“Seven moons after worrying about Holy Communion being negatively affected [by the replacement of the John Paul II Institute’s charter with Amoris Laetitia] and seeing a luminous “7” imposed over the Moon in the night sky, Holy Communion was closed worldwide [in March 2020].”
Signs Sealing the Moon the Vigil of the Transfiguration 2019
The Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6 has unique meaning to me and so I’ve decided to share a couple signs that motivated me to get this Substack started in 2021. A handful of original readers might recall this site launched after Christmas Eve 2021 announcing the “Transcendence After America Project.” In hindsight, the earliest readers might recognize it was launched two months before the war moved from years of hostilities over Eastern Ukraine, into Russia’s full-blown invasion in 2022.
The genesis of this project began two years before its launch by a sign I could not yet comprehend (and could even now be over-interpreting). All claims of signs by mere mortals should and must be taken with a grain of salt. Our faith is in Jesus, not self-proclaimed interpretations of signs. Nevertheless, I would like to share the signs of the times as I see them from a faith perspective and truthfully shared so that readers can consider them.
Almost, seven years ago (2019) on the Vigil of the Transfiguration, I saw a stunning and distinct “sign” in the night sky with my son. I know it was not a hallucination as we saw it simultaneously and were dumbfounded together. My son was driving the car and announced it before I could speak (I was so stunned by it). The number “7” appeared in light perfectly and distinctly overlaying the Moon in the night sky. The sign appeared directly in front of us almost immediately after a very spiritually and intense conversation with family friends and graduate schoolmates of the John Paul II Institute where I studied in Australia and Rome.
As we stopped and stared at the “7,” we eventually discerned very faint clouds were involved in causing it to look like light alone formed it. However, the “7” was so perfectly placed, so perfectly thick & even, so distinctly outlined, bright, and so perfectly rounded on both ends & matching, it produced an effect of stunning us and being very pronounced. It was truly “in our faces.” It seemed that an intelligence that was not our own had initiated it for us to see. Was it a sign or just pareidolia-- when the human mind imposes shapes into something more than what was really present?
It was most likely a sign because it was confirmed “7” moons later (more on that in a moment) and the person seeing it with me was named “John-Paul,” like the institute conversation immediately preceding the sign. The fact clouds were involved should not cause one to discount the activity of angels or a heavenly purpose (although they are perfectly welcome to discount all of my true account as delusion). Clouds were involved at Fatima due to the activity of angels and clouds were involved at Mount Sinai due to the activity of the “elemental spirits” (cf. Gal 4:3). Angels and cloud usage are not opposed, even if my experience was much inferior.
The conversation prior to the sign that evening of August 5, 2019 was about the shocking replacement of the founding charter of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family and the shocking elimination of its leaders and faculty in Rome/Vatican City days earlier. Why keep the same namesake in the institute’s title “John Paul” once the original charter of the Institute, Familiaris Consortio (FC), of John Paul II was replaced? The new charter, Amoris Laetitia (AL) by Pope Francis, caused many bishops and theologians great concern.
Due to ambiguities in AL about reception of Holy Communion, already by 2017 bishops were ignoring John Paul the Great’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio and its clear rejection of Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried. They saw FC as replaced by AL along with FC’s clear forbiddance of Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried. This forbiddance of Holy Communion was because Christ himself said it was adultery to divorce and remarry [unless the attempted prior marriage was ruled invalid from the start after proper investigation]. In other words, the forbiddance of Holy Communion in FC was due to Christ’s doctrines and so pastoral attempts that violated FC’s spirit would be violating Christ’s doctrines.
This raises an important question: what was the charter change at the John Paul II Institute signaling in August 2019 to bishops already implementing AL contrary to Familiaris Consortio (which was protecting Christ’s teaching on the indissolubility of valid sacramental marriages)? It was probably signaling something that the Pope’s chief for doctrine was already warning must be halted in 2017.
Cardinal Mueller had been made the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith by Benedict XVI and remained until July 2017 under Pope Francis. He saw no problems with the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (2016) so long as the ambiguities were interpreted in continuity with the clarity of Familiaris Consortio. But by February 2017, he was no longer ignoring the problem of doctrine being violated and this probably led to his elimination in July 2017.
