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St. Malachy, The Prophecy of the Popes, and Doomsday 2012

Today, as never before, the planet is focused on the arrival of one particular date --- December 21, 2012 --- the day the ancient Mayan longcount calendar will end. Indeed, for centuries, millions have wondered what the day will portend. The uncertainty has been fed by the remarkable number of predictions spanning hundreds of years, in which many religions and cultures have suggested the day will bring a cataclysmic end to the world. However, despite the concentrated attention on the various predictions for this date, few seem to be aware of the end times prophecies of an obscure 12th century Irish saint and mystic named Malachy. Yet, could it be that Malachy's prophecies offer the most significant proof that the looming "Doomsday" date is real, and provide the greatest insight into what it will mean? Maybe so. The origin of Malachy's prophecies traces to the year 1139 when Malachy travelled to Rome to visit Pope Innocent II. Malachy was a successor of St. Patrick, and served as the Archbishop of Armagh and leader of the Irish Church in the diocese established by St. Patrick 700 years earlier. When Malachy arrived in Rome, he petitioned the pope for the pallia vestments to serve as further evidence of his authority over the Irish Church. (The petition was not granted on that visit, but was later awarded posthumously, and Malachy would later become the first Irish saint canonized in 1190 by the Bishop of Rome.) Before returning to Ireland, Malachy reportedly had a vision of a line of the next 112 popes who would follow Innocent, beginning with Pope Celestine II, until the end of time. The visions were written down and given to Pope Innocent as a gift, and according to legend, were locked away in The Secret Vatican Archives until rediscovered four hundred years later. The prophecies were first published by Arnold de Wyon, a Benedictine historian, in 1595, as part of his book Lignum Vit. However, skeptics have challenged their authenticity for centuries due to their being hidden for so long, with some claiming they are a forgery, and others claiming they were written by the famed French mystic, Nostradamus (d. 1566). Irrespective of the date or origin of the prophecies, many believe they've proved very accurate identifiers of the line of popes, both before and after their discovery in 1590. Indeed, although the prophecies are written as cryptic epigrams in Latin, and like most prophecies, can be esoteric and interpreted subjectively, a fair reading suggests they

have been remarkably accurate in describing key identifying details about the line of successive popes. Although it's true that St. Malachy's biographer and close friend and contemporary, St. Bernard of Clairveaux, did not mention the prophecies of the popes, it's possible he may not have known about them, or may have kept them a secret at St. Malachy's request. However, St. Bernard's biography fostered belief among many that Malachy could have been the author of the prophecies because Bernard wrote that his friend was a mystic who predicted the date and hour of his own death. So, how are Malachy's prophecies relevant today? Well, after the passing of many centuries, we're down to the last pope in the prophecy. The current pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI is the 111th pope in Malachy's prophecy, and the Last Pope before the Final Pope... the 112th Pope. Malachy's prophecy identifies Pope Benedict XVI as "The Glory of the Olive." Indeed, historians have noted that Benedict's chosen name evokes the Benedictine Order which uses as its symbol the olive, and that Pope Benedict has done more than any pope in history to "extend the olive branch" to Jews, Muslims, traditionalist Catholics, sedevacantists and schismatics, the Anglican Church, and others, all in an effort to invite unity and ecumenism. Pope Benedict XVI will be 85 this year, and has begun to show signs of slowing, and of ill-health. He has floated the idea that a pontiff in ill-health should consider stepping down. And remarkably, last November, Cardinal Romeo of Palermo Sicily, reportedly had a vision that Pope Benedict XVI will die in 2012, perhaps the victim of a plot of assassination. The timing of these events in relation to Malachy's Prophecy of the Popes is nothing short of remarkable, and lends credence to the idea that The Final Pope in Malachy's prophecy --- the 112th pope --- soon will be elected. Why is this important? Well, according to Malachy, he'll be the pope who reigns when Jesus returns to judge mankind. So, what exactly does the last prophecy say about the 112th pope? It says: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman), who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the formidable (also translated, "dreaded" or "dreadful") Judge will judge the people. The End." As we reach the end of St. Malachy's line of popes, and world events begin to unfold with an eye on the "Doomsday" date of December 21, 2012, it is fair to ask whether St. Malachy unwittingly predicted the very end of the age, when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, and that we are entering that age now.

