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These Last Days News - January 16, 2012

Catholics in US Army Suffer From Low Number of Chaplains...

"My child, We watch and see the houses of My Son crumbling, being destroyed throughout your world. Doors are closing, convents are emptying, and the dedicated are leaving and falling into all manner of sin and abominations. Who shall be in the remnant? Only a few will be saved." - Our Lady of the Roses, May 26, 1976

Stars and Stripes reported on January 2, 2012:

Spc. Joe Murphy’s job in Afghanistan was to hunt down the things his fellow soldiers hoped they’d never have to encounter.

As part of a route-clearance team that combed the roads connecting Bagram Airfield to outposts in the region, the 23-year-old Iowa National Guardsman gained a close-up familiarity with roadside bombs. Understanding the devices that insurgents have used to kill thousands of U.S. and allied troops in the last decade didn’t make them any less terrifying.

Heading out on dusty patrol, Murphy said, “You wonder if you might die today.”

The threat didn’t inspire Murphy to fatalism. Instead, it intensified his longing for the familiar rituals of the Catholic faith he’d practiced in weekly Masses since childhood — confession to a priest, the sacrament of communion and the quiet time spent in prayer and meditation in front of an altar holding the consecrated Eucharistic wafer.

“When you are able to go to Mass, it relaxes you,” he said. “It lifts your spirits no matter what the situation is.”

Searching for bombs day in and day out, Murphy needed the reassuring hand of his faith more than ever, but because of a worsening shortage of Catholic chaplains in Afghanistan and throughout the military, it had never been more difficult to practice it.

“The only time in Afghanistan I ever saw a priest was on large bases, and I wasn’t on large bases very often,” Murphy said. He estimated he attended Mass three times during his nine-month deployment in 2010 and 2011.

Catholics, the largest avowed faith group among U.S. servicemembers, have among the lowest availability of chaplains of any religious group in the military. The ratio of practitioners to Catholic chaplains lags far behind other major Christian denominations, as well as Judaism and Islam.

Servicemembers from smaller religious communities — even those proportionally well-represented — can have similar difficulty meeting up with their own chaplains because of low numbers dispersed through a vast network of military bases. Nowhere is the problem of access more wide-reaching than among Catholics.

Catholic chaplain numbers have dropped by 46 percent since 2001, likely the result of an overall societal decline of the priesthood. Today, just more than 200 active-duty Catholic chaplains remain, while more than 275,000 active-duty troops identify themselves as Catholic. That number is exceeded only by those who list no religious preference, according to recent Pentagon data.

Defense Department and church officials say a turnaround may be in store in coming years because of a surge of Catholic seminarians committing to chaplaincy. But producing a Catholic chaplain takes nearly a decade of seminary and training, and the numbers are likely to continue to fall in the interim as experienced chaplains reach the mandatory military retirement age of 62.

With the ratio of Catholic servicemembers to Catholic chaplains at nearly 1,300-to-1, the priests in uniform say they are stretched thin and often unable to meet the demands of the troops who need them most.

Lt. Col. Stephen Brosk, 54, a priest and an Air Force Reserve chaplain who served on an air base in Afghanistan at roughly the same time Murphy was in the country, said calls for his priestly help came from all over the region, and not only from Air Force troops.

“The Army, the Marines and the airmen — they all wanted me to come where they were so they could go to Mass,” said Brosk, 54. He is now stationed at a U.S. base in the Persian Gulf where he is on his eighth deployment in 10 years.

He made time for them all when he could, but his first responsibility was to airmen, Catholic or not.

“There were many, many Army and Marine units that hadn’t seen a priest for months at a time,” he said. “I’m part of a faith that places great importance in the sacramental life, and it’s hard to be a good Catholic and not practice your faith the way you’re taught.”

The military shortage reflects broader trends in the Catholic Church, the Pentagon’s highest-ranking Catholic priest told Stars and Stripes. Since 1965, the number of priests has declined by 31 percent, according to Georgetown University researchers. That makes local Catholic bishops hesitant to release trained priests who want to become military chaplains, several chaplains told Stars and Stripes.

“This shortage is not anything unique to the Army, the Navy or the Air Force,” said Maj. Gen. Donald Rutherford, who was appointed Army chief of chaplains in 2010 by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. “It is in society and throughout the world that we have experienced a shortage of Catholic priests.”

The Pentagon had more than 400 active-duty Catholic chaplains in 2001, according to the Catholic Military Archdiocese. There were only 216 on active duty at the end of September, according to Pentagon statistics, and the number falls by several priests at every recount.

“When I came on active duty years ago, we had 11 priests at Fort Bragg, and we’ve got three there now,” Rutherford said.

The shortage means Catholics are forced to make do as best they can.

When troops are stationed in the United States, Europe and in democratic countries in East Asia, local priests can often step in. In war zones, the more abundant Protestant chaplains often shoulder the load, said Army Capt. Joel Panzer, 43, a Catholic battalion chaplain recently stationed in southern Iraq. He spoke to Stars and Stripes in December shortly before the last U.S. troops left the country.

