Forgive us Our Debts; AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS

As I have done for you, so you must do for others

Reflection on May 2, 2013 Medjugorje Message

Dear Friends:

Like many who are voicing their thoughts about Our Lady’s recent message given to Mirjana on May 2, 2013, I also have been doing a full examination of conscience. Especially after her message of 4/25/13 when she also said that we are still far away from her.

Then I begin to wonder myself, how am I offending the Lord? Where am I judging? Where am I gossiping? How am I not loving? Am I heading down the path to perdition as she said many of her own children are doing?

Earlier this year, the Mother of God declared that ‘satan was cunning and leading many souls into perdition.” All we have to do is look around us and see all the meyhem and chaos that is going on with government, politics, world leaders, uprisings, hatreds, wars, persecutions, and all the wars in the family, family tree and more. Well now that puts it more into perspective doesn’t it?

But what about me personally? All war begets in the heart before it is manifested into the world, and around us. Something stirs inside of us when we just don’t like something, and then it begins to fester and grow, until we begin to get angry and more bent out of shape, which then causes divisions, distractions, then we accuse and start the battles. I’m sure you all know what I mean.

So now we have to see it from this view. The Mother of God, sent from heaven is coming to the earth to convey a message from God. God is looking upon the earth and what does He see and hear on this earth?

This is what God said through her in this message that comes from Heaven and how the world is offending the Lord in the present time.

“Dear children; Anew, I am calling you to love and not to judge. My Son, according to the will of the Heavenly Father, was among you to show you the way of salvation, to save you and not to judge you. If you desire to follow my Son, you will not judge but love like your Heavenly Father loves you. And when it is the most difficult for you, when you are falling under the weight of the cross do not despair, do not judge, instead remember that you are loved and praise the Heavenly Father because of His love. My children, do not deviate from the way on which I am leading you. Do not recklessly walk into perdition. May prayer and fasting strengthen you so that you can live as the Heavenly Father would desire; that you may be my apostles of faith and love; that your life may bless those whom you meet; that you may be one with the Heavenly Father and my Son. My children, that is the only truth, the truth that leads to your conversion, and then to the conversion of all those whom you meet – those who have not come to know my Son – all those who do not know what it means to love. My children, my Son gave you a gift of the shepherds. Take good care of them. Pray for them. Thank you.” ( May 2, 2013 )

When I prayed about this message in my own examination of conscience I was given a simple remedy. That remedy was the:

Prayer of St. Faustina for the Grace to Be Merciful to Others.

If one prays this prayer, then he/she will be conscious of how they in themselves are committing sin.

Friends, Our Lady is directing this to everyone. There is no one excluded. But she emphasized very clearly who she is speaking to; ‘those who desire to follow Jesus her Son’.

“…If you desire to follow my Son, you will not judge but love like your Heavenly Father loves you. And when it is most difficult for you, when you are falling under the weight of the cross do not despair, do not judge, instead remember that you are loved, and praise the Heavenly Father because of His love….“

We have much to be angry about. Sin is ugly and it has an ugly face. And we easily direct our hatred to those who commit such ugly offenses against us because we see their face, and not what is behind the face. We forget however, we also offend others, by our own self righteousness, boasting in ourselves thinking that we are all doing what we should be doing living out our faith and so on, while we get angry at those who are not. I encounter and have had many conversations about all the sinners in the Church, he/she does or does not like this person, this priest, this or that.

We forget that we are just these ones we complain about if it were not for the grace of God! What High expectations we put on others without them knowing we have placed them on them!

Let us not forget friends, the burden of responsibility falls on those who are in His grace. Those who have the light, and walk in truth to be good examples, of Christian love. Jesus loved us in our mess and in our sin. He came to us right where we were in our ugliness and raised us up, and taught us about His mercy and gave us a gift of conversion of heart to love him. We have to pray for the same grace for those who do not know Him.

Forgive me Lord!

We are called to love and forgive just as He has done for us, if you are walking with Jesus. Believe me I am preaching to myself here. But the time is urgent now. Just look around you and see how many unbelievers you encounter every day, beginning in the home. How are they going to know the love of God, if they are not experiencing it through the ones who say they love them.

I say this beginning with me. Dying to self, and conquering and overcoming all the pains and the wounds, and the hurts caused to us, to love another, is a heroic act.

But Our Lady made it clear, prayer and fasting and acts of penance is where the strength comes to do this.

We pray every day the Lord’s prayer to forgive us AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS. Here is a condition on the mercy of God. If we are not forgiving, neither will we be forgiven ourselves. We really need to check our hearts. I have posted not to long ago also Healing Prayer of Forgiveness that can be found in this sight. We really need to be working on our hearts in this time.

Pray for the grace to fast. On a separate post I will post St. Fuastina’s prayer to be merciful so all can refer when they find it difficult to exercise mercy. And let us all hold each other up in prayer in this difficult time.

To God be glory for His mercy and patience with us! Ave Maria!

Medjugorje Monthly Message – Seek the Grace of Conversion

My children, seek the grace of conversion

“Dear children! My prayer today is for all of you who seek the grace of conversion. You knock on the door of my heart, but without hope and prayer, in sin, and without the Sacrament of Reconciliation with God. Leave sin and decide, little children, for holiness. Only in this way can I help you, hear your prayers and seek intercession before the Most High. Thank you for having responded to my call.” May 25, 2011

Listen my friends to the heart cry of the Mother of God and how she is praying for us, especially those who seek conversion of heart.

She says we keep coming to her asking for her help in prayer, but we are marked with sin, and desperate and without hope. We cannot ask anything without faith. Remember, Jesus never performed a miracle without faith. It takes great faith to accomplish miracles.

Our Lady has been with us for so long, isn’t it about time we got it? We need to experience conversion of the heart. We need to change our lives, and our godless ways, and frequent the sacrament of reconciliation. Whose listening to her?

She is praying for us; YES THE MOTHER OF GOD IS PRAYING FOR US … that we leave the way of sin, and seek toward holiness in our vocations and in our present state in life. Return to God with all our hearts is her hearts desire for us. There is nothing and I mean NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT!

I don’t think men realize how offensive sin is to God, and how little we try to omit it from our lives, but go on as if we never once sin. Do we not know that the greatest sin of this century is the LOSS OF THE SENSE OF SIN? It is playing Russian Rulet my friends, a very dangerous way of life.

Holiness is a conscious decision that someone makes to do something, and then we have to act on it, and stay the course, no matter how difficult it may be.

God wants our salvation, nothing less. And He will permit crosses to come to us in order to obtain that salvation for us. Embrace your crosses my friends with great love.

When we embrace our cross, we are living the Christian way, just the way Jesus did. Not only until then is Our Lady able to help us. Remember the FIAT she gave to the world. She was not afraid to suffer for the sake of sinners. She embraced her suffering with great care, with a profound love for God. Even in her darkest hour she remained at the cross with her Son, never leaving her side.

This is what she does for us. This is where the power of grace comes. It is through our yes in our trials and tribulations. And through these daily crosses, grace is being won for us so that we have the strength the amend our lives, and change our hearts.

Everything in this time passes through her hands. Our Lady once said, “Give me all your problems and difficulties and pray for my intentions…” When we do this, she in turn will take what we offer to her, and give it to her Son, where she is unceasingly praying for the world.

Imagine her in this time standing at the foot of the cross, begging her Son to forgive the sins of the world. This is intercession. This is the most powerful ministry and gift given to mankind, and she is giving us an opportunity to share in it.

Let us all take these words to heart of the dear Mother, and ask her boldly what must change in your life for her to win your conversion of heart. We are coming into a time of Pentecost and Our Lady wants us to experience a new Pentecost. She wants us emptied of our self love and selfish desires, so we have room for the Holy Spirit to come. Remove sin and prepare the way of the Lord in your heart. Ave Maria.

“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God…” (Acts 19)

REMINDER, GET YOUR RESERVATION IN FOR OUR UPCOMING PILGRIMAGE TO MEDJUGORJE FOR THE 22ND ANNUAL YOUTH PRAYER FESTIVAL, AUGUST 4TH -AUGUST 16. AN AWESOME PRAYER EXPERIENCE AND RETREAT WITH THE MOTHER OF GOD.

“I Desire to SEE Your Yes…”

Dear children, I am with you and I pray for you before my Son...

“Dear children! In a special way today I desire to call you to conversion. As of today, may new life begin in your heart. Children, I desire to see your ‘yes’, and may your life be a joyful living of God’s will at every moment of your life. In a special way today, I bless you with my motherly blessing of peace, love and unity in my heart and in the heart of my Son Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (3/25/2011)

Whew, it does not seem to be enough hours in the day these days. But I’ve been feeling Our Lady tugging my heart for these recent words she spoke to the world about.

As we seek wisdom with the Holy Spirit in this holy time of Lent, our Lady is reminding us what Lent is all about… “conversion of heart.” To experience conversion of heart we enter into a new birthing so to say; a new life in Christ in a new way.

