There is the feeling, almost overwhelming these days, and not only in prophetic circles, that we are at a tipping point, or even have gone beyond.

It really is farther than the most startling cultural expectations.

It is what Catholics have heard since the late 1980s and early 1990s: the various trends in society would grow yet darker and precipitate major events.

First the cultural side: Though the Bible clearly warns “that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), it is to the point where one cannot surf the internet, watch television, drive past billboards, shop at a supermarket, nor do just about anything without being barraged with nude or otherwise risqué images that virtually force all but the most abstemious to indulge in what amounts to  pornography. Sex is just everywhere. There doesn't seem to be an advertisement without it. It has never been so in our faces and it has never been so perverted. Mainstream magazines have articles about sex that are more graphic than what used to appear in magazines like Playboy. It is a riot of debauchery. It is "maleficent."

That's the heterosexual side -- and it's incredible, surely equaling Gomorrah, which is then exceeded, perhaps -- along with Sodom -- when we throw in the absolute inundation of images, news items, and legislation touting homosexuality, which is now treated with as much or more attention than was the Civil Rights Movement and which is being foisted upon us in a truly shocking manner. The rule of the land is not only that we must accept aberrant behavior (heterosexual or homosexual) as normative but embrace it, integrate it, celebrate it. State after state okays same-sex marriage; a president proclaims against "homophobia" (although it really has nothing to do with fear or bias) on a day usually devoted to promoting family; the Interior Department announces that a group of "scholars" will soon convene to "develop ways" for the National Park Service to "preserve ... the legacy of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals ... for future generations" of Americans. These are just the most recent items. Who is really being persecuted? When one watches a "liberation" parade (or Gay Day at Disney), it is too often not just a display of debauchery but an attack on Catholicism.

Very dangerous stuff. False compassion. No one here hates homosexuals. In fact, we are called to love and pray for them. We are not called -- not by God -- to accept the behavior. There are the transgenders (formerly "transsexuals"). This is even the recent cover of Time: the alleged persecution of those who want to change the gender that God gave them, a condition so extreme that it was only whispered about as recently as the 1980s; this too is now to be accepted and celebrated (despite the fact that a close look reveals very disturbing spiritual, emotional, and psychological issues; prayer need, for certain). They are not just blurring the borderlines of gender but in some cases are annihilating them, as we also try to re-create humans with computer technology. We are in the era of "sci-sex." We are a society, extreme as it sounds, of the absurd. A board has ruled that Medicare will now fund operations to turn men into women and vice versa (and often back again), referring to it as "sex reassignment." Another piece of terminology of late (for young transsexuals): "gender independent children." As the Pope said Sunday (6/1/14), the devil is seeking to tear apart the family. With an illegitimacy rate of more than seventy percent in one demographic group (blacks), and more than twenty-five percent among whites, he is succeeding.

We can throw in a bevy of other matters -- wanton materialism, environmental degradation, a V.I.P. clinic in New York for abortion (the comforts of your living room), corporate greed, genetic manipulation of our food, cloning -- but the point is made that we are at the pivotal point and the warnings of several decades to do with the direction of our culture have now materialized. There is a plague of indifference, which precedes actual plagues. It has risen not just because of politicians but more importantly because the public doesn't care or has been deluded into a shallow acquiescence (one poll last week allegedly showed that more than sixty percent of Americans are okay with homosexual couples adopting children).

What this means for the future is for individual reckoning. How are we to react? Here we turn to prophecy -- to those who feel they have received direction in their spirits.

Some time back we had the account of a woman in Michigan who claims to see and hear the Blessed Mother, and whose living room is rife with statues and images that exude oil. It is offered for discernment; some recent messages:

"My son (to a visiting priest), don’t be afraid of spreading the Faith, don’t be afraid of the Truth, don’t be afraid of the Truth, don’t be afraid of the Truth. You will be blessed with the Grace of God, and the Holy Spirit will reside in you.”

