Fr. Martin’s
reflection on - Our Lady’s Message
25th
November 2024
“Dear children! In this time of the grace of expectation, I desire to call you to
prayer for Advent to be prayer of the family. In a special way, little children
whom I tenderly embrace, I encourage you to prayer for peace in the world; for
peace to prevail over peacelessness and hatred.
Thank you for having
responded to my call.”
(With Ecclesiastical
approval)
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Medjugorje North East
and beyond, We have begun the Joyful season of Advent.
In all her messages Our Lady accompanies us through the liturgical time
of the year. i.e. she often refers to Lent, springtime, the Saints and Holy
Souls in November , and certain Feast days throughout
the year. So too for the Advent season . In the past Our Lady has often asked us to pray, so
that Jesus may be born in our hearts. “Pray,
especially in this time, so that Jesus the creator of peace, may be born in
your hearts.’
(November, 1999.) (November 25th , 2003.)
So too in this month’s message, Our Lady begins, “In this time of
the Grace of expectation , I desire to call you to
prayer for Advent, to be prayer of the Family.”
The ‘Grace of Expectation’ is the confident hope of every
believer that God will act in our hearts and lives. At the moment of the
Annunciation Our Lady permitted God to act in her life. “Be it done to me
according to your word.” ( Luke: 1: 38. )
Now Our Lady asks us to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus and
the Feast of the Incarnation, when through the ‘Grace of Expectation’ Christ will be born in our hearts through Faith. This
time of Advent should be a time of recollection and prayerful preparation for
the feast of Christmas. The invitation from Our Lady is to make it a time of
prayer, especially in the family.
We can add to this -
· to go to Confession ,
· to fast at times,
· and to work on our bad habits.
Our Lady is reminding us that this time of Advent is a special time of
Grace, a time of ‘Expectant
Faith.’ That can really make a
difference in our lives. Maybe we should all ask ourselves a question! If this were our last Advent
how would we prepare? On one occasion
Mary asked us to “Prepare ourselves like never before.” Now that we have been in our ‘Lady’s school
of Medjugorje’ for a long time she really wants us to see Advent as a special
time of preparation. Many individuals,
Prayer groups and families throughout the world take extra time in Advent to
prepare themselves for Christmas. The early church prayed :
“Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus!” We are in
danger of becoming tired in the spiritual life, so Our Lady’s call to “Expectant
Faith” is a wake up
call!
We should always be vigilant and ready for the coming of Jesus, our
preparation in Advent is our preparation for the time when God will call us
home to the eternal life. We must be ready! The Church invites us to cultivate
‘joyful Hope’ during Advent, so that our hearts are truly desiring Jesus more
and more. So let us make a conscious
decision to prepare ourselves through prayer, listening to the Word of God, the
Rosary and fasting to make our hearts vigilant and awake. The Lord will be with
us.
“In a special way little children, whom I tenderly embrace
, I encourage you to pray for peace in the world, for peace to prevail
over peacelessness and hatred.”
We are in the tender embrace of Our Lady. We are in the maternal embrace
of our heavenly Mother. Take these words to heart. Our Lady is embracing us as
she embraced the Christ
child in her womb. In that
holy embrace of the Mother of God we have our sure
safety and refuge. She truly loves and
cherishes each one of us as her little children.
In this world without God, many are without peace, and hatred prevails
in many hearts. So much atheism has
crept into peoples lives, leaving many without inner
or outer peace. God is peace, and all who are in God are at peace. Our Lady as the New Eve calls us to real
prayer for real peace. We belong to her, and we are in her embrace so there is
no reason why we won’t pray for peace and an end to hatred which has corrupted
so many hearts.
Our Lady reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle
, because ‘Peace’ needs to prevail. So let us offer our Prayers and sacrifices
this Advent for peace to truly prevail within us and around us, that
Gods peace may prevail and reign in our hearts, as it did in the
Immaculate heart of Our Lady.
Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus Come!
Advent Blessing’s,
Fr. Martin