The Incredible Life and Prophesies of St. Hildegard
Unity Publishing
Note: The opinions of this writer do not necessarily reflect TradCatKnight's
Considering the third secret of Fatima and the interpretation of it by
the Vatican, I could not help but believe that their interpretation was lacking
somewhat. The reason for my belief in a
different interpretation of this secret is that I have read the prophesies of
many other saints who have seen similar visions of the sufferings and death of
a Holy Father. One of the most
controversial of these prophets is St. Hildegard, so I have resolved to first
look into her life story and the approval of the Church on her visions and
life. It is interesting to note that
her visions created great music, medical cures used today, and new
understandings of theology. She advised
Kings, Monarchs, Bishops and even Popes.
Born at Bockelheim on the Nahe. The family name is unknown of this great
seeress and prophetess, called the Sibyl of the Rhine. The life of Hildegard as
a child, religious, and superioress was an extraordinary one. Left much to
herself on account of her ill health, she led an interior life trying to make
use of everything for her own satisfaction. From her early years she was
favoured with visions.
"Up to my fifteenth year I saw much, and related
some of the things seen to others, who would inquire with astonishment, whence
such things might come. ... Frequently, I my conversations, I would relate
future things which I saw as if present, but, noting the amazement of my
listeners, I became more reticent."
At a time when few women wrote, Hildegard produced
major works of theology and visionary writings. When few women were accorded
respect, she was consulted by and advised bishops, popes, and kings. She used
the curative powers of natural objects for healing, and wrote treatises about
natural history and the medicinal uses of plants, animals, trees and stones.
She is the first composer whose biography is known. Founded a vibrant convent,
where her musical plays were performed. Although not yet canonized, Hildegard
has been beatified, and is frequently referred to as Saint Hildegard. Revival
of interest in this extraordinary woman of the middle ages was initiated by
musicologists and historians of science and religion. Less fortunately,
Hildegard's visions and music had been hijacked by the New Age movement, whose
music bears some resemblance to Hildegard's ethereal airs. Her story is
important to all students of medieval history and culture, and an inspirational
account of an irresistible spirit and vibrant intellect overcoming social,
physical, cultural, gender barriers to achieve timeless transcendence.
Hildegard was born the 10th child to a noble family. As was customary with the tenth child, which the family could not count on feeding, she was dedicated at birth to the church. The girl started to have visions of luminous objects at the age of three, but soon realized she was unique in this ability and hid this gift for many years.
Hildegard was born the 10th child to a noble family. As was customary with the tenth child, which the family could not count on feeding, she was dedicated at birth to the church. The girl started to have visions of luminous objects at the age of three, but soon realized she was unique in this ability and hid this gift for many years.
At age 8, the family sent this strange girl to an anchoress
named Jutta to receive a religious education. Blessed Jutta was born into a
wealthy and prominent family, and by all accounts was a young woman of great
beauty. She spurned all worldly temptations and decided to dedicate her life to
god. Instead of entering a convent, Blessed Jutta followed a harsher route and
became an anchoress. Anchors of both sexes, though from most accounts they seem
to be largely women, led an ascetic life, shut off from the world inside a
small room, usually built adjacent to a church so that they could follow the
services, with only a small window acting as their link to the rest of
humanity. Food would be passed through this window and refuse taken out. Most
of the time would be spent in prayer, contemplation, or solitary handworking
activities, like stitching and embroidering. Because they would become
essentially dead to the world, anchors would receive their last rights from the
bishop before their confinement in the anchorage. This macabre ceremony was a
complete burial ceremony with the anchor laid out on a bier.
Blessed Jutta's cell was such an anchorage, except that there was a door through which Hildegard entered, as well as about a dozen of girls from noble families who were attracted there by Jutta's fame in later years. What kind of education did Hildegard receive from Jutta? It was of the most rudimentary form, and Hildegard could never escape the feelings of inadequacy and lack of education. She learned to read Psalter in Latin. Though her grasp of the grammatical intricacies of the language was never complete - she always had secretaries to help her write down her visions - she had a good intuitive feel for the intricacies of the language itself, constructing complicated sentences fraught with meanings on many levels, that are still a challenge to students of her writings. The proximity of the anchorage to the church of the Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg (it was attached physically to the church) undoubtedly exposed young Hildegard to musical religious services and were the basis for her own musical compositions. After Blessed Jutta's death, when Hildegard was 38 years of age, she was elected the head of the budding convent, but continued to live in her anchorage.
During all these years Hildegard confided of her visions only to Jutta and another monk, named Volmar, who was to become her lifelong secretary. However, in 1141, a vision of God gave Hildegard instant understanding of the meaning of the religious texts. He commanded her to write down everything she would observe in her visions.