Our Lady is here today very near to us. As the scripture says, “the Kingdom of God is at hand…” Our Lady brings to us her Son Jesus. He is the Kingdom in fullness.

Blessed Mother wants to obtain for us the graces we need to go deeper into our conversions. She asks us to press tightly to her motherly heart as an infant child would; who would want to be comforted, held and loved with the warmth of her embrace.

We are in the spring time of season…Our Lady desires a new life to come forth from our hearts. She has repeated this in her message of 2/25/2011. As with all of God’s creation on earth, the buds are coming forth and so are the flowers beginning to sprout from the earth. It is the same for us. These are signs for us to seek anew the beauty of God’s creation in the human being and the dignity of another.

She said in the above message, “Children, I desire to see your ‘yes’, and may your life be a joyful living of God’s will at every moment of your life…”

There is no play on words here. She did not say I desire to “hear your yes”. But she desires to see our yes. When we give her our hearts and we consecrate ourselves to her, she wants to see us take action. She wants to see we really mean what we say to her.

Now I am a mother. When my child makes a promise to me that they will do something, I have a level of expectation that they will complete what they have promised to do. If we say I give you everything of myself dear Mother, but I do not love my neighbor, or I go on committing the same sins, then I have fallen, and I must show that I am remorseful for the wrong I have done.

Can we make a promise to the Mother of God, and underneath our breath say no way, I’m not going to do that. She may be asking us to carry a burden or a cross that may help us to grow more in holiness. This cross may birth new graces for others to help them in their conversion.

Intercession is a powerful tool to obtain graces for others. It is the mission of Jesus in the most personal and intimate way, and the highest form of prayer to offer of oneself in the body through a simple word, “yes”.

If we say yes to our dear Mother in heaven for our crosses, then she is able to take us with seriousness, and pass our deeds of mercy on to her Son, who can multiply those graces to where ever they need to go.

For example, I had a recent experience through some dreams I have been having. They seem to be of the same meaning, but they’ve come in different ways. Most prominent was the one I just had last night. The Lord will often use dreams in our subconscience to convey to us what He wants to bring to conscience for us, or what He wants us to do for Him.

In this particular dream I saw two people, they seemed to be Japaneese in my dream, at least I awoke thinking this. But these two people were sinking in a mud pit, reaching out for help. Now in hindsight I would say the recent tsunami victims, at least I felt this in my heart. When I took this to prayer, the Lord was showing me, these were souls in Purgatory who are in need of prayer. So I understood they were souls crying out for prayer in their suffering state. So through the holy Mass today, with Our Lady I prayed for the poor souls.

Our Lady often says, “dear children, you are all important in this plan…with out you I cannot fullfill my plans….” If you are willing and you give your yes to her, when things such as dreams or inspirations come forth our prayer becomes one with the will of God, and the prayer is answered.

Isn’t that logical? If we know what God wants us to pray for, then the prayer will be answered? We must always be quiet to listen for those promptings of the Holy Spirit.

I get numerous requests from people who ask me to pray to God for discernment for themselves. My response always is, “I cannot discern anything for you that you don’t already know, because the Kingdom of God is within.” The problem is we are not listening, and we are deaf to His Word. I will pray with the one who asks, but in truth the discernment is between God and the one discerning.

The Lord will use the voice of others to confirm something we are discerning, the voice of His Church or his prophets. The ones who are open, who say “yes” to be empty vessels of the Holy Spirit, are the ones hearing the voice of the Lord. These are the ones who are being stripped of everything from worldly standards, and allowing more of the spirit of Jesus to dwell within. Remember, God is Spirit. He desires to be in full Spirit in the human being made in His image and likeness. We have to desire this, and work for this. That means sin has to go!

How are we living her call as being that joyful witness of living God’s call in our life? Are you ready to go to the cross if that be the will of God for you, in joy?

Living God’s will is not always easy. That means our will has to go. We have to pray as Jesus prayed, “not my will but yours be done in me.” This by the way was a prayer while Jesus was in the Garden in Agony. He layed down His will as much as He was suffering, and surrendered it all to the Father, because He had the full vision of the plan of God, knowing what He was going to endure was not in vain. In your prayer, beg God for the vision to help you press into the time of trial and not run from that cross.

That is the prayer that will be answered. Suffering always has redemptive value. But when we surrender to the perfect will of God, the pain of the suffering is lessened, and we are able to drink the chalice and go on.

This is the grace Jesus received from the angel. His surrender to the will of the Father strengthened Him to say yes every step of the way. It is the same for us. We have to say yes every step during our way of the cross, no matter how hard, how difficult or how many times we may fall. It is YES LORD, YES LORD, YES, YES, YES!!! This is when the grace comes, this is when the healing comes. With every crucifixion there is a resurrection and triumph.

Our Lady concludes her message with her blessing. Here is our consolation and hope. Remember the movie the The Passion of the Christ? Focus on this movie if you watch it again. Notice every time Jesus fell, and where was Our Lady in the scene? He looked at her, and he found strength to go forward. We are in Lent in this time. Our Mother is with us, as Jesus is becoming more incarnate in us. She is here to encourage us, to love us, and to help us gain strength for the sake of our salvation, and win the victory.

With her blessing, contains a tremendous gift and grace from God. Our Mother comes every day to bless the world. Every day you are getting blessed and you do not even know it.

Take it to prayer sometime and ask what this blessing really means and how often we take it for granted when we get blessed. Something happens to our souls in this blessing my friends. We should stop every day, and welcome her and her blessing in our hearts, to receive it with love and in fullness of the gift she is bringing us from heaven. It is a blessing she has obtained from the Father and the Son, fully packed with the Holy Spirit.

Let us all continue on with open hearts to her maternal love. And please thank God every day for this great gift that we are able to grow up with her, just like Jesus did in Nazareth.

There is a great mystery in this gift of our Nazareth years with the Mother of God. But remember, it came a time when Jesus was ready for his public mission and made His way to the Cross. We do not know how long the Father will permit her to be with us, but many of us feel the days are numbered my friends. Continue on and work all the more harder on the conversion of heart, so we are ready for the day that comes.

Ave Maria!

“For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly; but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguements and every proud obstacles to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete!” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

Prayers for March 19th-St. Joseph Feast Day

St. Joseph Pray for Us!

Petition for St. Joseph’s Blessing

Bless me, O dearly beloved Father, St. Joseph. Bless my body and my soul; bless my resolutions, my words and deeds, all my actions and omissions, my every step; bless all that I possess, all my interior and exterior goods, that all may redound to the greater honor of God. Bless me for time and eternity, and preserve me from every sin.

Obtain for me the grace to make atonement for all my sins by love and contrition here on earth, so that after my last breath I may, without delay, prostrate at your feet, return thee thanks in heaven for all the love and goodness thou, O dearest father, has shown me here below. Amen.

Act of Consecration to St. Joseph

O dearest St. Joseph, I consecrate myself to thy honor and give myself to thee, that thou may always be my father, my protector and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me a great purity of heart and a fervent love of the interior life.

After thine example, may I do all my actions for the greater glory of God, in union with the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary! And do thou, O blessed St. Joseph, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of thy holy death. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph in a Difficult Problem

O Glorious St. Joseph, thou who has power to render possible even things which are considered impossible, come to our aid in our present trouble and distress. Take this important and difficult affair under thy particular protection, that it may end happily (name your request).

O dear St. Joseph, all our confidence is in thee. Let is not be said that we would invoke thee in vain; and since thou are so powerful with Jesus and Mary, show that thy goodness equals thy power. Amen.

St. Joseph, friend of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.

[Words of Our Lady to St. Bridget of Sweden: “St. Joseph was so reserved and careful in his speech that not one word ever issued from his mouth that was not good and holy, nor did he ever indulge in unnecessary or less than charitable conversation. He was most patient and diligent in bearing fatigue; he practiced extreme poverty; he was most meek in bearing injuries; he was strong and constant against my enemies; he was the faithful witness of the wonders of heaven, being dead to the flesh and the world, living only for God and for heavenly goods, which were the only things he desired. He was perfectly conformed to the Divine Will and so resigned to the dispositions of heaven that he ever repeated: ‘May the Will of God ever be done in me!’ He rarely spoke with me, but continually with God, whose Will he desired to perform. Wherefore, he now enjoys great glory in heaven”.]

Patron Saint:For the sick and dying
Poor Souls
Universal Church
Domestic Church (Family)
Marriage
Terror of Demons
Church Militant
Guardian of Virgins
Workers

“He made him Lord over his household and prince over his possessions…”

Rosary Novena for Unbelievers-Joyful Mysteries

I give my Son to you

Always begin prayer to the Holy Spirit….

Follow the normal instructions on the rosary beads and use the following meditations for reflection in prayer.

