Fr. Martin’s
reflection on - Our Lady’s Message
25th
January 2017
“ Dear children! Today I am calling you to pray for peace: peace in
human hearts, peace in the families and peace in the world. Satan is strong and
wants to turn all of you against God, and to return you to everything that is
human, and to destroy in the heart all feelings towards God and the things of
God. You, little children, pray and fight against materialism, modernism and
egoism, which the world offers to you. Little children, you decide for holiness
and I, with my Son Jesus, intercede for you. Thank you for having responded to
my call.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Medjugorje North East and beyond,
it is the ‘heart’ that counts! Mary mentions the
heart twice in this month's message.
Firstly: “for Peace in the human heart” and then
She reminds us that satan wants “to destroy in the
heart all feelings towards God”. The heart is the place of
the dwelling of God, the sanctuary of our Baptized life, the inner place where
we meet God.
The foundation of our spiritual life is "Peace".
Peace Mary tells us, begins in the heart, we have to
decide for Peace, and so we become Peace for others. God is always ready to
work alongside our decisions, always ready to take our decisions seriously.
This is the reason Mary repeatedly calls us to Peace.
“To pray for Peace” means to decide for Peace within.
We need to ask ourselves what are the circumstances and conditions that
create interior Peace within us, and what are the situations that take away our
Peace. Mary makes reference to these:
“materialism, modernism and egoism.”
“Everything that is human."
What makes us peaceful is very important for our spiritual lives to grow
and deepen.
Let us think about the Parable of the Sower and the seed, Matt 13:1-24
gives us the causes and effects of the things that take away the Peace in the
human heart that is so essential for the interior spiritual life.
To speak about Peace without praying for Peace is simply impossible,
THE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD in Prayer is the foundation for our Peace.
Peace, Mary tells us is the fruit of Prayer, as she has so often told us
in her ‘school of love’ in Medjugorje, her plans for Peace cannot be realised without ourselves.
So, let us renew our decision to “Pray for Peace”, that we may
become Peace for others too.
"Satan is strong and wants to turn all of you against God and to
destroy in the heart all feelings towards God "
Our Lady has always taught us four points in her school of love when
speaking about the powers of darkness. She confirms that the devil exists. She
tells us that he is strong. That he is untiring in his efforts against Holiness
and Peace, and that he brings confusion.
"Far from us drive our deadly foe true Peace unto us bring"
We Pray in the sequence to the Holy spirit.
Mary tells us to Pray and not be afraid and to pray more and everything
will turn out for the good.
If satan is strong then it is because we allow
him to be so. The less we live the spiritual life and become occupied with the
material, egoism and seeing everything from a purely human viewpoint then we
become vulnerable and prone to the activity of satan.
But let us remember that Mary is standing on the head of the serpent, that as
the first of the Redeemed she is the sign of the victory Her Son has won for
us, and that with Her, we are safe. Let us listen to Her words “Decide for
Holiness” when we decide for Holiness we are with Her walking the path of
the Redeemed, where she intercedes for us.
With Her we can say, "Hear I am Lord, I come to do your will."
Sometimes we don't believe or understand that we can become holy.
But Mary reminds us that with God all things are possible, and that
Holiness is a gift poured out upon us that is freely given.
So, let us decide for Holiness at the start of each day, by consecrating
the day to God in Prayer and Thanksgiving.
Let us be confident that Our Blessed Mother is praying for us with her
Son Jesus - truly they are interceding for us.
Our Lady queen of Peace Pray us,
St Michael the Archangel
Pray for us.
Fr. Martin