Archive for October, 2009
Image by Dshalock® the Libertarian Emperor of America via Flickr
Mary’s message at Medjugorje on October 25, 2009:
Dear children! Also today I bring you my blessing, I bless you all and I call you to grow on this way, which God has begun through me for your salvation. Pray, fast and joyfully witness your faith, little children, and may your heart always be filled with prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Her message, as always, is a simple one — pray and embrace your faith. She asks us to make our lives a living prayer. This means living a life dedicated to God. Living a life of prayer is not something reserved for priests or nuns, but is the way God desires us all to live. I always chuckle when people justify sin when they say, “I’m not a priest! You can’t expect me to live like one!” And you know what, they are right. God doesn’t ask us to live a life of prayer like a priest. In reality, God calls us to be more spiritual than any priest, nun, bishop, cardinal, or pope. Because everyone, even the Pope, usually fall short of how God wants us to live. All of us, from the daily-churchgoer to the non-churchgoer, can always improve our spiritual life in little and big ways. Mary’s message, asking us to have a heart filled with prayer, is simple to understand but takes a lifetime to implement. As She stresses in Her many messages, there is no time like the present to live a holy life.
I know that many times I focus on the rules of the Catholic Church in my articles. I mention using Church doctrine as a guide for discerning between right and wrong. I talk about praying the rosary every day and finding ways to integrate prayer into your life. To some, all of these rules just seems too rigid, too strict, and requiring too much effort or a giant leap of faith. This causes many people to become resentful of the Church and all its “rules” and abandon Her. I’m sure all of us can think of a handful of people who are feeling detached from God’s graces and are lost in life (it might even be you). Unfortunately, we forget about these lost souls as we go about managing our lives. We often don’t want to deal with the added burden of dealing with others’ misery. However, we must always pray for those who are lost and sacrifice for their conversion. After all, when compared to God and the majesty of Heaven, we are all lowly sinners in need of each others’ prayers. The next time you pray or fast offer it up to those who are in most need of God’s mercy.
Technorati Tags: catholic, mary, medjugorje, prayer, Religion and Spirituality
October 28 2009 | medjugorje | 1 Comment »
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In the Fourth Glorious Mystery of the holy rosary we meditate and pray on Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. Having accepted God’s plan in the Annunciation, Mary was honored by being assumed, body and soul, into God’s kingdom. However, Her work was far from over as She now takes the role of our guide and spiritual mentor. She is always trying to bring us closer to Her son, Jesus Christ. She has a difficult challenge since She needs to not only fight the forces of evil, but also fight against our own weaknesses to live as one of God’s children.
Mary has appeared to many different people over the centuries and reiterated the ways we can live in God’s grace and ultimately live in His kingdom of Heaven. Her messages can be narrowed down to five simple behaviors that She wants all of us to do:
- Pray: How can you have a meaningful relationship with God unless you talk to Him? It doesn’t matter whether you recite prayers, meditate, or just have a free-form prayer session. You need to talk to God and more importantly, listen to what He tells you.
- Bible: Again, how can you love God if you do not know Him or His Church? Read the Bible, the Catechism, and the writings of saints and scholars. Know your faith so that you can live it with every thought, word, and action.
- Fast: The key is to detach yourself from the bonds of this world and leave room in your soul for God’s grace. Mary’s messages at Medjugorje always talk about leaving room for Jesus’ love and mercy and fasting makes you more receptive to God’s truth.
- Confession: You need to free yourself from the bonds of sin by receiving absolution. Like a shower for your soul, the Sacrament of Confession cleans away the damage sin inflicts on you and strengthens your resolve to remain in a state of grace.
- Eucharist: You need to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood regularly because it is your spiritual fuel that will give you the strength and resolve to do God’s will.
Mary wants only the best for us. She wants us to be close to Her son, Jesus Christ. That is why She was assumed into Heaven so that She can be our guide and protector from evil. What She asks of us is not terribly difficult. She asks us to recognize God in our lives through prayer and act according to His Word. Taking the time to listen to Mary and following Her guidance will lead to something far greater than anything in this world — God’s kingdom. So, when we pray this mystery we should ask ourselves, “Are we listening to our Heavenly Mother?”