And it came to pass...when I was 42 years and 7 months old, that the heavens were opened and a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain. And so it kindled my whole heart and breast like a flame, not burning but warming...and suddenly I understood of the meaning of expositions of the books...
Yet Hildegard was also overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and hesitated to act.
But although I heard and saw these things, because of doubt and low opinion of myself and because of diverse sayings of men, I refused for a long time a call to write, not out of stubbornness but out of humility, until weighed down by a scourge of god, I fell onto a bed of sickness.
The 12th century was also the time of schisms and religious foment, when someone preaching any outlandish doctrine could instantly attract a large following. Hildegard was critical of schismatics, and preached against them her whole life, working especially against the Cathars. She wanted her visions to be sanctioned, approved by the Catholic Church, though she herself never doubted the divine origins to her luminous visions. She wrote to Saint Bernard who took the matter to Pope Eugenius who exhorted Hildegard to finish her writings. With papal imprimatur, Hildegard finished her first visionary work Scivias ("Know the Ways of the Lord") and her fame began to spread through Germany and beyond
Blessed Jutta's cell was such an anchorage, except that there was a door through which Hildegard entered, as well as about a dozen of girls from noble families who were attracted there by Jutta's fame in later years. What kind of education did Hildegard receive from Jutta? It was of the most rudimentary form, and Hildegard could never escape the feelings of inadequacy and lack of education. She learned to read Psalter in Latin. Though her grasp of the grammatical intricacies of the language was never complete - she always had secretaries to help her write down her visions - she had a good intuitive feel for the intricacies of the language itself, constructing complicated sentences fraught with meanings on many levels, that are still a challenge to students of her writings. The proximity of the anchorage to the church of the Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg (it was attached physically to the church) undoubtedly exposed young Hildegard to musical religious services and were the basis for her own musical compositions. After Blessed Jutta's death, when Hildegard was 38 years of age, she was elected the head of the budding convent, but continued to live in her anchorage.
During all these years Hildegard confided of her visions only to Jutta and another monk, named Volmar, who was to become her lifelong secretary. However, in 1141, a vision of God gave Hildegard instant understanding of the meaning of the religious texts. He commanded her to write down everything she would observe in her visions.
And it came to pass...when I was 42 years and 7 months old, that the heavens were opened and a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain. And so it kindled my whole heart and breast like a flame, not burning but warming...and suddenly I understood of the meaning of expositions of the books...
Yet Hildegard was also overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy and hesitated to act.
But although I heard and saw these things, because of doubt and low opinion of myself and because of diverse sayings of men, I refused for a long time a call to write, not out of stubbornness but out of humility, until weighed down by a scourge of god, I fell onto a bed of sickness.
The 12th century was also the time of schisms and religious foment, when someone preaching any outlandish doctrine could instantly attract a large following. Hildegard was critical of schismatics, and preached against them her whole life, working especially against the Cathars. She wanted her visions to be sanctioned, approved by the Catholic Church, though she herself never doubted the divine origins to her luminous visions. She wrote to Saint Bernard who took the matter to Pope Eugenius who exhorted Hildegard to finish her writings. With papal imprimatur, Hildegard finished her first visionary work Scivias ("Know the Ways of the Lord") and her fame began to spread through Germany and beyond
Of all
the books of her revelations, the most important was Scivias. It took ten years
to complete, and deals with God, creation and redemption, in 26 visions. Pope
Blessed Eugenius III got interested, had her writings-and herself-examined, and
then gave her his positive encouragement to continue. The Spirit was speaking
through her, he said.
Hildegard
was by no means occupied only in receiving and recording visions. She built a
new monastery near Bingen, to accommodate 50 nuns. It was well constructed, and
had "water piped to all the offices." Later she established a
daughter monastery at Eibingen.
As
she grew in fame, Abbess Hildegard extended her contacts personally and by
correspondence. Those who consulted her were St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St.
Elizabeth of Schoenau, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, King Conrad III, ten
archbishops, and many bishops, clergy and laity. As often as not, when she wrote to the high-placed, it was to pass
on to them reproofs and prophecies she had received in her heavenly messages. She
spoke frankly, for she was no respecter of persons.
Not
all of her writings were devoted to revelations as such, but all of them were
meant to edify. She composed the words and music of 70 hymns; wrote 50
homilies; authored a morality play or cantata; and in her leisure time even
devised an international language similar to Esperanto. She also showed
herself a keen observer of nature, and wrote two books on medicine and natural
history. Plants, animals, and the human body and its ailments were her subject
matter. In her comments on physiology she showed deep awareness, and she came
close to discovering the circulation of the blood. She showed good
psychological discernment, too. For instance, Hildegard cautioned against
diagnosing as diabolical-possession types of behavior more likely attributable
to physical and nervous disorders.
