Schism Monster – Silent Hill
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
Bear with me a bit today as I delve into several things I think the Lord has been speaking to me about. As I have not yet sorted it out myself, I am remiss to think I can explain it all to you, but hopefully you will see why I actually am trying to explain it to you. Because it involves you.
In prayer lately there are many things I have contemplated. The first I want to speak about is the Mystical Body of Christ. I always seem to get an image in my head of an actual body. What the Lord shows me the Body looks like now, looks actually a lot like the picture above. And ironically, or not, when I googled a disjointed body, that picture popped up and it is named SCHISM from a video game. I do not find these things coincidence. That is what I see the current Mystical Body looking like; but what Christ has in mind for us actually looks more like this;
We are supposed to look like the Glorified Body of Christ, but we are no where near it. There is a stark difference between the two things. Which brings me to the second thing that I feel the Lord is speaking to me these days, and to a lot of us, and that is about Idolatry.
The Lord is impressing upon me how many idols WE ALL HAVE. And that it is these idols that keep us from operating together. In church circles, which I live in, there are many people with many gifts. These gifts COME FROM GOD. But often I see these gifts laid out as a competition and the gift becomes their god. I have seen it when people have the gift of healing who can end up damaging a soul more than they heal it. I have seen people with the gift of prophecy often put down other people with the gift of prophecy by saying their prophecy is RIGHT and the other is wrong. I look from the outside and say, I think you each have been given a piece of the picture, work together to get the full picture. Instead pride comes in. When you say you speak for God, and you let pride get in the way and tear down another part of the body you better watch out when that idol gets taken from you, it will be a great suffering. We must ask ourselves always, no matter our gift, WHO IS THIS GIFT FOR? The gift is for the glorification of God – which glorifies the entire body. If the gift becomes about validating your “rightness” against another, then it actually isn’t about God. People may say, well, they can’t all be right… perhaps not, but I have been shocked at the times when two people told two sides of a story, and when other witnesses come into play, the two sides both become true, both only being PART of the story. The Lord desperately wants us to come together so the full story, and his full glory can be shown. It involves setting aside our own idols and talking it out with others. It involves RELATIONSHIP.
This brings me to the third thing the Lord is speaking to me about, and that is the TWO WITNESSES. Yes, the two witnesses from the Book of Revelation. In the footnote of my bible it says that many believe these to be Enoch and Elijah who were both assumed into heaven body and soul (at least some think Enoch was as well as Elijah). And I got to thinking, if everyone was sinful except Jesus and Mary, then how could these two be assumed? And the Lord impressed upon me that it has to do with surrender. Surrendering all to him – all of our idols. Many of the Saints we know surrendered all to him even their very lives, so why would they NOT be assumed into heaven? And I think the answer lies in surrendering all idols, those WE KNOW, which the Saints did, and those we aren’t even yet aware of – and perhaps, just perhaps, Enoch and Elijah surrendered more… every single idol, where many others could not have surrendered what they weren’t yet aware of.
So bear with me a little bit more. I believe we are walking the Passion of the Church. We know what this looks like. It looks like TRUTH nailed to a cross. If TRUTH gets nailed to a cross, do we rage in anger? do we run in fear? do we despair? or do we stand in our own nakedness – handing God our shame – because he is the only one who can fix it.
Perhaps these two witnesses are when love and law come together, handing everything over to God, and show how they belong together like a body and soul belong together. Perhaps there will be a literal Enoch and Elijah, and perhaps it is also a spiritual meaning. These two things can actually both be right. The immensity of God cannot be comprehended by our small intellect. If only we could join our minds and hearts to God’s will and vision – then we would see the bigger picture. But instead we fight and judge.
I will leave you with what I wrote in my journal in adoration today. As always, I write what I feel God is speaking to me, but I am not God, so you must discern for yourself. If the church came out tomorrow and said what I have written is wrong, then the church is correct and I am wrong.
