Several scattered things to share today. 

First, a note on the general sense of and motivation for my last post. As I suspect that few readers have yet made it entirely through that extremely long article, I’d like to draw attention, here at the top of this post, to what I wrote at the very bottom of that post:

“A kite flies high and free, a marvel to all who see it, precisely because it is anchored. Sever this tether, and it quickly becomes just another piece of litter caught in a tree branch. Indeed, it is precisely because God is on the move in granting us new Gifts that we must be especially zealous to remain fully anchored in the Truth — both the Truths of Faith and the Truths of Reason.”

As the great theologian, Fr. Philipon, wrote in order to summarize the importance of the New and Divine Holiness of “mystical incarnation” (which is another name for the Gift of Living in the Divine Will), spoken of in the revelations of Jesus to the 20th-century mystic, Blessed Conchita: ,

“We are incontestably in a new era of spirituality. What constitutes its newness is: a calling of all, even of the laity, even of married people, to the greatest holiness… divinization… even the most banal actions are made of value to the infinite…”

(Conchita: A Mother’s Spiritual Diary. Epilogue.)

I wrote my last post  precisely because our calling today is such a lofty one. I wrote my last post precisely because it is absolutely unacceptable for our approach today to involve succumbing to the perennial temptation of Phariseeism by rejecting whatever is new on account of the potential danger of novelty. As the very traditionally-minded Venerable Pope Pius XII taught, in a high level act of the Magisterium (the Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu):

“…all moreover should abhor that intemperate zeal which imagines that whatever is new should for that very reason be opposed or suspected …”

Therefore, instead of rejecting newness as such, we must analyze individual claims carefully and accept or reject them individually on their own merits; my post was written merely to equip your own discernment in that process. It is my hope that, being thus equipped, you will be more bold to charge ahead in the mission of Proclaiming the Kingdom — the supremely important mission which God has given to this most fortunate generation. 

Indeed, when God steps up His game, the devil also steps up his own. But the ancient enemy is no match for The Ancient of Days. Therefore, I do not want to elicit anxiety by exaggerating the danger of the coming “Diabolical Quantum Leap” and Grand delusion: if you are in God’s grace and doing your best — with both Faith and Reason — to abide in the Truth, you do not need to be ever paranoid about delusions waiting for you behind every rock. The devil, indeed, is more zealous to deceive now than ever before, but not even in the peak of his fury is he any match for good Catholic discernment. 

A few brief announcements:

• German, Portugese, and Spanish translations of The Crown of History are in the works. I will post here at dsdoconnor.com when each is available.
• A clarification on my last post: I insisted that we should always assume that whoever has died is in Purgatory so that we can pray for them, instead of assuming they are in Heaven and thus not in need of prayers, or in Hell and thus incapable of benefitting from prayers. I acknowledged some exceptions: e.g., Beatification or a Heavenly Revelation regarding a soul’s placement among the Blessed both indicate clearly that a soul is in Heaven and thus not in need of prayer. There is, however, another clear exception I neglected: a baptized child dying before reaching the age of reason. Such a soul is immediately admitted into Heaven. 
• Relatedly, I received multiple inquiries about my insistence that we should not pray for the salvation of someone who has already experienced his particular judgment, but only for his deliverance from Purgatory. As I anticipated receiving such inquiries while I was writing the post, I simultaneously wrote up additional reasons for my view on that point. If interested, you can see them here. 
• At one point in my last post, I wrote that “whatever extra-material being requests, demands, or even permits worship of itself is most certainly a demon. “ I of course was referring to any extra-material being other than the One True God. 
• In relation to the recent revelations about what anyone interested in the truth already knew — i.e., that Dr. Anthony Fauci is completely untrustworthy — I am reminded of the video I posted back in February wherein Fauci himself essentially admitted he had no conscience. And now Fauci has the audacity to say, “attacking me is attacking science.” In one simple sentence he summarized a major strategy of the diabolical agenda: denouncing as “anti-science” any sane person on the planet who has not subordinated Faith, Reason, and Common Sense to the false god of the idolization of modern empirical science. Why do I bring this up again now? To remind you to be on guard. The same people who stole the Sacraments from us last year are still in power, and they have had no change of heart: if anything, they have only grown even more nefarious. I hope I’m wrong, but I do not anticipate them relinquishing their newly found death grip on society; it is much more likely that they are actively planning their next demonically motivated crackdown on our civil and religious rights. Work while it is the day. Evangelize. Receive the Eucharist as often as possible. Repent and get to Confession. Proclaim the Divine Mercy. Proclaim the Kingdom. For “Night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4)

