Fr. Martin’s
reflection on - Our Lady’s Message
25th
August 2019
“
Dear children, Pray, work and
witness with love for the Kingdom of Heaven that it may be good for you here on
earth. Little children, God will bless your effort a hundred
fold; you will be witnesses among peoples, souls of unbelievers will
feel the grace of conversion and Heaven will be grateful for your efforts and
sacrifices. Little children, witness with the Rosary in hand that you are mine
and decide for holiness. Thank you for having responded to my call. ”
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Medjugorje North East and beyond, Our Lady
Queen and Mother of peace wants only what is “the Good” for us, that is why she
says in this month’s message, “Pray, work, and witness with love for the
Kingdom of heaven, that it may be good for you on earth.” This is the petition used each time we
turn to our Heavenly Father in the Lord’s prayer; “Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.”
we pray that the perfection of love enjoyed in the company of the
Blessed might be reflected in our earthly lives, in our very manner of
living.
Our Lady is with us in these times to help us stay on the right path of
salvation, and so she calls us to encounter God in prayer. Each of us are important to God, and Our
Lady, and because of this we become signs for others too. “Pray, work and
witness with love.” In the school of
Our Lady everything begins and ends with love.
Love for God and love for neighbour.
So, each time we turn to Our Heavenly Father in prayer we should pause
and prepare ourselves to be in his loving presence. For true prayer comes from a heart of
love. So too our work, no matter how
menial or dutiful or tedious, done with love and offered in humble sacrifice
can be a source of heaven’s grace and blessings. “Heaven will be grateful for your efforts
and sacrifices.” says Mary.
This is the witness Our Lady calls us to, in showing the Kingdom of
Heaven in practise. Mary reminds us that
the Christian life is a call to Love.
There is no thought of a Christian without love for God and others. To live the spirit of the Gospel, the inner
process of growth involves the struggle or battle against the destructive
powers in the human heart. So, Our Lady
desires that we identify and uproot the selfishness within us,
and replace more and more with love. “That it may be good for you on
earth.” The Kingdom begins here and
now. Our Lady who was the dwelling place
of love from the very beginning of her existence is making us more aware of the
sinister and destructive forces that work against the Kingdom of her Son, that
begin in the human heart.
As Mother of the Church she is encouraging us in our efforts to pursue
the good in each of our lives. She knows
that many who have set on the road to conversion have become tired, so she desires
to awaken in the hearts of believers “The Good.” She wants all her “Dear Children” to side
with the good in every situation to witness with love, and to know the joy of
Salvation.
“You will be witnesses among peoples, souls of unbelievers will feel
the grace of conversion and heaven will be grateful for your efforts and
sacrifices.”
The Church is the loving presence of Christ, and Our Lady wants the
Church to win back more space in the world.
That is why she calls us to be the witnesses among peoples. When each of us live the life of Prayer,
Conversion and Holiness then we become the members of Christ Mystical Body,
true signs of his love.
The preface to the eucharistic prayer on the feast of saints and Pastors
reminds us of this. “In every age you renew the Church by raising up
men and women outstanding in holiness, living witnesses of your unchanging
love.” The saints never tire in
their pursuit for the good. Conversion
for them was a daily decision, and God’s light and love shone through them, and
others felt it, this is because holiness is contagious, the Kingdom can be
sensed and felt by others.
“Little children, witness with the Rosary in hand.” Where is our Rosary at this very moment?
On a shelf, in a drawer, in a pocket, or in the car? Our Lady says, “In hand” The
Rosary is a gift God has placed into our hands like the five smooth stones King
David conquered against his Goliath. The
Rosary is the sign in which we conquer, the Rosary opens the doors of our heart
to the life of God. Our Lady asks us to
take the Rosary in our hands because it will renew the Faith of the Church in
these times. So, fight to make time for
the Rosary! That is why Our Lady concludes:
“And decide for holiness” One thing is clear
from the first appearance of Our Lady thirty-eight years ago; she asks us to make a decision for her Son. For the Faith, for the Church.
How many times has she told us “Without you I cannot do this” or
“Without you God’s plans cannot be recognised?”
How often has Our Lady said, “Dear Children decide!” She
wants us to make this decision everyday without
conditions, a decision as an act of the will.
So let us seek him, search for him, desire him,
and turn to him with Faith and love each day.
Our Lady is the great sign God has given to the Church in these times,
her maternal presence with us in a special way. Let us all gather under her
protective mantle by deciding for the good.
God Bless, Fr. Martin