Fr. Martin’s
reflection on - Our Lady’s Message
25th
August 2016
“Dear children! Today I desire to share Heavenly joy with
you. You, little children, open the door of your heart so that hope, peace and
love, which only God gives, may grow in your heart. Little children, you are
too bound to the earth and earthly things, that is why, Satan is rolling you
like the wind rolls the waves of the sea. Therefore, may the chain of your life
be prayer with the heart and Adoration of my Son Jesus. Give over your future
to Him so that, in Him, you may be joy and an example with your lives to
others. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Medjugorje North East and beyond, Let us begin this month's reflection by asking ourselves the
question, "What is my true desire?" Deep down within our
hearts what are we truly longing for, yearning for, hoping for? It is
at this deep interior level that Mary Queen of Peace wants to touch and heal us..
The fulfilment of all desire is union with Jesus Christ. In him we
discover all our answers, for he is our hope, our joy and our peace. Mary
begins this month's message by reminding us that her ‘desire’ is ‘to
share Heavenly Joy’ with us. This is why the Queen of Peace is coming
to us, so that human hearts may change with a true desire for all that is
beautiful, true and good. We need to ask ourselves,
What are my true desires? To receive Heavenly
Joy, means we too have to desire it, pray for it, long for it. Mary wants all
of us to experience within us, Heavenly Joy, and this means asking the Holy
Spirit to give us the desire for this spiritual gift. Do I desire Heaven?
Mary wants to place a little bit of this desire within each of us, so let us
humbly and confidently ask the Lord for this gift with perseverance.
Mary shows us the first step to receiving Heavenly Joy. ‘Open the door of
your heart, so that hope, peace, and love, which only God can give, may
grow in your heart.’
In the book of Revelation,
Christ is depicted as knocking on the door of the human heart. "Behold
I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears I shall enter in and sit
with him." (Rev. 3.20)
In his famous picture of this scene, Holman Hunt's,
"Light of the World" the door has no handle on the outside, it
can only be opened from within. So, too, Mary, calls us to, ‘Open the door
of your heart,’ to the Lord's merciful love.
Let us reflect about the Holy Door of Mercy in our Cathedral. Have we
devoutly entered through this way, yet? Christ is the door, the way, our hearts
are invited to open to his blessing's. So that hope, peace, and
love, which only God can give may grow in your heart. Open wide the doors
for Christ, let the King of Glory enter.
‘You are too bound to the earth and earthly things, that is why Satan
is rolling you, like the wind rolls the waves of the sea’. Sin
places Christians on precarious ground. By its very nature, sin cuts a person
off from the life of God and into the camp of the enemy. St. John says,
“Do not love the world, or what is in the world." (1 John. 2:15) "for the world with
all its disorder is passing away. (1 John:17)
St Paul reminds us to put on the spiritual protection against the
devil's attacks, “Grow strong in the Lord, with all the strength of
his power. Put on all the amour of God, so as to be able to resist the devil's
tactics. For it is not human enemies that we have to contend with, but
against the powers of darkness, in this world, the spirit of evil." (Ephesians: 6:10-13)
Let us remember that her enemy is our enemy and Mary has shown us the
remedy of overcoming evil and sin with the five stones against our Goliath:
Holy Mass,
Confession,
Rosary,
Fasting,
Holy Scriptures.
With these Spiritual powers we can entrust our futures to Jesus, full of
confidence in his merciful love, and providence.
God Bless, Fr. Martin