The Few-er - Part Five

If the Lord Jesus Christ is allowing the Church to become a less numerous yet deeply faithful Remnant — then we better remember Christ’s prerequisites for entering God’s Kingdom: “Reform! Believe!”
We all must be constant and fearless in examining our personal sinfulness and betrayals of Christ. If we do not, we will not enter into the Kingdom Of God. 
This leads to the question: Is Our Lord really reforming His Church into that holy, faithful Remnant?  
Okay, Academicians, let's   continue!

Here is part of a fascinating post from our brethren over at WhoIsLikeUntoGod.com. This entry was posted on Friday, April 9th, 2010:

The Roman Catholic Church is in no danger of collapse (it is the Rock) but the hierarchy may see some change. Never since the onset of mass media has there been so much open and harsh criticism of the Vatican along with local cardinals and bishops nor quite the anger among the flock yet the shepherds too will come through the storm, if guided with humility ... This is not a Church on the ropes but one that is beginning a breakdown and purification — a simplification, which will also be experienced by other segments of society and which should be welcomed, as the spirits of institutionalism and bureaucracy give way to the Spirit of Jesus.  Anyone who believes that newspapers or nations or armies can harm the Church do not know its history nor its Savior. It has endured worst. This is a major historic scandal. It happens every few centuries. Every time it does, there is the call to simplicity (and the charisms of Jesus). There are persecutions. There is purification ... In Rome in 1975 at a huge charismatic gathering were several prophecies that “dealt with a time of darkness coming,” recalled one participant, “a time when supports that you depend on would no longer be there, things you’ve depended on, resources, buildings, people, and finances, all that kind of thing, will be taken from you. And then a time of evangelism will follow such as the world has never seen [see more here].” The prophecies were given at the high altar in St. Peter’s Basilica …  When he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope once remarked that he was most concerned about a pure Church and not so much a large Church and that it may even be better if it gets smaller — contracting into what others might think of as a “remnant.” It is not yet clear if it will shrink into a remnant or see a transformation of its structure (or both).... http://whoislikeuntogod.com/2010/04/09/a-prophecy-from-cardinal-ratzinger-a-k-a-benedict-xvi/

That 1975 "prophecy" was not the first of its kind during that period of the Church's history.  (By the way, prophecy is in quotation marks because it is alleged: We will not know if it's true until it comes to pass!) It was preceded by a "prophecy" issued in 1969.  

Scandalized by his encounter with radical ideology and the subordination of religion to Marxist political ideology at the University of Tübingen during 1968 and 1969,  Father Joseph Ratzinger moves back to Bavaria to take a teaching position at the University of Regensburg. He wrote, "There was an instrumentalization by ideologies that were tyrannical, brutal, and cruel. That experience made it clear to me that the abuse of faith had to be resisted precisely if one wanted to uphold the will of the [Second Vatican] Council." [From Salt of the Earth by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 1997]
He eventually becomes dean and vice president of the University of Regensburg, and later, theological advisor to the German bishops. 
In a series of radio lectures broadcast in Bavaria in 1969, Father Joseph Ratzinger spoke the following words, which some Catholics today refer to as “Ratzinger’s prophecy.”

To Be Continued . . .