A Message From Anne and DFOT

February 11, 2013 Dear Lay Apostles,  Today we receive the news that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will resign. Given our great love for him, it is natural that we feel sadness and loss at this news. He has led us so faithfully. But we can be confident that the Holy Father knows exactly what he is doing. We trust him today as we trusted him yesterday. Let us take consolation from his words and indeed from his own certainty that he has accurately discerned this decision. Dear Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is. Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer. From the Vatican, 10 February 2013 BENEDICTUS PP XVI Clearly, the Holy Spirit is leading and protecting all. Perhaps the Lord will take our profound gratitude for our beloved Pope and with it grant graces of happiness and peace to him as he concludes this extraordinarily fruitful period of his life. Together with the Holy Father, we ask for God's blessing and protection on the man who is to come after. With love from your sister,  Anne, a lay apostle  *Note from Fr. Darragh:  "In light of Pope Benedict's resignation, Anne's talk from last Thursday is all the more relevant..." Click below for the text of Anne's Talk and the Video: Video of Anne's talk 07Feb2013 Or, here is the transcription of the talk: We are grateful to receive Volume Five into our library of Volumes. We are releasing Volume Five because we have been given permission by Bishop O’Reilly to do so. He is the rightful authority and we believe, given this, that this is the right time for all to receive it. My friends, when you read Volume Five you will note that Volume Five is similar to a couple of the other Volumes in that it contains prophecy. When I read prophecy, I have two files in my head. File number one…this is something I should do something about. File number two, this is something I cannot control and there is nothing I need do about it, but it has been given to me for a purpose, therefore I will ponder it. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament include a great deal of prophecy and our Tradition is filled with it. So we accept that prophecy plays a role in our faith life. In Volume Five, we included a new introduction which should help to clarify how we should receive prophecy. And now we contemplate heaven’s desired impact on us. What is Jesus hoping? Well first let us look at what concerns Him. Let us focus tonight on unity in the Church because it seems clear that disunity in the Church is a grave risk. This is a message from Jesus the Redeemer given on May 24, 2004. I am taking this opportunity to advise you about events that will come upon the world. (there we see it, the prophecy) In this way, as I have said, you will not be fearful because you will know that I have foretold these things and thus you will see that the hand of God is present.(here we see the why of the prophecy, so that we will not be fearful) I would like to talk about dissension in My one true Church. There is coming a time of even greater disobedience, when many more will turn away from My Church. This will create even more difficulties for the Holy Father, who seeks to retain unity, per My dictates. Rebellious souls often blame someone else for their disobedience and so it will be in this time. Children, many of you will see this occurring and you will see great divisions. In the time of confusion you must remain faithful to My Church. It is quite simple and you will not be misled because you will be following Me. Can you understand why it is so important to convert souls before this time of great confusion? If a soul is already following Me then he has practiced remaining true to the course in the face of challenges on the journey. Already My Church is struggling with a grave rebellion, which is like so many hands trying to pull it down into oblivion. This will never happen. Those attempting to do this not only rebel against My Church but against Me personally. Now, lay apostles, we will each have a role to play in promoting unity. We need to think about our role. Remember that we owe fidelity at the parish level, the diocesan level and then at the international level. With regard to the parish level, I have heard, in recent days, of two parishes in two different countries where a priest had to leave because small groups of parishioners, less than five in each case, have made the priest’s lives so unbearable by harassment and slander that they could not remain in the parish. The shepherd, it seems, was run out by a few deeply troubled sheep. I am not surprised that these men, the priests, have encountered opposition. In following in the footsteps of Christ, this will be the way. What concerns me gravely is this. Where was the response? Where were the righteous ones? Why weren’t the priests better protected? It would seem that a few bullies got their way. Lay apostles, do not remain silent when a priest or bishop or leader in the Church is being attacked or bullied. Some might say, well it’s confusing. He’s not perfect. But…what’s confusing about that? Who is? And nobody can withstand the vicious scrutiny of those who seek to pounce and distort. The really scary thing is that the ones making the trouble would probably say they are faithful to the Holy Father, even as they attack the priests who serve alongside him. The question I am asking us each to answer is this. Where is unity looking for my help? Where, in my life, should I be helping to secure or protect unity in the Church? It will be good to remember that on some day, we will be called to add something to the fire that burns for unity. On one day, we might have to sacrifice our opinions to the fire. On another, our great ideas, and still on another day we might offer unity our grievances, bristling indignation and our pride. I promise you this…unity will ask for something from each of us. We must be willing to give generously, especially in our prayer groups, faith organisations and