In 1880 Teresa wrote this letter to Fr. Powell, in which Our Lord revealed to her the terrible judgements of war that would happen in the future. This was published in Lady Cecil Kerr's biography of 1927, when the atomic bomb had not even been imagined:
“If it were not
in obedience, I should never attempt to describe the dreadful things
which have been shown to me, but, trusting in that wisdom and power, I
hope He will give you a right understanding and knowledge of all that
you wish me in His Name to relate. Oh Jesus, my beloved Jesus, be Thou a
Jesus to us and save us whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy most precious
Blood. I know not how or where I was taken, but it seemed to me that I
was in a high place and looked down upon the earth. First I saw a cloud
of darkness encompass the earth, a real thick material darkness which I
understood too was a figure of the darkness of the intellect into which
man had precipitated himself, then I heard the sound of mighty thunder
and saw the lightning flash, and it seemed to me as if balls of fire
fell upon the earth and struck it to its centre splintering the rocks to
fragments. And I heard the rush of waters and a fearful wail of
mourning arose from the earth, and humbly prostrating myself I craved
for mercy through the Blood and bitter Passion of Jesus Christ, for
through this darkness could be seen distinctly shining stars on the
bosom of the earth (the holy tabernacles of His love), and I begged God
not to look upon us but on the face of His Christ. And I heard a mighty
voice say, ‘I will not save this people for they are flesh. Ask me not
in His Blood for His Blood is upon them.’ (I understood to condemn
them). But still I continued uniting my poor prayer with that of our
dear crucified Jesus, saying over and over again, ‘Father forgive them
for they know not what they do. Jesus, Mercy! Mary, help!’
“I
cannot say how long this lasted, for I was as much afraid as I was
humbled, but then I heard a voice I knew full well to be that of our
dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ saying: ‘Say that not one of these
that are given to me shall be lost.’ Then the earthquakes stopped and
the lightnings ceased and I beheld starved and maniac looking forms rise
trembling to their feet, and I saw the sign upon their foreheads, and
with them and the whole court of heaven I praised and blessed that God
of infinite wisdom who in His mercy has redeemed us in His Blood.
Perhaps the bomb, but I have always thought this very similar to the prophecies of Our Lady at Akita, Japan and Amsterdam (both judged to be of supernatural origin by local bishops) of meteorites that will crash into the earth. Think too of the 'great sign' at Fatima when the sun appeared, three times, to fall into the earth.
ReplyDeleteI must point out that episcopal approval of the Amsterdam apparitions has been revoked because the claims made are suspect, while Akita has come under suspicion. Remember episcopal approval is not definitive proof of a genuine apparition as bishops are not infallible!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI was just wanting to point out that Teresa seemed to presage something greater even than the atomic bomb: real, thick, material darkness encompassing the earth (Padre Pio's "three days' darkness"?) and balls of fire striking the earth to its centre.
We are not of course called to depend on explicitly infallible judgments, such as canonisations, when seeking guidance on private revelations. This would preclude us having anything to do with Teresa's cause. Indeed, the CDF/Holy Office has made some very fallible judgments over the years - disciplining Padre Pio, censuring Antonio Rosmini and forbidding the devotion to the Divine Mercy. Really it is not our call to decide whether a particular level of authority is infallible. Instead, we are asked to follow obediently each respective level of the Church's authority unless it is superceded by a higher one. As far as both Akita and Amsterdam are concerned, the local bishops' judgements retain (the latter's 2002 'of supernatural origin' declaration has not in fact been revoked by Rome). We live in a time of endless private judgment, which Teresa bemoaned. Yes, there have been many unfaithful and dissenting clergy in recent years, but does that give us an excuse to ignore the legitimate practice of the Church's magisterium at each level?
Your blog is excellent and very helpful.