© Children of Medjugorje 2009
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December 12, 2009
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dear Children of Medjugorje,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
1 – On December 2nd Mirjana received her monthly apparition at her home, in the presence of a few people, and not at the Blue Cross, since it was raining. After the apparition, she shared the following message:
“Dear children! At this time of preparation and joyful expectation I, as a mother, desire to point you to what is the most important, to your soul. Can my Son be born in it? Is it cleansed by love from lies, arrogance, hatred and malice? Above all else does your soul love God as your Father and does it love your fellow brother in Christ? I am pointing you to the way, which will raise your soul to a complete union with my Son. I desire for my Son to be born in you. What a joy that would be for me as mother. Thank you.”
2 – A remarkable birthday! An imaginary letter from Child Jesus has been traveling the internet “highways” over the last few years. In short, the God Child told about his joy at seeing all the loving preparation in homes around the world, for the celebration of his birth: beautiful decorations, candles, glittering garlands, well stocked Christmas trees, marvelous presents, wondrous holiday meals, exquisite clothes, sweet melodies, surprises of all kinds…and so many guests! The most pleasing of all was that, for the love of Him, families created miniature models of his birthplace and built mini stables to better celebrate this blessed day. How excited everybody was to prepare!
But the story ends up with a terrible heartbreak: when at last the Christmas night comes over the Earth, when everything is ready, the ever so happy Child is standing by the homes’ door, but to his big surprise, he is not invited in! No one is even asking him to come in! He is totally ignored, even despised! Are they going to celebrate his birthday without Him? Can it be possible? Yes, the One whose birthday they are celebrating will remain outside by himself in the cold, hungry and heartbroken. He was so looking forward to the joy to be among them! He had prepared such divine presents! But the festivities will go on without him…
Without Him? The Gospa tells us today, “I desire that my Son be born in you. What a joy for me, as a mother!” At our home, what place shall we offer Child Jesus? The first one? The last one? No place at all?
3 – Who is my mother? Looking over her 27 Christmas messages, from 1981 to 2008, we see how much Our Lady wishes our hearts to become the manger where Jesus is going to be born. She invites us to share with her the grace that is specifically hers. She is passing on to us something that is her own, because she is the one who bore Him and then gave birth to Him! But isn’t Jesus telling us, “Who is my mother? The one who does the will God, he is a brother to me, a sister, a mother!” (Mark 3, 31-35) Our Lady is giving us the keys to do the will of God:
- She likes that, as a family, we meet everyday and read together the beautiful liturgical texts for Advent. In this way, we help each other to grow around the Word of God. We can easily imagine that this activity was hers, in the evening after work with Joseph and Jesus, in their humble dwelling in Nazareth, where their hearts were burning so ardently while reading the Torah.
- She asks that we visit lonely people, rich or poor, so we can bring the warmth of a presence, a smile, the consolation of our affection. She recommends going particularly to families where there is someone who is sick. She exhorts us to pray for the sick, but most especially with them.
- Like a real Jewish mother, she invited the youth of the prayer group to visit poor families and do small chores, clean and make their houses nice and clean and leave behind a few signs of concrete love like food, fruit, homemade cakes, etc.
- She invited these same youth to pray more to deepen their anticipation of the Child Jesus at Christmas, “The Day of Joy” as she calls it, and make sure they reconcile with everyone. She invited them to find moments to retire and say to Jesus from the bottom of their hearts, “Thank you!”
- She also warned them against the temptation of getting tangled up in material preparations at the risk of forgetting the essential, the coming of Jesus in the world and in their hearts.
- Finally, she invites us to make a novena before Christmas (from the 16th to the 24th), to give up what we are attached to (Coffee, tobacco, alcohol… etc), and to turn off the television.
It seems to me that if we follow these instructions coming from above, and that are so much in sync with the Gospel, the Gospa could really tell us at Christmas, “What a joy you are for me, as a mother! Thank you.”
4 - St. Francis of Assisi. In 1223, three years before his death, Francis of Assisi was going to celebrate Christmas night with his brothers and a group of faithful. But because his chapel was too small, he used a natural grotto of Greccio, in the mountain. Inspired by God, his wish was to create a model of the real manger where our Savior was born, in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, deprived of any sort of comfort, with its genuine ‘furniture’ of the time: a manger trough with hay, a live ox and a live donkey. Francis may not fully realize he just invented the first live Nativity scene of the world! It is there, in this magnificent scenery of Mount Greccio, that Francis lived the solemn midnight Mass in the presence of all the people of the area, in awe and beaming. Little by little, thanks to St. Francis, the tradition of the Christmas Nativity scene was born! It will be adopted by millions of Christians and become one of their most popular traditions.
One of Francis' biographers, brother Thomas of Celano, who was present that night, made an account of that unforgettable Christmas night with marvelous poetry. Another biographer, St. Bonaventure, tells us:
“The man of God [St. Francis] stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the Levite of Christ. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His name for the tenderness of His love, He called Him the Babe of Bethlehem. A certain valiant and veracious soldier, Master John of Greccio, who, for the love of Christ, had left the warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of this holy man, affirmed that he beheld an Infant marvelously beautiful, sleeping in the manger, Whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with both his arms, as if he would awake Him from sleep. This vision of the devout soldier is credible, not only by reason of the sanctity of him that saw it, but by reason of the miracles which afterwards confirmed its truth. For example of Francis, if it be considered by the world, is doubtless sufficient to excite all hearts which are negligent in the faith of Christ; and the hay of that manger, being preserved by the people, miraculously cured all diseases of cattle, and many other pestilences; God thus in all things glorifying his servant, and witnessing to the great efficacy of his holy prayers.”
