St. John, the Symbol of the Eagle and America

It should no longer serve as a surprise that the Apostles, who Our Lord led into seclusion or “the wilderness”, were the very ones who have left us with the most writings to be found in the New Testament. Saint Paul undoubtedly has provided the Catholic Church with the most, but “the beloved” and favorite of Our Lord, Saint John who carries with him the mighty symbol of the eagle, follows closely behind. Eagles are destined to fly higher than any other bird, which is indeed appropriate for an Apostle of Christ who remained firm at the foot of the cross, protected Mary until Her accent into Heaven and was the last of the Apostles to leave this earth.

Saint John Before the Latin Gate was the only surviving Apostle, who was governing all the Churches in Turkey. In year 95 he was arrested at Ephesus and brought to Rome. Emperor Domitian condemned him thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. John was eighty-three years old, and he came out unharmed. The pagans feared him, so they exiled him to the Island of Patmos, Greece. During the time of exile John wrote his great prophetical book, the Apocalypse, and returned to Ephesus where, in the year 96, he wrote his Gospel, and later his three Epistles.

Divine Office Propers of today’s feast, also celebrated in the Carmelite Rite as well as by the Fraternity of Saint Peter.

*Note* it is often during times of sorrow, trial and seclusion that some of the best epistles were written. We can say the same for the saints who became Doctors of the Church. In particular, Our Holy Father John of the Cross, who wrote his greatest poetry in a prison cell.

What I meditate on most frequently is John’s symbol of the eagle and his prophetic message regarding the last days of the Catholic Church, in particular “The Woman” in Chapter Twelve of the Apocalypse. We Catholics know and believe this Woman to be The Great Mother of God: The Blessed Virgin Mary AND an image of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church- “fleeing to the wilderness, where She has a place prepared by God, that there they shall feed Her for a thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Three and a half years more or less). She will be protected from the face of the serpent, for a time, as She is given wings “of the eagle” while being led to this desert place for shelter. This part of the prophecy, the time of Our Lady is reserved for the end, not just literally as it is to be sure the last book in the New Testament, but for a specific “three and a half years”. Where is this desert place? My next thought is merely my own opinion, but I find it exceedingly fascinating that the great land, only discovered in 1766 (or at least given an official name by that point), of the United States of America would not only be given the symbol of the eagle, but also came to being during the same time Our Lady started Her Marian Apparitions, which have paved the way for Her exact time of triumph.

In fact, many Fatima experts have said that Chapter Twelve of the Apocalypse is most likely to be found in the Third Secret of Fatima, the very words of the Virgin, still kept hidden in the Vatican. In short, America belongs totally to Mary and if this is the place She is to be nourished for a “time and half a time” from the face of the serpent, as She prepares for the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart, fiat! No wonder Satan has been “fighting against the goad”; he has good reason to hate this nation. A Nation founded on freedom, liberty and justice; one that most resembles God the Father. So fitting, however that Our Lady would perhaps choose a country that has, from its birth, embraced democracy. A system that so closely resembles the hierarchy of Our Lord’s chosen system in heaven of nine thrones, beside America’s three branches of government. We are now seeing this very democracy under attack. God is truly the Father of freedom, while the devil is truly the father of communism. May the best land and nation be reserved for Mary. We have the good Saint John to thank, for, after taking care of this tender Mother until the very end, he can pass Her on to a nation who will look to him for guidance and fight for Her with its last dying breath. Just like Mary was kept hidden, so too was this great Land of the Free kept out of sight and totally concealed until its predestined time.