Come Holy Spirit…

Creed
Lord God our Father, Father of love together with Mary our dear Mother, your faithful servant and mother of love. I adore you today father together with Her I have decided to pray to you for all those who have not yet discovered your Fatherly love and for those who do not believe in your mercy. I pray to you for those who have distanced themselves from you. I pray for those who believe in you but who live as unbelievers because they have not experienced your fatherly love. Together with Blessed Mother I ask you to send your Holy Spirit upon me. Holy Spirit lead me in prayer and reveal his love to me so that my heart and my soul may be completely immersed in your love. Grant that I may be purified and healed in your love. Grant that I may be able to offer all of my prayers with love for my brothers and sisters who have not yet experienced your love.

Blessed Mother you have called me to pray today for those who do not know the love of God. Together with you, I offer this novena of prayer for your intentions, and for the conversion of sinners.

(Reflect on the meditation of Our Lady’s message for each day)

Day 1 “Dear children, this is a time of grace. Open yourselves to the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit to make you strong. Your Mother, dear children wants especially to call you in this time to prayer and to sacrifice.” (6/1/90)

Day 2 “Dear children! Today I invite you to live peace in your hearts and families. There is no peace, little children where there is no prayer, and there is no love where there no faith. Therefore little children, I invite you all to decide again today for conversion. I am close to you and I invite you all little children, into my embrace to help you, but you do not want it, and so satan is tempting you, and in the smallest things your faith disappears. This is why little children pray and through prayer you will have blessing and peace. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (3/25/95)

Day 3 “Dear children! Do not forget that you are here on earth on the way to eternity and that your home is in Heaven. That is why little children, be open to God’s love and leave egoism and sin. May your joy be only in discovering God in daily prayer. That is why, make good use of this time and pray, pray, pray and God is near to you in prayer and through prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (7/25/2000)

Day 4 “Dear children! I desire to share my joy with you. In my Immaculate Heart I feel that there are many of those who have drawn closer to me and are in a special way carrying the victory of my Immaculate Heart in their hearts by praying and converting. I desire to thank you and to inspire you to work even more for God and His Kingdom with love and the power of the Holy Spirit. I am with you and I bless you with my Motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (8/25/2000)

Day 5 “Dear children! Today I call you through prayer and sacrifice to prepare yourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Little children this is a time of grace and so again I call you to decide for God the Creator. All Him to transform and change you. May your heart be prepared to listen to and live everything which the Holy Spirit has in His plan for each of you. Little children, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you on the way of truth and salvation towards eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (5/25/98)

Day 6 “Dear children, I am with you to take you all to my Son. I wish to bring you all to salvation. Follow me, because only in this way will you be able to find rue peace and happiness. My little children, come with me.” (5/2/2005)

Day 7 “There is no way without my Son. Do not think that you will have peace and joy if you do not have Him in the first place.” (6/2/2006)

“Dear children, God created you with free will to comprehend and to choose life or death. I as a Mother with motherly love desire to help you to comprehend and to choose life. My children, do not deceive yourselves with false peace and false joy. Permit me my children, to show you the true way, the way that leads to life-to my Son. Thank you.” (7/2/2006)

Day 8 “Dear children, with this message I call you to pray for peace. Particularly now when peace is in crisis, you be those who pray and bear witness to peace. Little children, be peace in this peaceless world. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (1/25/2003)

Day 9 “Dear children, here is my Son in my arms! I would like to ask you to be a light for all in the year to come. I would like to call you again to live the messages, those are messages of peace, conversion, prayer, penance and faith. Dear children, your Mother does not ask words from you, I ask for deeds. Your Mother will help you and She will give you the strength to continue. And tonight I would like to tell you; rejoice!” (12/25/89)

Joyful Mysteries

First Joyful Mystery Annunciation of the Lord –
Thank you Father for the love you have for your creatures, and especially for the love you have for Blessed Mother. Thank you for choosing her to be the Mother of your Son, and giving her to the world as a gift to your people. We thank you Father for her obedience and witness of faith, and for her trust in you that she said yes to your plan for the salvation of man. Blessed Mother I too want to thank you for your Fiat to God for our sake, and offering your body for the salvation of souls, which brought the redemption of mankind into the world. I remember now the call you have made to us your children saying,

“Dear children! Today I invite you to comprehend your Christian vocation. Little children, I led and am leading you through this time of grace, that you may become conscious of your Christian vocation. Holy martyrs died witnessing, ‘I am a Christian and love God over everything.’ Little children, today also I invite you to rejoice and be joyful Christians, responsible and conscious that God called you in a special way to be joyfully extended hands towards those who do not believe, and through the example of your life, they may receive faith and love for God. Therefore, pray, pray, pray that your heart may open and be sensitive for the Word of God. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (11/25/97)

Today I pray with you and I ask you to help me to comprehend my Christian vocation, realizing that the saints before me have died witnessing for the love of God. I pray that my heart will be open and sensitive to the word of God that I may as you asked, responsible and joyful witness as your extended hands toward those who do not believe, and by my example that they may receive faith and love for God.

Second Joyful Mystery – The visitation

Blessed Mother with joyful expectation you traveled in haste to your relatives expecting to receive confirmation of the Word of God through his holy angel. Overwhelmed with joy the Holy Spirit filled you and St. Elizabeth while exalting and giving glory to God for our redemption has come to the world! Dear mother, we ask you now to bring your visitation into our families and into our home, our parishes, workplaces, and to our prayer groups. Visit all parents and all children so that they may experience God’s love for them. Let this experience over come their hearts and change hearts so that love may dwell among all men and birth the foundation of peace. May the experience of the love of God bring healing in the hearts of parents and children, and husbands and wives, and may they live in peace. I remember your words when you said,

“Dear children, today I invite you all to awaken your hearts to love. Go into nature and look how nature is awakening and it will be a help for you to open your hearts to the love of God the Creator. I desire you to awaken love in your families so that where there is unrest and hatred, love will reign and when there is love in your hearts, then there is also prayer. And dear children, do not forget that I am with you and I am helping you with my prayer that God may give you the strength to love. I bless and love you with my Motherly love. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (4/25/93)

Dear mother with you I pray that my heart is awakened to the love of God and that I will glorify Him in His creation. Teach me how to love, and how to awaken love in my family especially where we are lacking peace in our home, so that love will reign and give birth to prayer. I thank you dear mother for reminding me that you are with me, and that you are praying for me to the Father that I may have strength to live the call you are giving me today.

Third Joyful Mystery – The Nativity of the Lord

Thank you Father for letting the world experience your love through the birth of your Son Jesus Christ into the world. Be blessed and glorified through all the hearts that recognize your love in this great mystery of the infant born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We bless you Father and praise you for revealing yourself in such poverty and in such a simple way and for the opening of many hearts to your love in His poverty at birth.

Dear Father, we pray now with Blessed Mother for all expectant mothers with their husbands that they will accept their unborn children with love as Our Lady accepted your Son with love. May your love heal the hearts of pregnant women who want to reject their children through abortion. With your love Father, grant that they may expect their child with your love and accept this great gift with joy. May all newborn infants experience your love through the love of their parents. And for all those who have been denied the love of father or mother; grant them healing and that they will open their hearts to your love through the goodness of others.
Blessed Mother I remember when you said,

“Dear children! Today in a special way, I invite you to take the cross in the hands and to meditate on the wounds of Jesus. Ask of Jesus to heal your wounds, which you dear children, during your life sustained because of the sins of your parents. Only in this way, dear children, you will understand that the world is in need of healing of faith in God the Creator. By Jesus’ passion and death on the cross, you will understand that only through prayer you too can become true apostles of faith, when in simplicity and prayer, you live faith which is a gift. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (3/25/97)

Dear mother, today I decide to forgive my parents and family members (name them each here) for all the hurt that has been caused to me, and I ask for the perfect love of Jesus to come into the areas of my heart where pain has been caused. I understand that there are many in this world in need of this great healing of faith, to come to know the love of the Father. I pray that through the passion and death of Jesus on the cross it will help me to understand that I also can be an apostle of faith and a witness to love. Obtain for me the grace I need to become a light of your presence today.

Fourth Joyful Mystery – Presentation in the Temple

Thank you Blessed Mother with St. Joseph for presenting your Son in the temple and being obedient to your faith and the law of Moses, and for the old man Simeon who experienced the love of God and constantly gave praise and glory to God in the temple.

Dear Father in heaven, together with Blessed Mother we present all those who pray to be open to your love, we pray for the Holy Father, and all bishops and priests, religious brothers and sisters. Grant that their lives be filled with your love and may help others to come to experience your love.