Panzer said he doesn’t worry about proselytization of his Catholic troops; chaplains take seriously their obligation to help troops practice their own religions, regardless of creed.

“I’ve heard that a few years ago there were some Bible fundamentalists who were working a little too aggressively to pull people into their fold,” he said. “I have not witnessed that myself. They really amaze me with the concern they show ... that Catholic soldiers have support in practicing their faith.”

Panzer wants to make sure deployed troops also have regular access to the Catholic rites that many hold dear. So throughout his two 13-month deployments, he relentlessly traveled.

“On my first deployment here, we would take four armored Humvees and I’d go out and say Mass,” he said. “As IED incidents became more common, we switched to MRAPs. But, basically, for the past month or so, I have gone strictly by air, because the bases are becoming very few and the distances between them are too great.”

He’s not complaining. In fact, Panzer suspects a partial solution to the Catholic chaplain shortage is selling the sometimes dangerous, sometimes lonely and often tiring work of military chaplaincy to civilian priests as a kind of clerical boot camp.

“A priest who serves as a chaplain for even just a few years will find himself stronger, both physically and spiritually, for having accepted the call,” he said.

The real hope of turning the shortage around lies in a rising number of seminarians who want to enter military ranks, Rutherford said.

The number of Catholic seminarians committed to chaplaincy has exploded, with 31 enrolled in the current academic year, he said. In the 2008-09 academic year, there were three candidates nationwide, according to the Military Archdiocese.

Much of the credit goes to a scholarship program overseen by the Rev. Kerry Abbott, vocations director for the archdiocese and a former Air Force chaplain.

The program is essentially a 50-50 deal between local bishops and the Military Archdiocese, with each side covering half the cost of seminary tuition. After ordination, the newly minted priest works for several years at a local diocese before joining the military and serving as a chaplain until retirement. The local bishop then gets a highly experienced priest back, presumably at the height of his pastoral abilities.

Although the number of potential chaplains has skyrocketed since he took over the job, Abbott attributed it to a revival among the Catholic faithful rather than his own work.

“I see the trend changing for the military,” he said. “It is a reflection of what I see within our society as a whole, of more men saying, ‘Lord, send me.’ ”

Murphy, who says he could redeploy to Afghanistan with the Iowa Guard within a year, hopes one day Catholic chaplains are abundant enough that, like Protestants, some are stationed in hot spots where troops are fighting and dying.

“Spiritually, it’s a big help to see them,” he said. “It makes me a better soldier.”

"The great Council, the Council that has brought forth discord, disunity, and the loss of souls, the major fact behind this destruction was because of the lack of prayer.  Satan sat in within this Council, and he watched his advantage." - St. Michael, March 18, 1976

EDITOR'S COMMENT:  Evil is accelerating and the Anti-Christ forces are gaining power in the world.  When the persecution starts, all Christian web sites on the internet will be forced to close.  Be sure to have in your possession all the following items: the Bayside Prophecy books, Bayside Medals, Douay-Rheims Bibles, the Protection Packets, Candles, Sacramentals, and Religious Books.  Purchase these items now while they are still available!  You will urgently need them in the days ahead.  Also, you can print out all PDF files for the Directives from Heaven and all of the Bayside Prophecies.  Copy Our Lady's messages and the Directives from Heaven now while they are still available!  Pray to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance on how to prepare now and for the days ahead when the Antichrist is revealed.  God bless.

 Let Us All Pray the Rosary Together Around the World for the Military and for an Increase of Priestly Vocations... Click here...

The amazing Bayside Prophecies...  https://www.tldm.org/Bayside/default.htm  
These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995:

A GREAT VOID
"The numbers of those in the service of thy Father is growing smaller. Pray for the vocations that are sorely needed. A great void is being created by the loss of vocations, for the little ones are left to wander.
     "My poor children, you desire so much in material things and so little in the spiritual! We look down upon so many homes that are becoming the reason for the destruction of children's souls. The memory of the truth of My Son's existence must be kept in the homes." - Our Lady, December 24, 1970

WORLDLY
"Women with vocations, you have become worldly! You have chosen of your free will to degrade your bodies and your habit. Whatever shall become of you, foolish maidens of the world? Return while there is time! Purify your bodies through suffering. Place upon your bodies garments of holiness--down to the floor! You shall not set yourselves to tempt your pastors! Satan has set a delusion among you. You have become maidens of sin.” - Our Lady, September 6, 1975

