Mary TV Daily Reflection 4/15/2015

Mike Nolan and Pilgrims in Medjugorje this Easter!
"I have chosen you!"
(c)Mary TV 2015

J.M.J.  

April 15, 2015

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children, I have chosen you, my apostles, because all of you carry something beautiful within you. You can help me to have the love, for the sake of which my Son died and then resurrected, win anew. Therefore, I am calling you, my apostles, to try to see something good in every creature of God, in all of my children, and to try to understand them. My children, you are all brothers and sisters through the same Holy Spirit. You, filled with love for my Son, can speak of what you know to all those who have not come to know that love. You have come to know the love of my Son, you have comprehended His Resurrection, with joy you cast your gaze towards Him. My motherly desire is for all of my children to be united in love for Jesus. Therefore, I am calling you, my apostles, to live the Eucharist with joy, because in the Eucharist my Son gives Himself to you anew and with His example shows the love and sacrifice towards the neighbor. Thank you." (April 2, 2015)

Our Lady said a lot in this message, given just before Easter. She spoke to us, to those of us who are responding to her call. She told us, "I have chosen you, my apostles..." We are often not aware that it is Our Lady who has chosen us. It seems to us that we almost stumbled upon Medjugorje and the presence of Our Lady. It was our choices that led us to go on pilgrimage there. And it is our choice that keeps us attached to her call.

Yes, it is true that we choose to listen to Our Lady.   But it seems we were not the first to make the choice to begin the relationship we have with her. She has chosen us first. It reminds me of what Jesus told His disciples: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide..." (Jn 15:16) Jesus made it clear to his disciples that they were in His company because He chose them first. He offered the initial invitation to them, and then they had the choice to respond. They were chosen by Jesus.

There is a mystery at work here. We live most of our lives unaware of the action of God. We operate on the natural level, using our intellects to navigate the roads of life. But there is a reality of which we are ignorant. It is the hidden, loving, gentle but powerful presence of God in our midst, constantly working for the good. The powerful presence of God is arranging many things in our lives so that we can come to know, love and serve Him. God is tirelessly calling us in our daily regimen, shepherding us in His direction, and to His purpose. He never tires of choosing us! And Our Lady does the same.

If we think back to the time when we first heard of Medjugorje, we might get a glimpse of the action of God and Our Lady, choosing us. I was in my mid-thirty's when I heard of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje. I was expecting my 7th child, I was exhausted from the duties of family life. It was the mid 80's. The Catholic Church was in a battle over orthodoxy and we Catholics were confused. Thank the Lord for Saint John Paul II, who was a beacon of light during those days. But for me, hearing about Our Lady's presence in Medjugorje was another beacon of light, a very strong one. I was so in need of good news at that time. And the news from Bosnia was very good. Our Lady was present with us there, and she was building an oasis of peace and prayer. I wanted to go there.

I didn't realize then that I was being called. I just knew I needed Our Lady so much. I wanted her. But she wanted me too!! And that is the beauty of the way God works. He makes all relationships reciprocal. Love is calling to love. I needed Our Lady, and amazingly, she needed me! She had chosen me to be part of her solution for the world.

I suspect it is the same for many of you. You needed Mary, but didn't even realize she needed you! And she was choosing you!  Amazing!

Our Lady has chosen us in these days to be part of her plan for peace. She has called each of us to work with her for the good of the world. Her call involves our participation in her school of love. Prayer, penance, fasting, confession, the Bible, Holy Mass, the Rosary, and peace...these are her building blocks. They exist only to the extent that we live them. We are her peace plan!

And so this is what she means when she says, "I have chosen you, my apostles, because all of you carry something beautiful within you." We carry her peace plan within us, and that is what is so beautiful! Our "yes' to her plan, our cooperation, has created something beautiful in us. We carry Our Lady's love for the world in us.

Our Lady has chosen each of us. We can be confident of that. There is something beautiful in each of us! It is our "yes" to her call and to God's love! Oh the mystery of love!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2015

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