We also offer you all those who know they need to pray but do not because they lack love. Touch their hearts so that they may be open, and overcome with your immeasurable love. I remember when you said dear Mother that you want to present each of us to God;

“Dear children, I have been inviting you for years by these messages which I am giving you. Little children, by means of the message I wish to make a very beautiful mosaic in your heart so I may be able to present each one of you to God like the original image. Therefore, little children I desire that your decisions be free before God, because He has given you freedom. Therefore, pray so that, free from any influence of satan, you may decide only for God. I am praying for you before God and I am seeking your surrender to God. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (11/25/89)

Dear mother, I accept your invitation and I renew my yes to you again today. I thank you for your constant love and protection, and for your desire to see me in heaven with you, and for God’s desire to make me a new creation in Him. I choose to love God freely this day and for my life. Dear Father, with Blessed Mother I ask to be free of temptations that my decisions may always be for the good. Please hear the prayers of Blessed Mother on my behalf. I surrender all things to you.

Fifth Joyful Mystery – The Finding of the child Jesus in the Temple

Blessed Mother, with St. Joseph you experienced deep sorrow at the lose of Jesus your Son in the temple, but your sorrow quickly turned to joy when you found him again. You searched with love and joy and He was found. Your apparitions are a sign of love that you are looking for us too, and your prayer is proof of your desire to help all of us to experience God’s love.

With you dear mother I pray for all those who have lost faith, hope and love, and for those who do not have peace or joy in their hearts. Obtain for them dear mother a new love, a new hope, a new faith, a new joy and a new profound peace of heart. I pray especially for the young people who do not experience love in their families and consequently look for love in the wrong way. Your concern is great for the young people for you said,

“Dear children, I again ask you to pray for all the young people of the world because they find themselves in a difficult situation. You can help them with your love and prayers of the heart…decide for God these days. You young people, put God in the first place in your life thus you will have with Him a way that is sure. I invite you to pray for my intention for peace.” (1992)

Dear Mother, I pray with you to the Father for all the young people of the world and I ask for the gift of love to love them with a tender love that they need and that my prayers of the heart will help them obtain the love they need. Strengthen the spirit of the youth today that they will choose to put God in the first place in their life, for a future full of hope, and decide for peace.

Closing Prayer:God my Father hear the prayers we offer you today with Blessed Mother. Manifest your love to all who seek it, especially to those who do not know your love, so that the entire world may be overcome with love. We ask this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ your Son. Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth and the hearts of men.

So What is an Unbeliever? Am I?

"If I do not wash you, then you will have no inheritance with me..."

“Dear children, I am coming to you, because with my own example, I wish to show you the importance of prayer for those who have not come to know the love of God. You ask yourself if you are following me? My children, do you not recognize the sign of the times? Do you not speak of them? Come follow me. As a mother I call you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (4/2/2006)

What is an unbeliever?

According to one of the visionaries of Medjugorje, an unbeliever is someone who does not experience the love of God.

If we look at it in this term we can say that almost every human being is an unbeliever right? Because in truth how many are daily experiencing the love of God, or encountering God in their every day prayer, or prayer life?

In the scriptures, St. James addresses an unbeliever. The apostle said,

“What good is it my brothers if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (Jas. 2:14)

By this we can say that an unbeliever is one who may read the gospels, knows and believe in the gospels, but does NOT have works, nor does he live according to the gospels and does not do what is good. Well now we are getting somewhere.

We cannot limit the term unbeliever to one who is godless or does not believe in God. We would be wrong in saying this. In truth, everyone is an unbeliever because our faith is very weak, especially in times of temptation, or times of suffering and trials. And in all truth, not every one is living the gospel to perfection. If we were then we would never see one abortion, nor would there be war, emnity or strife….

For someone who says they have faith (which is a gift from God) is worthless if there is no love behind the faith. If you question this, then just check yourself in the examination of conscience from 1 Corinthians chapter 13, defining what love is.

Love of a believer is one who believes all things for the good, hopes all things, endures all things. Someone who is in love exercises great patience, kindness and great charity nor matter what may come his way good or evil. If we have none of these gifts, then your faith is nothing and empty without works, and you are only a loud sounding gong, in other words you are just filled with chatter and making a lot of noise.

Every Christian, and I repeat EVERY CHRISTIAN (no one is excluded) who says he knows God and has experienced the love of God, is called to pray for unbelievers, to live the Commandments of God and of Jesus to love of neighbor and knows what needs to be done for the greater good.

To know what needs to be done does not mean someone always has the strength to do the good. Only love for God can we find the strength to do good, because divine love in us will act through us according to the knowledge given us.

When a heart experiences the love of God, then at every moment and in every situation, a response is not only possible, but will be carried out with joy.

Mirjana (visionary who is called to pray for unbelievers) has said repeatedly, “If you can only see the tears in our Lady’s eyes when she speaks about her children, the unbelievers, you would immediately pray for them…” Mirjana emphasizes that when we pray for unbelievers we are actually praying for ourselves and OUR FUTURE, because bad things come from unbelievers. The one who prays for the grace to love is praying for happiness and well being for themselves and for others.

Let’s just give this some thought for a moment. Let’s look at a situation that may occur in a family of someone who may be acting as an unbeliever in the home environment. Someone may be discouraged or angry for something that happened to them. They will bring this negative behavior into the home and carry it forward to other family members. They may stir up arguments, fights or bring it about in other ways of emotions, such as mockery, temper tantrums and so on.

If we do not have the tools or the grace to exercise virtue in these moments, and the strength to turn to God for our situations through prayer, then it is not just one person who is the unbeliever, but all who are affected by the one persons actions. Then what good comes from that?

Therefore a day should not go by without praying for those who do not know the love of God.

For this we will post meditations and reflections of prayer for unbelievers to be prayed with your daily rosary. Keep watch for further postings….

“Faith of itself without works is dead…” (Jas. 2:17)

Proper Prayer Comes from the Heart

I am He Who is called Faithful and True

I have taken some time now, as I have in my own private prayer and in prayer group setting to reflect more and more on the richness of the message of Our Lady that was just given on 2/2/2011 through Mirjana.
Here it is again for your review:

“Dear children, you are gathering around me, you are seeking your way, you are seeking, you are seeking the truth but are forgetting what is the most important, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything. Wandering in darkness, you even imagine God Himself according to yourselves, and not such as He really is in His love. Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God, and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him. Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to the unity of God’s family. Thank you.” (2/2/2011)

Our Lady said on 1/25/2011 that the Holy Spirit is working in the hearts of those who said ‘yes’ to her. And here she is now giving detailed instruction on how to follow her teaching.

The first image I had when I began to reflect on her message was of a child’s game called pin the tale on the donkey. The focus was on the child who is blindfolded, spinning around and then trying to find its mark. And here is our Lady saying three times repeated, “you are seeking, your are seeking, your are seeking…” as if she is saying you are getting closer and closer, and closer to me….BUT….

“…you are seeking the truth, but you are forgetting what is the MOST IMPORTANT, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything…”

Does this sound like your prayer life? Is it all repetition? Or do you feel you are just going through the motion, but not getting any where, and you are wondering why you even need to take the step to pray? What’s the purpose? Are you saying, “I’m not getting anything out of it?”

Most likely you won’t get anything out of it, if you are just praying with your lips, in a religious routine, reciting your words over and over, just to get the prayer done and out of the way. But you are not encountering God in your prayer. Your spirit is still in darkness and you are not quite there yet to meeting God.

The imagination wanders and you imagine God to be who you want Him to be, not who He is.

I find this very common among our Christian brothers and sisters. God bless them!

However, the lose term is “Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior.”

Is God a personal God? Can we make God what we want Him to be for us? Do we see a problem with this?

Let’s just think for a moment. If God is my personal God, then I am going to tell God what I want Him to do for me. Or I can go on sinning and have no accountability for my sin, because Jesus died for me and that is it! He saved me, so I am going to heaven.

This is so contrary to the gospels in this way of thinking. We forget that God is the Creator, and we are the creatures. God belongs to no body! But we belong to Him.

Here is a basic catechism lesson. Why did God create you? To know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this life so that we can be with Him in the next life. So many are asking, who is God? For most this will be kept a great mystery until the day of judgment.

For others however, we know God, because He has come in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. If you want to know the Father, you must know the Son. He is the way to the Father. Remember, Philip the apostle said to Jesus, “show us the Father and we will believe…” Jesus told Philip, ‘you have been with me this long, and you still don’t believe. If you see me then you see the Father…” Jesus is the way to the Father. “No one can come to the Father except through me,” said the Lord.

How quickly in our prayer do we run to the Father in our pride? Do we realize who we are encountering in this moment? Even Jesus humbled Himself before the Father, and said, “Equality to the Father is something to be grasped. Think about these words…

We really need to be careful in our spiritual life and fully aware of what we are doing, especially in the presence of the Father. It is wise and prudent to ask the Lord for the gift of Fear of the Lord, for in this comes all wisdom.

Our Lady continues on and speaks about prayer. She said,

“…Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God, and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him….”

