In roughly two short weeks it seems our headlines have been dominated by news of one violent crime after another:
- the horrific Minneapolis church shooting of children in a Catholic church
- the stabbing of an innocent young woman in a subway train in North Carolina (bystanders did nothing to help the girl or stop the suspect)
- another school shooting in Colorado
- and a culmination two days ago with the assassination of conservative Christian political activist, Charlie Kirk, in a college campus in Utah
The 23-year-old Minneapolis church shooter
and a drawing he did in his notebook ...
It all begs the question: What have we become as a society? The Bible - in II Timothy 3:1-4 - provides an accurate answer:
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God."
Considering all that's occurring, I think that particular Scriptural Prophecy is spot on ... and when youth in their teens (or barely out of it) are plotting and committing murders as easily as playing video games, it means there's something seriously broken with our society; extremely DARK and sinister ... and it's basically OUR fault. It all boils down to one reason: We've drifted far, far away from GOD who is the true LIGHT.
The shooting in Colorado
I'm personally disturbed because it wasn't like this 40 years ago when I was in my teens; things were much more simple back then and kids were ... well ... behaving like kids! We actually played with each other - dodge ball, bike rides, street football, camping in our neighborhood treehouse, etc. - and the thought of committing such heinous acts of violence against each other never crossed our minds. But slowly, deliberately, and systematically certain groups started pushing Jesus/God out of schools and, when that was accomplished, there followed a brewing storm of dangerous trends and philosophies (e.g. hedonism, socialism, gender ideologies, euthanasia, etc.) and occultism (e.g. esoteric mysticism, witchcraft, satanism, etc.), which have escalated today due to the aggressive mainstream promotion given them by certain celebrities, politicians, news reporters, and social media "influencers", most of who are clearly narcissists. Their collective message can be summed up in one phrase: "Do what thou wilt", which is often purposely misrepresented as "enlightenment" and "personal liberation" from oppressive, outdated laws/rules. But the phrase contradicts the hallowed and timeless words from the Lord’s Prayer - "Thy (God's) will be done" - and, essentially, God has been replaced by self-worship and/or worship of demonic spirits. Ironically, rather than finding light, we've allowed darkness to grow exponentially and are now reaping what was sowed.
The suspect in the Charlie Kirk murder -
a 22-year-old man
What's unfortunate is - it didn't have to be like this. Heaven has been warning us for centuries that if we stray from Jesus and the Gospel Truth things will only get worse. Just research the approved, urgent messages Our Lady delivered at Lourdes (1858), Fatima (1917), Akita (1970s), and most recently Medjugorje (1981 - present). With the two latest apparitions cited, those commenced with the onset of many of the self-destructive ideologies that have exploded in our present time, without a doubt to counteract them ... but the Virgin’s warnings are mostly ignored by the general public, including Catholics.
A tragedy prevented (note the suspect's age)
Yet despite the increased evil that surrounds us, there's still HOPE: the Gospel Message remains relevant and an effective solution ... we still have the saving grace of the Sacraments ... and Heaven continues to mercifully reach out - God has not abandoned us ... and if we just repent and commit ourselves to living His Divine Will, we can, at the very least, bring LIGHT into our own personal worlds in the form of Peace, Love, Joy, and Protection. It's not too late to return to the Lord.
One way God is responding to the youth crisis -
the prophetic rise of young, holy role models
(L to R: St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Bl. Chiara
Badano, & St. Carlo Acutis)
To end this blog on a positive note, I share the footage below, which I filmed early this morning after Mass at St. Augustine by the Sea Church in Waikiki. I believe it's an example of Heaven reaching out to remind us that we're not forgotten. It captures a strange shadowy formation above the Tabernacle and Crucifix, which to this author uncannily resembled a silhouette of the Blessed Virgin Mary (it was an impressive sight in-person!). Coincidentally, today is also the Marian Feast of the Holy Name of Mary ... so was it meant to represent Our Lady's maternal presence with us and a visible message of Hope? I'd like to think so and what a comfort it was to have an affirmation that our Heavenly Mother is always close by watching over us. Let us pray together with her for the conversion of sinners, especially our misguided children. Ave Maria!
An unusual, yet familiar figure, appears
formed by a shadow seen above the crucifix
in St. Augustine Church in Waikiki.