How will it all unfold? We can only speculate. Indeed, as the world focuses on the dozens of prophecies concerning the coming "Doomsday" date, I'd like to suggest that everyone's been missing the obvious, and that we needn't focus on Mayan calendars to know when the end will come, but should look to the prophecies of St. Malachy which point us to the signs of the coming end times. If we examine the many astronomical events which have taken place on The Feast Day of St. Malachy, it is hard to ignore the fact they are pointing to Malachy and his prophetic visions. The first "Malachy Event" of importance was the solar flare which arrived on earth hours after midnight November 3, 2003 --- the most powerful Xclass solar flare ever recorded. It was a wake-up call to the world regarding our vulnerability to solar storms. As our society has grown increasingly dependent on electricity, electronics, GPS, and other technologies, the prospect of total systemic failure due to such solar events is higher than ever. The Academy of Sciences concluded in a study released in 2008 that a "century-class" solar storm could have the economic impact of 20 Hurricane Katrinas, and that social disruption could last for years. The next "Malachy Event" arrived as a total solar eclipse on November 3, 1994. Known as Solar Saros 133, this eclipse returns every 18 years and 11 days, and it has shown an uncanny knack of arriving on feast days of Irish saints with a direct link to St. Patrick. (St. Malachy was the Bishop of Armagh, and a direct successor of the founder and first bishop of the Diocese of Armagh, St. Patrick.) Solar Saros 133 total eclipse will arrive again this year, 18 years and 11 days after it last appeared on St. Malachy's Feast Day, and will appear in the skies over Antarctica on November 13, 2012. That is the feast day of St. Brice, Bishop of Tours France, who was the immediate successor of St. Patrick's Uncle, St. Martin of Tours. And the most recent heavenly event pointing us to St. Malachy came as the 8th solar flare of the current Solar Cycle 24 --- arriving on November 3, 2011. No literature anywhere has drawn the connections between these astronomical events and St. Malachy's Prophecy of the Popes --- a prophecy that is in imminent danger of being fulfilled. Just as the Mayans looked to the sun and stars to formulate their calendar and when it should end, so Malachy's prophecies, and the recent celestial events on his feast day, seem to invite us to gaze heavenward for answers about the coming end of the age. Indeed, when we look at the Book of Matthew Chapter 24, we can see that Jesus also invited us to look heavenward for the signs of the end of the age and his Second Coming. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus says that we will know the time of His return is imminent when, among other things, "the sun shall be darkened" (Solar Saros 133 total solar eclipse will arrive on the November 13, 2012), and "the moon shall not give her light"

(a penumbral lunar eclipse will arrive on November 28, 2012), and "the stars shall fall from the heavens" (NASA forecasts a high incidence of falling satellite as a result of the increased activity of solar flares forecast for 2012). In all, given the Pontiff's age and Malachy's prophecies of the popes, the pattern of solar events falling on the Feast of St. Malachy, the warnings from the Book of Matthew and the forecasted solar and lunar eclipses, and other celestial events of 2012, there seems to be a remarkable convergence of facts that signal something ominous will occur on or near the date that the Mayan calendar ends. Other thoughts, and some coincidences... Last November, Sunspot 1339 came to life as the largest sunspot in seven years, and on The Feast of St. Malachy, it generated an X-Class flare, magnitude 1.9 --- the eighth of the year, thus confirming that Solar Cycle 24 was entering a period of peak solar activity known as solar maximum and could produce unforeseen new numbers of solar disturbances. Will Solar Cycle 24 reveal the heavenly wonders and signs Jesus spoke of in Matthew Chapter 24? Will the unpredictable weather on the sun generate record levels of solar activity, including earth-directed solar flares and coronal mass ejections, posing possible damage to the thousands of satellites in orbit around the Earth, just as America has retired the Space Shuttle, and lost the ability to retrieve damaged space objects? Will the recent high number of falling satellites continue to increase as more solar flares erupt, and will this bring unforseen and dire consequences to our modern electricity-based, electronic-dependent society? Scientists simply don't know. In fact, in 2006 astronomers predicted that 2012 would set records for solar activity, perhaps greater even than the highest recorded year, 1958, but in 2010 they revised their forecast saying that the sun might be going dormant and may produce no activity at all. Then, in their most recent prediction they are suggesting this year will only reflect moderate or low solar activity. What is clear is that solar activity rises and falls on an 11 year cycle and 2012 is the estimated peak period for high solar flare count within the current cycle. When Malachy's flare struck last November 3rd, it appeared as no meaningless coincidence that the Vatican announced that Cardinal Bernard Law was turning 80 years old and would automatically lose his right to vote in the conclave of cardinals which will elect the next pope. The conclave was thus reduced to 112 members... the number 112 coincidentally being important as the number of The Final Pope in Malachy's prophecy. (The Pope has since elevated 22 new cardinals to the conclave, and those under 80 who may vote now total 125. It was reported that the ceremony for the new cardinals on February 18th was abbreviated due to the age and ill-health of Pope Benedict XVI who has lately shown signs of significant fatigue.)

As well, all of this is taking place while the 112th Congress remains in session, and at a time when the 12th astrological sign and The Age of Pisces is giving way to the 11th astrological sign... The Age of Aquarius. And remarkably, yet another obscure prophecy is receiving new attention. It is known as the Night Vision of the Houses, and was made by C. Alan Martin in 1971. In it he saw a vision of 12 houses occupied by a succession of American presidents, from Truman until the end of the world. The last president in the prophecy is now a resident of the last house... the 12th house. He is the current occupant of the White House, Barack Obama. Indeed, it is worth noting that as we face the possibility of the death or resignation of the 111th pope, and the elevation of the Final Pope, the 112th in Malachy's prophecy, the winter solstice will officially arrive exactly at 11:11 UTC on 12-21-12. All of this has led some to ask whether the noted patternicity of recurring numbers (1, 2, 11, 12, 111 and 112) in 2012 is a meaningless coincidence, or a coded message from the universe, pointing to the arrival of the end of the age... or even, the end of the world? Is it possible that Saint Malachy of the 12th century, who saw a vision of 112 popes -- and predicted he would die on 11-2 -- could see much more clearly in his time what we are only beginning to imagine now? Jack Spring is a freelance writer, published author, and frequent lecturer on end times prophecies, the Catholic Church and its liturgy, history, and theology, Ireland, Irish history, and Irish saints. His website which includes links to work and several blogs may be found at http://www.jackspring.net. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Spring Post your Free ad at; Post your Free Classified ad at;

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