Wow! The key word here is ‘proper prayer.’ I have heard many times so many people say, ‘it does not matter how you pray, as long as you pray.’ Now there is truth to this, however the Mother is looking for a little more. The mother is saying, ‘proper prayer comes from the heart…”

Our Lady calls us to prayer with the heart and has done so on many occasions, and to make it all the more clearer, the prayer with the heart comes out of your suffering, out of your joy and when you are humbled asking for forgiveness when sin has been enlightened in you.

Now in reality, let’s look at suffering prayer. Don’t you think when the Father was looking at Jesus in his tormented agony praying from the cross, or praying in the garden of Olives that the Father had compassion on the Son? Of course He did! The Father was moved in grief to see His only Son suffer in the way He did so beautifully, laying His life down showing the Father everything that He created was good, and worth it to do what He had accomplished.

When someone is in joy, isn’t their heart rejoicing and the spirit is lifted high? So what do we do with this joy. We praise and thank God for giving us the gift of joy, and the gift that we are joyful for, with an ardent love for him in great gratitude, and maybe as a sign of our appreciation, we would make a special offering of thanksgiving to the Father for what He has done for us.

Prayer of the heart in seeking forgiveness. My friends, never forget the cross. Never forget what Jesus endured to save the soul. Here is the triumph of mercy for souls, in the cross. When we seek the Lord in His mercy and ask for forgiveness, there is no greater glory that is given to God, for we acknowledge our weakness, and give praise to Jesus on the Cross for our redemption.

For the one who is humble, and the one who has contrition for sin, there is nothing that the Lord will not do for such a soul. Jesus said to St. Faustina that we offend Him most when we do not trust in His mercy.

In the darkness, we are blind and we cannot see. Our Lady says we are wandering in the darkness, just like the image give above. We are disoriented and cannot find our way. Sin weakens the soul, and makes deaf our ears and eyes of the heart. That is when we are in sin, we cannot discern clearly the things of God, we lose our focus and fall off the path He has designed for us. We must always seek to remain in the light, and frequent the sacrament of reconciliation.

Do we see now that we cannot justify ourselves and our life styles to have God conform to us? NO! This is the lie. God is the same, and I will repeat this over and over. He is the same, yesterday, today, and will be in generations to come.
God cannot be made up in the imagination. He is Who He is, and in truth and in prayer we must seek Him for Who He is. You cannot create God to be what you want Him to be for yourself; that is ‘disordered.’ No! he created you to be who you are. He knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. (Is. 44:2, Jer. 1:5, Is. 43:1)

Our Lady has come with a purpose. Her purpose, her desire is to convert sinners and return them back to her Son. She wants the world to convert. This leaves no one human person out. She said very clearly in this message:

“…Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to the unity of God’s family….”

Her mission is to bring the family of God back together as one. Yes, she repeated again what she just said last month; remember, she is praying that we comprehend that we are God’s family. And she has summed up the purpose for her coming for this very reason. God’s children must reflect the image of the Father, and who better than the Mother to form and to teach the children of the family of God. Isn’t this a Mother’s role after all in the home?

Well it is suppose to be. Blessed Mother is the true feminine. She knows her role to perfection, and she will not shrink from her role and mother to make sure that every child of hers is safely back with her.

Remember, God is Father. Our Lady is Mother, and this Mother is determined to transform her children in the image of Jesus. Remember, Jesus was the only acceptable sacrifice pleasing to the Father. If we want the Father to see us then the Father needs to see Jesus fully alive in us. That means someone has to go, and that is the I, I, I inside of me, me, me. As St. John the Baptist said, “I must decrease so that He may increase…” (John 3:30)

Our Lady came to Medjugorje on 6/24/1981; the feast of St. John the Baptist, the herald call of the prophet who said, “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His path.” She has come in the Spirit of Elijah to bring the triumphant reign of her Son in the world, and in human hearts. This is the mission. This is her plan. There is nothing short of this.

My friends, when Medjugorje is fulfilled, the power of satan will be destroyed. Mirjana said this. There will be nothing left but God and the sinner in fullness of truth. There are so many false claims of a final confrontation or the last battle. The battle is for your soul. God has already won the battle on Good Friday over 2000 years ago.

The enemy wants your soul, and will stop at nothing to claim it. Our Lady said in Medjugorje, it knows it has but a short time and it has become aggressive. The human spirit is so weakened by sin, it is just handing itself over into the hands of the enemy, without even reflecting on the eternal future.

Prayer and conversion are the only things that are important today. Satan wants you to think other wise and lures to worldly things which only distract the human intellect and heart from God. There is nothing more important than the salvation of your soul. If anyone can walk away from anything in reading these letters, I repeat again, your soul is more important than your home, your car, your bank account. Let’s get it all into perspective my friends. Convert!

I will continue on again in another posting, however for this purpose I feel I must stop here, to allow time for reflection. Take to heart the words and read them prayerfully with the help of the Holy Spirit, and pray for truth!

“The one who comes from above is above all. The one who comes from the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all…the Father loves the Son and has given everything over to Him. Who ever believes the Son has eternal life. Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.” (Jn. 3:31, 35-36)

We Walk By Faith not by Sight

"Lord open his eyes that he may see" (2 King 6)

Believe the invisible…hard to swallow isn’t it? Believe the invisible. To believe in something we cannot see, and to trust in something we do not know, or do we?

Yet we walk by faith and not by sight right? St. Paul said, “no one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God…” (1 Cor. 12:3)

I often reflect on the people of Israel and how hard it had to be for them to believe in just a word of the testimony and witness of the prophets, and yet I find myself today in the same struggles. If it weren’t for the crucified, how difficult it would be for me to just believe a word…yet the Word of God was alive for this people who lived it and experienced it.

The Lord spoke to me on one occasion, and it was a powerful prayer experience with God. He spoke and said the same words given to St. John the Baptist by his father Zachariah… the Words were to me, “you my child shall be called the prophet of the most high, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of sins. In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall come upon you, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide their feet on to the path of peace.”

Now most of us have heard and prayed these words, and maybe feel it in your heart as you pray it, as it is part of the morning prayer in the divine office of the Church.

But it was different for me. This word was enfleshed in me. I felt these words in the very depth of my soul. My heart burns when I hear them, and the Lord has consumed me with such zeal for His house no words can describe. I was called “sunshine” by my birth father even to this day, affirming the words “the dawn from on high shall shine upon you…”

This prophetic voice came to my soul over 10 years ago at a time I was naïve, yet wisdom and experience have proven to me to be careful and prudent of what you say yes to.

I don’t want to be mis-understood here, because where I am today verses where I was then is clearly night and day, literally. But the Lord has raised me up as a prophet, and well we all know a prophet is never welcomed at his home town…that is those who know me cannot believe it is really me.

What I didn’t know then, and what I know now, but most especially by experience, none the less, is that a prophet lives in his body what God is conveying to His people by voice.

You see then I used to say like many unbelievers, “the bible is just a bunch of words written by men, and it doesn’t even apply today…”

God in His infinite wisdom called me out on this, in a most powerful way. Here I am today to say, “watch out unbelievers! You will be made an example of, if you don’t believe the spoken word of God in His holy text!”

I don’t even want to ask any more when I am reflecting about what something means in the bible, because the minute I ask, the Lord will show me, right in my own home…now I’m just kidding to some respect, but there is truth to this.

Why am I saying this? All of the experiences I have had to go through, not just myself, but with my husband, our marriage sacrament, our children, our family, has been nothing short of the crucible, the fiery furnace. When you walk with God, it will be so for your own good and salvation. I’ve had to live it to tell it!

I can honestly speak with experience the lessons taught in the bible first hand experience by living it first hand, and say with confidence this is why I am experiencing this, as atonement for sin, for intercession, for my own conversion, for the greater good of another and so on…

Now do I do this perfectly…ABSOLUTELY NOT. Because I never know when I am in the storm or going through the fire why it has come until I pass through and see it from the other side.

We have been writing a series of articles just about what has been on my own heart in prayer as I feel Our Lady and the Lord moving in my own private life. However, I am convicted in many ways, by the calls, e-mails and conversations I have with many that we are all in similar ways going through the same thing.

Our Lady just spoke to the world again yesterday about the way we pray (2/2/2011). I felt as if she is enforcing what we’ve already been talking about which I will put in another posting.

However as to continue from what we began last week, on the series of messages from 1992 and with her help in her recent messages, she said in my heart just today… “keep writing.” I said, “who is really listening, I am just a voice? Who wants to hear me?”

Ah ha, then the word came quickly, St. John the Baptist, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord…”

Oh but a heavy sigh, I said again, “Yes! Ok. I am just a voice of one, and I emphasize the word ‘one.’

There is a difference between a voice and the Word. You see Jesus is the Word flesh. Meaning His word is alive in the flesh.

I am a voice. A voice is empty and just makes noise and chatters. But if it has the Word of God, then there is some content to what is spoken. There is an experience in the Word, and this word can be lived and put to life.

The Lord has declared that His spoken word is made flesh in me. (Now of course this does not mean just me, because He is in all of us, but what He is saying to me in my own heart He is trying to get my attention to something more deeper inside of me).