The Delusion Comes Quickly

Things are heating up even more quickly than I anticipated in relation to some of the delusions I warned against in my last post. Less than a week after posting it, former U.S. president Barack Hussein Obama came out implying that there might indeed be aliens, and that, if there are aliens, their existence would bring about “new religions.”   

This is yet another testimony to the rotten fruit of believing in the possibility of aliens. It is exactly what I warned about when, in my post against aliens in March 2021, I wrote:

“The current Vatican astronomer, Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, tragically goes even further, claiming that discovering alien civilizations will require us to conduct a “rereading of the Gospel in light of the new data.” He is far from alone in the Vatican in believing in aliens who will, or may, require us to completely “reread” our Faith and fundamentally change our theology. Can you not see how diabolical this is? There are no aliens. But I do not doubt that the Antichrist or his forerunners will try to convince us that there are — and that, conveniently, he has contact with them (and maybe even can “show them” to us) — and through this “contact” he will strive to compel us to “reread” our Faith, thus emptying it of its power, as St. Paul prophesied for these times. Have nothing to do with it. But the damage is, sadly, not restricted to when the “aliens” are “introduced” to us; the damage is being done right now. To even think that it is possible (as Fr. Giuseppe and so many others in the Vatican and throughout the Church do) that something like contact with alien civilizations might one day require us to completely “re-read the Gospel” and “revise our theology” is to even now undermine the confidence and certitude we must have in our Faith — as it is understood; as it is laid out in public revelation; as it is developed by Sacred Tradition; as it is authoritatively interpreted by Magisterium.”

I have long been concerned that Obama’s destructive efforts were anything but completed upon the cessation of his presidency in 2017. In terms of influence, he is still in many ways unparalleled. He is the most followed person on Twitter, with twice as many followers as the next most-followed non-celebrity (Narendra Modi). Some alleged prophecies have likewise indicated that he is not done.  Many theorize that he currently holds incredible sway over President Biden. 

And Obama sure seems to view himself in Messianic terms. Just look at his own 2020 memoir, which he entitled A Promised Land, thus apparently intending to elicit religiously-motivated hope in association with his smiling face — and which is still among the most popular books even more than half a year after its publication. 

I could be completely wrong — perhaps Obama will fade into oblivion like most former presidents do; quickly descending from the most powerful man in the world to just a memory scarcely recalled (I must share that I love to stroll by the grave of a US President at a cemetery near my home; almost invariably, there is nobody at his grave — a wonderful testimony to the vanity of worldly things and the nothingness of temporal glory, all of which is quickly forgotten; “Vanity of vanity; all things are vanity”).  But I’m not so sure that will be the case, so I’d advise keeping an eye out for potential delusions and dangers coming from this former president — the most pro abortion president in US History. 

Now, back to the UFO & Alien issue.

Do not be surprised if some of the most popular voices in “Catholic Apologetics” and some of the highest ranking members of the Church’s bureaucracy come out in support of the existence — actual or “just possible” — of aliens. The more news coverage these “UFOs” get, the more fashionable it will become (both in the Church and in the world) to endorse the possibility of aliens, and the more people we will see wanting a bite of the attention.

I have warned you of this error and many other errors in my last post precisely because many popular “good Catholics” soon will succumb to them and promote them. Entertaining the possibility of aliens is not innocent speculation. It is extremely harmful and it will lead the world astray, for this has all been diabolically planned long ago. 

