offers a real and credible insight into what happened in that place of Paradise.

First, God revealed to all the angels that it was His intention to create another species of creature called mankind, at some point in the future, and that God the Son would one day become one of these creatures and that He would confine Himself to the limitations of a human body and would allow Himself to suffer and die for the redemption of these creatures; but He would still be worthy of divine worship as the risen Jesus. For the majority of angels, approximately two-thirds, those who were poor in spirit, this was an astonishing and wonderful manifestation of God’s infinite goodness, and they immediately marveled and rejoiced at this wonderful plan of God. For the remainder of these angels, approximately one-third, those who were proud in spirit, this whole plan was unacceptable, and they immediately rejected it and rebelled.

It was unacceptable to them because they were aware of how inferior to them in so many respects this new species was. They were filled with envy and hatred against this new species because God the Son had freely chosen to become one of them. It was also unacceptable to them, in their pride, that they should be required to worship God made man in the person of Jesus. They had been willing to worship God because the power and majesty of God was overwhelming, but they were not now prepared to worship God in the form of a man.

All the above took place in an instant and simultaneously with the second part of the test which was as follows: God also revealed to all the angels that one of this new species would become the mother of God the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit, that she would be the greatest of all God’s creation, and that He would enthrone her as queen of all His creation. Those angels who were poor in spirit immediately marveled and rejoiced at God’s wonderful plan and signaled their willingness to welcome and accept Mary as their queen. The remaining angels, who were proud in spirit, immediately rejected God’s plan and rebelled for the same reasons that they had rebelled against the first part of God’s plan. The cardinal sin at the core of their rejection of God’s plan was, and still is, the sin of pride. That is why pride is such a very deadly and dangerous enemy.

Filled with pride, hatred, and envy, these angels, led by Lucifer whom we now call Satan, immediately took on the form of various hideous creatures and became demons whose sole purpose for all eternity is to hate God, hate mankind, and seek by whatever evil ways possible to thwart God’s plan for mankind. In effect, they had created their own hell. Michael the Archangel was now permitted by God to drive all the fallen angels or demons out of that Paradise to regions where they continuously conspire and plot to do as much harm to us human beings as possible. It is thought that hell may be at the center of the earth.

Satan and his followers had refused to worship Jesus, and that was an act of free will and rebellion allowed by God, an act that had its own inevitable consequences. But God’s perfect justice could not allow them to carry that act of defiance with them for all eternity and with it a high level of self-satisfaction and self-justification. After Jesus was crucified, the Apostles’ Creed tells us that He descended into Hell. This is a very confusing article of faith without the following explanation, also revealed to Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda. God showed her that, after His death, Jesus descended into Hell accompanied by Michael the Archangel and that Michael compelled every demon spirit, including Satan, to bow down and worship Jesus. God’s infinite justice had been satisfied.

The punishment of the fallen angels was immediate and irreversible for all eternity, with no second chance, unlike that of mankind who were offered a second chance by God. That is because the angels had absolutely no excuse owing to their superior intelligence and the fact that they had a deep-infused knowledge of the love and goodness of God. This made their sin all the more grievous. The fact that their sin was a sin of pride leading to rebellion made reconciliation impossible. Even today, if the damned in Hell, including the damned human souls, were to be offered a place in Heaven, their pride and rebellion would not allow them acceptance. The good angels were then taken to Heaven by God where they worship Him without ceasing and remain as the friends and guardians of mankind, each with a different role and function.

Chapter 2

Adam and Eve

We do not know how much time elapsed before God created Adam and Eve. What we do know is that in Luke 3:23–38, the genealogy of Jesus is traced right back to Adam, and it would be foolish in the extreme, therefore, to consider the story of Adam and Eve as anything other than the inspired word of God to be taken at face value. Our Church allows us to accept the theory of evolution, if we so wish, providing we believe that at some point in time, probably around six thousand years ago, God created Adam and Eve in His own image and likeness and breathed a soul and a spirit into them, setting them totally apart from the rest of creation. What is a cause for deep concern is that the theory of evolution is so entrenched in the Christian educational system that it is taught uncritically as an accepted scientific fact, despite the fact that there is a considerable body of well-researched scientific evidence to show that it is utterly false. If you would like to explore some of that well-researched evidence, I suggest you visit www.worldcreationview.org and learn from renowned Christian scientist, Dr. Grady McMurtry.

God gifted Adam and Eve with free will in the same way and for the same reason that he had gifted the angels with free will. He placed them in the Garden of Paradise, thought to be somewhere between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and gave them specific instructions that they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge that was in the center of the garden. You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die (Genesis 3:3). Everything else was open to them except this one forbidden fruit. This was to be the test of how they would choose to exercise their free will. It was the will of God that Adam and Eve would freely choose obedience to God. This act of freely choosing obedience to God would be meritorious and would enable God to reward them and their descendants by bringing them to live with Him forever in Heaven. There would be no death, no pain, no suffering, no disease, no need to work.

