October 1, 2001
Feast of St Therese of the Child
Jesus
Dear Children of Medjugorje!
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
1.
The world is asking itself over and over again, what is the meaning of the
disaster of September 11. We all want to understand and come to terms with
this tragedy. I, for one, anxiously awaited the September 25th
message through Marija. I knew that this message would give me the
heavenly perspective I needed to understand and respond to that event. I was not
disappointed. The message made everything crystal clear.
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer, especially today when Satan wants war and hatred. I call you anew, little children: pray and fast that God may give you peace. Witness peace to every heart and be carriers of peace in this world without peace. I am with you and intercede before God for each of you. And do not be afraid because the one who prays is not afraid of evil and has no hatred in the heart. Thank you for having responded to my call."I could not wait to share it with those close to me. But I was surprised over the next two days to find that not many people I knew had even thought of this message ! When I would ask if they had read it, they would say no. They would ask me to read it to them, but it had not occurred to them to seek out the message themselves. It seems that some of us have lost connection with Our Lady of Medjugorje. We have forgotten her motherly presence there, and the great grace of her messages. At this most important time, we must revive our relationship with the Gospa, and follow her every word! As Sr. Emmanuel has said so many times, the messages are THE KEY to peace in our world. If we ignore them, we deny the world many graces it needs to find peace. Allow me to offer some suggestions that may help us all to resume living Our Ladyıs messages. The world is in our hands! "Without you, dear children I cannot help the world", our Mother said. Those who are consecrated to her have an important role to play in the blessing of the world. Let's take up our part, by following Our Lady. These suggestions may help us make the message part of our daily life:
A- RECEIVE the message on the day it is given. It is posted at several internet sites (http://www.medjugorje.hr/, www.medjugorje.org, www.childrenofmedjugorje.com). If you donıt have internet capability, ask a friend who does to print it out for you. The messages are timely. They have a grace for us at the time they are given. Let's be open to that grace by receiving the message as quickly as possible.
B- READ the message for the first time in a spirit of prayer, and welcome it deeply in your heart. This first meeting with the message is so special - so personal. It is as if Our Lady were giving it to you alone. Our gratitude should be great!
C- COPY the message, and post it in your prayer books, on your refrigerator, in your office, on the bathroom mirror, where ever you can, to remind yourself of it. Let it be your daily companion for the next month! A time will surely come when we'll look back with awe at having had Our Lady's messages!
D- SHARE the message with everyone you meet, it holds the key to finding the graces of our time. It is ³treasure² from heaven. You want everyone to know about it! By extension, you could publish it in your local newspapers. Your secular newspaper will take it as an advertisement - and you'll be reaching hundreds of thousands! Think big! Some of the greatest responses will come from those we would have least expected! Paste it on the rear window of your car. Some people put in the back of their church (with permission from the pastor). When people hear the message from September 25, they visibly relax, as if peace descends upon them. So many of their questions are instantly answered, and they find again their path.
E- PRAY the message everyday of that month. Avoid being so busy. Give time instead to meditating on Our Lady's words. Let her lead you to different aspects of the message, and teach you. For instance, when she said, ³Satan wants war and hatred,² she gave us the key to understanding the origin of the terrible events of September 11. It was not God who did this thing. It was not just a crazy person who instigated it. All the people involved became agents of the evil one, used by him in his plan to destroy mankind. This then is not just a battle between nations, or groups of people, but a spiritual battle being fought in the heavens as well. We can meditate on this and form our conscience accordingly. We can begin to pray and fast against such evil, and for the protection of all people from the plans of Satan. Indeed that is our responsibility. Another example - when Our Lady said, ³And do not be afraid because the one who prays is not afraid of evil...² she gave us important advice. During the month it would be good to look at all of her messages about fear, and pray about them. Look in the Scripture for the passages where Our Lord speaks about fear, such as: ³Do not be afraid² (Mt. 28:10). Read Saint John on fear: ³perfect love casts out fear²(Jn4:18). Fear stops love, it stops grace. Fear keeps us from the will of God. How can we root out fear from our hearts and be better channels of grace?
F- ASK Fr. Slavko to assist you in responding to the message. He was so devoted to the messages, and wrote beautiful meditations on them! From heaven he will help you to receive them with an open heart. As we allow the message to focus our spiritual life, it will open up many areas of growth, repentance, healing and hope. The messages are meant to guide us in our life in a real and practical way. If we only read them once or twice they cannot take root in us. If we pray with them every day, they open up a new and wonderful world of grace! By giving the message priority in our spiritual lives we'll become ³carriers of peace in this world without peace.²
" One morning, I had an appointment with Vicka at 8:00 AM for an important matter. When I arrived in her courtyard, I saw a huge group of Polish pilgrims. Vicka gestured to me that right after speaking to them, she would see me. So I started to pray as I waited, trying to push away from my mind the vision of all the work that was waiting for me at home. The problem was that Vicka's care for the pilgrims wouldn't end. Thirty, fifty, seventy minutes went by. Each time Vicka finished blessing two people, another little group would show up. In one word, I became impatient and got up to leave.
"But Our Lady detained me and spoke to my heart. Actually I had neither a vision nor an audible inner locution, rather a clear inspiration that I can transmit in this way: 'Stay and look at my servant. She acts the way I like. Her heart is in all that she does. Look! Look with what joy and love she welcomes each person who comes to her. Look at her patience. She behaves as I taught her to do. You, follow her example!'
" At once, my impatience collapsed and I started watching the whole scene with the eyes of my heart, in awe. I was enthralled with the loving care she extended to each person she prayed with. At last it was my turn. I left having received a better understanding of the true grace of Medjugorje and how much we need it to be healed, healed from our very human sense of efficiency so that we may bear divine fruit, fruit that will last."
Cathy Nolan
PS. Several Audio tapes that are timely (@ $5.00 ea., see ordering info
in #3 above)! M9 "Fasting, Door to God's Power"; M1 "The Rosary
with Medjugorje" (also now on CD for $10); M3 "Prayer with the Heart";
M5 "True Consecration to Mary"; M7 "Prayer Obtains Everything";
M11 "The Most Beautiful Mass of my Life". And don't forget the
video of our TV program featuring Fr. Slavko speaking on fasting, V 39
(American system only) @ $10 ea.
PPS. Remember,
October 6th is the World Wide Day of the Rosary. The Pope will lead the
rosary at 20:00 hrs in Rome - but you can pray at any time: the faithful will be
forming a rosary chain around the world! For more information:
<rosario@churchforum.org>
Also, October 7th through 16 is the week of
prayer and fasting to convert all nations and end abortion. For info phone
in the USA (703) 327-2277