Ivan has given glory to God with his life since 1981 when Our Lady first visited him!
Ivan encounters Our Lady in Vienna in 2012.
April 11, 2013
St. Stanislaus
Dear Family of Mary!
"...As a mother, I am asking you to speak about the glory of God with your life because, in that way, you will also glorify yourself in accordance to His will..."(April 2, 2013 Mirjana)
Our Lady knows how to get to the very heart of the matter in a few words! She tells us to "speak about the glory of God..." but not with words! She says to speak "with your life..." We may wonder how we can speak with our lives about God's glory. What is it about our lives that will speak about God's glory?
I was checking in the New Testament about the word glory or glorify, and found several examples of people who glorified God. Here are some of them:
[T]he shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2: 15-20)
The Shepherds were glorifying and praising God because they had seen angels, and found the Child, and they had received the Good News of the Messiah. They probably told this story the rest of their lives to anyone who would listen. They gave God praise because He had revealed His plan to them. And they told the truth, exactly what they saw.
...he said to the man who was paralyzed -- "I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home." And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. (Luke 5: 24-25)
This is the story of the man who was paralyzed and was lowered through the roof. Jesus forgave his sins, and then cured him. The man who was healed went home, praising God and showing everyone that he was healed. He told the truth about his healing, that it came from God through Jesus. This man's life now gave glory to God, because he was healed by Jesus and he said so!
...but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me receive my sight." And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.(Luke 18: 40-43)
The blind man was healed, given his sight, and he followed Jesus, glorifying God. His life now glorified God because he was healed by Jesus, and was a signpost to the presence of God in Jesus. His healing gave glory to God, his healed life gave glory. And he witnessed, told the truth about that healing to everyone.
In all these cases, the glorifying of God happens in response to the healing, enlightening and rejuvenation that takes place through Jesus. The shepherds, the paralytic, and the blind man all were dramatically changed by Jesus, and from then on their very lives gave glory to God.
This is how we can speak of the glory of God with our lives. Through our encounter with the Lord in prayer and the Sacraments we are healed and changed. We are given the Good News of God's love for us. And if we are honest, we will not hide this change, we will let it show in our lives, through our repentance and choice for the good. In that way we will become glorifiers of God.
One more thing, I found an interesting side note to the phrase "give glory to God" in a bible dictionary. It reads:
(6.) The phrase "Give glory to God" (Josh. 7:19; Jer. 13:16) is a Hebrew idiom meaning, "Confess your sins." The words of the Jews to the blind man, "Give God the praise" (John 9:24), are an adjuration to confess. They are equivalent to, "Confess that you are an impostor," "Give God the glory by speaking the truth;" for they denied that a miracle had been wrought. (http://mb-soft.com/believe/
We all know that scene in which the blind man in John's gospel who was healed is grilled by the Jews after his healing. They ordered him to stop lying about his healing by using the term, "Give God the praise..." It seems to me we can only glorify God when we speak the truth. To confess that you are lying means to come clean. Tell the truth. I think that the shepherds, the paralytic and the blind man probably were all grilled about their experience with Jesus. They may all have paid a price for testifying to Jesus. That is what happens. It is part of the way we can stand up for God. In that standing up, we glorify Him with our lives.
So, we can see that Our Lady is calling us to stand up for Jesus, to speak the truth about ourselves and about how much Jesus has done for us, and to live lives that demonstrate the graces we have received. This is how we will ultimately be glorified. If our lives reflect Jesus and His love, His humility and His service, we will find ourselves glorified one day.
It is all a matter to receiving, recognizing and living the truth that Jesus loves us and saves us!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
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