(EDITOR’S NOTE: Major parts of this article were excerpted from “The Tribulation and Survival,” SHRINE BEACON, Vol. 4, No. 18; January-February, 1997. Much of it is still relevant today. Much of this has fallen on deaf ears – sad to say. So it bears repeating especially in light of how things are moving rapidly into place as we near the climax of the Apocalypse.)
As we come into the climax of the Apocalypse and approach the time of the Great Tribulation we are seeing a great push for setting up world government: The European Union (EU) is already set up and functioning as a regional government; The North American Union (NAU) is being orchestrated into place by the Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission and members of our own government; and these unions are being merged together into the Trans Atlantic Union. The final goal: World government under the Middle Eastern Union with the world capitol being Jerusalem.
Meantime the Catholic Church (and all churches) is being steered and prepared to become a part of the world church that is now forming. (Many are blind to this fact, but the evidence bears this out). The World Church is much closer than we may think and will become part of the Antichrist’s “Beast” world system along with its secular counterpart, World Government.
As we come to the climax of the tribulation we will center on the second period of 3 ½ years where people will be coerced into worshipping the “Beast” and accepting his mark. Those that don’t will be denied the right to buy or sell. Many Christians will be persecuted and martyred during this second 3 ½ year period of the tribulation. There will be two 3 ½ year periods of the tribulation: one preceding the seating of the Antichrist in power, and one following it during his reign for a total of 7 years of tribulation.
The above is borne out in various Marian prophecies and in St. John’s Apocalypse as well. Careful reading and study of the Scriptures bears this out. Our Holy Mother has warned us of these seven years of tribulation. At Necedah She showed Mary Ann Van Hoof, in vision, what was to come and in what sequence. On one of these occasions (Feb. 10, 1978) Mary Ann described to members of her family the sequence of events during the tribulation and chastisements. The Virgin Mary showed her how people would be lulled into a false peace while the enemy was setting the stage for the imminent and final takeover. The chastisement would come in two stages: first, that which will be caused by man as the antichrist sets up his satanic kingdom, followed by a short interlude, a time for Christians to turn to God and take heed of previous warnings. The second stage of the chastisement will come at the end of the second 3 ½ year period of tribulation. This will be God’s chastisement: the white fire (the sun’s nova), the three days of darkness, the ending of the Antichrist’s reign and the ushering in of the millennium or Era of Peace.
Keep in mind we do not know the time or hour this will take place. Our advice is: Don’t go by calendar years but by the “signs on earth and in Heaven”. As of recent years the signs are definitely increasing and intensifying. So it pays to be aware and prepare. So, as has been said, don’t be scared – be prepared.
Heaven has asked us to prepare for what is coming and to become self-sustaining as much as possible to prepare spiritually as well as on a physical, practical level. “All of you should try to be self-supporting, self-sustaining in everything you try to do. Try to bring in an industry of some kind to help some of your young men and women to find employment so that you can become an established area of people that loves God, that believes in God, that blesses and runs their employment, their factories or whatever it is, with prayer and the word of God spoken, instead of satanic cuss words and foulmouthed pornography and destruction of man’s soul and the youth. Is that understood? If you can get thus established as Our Holy Mother has spoken many times, to make this here a little bit of Heaven, and that means to branch out, to obtain property and let yourselves grow. Do not wait too long so your youth disappears. Bring them here.”
“You have a good source of water here. If this was started in any other place, when ‘La Salette’ strikes, you will still have water, where other parts of the country that have to now go down 150, 200, 300 feet before they find good water, they will have no water, even going down a thousand feet. We don’t know when God the Father will punish the earth for all the black sins and the destruction of human lives that God created, and they willfully destroy. When the punishment will come, one does not know until it happens. But we have asked you here to prepare, to save dry foods and commodities, put them in good sealed containers. We have instructed you. So do so now.” (March 25, 1977).
This message was given over 30 years ago. Have we failed to heed these instructions? (In some ways we have). Is it a case of “too little, too late,” as Heaven has said? Heaven is ever so merciful and it would appear there is still some time left – but that time is becoming more limited as the days pass – for us to wake up and get busy.
The messages have even said that the House of Prayer is to act as a place of refuge and sanctuary in the days of the chastisement. “Yes, My Child, it would have to be started immediately to be here when the populace is lost and seeking for shelter and comfort. This is where it must be given to them and your State of Wisconsin should be known as the haven for those lost at the wayside, those confused. Many, many Priests that are now liberals will come here on bended knees in front of this altar and will pour their hearts to Me, not as I am here in front of you now but as a statue, but it will be My Image. They will see the errors of their ways; right now they are too indignant, they choose their own way, their will is supreme,… They will find that they have erred, that the almighty dollar will only bring them to perdition; My Divine Son, their Lord, their Savior, their Redeemer will bring them to the righteous way.” (Oct. 7, 1973). The importance of the House of Prayer as a place of refuge was pointed out in Our Blessed Mother’s message on August 15, 1976. With the coming chastisement and approaching ‘End Times’ it is very important for the completion of the House of Prayer to be accomplished.
Mary Ann Van Hoof was told and shown by Our Holy Mother the destruction that would befall our once great nation; that we would be sold into bondage; that abortion and destruction of our youth would be rampant; and the apostasy within the Church would increase until there was only a remnant left. Our Holy Mother told Mary Ann the reason She wanted the House of Prayer was so there would be a place for the people to go when the chastisement comes. It could be a place of refuge, that is, if it is built and completed in time. Time is fast running out.
