September 22, 2010Dear Family of Mary!"Dear children!
No, you don't know how to love and you don't know how to listen with love to the words I am saying to you.
Be conscious, my beloved, that I am your Mother and I have come on earth to teach you to listen out of love, to pray out of love and not compelled by the fact that you are carrying a cross.
By means of the cross God is glorified through every person. Thank you for having responded to my call." (November 29, 1984)
Listening is a basic attitude, a fundamental way of being.
Our Lady makes it clear in this message that listening is important.
We need to listen to her words.
We need to really take in what she is saying.
But we don't know how to listen, apparently.
At least we don't know how to listen with love!
Our Lady seems to tell us there are two ways to listen.
One is out of self-interest or even fear.
When we have a cross, we might listen to her words because we hope that by listening to her we can escape from our cross.
If we listen to Our Lady, do what she says, we might be healed of our illness, or avert a divorce, or find a new job.
This kind of listening is really short sighted.
It only lasts as long as the cross lasts.
The other way of listening is different.
Listening out of love is a different kind of listening.
We listen out of love because the one we listen to is beloved!
They are so important to us, so desired by us, that their words are important to us.
We soak up their words like spring rain.
We cherish their words like jewels.
Why?
Because their words are meant for us as gifts of life.
Their words give us life.
(This reminds me of romantic musicals in which the lovers sing about their beloved, often just repeating one word he or she has spoken over and over!)
Listening with love is an experience of joy.
We open ourselves completely to the words of the beloved, trusting in those words and pondering them because they come from the one we love.
If we listen to Our Lady with love, think of how much her messages could change us.
We would cherish each word, ponder each sentence, let her words sink deep into our hearts.
Listening with love is dangerous and wonderful!
It can change our lives.
It can even change our crosses!
A good exercise for us might be to take a message from Our Lady to our prayer time.
(We will get a new message from Our Lady on Saturday!) We could read it carefully and then, in our journal, ask the Lord or Our Lady how to listen to the words of the message.
We could also ask the Holy Spirit to anoint the words of the message so that we know what is important for us.
Then we could ask what blocks we might have to hearing the words as Our Lady intends them.
We could also ask for guidance on how to act on those words, what needs to change in me as I listen to the message.
But maybe the best way to approach the message is this: we could ask for love to fill us, so that we listen with love to Our Lady's message.
How different Her words might be if we hear them with love!
I guess the place to start with this message, for me, is to ask for love!
If I listen with love I will get it!
If I only listen with my head, I may miss it.
Love is the best way to open the ears of our hearts!
In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan
PS.
Don't forget tomorrow, September 23, is the event in Vienna, at St. Stephen's Cathedral.
You can view it live at
http://www.marytv.tv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=19 Join Our Lady in Vienna!
To sign up for these reflections go to our website and click on the yellow button that says "Join our Daily Reflection List. You can enter your email to the list and receive these reflections directly to your inbox. http://www.marytv.tv
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please no anonymous comments. I require at least some way for people to address each other personally and courteously. Having some name or handle helps.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.