"[Times of great upheaval and disaster are] getting closer because of the behavior of this world and the behavior of the leaders and those with high ranks in the Catholic Church. Enough, O Fathers and leaders of the church, wake up and lead your people to the Faith. When there are shortcomings in the Fathers, their children will grow with shortcomings. I beseech all people to come to the Faith.”

"Pray, pray, pray for this Pope (Francis) so that he will not encounter many difficulties. He is a simple person."

“They (the leaders of the Holy Church) should be good shepherds for this flock which they are guiding. They should be servants for this flock and for this people who are in need of prayers and direction."

"My Son asks of you to have Faith, Purity of Character and Love. Since Faith and Love have primacy over everything else." 

“When the time comes, I will illuminate them (regarding an alleged coming miracle at the visionary’s house), with what is happening, those with high ranks, so that everything will be made clear before them.”

Our own little prediction: Rumblings will come -- will intensify greatly. The sea will make itself heard. Fire will come. When you see volcanoes disrupting travels and wildfires and floods, or germs, or prolonged drought, know they are samples; forerunners.

Nor is this theme confined to the Marian and charismatic movements.

"We have all noticed the increase of calamity and natural disaster," says a woman whose book about dying and returning (seeing the other side) has been read my millions. "In witnessing the terrible suffering on earth, some wonder just how constant God’s love is to allow such terrible things to occur. Natural afflictions of the world come for many reasons, but we must put them all under the general heading of 'blessings.' Some afflictions come as a result of personal choice. Smoking, for example, can lead to lung cancer. Overeating can lead to diabetes or heart problems. Fear and anxiety produce their own forms of ailment. Some physical conditions occur as a result of our spiritual health. But every opposition is a gift from God and can be used to refine spiritual awareness and increase love if we choose to use them this way. The same is true for earthquakes, famine, pestilence, and other natural disasters. The pain is part of the growth process, with the greater pain often triggering the greater growth. At times the pain or the calamity can be so severe that we need the love and prayers of others to enable us to endure it. The increase of love and prayer leading to greater faith among people may be the purpose behind some disasters. Or this may be one purpose among many as multiple truths are taught to all involved. A loving God allows tragedies to occur because he loves us and knows exactly what we need and what we can endure in order to grow. As dire and unavoidable as this sounds, we must not become fatalistic. We have the power to reverse this process. 

"As I came back from death, I was shown many catastrophes that await the earth if mankind collectively continues to break universal laws. These catastrophes are not for our punishment; they come as natural results of our choices. We determine our own destiny and will face the evil or good that we create. I was told that denying our Creator, Who is God himself, would be the foremost cause of these consequences. So I was given to know that calamities need never occur if we will bring ourselves into harmony with God and the universe. We can restore the spiritual balance of our creation if we choose to. And many are choosing to. Our world stands on the brink of a spiritual renaissance, a revival of spirituality that will sweep the earth and change it in significant ways. To effect these changes, the great awakening has already begun. Light and knowledge have begun to flow from heaven in greater intensity. Those sensitive to it will respond and fill their lives with this light and knowledge. Evil, by its opposing nature, is rising up to challenge this awakening. But the harder the opposition, the harder the angels and good people will work to create it. If not for evil and its polarizing effects, the awakening in fact could not happen as quickly as it will. God has set this in motion, and it will not be stopped. Once he begins a work, His energy quickly fills it and expands until the work is finished. The world will suffer greatly through this process of rebirth, but its outcome is sure—not just because God has ordained it, but because millions of good people will exercise their free will to embrace this gift from heaven. We can fail individually, but we will not fail collectively. Those who understand the message of God’s love must share it with courage and confidence. People not yet sure in spiritual truth will be supported and guided by those who are sure until they come into their own understanding. We can and will see our world cleansed of all evil and blanketed with a greater glory, even the glory and love of God. But we must each believe and act in that belief. 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life' (John 3:16)."

Are we in a time when (see Joel 2:28) young men are having visions and others dreams?

From the mailbag is a note about an unusual dream from Kathy Montalbano, a registered nurse in the area of Houston, Texas, the significance of which we'll leave up to you.