So now I have to believe in faith, BY HIS WORD that what He said is true and that my one voice will be heard and stir the spirit in another. I can only speak by what He has put on my heart to speak, and trust that what is spoken He will do the work on His own in the heart of another and meet them where they are at.

So to continue with Our Lady message below which she gave to the world in 1992 is still present for today even though it was given 9 yrs ago-just like scripture it is a living word and used in the present moment.

What we do not understand my friends is heaven is on earth. Our Lady is bringing heaven to us; Yes! Just like we ask in the Lord’s prayer.

So we are in God’s time, her time right now in heaven. We are in a suspended time of history where heaven has come to meet earth and God wants His people to look toward Him again. Hence the meaning “time of grace, time of mercy.”

Mirjana (Medjugorje visionary) had an experience with Our Lady when she was a child in the early days. It was that her watch was running backwards. Keep in mind Fatima at this time and the third secret untold, which eventually made public was found that a nuclear war was to occur in the mid-80’s. This was a time of the cold war, between Russia and the United States. The threat of nuclear war was emanate. Lucia the Fatima visionary confirmed this in her testimony before she died and Pope John Paul II knew about it.

The visionary (Mirjana) understood that time was being reversed when she prayed about its meaning. Time was being suspended. The earth was given more time to convert; Blessed Mother obtained that grace from her Son.

And now Our Lady has as I have said in the past posting, ‘rolled up her sleeves, and is getting down to business to clean up the house of God, and tell her children its time for them to come home from their non-sense.’

Blessed Mother has just proclaimed to the world that hearts are changing now. In 30 years of apparitions, the Mother has never said this. She is saying this now! Hearts are changing and the Holy Spirit is at work! (1/25/2011) Praise God my friends, praise God!

But now, she doesn’t want us just to pray with our lips, she wants us to pray with our hearts, our whole being, not to pray for our gain, but to seek God for who He is. (2/2/2011). Well here’s a twist.

Do you know God? Do you know who He is? How are you going to know of Him if you do not spend time with Him and experience Him?

So I ask that you read the below message and ask yourself, is this the way I pray?

“Dear children, today also I invite you to prayer so that through prayer you come yet closer to God. I am with you and wish to lead you on the path to salvation which Jesus gives. From day to day I am closer and closer to you, although you are not conscious of it and do not want to admit that you are connected to me in prayer only a little bit. When temptations and problems arise you say: “Oh God, O Mother, where are you?” And I only wait for you to give me your yes so that I pass it on to Jesus and that He may bestow with you graces. Therefore, once again accept my call and begin anew to pray, until prayer becomes a joy for you. And then you will discover that God is Almighty in your everyday life. I am with you and I wait for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (5/25/92)

Let’s begin with the first part; Our Lady begins with her invitation to prayer. “…also today I invite you to prayer….SO THAT THROUGH PRAYER YOU COME YET CLOSER TO GOD….”

Prayer is a way to bring us closer to God. How can anyone say He knows God, if He is not praying? That’s a hypocrite! You don’t know anyone unless you spend time with them and they share their deepest darkest thoughts of their heart with you.

Jesus said, “I have called you friend, because I tell you everything I have heard from the father…” (Jn. 15:15)

Jesus wants to share in the most intimate way what we should know about the Father. However, to get close to the Father, we must pass through His Son.

Friend? Are we friends of Jesus? He said we are friends if we live His commandments, just as previously posted. (Jn. 15:14)

But most of us are not even living the commandments. A friend of Jesus is one who lays His life down for another because of love. This is friendship with God. Isn’t this what Jesus did?

Our Lady said at another occasion, “I call you to the love that is loyal and pleasing to God…” There was only one love that was loyal and pleasing to God, and that was His only begotten Son crucified on the cross. This is the love that is loyal and pleasing to God. You allow yourself to be crucified, and die to yourself because of love for another and for God.

That is true friendship. That is true love of a spouse or a husband for His bride. He’s not complaining, not begrudging, not accusing, but to do it because Jesus did it for you in love. This is only one part of your Christian vocation my friends.

Then our Lady continues, and she said…

“…I am with you and wish to lead you on the path to salvation which Jesus gives. From day to day I am closer and closer to you, although you are not conscious of it and do not want to admit that you are connected to me in prayer only a little bit.

The path to salvation is where she wants to lead us which Jesus gave is the “way of the cross.” That is the path to salvation. That means, your trials, your suffering, your burdens is your path to your salvation…taking up your “daily crosses” and follow Jesus the way He carried the cross and the way you carry your cross will determine how heavy or light the burden will be for you.

She is with us from day to day, and she is coming closer to us. Her holiness, her presence is going to stir up dust in us, because we cannot remain close to her nor to her Son if we have a spot of darkness. She will make sure is it wiped spotless from us. So you may experience stirrings of agitations around you, that are to get your attention to say… “hmm I am not liking this, I want this to change.” Yep! She wants it to change also!

I will share with you a moment of agony and suffering in my own life. Now I have experienced God’s power in my life in a most tremendous way on multiple occasions. I have seen and witnessed things that there is no doubt in my mind God exists.

But even because of this I am fully aware of the weakness in my own humanity, of who I am, and knowing I am powerless.

Our family is going through a tremendous trial in this time. Now, no body would know this, because it is a silent suffering. Those on the outside would never know if we did not bring it to light. But all the more, knowing what I know about God, travailing is not any less, because we are human, we have emotions, we exist in this world, and we are not always going to be strong and for certain we are going to suffer.

But I got to experience today the power of the sacrament of marriage in a way that I have not before. I was consumed with anxiety and a fear today over a situation with our family, feeling helpless and desperate, still knowing nothing is in my control, nothing is in my power to change it. I had to just press into the pain, and seek refuge with the Lord.

I went deeper into my prayer, talking to Jesus and Blessed Mother in my heart telling them all my feelings about what was going on. I grabbed my crucifix and I carried it around the house with me, holding my mystical spouse tightly, and looking at him, knowing I was in the marriage bed with him on the cross in agony and in tears; and with all my heart in one breath asking why, and the other breath saying let it be.

The struggle within me was intense, and I clutched Jesus all the more, and my tears are covering the crucifix pouring over him.

My husband in the midst of all of this called me on the phone demanding to talk to me through my daughter. I said I was not able to talk right now, because I did not want him to know how much pain I was carrying, because I did not want him to worry about me.

When I took his call however, he began to share with me, how he was feeling this weight come over him of this cross we are carrying and asked me if we could just sit together tonight, that we didn’t even have to pray, but to be silent together. I could hardly hold back the tears. He didn’t know what I was experiencing in this time, because I never told him. Only Jesus crucified knew who I was holding in my arms in this moment.

But you see what you all don’t know is that I have been praying to see Jesus in my spouse for many years, to open my eyes so I could love my spouse the way I love Jesus and love Jesus in him.

And through this agonizing experience, I was able to unite my suffering on the cross, struggle in it, and a beautiful grace came in it. The burden is still there, but there was a peace that came in the voice of my spouse; that is my husband and Jesus speaking through him. I can hardly hold back the tears as I am writing about this now.

The Lord then gave me a flash of an image. I saw my husband in the person of Jesus. First it was Jesus and then it was him, flashing in and out, carrying the cross. I then experienced Jesus’ love for me carrying this burden on His shoulders as my own mystical husband, and is giving my husband the grace to carry it for me.

I don’t understand why God does what He does and His ways, but this is a most intimate experience that know body knows about (of course until now because I have just shared this in the book of my life).

So as I reflect today on this message of Our Lady when she said…

“… When temptations and problems arise you say: “Oh God, O Mother, where are you?” And I only wait for you to give me your yes so that I pass it on to Jesus and that He may bestow with you graces…”

I had to find the strength in my heart knowing God was listening to me, to cry out and say … “Yes! I will carry this cross! I remember you Blessed Mother with St. Joseph and your struggles as a husband and wife waiting upon the Lord, and I affirm loudly, “I believe in the love of God for me, I believe He has the power to deliver us from this darkness, this is why I need you God in my life! I cannot carry these burdens alone…”

And then the Lord proved by this experience, He not only heard my prayer, but He let me experience the power of my vocation and the sacramental grace in it with a small consolation of His love for me in my spouse.

In this moment, I was able to experience “God Almighty” today in my life as our Lady promised in this message through prayer. I don’t know the future, I only know what is present and I am here to proclaim, “My God reigns!”

Maybe this will help someone reading this, to go deeper into their heart in the midst of the fire, and cling to Jesus as He has taught me. Let the Church the bride of Christ, cling to her spouse! Ave Maria!

