Mary TV Daily Reflection 7/19/2011

Ivanka Elez speaks at the 30th Anniversary (c)MaryMatasso, used with permission

July 19, 2011   Dear Family of Mary! During the 30th Anniversary celebrations, some of the visionaries spoke from the open air altar to the vast crowds gathered in Medjugorje to give thanks to Our Lady for 30 years of her presence with us. Ivanka spoke on very hot afternoon. She stood so very quietly as she spoke. She never made a gesture, but quietly and serenely shared from her heart about the last 30 years and her experiences with Our Lady. Each visionary is so different. Vicka can hardly be contained, she is so filled with excitement and love for the pilgrims. Ivan is very steady and calm, with just a hint of humor gleaming through. Marija is very motherly, and warm. But Ivanka is like a very deep well, very deep. She is quiet, reserved, and full of grace. It was beautiful to see her so quietly but peacefully sharing about Our Lady.   I want to share the beginning and the end of her talk first, as it gives very good advice for all of us. Then I will share the middle section that contains the details of the first days of the apparitions from Ivanka's point of view.   Here is the beginning and end of Ivanka Elez' talk: Image by Getty Images via @daylife Ivanka began with a prayer, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.     "I greet you with the most beautiful greeting, 'Praised be Jesus and Mary!' "God has been given me a huge responsibility, in front of you people who are here now in this world and in the same way when I come in front of him. I can only say that I am only a simple regular mortal in the same way that you are, and I have accepted everything that has been given to me, and I only pray to her and to Him to give me strength, to give me humility that I may be able to be what he is asking of me.  "I can say to you that my prayer is exactly the same as yours. My relationship with God is the same as yours. Everything depends on me. I can say and witness to you that the living God is here with us. He did not go away from us. It is we who have gone away from Him. Our Lady has come here so that she can return us to the right way. That she may show us the right way, that we will not go on a side path. To see Our Lady with the eyes is a most beautiful experience. But to see her with the eyes and not to feel her in our hearts, that is as if nothing ever happened. Blessed are those who did not see, but believe....   Holy Family. Image via Wikipedia "What I have to say is that heaven opens every single day, and heaven speaks to us and says to us,'Dear children, return to the path of penance, conversion, fasting, and prayer.' We are free people and we can choose the way we want to go. Out of the six of us, each one has a mission. Some pray for priests, some pray for the youth, for the sick, for those who have not come to know the love of God yet. My mission is to pray for families. Our Lady is inviting us to respect the Sacrament of Marriage. Our Lady is inviting us to renew family prayer, to go to Sunday Mass, that we confess every single month, and most important, that in the center of our family, the Holy Bible will be there. Satan is so strong, and he wants to destroy our families. If the family is not strong, because everything comes from the family, he will be able to destroy the whole world.   "Many say there is not enough time for prayer. God has given us all the time in the world. It is up to us to make the best use of the time. Let us start our day with the Sign of the Cross and let us say to God, 'Stay with me, bless this day.' When you go to sleep, thank the Lord for the day He has given to you. Prayer needs to be like the air we are breathing, like the water we are drinking. We can have all the riches of this world, but without inner peace, we cannot have anything. That peace only comes from God, and comes through prayer. Every day I pray for all the families of this world. In the same way I am asking you to pray for our families as well. I want to thank you because you want to hear Our Lady's messages. In the same way, bring those messages back to your homes, to your families, back to your churches, back to your countries. Please be apostles of Our Lady's peace. She has told us, "Do not be afraid of anything." I say to you in the same way, do not be afraid, because she is always with us." (Ivanka Elez, 30th Anniversary talk, Medjugorje, June 2011) Ivanka is deceptively simple. Each statement comes from her deep experience with Our Lady. Thank you, Ivanka, for sharing with us your heart.  In Jesus and Mary! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2011

 

Zemanta helped me add links & pictures to this email. It can do it for you too.

Posted via email from deaconjohn's posterous