Fr. Martin’s
reflection on - Our Lady’s Message
25th
June 2019
“ Dear children, I am thanking
God for each of you. In a special way, little children, thank you for having
responded to my call. I am preparing you for the new times that you may be firm
in faith and persevering in prayer, so that the Holy Spirit may work through
you and renew the face of the earth. I am praying with you for peace which is
the most precious gift, even though Satan wants war and hatred. You, little
children, be my extended hands and proudly go with God. Thank you for having
responded to my call. ”
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Medjugorje North East and beyond.
For thirty-eight years now Our Lady Queen and Mother of Peace has been
with us in a special way with her maternal presence. This is the
fundamental message of Medjugorje; the presence of Our Lady. She is Mother of
the Church, who at the very beginning gathered the apostles around her in the
Cenacle in Jerusalem and prayed as they awaited the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. (Acts: 1: 12-14)
Let us keep before us this image of Our Lady in Prayer with the Apostles
as we begin our reflection, for we see Our Lady emphasising the coming of a new
Pentecost in the Church and the world in this month's message. In a way when we
really ponder this month's message, we realise the significance of Our Lady's
words now, and how they put into perspective the Medjugorje Apparitions these
past thirty-eight years.
Our Lady's presence is the sign for our times. She gives the main
message of Peace, Conversion of life, Prayer, Fasting and Faith.
Her presence with the Church at this time is to
accompany us on the pilgrim path of life to help us. The most important message
is prayer. Without prayer, no programme can continue." Prayer means
nothing else but contact with God.”
For thirty-eight years now pilgrims have returned home from Medjugorje
with the gift of Prayer of the heart, a profound deep spirit of prayer founded
on faith and love for God. The main condition for prayer and for a life that is
to become prayer is love. Without love, nothing can become prayer, for example,
the Rosary or the Holy Mass, only become real prayer through the love with
which they are being lived. So, love is not a nice feeling, but a decision of
the heart to live each day for God and with God. Love is a grace and we need to
pray every day for that grace.
Our Lady begins this month’s message by saying, " I am
thanking God for each of you, in a special way." Please note the
personal emphasis here, Mary refers to 'each of you’ Me and you, every one
of us is special to her, her children. She is your Heavenly Mother. She is
filled with gratitude for each one of us. That is why her presence is so
powerfully felt in these times in Medjugorje.
Our Lady continues with the words of Thanksgiving to underscore the
point. "Little children, Thank you for
having responded to my call.” " Normally these words are at the
end of the monthly message, but here three times Mary uses the words 'Thank
you.' These words are addressed to each and every
person who responded to her presence in Medjugorje, and all who take the
message seriously. Our Lady is grateful for all our efforts.
"I am preparing you for the new times that you may be firm in faith
and persevering in prayer." Our Lady is
focused on the future, the new springtime for the Church, the new Pentecost.
But to arrive at that point she tells us two things that are paramount to her
plan. Faith and persevering prayer. To believe the Faith of the Church, to have
Faith in her Son Jesus, to have a strong Faith in the church today, is
foundational to the new times. “Believe and pray to the Father to increase
your Faith, and then ask what you need." says the message of
25th April 1988.
The evangelist Luke tells us that the disciples asked Jesus:
"Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke: 11: 1-13)
Prayer is gift given according to our desire. " I would
like to teach you to pray said, Mary. (12th June 1986.) "Ask
God to come to your aid, but not according to your wishes, but according
to his love. Forget your desires and pray for what God wants."
Let us pray often the Apostles Creed and ask the Lord to strengthen the gift of
Faith in our lives. Persevering prayer will bring us to the new times. To
pray with Love and Faith, with firm belief and expectancy is the spirit of
prayer we open our hearts to."
Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on
God's saving love, and all these other things will be given you as well. (Matt;
6.33)
“So that the Holy Spirit may work through you and renew the face of the
earth." Our Lady is calling us to rouse from a spiritual
slumber that has overtaken vast sections of the Church and the world in these
times. She rouses us to a deep spiritual life. She calls us to a profound
spiritual renewal, that the Holy spirit may come to dwell in us and in the
world in fullness. Mary belongs to God with her whole being, spirit, soul and
body.
She said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my
Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, because he has looked upon the humility of
his servant." (Luke: 1:46)
The word humility comes from the word humus meaning
soil of the ground in which God blew the breath of his life, his own spirit. (Genesis
2:7) (John: 20:22) So Mary calls us to put aside our old selves, which belongs
to an old way of life, and be renewed in spirit, in order to put on the New Man
to bear the fruit of the Holy spirit; Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness,
Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. (Gal: 5. 22-23)
"I am praying with you for peace which is the most precious gift,
even though satan wants war and hatred." The word peace was the first word Mary spoke in Medjugorje. The
restlessness in people’s hearts is due to a disconnect from the life of the
spirit of God. Our inner peace depends on our nearness to Jesus. Satan
whispers distrust in Jesus in the ears of so many. Weakened Faith in
Christ and the Church makes things easier for Satan, the enemy of man.
But Mary is the Queen of Peace, the woman clothed with the sun, with the
moon under her feet, and with stars around her head. She is fighting
alongside the faithful against the deceiver. she will be victorious in bringing
the church to the new time, so that the Holy spirit may renew the face of the
earth. She needs our help, and our faith in her Son Jesus Christ Our
Lord. The best weapons we have are Prayer and Fasting.
"You little children, be my extended hands and proudly go with
God."
"Breath on me breath of God, fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou dost do.
Breathe on me breath of God,
till I am wholly thine, until this earthly part of me glows with thy
fire divine.
Breath on me breath of God, until my heart is pure,
until with thee I have one will,
to do and to endure.
Breathe on me breath of God,
so, shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life,
of thine eternity. (Edwin Hatch)
God Bless, Fr. Martin