Abbess
Hildegard was not without her trials. Her physical weakness increased with age
and she often had to be carried places. The vicar general also interdicted her
church not long before her death. An excommunicated man had been buried in its
cemetery, and the vicar general ordered the body removed. Hildegard declined to
do so because it had been revealed to her that the excommunicate had indeed
received the last sacraments. Fortunately,
when her bishop returned to the diocese, he lifted the interdict.
With
her mystical writings, this "Sybil of the Rhine" inaugurated the
tradition of mystical writing for which the Rhineland became famous. Today
scholars are even more interested in her work as a scientific pioneer.
All
in all, the "incomparable Hildegard" was one of the most remarkable
of female saints in gifts and influence. She ranks with Catherine of Siena,
Teresa of Avila and Bridget of Sweden as a woman who, in her own generation,
acquired international importance.
Writing
and Church approval
Then
a monk was ordered to put in writing whatever she related; some of her nuns
also frequently assisted her. The writings were submitted to the bishop (Henry,
1145-53) and clergy of Mainz, who pronounced them as coming from God. The
matter was also brought to the notice of Eugene II (1145-53) who was at Trier
in 1147. Albero of Chiny, Bishop of Verdun, was commissioned to investigate and
made a favorable report. Hildegard continued her writings.
Crowds
of people flocked to her from the neighborhood and from all parts of Germany
and Gaul, to hear words of wisdom from her lips, and to receive advice and help
in corporal and spiritual ailments. These were not only from the common people,
but men and women of note in Church and State were drawn by the report of her
wisdom and sanctity. Thus we read that Archbishop Heinrich of Mainz, Archbishop
Eberhard of Salzburg and Abbot Ludwig of St. Eucharius at Trier, paid her
visits. St. Elizabeth of Schönau was an intimate friend and frequent visitor.
Trithemius in his "Chronicle" speaks of a visit of St. Bernard of
Clairvaux, but this probably was not correct. Not only at home did she give
counsel, but also abroad. Many persons of all stations of life wrote to her and
received answers, so that her correspondence is quite extensive. Her great love
for the Church and its interests caused her to make many journeys; she visited
at intervals the houses of Disenberg and Eibingen; on invitation she came to
Ingelheim to see Emperor Frederick; she traveled to Würzburg, Bamberg, and the
vicinity of Ulm, Cologne, Werden, Trier, and Metz.
Prophesies
Although Saint Hildegard wrote many prophesies,
what is of interest to this Newsletter is those prophesies about the near and
far future that have not yet come to pass and how they might relate to the
secret of Fatima. At the end of her
prophesies I will add a few others that may related to these, since I do
believe these to be true. Consider how
close her revelations about the Antichrist are to the revelations of St. Hypolitus of Rome, see The Complete Life of the
Antichrist at http://www.unitypublishing.com/prophecy/Antichrist.html
or the Antichrist by the Early Church Fathers at http://www.unitypublishing.com/prophecy/AntichristbySaints.htm
This only shows the consistency of true
prophesy but what is of interest here is what happens before the Antichrist. Here is Saint Hildegard's prophesies about
the near future.
THE MINOR CHASTISEMENT
"The time is coming when princes and peoples will reject the
authority of the Pope. Some countries will prefer their own Church rulers to
the Pope. The German Empire will be divided.
Church property will be secularised. Priests will be persecuted. After
the birth of Antichrist heretics will preach their false doctrines undisturbed,
resulting in Christians having doubts about their holy Catholic faith."
At that period when antichrist shall be born, there will be many wars
and right order shall be destroyed on earth. Heresy will be rampant and the
heretics will preach their errors openly without restraint. Even among
Christians doubt and scepticism will be entertained concerning the beliefs of Catholicism
"Toward the end of the world, mankind will be purified through
sufferings. This will be true especially of the clergy, who will be robbed of
all property. When the clergy has adopted a simple manner of living, conditions
will improve.
At this time as a punishment for their sins Christians especially will
attempt armed resistance to those who at that time are persecuting them,
sensing no concern for the death of their bodies.
"A powerful wind will rise in the North carrying heavy fog and the
densest dust by divine command and it will fill their throats and eyes so they
will cease their savagery and be stricken with great fear.
Then within the Christian people the Holy Godhead will accomplish signs
and wonders as if accomplished them at the time of Moses with the pillar of
cloud and as Michael the archangel did when he fought the heathen for the sake
of the Christians. Because of Michael's help Gods faithful children will march
under his protection. They will decimate their foes and achieve victory through
Gods power…As a result of this a large number of heathens will join Christians
in true faith and they will say “ The
God of the Christians is true God because such wondrous works have been
accomplished among the Christians”.
