Fr. Martin’s reflection on - Our Lady’s Message

25^th February 2025

“Dear children! may this springtime be an encouragement for personal conversion for you, that with your lives you may pray and love God above all, for all those who are in need. Little children, be my hands of peace and prayer; be love for all those who do not love, do not pray and do not want peace.

Thank you for having responded to my call.”

(With Ecclesiastical approval)

Dear Brother’s and Sister’s of Medjugorje North East and beyond, We have entered the Holy season of Lent. The Word ‘Lent’ originates from an old English phrase meaning ‘springtime.’ Applied to the Liturgical season of the Church it means ‘Springtime of the soul.’ As we do spring cleaning at home, to clean the house, and de-clutter, so too in our spiritual lives we need a ‘de-cluttering of the soul.’

So Our Lady begins this month’s message, “May this springtime be an encouragement for personal conversion for you, that with your lives you may pray and love God above all, for all those in need.”

As we see the signs of spring in nature all around us, so Our Lady encourages us to cultivate a new season in our inner selves for the new growth of Gods life within us. It is our ‘personal Conversion’ that our Lady wants to encourage us in. Notice Our Lady says, ‘You’ and ‘Yours.’ i.e. ‘Personal conversion for you’ and ‘that with your lives .’ The emphasis is on each of ourselves, to work on our Conversion. Our Lady is interested in each of us personally, and the whole of our lives, and like a good Mother she comes to us to encourage us in following her Son today.

Our Lady asks that “With your lives you may pray and love God above all.” To pray and to love, this is the simple advice from our Heavenly Mother who walked the same path of prayer and love when she was on this earth. A good Lent is one where we pray more and love more. By placing God at the centre of our lives, we decide each day for him who is love. We can take the five stones of Our Lady, which she gave at the start of the apparitions, and recommit ourselves to the prayer she recommended. i.e. Holy Mass, holy rosary, Holy Scripture, Confession and Fasting.

Let us remember that our Lady is reminding us that we have to decide for our personal conversion.

“Little children, be my hands of peace and prayer, be love for all those who do not love, do not pray, and do not want peace.”

Our prayer and love for Our Lady should always lead to imitation of her. Imitation of her Faith, her prayer and love. Each of us are called to be other Mary’s and Magnify God with our lives. To be the hands of Our Lady, means to imitate her, and be a reflection of her love for Jesus today.

Mary, points out that many today, do not love, do not pray, and do not want peace. We are not to judge, but only to pray, love and be peacemakers in our own situation today. As Our Lady’s dear children, let each of us this Lent, be her extended hands, by choosing, Love, Prayer, and Peace.

Blessed are the Peacemakers,

Fr. Martin.