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In St. Augustine, Florida, the nation's oldest city, there is motion spotted in a trash dumpster and it turns out to be a man scrounging through the garbage. Down the road, near Daytona Beach, hitch-hikers are returning to highways and on U.S. 1 a man with a bike tugs a little train of wagons piled with all his worldly possessions. In Lehigh Acres, near Fort Myers, "laid-off construction workers in flannel shirts scavenged through trash bags at a home foreclosure, grabbing wires, CDs, anything that could be sold," reports a newspaper.

Is it the beginning of a breakdown? Might there one day be roaming gangs? Are we heading into a time of upheaval, of chaos? Could the United States one day "break" into regions that are more like republics? Or will governments coalesce to bring about a "new order"?

These are questions of the hour. For years, we have expressed concern that if immorality continued in the U.S., it would one day be reduced to something that resembles a third-world country. It hasn't yet. It is long from that -- at this point. But are there glimmerings? And could it transform this once-great nation?

The Lord is simply allowing events and trends to reform us. Those who pray will be granted insight; they will be protected. None of it should provoke fear. You will be given insight.

"Be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes," says Scripture (Sirach 2:2-6). "Trust Him and he will uphold you, follow a straight path and hope in Him."

Are they serious times? There is the crime. There are now white-collar homeless. There are bizarre home invasions (spurring the sale of guns). There is general discontent -- the germination of rebellion. A spirit moves. A bubble bursts -- and is bursting. Will dissent erupt from various corners?

Earlier this week, a commentator on a major network shouted into his microphone that the U.S. needs a "revolt," a new "tea party" against all the economic bailing out, especially in how it rewards those who erred or were greedy. He was wildly cheered by traders on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Meanwhile, a once-obscure "trends" analyst from Upstate New York is featured on nearly every network and cable news outlet warning that we are facing a massive revolt and the "greatest depression" (an economic 'Katrina'). He sees "riots" -- and no longer just racial ones (though race may well figure into the picture).

Is the rhetoric overheated? Or are we entering a time when dissent will begin to form into alliances that turn into regionalized power centers -- for example, the Northeast or Atlantic East, the West-Southwest, the South, and the Midwest as somewhat separate entities -- split down ideological, cultural, religious, ethnic, economic, and even moral lines (over issues like abortion)?

While there are many signs that the races may pull together, there are also indications that they may yank apart. It is a critical moment. It is a time to pray that love binds us -- which it might well, when disaster comes. For now, there are signals that are of concern.

At the border of Mexico, drugs gangs are creating chaos. In Detroit, criminals prefer living in jail than on the streets (and commit crimes to get back in). Language on talk shows has grown increasingly vitriolic. At the same time, national leaders are attempting to pull nations into a new international order (perhaps to deal with unrest) and are quietly instituting military plans for any uprisings and detention centers. The first foreign trip for President Obama was Canada, which some believe will one day join with the U.S. and Mexico.

Will there be a super-state, or first a splintering (or neither)?

The U.S. is about to change.

We are about to see the fruits of a mirage. A good name that is for a casino!

It is not just a high-tech or real estate or stock bubble. It is much larger than that. It is a society that has believed money can in fact grow on a tree is now seeing that there was not even a tree there.

Will it continue -- will the economy (and morality) continue to sink, will there be upheaval, not just here but in many countries -- or is it a premature concern?

It is for your determination. The landscape is shifting. The Holy Spirit will guide you. This is a purification. It is a simplifying. It will cleanse. We can't go on as we were. That would be the bad news. But it will cause pain at junctures and should be watched with special care if the threat of upheaval pushes us yet further toward a world government.

Will such rise after a natural (or further economic) disaster?

"The first is a movement to force people to detach," noted one perceptive viewer. "A playing out of the interior call to simplify our lives in recent years. The disasters seem to be targeting and highlighting the things we are most attached to in a disordered way."

Blessed will be those who are simple. Also, protected.

"Time slips by between dawn and dusk, all things pass quickly in the presence of the Lord" (Sirach 18:19).

"Woe to faint hearts and listless hands, and to the sinner who treads two paths (2:14).

"Woe to the listless heart that has no faith, for such will have no protection. Woe to you who have lost the will to endure; what will you do at the Lord's visitation?" (2:114-16).

[resources: The End of the Present World, The Final Hour, and Tower of Light]

[Tampa retreat, with Michael Brown, healing Mass: afterlife, prophecy, preparing for times]

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From the mail: "Yes, I was robbed/pick pocketed today (wallet and everything in it including $150 in cash is gone). Please be careful. Crime is increasing. A lady on the bus in Chicago told me she was mugged last week and her friend the week before. Then a guy on the train told me his son was robbed a couple weeks ago shortly after cashing in his paycheck. Please keep me in your prayers...