Mary TV Daily Reflection 7/9/2015

J.M.J.   

July 9, 2015

St. Augustine Zhoo Rong and Companions

Dear Family of Mary!

"...you must pray a lot for the gift of love, because love is the mark of true faith - and you will be apostles of my love..." (July 2, 2015)

I have been thinking about the gift of love. What is the gift of love? How do I know I have it?

As I pondered this, I opened to an entry in St. Faustina's Diary which struck me as an answer:

Hidden Jesus, in You lies all my strength. From my most tender years, the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has attracted me to Himself. Once, when I was seven years old, at a Vesper Service, conducted before the Lord Jesus in the monstrance, the love of God was imparted to me for the first time and filled my little heart; and the Lord gave me understanding of divine things. From that day until this, my love for the hidden God has been growing constantly to the point of closest intimacy. All the strength of my soul flows from the Blessed Sacrament. I spend all my free moments in conversation with Him. He is my Master. (1404)

At the age of 7, St. Faustina received an infusion of the love of God in such a way that it never left her. She was touched by that love deeply, constantly drawing her closer to Jesus. This experience of God's love changed her life.

I also am reminded of Fr. Adrian from Ireland, in his homily of July 2, 2015 at English Mass at Medjugorje. He shared:

But when I was 22 years of age, one day in our house, in my room, I felt completely surprised, and completely unexpectedly I felt this most beautiful presence that I now can say I recognize as the presence of God. It was the sweetest, most beautiful moment of my life. And I felt God present. I was so surprised. I said, "Lord, I don't believe in you." It melted my heart. I felt love that day more than any other day in my life. And I knew that God is love. For me, the worst, the most rebellious, the most distant. And God, you might say, touched my heart.

One thing that day maybe was that God was calling me to pray, to "speak with me". Talk to God. And I did that day. And of all the days of my life, I will never forget that day. And I will never forget that God.

Some days afterwards, I opened the Gospel. Something I never would have done before. But I opened the Gospel, and what I saw that day equally touched my heart. It was the line, "Hear, O Israel. The Lord your God is one God. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength." Those words became like liquid sunshine in my heart. And I was full of joy to think I had found the reason for my life. I had read philosophy books, I read every book, but there I found it. To love God with all your heart. We are created for this. For me it was the discovery of life, of love, and I felt that.

This is the gift of love, the gift of the experience of God, who is love, sharing Himself with Fr. Adrian, sharing Himself with St. Faustina. This is the gift we need to pray for, in order to be credible witnesses to the faith. Maybe some of us have had amazing experiences of the love of God, life-changing moments when we discovered that God is real and He loves us. But maybe some of us have not yet experienced that love. God wants us to experience it. He is waiting to pour out His love upon us in abundance. As Our Lady says, we need to pray for that gift!

Whether God's love comes upon us all at once, or it comes slowly but surely over time, we will know it when it comes. It will be like "liquid sunshine" that fills our hearts and minds with the secure knowledge that we are loved by the One who is infinite and will never stop loving us. This security, this bedrock knowledge that we are loved by God is our strength and our certainty no matter what comes in our lives. Our Lady wants us to be filled with this security and strength. She is with us to help us discover it.

St. Faustina gives us a hint: Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the place to start! "All the strength of my soul flows from the Blessed Sacrament."

Come, Lord Jesus, into our hearts. Come and fill us with your love. We long for You. We long for Your love. We surrender to Your love. We trust completely in You. Take us as we are and fill us with Your forgiveness and acceptance. We love You... Amen.

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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