As Mark Mallett wrote, “There is a belief within the New Age that the mythology of the gods and the human race was “birthed” from aliens…. aliens who will return at some point to bring us into an age of peace and harmony. One researcher estimates that there are six “sightings” somewhere in the world every hour. I agree with many other Christians that these are deceptions, but on a couple different levels. For one thing, in those who have been “abducted,” there is often left behind a “residue” of after-effects which are very similar to demonic possession, including at times the smell of sulfur.” “

Of all the dangerous sci-fi and new-age fantasies out there — many of which my last post was dedicated to refuting — the existence of aliens may be the single most pervasive and dangerous. It causes people to question and doubt all of the most fundamentally important aspects of the Faith — even while superficially seeming to contradict none of them — which is precisely why it is so dangerous. It is also why the devil will take full advantage of it — sending out his legions to manifest themselves as “UFO phenomena” in order to hasten the Grand Delusion — while inspiring the nefarious global elite to leverage these phenomena in support of the Diabolical Quantum Leap. 

Someone might protest, “If this is such an important question, Daniel, and if we really can be so certain that aliens do not exist, then why wouldn’t the Church have taught more clearly on the matter?”  

Well, frankly, — and I must say this, even though it will offend many — because I believe this is a test. A test of whether or not Christians actually take their Faith as supremely and superlatively seriously as they must. A test of whether or not we who call ourselves Christians realize that the Incarnation, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely central and universal in the most extreme possible senses of those terms. A test of whether we who call ourselves Christians believe that Divine Revelation is as Divine as it claims to be. A test of whether we who claim to have given Christ our whole minds and hearts have actually placed our hopes, dreams, and expectations in sci-fi or new age fantasies. It is as if Jesus, in allowing the present confusion, is saying to us, His Children:

“Do you really think that I — the infinite and eternal Second Person of the Blessed Trinity — , in condescending to take on human flesh, which now is forever united hypostatically to my own Divine Person in Heaven, would have done all that I did for humanity if humanity was just one of many races of intelligent incarnate life I created?

I did not hold back one drop of my blood. What more could I have possibly done for you to prove that you and you alone — you human beings created in my image and likeness — are the single and supreme predilection of my heart in all creation?

I inspired every single word of Sacred Scripture. Do you think I didn’t mean what I said? Do you believe I presented Sacred Scripture’s contents to you — detailing for you everything from the very creation of space and time itself up to the Redemption and everything in between –while simply leaving out any mention of other worlds and other intelligent creatures and other salvation histories?

 Do you really think I gave you the Divine Revelation of Salvation History, which is complete with the death of the Apostle John, while leaving out entire chapters that I wanted to wait to have revealed to you until the U.S. Government releases its “UFO files”?      

I guided every single moment of Sacred Tradition’s development throughout Church History. I never allowed even the slightest indication, in any of the Church’s Magisterium, that humans might be just one of a number of intelligent incarnate life forms. Quite the contrary, I allowed repeated indications to enter the Magisterium which speak of man alone as being called to share My Own Divine Life. Do you trust that my Bride — the Church — is your mother; a good and holy and loving mother? Or do you think she is a deceitful mother?

Do you believe I was trying to fool you or mislead you by leading all Christians of all times to regard humanity as utterly unique; as being the only incarnate creatures made in God’s Image and Likeness (that is, having an intellect, memory, and will)? Do you believe that I have guided the Faithful for 2,000 years, or do you believe I have just stood by and watched?”  

God could have put an impenetrable wall around the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden, but He didn’t. He needed to test Adam. God also could have revealed His command directly to Eve as well — that the Fruit of that tree mustn’t be eaten — but He didn’t; He revealed it only to Adam, and Eve’s trust in her husband (who, at that time, was God’s earthly representative, just as the True Magisterium is today) had to likewise be tested. Both, of course, failed the test. Do not be like them.

That all being said, the fact that there are no aliens is really much more settled (even if it is not settled by virtue of an extraordinarily-defined dogma) than most Catholics suppose. I have read more arguments from Catholics than I can count in support of aliens, and none of them have addressed what I pointed out in my post against aliens. 

But the “alien” issue is just one of many tests to which we are being subject or will soon be subject. Therefore, I must admonish: do not wait around for God to directly settle every matter that will soon constitute the coming Grand Delusion by Him inspiring the Pope to give ex-Cathedra dogmatic definitions. We are living in the times of the Great Sifting — the greatest sifting ever seen in the history of the Faith — wherein all of us will have a chance to prove where we have truly placed our convictions, our hopes, our expectations; in a word: where we have, with full strength, placed our heart, soul, and mind. If we have so placed these Divine Gifts in any location other than the Divine Will, that poor choice will soon be exposed by its fruits.  God is not going to exempt us from this test by inspiring dogmatic definitions of everything we need to know to pass the test. 

