The Word of

God
and
The People of
Praise
Conference
Prophecies
July 25-27, 1975

Collaboration
Three communities of Charismatics The People of Praise, the Word of God
and the Community of Gods Delight formed out of the entrance of
Charismatic Renewal into the Catholic Church in 1967.
All three communities grew closer over the years, believing a possible merger
into a community of communities could eventually be achieved. Steady
strides toward this goal progressed in a measured manner until Ralph Martin
and Bruce Yocums Rome prophecies in May of 1975. (Attached)
These two men prophesied impending doom, Days of Darkness for Gods
People and threats of death (They will send for you, to take your life, but I
will support you.) The effect of these prophetic words was said to have been
the acceleration of the unification process.
The Prophecies
In July 1975 (just 10 short weeks after the Rome prophecies) the communities
all met for a Conference. What follows are at least some of the prophecies that
the leaders of these groups spoke in the Name of the Lord. They were
transcribed and circulated among the general members to stir up support for
the merger. As Dr. Thomas Csordas would write, In this charged atmosphere,
the radical formulation of the Rome prophecies marked the years between
1975 and 1980 as a phase that was the closest the Catholic Charismatic
Renewal has been to a position of apocalyptic millennialism.1
Failure
By 1980-1981 however, the two leading communities themselves
acknowledged irreconcilable differences,2 writes Dr Csordas. Crudely
speaking, The Sword of the Spirit went increasingly its own way, the People of
1
2

Language, Charisma and Creativity; Ritual Life in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal c 1997, pg 13, 14
Ibid

Praise consolidated its links to the larger Charismatic Renewal, and the
Brotherhood of Communities [Dallas] consolidated their relationships with
their local Bishops.
The merger of the two major communities had failed. Leaders of either
community have never said why, leaving in their wake a trail of speculation.
Unifying these communities was something general members were lead to
believe was a God-ordained matter.
Were the prophetic Words of God transcribed in the following pages really
true? Were they genuinely inspired by the Holy Spirit?
Or were they simply a substitution of the dreams of men, mad in the Spirit,
spoken in the Name of God but not of God?
Whatever the answer may be, the credibility of the men who gave these
prophetic utterances appears to have survived intact in spite of their failure
to either follow God or accurately speak for Him.

C. 2016 John Flaherty Grand Island, NE

- with thanks and help from Ann Zeddies, Grand Rapids, MI

PROPHECIES GIVEN AT ST. PETERS BASILICA

DURING THE CLOSING EUCHARIST ON PENTECOST MONDAYMAY 1975

ecause I love you, I want to show you what I am doing in the world today. I
want to prepare you for what is to come. Days of darkness are coming on
the world, days of tribulation.Buildings that are now standing will not be
standing. Supports that are there for my people now will not be there. I want you
to be prepared, my people, to know only me and to cleave to me and to have me
in a way deeper than ever before. I will lead you into the desertI will strip you of
everything that you are depending on now, so you depend just on me. A time of
darkness is coming on the world, but a time of glory is coming for my church, a
time of glory is coming for my people. I will pour out on you all the gifts of my
spirit. I will prepare you for spiritual combat; I will prepare you for a time of
evangelism that the world has never seen. And when you have nothing but me,
you will have everything: land, fields, homes, and brothers and sisters and love and
joy and peace more than ever before. Be ready, my people, I want to prepare
you (given by Ralph Martin)

speak to you of the dawn of a new age for my church. I speak to you of a
day that has not been seen before.Prepare yourselves for the action that I
begin now, because things that you see around you will change; the combat that
you must enter now is different; it is new. You need wisdom from me that you do
not yet have.
You need the power of my Holy Spirit in a way that you nave not possessed it;
you need an understanding of my will and of the ways that I work that you do not
yet have. Open your eyes, open your hearts to prepare yourselves for me and for
the day that I have now begun. My church will be different; my people will be
different; difficulties and trials will come upon you. The comfort that you know
now will be far from you, but the comfort that you will have is the comfort of my
Holy Spirit. They will send for you, to take your life, but I will support you. Come
to me. Band yourselves together, around me. Prepare, for I proclaim a new day, a
day of victory and of triumph for your God. Behold, it is begun. (given by Bruce
Yocum)

will renew my church. I will renew my people. I will make my people

one. I am calling you to turn away from the pleasures of the world. I
am calling you to turn away from the desires of the world. I am calling you to turn
away from seeking the approval of the world in your lives. I want to transform your
lives.I have a word for my church. I am sounding my call. I am forming a mighty
army.My power is upon them. They will follow my chosen shepherd(s).
Be the shepherds I have called you to be.I am renewing my people. I will
renew my church. I will free the world.

now that I, your God, brought Peter and Paul to Rome to witness to my
glory. I have chosen you also and have brought you to Rome to bear
witness to my glory, confirmed now by your shepherd. Go forth to the healing of
the nations. Know that I am with you; and though you may pass through
tribulation and trial, I will be with you even to the end. I am preparing a place for
you in glory. Look to me and I will deliver you form the power of the evil one.
Behold I am with you now, all days, even till the end of time.

ou have known the truth these days. You have experienced the truth these
days. It is clear to you at this moment what the truth is. It is the truth of my
kingdom, my kingdom that will prevail.I want you to take that truth, to rest in
that truth, to believe in that truth, not to compromise it, not to lose it in
confusion, not to be timid about it, but to stand simply, in love, but to stand
simply, firmly rooted in the truth as foundation stones upon which my church can
have new life and new power.