PROPHECY - THE POWER OF THE ELECT

THERE'S A REASON THIS PODCAST HAS HERETIC IN THE TITLE. TRUTHS WERE HIDDEN UNDER THE TERM. MYSTICS AND VISIONARIES TORTURED AND KILLED.

First, a link to the article this one spawned on Spiritual, Contemplative, Mystic Definitions.

In this episode Kyrie comes out and answers the questions:

• WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN MYSTIC? HOW DO WE RECOGNIZE MYSTIC PROPHETS?
• ARE WE IN THE TRIBULATION?
• WHO REALLY ARE "THE ELECT" AND WHAT IS THEIR POWER?

 [excerpted from Mark 13]
And as he sat at the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew questioned him privately: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things will begin to be fulfilled?”

"When you will have heard of wars and rumors of wars, you should not be afraid. For these things must be, but the end is not so soon. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom over kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are but the beginning of the sorrows.

"For the Gospel must first be preached to all nations.

"Then brother will betray brother to death, and the father, a son; and children will rise up against their parents and will bring about their death. Then, when you have seen the abomination of desolation, standing where it ought not to be, let the reader understand, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

"For those days shall have such tribulations as have not been since the beginning of the creation that God founded, even until now, and shall not be. "And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would be saved. But, for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened the days.

Behold, I have foretold all to you...

THIS PODCAST IS NOT MONETIZED. LINKS:
Contact: kyriedicentis@gmail.com
CLOUD OF UNKNOWING Evelyn Underhill edition - free
HERETIC'S REDDIT HOME
Revelations of Divine Love [free PDF] Julian of Norwich
What the Gehenna?
The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross

Transcript

THIS IS NOT AN EXACT TRANSCRIPT OF THE PODCAST. IT IS THE WORK THAT HAD BEEN QUOTED ONLY IN PART.  IT IS PERSONAL. I DECIDED TO USE IT SO YOU HAVE THE MATERIAL AVAILABLE FOR YOUR OWN CONSIDERATION. 

BEGINNING WITH THE END OF THE SECTION ON CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM (ALL OF IT  WILL BE IN THE NEXT POSCAST.)

Rooted in Christ, the mystic, like Jesus, fully accepts God’s will and desires to serve God fully.  

This means that an authentic mysticism will always have a praxical  dimension, including prayer for others:  “those in most need of Thy Mercy,” and being of service to those they find in need, in poverty, or simply stuck by the side of the road. 

In all, regardless of the views of culture or politics, mystics see in the broken and suffering, the image of the living God. 

[from kyrie: ABOUT “PRAXICAL:”  Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson or skill is enacted, embodied, realized, applied. In universities, there were sometimes two classes in one subject,  referred to as ”theory” and “praxis.” More commonly, we now call these “lecture” and “lab.”]

And so, Christian mystics and contemplatives are constrained to remain alert to suffering, rather than closing their eyes to it.

>>>It calls for them to take on the burden of the situation and to assume responsibility for it. Thus they witness to God — a God who cares much more  about how we deal with the neighbor than what we “think” about God in Godself.<<< 

For the true Chiristian, and especially for the mystic, obeying Jesus’ commands to feed  the hungry, to care for the weak and vulnerable, is, indeed, worshipping God.

Jose Porfirio Miranda tells us: 

“The question is not whether someone is seeking God or not, but whether he is seeking him where God Himself said that He is.”

✝Luke 16:19-21 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. Lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.”

✝ [Matthew 25:34-40] “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

Then the faithful will answer him and say, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?”

And He will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you, whatever have done for one of these least of mine, is that which you did for me.”

>>IN THE MYSTICAL UNION, WE ARE THE FACE OF CHRIST TO THE WORLD, AND  THE WORLD IS THE FACE OF THE SUFFERING CHRIST TO US.<<

OF PROPHETS

The prophet is not always a messenger of hope, but can be acerbic and denunciatory in the face of  hypocrisy, indifference and evil. 

“The prophet feels fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon his  soul, and he is bowed and stunned at man’s fierce greed. Frightful is the  agony of man; no human voice can convey its full terror. Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent agony, a voice to the plundered poor,  to the profaned riches of the world.”   [Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets]

The suffering of humanity rages in such prophets’ words.  

[FROM KYRIE]Why does someone read the mystic, but refuse to become one? Because touching God and knowing the Divine Light exposes the enormity of the darkness and horrendous evils done and ongoing and to come including those done in the name of the Lord and such knowing is unbearable in our feeling of helplessness in the face of evil?