The Importance of Seeking the “Prophetic Consensus”

I’d like to reiterate why I speak of the importance of the “prophetic consensus,” as I think that some criticism I’ve recently received in this regard is not entirely fair. It is most certainly not that I believe all the alleged seers out there should simply be averaged together and that we should regard the resulting amalgamation as itself constituting the Will of Heaven. That is not how consensus-seeking in any realm works, therefore it is certainly not how consensus-seeking in prophecy works. If anyone were under the impression that this was my approach, then I would sympathize (and agree!) with his criticism of me.

But that is not my approach. Instead, my approach to the “prophetic consensus” is simply to ascertain how many potentially authentic seers (selected using the Church-sanctioned norms for discernment) have messages which concur on certain individual points, and to proceed to regard those individual points as having a credibility in proportion to the degree of consensus.   

My emphasis on this approach is pragmatically motivated and flows from my recognition of:

1) the fallibility of individual seers, 

2) the fallibility of our own discernment of seers. 

3) the unreasonableness of simply ignoring all private revelation that does not yet enjoy an explicit Church approval as being declared “supernatural in origin.” 

(Regarding the third point, the very approval process itself refutes such an approach, since the Church only begins the approval process for apparitions that already enjoy large followings. Every presently-approved apparition was once unapproved, and only became approved thanks to Catholics willing to heed it when it was unapproved. Every now-approved apparition contains messages which implored certain responses from the people before any approval existed. It is, therefore, manifestly contrary to the Will of Heaven and the Mind of the Church to simply be categorically dismissive of unapproved private revelation. See page 52 of The Crown of Sanctity.) 

Inevitably, some seers who at first may appear authentic will, with time, prove inauthentic; therefore, if only a few seers who have not withstood the test of time and whose messages have not been declared supernatural in origin give the same teaching, then that teaching might likewise not be something we can have great conviction in the authenticity of — or, at least, can only be as convicted of the authenticity of as is warranted by the evidence for those specific revelations. If, however, all seers agree on some theme, then we can be quite certain in its authenticity. 

For example, I knew of only a couple alleged seers whose messages indicated that last Fall (Autumn 2020, that is) would see the beginning of The Purification, and I was not convicted of the authenticity of these seers, so I did not believe that we could claim that Heaven had made itself clear through private revelation on that matter. Why do you suppose I always encouraged people to simply continue undertaking well the duties of their state in life — to keep going to work, to keep paying the bills, etc.? It was precisely because I respect the importance of the prophetic consensus, and I did not feel confident in that specific prophecy merely because it was alluded to by a couple living alleged seers, of whom I was uncertain. More generally speaking, I have seen many individual seers and prophecies (over the last decade plus wherein I’ve been following prophecy) which have given timetables for the Chastisements, and it is because of my respect for the prophetic consensus that I never asserted these timetables myself with any prophetic conviction; a prophetic consensus never developed around those dates, and I never had conviction of the authenticity of any of those timetable-messages.

On the flip side — to give just one example — there is not a single seer whose messages contradict the fact that the Global Chastisements are on the docket, and they are coming soon, and they themselves will be followed by a Glorious Era of Peace — while there are countless such seers whose messages indicate precisely that. The prophetic consensus on this matter is utterly clear and beyond any doubt. To deny it is to claim that 100 years of trustworthy private revelations — including plenty which are approved by the Church to varying degrees — are diabolically deluded on one of their most fundamental tenets. No amount of healthy skepticism could possibly justify such a stance; whoever is inclined to it, in fact, may feel more at home in Deism than in Christianity. 

(Actually, denying the Chastisements and the Era is not merely denying 100 years of Heaven’s messages, it is denying 2,000 years of Heaven’s messages — as the old Catholic Encyclopedia accurately taught when, in its 1914 article on Prophecy, it sought to summarize the prophetic consensus as follows:

“The more noteworthy of the prophecies bearing upon ‘latter times’ seem to have one common end, to announce great calamities impending over mankind, the triumph of the Church, and the renovation of the world. All the seers agree … they all promise for the Church a victory more splendid than she has ever achieved here below.”