"The dream starts with me and my friend Jeannice in the backyard of my home in Katy," she writes. "It is night-time. We were on our new patio. I walked off the patio into the grass and looked up to the sky. I fell to my knees as in the sky I saw the most amazing beautiful sight. I saw a large full moon shining brightly but even brighter I saw Jesus standing next to the full moon. Jesus was so large standing next to the moon; I would say the moon was like a basketball next to him. He had long brown hair and I remember seeing His facial features but cannot remember exact details. He was wearing a very brightly glowing white long robe with a white rope belt. He exuded a radiant glow that was unbelievable against the dark sky, large enough for the whole world to see. I was just on my knees in the grass, sobbing and praising Jesus, saying over and over, 'Jesus is coming, Jesus is here,' while sobbing. I felt so overjoyed and excited to see Him. Jeannice was by my side on her knees doing the same. He was so big and beautiful and He just glowed so brightly next to the moon in the dark sky. Then He gradually faded out and away. As soon as he was gone, in His place was a massive fireworks display. Fireworks were just appearing up by the moon, unlike coming from the ground and exploding, they were just exploding by the moon. It was unbelievably beautiful. I distinctly remember the first firework being red then all sorts of other colors followed. They were bursting over and over next to the moon where Jesus had just been present. The fireworks ended. Jeannice and I ran into the house to tell Tony and my three boys. They were not exactly believing us. They were being skeptical of what we saw. We were crying telling them, 'Jesus is here, Jesus is coming, we saw Jesus in the sky.' This went on for a while. It was still dark. We were in the breakfast room talking and keeping an eye on the sky. We kept looking outside to see if we saw anything. After a while, we went outside and saw moons filling the sky. The moons were all different sizes, shining bright white in the dark sky. Everyone was outside with the moons and loud trumpets that were coming from the sky. The trumpets were playing loud!"

Metaphors? Prognostication?

We'll take it all into consideration. Major events loom. We'll say that. And we'll have much more to say in the months to come.

[Note also: Michael Brown retreats: Philadelphia-New Jersey and Connecticut!]

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[Joel 2: Blow a trumpet in Zion,
            And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
            Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
            For the day of the LORD is coming;
            Surely it is near,

      2A day of darkness and gloom,
            A day of clouds and thick darkness.
            As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
            So there is a great and mighty people;
            There has never been anything like it,
            Nor will there be again after it
            To the years of many generations.

      3A fire consumes before them
            And behind them a flame burns.
            The land is like the garden of Eden before them
            But a desolate wilderness behind them,
            And nothing at all escapes them...

Before them the earth quakes,
            The heavens tremble,
            The sun and the moon grow dark
            And the stars lose their brightness.

      11The LORD utters His voice before His army;
            Surely His camp is very great,
            For strong is he who carries out His word.
            The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
            And who can endure it?

      12“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
            “Return to Me with all your heart,
            And with fasting, weeping and mourning;...

Blow a trumpet in Zion,
            Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,

      16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
            Assemble the elders,
            Gather the children and the nursing infants.
            Let the bridegroom come out of his room
            And the bride out of her bridal chamber.

      17Let the priests, the LORD’S ministers,
            Weep between the porch and the altar,
            And let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
            And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
            A byword among the nations.
            Why should they among the peoples say,
            ‘Where is their God?’”..

Do not fear, beasts of the field,
            For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
            For the tree has borne its fruit,
            The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.

      23So rejoice, O sons of Zion,
            And be glad in the LORD your God;
            For He has given you the early rain for your vindication.
            And He has poured down for you the rain,
            The early and latter rain as before.

      24The threshing floors will be full of grain,
            And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

      25“Then I will make up to you for the years
            That the swarming locust has eaten,
            The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
            My great army which I sent among you.

      26“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
            And praise the name of the LORD your God,
            Who has dealt wondrously with you;
            Then My people will never be put to shame.

      27“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
            And that I am the LORD your God,
            And there is no other;
            And My people will never be put to shame.

28“It will come about after this
            That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
            And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
            Your old men will dream dreams,
            Your young men will see visions.

      29“Even on the male and female servants
            I will pour out My Spirit in those days.