>>>PRAYER IS PRAXIS.<<<

>>>You are never powerless. You serve when you pray.<<<

Even mystics who are cloistered in some way, remain united with the world through the prayer of contemplation, to succor and sanctify the world. 

A prophet is one who reads the signs of the times in light of the future. In surety, a prophet also speaks of a transformed future, in which God’s will of Peace for all of creation is instituted. We call this “Parousia.”

PROPHETIC MYSTICISM  

Mystics are ordinary people who live extraordinary interiorly, and live openly the inspirited way, after  having been called or touched by the Lord. 

At the same time, authentic mystics find themselves compelled to transmit the message of God’s truth to others. 

In order to do so,  they inevitably encounter deep structures of injustice in the world that impede the will of  God from being realized for all people. 

The prophet calls to all to seek the True Gospel, to true relationship with God. In this way, mystics become prophetic mystics.

The theologian Johann Baptist Metz  describes this as a mysticism of “suffering unto God.” He writes,  “...the language of prayer is itself a language of suffering, a language of crisis, a language of affliction, and of radical danger …   

“The language of the  prophetic mystic is less a song of the soul, more a loud crying out from the depths – not a  vague, undirected wailing — but a focused crying-out-to.”

This “crying-out-to” would  seem to presume a relationship, however fractured, in which God hears and is moved  by such cries.  

Similarly, Heschel characterizes the prophetic voice in this way: 

“Instead of  dealing with the timeless issues of being and becoming, of matter and form, of definitions  and demonstrations, … instead of showing us a way through the elegant mansions of the mind, [the] prophet takes us to the slums.”

For the prophetic mystic knows that love for and worship of God is absent when there is self-blind absence of compassion and charity for any of His children.

>>>But in the last of  the iterations of prophecy, the mystic prophet knows that the deeper the darkness, the greater and more powerful the light.<<< 

In a homily given in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta on December 16, 2013, Pope Francis said this of prophets:

“A prophet is someone who listens to the words of God, who reads the spirit of the times, and who knows how to move forward towards the  future. 

“True prophets hold within themselves three different moments:  past, present, and future. They keep the promise of God alive. They see the suffering of His people. And, they bring us the strength to look ahead.

“God … gives [us]prophets in the hardest times, in the midst of [our] worst suffering. 

 ______________________________________________________________________________________

PERSONAL NOTES:

So  - y’all remember when I said I had to stop podcasting until I didn’t want to call people names?  Then the Jesuit wrote:

• The prophet is not always a messenger of hope, but can be acerbic and denunciatory in the face of  hypocrisy, indifference and evil. 
• “Prophets feel fiercely. God has thrust a burden upon their  souls, and they are bowed and stunned at man’s ferocious greed. 
• Frightful is the agony of humankind, impossible to convey the depth of their terror. 
• The suffering of humanity rages in such prophets’ words. 

I keep deleting the raging from the podcasts. 

I’m sure I don’t have to quote the parts of the Gospels where Jesus raged. Or got in people’s faces. Or expressed His frustration with His disciples. But what came to me first … well … not exactly first because first was shock since I was being described so accurately and didn’t want to think about it, so naturally that led to a question for the forums, or maybe you, I don’t know:

Why does someone read mystics, but refuse to become one? 

I became a mystic because I didn’t know any better. God didn’t call me to contemplation and say, “So, this way you get to experience as much of the evil of the world as you can without having to leave your body…. ”

I probably would have, anyway. But I asked no questions. So why did this Jesuit scare me? Why do I think he described me?

At the same time, authentic mystics find themselves compelled to transmit the message of God’s truth to others. 

On writer forums they invariably ask, “Why did you decide to become a writer?” and my answer is always the same, “I didn’t know there was a choice.” In my being-called journey I wrote. A lot. I wrote for the Parish, prayer services and Christmas plays and things when Columbine happened. I write. I have to.

It’s why podcasting is so hard.

The companion blog to the Podcast is titled “Calling the Elect” and I say on this forum “We call for the Elect to come together…”

Jesuit guy:

The prophet calls to all to seek the True Gospel, to true relationship with God. In this way, mystics become prophetic mystics.

Oh. So that's it? And it's me?

Saint Paul asked Jesus to take away the "thorn in his side." Whatever that was, Jesus refused and told him, (paraphrased) "My power is made perfect in weakness."

Here's a message from your local mystic prophet: He isn't calling us or using us in spite of our weaknesses, but because of them.

.... is someone playing link--> Sammy singing 'I Gotta Be Me' somewhere?....

kyrie