Fr. Eric Roy |
The Building Up of the Kingdom
A NEW ERA
In the light of the triduums of prayer of the last few years, it is fairly easy to see that the new era announced so many times in the past is developing and beginning to take shape little by little. Who, among us, would have thought that it would all happen in this way? Once again we see that God realizes His plans in a way that is always astonishing and unexpected, leaving us humble and in adoration.
For, it is not easy for man to foresee, understand or imagine how the Father’s plan of love ought to be fulfilled. However, His manner of proceeding is always the same, in the present as in the past, whether it was in the era of the 4,000 years of the Father, as so many examples in the Old Testament illustrate, or whether it was in the era of the 2,000 years of the Son.
Thus, at the time of the coming of the Son, the Messiah was awaited impatiently by the entire Jewish people, and yet no one, with the exception of the humble, recognized Him, to such an extent that it was by letting Himself be crucified by the “Mighty” of this world that He established His Kingdom. God’s ways are not our ways... A truth we must keep in mind, for it is always timely.
AN INTERIOR RENEWAL
This new era that is looming will inevitably bring with it a change in perspective, a new way of looking at our world and our role in it. Furthermore, as of now, we bear in us the seeds of renewal which are developing, little by little, in the ground of this new land, in order to cause to flourish once again a world which no longer knows either where it comes from or where it is going.
This renewal, as we can see, is wrought, to begin with, in the heart of each one (man, woman or child), providing he is open to divine grace. Whence the importance of pursuing without respite and with a renewed generosity the task of personal reform which is interior reform. Let us not be afraid to initiate children to this interior world, to the spiritual life and to the splendors of grace, for they are really capable of reaching it much better than we might think. Moreover, they are the hope of this renewed world that is coming.
So many means are given us to help us work at this interior transformation. However, for the apostles of the latter times which we are, the Eucharist is the means of predilection, through Communion as well as adoration. The rosary in its fifteen or twenty decades is also a fearsome weapon to fight against evil. There you have what is essential, and the Lady of All Peoples reminds us of this and confirms it.
And suddenly, there the Lady is. I see her. She is standing. She holds the rosary. “It is necessary to persevere in prayer. The entire world must pray.” (5th apparition)
“Before the Lord Jesus Christ returned to the Father, and before the Sacrifice of the cross began, the Lord Jesus Christ gave to all the peoples of the earth the gift of a daily miracle.” Lowering her gaze, she seems to be searching for something on the globe. “How many are there for whom this great miracle...” Her voice is slow, questioning. It is only after a silence that she finishes the sentence: “... is really lived? They disregard it, disdaining the great miracle. The daily Sacrifice must be re-established in the midst of this corrupted world.” (45th apparition)
DETACHING ONESELF FROM THE WORLD
Even if this new era is beginning in an entirely spiritual manner, it will also have visible consequences at the very heart of our world. Thus, we will have to live, interiorly, detachments that will be increasingly deeper in order to arrive at distancing ourselves from the all-encompassing and harmful way of thinking of the majority being conveyed by our present society. It has reached the point that this current of thought is very often raised to the status of restricting and unquestionable “laws”, while at the same time unrestrainedly labelling those who do not adhere to them. These latter are then perceived and treated as being “old-fashioned”, “backward” or “outdated”, whereas they are trying to walk in a dignified manner in the light and the truth, as children of God who are free.
The followers of this global and strong current are the ones constantly condemning those who wish to remain upright or regain it. Moreover, they even dare boast that their ideology is based on “real freedom”, in whose name everything is permissible..., except, of course, the right to be among those who wish to redress society by basing themselves on the most noble virtues. Furthermore, these virtues are among the Christian values passed on to us by past generations but which have now become, for most of our contemporaries, realities to be rediscovered.
LETTING GOD ACT THROUGH EVENTS
At the moment, God is establishing the foundations of the Kingdom with the little remnant of His people. Once again, He wishes to establish a covenant with men. Little by little, He is shaping, with His grace and through events, those who are called upon to form a model society. This formation, as we stated earlier, is given them as much on the personal level as it is at the level of families and religious Communities. In the future, this formation will have to spread to society as well as to all nations and cultures, so that a genuine and universal renewal may take place.
If, at first glance, this task seems colossal, and even practically impossible, we must always keep in mind that God is the one who will bring about the events that will make it possible to realize His divine plan. Man will always be free to accept or refuse God’s plan, but if man, with divine grace, reaches the point of being able to grasp the import, the goodness and the beauty of this divine plan, he will be unable to do anything other than commit himself to following it eagerly and courageously, with the firm resolve and the hope of being capable of participating fully in this mystery of divine love which has become accessible to the whole of humanity.
A NECESSARY PURIFICATION
Obviously, at the heart of any and all reform, there is always a period of purification in order to strenghten the bases and thus be able to build upon the solid rock of faith. This purification, which has already been going on for several years, is intensifying more and more, to such an extent that it is easy to see that it is being lived intensely by many people at this time, as much on the personal level as within the Work itself. Besides, is not the whole world experiencing this as well, in a way? We need only think of all the scandals, the human woes, as well as all the people from so many regions and countries who are going through trials that seem to be endless.
Even if, at first glance, this period of purification might seem negative, it is certainly much more positive and constructive than we might think. We are fortunate enough to be able to see the extraordinary effects of such a purification which is taking place in accordance with God’s pace.
The first example we cannot overlook is that of our dear Mother who, by her life of offering, incessantly encourages us to accept this purification, particularly within the context of the detachments recently exacted by Heaven and which we have had the grace of being able to discover during the last triduums of prayer. Thus, we can see the numerous effects produced by a well-accepted purification, as much within the Work as in relation to the mystery of the Co-Redemption, about which we know more and more. There are so many spiritual benefits flowing from this, so many graces abounding, so much love and mercy that are superabundant.
Let us help each other continue along this path that will bring us to enter progressively more and more into the dazzling light promised by the Father. It is His desire that we be united with Him, among ourselves and with all peoples, so that the time of the Kingdom may finally come and that the Rainbow of light, love and peace may always shine.
May the Lady of All Peoples, our Mother and our Queen, be our Advocate always, and may the True Spirit enlighten and guide us.
Father Eric Roy, O.FF.M.
On Friday, June 26, 2009, a rainbow crossed the sky of Lac-Etchemin, starting from the Residence of the Lady. |