Adam and Eve had an intellect that was far superior to ours but lower than that of the angels. Their infused knowledge of the God who created them was also far superior to ours but less than that of the angels. Their will was not weak like ours is, and they were not inclined toward evil as we are. They were physically beautiful, and their bodies were not subject to disease, suffering, or death. It was inexcusable in this context that they should choose to disobey God, and yet that is what they did. The cardinal sin at the core of the fall of Adam and Eve was the sin of disobedience. Obedience to the word of God and the official teachings of His Church remains a struggle for all of us even today, and we must guard against it.

Ever since he had been cast out of Paradise, Satan and his legions of fallen angels had been watching and waiting for the creation of this new creature. When he saw Adam and Eve in the garden, he was filled with hatred and envy, and when he considered that perhaps Eve might even be the one who was to be queen, he was doubly filled with hatred and envy. He determined to revenge himself against God and man by depriving these new creatures of their place in Heaven, a place he had already lost through his pride.

First, he approached Eve. She made the fatal mistake of engaging in a two-way communication with him. There is a major lesson for us there. Contrast Eve’s approach with the manner in which Jesus dealt with His temptations in the desert. He confined Himself to quoting Scripture. Satan convinced Eve that if she ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, she would be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5). She ate of the fruit and then gave it to Adam who also ate.

The immediate effect was a sense of guilt and shame as they sought to hide themselves from God. They looked at each other and realized for the first time that they were naked. The more long-term effect was that they and their descendants were now subject to sickness, disease, suffering, toil, and death. In the future, they and their descendants would have to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. By the sweat of your brow you shall earn your bread (Genesis 3:19). To Eve, God said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth; in pain you shall bring forth children; yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you (Genesis 3:16).

The wonderful intellect of Adam and Eve was darkened; their will was weakened, and because they were now inclined toward evil, it would be a constant struggle to choose good over evil. This became their new nature, a nature that is shared by all of us, their descendants. It is extremely important to remember that sickness, disease, pain, toil, and death all came into the world as a direct consequence of original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve. They did not come into the world by the will of God. It is also important to remember that although baptism takes away the stain of that original sin, we are still under the fallen nature of Adam and Eve and live in a world that is subject to the consequences of that original sin of disobedience.

Because God has gifted us with a genuine gift of free will, a consequence is that the Almighty God does not always get what He desires here on earth. When God chose to gift us with free will, He knew that He was leaving Himself open to situations where we could, and indeed would, thwart His will. It is a sign of His overflowing love for us that He still chose to gift us with free will. Every time we sin, we thwart the will of God. Innumerable sins, freely committed by man over the centuries, have led to the chaotic state of human relations in our present-day world, even also to the increasing disorder in the elements.

If we could only see with the eyes of our spirit, we would find surprising explanations for so many negative happenings both in our own personal lives and in the world around us. Far too often, we blame God and attribute these negative happenings to the will of God, when in fact they are always the result of sin, either our own sin or the sin of those around us. How offensive it must be to our loving God when we mistakenly attribute to Him so many negative happenings that, in reality, come from the kingdom of darkness.

If free will can have such disastrous consequences in our world and thwart the will of the Almighty God, why did He decide to gift us with free will in the first place? It comes back to the notion of merit and His desire to be in a position to reward us for our actions and ultimately bring us to Heaven to share in His happiness for all eternity. Let us imagine for a moment that God had not gifted us with free will. All our actions would be robotic and without real choice. There would be no merit in any of our actions, and God would not be able to reward us because His infinite justice would not allow reward for actions that had no element of merit.

The following incident offers an interesting insight into the current state of the Church and the role of free will in our lives. In the 1880s, Pope Leo XIII had a vision. In that vision, he saw, as it were, Satan present himself before the throne of God and make the case that the only reason that the people of God were faithful to God was because God had not given him enough power. He heard God ask how much power he needed, and then he heard God say that He would grant that power.

Next, he saw Satan present himself a second time before the throne of God. This time, Satan made the case that the only reason why the people of God were faithful to God was because God had not given him enough time. He heard God ask how much time he needed, and he heard Satan answer that he needed one hundred years. Finally, he heard God grant that one hundred years.

Pope Leo XIII was then shown in a vision how these two things would impact on the future Church and on the world as end-times approached. He was so terrified by what he saw that he immediately, there and then, sat down in the sacristy and composed a prayer to Michael the Archangel. He decreed that this prayer to Michael the Archangel be said after every Mass in every Catholic Church throughout the whole world.

