Rapture

There is a reason God warns us about chastisements; chastisements are meant to urge us to repent of sins that offend God, which we have committed. We risk hell if we never try to make up for our sins. Everyone will undergo a chastisement; there are no "get out of jail free" cards.

As such, "raptures" may happen, and some may be spared the full brunt of what others have to endure full force, but no one passes through the chastisement unscathed. Another meaning of the word "rapture" is from the Church and refers to being caught up suddenly into ecstasy by God to experience Him in an unprecedented way, and the "seizure", or being suddenly caught up in God is like a strong grip. In ecstasy, we remain in the body but it feels nothing, and is impervious to external stimuli, and afterward, a person may or may not remember much, though in the lives of many great saints, great discourses were experienced by the holy, in part, that was the reason for the union with God; so that some truth or extraordinary teaching may be imparted faithfully. God always has a purpose in everything He does, and if He causes  us to be caught up to Him in ecstasy, or at a moment of universal judgement, you can be sure He serious about what He does.

I do not get excited by such spiritual occurrences, and even though I welcome consolations, I do not go out of my way for them. The deeper the consolation, in my experience, even deeper suffering follows.

Besides all that, we are told to love and trust in God; either you trust Him or you don't, and if you have the humility by which to see, you will understand.

Some will live through the end of things, and witness the resurrection of the dead, and the Kingdom of God coming.

Before the demons are unleashed on the world, pray. Pray that their power is reduced, and that souls are safe and never separated from God. Beyond all else, there is nothing greater than to belong to God. 

THOSE WHO LOVE GOD BELONG TO GOD AND HE WILL RETAIN THOSE WHO LOVED HIM IN LIFE, AND PERSEVERED IN DEATH.

Unless you are blind deaf and dumb, you know evil is roaming about the earth, looking for someone to devour, and judging by the effects evil has had on the earth, one must come away stunned by the vileness and violence of the attacks. Pray that nothing worse befalls the earth and its inhabitants.

The mitigations we are granted in life, spring from the pure love of God toward us. His consolations are the joy that surrounds God in heaven and wherever He is. Just as a man who has come in from the rain enjoys a warm fire, so too, souls who love God enjoy growing closer to Him, and it is a case of fire growing stronger as the fire gets more powerful, and we dry off standing by the heat. Consolations are of the Spirit, and are not understood by ordinary people until God makes us understand. The realization of what consolations are, are amazing to us, and that is why we enjoy them only a short time, and He prevents us from trying to make them happen or intensify. There is only so much we can experience in the first place, and until we have matured spiritually, we cannot progress farther in our mystical journey. It is called "mystical" because it is a mystery only God can allow us to understand. If we think we understand, we should humble ourselves and wait for God.

In times past, a little boy would wear short pants when he was little, and longed for the day he could wear the "grown up" pants of a grown young man. When he was given his first pair, he was so proud to accept the love of his family and their welcoming as a maturing child on his way to manhood. It is too bad that isn't a tradition anymore. Experiencing the acceptance of a loving family is a transformative moment in a child's life, and it is no difference among those initiated into the mysteries of God's life.

Be At Peace