A reader writes:
In light of the recent events (Katrina, Rita, etc.) some folks are attaching prophetic significance to daily events pointing toward a culmination, and encouraging people to store up 6 months worth of food, among other things. Some of this was given out (verbally) at our prayer meeting.
I told the people to use a lot of caution and discernment for such a message. I privately corresponded with the person who gave the message and told her I had some major problems with it, including making definitive statements about God chastising New Orleans and the US.
My wife is from a country affected by the tsunami and they lost 15 to 20 K children in the tsunami. Who was God chastising for that? I just don’t think we can make specific judgments about these things. This person is also making connections between withdrawal from Gaza and hurricanes/natural disasters (I believe some of that may be coming from 700 Club and others).
I told the person that if they really believed these warnings and instructions were from the Lord the they should be shared with a priest/bishop in union with the Magisterium of Rome. If that priest/bishop concluded that this was "from the Lord", then perhaps ( and only perhaps) some credibility could be lent to them.
Do you have any thoughts on this? We went back and forth with this person by email about five or six times and still she keeps defending the storing of food, etc. My wife was wondering how in the world most of the poor nations would be able to store up anything, particularly when they generally don’t know where there next meall is coming from.
Since I’m not familiar with the messages, I don’t know if they were meant for folks in other countries or just for the U.S. (i.e., is this supposed to be a worldwide disaster that necessitates the food storing or just one that hits the U.S.) I’d also think that the advice would be "Store it if you can," but in parts of the world where folks can’t, that’s obviously not an option.
That being said, it sounds to me as if you have a pretty good take on the situation. Skepticism here is warranted, and any kind of warning this dire ought to be run past the bishop before people are told to do something as dramatic as storing up six months worth of food for their families.
Not that it’s a bad idea to have that much food in reserve. You never know what may happen in this day and age, and it’s not at all unreasonable to have some food an water available as emergency supplies. Virtually everybody could be hit with a disaster of some kind–natural or artificial–in which they might need supplies until disaster relief can get established.
As regular blog readers know, my grandmother is living in such a situation RIGHT NOW due to Hurricane Rita, and I could join her at any time since the San Andreas Fault can have "The Big One" at a moment’s notice.
No matter where you live, something like that is a possibility (even if it’s just fallout being blown over from from terrorists detonating a nuke in a city a couple of states away).
I therefore consider it advisable for folks to have a certain amount of emergency food and water on hand–at least a few days to a couple of weeks worth–as well as other disaster survival equipment (medicines–particularly prescription medicines you need to take–flashlights, radios, matches, maps, weapons, batteries, iPods, etc.).
Six months, though, is a LONG TIME, and it would require something REALLY AMAZINGLY HUGE to disrupt the economy so severely that anybody would need six months of food. I mean, we’re likely talking about someting on the order of a civilizational reboot at that point (it can’t take FEMA that long to get supplies into the area following a lesser disaster; you only need six months of food if you expect government aid to not be there for six months, and it’s hard to see how that could happen in the current media and political environment without a civilizational reboot in progress). The only things that springs to mind that would be that severe would be something like an asteroid strike or a nearby star going supernova or a doomsday bug or something.
So it sends a really scary message to be telling folks that they need six months of food, and anything that alarming–and EXPENSIVE for a family–ought to be run past Church authorities. That’s not just so people won’t be put to needless worry, it’s also so that if there really WERE a huge disaster coming, folks could be warned.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the bishop will rule the right way, but one needs to turn to the authorities that Christ has given his Church.
Furthermore, skepticism regarding any message so dire is the appropriate strategy. The accuracy rate of people with dire messages like this is remarkably LOW, and that has to take that into account when evaluating new cases of folks with dire warnings–particularly if they have no track record of accurate predictions or other evidence that their messages are anything other than the product of their imaginations.
Hope that helps!
“even if it’s just fallout being blown over from from terrorists detonating a nuke in a city a couple of states away”
Now that’s a funny comment to just causally drop in there!
I asked my parish priest about the devastation in the south and he fully agrees it is a modest chaistisement from heaven. He said God primarily punishes His chosen people, which since 33 a.d are exclusively Catholics. God mostly ignores the non Catholics just like he ignored non Israelites in the Old Testament. He noted how America is most likely one of the countries that will be anihilated as foretold by the Fatima visionaires. The reason he gives is that America has become one of the most brutal and anti God countries on earth. One where the Catholic faith had a modest foothold, then due to weak bishops in the 1700’s and 1800’s these Catholic leaders adopted a get along mentality with the heretics of America. In time, the heretics gained all the power and wealth. They used this power to destroy the Catholic Faith via birth control and ethnic cleanings of Catholic neighborhoods.
America has become a evil empire, despite what our leaders say. Evil because we export war and exploit other nations. It is the height of hypocrisy for Bush to call others Evil when he has invaded Iraq for no just cause.
how do these people expect one to store up 6 months of prescription medications? Most insurance companies allow you only 1 month supply at a time, and will not refill until you are close to your ‘due date’. Besides which, if your disaster doesn’t arrive in a timely manner the medication will expire, and then you have to go to the expense and trouble of getting a NEW six month supply… Way too much bother and expense.
Leonard,
I didn’t know that the Assyrians only conquered the Jewish people. I learned in ancient history that they conquered the whole area, and were pretty nasty about it. A nickname about them is “Nazi’s of the ancient world.”
Besides, didn’t our Lord Jesus Christ answer that question in Luke 13:1-5?
Of course, if you are going to have supplies (food, water, clothing, energy sources for light and heat, etc.) on hand for six months in a typical urban or suburban area of the US, you better have a lot of big guns and ammo to go with them, and a willingness to kill people.
Because if the great social/commerical meltdown happens, you are going to be a fat chicken sitting on a big egg that some fox is going to want to eat.
Very impractical and unneeded.
I don’t know any good mother who if finances allow, does not hoard food for all manner of emergency situations. You just never know when you might need that extra box of paxi stuffing or tinned fruit.
Hippo354,
good thinking about the prescription drugs. I think I have a few months supply but maybe I need to think about expanding my stock.
American friends, do not be afraid…in the event of an emergency, non hoarders can all come over to England for tea, but I can’t pick you and drop you off back home afterwards, okay?
God Bless.
I am a bit wary of warnings that encourage a hoarding mentality. Of course, we need to do what we can to see that our families are provided for, but there are many of us who are making it more or less day to day and feel quite blessed. It is a good idea to have some basic supplies (water, flashlights etc. are recommended even in an area as relatively safe as the tornado belt) but I don’t think any favors are done by making those who cannot afford to stockpile provisions feel that they are not doing the right thing. (And what about those of us who cannot afford six months worth of food but wouldn’t have a place to put it if we could?)