After that there will be so few men left that seven women will fight for
one man, that they will say to the man: "Marry me to take the disgrace
from me." For in those days it will be a disgrace for a
woman to be without child, as it was by the Jews in the Old Testament.
"Before the Comet comes, many nations, the good excepted,
will be scoured with want and famine. The great nation in the ocean that is
inhabited by people of different tribes and descent by an earthquake, storm and
tidal waves will be devastated. It will
be divided, and in great part submerged. That nation will also have many
misfortunes at sea, and lose its colonies in the east through a Tiger and a
Lion.
The Comet by its tremendous
pressure, will force much out of the ocean and flood many countries,
causing much want and many plagues. [After the] great Comet, the great
nation will be devastated by earthquakes, storms, and great waves of water,
causing much want and plagues. The ocean will also flood many other countries,
so that all coastal cities will live in fear, with many destroyed. All sea
coast cities will be fearful and many of them will be destroyed by tidal waves,
and most living creatures will be killed and even those who escape will die
from a horrible disease.
For in none of these cities does a person live according to the laws of
God. "Peace will return to Europe when the white flower again takes
possession of the throne of France.
(See http://www.unitypublishing.com/aug24_98.html
for the White Flower)
During this time of peace the people will be forbidden to carry weapons
and iron will be used solely for making agricultural implements and tools. Also
during this period the soil will be very productive and many Jews,
heathens and heretics will join the Church.
"Peace will return when the Lily ascends the Throne again. The land will be very productive . During
this time weapons will be forbidden. Iron will only be used for agricultural
tools. In this period the land will be very productive. Jews, heathen and heretics
will join the church.
The throne of the last catholic Empire will crumble and the sceptre will
fall out of the hand of him who sits on the throne. The Great Monarch by this
time will be a very old man. All justice will cease and will be trodden under
foot. The latter times will be more evil and corrupt in the eyes of God.
Children of God will be persecuted by the most hateful means in the eyes of
God. Almost immediately after the death of the Monarch comes antichrist
(Note: This in my opinion is the peace
promised by Fatima - Richard Salbato)
ANTICHRIST
When the great ruler (the Great Monarch who is to rule Europe after the
collapse of Communism) exterminates the Turks almost entirely, one of the
remaining Mohammadans will be converted, become a priest bishop and cardinal, and
when the new pope is elected (immediately before Antichrist) this cardinal will
kill the pope before he is crowned, through jealousy, wishing to be pope
himself; then when the other cardinals elect the next pope,
(Note by Richard Salbato - this will be the last pope
on earth - Peter the Second)
this cardinal will proclaim himself Anti-pope, and two-thirds of the
Christians will go with him. He, as
well as Anti-christ, are descendants of the tribe of Dan.
An unchaste woman will conceive an unchaste son. The wicked serpent who deceived
Adam will influence this child in such as way that nothing good or virtuous
will enter him; nor under the circumstances will it even be possible for any
good to be in him
The mark (of Antichrist) will be a hellish symbol of Baptism, because
thereby a person will be stamped as an adherent of Antichrist and also of the
Devil in that he thereby gives himself over to the influence of Satan. Whoever will not have this mark of
Antichrist can neither buy nor sell anything and will be beheaded.
He will win over to himself the rulers, the mighty and the wealthy, will
bring about the destruction of those who do not accept his faith and, finally,
will subjugate the entire earth.
The streets of Jerusalem, will then shine in the brightest gold with the
blood of Christians which will flow like water. Simultaneously Antichrist will try to
increase his wonders. His executioners
will work such miracles when they torment the Christians that the people will
think Antichrist is the true God. The
executioners will not permit the Christians to win the martyrs' crown easily
for they will endeavour to prolong their pain until they renounce their
faith. Yet some will receive a special
grace from God to die during the torments.
Antichrist will make the earth move, level mountains, dry up rivers,
produce thunder and lightning and hail, remove the leaves from the trees and
return them again to the trees, make men sick and cure them, exorcise devils,
raise the dead to life. He will appear
to be crucified and rise from the dead.
All in all, Christians will be
astounded and in grievous doubts while the followers of Antichrist will be
confirmed in their false faith.
Finally, when he shall have converted all his plans into action, he will
gather his worshippers about him and
tell them that he will presently ascend toward Heaven. However, at the moment of the ascension a
bolt of lightning will overwhelm and annihilate him. The planned ascent into heaven will have been prepared by the
artful employment of ingenious devices, and the moment at which the event was
to have taken place, leading to his destruction, will produce a cloud that will
spread an unbearable odour. Through
this many people will again come to their senses and to understanding.