“I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit and everyone that does He prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word I spoke to you. Remain in me as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit because without me you can do nothing….” (Jn. 15:1-5)

A Future Full of Hope

The Holy Spirit is at work in the world

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes when you seek me with all your heart you will find me with you says the LORD…” (Jer. 29:11-14)

There was no question…when I saw the word that our Lady gave to the world this month on 1/25/2011 this is the scripture that came to my heart. If you didn’t see her message or had the chance to reflect on it yet, here it is. Can’t you just feel the warmth of her love for us?

“Dear children! Also today I am with you and I am looking at you and blessing you, and I am not losing hope that this world will change for the good and that peace will reign in the hearts of men. Joy will begin to reign in the world because you have opened yourselves to my call and to God’s love. The Holy Spirit is changing a multitude of those who have said ‘yes’. Therefore, I desire to say to you, thank you for having responded to my call.”

The Mother is grateful and is looking at you, and giving her motherly blessing! Praise God, she is grateful!

There is a future, and a future full of hope, if only we seek God with all of our hearts.

This week, we have had a series of articles posted about increasing our devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to avoid being superficial in our prayer life.

On the same day she gave this message to the world, she led me to the following message she gave on 10/31/1988 in my private prayer. Which not only seems to continue with the theme of what I have been writing about this week, but also will tie in all the more her most recent message given above. I will explain further. She said,

“Dear children, (I personalize this word as if she is saying my name) tonight your Mother wants to encourage you to begin prayer with the heart. This prayer is necessary to today’s man for today’s world.

Do not just pray with your lips. Do not pray if you don’t know what to pray. During this period too, dear children, I need your prayers, because I have great plans. I want to collaborate with you. I have repeated that many times in my messages. I need you. Because of that pray, pray with the heart!”

For me personally, I lean toward a contemplative spirituality, because I love the silence of heart and the peace that comes in it. So I was perplexed about this message-and saying in my own heart, dear Blessed Mother, am I not already praying with the heart?

But twice she has repeated in this message in my private prayer to ‘pray with the heart’.

Then I began to understand further that she was not only speaking to me to hear this word, I feel she is speaking to all of us, because of the former reflections the Lord has been leading and teaching us, in this week’s reflection, as if she has more to say to us (again, who knows, I leave this for your discernment).

As a reminder however, I understood fully it that we all need to penetrate more deeply into our prayers, and begin to build a relationship of the heart with God contemplating Jesus.

Therefore this message she has given says as she said before, not to be superficial in your prayer and with her messages, and now not to pray with just your lips. She is calling us to a deeper contemplation, and a deeper level of prayer into a deeper union; not with the lips, but of the heart, and to reflect on the life of Jesus.

Now some of us may be saying, well I already have that….guess what, not enough.

There is always another level of the heart the Lord will take you to. St. Teresa of Avila describes it as the ‘interior castles’ the spiritual journey from room to room in the heart with God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says when we “enter into contemplative prayer, it is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy, we gather up the heart, recollect our whole being with the Holy Spirit, where we abide with the Lord…” (CCC 2711)

That is we are entering into God’s time, which is eternal and present. It is where all time stands still and you are alone with God.

There in the heart, there is nobody else present, but you and the Lord. There are no masks, no pretending, you are there with God in truth as you really are as creature with your Creator, and the Lord is able to love you as you are.

The Catechism also says (2712) “contemplative prayer is the prayer of a child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome love by which he is loved and wants to respond by loving even more. But this love is being poured out by the Holy Spirit in his heart because everything is grace from God…it is the poor humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in even deeper union with His beloved Son…Contemplative prayer is silence, the symbol of the world to come, or a silent love (2716)”

It is the love between the bridegroom and his bride in intimate union. Boy I tell you if you are a romantic, this is the greatest romance anyone could receive, and no human being could reach its perfection. Remember, the world cannot offer this love; because the world is full of noise, chatter and busyness. Only God can give you the love that you need, and this silent hidden divine love must be drawn from the divine lover himself.

Yet I hear the words, contemplative prayer is the prayer of a child of God…isn’t our Lady praying for her children that they will comprehend who they are as “God’s family, God’s children?”

How many times in the gospels to we hear that Jesus went away to pray to His Father?

So as we move forward and contemplate further our Lady’s message; in her words I find most encouraging in this way. She said the Holy Spirit is changing a multitude of hearts in the world, because of those who have said yes to her. Great news! Hearts are changing toward the good.

Our Lady has hope for the future, that this world as we know of now will change for the good, and once more there will be peace established on this earth and in the hearts of men.

The enemy however wants us to believe otherwise. It wants us to believe that darkness is triumphant by what it feeds the world through media, propaganda and such.

But not so says heaven! God sees the heart, and men appear to be tired of “garbage in, garbage out.”

Blessed Mother is able to see us through the heart. These are the hearts of her own children who are devoted to her, who are the ones sacrificing their lives for her in this time of grace. This message is for you dear children of the Mother of God, who encourages you with a profound motherly love; who has come to the world to say with all her heart, ‘thank you for all the hard work and sacrifices you are making for her, in building up the kingdom of God!”

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know I need these encouraging words as one who on the front lines of this spiritual battle. It seems like every time we turn around we have more opportunity for grace to glorify God, because there is always a form of suffering to offer up.

But Blessed Mother is not finished yet my friends. Her words of hope are to encourage us, to work all the more harder for God’s kingdom, and to keep constructing that interior temple. This is a time of building up God’s Kingdom and His palace.

Our dear Mother is putting confidence in us, her children, that is the church, and she is saying to her little children, ‘I know you can do this, keep going…I know it’s hard, but I am with you, I have hope-draw from me for this gift of hope…Keep going, persevere, work towards holiness and peace….”

As I was writing this, I had an image of all of the children of Our Lady and we are in the image of Jesus all on the way of the cross. The weight of the cross seems at times all too heavy to carry for us, and as if being overcome by the weight and the burdens we feel we cannot press on any longer, and we fall many times. We are tired, and feel beaten down, and even asking ourselves is it really worth it? But here comes our Lady in haste when we have fallen down, just like she did for Jesus on the way of the cross. And she said with great encouragement and great hope, ‘Yes! It is worth it my child. Look at what the Father has prepared for you. Hearts are changing; the Holy Spirit is moving, and what you are doing for me is not in vain. You will not regret it my children, keep your eyes on the vision that Jesus had. Keep going my little ones, keep going…’

It is like receiving a fresh drink of water in the dry hot desert, and taking that moments rest before pressing on into the time of Lent where we will soon confront the sins of our nature, and wrestle with them and put them to death, so we can be clothed again once more in a new garment of grace and virtue.

Yes, faithful devotees of Blessed Mother; set your eyes on the triumphant victory of Jesus and draw from the waters and take a drink with Jesus at the well spring of hope and life who said, “If you but knew the gift of God!”

O Lord, send down your fires of Hope! Here the cries of our heart. My soul cries out to you O God. Send down your fires of hope!

“Study therefore to withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to turn yourself to things invisible. For they that follow their sensuality defile their conscience, and lose the grace of God…If we would really honor Jesus Christ we must apply ourselves to know Him, to love Him and to follow Him in the practice of every Christian virtue. This is absolutely necessary for salvation as we cannot become true Christians, but by knowing, loving and following Christ. To pretend to please our Blessed Savior by a profound knowledge of His divinity, without endeavoring to follow His example, without living as He lived, would be most dangerously to delude ourselves…” (Imitation of Christ, chpt.1)

Accept the Call with Seriousness

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful...

God is good! Picking up from where we left off yesterday, and reflecting on the series of the messages of Medjugorje from the spring of 1992, I came across a reflection from St. Louis deMonfort from “True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

If you recall the message I posted on 1/24/2011 from 3/25/92, the Blessed Mother said that her children were losing interest in her and her messages, and taking the message “superficially” as if this word was carefully used to describe the lukewarmness of the hearts of many so called devotees of Our Lady.

This is what the great Marian saint said about “superficial devotees.”

“Superficial devotees are people whose entire devotion to Our Lady consists in exterior practices. Only the externals of devotion appeal to them because they have no interior spirit. They say many rosaries with great haste and assist at many Masses distractedly. They take part in processions of our Lady without inner fervor. They join her confraternities without reforming their lives or restraining their passions or imitating Mary’s virtues. All that appeals to them is the emotional aspect of this devotion, but the substance of it has no appeal at all. If they do not feel a warmth in their devotions, they think they are doing nothing; they become upset, and give up everything or else do things only when they feel like it. The world is full of these shallow devotees, and there are none more critical of men of prayer who regard the interior devotion as the essential aspect and strive to acquire it, without however neglecting a reasonable external expression which always accompanies true devotion.” (96)

St. Louis deMonfort is describing those literally who just go through the motion; for example let’s say just praying the rosary with the lips, but there is no heart to heart union or contemplative reflection on the life of Jesus in the rosary. The rosary is a prayer of the gospels. They rush through the rosary, and are seen in the church as pious devotees however, there is no relationship with Our Lady or their God.