Listen to Cardinal Mueller’s concerns in the Catholic Herald on February 1, 2017. He was still Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) at that time: “I don’t like it, it is not right that so many bishops are interpreting Amoris Laetitia according to their way of understanding the Pope’s [Francis] teaching. This does not keep to the line of Catholic doctrine.” By July of 2017, Pope Francis replaced Mueller in a manner he would replace the Institute’s charter two years later in 2019, unceremoniously. A hardening against the doctrinal protections of Familiaris Consortio continued from 2017-2019 with the John Paul II Institute being a final institutional obstacle to Communion practices contrary to Familiaris Consortio.
In my theological opinion [in agreement with many Cardinals, bishops, and theologians at that time], by 2019 ambiguities were institutionalized in AL which were deleterious to respect for Holy Communion and doctrines on marriage given the response of bishops implementing it in a manner Mueller warned against. The very signs of God’s covenant, marriage and Communion, were being compromised pastorally by Rome, the seat of Peter. Pope Francis fostered the ambiguities in a deleterious manner by purposeful changes at the CDF and John Paul II Institute.
In my opinion (not speaking for anyone else), Francis procedurally removed Cardinal Mueller (of the CDF) July 2017 and eliminated Monsignor Melina (of the Institute) August 2019 to foster the implementation of Amoris Laetitia contrary to orthodox practice and while those men were trying to warn against the violations of Christ’s own teachings. It wasn’t merely a conflict of personalities. Clearly Francis rejected their doctrinal concerns for those approaching Holy Communion (cf. 1 Cor 11:30) and Francis didn’t want their clarity.
Francis believed he was extending Christ’s mercy in difficult situations even though he was going against Rome’s 2000k year pastoral tradition on the matter which was a matter of apostolic doctrine about receiving Holy Communion. There is a slippery slope from pastoral practice into doctrinal compromise which is not true application of epikeia [dealing with situations that allegedly fall outside the intent of the law]. Most sacramental marriages are valid and by Church law must be assumed to be so until proven otherwise. Even valid marriages “fail” through lack of daily repentance from sin and/or lack of on-going conversion to Christ from one or both members of the union, but they remain indissoluble.
On the day of the sign of the “7” on the Moon, I had just been reading the symbolic meanings of the Moon in the Mariological writings of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church. I had been preparing a course in Mariology. It was hard not to be immersed in symbolic meanings by many theologians that “7” was symbolically about “oaths,” “covenants,” & their renewals. The Moon was a symbol of Mary, who has always been understood as archetype of the Church, the mystical body of Christ. The “7” overlaying the Moon, like a seal, would have to wait to be unsealed seven months later to reveal if there was anything more to it and/or if I was delusional for supposing there might be. I couldn’t know at that time if it held more meaning or was truly even a sign. Perhaps it simply marked the transition from the Memorial of Saint Mary Major into the Vigil of the Transfiguration?
About the same hour I was having discussions about changes at the John Paul II Institute in Rome, and my son and I were seeing this sign of “7” overlaying the Moon, Homiletic and Pastoral Review (HPR) made a rare solo release of an article of mine about the Transfiguration and the Second Coming. Through prayerful discernment in early July 2019, I handed it over to HPR for wider distribution. When their articles for August were released the end of July, I thought the editor must have forgotten mine. Afterall, it should have been released with the July 26 articles meant for August. To my surprise, I received and read an email August 5, 2019 of the release of the “forgotten” Transfiguration & Second Coming article upon coming inside to discuss the distinct and surprising sign my son and I had just witnessed. The release of the article and the sign on the Moon coincided.
So, was the “7” overlaying the moon just pareidolia-- when the human mind imposes shapes into something more than what is really present? Was there subjective meaning for me, but no real objective activity of a sign from angels? Was it all just strange coincidences? Or, was it confirmation that I should be concerned about the John Paul II Institute that was housed at the “Pope’s University” in Rome and the effects on the wider Church? Maybe I should be concerned more about Holy Communion in relation to pastoral principles in AL? At that time I was chair of a theology department and taught on related issues. Would more-concerning documents be forth coming? Some theologians had signed filial corrections years earlier concerning AL. Cardinals released dubia after it. Was a false similitude or idol being gradually established in the sanctuary [sacrilegious Holy Communion]?