Then the people should prepare for the last judgment, the day of which
is indeed veiled in secrecy and obscurity, but not far distant."
Henoch and Elias are being instructed by God in a mysterious manner in
paradise.
(This is the same thing that Blessed Anne Catherine
Emmerich says of paradise and Henoch and Elias)
God shows them the works of men as though they could see these with
natural eyes. The two men are
therefore, much wiser than all wise men put together. The same force which removed Henoch and Elias from the earth will
bring them back in a storm wind at the time when the Antichrist will spread his
false doctrine. As long as they will
dwell amongst men they will always be refreshed after 40 days. They have the mission from God to resist the
Antichrist and lead the erring back to the road of salvation. Both men, distinguished by age and stature,
will speak to men: `This accursed one is sent by the devil in order to lead men
into error. We have been preserved by
God at a secreted place, where we did not experience the suffering of men. We are now sent by God in order to oppose.
the heresy of this destroyer. Look, if
we resemble you in stature and age.'
And because the testimony of both shall agree they will be
believed. All will follow these two
aged men and renounce heresy. They will
visit all cities and towns where previously the Antichrist had sown his heresy,
and through the power of the Holy Ghost will work genuine miracles. All the people will be greatly astonished at
them. Henoch and Elias will. confuse
the followers of Satan with thunder strokes, and destroy. them and fortify the
Christians in faith. Therefore, the.
Christians will hurry to martyrdom, which the son of evil will. prepare for
them like to a banquet, so that the murderers will. grow tired of counting the
dead on account of their great. numbers; for their blood will run like rivers.
Henoch and Elias have been taught much wisdom and knowledge. in Paradise while
awaiting their return to earth. God
will. instruct them every forty days while they are on earth. They. will receive exceptional graces and
powers from God to use. against Antichrist. / Enoch and Elias will be
instructed by God in a most secret manner in paradise. God reveals to them the
actions and condition of men that they may regard them with the eyes of
compassion. Because of this special preparation, these two holy men are more
wise than all the wise men on the earth
taken together. God will give them the task of opposing antichrist and
of bringing back those who have strayed from the way of salvation. Both of
these men will say to people: “This
accursed one has been sent by the devil to lead men astray and into error; we
have been preserved by God in a hidden place where we did not experience the
sorrows of men but God has now sent us to combat the heresy of this son of
perdition. They will go into all cities and villages where previously
antichrist had broadcasted his heresies and by the power of the Holy Spirit
will perform wonderful miracles so that all nations will greatly marvel at
them. This as to a wedding feast, Christians will hasten to death by martyrdom
which the son of perdition will have prepared for them in such numbers that
those murderers will be unable even to count the slain, then the blood of these
martyrs will fill the rivers
When the fear of God has been disregarded everywhere, violent and
furious wars will take place. A
multitude of people will be slaughtered and many cities will be transformed
into heaps of rubbish.
The Son of Corruption and Ruin will appear and reign for. only a short
time, towards the end of the days of the world's duration; the period which
corresponds to the moment when the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon; that
is to say he shall come at the last days of the world. He will not be Satan himself, but a human
being equalling and resembling him in atrocious hideousness. His mother, a depraved woman possessed by
the. devil, will live as a prostitute in the desert. She will declare that she is ignorant as to the identity of his
father, and will. maintain that her son was presented to her by God in a.
supernatural manner, as was the Child of the Blessed Virgin. She will then be venerated as a saint by
deceived people.
Antichrist will come from a land that lies between two seas, and will
practise his tyranny in the East. After
his birth false teachers and doctrines will appear, followed by wars, famines,
and pestilence. His mother will seldom let any one see him, and yet by magic.
art, she will manage to gain the love of the people for him.
He will be raised at different secret places and will be kept in
seclusion until full grown. When he has
grown to full manhood he will publicly announce a hostile doctrine on
religion. He will lure and attract the
people to himself by granting them complete exemption from the observance of
all divine and ecclesiastical. commandments, by forgiving them their sins and
requiring of them only their belief in his divinity. He will spurn and reject baptism and the gospel. He will open his mouth to preach
contradiction. He will say, `Jesus of
Nazareth is not the son of. God, only a deceiver who gave himself out as God;
and the Church instituted by him is only superstition'. The true Christ has come in his person. He will say, `I am the Saviour of the.
