First of all , I would like to apologize for any end time questions .
I just have no idea what is the Catholic position on end times.
Does Jesus come back in secret?
When is it too late?
At what point does judgment start?
Is there a rapture?
Please help, it's really troubling me.
Despite the sincerely held positions of posters here, which I won't try to debate, the Church (yes, the Traditional Church) does not have an official Catholic position regarding the unfolding of End Times. She does not wish the faithful to dwell on the future because neither does her Founder. Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us to dwell in the present, which is only where God is, relative to each person's soul and spiritual reality. Neither the past nor the future can an individual Catholic do anything about, even though -- like others-- I am equally curious and would definitely like to know time periods.
As you can see, opinions vary, being that they are based not on dogma but on private revelation. The Four Last Things we know for certain -- just not their timing. We also do not know the starting point for End Times nor its sequence, length, or other details. Even following private revelation, we know only generalities. Chastisements can be many and varied. A trad priest I know believes that "Covid" is the first in what he says will be a sequence of increasingly more difficult chastisements. His, also, is an opinion, like the opinions of other clergy.
With deference to other posters, I nevertheless tend to agree with the trad priest I just mentioned. I know several other priests who think the same. Private revelation is open to a many explanations because, again, general statements were made by Our Lady, some of which invite widely different interpretations. I also know several lay people who share my view, but I think we are in the minority.
If End Times means WWIII and/or famine and/or persecution of Catholics, I probably don't want to be around for it, and that would make be biased toward this being the 5th Age and would release me from living through End Times. OTOH, if the rest of our lives are going to be Covid obsessed , slaves to political (not medical) obsessions and medical ignorance, combined with restrictions on the True Mass and on trad priests to administer true sacraments, then I can't wait for it to be over and hope this is the last age.
No, there is no rapture. Priests both trad and N.O. have confirmed that. It's neither a dogma of the true Church nor the fake church.
You should know better than to even ask the question, Does Jesus return in secret? His coming will be spectacular-- a celestial form of Shock and Awe. The Son of God is not secretive but shows Himself plainly because He is truth. People who lie hide. The King of the Universe would contradict His very essence to assume secrecy.
What do you mean "too late"? If you're talking about individual souls, there is a maximum number of times God will forgive, but that only applies to the unrepentant sinner whose confessions are lukewarm and who lacks purpose of amendment. Souls that habitually sin without taking advantage of God's generous sacramental and actual graces will be tolerated in their sin only so long until God will tolerate their cynical pretenses at sorrow no longer.
I actually do believe that there will be an Illumination of Conscience offered to the whole world.
If you are asking instead, "too late" for a momentum toward the End Times to stop or pause, then you're asking the wrong question. God is in control in that the divine plan will not be sabotaged or limited by human beings. However, the Church does teach that chastisements can be restrained or withheld by God by virtue of the prayers, sacrifices, and penances of her members. This is scripturally based. So, we don't control the sequence, but we may have some effect on the severity.
I do think these are very troubling times. So do many priests.
You're not getting answers to your questions because the answers remain unknown. Some people are more confident in their educated guesses than others of us are.