Mary TV: September 1, 2017 Reflection - The Secret Key

 

 (c) Mateo Ivankovic 2017

 

J.M.J.

September 1, 2017

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! Today I am calling you to be people of prayer. Pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and a meeting with the Most High. He will transform your hearts and you will become people of love and peace. Do not forget, little children, that satan is strong and wants to draw you away from prayer. You, do not forget that prayer is the secret key of meeting with God. That is why I am with you to lead you. Do not give up on prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call."

"You, do not forget that prayer is the secret key of meeting with God."

I think that prayer is the secret key of meeting with God, because real prayer happens in secret!! Hear what Jesus says about it:   

"And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

"Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

And forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors;

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you;

but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Mt 6: 5-15)

Jesus teaches us to pray in secret, alone and off by ourselves so that we will be in God's presence only. Jesus wants us to have an intimate conversation with the Father. No empty words. If you read the Our Father prayer, it is all about our relationship with the Father. It is a family prayer. "Our Father...Thy will be done... Give us this day... forgive us... lead us... deliver us." It is one of the family members going to the Father to ask for help for the whole family. But it is in secret, one on one. The Father wants to meet us in the secret recesses of our hearts, where He can transform us, forgive us, heal us, encourage us, teach us and feed us. The secret is that it must be secret. Just between God and you or me.
Secret keys unlock secret doors. When we pray in secret, it unlocks the secret door of our heart so that God can enter into our secret inner chamber where we await His coming. In that secret place, prayer happens. Prayer happens in secret!
"That is why I am with you to lead you. Do not give up on prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call." Don't give up on prayer!!! Don't give up!!! Not now! The grace is there for us to truly unlock the secret door of our heart and encounter the One who knocks. Don't give up!!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2017
PS. I will send out the September 2 message as soon as I get it on Saturday. And don't forget the schedule change that happens today in Medjugorje! Here is the new schedule for the evening program:

Evening Rosary:  5:00 pm Medjugorje time (11:00 am EDT)

Evening International Mass: 6:00 pm Medjugorje time (12:00 pm EDT)

And on Sunday's:

Parish climb up Apparition Hill:  Sundays at 2:00 pm Medjugorje time (8:00 am EDT)

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