world'. Especially will he try to
convince the Jews that he is the Messiah sent by God, and the Jews will accept
him as such. His doctrine of faith
will be taken from the Jewish religion and seemingly will not differ much from
the fundamental doctrine of Christianity for he will teach that there is one
God who created the world, who is omniscient and knows the thoughts of man and
is just, who rewards the obeyers of his commands and the trespassers he
chastises, who raises all from the dead in due time. This God has spoken through Moses and the Prophets, therefore the
precepts of the Mosaic laws are to be kept, especially circumcision and keeping
the Sabbath, yet by his moral laws he will try to reverse all order on
earth. Therefore he is called in Holy
Writ the `Lawless One'. He will think
that he can change time and laws. He will discard all laws, morals and
religious principles, to draw the world to himself. He will grant entire freedom from the commandments of God and the
Church and permit everyone to live as his passions dictate. By doing so he hopes to be acknowledged by
the people as deliverer from the yoke, and as the cause of prosperity in the
world. Religion he will endeavour to
make convenient. He will say that you
need not fast and embitter your life by renunciation, as the people of former
times did when they had no sense of God's goodness. It will suffice to love God.
He. will let the people feast to their heart's content so that they will
pity the unfortunate people of former centuries. He will preach free love and tear asunder family ties. He will scorn everything holy, and he will
ridicule all graces of the Church with devilish mockery. He will condemn humility and foster proud
and gruesome dogmas. He will tear down
that which God has taught in the Old and New Testament and maintain sin and
vice are not sin and vice. Briefly he
will declare the road to Hell is the way to Heaven.
"After having passed a licentious youth among very perverted men
and in a desert, she being conducted by a demon disguised as an angel of light,
the mother of the son of perdition will conceive and give birth without knowing
the father. In another land, she will
make men believe that her birth was some miraculous thing, seeing that she had
not appointed a spouse, and she will ignore that, she will say, how the infant
she had brought into the world had been formed in her womb, and the people will
regard it as a saint and qualified to the title.
"The son of perdition is this very wicked beast who will put to
death those who refuse to believe in him; who will associate with kings,
priests, the great and the rich; who will mistake the humility and will esteem
pride; who will finally subjugate the entire universe by his diabolic means.
"He will gain over many people and tell them: "You are allowed
to do all that you please; renounce the fasts; it suffices that you love me; I
who am your God."
"He will show them treasures and riches, and he will permit them to
riot in all sorts of festivities, as they please. He will oblige them to
practice circumcision and other Judaic observances, and he will tell them:
"Those who believe in me will receive pardon of their sins and will live
with me eternally."
"He will reject baptism and evangelism, and he will reject in
derision all the precepts the Spirit has given to men of my part.
"Then he will say to his partisans, "Strike me with a sword,
and place my corpse in a proper shroud until the day of my resurrection."
They will believe him to have really given over to death, and from his mortal
wound he will make a striking semblance of resuscitation.
"After which, he will compose himself a certain cipher, which he
will say is to be a pledge of salute; he will give it to all his servitors like
the sign of our faith in heaven, and he will command them to adore it.
Concerning those who, for the love of my name, will refuse to render this
sacrilegious adoration to the son of perdition, he will put them to death
amidst the cruellest torments.
"But I will defend my two Witnesses, Enoch and Elias, whom I have
reserved for those times. Their mission will be to combat the man of evil and
reprimand him in the sight of the faithful whom he has seduced. They will have
the virtue of operating the most brilliant miracles, in all the places where
the son of perdition has spread his evil doctrines. In the meanwhile, I will
permit this evildoer to put them to death; but I will give them in heaven the
recompense of their travails.
"Later, however, after the coming of Enoch and Elias, the
Antichrist will be destroyed, and the Church will sing forth with unprecedented
glory, and the victims of the great error will throng to return to the
fold."
"The Man of Sin will be born of an ungodly woman who, from her
infancy, will have been initiated into occult sciences and the wiles of the
demon. She will live in the desert with perverse men, and abandon herself to
crime with so much the greater ardor, as she will think she is authorized
thereby to by the revelations of an angel. And thus, in the fire of burning
concupiscence she will conceive the Son of Perdition, without knowing by what
father. Then she will teach that fornication is permitted, declaring herself
holy and honoured as a saint.
"But Lucifer, the old and cunning serpent, will find the fruit of
her womb with his infernal spirit and entirely possess the fruit of sin.
"Now when he shall have attained the age of manhood, he will set
himself up as a new master and teach perverse doctrine. Soon he will revolt
against the saints; and he will acquire such great power that in the madness of
his pride he would raise himself above the clouds; and as in the beginning
Satan said: "I will be like unto the most high", and fell; so in
those days, he will fall when he will say in the person of his son, "I am
the Saviour of the World!"
"He will ally himself with the kings, the princes and the powerful
ones of the earth; he will condemn humility and will extol all the doctrines of
pride. His magic art will feign the most astonishing prodigies; he will disturb
the atmosphere, command thunder and tempest, produce hail and horrible lightning.
