 Forming the apostles of the latter times. (c)Mary TV 2011 |
| June 8, 2012
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children, I am continuously among you because, with my endless love, I desire to show you the door of Heaven. I desire to tell you how it is opened: through goodness, mercy, love and peace - through my Son. Therefore, my children, do not waste time on vanities. Only knowledge of the love of my Son can save you. Through that salvific love and the Holy Spirit He chose me and I, together with Him, am choosing you to be apostles of His love and will. My children, great is the responsibility upon you. I desire that by your example you help sinners regain their sight, enrich their poor souls and bring them back into my embrace. Therefore, pray, pray, fast and confess regularly. If receiving my Son in the Eucharist is the center of your life then do not be afraid, you can do everything. I am with you. Every day I pray for the shepherds and I expect the same of you. Because, my children, without their guidance and strengthening through their blessing, you cannot do it. Thank you." (June 2, 2012)
"Through that salvific love and the Holy Spirit He chose me and I, together with Him, am choosing you to be apostles of His love and will."
§ 2. In the formation of the apostles of the latter times.
55. In a word, God wishes that His holy Mother should be at present more known, more loved, more honored that she has ever been. This, no doubt, will take place if the predestinate enter, with the grace and light of the Holy Ghost, into the interior and perfect practice which I will disclose to them shortly. Then they will see clearly, as far as faith allows, that beautiful Star of the Sea. They will arrive happily in harbor, following its guidance, in spite of the tempests and the pirates. They will know the grandeurs of that Queen, and will consecrate themselves entirely to her service as subjects and slaves of love. They will experience her sweetness and her maternal goodness, and they will love her tenderly like well-beloved children. They will know the mercies of which she is full, and the need they have of her help; and they will have recourse to her in all things, as to their dear advocate and Mediatrix with Jesus Christ. They will know what is the surest, the easiest, the shortest and the most perfect means of going to Jesus Christ; and they will give themselves to Mary, body and soul, without reserve, that they may thus belong entirely to Jesus Christ. (St. Louis De Montfort. True Devotion to Mary. § 2. N.55)
Our Lady is choosing us to be apostles, to make her love known so that through her love her lost children will find Jesus, their Lord. We are the "predestinate" (I like to use the word "chosen" like Mary did in her message of June 2, 2012) who must enter into the interior and perfect practice of Total Consecration to Mary. I believe that Our Lady's messages and her presence in Medjugorje lead us to Total Consecration to Mary. Why do I say this? Because through Medjugorje many people now really see Mary, they know her, they have experienced her and they love her. As St. Louis said: "Then they will see clearly, as far as faith allows, that beautiful Star of the Sea."
When Denis and I first heard of Medjugorje, we were given "True Devotion to Mary" by a priest friend. He suggested we do the consecration. So we did. But I must admit that I didn't understand much of what St. Louis De Montfort said about Mary. It was just too "way out" for me. I wanted to be in Mary's hands, I wanted her to be close to me, but I just didn't get what St. Louis was saying.
Now, some 27 years later, after going to Medjugorje, reading and living the messages, praying many Rosaries, and staying focused on Our Lady through the Medjugorje events, I can say that I get it! I get much more of what St. Louis is saying. I think I understand what he was seeing so many years ago. Why? Because I have experienced her.
Our Lady is with us now in Medjugorje creating an army of souls who know her. She is revealing herself to us so that we will truly be bonded with her. As St. Louis De Montfort says, this is an army of souls who:
-have experienced Mary's sweetness and her maternal goodness. Haven't we experienced Our Lady's sweet love through her messages, and through the beautiful things she has done for us through Medjugorje? Every time someone shares a miracle Our Lady has done for them, it infuses my heart with more of her sweetness. I am amazed at her capacity to love us, and her gentle, kind way with us. She is such a good mother.
-love her tenderly like well-beloved children. Don't we all feel a depth of love for Mary that we never knew was possible before? I learn more about her every day, through my prayer and the sharing of others who love her. In our email group, there is an astounding amount of love for Mary. We are truly her children!!
-know the mercies of which she is full. Our Mother has told us over and over in her messages from Medjugorje that she loves each and every one of us, that she follows our lives with anxious care, that she prays for each of us before the Father, that she longs for us to be in her embrace, and that she is always ready to forgive us and receive us in her embrace, no matter how far away we may be. She is the very best of mothers.
-know the need they have of her help; and they will have recourse to her in all things, as to their dear advocate and Mediatrix with Jesus Christ. Living daily life with Our Lady of Medjugorje has taught me how much I need her. More and more, Denis and I find ourselves putting everything in Mary's hands, trusting her with our needs, handing over to her our anxieties and fears. She takes care of them all. I know this is the same for many, many pilgrims who have learned to live their daily life with Mary. She is with us to hear our prayers and help us.
-know what is the surest, the easiest, the shortest and the most perfect means of going to Jesus Christ. Our Lady constantly points us to Jesus in her messages, month after month, year after year. She keeps Him before us as our Lord, our only hope, our Savior. Her constant focus on Jesus gives us that same focus, and moves us towards Him.
-give themselves to Mary, body and soul, without reserve, that they may thus belong entirely to Jesus Christ. Because we have grown to trust Mary so very much through our experience of her goodness and love over the years in Medjugorje, we naturally give ourselves to her. She is our mother and we trust her completely. This has happened for me through Medjugorje, through her presence there. I feel I know her. It is tangible and very real.
In 1985 I had not yet experienced Our Lady. I only had "head knowledge" of her as a figure from long ago. But now, through her presence in Medjugorje, I feel I really do know her, I have experienced her as a person, as my Mother, and I really love her and trust her. It has taken time, but it is real. And this is how she is building us up to be her apostles, how she is forming her "heel" as St. Louis says. She is making us her true children.
In Medjugorje, Our Lady is choosing us to be her apostles of love. What St. Louis De Montfort saw so long ago is coming true, in us!
In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c)Mary TV 2012 |
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