Technorati Tags: assumption, catholic, fourth glorious mystery, glorious mysteries, mary, rosary, rosary meditation
October 18 2009 | meditation and rosary and rosary meditation | 1 Comment »
This is Mary’s message from Medjugorje on October 2, 2009. Unlike the messages on the 25th, these messages focus on those who have drifted far from God’s love. The tone is a little harsher, almost like one of a mother scolding a misbehaving child. However, even if you do try to live a life free of sin, you should listen to these messages since we all have moments of sin which separate us from God’s grace. Furthermore, even if your soul is as clean as one fresh out of the sacrament of Confession, you probably know someone who is separated from God’s love. You need to read them to understand the danger people are in when they sin and pray extra hard for their conversion towards our Lord, Jesus Christ.
I also want to reiterate that even if you do not believe in the events at Medjugorje this is still an important message. Mary offers nothing different or contrary to what the Catholic Church already teaches so this message could easily have come from a priest’s Sunday homily, the commentary from a Bible study, or the teachings of a saint.
Dear Children, As I look at you, my heart seizes with pain. Where are you going my children? Have you sunk so deeply into sin that you do not know how to stop yourselves? You justify yourselves with sin and live according to it. Kneel down beneath the Cross and look at my Son. He conquered sin and died so that you, my children, may live. Permit me to help you not to die but to live with my Son forever. Thank you!
Mary’s message sounds very much like a mother who sees all the ignorant and dangerous things her children do and wonders what could possibly be going through their young minds. She has the benefit of seeing the splendor and glory of God’s kingdom and she tells us that all the sins that we commit are not worth losing the gift of Heaven for all eternity. She wants us to take a hard look at our lives and ask ourselves why we sin. Sure, certain sins may make us a little happier temporarily, make our lives a little easier, make us a little more popular, or richer. But all those small gains in this world will cost us much more in the next. In the best case we will serve more time in Purgatory for those sins. At worst, we lose the gift of Heaven forever. Mary does not want any of us to miss out on what awaits us in Heaven and that is why it pains her so much to see people living only for this world without regard for the next.
We should listen to Mary and turn away from sin. Jesus taught that all are welcome into His kingdom as long as we have the courage and strength to turn away from sin. We should lay all our worries and weaknesses before the Cross and ask for greater faith in God’s loving mercy.
Technorati Tags: catholic, christ, jesus, mary, medjugorje, sin
October 11 2009 | medjugorje | Comments Off
Image by Ted Abbott via Flickr
The rosary has the ability to heal and mend what is broken in our lives. Fr. Dwight Longenecker, on Catholic Online, discusses how praying the rosary brings us inner peace by replacing all that is earthly in our life with what is heavenly.
From the article:
In a mysterious way Christ’s perfect life and the perfect love he shared with his mother, flow into the wounded places in our lives. This grace empowers us to return to the confessional with a clearer vision. It helps us to be open to the healing Christ brings through the Eucharist, and it gives us the strength to continue the daily hard work of being transformed into Christ’s image.
I really like this idea of replacing our “wounded places” with Christ’s love. It goes hand-in-hand with many of the message from Mary at Medjugorje when she asks us to clean out all that prevents us from fully accepting God’s graces.
The article also discusses how our lives mimic the values and themes seen in each mystery of the rosary:
Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Rosarium Virginis Mariae writes, “The rosary marks the rhythm of human life, bringing it into harmony with the rhythm of God’s own life.”
Pope John Paul II said that we can reflect on all the joys, sorrows, and challenges in our lives by looking at the ones shown in the mysteries of the rosary. Over time, through rosary prayer, our ways begin to mimic Jesus’ ways revealed in those mysteries. For example, we see Jesus taking up the cross in the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery. We know that Jesus fell down repeatedly and yet He always got back up and continued on. We can learn that we all have our “crosses” in life and at times we might fall (either by sin or just lacking faith and spiritual energy). However, to imitate Jesus we must get up and continue working towards His kingdom.
The next time we pray the rosary, let us ask ourselves what each mystery reveals about our own lives. Are we imitating what Jesus did in those mysteries or are we ignoring His teachings and example?
- The Immaculate Heart Of Mary (thecatholictruthblog.blogspot.com)
- 40 Days for Life in Sacramento (deaconforlife.blogspot.com)
Technorati Tags: christianity, fourth sorrowful mystery, jesus, mary, Pope John Paul II, Religion and Spirituality, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, rosary
October 04 2009 | catholic and rosary and rosary prayer | 1 Comment »
