| + J.M.J. July 16, 2012 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Dear Family of Mary! "The Father`s love sends me to be a mediatrix for you, to show you with motherly love the way which leads to the purity of soul; a soul unburdened by sin; a soul that will come to know eternity." (July 2, 2012 Mirjana) The Father loves us so much, so very much. He has never stopped sending us His help. He longs for us to join Him for eternity in heaven. But in this modern time, He has had to send extraordinary help, because it seems that the world, the flesh and the devil have moved in for the kill. There seems to be hardly any faith left in our day, at least in the larger society. I have been reading the letters of Caryll Houselander, and I find her very insightful, very lucid. Here is a short excerpt from a letter to Elizabeth Billaux, which describes the terrible state of society, a state that has been developing over the past 200 years. (She wrote this in 1935): The tragedy of modern England is an almost complete lack of any real education in faith. Ask the average man fresh from a public school what he has learnt there of religion, of the spirit: he will tell you, nothing, or something so vague that it amounts to nothing. The same applies to the average man from elementary school; and normally the home life of both has done nothing to supply the want. It is impossible for a young person to be totally devoid of religion, for adoration is an instinct of human nature, so most people do work out a religion of their own. They feel the need of something to give coherence and meaning to their lives; in the case of the more generous, they feel the need to give, to serve, to justify themselves, and so, at all events for a time, they try to work it out in their own minds. In some cases they go a long way towards spiritual success and 'make their souls' in a way which must surely please God, but in most cases as they grow older they grow more dependent on, and more contented with, material things. Life is full of distraction, anxieties and temptation, and the spiritual sense becomes blunted and finally quiescent - and we get the vast multitude who, whilst normally seeking their own advantage at the expense of anyone who stands in their way, assure us blandly that their religion is "kindness," varied by city dwellers who are able on rare occasions to "worship God on the hilltop," or, for the less keen hikers, "in a garden" - and sadder still, the crowds and crowds who practically cease to think at all and try pathetically to live by "bread alone." (Caryll Houselander. The Letters of Caryll Houselander, Her Spiritual Legacy. Edited by Maisie Ward. P. 10) What Caryll is describing is the slow failure of the Church and of families to pass on the faith, to lead people to Jesus and His love. As modern society has grown in technology and material comfort, we have been drawn away from the need for God, and have lost sight of Him pretty much completely. We have grown cold. And the Church has in many ways failed us, because it has been plagued by the very same worldliness that has killed the faith in the people and in families. And yet, underneath all this materialism, this prideful dependency upon things, we find broken and suffering hearts. No one can truly be happy, living for themselves, living for this world, and for the things of this world. It is like only eating cotton candy all your life, it makes you sick, weak, listless and ill. Our souls know they are starving for love and truth. They long for the true faith, for Jesus. And so, the Father has sent Our Lady to be our mediatrix, our guide back into His loving embrace. Our Lady of Medjugorje has been sent to us to answer the desire of our poor, unhealthy souls. She has come to show us the way to purity, to the shedding of our sinful ways, so that we can join the Father in heaven, in eternal happiness. She has been sent to take us by the hand and lead us to holiness and joy. And we see her mediation at work in Medjugorje, as thousands of pilgrims stand in line for confession, attend Holy Mass and Adoration for hours upon hours in the evening, climb the mountains in penance and prayer to unburden themselves of their pasts, and regain their childlike relationship with the Father through their conversions! We see souls being fed with manna from heaven in Medjugorje, the Bread of Life! They no longer are starving for God's love, for the Truth, for Peace. They receive it and are healed. Just when it seemed that the world, the flesh and the devil had won, and there would be no more faith on earth, Our Lady came to Medjugorje. She is turning the tide, and drawing God's children back to Him. We can only be in awe and grasp her hand. She will lead us on "the way which leads to the purity of soul; a soul unburdened by sin; a soul that will come to know eternity." In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2012 |
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