I am, as you can see, doing nothing at all new by seeking to ascertain the nature of the prophetic consensus. One has much bigger fish to fry than a lowly blogger like myself if he takes issue with such a task.)

Seeking out certain types of consensus when they arise is important in many other areas of the Faith; not merely in private revelation. It is, for example, superlatively important when dealing with the Fathers of the Church, since it is Church Teaching (Cf. Vatican I and the Council of Trent) that the consensus of the Fathers on any matter of Faith is, by that fact alone, dogmatic truth. “But on individual issues, a Father of the Church is either right or wrong! Who cares about their consensus or lack thereof!?” a critic may protest. Well, the Church, in her Magisterium, disagrees with such a critic. Almost every individual is fallible, with the exceptions of Sacred Scripture and infallible Papal teaching. Whenever and wherever fallibility exists, consensus is important to seek out, since the smaller the amount of people asserting something, the more likely it is to be one of the unfortunate consequences of their fallibility. 

Seeking out the consensus of all the Faithful is likewise essential in ascertaining the Sensus Fidelium — another absolutely vital task — since the Church teaches that the Sensus Fidelium, which is simply the consensus of the Faithful on the Faith, is also infallible. (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §889)

The condemnation of seeking out the prophetic consensus, therefore, is similar to the condemnation of seeking out any consensus in the Faith; including those which the Faith itself insists upon seeking out!

Let us step outside of the Faith now and consider an analogous secular example: empirical science. Obviously, individual scientific claims are either true or they are false. This dichotomy, however, does not diminish the importance of seeking out consensus. Empirical science — not unlike private revelation! — is a realm fraught with difficulties, where individuals are constantly succumbing to error, therefore seeking consensus becomes a powerful tool in avoiding error. Some philosophers of science go so far as to insist that empirical science is — in its fundamental and definitional essence — a consensus-seeking field, and that when it fails to so operate, it fails to actually be empirical science at all.  This, however, is an imperfect analogy and I’d certainly advise against taking this exact approach to private revelation: if you genuinely harbor a Godly conviction in your conscience regarding the complete authenticity of a given living seer, then you should indeed heed that seer’s messages entirely, whether or not there is any consensus around the claims therein (so long, of course, as these claims do not contradict Faith or Reason). 

Realistically speaking, few of us will have the opportunity to come to such convictions regarding living seers whom the Church has not had sufficient time to scrutinize. This would ordinarily require knowing the seer personally or at least being in his or her presence for some time, having first, or at least second-hand, knowledge of the seer’s mystical phenomena, etc. Therefore, we are right back to the importance of seeking the prophetic consensus with due regard to the great difficulty in generating deep-seated authentic convictions on the validity of a living seer. I’m no skeptic here, though. I do have convictions in the authenticity of some living seers; e.g., Medjugorje. I’ve been there, I’ve seen unexplainable things there with my own eyes, I see no realistic likelihood that fraud or demonic intervention explains the phenomena there, I’ve heard testimonies of people I trust who have themselves seen/received miracles there, and on the list goes. I wouldn’t wait for any “prophetic consensus” to arise if a Medjugorje message indicates something; I’d just believe it. (Though I wouldn’t go so far as to claim certainty in it, as I unabashedly do with the main themes in Faustina and Luisa. More on that below.). 

If you’d like to know the prophetic consensus in a nutshell, I still don’t think anyone has put it better than the Notre Dame theology professor, Fr. Edward O’Connor, in his book Listen to My Prophets (published in 2011), wherein he scrutinizes dozens of modern private revelations:

“The basic message is that of St. Faustina: we are in an age of mercy, which will soon give way to an age of justice. The reason for this is the immorality of today’s world, which surpasses that of any past age. Things are so bad that Satan is reigning over the world. Even the life of the Church itself has been badly affected. Apostasy, heresy and compromise challenge the faith of the people. Not only the laity, but also priests and religious are grievously at fault. A hidden form of Masonry has entered into the Church. Because of all this, God has been sending prophets as never before to call us to repentance. Most often, it is the Blessed Mother who speaks through them. She warns of an unprecedented tribulation that lies in the very near future. The Church will be torn apart. The Antichrist, already alive in the world, will manifest himself. Up to now, Mary has been holding back the punishment due to us. The time will come, however, when she will no longer be able to do so. Not only the Church, but the whole world will experience tribulation. There will be natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, fierce storms and strange weather patterns. Economic ruin will plunge the whole world into poverty. There will be warfare, perhaps even a Third World War. There will also be cosmic disasters in the form of devastating meteors striking the earth or other heavenly bodies passing close enough to wreak havoc. Finally, a mysterious fire from heaven will wipe out the greater part of mankind, and plunge the world in utter darkness for three days. Before these terrible events take place, we will be prepared, first by a “Warning” in which everyone on earth will see his or her soul as it appears before God, and secondly by a miraculous sign. The disasters to come will purify the world and leave it as God intended it to be. The Holy Spirit will be poured out as never before and renew the hearts of all mankind. Most of the visionaries insist that the time left before these things take place is very short. Some indicate that the fulfillment has begun already. To protect us against the dangers predicted, we are urged to frequent the sacraments, pray and do penance. The proclamation of Mary as Mediatrix, Coredemptrix and Advocate is called for and predicted.”

Now, all of that being said, I should reiterate yet again another thing I’ve been emphasizing much lately: 

The “prophetic consensus” of the living seers is, I believe, nowhere near as important as certain prophetic particulars; two, to be exact:

…the revelations of Jesus on the Divine Mercy to St. Faustina and the revelations of Jesus on the Divine Will to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. Frankly, I believe that the most important thing the living seers can possibly do is point us back to those two private revelations which were given to mystics who died decades ago. This is true for two reasons: 1) it is not possible to surpass the importance of these two revelations, simply in consideration of the claims made within their own pages which we must take seriously if we are to even regard these revelations as authentic (i.e., that Faustina “will prepare the world for the second coming” and that Jesus’ mission through His revelations to Luisa is none other than “the fulfillment of the Our Father prayer”). 2) It is not possible that either of these seers will ever be found to be inauthentic. (And if you doubt that with respect to Luisa, please see my free eBook, The Crown of Sanctity; or, if you’d prefer something exponentially shorter, my 9 minute video on Luisa ). It would be pointless to seek to read the teachings in these revelations through the lens of any “prophetic consensus,” since the pragmatic considerations that motivate seeking the prophetic consensus in the first place are simply not concerns with these revelations, in which we can have complete confidence. 

I will close this section of my post, therefore, by– even while disagreeing with what my critics have said about this point — nevertheless agreeing with what may serve as their own motivation for saying it. For it should not be our own assessments of what constitutes the “prophetic consensus” that inspires us, motivates us to fight the good fight, and forms the passion of our zeal. Indeed, our own assessments of alleged consensuses can too easily degenerate into merely academic meanderings. It should, rather, be a Godly conviction regarding what Jesus Himself has indeed specifically said that calls us to battle and emboldens our steps. Our assessment of the “prophetic consensus” should merely serve as some additional fuel for that Divine Fire. And here, dear friends, is what Jesus Himself, the Second Person of the Eternal Trinity, has said — and I assure you with every ounce of conviction that He has indeed said it:

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On earth as It is in Heaven.”

-Matthew 6:10

“After I had formed this prayer before my Celestial Father, certain that the Kingdom of my Divine Will upon earth would be granted to Me, I taught it to my Apostles, that they might teach it to the whole world, so that one might be the cry of all: ‘Your Will be done, on earth as It is in Heaven.‘ A promise more sure and solemn I could not make… [The Kingdom] must come, and creatures must await It with that certainty with which they awaited the future Redeemer, because there is my Divine Will, bound and committed, in those words of the ‘Our Father’; and when It binds Itself, whatever It promises is more than certain…that which seems difficult to you is easy for the power of Our Fiat, because It knows how to remove all difficulties, and to conquer everything – the way It wants, and when It wants.”

-Jesus to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. February 5, 1928

“Therefore you, pray, and may your cry be continuous: ‘May the Kingdom of Your Fiat come, and Your Will be done on earth as It is in Heaven.’ “

-Jesus to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. May 31, 1935