He will move mountains, dry up streams, reanimate the withered verdure of
forests. His arts will be practiced upon the elements, but chiefly upon man
will he exhaust his infernal power. He will seem to take away health and
restore it. How so? By sending some possessed soul into a dead body, to move it
for a time. But these resurrections will be of short duration.
"At the sight of these things, many will be terrified and will
believe in him; and some, preserving their primitive faith, will nevertheless
court the favour of the Man of Sin or fear his displeasure. And so many will be
led astray among those who, shutting the interior eye of their soul, will live
habitually in exterior things...
"After the Antichrist has ascended a high mountain and been destroyed
by Christ, many erring souls will return to truth, and men will make rapid
progress in the ways of holiness."
"Nothing good will enter into him nor be able to be in him. For he
will be nourished in diverse and secret places, lest he should be known by men,
and he will be imbued with all diabolical arts, and he will be hidden until he
is of full age, nor will he show the perversities which will be in him, until
he knows himself to be full and superabundant in all iniquities.
"He will appear to agitate the air, to make fire descend from
heaven, to produce rainbows, lightning, thunder and hail, to tumble mountains,
dry up streams, to strip the verdure of trees, of forests, and to restore them
again. He will also appear to be able to make men sick or well at will, to
chase out demons, and at times even to resuscitate the dead, making a cadaver
move like it was alive. But this kind of resurrection will never endure beyond
a little time, for the glory of God will not suffer it.
"Ostensibly he will be murdered, spill his blood and die. With
bewilderment and consternation, mankind will learn that he is not dead, but has
awakened from his death-sleep.
"From the beginning of his course many battles and many things
contrary to the lawful dispensation will arise, and charity will be
extinguished in men. In them also will arise bitterness and harshness and there
will be so many heresies that heretics will preach their errors openly and
certainly; and there shall be so much doubt and incertitude in the Catholic
faith of Christians that men shall be in doubt of what God they invoke, and
many signs shall appear in the sun and moon, and in the stars and in the
waters, and in other elements and creatures, so that, as it were in a picture,
future events shall be foretold in their portents.
"Then so much sadness shall occupy men at that time, that they
shall be led to die as if for nothing. But those who are perfect in the
Catholic faith will await in great contrition what God wills to ordain. And
these great tribulations shall proceed in this way, while the Son of Perdition
shall open his mouth in the words of falsehood and his deceptions, heaven and
earth shall tremble together. But after the fall of the Antichrist the glory of
the Son of God shall be increased.
"As soon as he is born, he will have teeth and pronounce
blasphemies; in short, he will be a born devil. He will emit fearful cries,
work miracles, and wallow in luxury and vice. He will have brothers who are
also demons incarnate, and at the age of twelve, they will distinguish
themselves in brilliant achievements. They will command an armed force, which
will be supported by the infernal legions.
"After the Son of Perdition has accomplished all of his evil
designs, he will call together all of his believers and tell them that he
wishes to ascend into heaven.
"At the moment of his ascension, a thunderbolt will strike him to
the ground, and he will die.
"The mountain where he was established for the operation of his
ascension, in an instant will be covered with a thick cloud which emits an
unbearable odor of truly infernal corruption... At the sight of his body, the
eyes of great number of persons will open and they will be made to see their
miserable error.
"After the sorrowful defeat of the Son of Perdition, the spouse of
my Son, who is the Church, will shine with a glory without equal, and the
victims of the error will be impressed to re-enter the sheepfold.
"As to the day, after the fall of Antichrist, when the world will end,
man must not seek to know, for he can never learn it. That secret the Father
has reserved for Himself."
After Enoch and Elias suffer physical death the spirit of life will
reawaken them raise them up into the clouds and the rejoicing of that man’s followers
(antichrist) will change into fear, sorrow and dismay. Then the son of
corruption will gather together a large group of people in order that his glory
can be openly shown forth. He will attempt to walk through the heavens so that
any remnant of the catholic faith that might remain throughout the world might
completely disappear. In the sight of crowds standing around and listening he
will order the high strata of the sky to lift him up during his ascension into
heaven and the words of my loyal servant Paul will be fulfilled and these are
the words which Paul who is full of the spirit of truth says” and the lord
Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and will destroy him with his
glorious appearance at his coming…” “…when the son of corruption ascends on
high through diabolical trickery he will be thrust down again by divine power.
The fumes of sulphur and pitch will consume him such that the crowds standing
nearby will flee into the mountains for protection. Such abject fear will seize
all who see and hear these things that they will reject the devil and his
spiritual son antichrist and be converted to the true faith by baptism.
The son of perdition will come when the day declines and the sun sinks,
that is when the time arrives and the world loses its stability."
