Mary TV Daily Reflection 9/19/2013

Mirjana experiences the Motherly love of Mary
September 2, 2013 

 (c)Mary TV 2013 

J.M.J.

September 19, 2013

St. Januarius

Dear Family of Mary!

Yesterday in his Wednesday General Audience for September 18, 2013, Our Holy Father spoke about the motherly face of the Church, and how much the Church must be like a mother. He shared three particular aspects of motherhood, mother as teacher, mother as companion, and mother as intercessor. His words were so beautiful, so full of the Holy Spirit, and so down to earth. As I read the excerpts of his talk, I felt that they complimented the message from Our Lady for September 2. So I will share the excerpts of Pope Francis' talk in connection with the message. Everything that the Pope says about the Church is reflected in Our Lady of Medjugorje! She is the Church in a real way. And she is Mother! Enjoy! (Quotes from Pope Francis are from the Vatican Information Service - 18-09-2013 - Year XXII - Num. 177)

TEACHER:

 

Our Lady told us:

"...I need humble apostles who, with an open heart, will accept the Word of God and help others to comprehend the meaning of their life alongside God's word. To be able to do this, my children, through prayer and fasting you must learn to listen with the heart and to learn to keep submitting yourselves. You must learn to keep rejecting everything that distances you from God's word and to yearn only for that which draws you closer to it..."

Pope Francis said:

The Pope began by considering what a mother does for her children. First of all, "she teaches us how to proceed in life ... she orientates us, she always tries to show us the right path in life in order to grow and become adults. And she does this with tenderness, with affection, with love, always - even when she tries to correct our path because we lose our way a little or take routes that might lead us to a fall".

"The Church does likewise: she orientates our lives, she offers us instruction on how to walk in the right way. Think of the Ten Commandments: they show us the route to follow if we are to mature, fixing certain cardinal points in our behavior. And these are the fruits of tenderness, of the very love that God gives us. You might say to me: but these are commandments! They are a list of negatives! I would like to invite you to read them, ... and then think about them positively. You will see that they concern our way of behaving towards God, towards ourselves and towards others, just as a mother teaches us how to live well. They remind us not to make material idols for ourselves, which then turn us into slaves; to remember God; to respect our parents; to be honest; to respect others ... Try to see them in this way and consider them as if they were the words and teachings a mother gives us in order to take a good path through life. A mother never teaches anything that is bad, she wants only what is best for her children, and the same is true of the Church".

COMPANION:

Our Lady also said:

"Dear children, I love you all. All of you, all of my children, all of you are in my heart. All of you have my motherly love and I desire to lead all of you to come to know God's joy. This is why I am calling you... Do not be afraid. I am here. You are not alone..."

Pope Francis continued: 

Secondly, "when a child grows and becomes an adult ... and assumes his responsibilities ... he does what he wants, and at times, he may happen to stray away from the path. ... A mother always, in every situation, has the patience to continue to accompany her children. She is animated by the strength of love ... and even when [her children] make mistakes, she always finds a way of understanding them ... to help them. We say that a mother 'stands up and is counted' for her own children; that is, she always seeks to defend them".

"The Church is the same: she is a merciful mother who understands, who always tries to help, to give encouragement even when her children have made mistakes or continue to do so. She never closes the doors of her house to them: she does not judge, but rather offers God's forgiveness, she offers her love to invite her children to return to the right path and even when they have fallen into the deepest abyss, the Church is not afraid to enter into their darkest night with them in order to give them hope; the Church is not afraid to enter into our night when our soul and conscience are surrounded by darkness, to give us hope! Because the Church is our mother!"

INTERCESSOR: 

And Our Lady said:

"I am imploring the Holy Spirit that, as you help others, you too may be healed. I am imploring Him that, through Him, you may be God's children and my apostles..."

And Pope Francis said:

Finally, "a mother also knows how to ask, to knock on every door for her children, without calculation but with love. And I think of how mothers know, most of all, how to knock on God's door! Mothers pray a lot for their own children, especially for those ... most in need, whose lives have taken dangerous or mistaken paths. ... The Church does likewise: through prayer, she places the lives of all her children in the hands of the Lord. Let us trust in the strength of prayer of the Mother Church: the Lord never remains indifferent. He always knows how to astonish us when we least expect us. The Mother Church knows this!"

"So, these are the thoughts I wanted to share with you today: we see in the Church a good mother who shows us the path to walk in life, who is always patient, merciful and understanding, and knows how to place us in God's hands".

Our Lady is the perfect Mother, and she is doing all these things Pope Francis mentions for us! And the Church, through her sacraments and her children, is also doing them, as a mother. We are so blessed to have such motherly care surrounding us! Thank you, Father in heaven for providing so much love for us!!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

 

 "Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"   

Blessed John Paul II  -

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