I'm very conflicted on Russia.
If I had to pick a secular leader's picture to hang on the wall it'd be Putin.
Everyone in this thread has (rightly) pointed out their nascent faith and our decadent morality.
And yet...and yet, prophecies, both approved (Fatima) and unapproved (Great Monarch and Irlmaier) are unkind to Russia...
Across the board, they are *not* on God's side in the Eschaton.
Hmmm...
I think
the errors of Russia have clearly SPREAD, but does that mean Russia retained her errors? If anything, I've heard Putin warning plenty of others NOT to follow what Russia HAD done in the past (particularly, Afghanistan), and instead to turn away from Russia's old mistakes.
He would punish the world "by means of war, hunger and persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father," using Russia as His chosen instrument of chastisement. "To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart" and promised that, by this single public act, Russia would be converted and peace would be given to the world. The Mother of God cautioned that if Her requests were not granted, "Russia will spread its errors throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer and various nations will be annihilated."
Reminds me of Jonah and Nineveh (Assyria, which is, of course, now at the heart of what may trigger a huge war since Russia stands with King al-Assad, but the West is throwing in with Turkey and the "rebels").
Assyria had had ALL these bad prophecies pronounced against it, but the prophet Jonah was told to go proclaim Nineveh's destruction if they didn't repent.
Nineveh repented, which Jonah had figured they would, and Nineveh repenting pretty much damned Israel, because Israel didn't repent even though it had tons of warnings (LIKE US!) from Elijah and other prophets.
And within 100 yrs (if Jonah was approx 800BC, and N.Israel exile 730BC?),
N.Israel got ROLLED by Assyria, and dragged away with hooks.So it's happened before, more than once if you include other apparitions and scripture, so I think that's how God works:
• a formerly-Godly nation goes bad and ignores prophecies
• a prophet has to deliver a warning to an evil society
• the evil society repents BY GOD'S WILL (ie, we don't know WHY Nineveh repented, anymore than we could know why Russia might repent)
• and within 100 years, the formerly-Godly state (Israel) suffered under the now-repentant city (Nineveh).
And that's what the Holy Mother's message is: the Church didn't consecrate Russia, an act of faith that was bungled more than once, ...and
Russia would be God's instrument of chastisement. I personally fear it's too late: it's probable that God handled Russia's conversion on His own, which was His Will (see above), and God will now use Russia as chastisement, JUST LIKE God used
Assyria against Israel (and another hundred years later, God used Babylon against Judah).
But maybe the Pope will pony up; if he doesn't get on the ball, esp since Russia seems to be mystically changing for the good now, and especially after dedicating his Pontificate to
Our Lady of Fatima, well, that's a slap in the Holy Mother's face. So Francesco needs to get to consecrating Russia
yesterday. Maybe he will. Or maybe he thought that dedicating his Pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima was good enough, and it's chastisement time.
Whatever, we accept God's will, no questions asked. God is Just.