Thus we can see there is a great need for Christians to come together to form groups or refuges or what we could call Christ-centered communities. In such communities perpetual adoration and rosaries said before the Blessed Sacrament can be very powerful to unite and give these communities spiritual strength. Our Holy Mother will guide these communities as long as they remain true to the Faith and fulfill Her request. As we have already noted, She has asked for self-sustaining communities built and modeled after Christian Catholic religious orders, particularly those of St. Benedict. At Necedah, a lay order of St. Benedict has been asked for. This is very significant considering the fact that two of the promises given to St. Benedict concerning his Order are: “It will last until the end of the world, and that it shall render great service to the Church in the final battle.”
On the other end of the scale, the practical end (where of course St. Benedict’s Order would be of great help providing a systematic way of accomplishing it), one must physically prepare for what is to come. Practical and common sense things need to be taken into account. Just what kind of calamities and disasters are we preparing for? There are a number of different scenarios to prepare for. During the tribulation a number of dangers will be made manifest in various ways according to the time frame or the geographical area that it occurs. Basic preparedness will be needed for the following likely threats: 1.) Earthquake; 2.) Flooding; 3.) Severe winter storm; 4.) Tornado; 5.) Hurricane; 6.) Volcanic eruption; 7.) Economic collapse; 8.) Nuclear accident or attack; 9.) Biological warfare; 10.) Civil unrest, riots, trucker’s strike or earth changes, etc. 11.) Toxic food supply; 12.) Food shortages (world reserves currently less than 30 days).
An organization known as the Survival Center has for 20 years researched and gained extensive knowledge, and has combined experiences in all areas of survival. They state that if any of the above disasters struck today, you could be without electricity for possibly weeks. If you live in the city this means you could be without water, light and heat for an indefinite period of time.
Never assume it can’t happen here. Only two generations ago most families put up food for a long winter and lived close to the land with readily available water from a hand pumped well. These families survived the Great Depression and were untouched by natural weather problems.
We have become so used to modern conveniences and dependency on government agencies for water, power and our livelihood that we have completely forgotten how to survive even the simplest of power outages. It would not take a terribly violent earthquake to disrupt the power within a large metropolitan area for an extended period of time, as has already been demonstrated.
Preparation for any kind of emergency is just good common sense and another form of insurance. Most people have medical, dental, fire, theft, homeowners and automobile insurance, yet they lack the basic insurance of essential survival, food and water. There is no government agency that is going to provide you with the essential food and water necessary in the event of a natural or economic disaster. A truly comprehensive insurance plan would include storing food, water, outdoor survival gear and medical supplies.
Because basic survival has never been taught in the public school system most people are ignorant and confused about what the necessary survival needs are. (BASIC PREPAREDNESS by The Survival Center, Inc., pp. 4 & 5). Furthermore, the Survival Center recommends four basic areas of preparation: 1.) Food; 2.) Water; 3.) Medical and 4.) Shelter.
1.) FOOD A minimum of one year and preferably two or more year’s supply of food, stored properly and on hand for any emergency will sustain you and your family, regardless of what happens with the world’s political, economic or weather situation.
2.) WATER A clean source of water is absolutely essential to survival. If at all possible you should have your own well that has the option for hand pumping operation. If this is not possible, you should store at least several hundred gallons of purified water for an emergency predicament along with portable water filters.
3.) MEDICAL There are basic medical and sanitation supplies that should be kept readily available to handle any health or medical emergency. You should be familiar with an emergency medical kit and how to use it. Keep at least one comprehensive kit at home: There are also simple things that one can do and learn to help keep the body detoxified and maintained in optimum health. One should be familiar with the safe use of herbs and by-gone old-fashioned proven remedies. The medical-drug system today is built on a false premise. Health is maintained by following God’s natural laws, treating it in such a manner that it is allowed to heal itself.
4.) SHELTER If at all possible the first prerequisite to having a stable survival situation is to have property or some place to go outside of the city. It will be very difficult to survive in the cities during any kind of natural, political or economic disaster. To avoid the panic and desperation that will ensue in the cities after such disasters, it is important to have an alternative shelter located in a rural area. Better still; permanently move to the rural areas, preferably with likeminded family members or friends, to avoid the chaos that will prevail in the cities.
Basically what all this means is going back to the land and living as our grandparents did. It means returning to a life without dependency on electricity or oil, or gas, living with natural environment and reaping the benefits of nature. To be fully self-sufficient is to create a situation where one is sovereign. Sovereignty equates freedom or dominion over one’s own lifestyle without the restrictive anti-Christian controls of the New World Order. Coming together in small groups and like-minded communities will be beneficial for all. (If that is not an option for you, that should not prevent you from doing something on your own).
The important thing is to start and to keep going. Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come; and the time has most certainly come. This is about more than just mere “surviving”. It is about building a spiritual community that is also practical and self-sustaining and prepared for just about any type of emergency or disaster situation.
One must realize the need for a balanced perspective as to how to prepare both spiritually and physically for what is to come. There have been some misconceptions about survival as well as what could be called “fanaticism” involved. One must approach the subject with a serious and commonsense attitude. The subject should be well researched and properly studied. We will be covering this subject further in the future. In the meantime begin to take steps to prepare now.