The Statue of St. Francis in St. James Church
(c)Mary TV 2013
J.M.J.
October 4, 2013
St. Francis of Assisi,
Dear Family of Mary!
Dear children; I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God's children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid. I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when He chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you. (October 2, 2013)
In 1981 Our Lady came to six
children of a small Croatian village which was in the pastoral care of
the Franciscan Priests. She chose this little village very carefully. In
the plan Our Lady had received from the Father it was necessary that
the visionaries would be surrounded by their parish community and
supported by them. Our Lady was going to come to the visionaries for an
extended time, and the weight of her presence would need to be carried
by the larger community. And so she chose Medjugorje and the Franciscan
Parish of St. James. Here she hoped that her visionaries would be safe,
safe from the Communists and from the ever growing Godless culture in
the world. She chose well.
The Franciscan priests in
Medjugorje have created a beautiful, sacramental oasis in Medjugorje.
They have provided a place for pilgrims from the entire world to
worship, to confess, to be catechized, and to learn to have a personal
relationship with God. They have made room for us all. Today there are
masses in many languages available all morning and early afternoon.
There are confessors in all of those languages as well. And the evening
program of Rosary, Holy Mass, and Adoration has become an international
prayer furnace! The strong and steady guidance of the Franciscan
priests, brothers and sisters make Medjugorje a spiritual center for us
all.
I cannot help but think that
God chose the Franciscans in Medjugorje to begin a renewal in the lay
faithful in 1981 that has spread throughout the world and now He has
chosen Pope Francis to multiply that renewal even more in the Church.
Though Pope Francis is a Jesuit, he chose Francis as his name because he
wanted to infuse the Church with the evangelical zeal of St. Francis of
Assisi. He wanted the incredible help from heaven that St. Francis
could give to us now. The same pastoral care that the Franciscan priests
have given to Medjugorje is now being infused into the entire Church
through Pope Francis. Our Lady is going to renew the Catholic Church so
that we can be a beautiful, sacramental oasis for the entire world.
Rosie Zubac shared some news with us on Tea with Rosie that I want to share with all of you:
Our parish
has officially announced that the parish priest, Fr. Merinko, and a few
other Franciscan priests from this diocese have been asked to attend a
meeting with Pope Francis in Rome on the 10th of October.
Following this meeting there is the Marian Day of Prayer at St. Peter's
Square in Rome. Various Marian groups have been asked to attend this
meeting. And Medjugorje has not been excluded. So Fr. Merinko and the
other priests from this parish will also attend the Marian Day of Prayer
on the 12th of October.
And the intention of this day of prayer is for special devotion and for
the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Tea with Rosie, Episode
57)
It is significant that the
Holy Father has invited Medjugorje to be part of this very important
Marian Consecration. I believe it signifies that what Our Lady has been
doing through Medjugorje is going to flow into the Church and strengthen
her as a Sacramental Oasis for the world, a community of God's
children!
May we open our hearts to her call in this latest message.
"I pray that you may be a community of God's children, of my children. I
pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the
faith and in the love of my Son." May we be so filled with
faith and love that others will not be able to stay outside. They will
want to come into the arms of Mother Church, into the arms of love. This
is what St. Francis wanted! This is what Pope Francis wants today!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
PS. At the Evening Mass on
the Eve of the Feast of St. Francis, there was a beautiful dedication of
the Youth Group at St. James Church that is dedicated to St. Francis.
The young people carried candles to the altar and prayed to St.
Francis. Such young people give us hope!
(c)Mary TV 2013
(c)Mary TV 2013
"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"
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