HAVING shared some of the dreadful prophecies of Fr. Michel Rodrigue in this column, and amid the recent letter of his Bishop Gilles Lemay of the Diocese of Amos in Quebec, Canada telling parishioners that he did not support Fr. Michel and did not believe his prophecies, I feel obliged to publish another point of view.
Bishop Lemay, in his missive dated last September 3, was referring particularly to what came out in the website countdowntothekingdom.com and the book The Warning by Christine Watkins which, by the way, were also the primary sources of my quotes of Fr. Michel.
The website countdowntothekingdom.com issued a reply to the bishop and here are excerpts that I find significant. The reply is not short of justifying the dreadful nature of prophecies which, it said, "suggest the gravity of sin at a particular period of time and the urgency for sincere conversion."
"While we continue to discern Fr. Michel's messages and take a 'wait and see' approach to his prophecies - and invite our readers to do the same - we will be preserving them on Countdown to the Kingdom in the absence of compelling reasons to do otherwise. We are not persuaded that such compelling reasons have been given. There still has been no formal condemnation.
"Learned theologians have now put great effort into writing lengthy critiques of Fr. Michel's messages in an attempt to undermine them from a theological standpoint, and have failed to produce anything convincing. Calumnious gossip and unfounded accusations have been widely circulating online without any objective serious moral fault or psychological instability on Fr. Michel's part being conclusively demonstrated.
"While some people, sadly, are apparently finding themselves afraid due to the contents of Fr. Michel's prophecies (as is the case even with the many fully approved prophetic revelations that speak of impending Chastisements), the utterly overwhelming majority of feedback from those touched by Fr. Michel and his message expresses abundant positive spiritual fruits in their lives; in particular conversions, vocations to religious life, renewed faith, hope, and joy.
"Prophetic warnings of future calamities exist within Our Lord's own words in the Gospels, and have continued throughout Church history to this present day. A dire prophecy does not make it false; it merely suggests the gravity of sin at a particular period of time and the urgency for sincere conversion.
"It is not up to the seer to edit Heaven's words based on the possibility of hurting other's sensitivities, but upon the faithful to respond to such messages with faithful obedience and courage.
"Will the details of what Fr. Michel prophesies for the coming times transpire? Time will tell. In the meantime, let us take Fr. Michel's advice by praying the Rosary, going to Confession, and consecrating ourselves to the Holy Family." (End of quote.)
Those who keep track of credible mystics know only too well that other mystics already more ensconced on the pedestal of credibility have issued prophecies no less dire, although Fr. Michel seems to be more detailed in his prophetic timeline, as when he said recently that something "great" will occur this fall (which falls anytime from September to November).
Take the case of mystic Elizabeth Kindelmann (1913-1985) whose communications with Jesus and the Blessed Mother was compiled in a book titled "The Spiritual Diary" which was given apostolic blessing by Pope Francis on June 19, 2013.
Way back May 19, 1963, Elizabeth quoted the Blessed Mother saying:
"You know, my little one, the elect will have to fight against the Prince of Darkness. It will be a terrible storm. Rather, it will be a hurricane which will want to destroy the faith and confidence of even the elect. In this terrible turmoil currently brewing up, you will see the brightness of my Flame of Love illuminating Heaven and earth by the effusion of its effect of grace I am passing on to souls in this dark night."
And then there Luz de Maria Bonilla who quoted St. Michael the Archangel as having told her only last September 1:
"Be careful: the devil with his legions hovers over humanity knowing that he must not lose the opportunity for snatching souls, and I see so many children of God constantly falling into the traps of evil, overcoming them and leading them to think that what is happening is temporary.
"Life will never be the same again! Humanity has obeyed the directives of the global elite and the latter will continue constantly scourging humanity, only giving you brief moments of respite.
"The People of God are arrogant; the Church of Our King and Lord Jesus Christ is exhausting herself without knowing how to live in the Spirit -- you do not discern and joyfully welcome false innovations , rejecting the Divine Will.
"The moment of purification is coming; the disease will change course and will reappear on the skin. Humanity will fall over and over again, being scourged by misused science together with the new world order, which is determined to render inert whatever spirituality may exist within humanity.
"People of God: This generation should remain prostrate with its face to the ground before Divine Mercy. Man is not worthy of such a great Divine Act.
"Pray, children of God, pray for those who are persecuted. Pray People of God, pray that the human conscience would awaken and not submit to the devil. Pray People of God, pray for those who die in a state of sin, for those who abandon Our King and Lord Jesus Christ.
"People of God, the earth will shake as never before and humanity will be confused by the findings of science, which, without being certain, will be presented to you as such, demolishing the Faith of the children of God.
"Have no fear: all the Celestial Legions are waiting for the Divine Order to be constantly prepared. As God's People you retain God the Father's special attention; the faithful will always overcome. Even if they are only a few, they will be faithful until the end of the battle. Under the command of Our Queen and Mother we will come to rescue the Holy Remnant."