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November 1, 2011
All Saints Day
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children! I am with you and I rejoice today because the Most High has granted me to be with you and to teach you and to guide you on the path of perfection. Little children, I wish you to be a beautiful bouquet of flowers which I wish to present to God for the day of All Saints. I invite you to open yourselves and to live, taking the saints as an example. Mother Church has chosen them that they may be an impulse for your daily life. Thank you for having responded to my call!" (October 25, 1994)
The Saints are far more present to us than we might think! First of all, our dear Mother Mary is near to us, as she tells us in this message from 1994. "The Most High has granted me to be with you and to teach you and to guide you on the path of perfection." What a blessing it is that Our Lady comes to Medjugorje every day, continuing to be a bridge between heaven and earth. She brings with her so many blessings and graces from the Father, and carries back with her our supplications and cries for help. She teaches us through her messages and guides us through the witness of the visionaries and the testimonies of the countless people who have received heavenly aid in Medjugorje. Our Lady is the Queen of All Saints and she is lavishing her attention on us in these days.
And if that is not enough, we also have the Communion of Saints in heaven, just waiting to help us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
(956) The Intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness... [T]hey do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus...So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped." (LG 49)
"Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life." (St. Dominic, dying, to his brothers)
"I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth". (St. Therese of Lisieux, The Final Conversations)
We have heard this quote from St. Therese many times! And through the many testimonies of her powerful help, we know it has happened. She has answered so many requests, showering roses from heaven. And her simple Story of a Soul has been a constant source of encouragement and instruction for so many. Truly, the saints are with us.
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I have noticed how certain saints seem to have insinuated their way into my life! Take Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska for example. Long before she was canonized, I was given a copy of her Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. I found it difficult to read end to end. But one day, in my personal prayer, I decided to "pray for a passage" in it to see if God would help me with a problem I had, through her words. I opened to the perfect passage, and as I read it I was sure her words were written just for me. Ever since then I have referred to the Dairy almost daily as an aid for my prayer. I have actually become very attached to St. Faustina. She is a very dependable friend to me. And to my surprise, when she was canonized and they announced her feast day, it was October 5, which is my birthday! I felt so special! What a gift St. Faustina is to me!!
Likewise, I like to have a relic of a saint with me at all times, because of the spiritual warfare we are in for Mary TV. I prayed for a relic I could keep close to me and within a week a friend brought m
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e a little crucifix, as a gift. She had gotten it at a garage sale at a seminary, and discovered it had a relic of St. Dominic inside it. She felt I needed it. I was very happy to receive it and I have worn it every day since. Then, not long after receiving the relic, we ended up with a very large marble statue in our yard, Our Lady of Pompeii, which has four figures in it, Our Lady, Baby Jesus, St. Catherine of Siena and ST. DOMINIC! He not only came as a relic, he came as a beautiful statue. He is kneeling, and receiving the Rosary from Baby Jesus! The whole neighborhood can see the statue from our yard. I feel so protected and blessed by St. Dominic's presence.
These are just two little examples of the beautiful ties of love that can form between the Saints and us. I am sure each of you could tell wonderful stories of the intercession of the Saints in your lives. What a wonderful family we live in! With grateful hearts, let us sing the praises of the Saints today and thank them for all they have done, are doing, and will do for us in these most wonderful days of grace!
In Jesus and Mary!
Cathy Nolan
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