Mary TV Daily Reflection 7/12/2011

July 12, 2011

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children; God the Father is sending me to show you the way of salvation, because He, my children, desires to save you and not to condemn you. That is why I, as a mother, am gathering you around me, because with my motherly love I desire to help you to be free of the dirtiness of the past and to begin to live anew and differently. I am calling you to resurrect in my Son. Along with confession of sins renounce everything that has distanced you from my Son and that has made your life empty and unsuccessful. Say 'yes' to the Father with the heart and set out on the way of salvation to which He is calling you through the Holy Spirit. Thank you. I am especially praying for the shepherds (priests), for God to help them to be alongside you with a fullness of heart."   (May 02, 2011)

On June 24, 2011, Marija shared some memories with the thousands of pilgrims 

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who gathered at the outdoor altar at St. James.  She shared that on one of the very first days of the apparitions, in 1981, the people of Medjugorje gathered around the children during the apparition.  The whole village had been paying a great price to protect the children and provide a way for Our Lady to continue to appear to them.  Our Lady wanted to connect with them, to reassure them.  Here is what happened: 

"I remember when Our Lady said that she would appear on the same day on two occasions. And she said, 'Pray!'  And we had been praying.  And then Our Lady appeared.  She said that she would like all of us to touch her.  'How is that possible,' the visionaries said, 'because there are only six of us who can see you?'   But she said, 'Take their arms and bring them closer to me.'  And there were a whole lot of people who were able to touch Our Lady.  They were all able to feel the presence of Our Lady.  Some felt peace, some felt cold, some felt electricity, and some even smelled the roses, but they all believed Our Lady was present, in front of them.   

 

"And they all became witnesses of her presence.  And they desired to help us, and to support us, the visionaries.  So on that day we were able to see that the friends of Our Lady, big and small, were present.  But we also saw that suddenly Our Lady's dress began to be very dirty from the people touching her.  We asked Our Lady 'Why is your dress so dirty?'  Our Lady answered, 'Those stains represent your sins.' You can imagine that the following day none of us wanted to make Our Lady's dress dirty.  We did not want her dress to be dirty anymore.  She told us to go to confession.   And indeed, we went to Fr. Jozo, and we told him that Our Lady wanted us to clean our hearts with confession because she is immaculate and sinless and we wanted to be close to her without sin."  (Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti on June 24, 2011, at St. James Church)

Though she could not appear to everyone, Our Lady wanted the villagers to experience her presence.  She knew that they would be asked to carry a great cross due to her daily apparitions, and so she wanted them to really know she was with them.  So she let them touch her.  The resulting stains on her beautiful dress really distressed the visionaries.  They were horrified to see what sin could do.  But this lesson was well learned.  From then on, confession was made available every night at St. James Church.  And now Medjugorje is called "The Confessional of the World."  

Thousands of people receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Medjugorje.  Many confessions are life changing events, often the first confession in 40 or 50 years!  These moments of grace are unforgettable.  Pilgrims often mention that confession was the high point of their pilgrimage.  Our Lady's purity is so powerful that it plants in us a desire to be pure.  She is an incentive for us to change.  We all want to be close to her, and so, like good children, we want to wash up before we cuddle up to her.  Jesus will wash us clean and make us shiny and fresh.  We have only to approach Him and ask for forgiveness.  He will not refuse.  He will resurrect us in His love!

In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2011

 

PS. You can watch Marija's witness on our webpage, www.marytv.tv

It is in the video folder entitled "Ivan's apparition in his chapel". Just scroll down in that window to "Marija July 24, 2011"

 

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