Fr. Martin’s
reflection on - Our Lady’s Message
25th
October 2020
“ Dear children, At this time, I am calling you to return to
God and to prayer. Invoke the help of all the saints, for them to be an example
and a help to you. Satan is strong and is fighting to
draw all the more hearts to himself. He wants war and
hatred. That is why I am with you for this long, to lead you to the way of
salvation, to Him who is the Way, the Truth and the
Life. Little children, return to the love for God and
He will be your strength and refuge. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Medjugorje North East and beyond,
Our Blessed Lady, Mother and Queen of Peace begins this month’s message
with the words; “At this time.” Our Lady is with us now at this time of
great disruption and confusion for many in the world. “At this time.” reminds us that Mary Mother of God has
remained with us her “Dear Children” because she is concerned for our
Salvation. “At this time” tells
us yet again, that Heaven is with us in the reality of our every
day lives and our personal situations.
This time is the time when God is acting in a special way with the
coming of Our Lady Queen of Peace. As we
pray in the ‘Hail Mary’- “Pray for us sinners now.”
So, Mary is with us today, this moment, because these are her times, and
it is in time that our Saviour has come and brought us Salvation. God with us and for us.
“ I am calling
you to return to God and to prayer.”
The most important thing for all for us to do is to turn towards God. To
ask ourselves where we are in our friendship with Christ.
Our Lady tells us that with God we will find our ‘Refuge’ and our
‘strength.’ She invites each of
us to entrust ourselves to God by returning to him with Prayer and Love. Any of us can become distanced from God in
the busyness and confusion of life, so Mary reminds us that we need to
constantly be returning to him in Prayer.
For we speak Heart to Heart with the one we Love.
“Invoke the help of the Saints, for them to be an example and a help to you.” In the Creed we say, “We believe in the
communion of the Saints.” The Saints
have gone before us, but they trod this earthly life with Faith and Love. Now they are in Heaven, we have a vast army
of men and women who await our turning to them for Intercession and Heavenly
help. Their example inspires us, their
prayers assist us. We all have our favourite
saints; so why not renew our devotion to them each day and pray the litany of
the Saints every so often.?
Then Our Lady reminds us after emphasising our return to God and prayer
and turning to the Saints; that we are in a spiritual battle.
“Satan is strong and is fighting to draw all the more hearts to him.” Here is the reference to the
deceiver, the accuser, the father of lies, who has only an empty show and
pomp. But Our Lady wants us to note his
cunning strength, and his work on drawing hearts. But let our hearts be drawn by Christ, and by
Heaven. Remember, Our Lady’s enemy is
your enemy, and your enemy is her enemy.
She is the one who stands on the head of the serpent, so with her we are
on the right side. This
is why, Mary has asked us to learn to pray with the heart, to believe
with the heart. So, our hearts be drawn
by God, and not evil.
“That is why I am with you for so long, to lead you on the way of
Salvation, to him who is the Way, the Truth and the
Life.” Our Lady is concerned for our
eternal salvation.
This is why she appears
for nearly forty years, to keep us on the narrow road. She places her Son at the centre of this
message; for He is “The Way, the Truth, and the Life”. To him we owe our total obedience, Faith and
Love.
He is:
The Way to be Walked,
The Truth to be Received,
The Life to be Lived.
Jesus Christ you are My Way, My Truth and My Life.
Our Lady concludes by focusing us on what should be our aim.
The love of God -“Return to
the Love of God and he will be your strength.” Gods love has been
bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus. Think
of the Sacred Heart image or the Good Shepherd, the Good Samaritan, or the
Prodigal Father. All show us the
infinite love of God poured upon us.
Look at the Crucifix and see this love made manifest:
In this love we find our strength, real strength, supernatural strength.
In this love we find our true security and refuge.
Let us entrust ourselves at this time to
the Love of God,
Our Way,
Our Truth,
Our Life.
God Bless, Fr. Martin