Feast of the Holy Innocents 12/28/2019
Beloved Lily of the Father,
A sword shall pierce your heart. I take the sword to the heart of my church.
I will lay bare the idolatry which needs to be cut away.
You will be amazed at all that has been idolized besides God alone.
Stripped Naked.
I will SHOW YOU.
No heart untouched.
Only those who surrender will stand naked without shame. I will clothe them in the sun. The guarded garden opened to those who surrender.
(Redacted)
Idolatry comes in all forms, even what some may think of as good.
Too many love my law more than me and have not cared for the least of these using my law as a sword. I will strip them naked.
Look for the fruit. Fruit should neither lay aside the law nor discard my love and mercy. The sword of the spirit will cut away idols and pierce the heart of my suffering church. The nakedness will be laid bare.
The 6th commandment has been violated.
Purity- it is of the heart that it may permeate the body.
Follow my law because you LOVE ME.
I will fill you with love for others-tearing down your idols of security.
CHRIST CRUCIFIED – this is who you will be.
Resurrection is near.
Proverbs 4:18
– Abba
Veil of Veronica 
ONe of the things that has kept me from “operating in the gifts” more is fear that I could get caught up in prideful behavior such as you describe. So I stay a contemplative but in some ways feel I could be holding back too much. It’s ok—God is at work.
Also, the illumination has been on my heat and the need for a general confession. Some of what you wrote may be speaking to that concept/event.
And lastly, the need, in these dark times, for more alignment with Protestants, which sadly is often contested in Catholic circles. I do not mean diminishing or denying our true faith. I mean reaching out to them and, in humility, learn from them. I have noticed pride is a big factor here on both sides. What a discouraging witness to nonbelievers and wordly cynics. Thank you. Kathleen in Emmitsburg
I pray the Litany of Humility to avoid pride in my gifts and I ask God to increase my gifts everyday. And yes, we need the Protestants – they know scripture and need the sacraments… we need to work together.
Yes…. We all need each other. what struck me was…. Follow My law because you LOVE ME. I was made aware of that on Christmas Day. We. Are being led over the threshold of hope into what St JPaul called the civilisation of Love. I sense this is the fullness of Redemption … This is the Salvation journey mankind is on.
Interestingly Mark Mallett has been writing of idols… Need to smash them. Ultimately…. I see it is our pride that has to be smashed…. Our fears connected to our pride . And when truly surrendered and opened to God His Strength can flow through the individuals in the Body…. And what an empowerment that will be! Thank you Susan…. Again!!
yes I read Marks piece on Idols. It was good. God Bless you.
Have look at Life in the Spirit blog for Sam Johnston.see latest message.i came across this blog a few months ago.
It is Life in the Spirit FATHER Sam Johnston.
Thank you , Kathleen for reverencing that nudge to “outreach” with our “separated brethren”. I like to think of it as “building bridges”. This is the hour of building bridges in the Holy Spirit , surely ! Just imagine The Church fully restored to Unity and Harmony : one member bringing with it the glories of praise, worship, active deployment of the Word of God and witnessing to the Four Signs of the Kingdom: healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead and casting out demons. Our Evangelical brethren experience these prodigies of God…. regularly. Then couple that with the Fullness of Truth that is the Roman Catholic Church : the Tradition, the Deposit of Faith, the Magisterium, the Vicar of Christ, the Communion of Saints and above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and all that pertains to the Eucharist. I love to contemplate what this level of fullness in our worship will be like. Wow…. Awesome . But before that comes, we must experience Death and Resurrection in a universal manner, for the world and for the church. Are we ready to surrender our idols?
“You must not love this passing world
or anything that is in the world.
The love of the Father cannot be
in any man who loves the world,
because nothing the world has to offer
– the sensual body,
the lustful eye,
pride in possessions –
could ever come from the Father
but only from the world;
and the world, with all it craves for,
is coming to an end”
Amen. ALLELUIA !
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