Mary TV Daily Reflection 12/10/2010

(Thanks to Bernard Gallagher)

December 10, 2010 Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children!  This Christmas Satan wanted in a special way to spoil God's plans. You, dear children, have discerned Satan even on Christmas Day itself.  But God is winning in all your hearts.  So let your hearts keep on being happy.  Thank you for having responded to my call." (December 27, 1984)

In the early days of the apparitions, the whole parish was being taught by Our Lady through the visionaries.  They were learning about prayer and conversion, about heaven and hell, and about spiritual realities.  One of those realities was Satan.  

Very few Catholics these days really understand the reality of Satan and the evil spirits.  Very few priests actually teach about the devil, or about how to discern the evil one in our lives. Many dioceses do not have exorcists.  It is just not a subject that comes up.  

But in Medjugorje, Our Lady has spoken openly of the devil in many messages.  For one thing, where ever she is, the devil will come.  The ancient enmity still exists.  Satan will try to ruin everything she starts.  And so Our Lady began to teach the parish about her enemy and his tactics from the start.  She wanted the parish to understand how to fight the enemy, and how to discern his actions.  

One of the telltale signs of Satan's presence and influence is sadness.  He sows discontent, envy, jealousy, doubt, despair, and on and on.  He tries to destroy peace and hope.  He does this through insinuating bad thoughts into our hearts, thoughts that lead us away from God. Those thoughts make us unhappy.  They are usually thoughts that turn us in on ourselves, make us self-conscious and selfish.  Such thoughts lead us away from love and self giving. They make us very unhappy.

But the thoughts that move us out of ourselves, move us to give and to serve, to stop thinking about ourselves and to rejoice in the good of others, those thoughts make us happy!  And that is what Our Lady saw in the parish.  They were happy.  They had joy!  Joy is something Satan cannot manufacture.  Joy is of God!  And so Our Lady told the parish, "So let your hearts keep on being happy."  Why did she say this?  Because God was winning in their hearts!! They were happy because they had chosen the good!  Even on Christmas Day, when Satan had been slinking around trying to ruin their joy, they had good discernment and they chose God's way of thinking.  And that defeated Satan.  

We all need such discernment.  Our Lady wants us to understand that life will be joyful in God.  She wants us to have that internal warning bell that goes off when we are tempted by the enemy.  She wants us to know God's thoughts from Satan's thoughts, and to choose God's thoughts.  Thoughts that lead us to joy, to peace, to trust in God, to hope, to love...those are God's thoughts.  Let's keep on being happy!!  Let's let God win in our hearts!

In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan

 

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous