With the third blood moon in a tetrad approaching on Easter, and colliding on a Jewish Feast Day, prophecies are swirling about important events to stun the world: war, earthquake, volcanic eruption, Church schism, terrorist attack, economic crash, disease outbreak, asteroids or the end of Western life as we know it… Are you ready for all that? Me neither. I’m preoccupied enough paying attention to my present day-to-day duties and will gladly turn over tomorrow to God’s capable hands.
And yet, Jesus taught us to expect that the kingdom of God is coming any day. Knowing that today could be that day inspires me to work hard for my salvation and sanctification constantly as well as for the salvation of souls entrusted to me. I’m not talking about sporting a goatee, chomping grasshoppers, modeling camel hair and manning the sidewalks with the placard “Repent! The kingdom of God is at Hand.” I’m suggesting three easy practices and devotions that the Church has gifted us to help ourselves, our loved ones and the world in general.
1. Confession for ourselves.
The Sacrament of Confession restores our souls to a state of grace, the best preparation for kingdom come. The Code of Canon Law requires all the faithful: “After having the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.” But we’re not limited to this minimum requirement. Frequent confession impels us to examine our conscience, repent of our sins against God’s love and correct our path to eternal life. Forgiveness is a gift in the Confessional that Jesus gave us freely, so why be stingy when it comes to receiving mercy and absolution for our sins?
St. Thomas said, “In the spiritual life, a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance.”
2. Sacramentals for our loved ones.
Sacramentals don’t confer grace the same way sacraments do. However, Catechism 1670 states that “by the prayer of the Church, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it.” Sacramentals prepare us to receive the sacraments of the Church, which is the direction we desire for our loved ones. One such sacramental that has gained popular devotion is the green scapular.
Ten years after the Miraculous Medal was given to Catherine of Laboure, the Blessed Mother offered the Green Scapular to another Daughter of Charity nun, Sr. Justine Bisqueyburu. The green scapular is a piece of cloth attached to a cord, with the prayer “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death” and blessed by a priest as a sacramental. Approved by Pope Pius IX, this scapular devotion to Our Lady by invoking her intercession can be expressed by wearing the scapular, or placing it under the bed or in the room of someone for whom we are praying. Its graces include healing, conversion (for those away from the Church or unbelievers) and protection.
3. Divine Mercy Chaplet for the world.
Thanks to St. John Paul II, the Divine Mercy Chaplet has become one of the most recent popular devotions in the Church. He once said, “Right from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter’s See in Rome, I consider this message [of Divine Mercy] my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church and the world.”
The Divine Mercy devotion was revealed to St. Faustina, to whom Our Lord appeared and requested an image of himself painted. St. Faustina’s Diary contains Jesus own words disclosing the depths of his unfathomable mercy before the time of God’s justice arrives. With the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Jesus gave the promise: “Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. … Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy.”
The Divine Mercy Novena begins on Good Friday and ends on the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday. For each day, Jesus requested that a specific group of souls be brought before His mercy. Calling down God’s mercy on this series of nine days is how we can pray for a world steeped in sin, as St. John Paul II urged us.
I don’t doubt the true prophets in this day and age who warn us of disastrous consequences if we don’t repent and live for God’s kingdom. Keeping vigilance over our souls and praying for conversions makes us more prepared for whatever comes, whenever it comes than building a fool-proof shelter from the falling cosmos.
13 thoughts on “Are You Ready for the Blood Moon?”
I am a cradle catholic raised in the Mormon corridor and I have to say after decades of catholic mass every Sunday I have never heard of wearing green cloths for protection and requests from Jesus to have His picture taken!!
Lisa: Jesus asked St. Faustyna to have a painting of him. Research it! Speaking of cloths, research the Jewish prayer shawl (the tallit). Jesus himself wore this. St. Faustyna was never happy with the final painting. Whether you believe or not, I am asking that you, yourself pray for me and my family from today through Divine Mercy Sunday, the day after Easter. I will be praying for you too, Lisa and your family and whatever you are asking God for (if it be in accordance with his will, of course). I will think of you, Lisa first at the hour of Mercy which is 3p. So, know that the Sunday after Easter someone that you have never met will be thinking of YOU! and praying. If you think of me this day and at 3p, we will be spiritually connected and hopefully when we finally make it into His kingdom, we will meet and talk about our lives in this world. There really is a physical “river of Life”. How about if we wade our feet in it and just talk for hours about our lives in this world, and how by the grace of God, we made it there. God bless, supply and protect you and your loved ones from now until that day. A blessed Easter to you, Lisa.
One of the visions my sister and I shared on cross mountain in Medjugorje some years ago, was of large silent streaks of lightening which were blood red, white and blue, (this lasted about an hour) within the streaks of lightening there appeared a large blood red sphere with an outer circle of black. I have always thought it was the moon blood red in front of a darkened sun. When the “theory” was reported regarding the blood moons, I am certain that we were given a sign that night. The bible affirms the blood moon theories. I believe we are in the midst of revelation but we are deaf and blind to the signs which are constantly being shown to us because we buy into the lies of it being natural and global warming, when none of the phenomenon happening around the world is natural but is a spiritual warning to change our lives and turn to Jesus and his blessed mother in prayer and contrition. Most of us are outside of the framework of Gods protection. I believe there is a direct spiritual connection between man and nature as our sins pile up so does nature respond in destruction. May God bless you all .
You are so right about the spiritual connection between man and nature! If I’m not mistaken, doesn’t the Church at least accept the “theory” that various angels (in addition to our Guardian Angel) are assigned to control parts of nature. We know through Sr. Lucia’s Fatima memoirs that the “Angel of Portugal” appeared to the three children in 1916. He was probably St. Michael. That being said, the turmoil in nature, including “global warming” might be the result of God commanding these angels to gradually release their control of the elements. In 1950 Pope Pius XII said “there is more sin now than in the days of Noah. What would he say today?
You mentioned the Divine Mercy, which I pray daily and love but you forgot to mention Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy coming- based on the Divine Mercy! Something so needed for our world and Church!
That blood moon nonsense is religious hysteria at it’s worst. I hope the morons who push it are humiliated over and over again so folks will learn not to believe this foolishness!
you are so wrong, what spirit is speaking through you? please read my testimony above God Bless Lynnec
What spirit is speaking through me? The spirit of truth. Blood moons are not a supernatural phenomena. They are a perfectly natural thing that has observed for centuries by astronomers. If anything happens during one of them, it’s just a coincidence.
I personally believe that the sun, moon, stars were created by God as signs for us, Genesis creation story, Joel 2:31, Matthew 24, Acts 2. The really bad Iran nuclear deal and the Alshabbab attack on Good Friday in Kenya on Catholics is proof enough for me.
If I were to follow your logic, I would be acting like a stupid heathen every day of my life. This seeking of signs in the heavens is paganism that leads to superstitious beliefs like astrology and spiritism . Christ himself said the only sign he would give a wicked generation that would validate his messiahship at his first coming would be his rising from the dead. And he said his second coming would be unexpected and swift, and the only sign given would be the sign of the son of Man in the heavens.
It’s so sad, that God is talking and nobody wants to listen anymore.
I’ve heard that a blood moon appear on good Friday.
And what’s wrong with being humiliated? Did not Christ was
himself humiliated on good Friday?
Remember what Jesus taught us. Forgiveness is our greatest strength and revenge the greatest indication of weakness.
Haha, that’s right Stevie!!
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