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Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!
1. On March 2nd, Mirjana Soldoreceived her monthly apparition inside her new building, after which she conveyed to us the following message:
"Dear children,
I am coming to you as a mother and I desire that in me, as in a mother,
you may find your abode, consolation and rest. Therefore, my children,
apostles of my love, pray. Pray with humble devotion, obedience and
complete trust in the Heavenly Father. Trust as I have trusted when it
was said to me that I will bring the blessing of the promise. May out of
your hearts, from your lips, always come forth 'May your will be done!'
Therefore, trust and pray so that I can intercede for you before the
Lord, for Him to give you the Heavenly Blessing and fill you with the
Holy Spirit. Then He will be able to help all those who do not know the
Lord - you, apostles of my love, will help them to call Him 'Father'
with complete trust. Pray for your shepherds and place your trust in
their blessed hands. Thank you."
2. Finally Success in Fasting?
Matthew,
a very dear friend, has been a faithful pilgrim of Medjugorje since
1996. That year, after receiving a particular grace on Mount Krizevac,
he experienced a conversion so deep that his life took a sharp turn to
the right, much to the great joy of his wife, who had been praying,
praying, praying for a very long time. He wholeheartedly embraced the
principle messages of the Virgin and began his education, doing his best
to live out her famous five stones (Note 1) in order to
grow in the faith. Maintaining his commitment to these objectives was
something he couldn't guarantee after only five days in Medjugorje. He
did that little by little.
Two years later, he no
longer had any difficulty with monthly confession, the Eucharist, daily
reading the Word of God, and praying the rosary.
But
fasting, that endeavor among the five stones . . . impossible! There
was nothing he could do. He was a fine gourmet, and a connoisseur of the
best wines of France. He enjoyed great health, and mealtime, for him,
was a sacred and unquestionable necessity. Every attempt at fasting
proved to be in vain. When Matthew came to Medjugorje, he used to joke
with his friends, "When you go to Sister Emmanuel's house, if you want
to eat well, avoid going there on Wednesday or Friday!"
One
day, Matthew asked me for advice: How could he finally succeed at
fasting? I was surprised at his question, I wondered if he expected me
to reveal a quasi-magic remedy. Then I found out that he had no actual
hope of putting his problem to rest. He admitted to me that each time he
took one step forward in his attempt at fasting, he had to take two
steps back when it became obvious that it wasn't working for him. All
the gleaming lights from the Gospa in her messages on the necessity of
fasting had become for him points of discomfort, of suffering, even of
guilt. He enumerated for me a profusion of disastrous symptoms that
attacked him when he began to fast.
"I
tried to force it", he told me. "But in vain. I would force myself to
eat bread, but then I'd have a bad day. I'd be in a bad mood, and at 2 o'clock
in the morning, when I couldn't sleep, I'd get up and go into the
kitchen to have an omelet or something like that, so I could get back to
sleep. Finally, I just quit fasting. Ever since we experienced our
retreat in Medjugorje my wife and I have organized our daily schedule
putting Jesus in the first place. Since our children no longer live with
us, each day we follow the same routine: in the morning we attend Mass
and in the early afternoon we say the rosary or go to adoration. But
there's still the problem of fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. I want
bread to become my only nourishment two times a week, the way it is for
the other apostles of the Gospa!
"You
ought to try bread made with spelt," I told him. "That flour is really
rich and contains all you need. It will really fill you up (Note 2). You can also use a bread machine (Note 3).
And don't forget to give your struggle over to Jesus the night before
fasting so that you make the decision beforehand, then we wake up with a
strong mind and will! you'll see. He'll help you!"
Matthew
went for it. "I followed your advice," he wrote to me later. "The other
day, after I had decided to buy a bread machine and spelt, I went to my
local bakery to get some information on it, and saw some loaves of
spelt bread on the display shelf. It was a Tuesday, so I bought enough for the next day, Wednesday, but with no assurance as to the hoped-for result. Wednesday
morning I cut into my new spelt bread with the firm resolution to eat
only bread until the next morning. At morning Mass, I entrusted my
fasting to Jesus, so He would help me. Miracle! The bread alone was
enough. I fueled up all day on the bread: a marvel! I was flabbergasted
to have 'gotten by' morning, noon, and night on spelt bread with some honey and water.
The
fasting hadn't been a trial. On the contrary, it was astonishing,
because I hadn't suffered my usual upset stomach. I had a very good
night, as though I had eaten normally, and woke up at 7 in the morning
with no heaviness. What's more, the entire day Thursday
was spent in joy. I then committed myself to fasting on Wednesdays and
Fridays for the intentions of our heavenly Mother. And to think it took
me 17 years to find this recipe! Maybe it was a gift from St. Therese as
well, because I had to live in Lisieux (France) to find a bakery which
made this bread. Fasting is no longer servitude but a source of joy that
my wife shares with me."
Matthew
was not afraid to leap into the water. All too often we want to
understand a message from Mary or a verse from the Bible before putting
it into practice. What a mistake! We miss so many graces that way! If
Heaven asks us to do something, what do we have to fear? Certainly, we
have to organize ourselves in a way that allows us to live rightly,
looking for methods that are best adapted to our health, our families,
etc., but it is only in living out the messages that we discover the new
horizons behind them. There are secrets that don't reveal themselves
until we act with confidence.
3. In Rome? Last
month the six visionaries were invited to go to Rome together in order
to meet a few Cardinals from the Commission on Medjugorje. Things must
be moving along since this is the first time that they have been invited
together. In the past few years of investigation, they had been invited
separately, some of them even several times, but not together.
Mirjana
gave a touching witness on Radio Maria-Italy after the meeting. Of
course, none of the visionaries are allowed to reveal what was said to
them there. No problem, they are used to secrets! However, she
mentioned that before she went, she was a bit afraid to speak to
Cardinals! Let's keep up praying with confidence until the Roman
statement is issued.There is much at stake with this
statement, both for the Church and for the world! We can also help the
experts who are involved by sending them our Guardian Angels because
Angels are excellent to whisper the ways of God in men's hearts. May Our
Lady's plans be fulfilled!
Dearest Gospa, during
this Lent, we wish to please God above all. We wish to get closer to
Jesus, adoring Him in His sufferings for us. You know so well how to do
that! Please, lead us, help us, inspire us!
Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)
Nota Bene: A
big "Thank You" to all those who are or will be sending me their
testimonies for the new book I am writing, they are very touching! May I
suggest another request to make the book more attractive? If you have
any beautiful photos that have to do with Medj, please send them to me
at gospa.fr@gmail.com and put "My witness" as a subject.THANK YOU with all my heart!
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