Confirmation Seven Moons Later
Seven moons (months) later in March 2020, the Sunday readings which immediately followed 7 moons, were the Transfiguration readings again (which my HPR article explained as downpayment on the Second Coming [& released on the night I saw a “sign”]). It was March 8, 2020. It was the second Sunday of Lent in 2020 and everything started to get shut down or warn of impending shutdowns due to Covid-19 where I resided outside of Washington, D.C.
Within days my college officially announced a halt to return from Spring Break. Soon thereafter, Churches were closed and Mass was unavailable or extremely limited per the bishops. Seven moons after worrying about Holy Communion [the sanctuary] being negatively affected, and seeing a luminous “7” imposed over the Moon in the night sky, Holy Communion was pretty much closed worldwide.
The night two of us witnessed a sign, it was my personal concern (already shared by Cardinals and theologians more important than me) that heaven probably was concerned over “pastoral” compromises the Church was making. Pastoral compromises were hardening in a manner contrary to Jesus’ own doctrine that divorce for remarriage is adultery. The same concern was already implicit in my HPR article on the Transfiguration.
A distant acquaintance and layman wrote me from out of the blue that Sunday (7 moons later) and basically said, I just read your Second Peter: Transfiguration & Second Coming article from August 2019; wow, it has way more significance in light of current events. He was referring to the Covid shutdowns. He didn’t even know about the “7” I had seen overlaying the moon exactly seven months earlier. What had I said in the article that caused him to write me?
After explaining the meaning of the Transfiguration as proving that Jesus had become the final temple and was bringing the Old Covenant to its telos by the sign of his Transfiguration, I explained what would bring the close of the Messianic kingdom on earth, which had begun 2k years ago in the sign of the Transfiguration:
As the Old Covenant came to an end when the leaders and teachers led the people irreversibly astray [at the “time of reformation” (Heb 9:10)], so the time of the Gentiles will not end before the leaders of the new covenant become in the words of Saint Peter: “waterless springs . . . entice with licentious passions . . . slaves of corruption . . . last state worse than the first” (cf. 2 Pet 2:1–18). Until the New Israel, the New Covenant has covered the earth and then that leadership becomes a barrier to people living faithfully to the Covenant, the end will not come. Once the New Covenant people (still bringing in both Jew and Gentile into the Mystical Body) fall into the great apostasy (cf. 2 Thes 2:3) and ‘fixedly’ trade Jesus for the spirit of the age, then the end will come for them as well. They will have reached their fixed limit.
I don’t think I can be blamed for interpreting what I saw after sunset the evening of August 5, 2019 as probably a real sign, but it must not be taken too far. Minimally, it was a wakeup call for me and maybe now helpful to others in discerning signs of the times. I hadn’t felt the need to broadcast it at the time, nor see that it would be helpful (other than making me look like a quack). I didn’t see pastoral decisions as having to remain “irreversibly astray,” or in the words of Romano Guardini, having necessarily reached their “fixed limit.” Good bishops were and are addressing the issues.
Ambiguous and deleterious compromises can be corrected as both Amoris Laetitia and now Fiducia Supplicans should be [friendly advice to Church leaders]. I’m speaking up again now because Pope Leo XIV has called a meeting for this October 2026 to further implement Amoris Laetitia. This must not be done without clear forbiddance of Communion for the divorced and remarried. Sacramental marriage is indissoluble. Leo will hopefully correct language about novel blessings for “couples” who pretend to be married but are not. Earlier documents are correct that we must not bless sin.
