(c)Mary TV 2013
Set Out after Jesus!!
Set Out after Jesus!!
J.M.J.
June 4, 2013
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children! In this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father: 'Father'. To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." (June 2, 2013) *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphases.
Our Lady begins this
very long message with a plea to us to "set out" after her Son. To "set
out" is a familiar phrase connected with Our Lady. In Luke 1:39, Our Lady sets out to visit her cousin Elizabeth. ("Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah." - Lk 1:39 - The Jerusalem Bible) There is a strong element of determination associated with "setting out".
Our Holy Father, Pope
Francis, gave a teaching on Our Lady's "setting out" during a Rosary in
St. Peter's Square ending the Month of May on the Visitation. [quotes
are from the Vatican Information Service, June 1, 2013 communique] He
spoke about Our Lady's attitude when she decided to go visit Elizabeth.
He said she listened, decided and acted at that moment of setting out.
Our Lady listened to
God, and discerned His call to her. He was calling her to go to
Elizabeth. Then Our Lady also listened to the realities in her life, and
those realities did not dissuade her from going to visit Elizabeth.
Once she had listened,
the Holy Father said that Mary made a decision. "Mary doesn't let
herself be carried away by events, doesn't avoid the burden of making
decisions...In life, it is difficult to make decisions. Often we tend to
postpone them, to let others decide for us. Often we prefer to be
caught up by events, chasing the fashion of the moment. Sometimes we
know what we have to do, but we don't have the courage or it seems too
difficult because it means going against the grain...Mary goes against
the current. She listens to God, reflects and tries to understand the
reality [of the situation] and decides to entrust herself completely to
God."
How true these words
are. How easy it is to listen to God's call, or Our Lady's messages, but
then never make a concrete decision to follow. We do let ourselves get
caught up in worldly pursuits, in daily business, so much so that we
just fail to respond to those calls. We just drop the ball. Our Lady
would have us learn how to "set out".
The Holy Father went
on to say, "Action is the third word...Mary, despite the difficulties
and criticism she received for her decision to leave, doesn't stop at
anything. Mary isn't rushed, doesn't let herself be carried away by the
moment. But when it's clear what God is asking of her, what she must do,
she doesn't linger, doesn't hold back but goes 'in haste."
Our Lady set out, in
haste, once she had decided on God's word to her. She did not drop the
ball. She acted on God's call to her. She is asking us to learn how to
set out, deliberately and concretely. She wants us to set out after her
Son, Jesus. It seems to me that she is speaking firmly to us about the
importance of this moment. She wants us to hear her call to us and take
some time to measure and weigh all the realities in our lives so that we
can make a good decision. That is what she means when she says that she
knows our pain, suffering and difficulties...She knows how hard it has
been for each of us, and how hard it will be to turn to Jesus. But she
wants us to settle ourselves to those realities and then choose Jesus
first. We each know what it means to follow Him. We each have unique
circumstances in which to act. But act we must. We must "set out" now on
the road with our Savior.
"Dear children! In this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him."
May we receive the
virtues of Our Lady to listen, decide and act, so that we can "set out"
after her Son Jesus. May we become responsive to the movements of God in
our hearts, firm in our decisions, and practical in our actions, so
that we will find ourselves following Jesus, our Savior in these
restless and eventful days. Mary calls us. Jesus leads us. The world
needs our response!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"
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