And so indeed it was, right up to the sixties. People of my vintage will remember it well. It is still said wherever pious Catholics gather in small groups to pray the rosary. One reason I have included the above incident is to offer an insight into some of the dreadful things that have happened in our Church in recent times and what is likely to happen in the immediate future. I refer to sexual abuse scandals and the institutional cover-up of those abuses; the falling away of so many Catholics; the fall in vocations to the priesthood and religious life; the multitudes of young people choosing to live together; the ravages of drugs, alcohol, and pornography; the widespread acceptance of new age, pagan, and occult activities; and the spread of unbelief. However, my main reason is that I wish to further highlight the role of free will in divine salvation.

From the above vision given to Pope Leo XIII, it is abundantly clear that God allowed Satan to have greater power over mankind in these times and also to have more time in which to exercise that power. You will find a much more detailed treatment of this in the chapter under Job. This makes it much more difficult for you and me to choose good over evil. It also means that when we freely choose good over evil in these circumstances, our merit is so much greater and our reward will be so much greater in Heaven. It would seem from this that God prefers to lavish an abundant reward on a lesser number of people than a lesser reward on a greater number of people. It could also be, however, that He sees and takes into account the tremendous force of evil working against us in today’s world and is able, under divine justice, for that reason to be more lenient with us. We do know from the teaching of our Church and also from sacred scripture My grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9) that God always grants us sufficient grace in all situations to choose good rather than evil, even in today’s world. I quote here the prayer of Leo XIII:

Blessed Michael the Archangel

Defend us in the hour of conflict;

Be our safeguard against the wickedness

And snares of the Devil.

May God restrain him

We humbly pray,

And do thou O Prince of the Heavenly host

By the power of God

Thrust Satan down to Hell,

And with him all the wicked spirits

Who wander through the world

For the ruin of souls.

Amen.

When I was a boy growing up, I often suffered angst over the sin of our first parents. If only they hadn’t sinned! There would be no sickness or pain or death, and we would all be taken up to Heaven at the appropriate time. Now I realize that our wonderful God is a God of infinite mercy and unlimited possibilities. When Adam and Eve thwarted God’s plan, He put another plan into place, and the second plan was even more wonderful than the first one. God promised that one day He would send His only Son into the world to take on human flesh and that He would willingly offer Himself up on the cross in atonement for the original sin of Adam and Eve and also for the sins of the whole world. What a wonderful God we serve!

God now drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden and closed the gates of Heaven against His new creation. Those gates were to remain closed to all human beings, even the greatest of the prophets, even Saint Joseph, until Jesus ascended into Heaven. We are inclined to think that Heaven was opened when Jesus died on Good Friday, but it is important to remember what He said to Mary Magdalene when He appeared to her on Easter Sunday: Do not touch Me for I have not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). If Jesus had not yet ascended to the Father in Heaven, it is extremely unlikely that Heaven had yet been opened to the prophets, the patriarchs, and all the faithful who had died in grace before that time. This raises two questions: Where was Jesus during the time from His death on Good Friday until His resurrection on Easter Sunday, and where were the souls of all the holy men and women who died between the time of Adam and Eve and Easter Sunday?

It is extremely unlikely that those souls were all confined to the purifying fires of Purgatory. It is much more likely that they were in a place of Paradise, sometimes referred to as Limbo, somewhat like the Paradise that the angels had inhabited before the fall. They did not yet enjoy the full beatific vision of the presence of God in Heaven. The key lies with the words of Jesus on the cross to the Good Thief: Truly I say to you, this day you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). Most Catholics take this to mean that Jesus was promising the Good Thief that he would join Him in Heaven that very day. This is not correct and arises out of a tendency to equate the word Paradise with Heaven.

It is the same mistake that is often made in relation to where the angels were before the fall of Lucifer. We already know from what He said to Mary Magdalene that He had not yet ascended to the Father in Heaven. From these scriptures, we can take it that when Jesus died on Good Friday, He went to a place called Paradise where He was joined by the Good Thief and where almost certainly He was preceded by the souls of all the faithful mentioned above who had waited in joyful hope of that great day. It is likely that Jesus spent time there teaching the faithful in Paradise all that he had taught for three and a half years during His public ministry on earth. The Lord then ascended into Heaven and took them all with Him into Heaven, and there was no further need of Limbo.

When God created mankind, we are told that He specifically created them male and female: Male and female He created them and blessed them (Genesis 5:2). This meant that whereas men and women have equal dignity and worth in His eyes as human beings because each is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), nevertheless, each has a different role and function in God’s plan. It does not mean that one is greater than the other or better than the other or more intelligent than the other; but it does mean that they are different from each other, not only in their role and function