Mary TV Daily Reflection 5/5/2014

   

(c) Mary TV 2014

J.M.J

May 5, 2014

Dear Family of Mary!

Recently I watched the movie, "God Is Not Dead." (It was good!) A very familiar situation is depicted in this movie. Young people encounter radical atheism in college, in their professors, the course work, and their peers. It is a familiar story. I know many young people who were active in their parishes and have faith-filled parents, who are now struggling to believe in God at all. For the most part, this struggle includes a great deal of depression and sadness. Hope seems to vanish without God.

But the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Easter, Luke 24: 13-35, gives me hope for these young people. In this wonderful Gospel story, two young men (probably young disciples much like our college kids) were sadly walking away from Jerusalem and the other disciples after Jesus' death. As they walked towards Emmaus, they were "conversing about all the things that had occurred." They were confused by Jesus' death, and unsure of the reports that He had risen. They were disillusioned, saying, "We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel..." All their hopes and dreams for the future had been dashed and they were walking away.

I think many young people today are confused and disillusioned as well. They have grown up with hopes that Jesus is the answer to life, but as young adults they see much more of life than they did when they were young, and it doesn't look so promising. They are walking away, not sure what to believe any more.

But Jesus will not be idle. Just as He quietly and respectfully joined the conversation of the two disciples on the road, He will find a way to join our young people on the road of life. As we pray for them, with love and respect and hope, Jesus will find the way to open the Scriptures to them, to make sense out of the suffering and difficulties in our fallen world, by revealing His sacrificial love to them in every situation.

Our Lady of Medjugorje has been sent in these days to help in this "Road Ministry". She has come in these days to give us all peace and hope in her Son. She wants us to become "peace" so that through our peace, these young people and all who are lost will find their way again. She gave an extraordinary message on April 2, 2012 which seems to me to confirm this Emmaus grace through her presence:

"Dear children! As the Queen of Peace, I desire to give peace to you, my children, true peace which comes through the heart of my Divine Son. As a mother I pray that wisdom, humility and goodness may come to reign in your hearts - that peace may reign - that my Son may reign. When my Son will be the ruler in your hearts, you will be able to help others to come to know Him. When heavenly peace comes to rule over you, those who are seeking it in the wrong places, thus causing pain to my motherly heart, will recognize it. My children, great will be my joy when I see that you are accepting my words and that you desire to follow me. Do not be afraid, you are not alone. Give me your hands and I will lead you.Do not forget your shepherds. Pray that in their thoughts they may always be with my Son who called them to witness Him. Thank you." (04/02/2012)

Our Lady approaches us with the same deference and respect that Jesus showed to the disciples on the road. Through her messages she accompanies us, and teaches us along the way. She wants us to discover the truth about Jesus, in the Scriptures and in our prayer. And she leads us to the Eucharist, just as Jesus led the disciples to the table where He broke the bread, so that we will recognize Him and follow Him. Only by our lives will be we able to help these young people to discover Jesus again.

Jesus walked along the way with the disciples, and now Our Lady is walking with us, and she is asking us to walk along the way as well, being silent lights of hope in a very dark world. We can carry on the Emmaus ministry of accompanying others on the road, sharing our hope, faith and love with them through our lives. We will be sign-posts, as Our Lady once said, for others.

Let's walk along the ways of our lives with great hope. We have been given such grace. Our Lady, the Queen of Peace is with us, and Jesus, the King of Peace, is in us. We are carriers of such a great hope, a hope these young people are seeking in all the wrong places. But they will recognize true hope and peace when they see it!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2014

 

PS.  Don't forget "Fruit of Medjugorje" tonight at 8:00 pm EDT.  These witnesses are true examples of Emmaus ministry.  The gifts of conversion and healing they share with us serve as lights for those in need of light.  Join us!   

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world."
Saint John Paul II
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