See at: www.catholictradition.org/Children/creche.htm and:
http://christianisme.suite101.fr/article.cfm/saint_franois_dassise_invente_la_creche#ixzz0Z1IbxENS
5 - The year for priests: Here is our new prayer for priests, to be recited for one month:
“Oh Jesus!
I pray for your faithful and fervent priests
For your unfaithful and tepid priests,
For your priests who work near or on distant missions,
For your priests who are tempted,
For your priests who suffer from loneliness and desolation,
For your young priests,
For your elderly priests,
For your sick priests,
For your dying priests,
For which suffer in purgatory.
But above all I entrust to you the priests who are dearest to me,
The priest who baptized me,
Who absolved me from my sins,
The priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion,
The priests who teach and instruct me, encouraged and advised me,
All priests to whom I owe a debt of gratitude, especially...xxx
Oh Jesus, keep them all close to your heart and grant him abundant blessings in time and eternity!
Amen!”
6 – Do not forget your saint for 2010! It is very profitable to draw a Saint as your companion for the New Year. Who would not need this Heavenly presence by their side, always available for help? (See PS2)
O dearest Mother of God, please come and lay your Divine Infant in the dark crib of our hearts!
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
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PS1- Shop COM this Christmas! Give the gift of a retreat! Announcing our new St Malo Educational Series DVDs and CDs –both make great gifts or stocking stuffers. Order the 5-DVD “virtual retreat” with Sister Emmanuel or each of the 6 audio CDs with teachings from Sister Emmanuel on how to take the hand of Our Lady, walk in the way of holiness, and enter Her School of Prayer. Click the picture below for the link to our secure on-line store!
PS 2- Create a new family tradition! Check out our website for a list of saints available December 20th at www.childrenofmedjugorje.com. You may remember from the book ‘Medjugorje, The Triumph of the Heart’('Mejugorje, 90's') in the chapter labeled "October 1994", these saints give us a special companion and mission for the new year. Try it out for your Christmas and New Years family gatherings! The drawing of Saints for the New Year was already a tradition at St. Faustina’s Convent! (See § 359 of her Diary).
PS 3 - Vicka the visionary is going to undergo an operation on her back. Let us keep on praying for her and with her! Father Jozo Zovko is still living in Austria where his Provincial assigned him, he is well.
PS 4 - Spread it as a Christmas gift! The Hidden Child of Medjugorje by Sr. Emmanuel. You won’t regret giving this book to a friend as a shower gift or a wedding gift! In the US go to our store: http://www.childrenofmedjugorje.com then click “Shop COM.”
English version in UK, 7£, +44 2920 460 189 - r.fenlon@ntlworld.com - In Ireland, 9€ Veritas, Dublin, +353 1878 8177 - sales@veritas.ie - In S. Africa, +27 393 172 825. alexknox@telkomsa.net - In Malaysia: dongjiadu@catholic.org - In Medjugorje at the Parish bookstore, Devotions and Catholic Bookstore –
French: www.editions-beatitudes.fr - Spanish: “Hijos de Medjugorje”, (Spain). +34 62979 2849 - gsba15@yahoo.es, at Paulinas (Argentina), paulinas@satlink.com - Croatian in Medjugorje (7.50€), at “Devotions”, +387 63377497 - devotions@tel.net.ba and “Catholic Bookstore”, +387 6332 2492. In Zagreb at “AGM”, agm@agm.hr - Portuguese: 13€ (with Imprimatur) at Diel, Lisboa - www.diel.pt - German: 22€ Parvis Verlag, Swizerland +41 269 159399 - www.parvis.ch - Polish, 8€ Wyd. Marianow, Warsaw +48 22 6425082 - www.wydawnictwo.pl - Italian, 9€ Shalom, Ancona +39 071745 0440 - www.editriceshalom.it - Dutch, 15€, n.imkamp@tele2.nl or veys.stefaan@skynet.be +32 56 777373 - Lettonien, “Dzīvības Straumes” +371 29544267 – Arabic, Lebanon. +961 1255 500 - office@medugorjeliban.org - Chinese, com.hongkong@gmail.com - In Thailand: mikepich@hotmail.com
Bookstores may contact us at pray@childrenofmedjugorje.com
PS 5 – How can we help the cause of Medjugorje?
The United States and Italy well answered the call of father Danko to gather witnesses from those who received their sacerdotal or religious vocations through Medjugorje. Let me remind you that this call is very important, and its stake capital for Rome because the tree will be recognized by its fruit. We pray those who are concerned or who know people concerned to send many answers!
- email to vianney500@gmail.com
- or by mail to Fra Danko, Zupni Ured, 88266 Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Please, write in your mother tongue and give every detail that would enable the Commission to reach you if necessary.
The questionnaire form is at www.medjugorje.hr . Thank you!
© 2009 Children of Medjugorje, Inc
www.childrenofmedjugorje.com
PO Box 18430, Denver CO 80218, USA. Tel. 877-MIR-MEDJ
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