FIRM DEDICATION
"My children, see My habit given by the Eternal Father. Children of God, in vocations to the sisterhood, whatever shall become of you? You have become foolish maidens without modesty and piety. You run with your heads high in the air in clouds of darkness. You remove your habit and take on the raiment of the world. O My children, you are defaming your vocation!
     "Sisters, do you not understand why you were given a long habit to wear? It was a sign to the world of your dedication. You were to become brides of Christ, My children. And what have you given to the world, but a poor example of worldliness without dedication. You have become of the world; you have proceeded onto the wide road.
     "Sisters in vocations, turn back! Do not become maidens of the world, foolish maidens, but return and be brides of Christ, brides who have been given the key to the Eternal Kingdom of your God.
     "My sisters, without this firm dedication and example of piety and holiness, you cannot induce or lead others into your vocation. The convents are slowly closing. And why, My children? Because there are too few who try to find the real reason. They have succumbed to the lures of the world.” - Our Lady, July 15, 1977

DRIVING AWAY VOCATIONS
"My child and My children, I come once more with an urgent and pleading message to the hierarchy in the Church, My Church upon earth. I want you to know now that We look upon you and find many that do not fall into grace. They are falling out of grace and misleading many of Our sheep.
     "Therefore, I warn you now as your God: You will stop your intricacies within My Church. You will stop experimenting. I gave you the rules to follow many years ago, two thousand years approximately. And why now, two thousand years later, do you deem it necessary to change My Church upon earth? I, your God, say to you, you will be judged accordingly. You will return My Church to its former glory, and in that manner you will have more vocations and more entering the seminaries, and not fleeing from them as they hear the heresies and all other innovations that are going on within My Church. This is My last and final word to My clergy: Change now or suffer a just punishment and banishment.” - Jesus, June 18, 1986

CHANGES
"My children, you must hasten to tell the good sisters that they must not join the world. They are losing vocations because of their changes. They must restore their habit worn to the ground. It was an example of great strength and piety for others and brought many vocations to the convents. Have you not realized the fruits of your endeavors to become modern? Good sisters, return and restore the convents." - Our Lady, April 1, 1978

HOLY PRIESTS NEEDED
"There will be many manifestations given to those who have taken over the role as disciples of the latter days for My Son. The people must now save My Son's Church. This battle upon earth has been given now to the people, and through the people shall you bring back My Son's Church to its former position of holiness, piety, and numerous entrances into the vocations. Many holy priests are needed.” - Our Lady, August 19, 1978

MODESTY AND DISCIPLINE
"My sister, Veronica, you must continue. And please counsel my sisters in vocations that they have fallen asleep. They must remove the blindness from their hearts. They have been misled! Modesty and discipline must be a rule of habit." - St. Theresa, October 1, 1977

SHORTAGE OF TEACHING NUNS
"My child, I have tied the knot, the belt, to represent the carrying of My beads of prayer on the dress of the dedicated. The vocations have fallen, My child. Our young children, their souls are darkening daily because there is a shortage, a severe shortage, My child, of teaching nuns. Whatever shall become of the young souls for Heaven? The Eternal Father has a plan to remove many young souls before the corruptive forces will come upon them.” - Our Lady, April 10, 1976

CHASTISEMENT
"The sin of pride and the arrogance of many in My House, Church, have set a pattern of soul-destruction among the young. I have asked that all who have been given the glory from the Eternal Father to follow My road as pastors, shepherds of Our sheep--there is much lacking in their direction. I do not have to give a listing by name; the plan of the Eternal Father shall reach those who permit and commit evil in their vocations.
     "We ask that all remain steadfast in their missions. We ask that all do not leave now, but remain and await the Warning that will soon be given to mankind. We do not wish a separation or a division among Our sheep. You shall not compromise your Faith. You shall not be misled into error in the name of humanism and modernization.
     "Heresy abounds in My House. All manners of aberration and impurities are being tolerated by My pastors. I say unto you that you must now clean your House! No man who has been chosen from among the multitudes to be a representative from Heaven shall use his rank, his vocation to gain worldly treasures and fall into the pattern of worldly living to the sorrow of those souls entrusted to him. You must awaken now from your slumber. I repeat: cleanse My House now, or I shall set a Chastisement upon you!” - Jesus, March 18, 1976

Directives from Heaven...  https://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm

D63 - The Third Secret  PDF
D85 - Tradition  PDF
D127 - Vatican II   PDF
D159 - Religious  Orders  and the  Dedicated: Part 1   PDF
D160 - Religious  Orders  and the  Dedicated: Part 2   PDF
D161 - The Great Apostasy PDF
D193 - Turn back: You are on the wrong road    PDF
D233 - Vocations, Part 1   PDF
D234 - Vocations, Part 2  PDF

Articles...

Vatican II, part 1: Infiltration of the Church
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-1.htm

Vatican II, part 2: Dark clouds forming before Vatican II
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-2.htm

Vatican II, part 3: the satanic revolution gains momentum at the Council
https://www.tldm.org/News6/VaticanII-3.htm

Latin, universal language of the Catholic Church

Dietrich von Hildebrand on the Latin Mass

Outside Links…

Vatican II in the dock, Christian Order magazine

Differing from Other Councils, Seattle Catholic

An Index of Catholicism’s Decline, Patrick J. Buchanan, December 11, 2002

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