Other related Prophesies
St. Pius X:
I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brothers.
He will take refuge in disguise somewhere; and after a short retirement he
will die a cruel death...
...Mother Shipton (16th century):
The great chastisement will come when carriages go without horses and many
accidents fill the world with woe. It will come when thoughts are flying
around the earth in the twinkling of an eye, when long tunnels are made for
horse-less machines, when men can fly in the air and ride under the sea, when
ships are wholly made of metal, when fire and water 'great marvels do' (steam
engine), when even the poor can read books, when many taxes are levied for
war...
...Venerable Holzhauser (17th century):
When everything has been ruined by war, when Catholics are hard-pressed by
traitorous co-religionists and heretics, when the Church and her servants are
denied their rights, when the monarchies have been overthrown and their
rulers murdered, then the hand of Almighty God will work a marvelous change,
something seemingly impossible according to human reason...
The sixth period of the Church will begin with the powerful Monarch and the
Holy Pontiff, as mentioned previously, and it will last until the revelation
of Antichrist. In this period, God will console His Holy Church for the
affliction and great tribulation which she has endureed during the fifth
period. All nations will become Catholic. Vocations will be abundant as never
before, and all men will seek only the Kingdom of God and His justice...
...St. Anthony of the Desert (4th century):
Men will surender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had
lived in our day, Faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will
say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made
meaningful to the day's problems. When the Church and the world are one, then
those days are at hand because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His
things and the things of the world...
...St. Louis De Montfort (18th century):
The power of Mary over all evils will be particularly outstanding in the last
period of time. She will extend the Kingdom of Christ over the idolaters and
Muslims, and there will come a glorious era when Mary is the Ruler and Queen
of Hearts...
I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brothers.
He will take refuge in disguise somewhere; and after a short retirement he
will die a cruel death...
...Mother Shipton (16th century):
The great chastisement will come when carriages go without horses and many
accidents fill the world with woe. It will come when thoughts are flying
around the earth in the twinkling of an eye, when long tunnels are made for
horse-less machines, when men can fly in the air and ride under the sea, when
ships are wholly made of metal, when fire and water 'great marvels do' (steam
engine), when even the poor can read books, when many taxes are levied for
war...
...Venerable Holzhauser (17th century):
When everything has been ruined by war, when Catholics are hard-pressed by
traitorous co-religionists and heretics, when the Church and her servants are
denied their rights, when the monarchies have been overthrown and their
rulers murdered, then the hand of Almighty God will work a marvelous change,
something seemingly impossible according to human reason...
The sixth period of the Church will begin with the powerful Monarch and the
Holy Pontiff, as mentioned previously, and it will last until the revelation
of Antichrist. In this period, God will console His Holy Church for the
affliction and great tribulation which she has endureed during the fifth
period. All nations will become Catholic. Vocations will be abundant as never
before, and all men will seek only the Kingdom of God and His justice...
...St. Anthony of the Desert (4th century):
Men will surender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had
lived in our day, Faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will
say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made
meaningful to the day's problems. When the Church and the world are one, then
those days are at hand because our Divine Master placed a barrier between His
things and the things of the world...
...St. Louis De Montfort (18th century):
The power of Mary over all evils will be particularly outstanding in the last
period of time. She will extend the Kingdom of Christ over the idolaters and
Muslims, and there will come a glorious era when Mary is the Ruler and Queen
of Hearts...
....
Anna Catherine Emmerich
"Among the strangest things that I saw,
were long processions of bishops. Their thoughts and utterances were made known
to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities
... I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world, but only a
small number were perfectly sound. I
also saw the Holy Father - God-fearing and prayerful. Nothing left to be
desired in his appearance, but he was weakened by old age and by much
suffering. His head was lolling from
side to side, and it dropped onto his chest as if he was falling asleep ...Then
I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the
upper-hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence. Most
priests were lured by the glittering but false knowledge of young school-teachers,
and they all contributed to the work of destruction. In those days, Faith will fall very low, and it will be preserved
in some places only, in a few cottages and in a few families which God has protected
from disasters and wars.
"... As we came nearer, however, the fire abated and we saw the blackened building. We went through a number of magnificent rooms, and we finally reached the Pope. He was sitting in the dark and slept in a large arm chair. He was very ill and weak; he could no longer walk. The ecclesiastics in the inner circle looked insincere and lacking in zeal; I did not like them. I told the Pope of the bishops who are to be appointed soon. I told him also that he must not leave Rome. If he did so, it would be chaos. He thought that the evil was inevitable and he should leave in order to save many things beside himself. He was very much inclined to leave Rome, and he was insistently urged to do so."