Sister Lucia of Fatima did write Cardinal Caffara, the first President of the John Paul II Institute in Rome, and told him around the year 1984: “Father, a time will come when the decisive battle between the kingdom of Christ and Satan will be over marriage and the family. And those who will work for the good of the family will experience persecution and tribulation. But do not be afraid, because Our Lady has already crushed his head.” Caffara was greatly concerned about AL. It is also no wonder that the John Paul II Institute always had Our Lady of Fatima as its official patroness since John Paul the Great was shot on May 13, 1981 as he attempted to announce the founding of his institute for marriage and family.
Even without my strange moonshine [attempt at humor], bishops already knew there were problems with AL and publicly and privately were trying get them addressed. The greatest critics of AL were Cardinals at the Vatican, and the Pope’s ear was closed to them. Simply put, my rantings about “7”s and moons weren’t going to do much and I still feel awkward even trying to share it, but I trust the people of goodwill I am trying to reach to understand or be edified. Nevertheless, if the worship that Jesus instituted could be halted worldwide by public officials due to disinformation and coverup of the release of a biological weapon [Covid-19], what other propaganda could happen that limits the rights of Christians to practice their faith or keep free speech per the Bill of Rights?
Why should God continue to intervene to protect access to Holy Communion for us all when leaders of his Church on earth seemingly compromised in an institutional manner the meaning & relation of marriage to Holy Communion? When leaders pastorally seemingly overturn what they once forbade as “blessing sin”? Just because Church leaders want to make wide the path to Holy Communion [where Saint Paul specifically warned about judgment, death, and sickness for covenant violations (cf. 1 Cor 11:30)] does not mean Jesus has to keep the doors open. Jesus has a right to protect the dignity of his own Body and Blood when popes and fellow presbyters compromise the doctrines of marriage which testify to the New Covenant (cf. Eph 5:32) and renewal in Holy Communion.
No doubt, God judges us individually, but nations can also be corrected and Church leaders are not immune. We should take note when the new Temple [Holy Communion] temporarily shudders its doors on earth worldwide and people are dying from diseases, plagues, and “vaccines” just as Saint Paul warned would happen in violations of Holy Communion (cf. 1 Cor 11:30). Clearly many innocent individuals got ill and died with Covid or from “vaccines,” but we suffered together as a nation. And, let’s not forget the shutdowns which shuddered Holy Communion started under the reign of the first Trump administration which promoted itself as pro-Christian. Should we expect better in his troubling second term?
After the Church shutdowns of 2020, months later, violations of legitimate free speech and then forced participation in medical experiments with mRNA therapies (labeled “vaccines”) soon followed in the next administration of 2021 (cf. violations of human rights and Geneva Conventions worldwide). Herein began my journey to writing “Transcendence After America Project” as I got out of an ICU on an oxygen tank due to Covid. I’d now like to share insights to the signs of the times related to Ukraine and Russia as I came down with Covid in April 2021 and with the sign of the “7” on my mind. We are in real times of warnings, and the end of an age (as Popes Francis and Leo have called these times), but not necessarily the Second Coming. I wouldn’t recommend quitting your day job…
Signs of the times: about apparitions and chastisements
No, I do not know the future. It is contingent on mankind’s repentance and choices inside God’s plan in Christ. Many religious suffer and sacrifice silently for souls inside their monasteries and cloisters. Nor have I personally ever seen signs accompanied by heavenly messages, so there is no logical certainty to my reflections which will follow this current essay segment on understanding chastisements. In fact, I feel better and less anxious not really knowing the future or pretending to be a prophet.
In no way have I been appointed to announce I know the future. Nor do I personally think the Second Coming is this year even though I daily remember to be ready to meet the Lord as the New Testament admonishes every Christian. As Michael Brown recorded for his readers at his Spirit Daily website in 2010 (16 years ago): “In this time, expect the error of premature expectation, but not [error in] the truth of the expectation itself.”
Nevertheless, I do read the signs of the times as prayerfully as a sinner like me can. It doesn’t take a genius or holy person to see the writing on the wall or see where the news is headed. Like many others, it is my opinion there will be chastisements [to set us free] and real signs from God now and into the near future. I say this because I do not think the alleged visions of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje should be taken too lightly or superficially…
TO BE CONTINUED & FINISH ABOUT UKRAINE & RUSSIA 2021-2022