communities and obviously, our parishes. When this happens for you, think of Peter in the Garden. He has a good idea. He draws his sword. It’s a no brainer to him. They’re putting their hands on Jesus with a bad intention. Jesus says, in summary, ‘No Peter. No fighting’. In itself, this is fine. Peter got the wrong end of the stick. It can happen to anyone. But then what? Well, possibly, Peter was baffled by the instruction. The only reasonable response in his mind was to defend Jesus and instead of being grateful, the Lord has reprimanded him, it would seem. His good idea is rejected. He might feel confused, maybe even humiliated or embarrassed. At that moment, he might have temporarily lost touch with his whole identity as a follower of the Lord and thought, ‘That was the wrong thing to do. I was right’. Then Jesus is led to his death and Peter takes his stumble. He denies Christ. Three times. Ultimately, of course, our beloved St. Peter persevered even into crucifixion for Christ, but why did he stumble at that moment? Is it possible that he took his eye off the North Star? The North Star in our spiritual life is this. Remain faithful. Do not abandon Jesus. Do not abandon His Church, meaning, obedience in spirit and action to our faith leaders. Our fidelity will be tested on some day and we must not stumble now when so many others have stumbled and left the Church or abandoned their role in the Church. In Volume Five Jesus states: when you see cynicism you may be sure that I am not directing the conversation. When souls criticise the Church and its leaders you must direct them to Me. Remember last month’s talk. If someone approaches us and begins talking about a priest, we list the reasons we love and respect him. We start by stating the obvious which is…aren’t we lucky that he is remaining faithful in his ministry? Isn’t he to be commended for his fidelity? When people criticise the Church we begin listing the reasons we love the Church. Remember? We love the Mass, the Gospel, the music, the windows, the new carpeting, the old carpeting. Start listing. If someone has been legitimately hurt by someone claiming to serve God, that is something different and we compassionately listen. Back to Volume Five, St. Andrew states I experienced great trials for the Church. Many of us here (in heaven) shed blood for the Church. What we are watching now is not pleasant in that this Church we sacrificed our lives for with such conviction is barely defended. Never has there been such a time when the attacks strike into the very heart of God’s Church with only the barest of responses and sometimes, no reply at all. This is not moral courage, brothers and sisters. You must defend your Church. This is very serious, my friends. Silence in the prayer life, yes. But no more silence in the face of attack against our faith leaders. We must follow their leadership and live obedience. In Ireland recently our Cardinal Sean Brady urged Catholics to turn out for a prayer vigil in support of life. A massive amount of people attended. Well done to us. That was a sign of great hope for Ireland. With regard to unity, we reference for a moment the Diocesan priesthood. It is clear to me that the Lord is offering a very special and serious call to diocesan priests. The Lord is looking for them to hold unity for Him. If there is disunity in your diocese amongst the clergy or against the bishop, God’s children will be confused and unsafe. The sheep will be scattered. Be a priest who works tirelessly for unity in the diocese. The diocesan priesthood has never been a better place to serve God. Indeed, Jesus Christ is counting on each diocesan priest to protect and advance His goal by helping the laity to become co-responsible. If not the diocesan priests, then who is to bring this about? No. I’m afraid that without the commitment of the priests of each diocese, Renewal will be delayed. And women of the Church, we must be willing to match the full life commitments made by priests in each diocese. This can be done in as many ways as life circumstances allow and clearly many women currently contribute their whole hearts and tireless service to the Church. But I believe that over and above an active and co-responsible laity, we must look forward to women serving the diocese even more directly and completely. It can be no other way. There should be a reciprocal and formalised feminine response of commitment to every Bishop in every diocese. The institutional Church craves the complementarity of the genders as a balm for the times. This can vary according to the culture and needs of each region, but it should be started in some fashion everywhere. Where women are formally received and committed to the diocese, God’s children can be cared for in ways that would not otherwise be possible. People have said, “Volume Five is serious.” Well, I agree. We have to face our commitment to the Church and advance into it. Many people have suffered during this last ten year period. The best advice for us is this. Don’t look back anymore. Life isn’t like it used to be and perhaps it is not what we expected. Stay in the present day of service and keep working. We must make God’s goals our goals and keep our faces to the future. We conclude with words from St Andrew from Volume Five A new, renewed Church will emerge on the other side of this travail. God will always triumph and it is good to remember this when you live in dark times. Brothers and sisters, this is your destination. Despite the rockiness of the road you will travel, you will ultimately see the Church triumphant. End of Talk From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 815 What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity “binds everything together in perfect harmony.”265 But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion: - profession of one faith received from the Apostles; -common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments; - apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God’s family.266