They have no interest in changing their lives or following the way of the cross as true devotees, in fact are put off by it. They look for spiritual consolations to make themselves feel good, but quickly find dryness in their prayer; kind of a “what’s in it for me attitude.”

St. Louis de Montfort called them ‘shallow devotees’ and are very critical of those seeking the interior life. They will not go deep into their hearts to look at themselves.

There is a danger here in this practice, because of self-righteousness, and false piety.

In her message of 3/25/92, the Blessed Mother admonished these superficial devotees, and said because of their coldness and disinterest in her, the messages or her Son, they leave themselves prey for the enemy. Simply because they are not seeking holiness, nor do they desire holiness, they do not root out the sin inside of them, nor practice their virtues and do not move toward conversion of heart.

So their spirits are left empty and void of God’s grace. If God is not filling the soul or spirit, there is only one thing left that can fill the spirit, and that is the wiles of the enemy.

Again, for your discernment dear reader, contemplate and read this slowly and prayerfully with the heart with the help of the Holy Spirit to help understand a deeper meaning for you.

It is very easy for anyone to fall into complacency; but there comes a point to where we have to pick ourselves up, and seek again that ardent and fervent desire to press on in the journey.

The following message came the next month. Keep in mind of the war that was occurring in the region at the time of this message.

Again I also remind the reader that Our Lady was sent by God to call the world to conversion, which she began at Fatima. The world rejected her call and World War II began as she said it would, and the spread of communism and godlessness throughout the world.

So here we are on the verge of a heated war ensuing in the Baltic region in 1990’s which was waged against Christian Catholics, (a sign perhaps foreshadowing the attack on the Church, Christians of the world…who knows-that is for your discernment); but keeing in mind that Our Lady just said to the world the month prior that we were not taking her messages with seriousness, and because of this, she is not able to help us.

I am sure those who lived in the region seeing the effects of the war, and their loved ones whose lives are threatened, were most likely listening very intently to what she was saying, and increased their prayer to God for help. Here is her message:

“Dear children, today also I invite you to prayer. Only by prayer and fasting can war be stopped. Therefore, my dear little children, pray and by your life give witness that you are mine and that you belong to me, because satan wishes in these turbulent days to seduce as many souls as possible. Therefore, I invite you to decide for God and He will protect you and show you what you should do and which paths to take. I invite all those who have said ‘yes’ to me to renew their consecration to my Son, Jesus and to His heart and to me so we can take you more intensely as instruments of peace in this unpeaceful world. Medjugorje is a sign to all of you and a call to pray and live the days of grace that God is giving you. Therefore, dear children, accept the call to prayer with seriousness. I am with you and your suffering is also mine. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (4/25/92)

“…but woe to you earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in a great fury for he knows he has but a short time…” (Rev. 12:12)

Here it is the remedy to defeat the enemy and sin…”prayer and fasting” Prayer and fasting can stop wars! Now look throughout biblical history how many times God wanted to chastise the people because of their sin. But when the people repented of their sin, they prayed and fasted, and put on sack cloth as a sign to God of their repentance.

Here in lies the majority of the call of Medjugorje, “prayer, penance and fasting…”

Through this form of penance there is a dying to ourselves in the flesh, which brings greater strength in our spirits.

Many are familiar with this message from Our Lady, which is common on many of her prayer cards. For this purpose though it bears repeating. She said:

“Dear children, I invite you for your individual conversion. This time is for you! Without you God’s plan cannot be realized. Dear children, grow day by day closer to God through prayer. I give you the weapon AGAINST YOUR GOLIATH, here are your little stones: (1) Prayer WITH THE HEART: ROSARY, (2) Eucharist; (3) Holy Bible, (4) Fasting, (5) Monthly confession.” (emphasis added)

Your Goliath, that is your giant sin that you just cannot defeat in you. The big sin in you where the enemy has the stronghold over you, where he agitates you, salts the wound, triggers you to react and fall into further sin. The weapons she is leading you to are the core themes of her messages.

So if we go back to her invitation to prayer and fasting to stop wars, the first step is to stop the war that is going on inside of the heart. Because war begins in the heart, with anger, hatreds, revenge, retaliation and so on. Your weapons to defeat this battle is the use of unceasing prayer, the sacraments and practice of penances, frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation.

The second part of this message of 4/25/92 she said;

…”Therefore, my dear little children, pray and by your life give witness that you are mine and that you belong to me, because satan wishes in these turbulent days to seduce as many souls as possible…”

Give witness that you are hers, she wants to protect us from the attacks of satan as in the way I said above. These are turbulent days she said.

Keep in mind of the words our Lady carefully uses here “turbulent”. The meaning of this word from the dictionary is, confusing, unstable, disordered, disorderly, chaotic, tumultuous, in turmoil, violent, rowdy, unruly, riotous, quarrelsome, restless…does this describe our world today? I should say so. And who is behind it? She named it, satan.

How many can honestly say that our surrounding enviornment most often is filled with as we described above “turbulence?”

These people of that region had to choose God or satan. It was a matter of life or death for them. They were facing possible death by the effects of war, a war that resulted in deep seeded hatreds of culture, religion, politics and race. Our Lady was asking them to be a witness of good against evil, as a sign that she was really appearing there. She gave a promise and said,

“Therefore, I invite you to decide for God and He will protect you and show you what you should do and which paths to take. I invite all those who have said ‘yes’ to me to renew their consecration to my Son, Jesus and to His heart and to me so we can take you more intensely as instruments of peace in this unpeaceful world…”

“Decide for God”…to decide for God is an act of the will and a conscious choice, one that we make with firm decision in our hearts first, and then we bring this witness to life. If you decide for God, you will show others that the Cross is worth living, and you can live it without fear. You decide by living His Commandments, obeying His Word and His authority.

Our Lady promised protection for those who “decided for God.” And by this firm decision, God protected the children of Our Lady and showed them how to avert the war and bring peace to the region. It began with reconciling among themselves, and lowering their egos to be humble enough to take the first step of reconciliation with their enemies and neighbors.

Now realistically this did not occur over night. The war went on for a few years, because to convert a region there has to be the cooperation of many hearts. Now we are lookiing at a conversion of the whole world. It is no wonder she remains with us for this long.

Fr. Jozo gave an incredible witness and testimony to this type of reconciliation, by stopping in the mass, and everyone that is everyone in the Church needed to go and reconcile before he would continue the mass. It was a powerful witness to the people, but it birthed a grace for the world to becoming still what it is today.

Our Lady didn’t stop there, not only did she say decide for God, but in addition invited all those now who did decide, those who said yes, no matter if it meant life or death, to now make an act of consecration, so that she could see not just in word, but now in deed that they really meant what they say in their choosing.

Therefore, trials would come their way, persecutions and tests of faith, which they would all have to persevere through still in virtue and as a witness to peace.
At the conclusion of this message she made a bold statement to the world about Medjugorje. She said,

… “Medjugorje is a sign to all of you and a call to pray and live the days of grace that God is giving you. Therefore, dear children, accept the call to prayer with seriousness. I am with you and your suffering is also mine. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

“Medjugorje is a sign to all of you and a call to pray and live the days of grace that God is giving you. I hear and feel the firmness and seriousness of these words in the depth on my heart. Accept this call with seriousness.”

Let’s just understand here for a moment, not in human terms, but in eternal, universal Godly terms, the words…”accept the call with seriousness.” God is serious, and means business.

If a father is serious about something with his child, how does a father respond to the child? Now let’s step it up for example in a family environment. If the mother is disciplining the child and the child does not respond to the mother, most often the mother turns to the father to intercede with greater authority. Is it any different for an Eternal Father? Actually most severe, and a great spanking is warranted.

Our Lady is determined to defeat satan in the world. (Rev. 12) Our Lady is fighting this battle along side of us, those who are devoted to her, she is there on the front lines with us, and with Jesus who is the General, the King leading the battle.

Our weapon is her weapon, the weapon of the King of Peace, who carries to two edge flaming sword into battle. Ephesians 6 describes this part of the armor as the “sword of the spirit” or the living Word of God, powered by the Holy Spirit. The breath of God will defeat the enemy, and Our Lady is carrying the full armor and clothing her children in it.

We need to be clothed with the power of the Most High God to win. We need the Holy Spirit fully alive in our hearts to defeat evil and sin in the heart, first in our own hearts, and then around us.

Folks the battle is “not out there,” the battle is in the heart. If every human being lived this call of conversion, frequently lived the sacraments given by the Church, how much more of the Spirit of Jesus will be in the world?

Instead because of sin and the infestation of sin, the spirit of evil is triumphant in many, many hearts.

The mother said that the world is spiraling into sin and it cannot help itself. She came to help pull it out of the pit of darkness. She comes with a great plan of God who is the master builder to reconstruct the human temple, and build a kingdom for her Son, to reign triumphant in us.

So the question comes again…”what are you devoted to?” Is it important enough for you to act and begin a new?

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming…” (2 Thes. 2:7-8)