“Dear children! Also today I call you to have more trust in me and my Son. He has conquered by His death and resurrection and, through me, calls you to be a part of His joy. You do not see God, little children, but if you pray you will feel His nearness. I am with you and intercede before God for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
"Not in the beauty of the colour, nor of the brush lies the greatness of this image, but in My grace." - Our Lord to Bls. Faustina.Come with faith to the feet of My representative... I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest... I Myself act in your soul... Make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light...And it changed my mind too... Like it or not, I have no choice but to get my sins confessed. I'm feeling like a decaying corpse right now! I want my soul to be restored! I don't want to keep the decayed rubbish inside me!! I want the fire of love continue to burn with zeal for Jesus! Lord, help me!
When you go to confession, to this fountain of mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul... In the Tribunal of mercy [the sacrament of Reconciliation]...the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated... Here the misery of the soul meets God of mercy...Lord, shed Your light on me so that I can see what disgraceful sins I've committed, and I ask also for Your blessings so that I detest them and confess them well.
[Post inspired by Holy Saturday reflection from The Presentation Ministries.]"We who are living our Baptisms to the full are so joined to Jesus that we miss Him terribly when we are deprived of His presence. When we have centered our lives on the Mass, we miss His presence in the Eucharist so much because we love Him so much." (Presentation Ministries)
Again, I know it's somewhat late for me to post this but still, I find it to be rather inspiring. Here's what on my mind, something the priest mentioned during the Holy Thursday homily..."I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is "'judge not lest ye be judged.'"Okay... so you said that there's no such thing as right or wrong. But you also said that it's WRONG to judge one another. Now I'm confused... of all things you've mention, which are RIGHT and which are WRONG???
“In July 2004, one month before the most awaited celebration of my marriage in the Church, I was attending mass regularly after a 35 year interruption. The preparation for my children’s Baptism (10 and 14 years old) was progressing smoothly, and I was slowly discovering more and more spiritual readings. I had heard the messages of the Gospa and dug out an old Bible that belonged to my father. I then placed it on my bedside table intending to start reading it.
That night, I had an incredible dream. My husband and I (we had been in a civil marriage for the last 12 years) were in a sailing boat, one of those live- aboard types. It was on automatic pilot, since we were both very busy inside the boat. There was always a lot to do down below, and none of us really wanted to be stuck at the helm for hours. We would pop our heads up from time to time, just to make sure there was no immediate danger lurking somewhere, but soon we would be back inside, busy with more pressing things.
And then all of a sudden we were hit with bad weather. We were taken by surprise. The boat was tossed right and left, up and down and we were very scared. Then an even bigger wave hit us and the boat flipped onto its side. We were terrified. But the boat did not sink, it stayed on its side and drifted with the storm until it ran aground on an gorgeous sandy beach. We climbed out of the boat bewildered and still under the shock of what had just happened.
There, on the island, a beautiful Lady was waiting for us. With extreme gentle care, she took care of us. She put our boat back into shape, she repaired every sign of damage, and then she said to us: ‘You cannot continue on your journey with nobody at the helm. I will put somebody at the helm for you. And also, it is not reasonable to launch into such travels without a good map’. So, she gave us a very large book and bade us farewell. We sailed away and when I opened the book, it was the Bible.
A year later, my Bible was still on the bedside table, mostly unopened. That summer, I received an invitation to join a Bible study group that was launching a program called “Bible Time Line.”
Since then I have been reading the Bible more and more, every chance I get. I turn to it constantly and I have come to understand the daily Mass readings much better. I share with my children all my discoveries as soon as the opportunity arises (I have put a white board in their bathroom, and there I write a Scripture verse every time something particularly strikes me They love to discover the new writings that appear regularly).
I believe the Gospa saved me twice. The first time when she called me to Medjugorje in April 2003, and the second time when she gave me that dream that lead me to discover the Word of her Son Jesus. Dear Gospa, my mother from Heaven, I thank you!"
"We have to understand what makes the value of Lent! It is not so much about making many sacrifices or imposing a thousand renouncements on ourselves. No, this is not what Lent is. Rather, it is following the example of Jesus with humility and simplicity. It is a matter of doing everything according to our heart. Whatever the renouncements or penance I choose, the value of my offering resides in the love with which I offer it. Besides this, may no one know what I am offering anything up for Lent. The Gospa is also asking that, ‘In your homes, kneel down and pray the Sorrowful Mysteries for my intentions.’
Above all, it is important to free ourselves from everything that troubles our hearts. This is what pleases our Lord and the Gospa the most. Everything else, sacrifices and offerings, are for the purification of our souls.The Lord does not expect us to do many things, but He looks at our hearts and at the quality of the love we put in all things. He also expects our joy. Then He is happy, much happier than when He receives forced sacrifices. What is forced is not very valuable.
Another beautiful thing is to follow Jesus in His Passion and live with Him all the moments that He suffered for us, when He offered Himself for us. We should gradually get closer to Him in His suffering.During this Lent, we can ask the Lord to renew us and give us a new life, so that by the end of Lent we will be a new person. It would make no sense to remain the same at the end of Lent! I should ask for the grace to be better at the end of Lent than I am at the beginning. This is the most beautiful fruit of Lent.” - Vicka, March 14 © Children of Medjugorje 2006
