How many times they [the devils] inform me beforehand concerning the flood of the Nile... and how many times did I say to them, "And, as for you, what have you?" I used to say to them, "I have no need to learn these things from you." - Saint Athanasius the Great (Paradise of the Holy Fathers, Vol. 1, pg. 41-42)
I find great comfort in these words from Saint Athanasius.
So often lately I've watched people worry about signs and prophecies that we're living in the end times. I can't count the number of times I've heard someone refer to the "illumination of consciences," or referred to the COVID vaccine or some other development as "the mark of the beast," or the third "secret" of Fatima, or prophecies about there begin two popes at once... The list goes on and on.
But what's the purpose of being so caught up in all these prophecies?
Does it really serve the good of my soul or your soul to know these things, or is it just disturbing our spiritual peace?
The truth is...
end-time prophecies don't matter.
We all know the world is going to end eventually.
Either the actual end of the world comes, or at least my own personal end will come. It does none of us any good to run around like scared little rabbits worrying about when that end will be.
So let's move on with life, live like Christians, pray, fast, do works of charity and mercy.
I have a favorite line in Safro (Morning Prayer) of the Maronite Divine Office: "May our minds be focused on your love."
This was the great concern of Saint Antony the Great and the other Desert Fathers: To keep their minds and hearts so focused and intent on God's love and their hope in him that there was no room for the devils to stir up fear and anxiety and distract them from "the one thing necessary.
Shortly after the above quote, Saint Antony says:
If, however, the evil ones find us in the love of Christ, and meditating continually on the hope of that which is to come, and thinking thoughts concerning the commandments of our Lord, and believing that the kingdom and dominion are His, and that the evil one has neither opportunity nor power to resist the might of the Cross, if, I say, the evil one shall find any believing man in this state of mind when he draws near to him, at that very moment he will remove himself from him to a distance. - Paradise, Vol. 1, pg. 44-45)
It's so simple...
Live in the love of Christ. Meditate on the Commandments and on your hope of salvation in Christ. Surrender yourself totally into God's all-powerful hands. His is the victory. What is there to fear?
Sure there's a lot of bad stuff going on in the world. That's nothing new. And if we new just a little Church history, we'd quickly see that even the bad stuff going on in the Church is nothing new. Jesus Himself told us to expect such things to happen.
Personally, I think the Desert Fathers would warn us that the devil is using end-times and doomsday prophecies to distract us from the love of God and neighbor, and to take our focus off of living in God's love.
It's like when Peter attempted to walk on water. So long as his eyes were fix on Jesus, he was able to walk atop the waves. But as soon as he started worrying over the wind and the waves, those very powers started dragging him down.
Are you allowing the "wind and waves" of doomsday prophecies, scandals, and bad news to distract you from Christ's love and drag you down? Are you giving power over to the world to take your mind off the love of Christ?
I know I sure do from time to time.
But honestly ask yourself: Who has more power? The world? The devils? Or God, the Creator of all; the Omnipotent (All Powerful One)?
Perhaps a good solution to the anxiety caused by all the bad news and doomsday prophecies is to take our eyes off of it, and refocus on our minds on the love of Christ. One thing I've done lately that has proven very helpful is to cease my consumption of even Catholic news media, and severely limit what podcasts I listen to.
If you're feeling anxious about the state of the Church and/or the world, and if you're worried about the end times, try staying away from the news and instead praying through the Good News!
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