Pope Francis on Holy Thursday in Rome
opening Pathways to the Father.
J.M.J.
April 15, 2013
Dear Family of Mary!
"...Show humility and love for your neighbor to everyone. Through such humility and love, my Son saved you and opened the way for you to the Heavenly Father. I implore you to keep opening the way to the Heavenly Father for all those who have not come to know Him and have not opened their hearts to His love. By your life, open the way to all those who still wander in search of the truth..." (April 2, 2013 Mirjana)
Humility and love are like two powerful bulldozers that plow through every obstacle, opening up highways to the Heavenly Father! These virtues demolish pride, mistrust, fear and bitterness. They neutralize animosity and contention. Humility and love of neighbor pave the way for reconciliation and unity. They are road builders! They open the way for souls to approach the Heavenly Father with renewed hope that He will embrace them with His blessing and peace. This is what Jesus did on the Cross when He endured everything for sinners, forgiving us for all, and thirsting for us to return to the Father.
When we witness humility and love of neighbor it moves us. Think of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She was so small, so poor, and so ready to love everyone she encountered. She gave everything for the poorest of the poor, and in doing so, we felt loved as well. Just watching her pour herself out for the outcasts of the world, pumped us full of love.
It seems that the same gift is being given to us by our new Pope, Pope Francis. From the moment he was elected, we have witnessed little things about him, little acts of kindness, small choices for simplicity and poverty, that have signaled to us these two powerful bulldozers.
Take, for instance, his choice to drive around Rome in an ordinary car! Not a big deal. But it is a small gesture of solidarity with us. He doesn't need a limo! Or how about his choice to live in Martha's House, the guest residence at the Vatican, instead of taking up his rightful place in the Papal Apartments! He doesn't need a palace, just a couple of rooms and a little desk. He eats with the other Bishops and guests in the dining hall. He feeds sandwiches to his Swiss Guard! He washes the feet of teenage inmates and blesses suffering people where ever he goes! These beautiful signs of humility and love are bulldozing the obstacles for many who have stood on the outskirts of the Church for years.
Robert Moynihan, who writes about the Pope and the Vatican, shared a simple story about Pope Francis and two people who were on the outskirts of the Church in his Letter # 63, soon to be posted on his website: http://themoynihanletters.com/ .
I will share an excerpt, here, because it shows exactly what Our Lady is asking of us in her message:
April 14, 2013, Sunday -- Francis Stopped for Divine Mercy
This Sunday evening in Rome, a beautiful, quiet, clear, cool spring evening, the parish priest of the Santo Spirito in Sassia church (the church next to the world headquarters of the Jesuits, 200 yards from the colonnade around St. Peter's Square, and the church entrusted by Pope John Paul II to carry out a special devotion to the teaching about Divine Mercy preached by the Polish mystic, St. Faustina Kowalska), Father Giuseppe, a young and dynamic Polish priest, during his sermon on the day's readings, told a little story I had not heard before.
Last week, he said, last Sunday, on April 7, the Sunday of Divine Mercy -- on the eve of which Pope John Paul II died in 2005 -- Pope Francis took possession of the cathedral church of the diocese of Rome, St. John Lateran.
But after doing that, while driving back over to the Vatican, Pope Francis, at about 7:15 in the evening -- Father Giuseppe looked at his watch; "Yes," he said, "it was about at this time, about 7:15 in the evening, a little after 7" -- Pope Francis stopped in front of the church, evidently out of respect for the Divine Mercy devotion practiced in this church, on Divine Mercy Sunday.
"Yes, it was about 7:15 in the evening," Father Giuseppe said, still preaching his homily, and paused. "Pope Francis asked his driver to stop the car in front of the church, for a few moments. And when a few people noticed he was there, a crowd quickly gathered.
"And there was a young couple walking by, just at that time, in the providence of God. A young couple who had fallen away from the church. A young couple who were planning to be married. And when they saw the crowd gathering, they stopped, and they too caught a glimpse of the Pope.
"And catching a glimpse of Pope Francis, they were moved, deep within, and a few minutes later, after the Pope moved on, they came into the church. And they spoke with me for some time, and they want to again draw close to the church, because of the unusual events of that evening, because they saw the Pope stop in front of the church, just as they were walking by.
"And when I see the Pope, and I am sure that I will have a chance to see him, I will tell him this story, the story of how his decision to stop his car on the Feast of Divine Mercy, in front of this church dedicated to the Divine Mercy, brought mercy to those two young people, in such a tangible way that they wanted to change their lives and draw close again to God and to Christ.
"Little miracles of God's mercy are always occurring, and that was one of them."
Pope Francis expressed his humble respect for the Lord's Mercy by stopping in front of the Divine Mercy church near the Vatican, even after such a busy day. A simple act of humility and love, and look at the open road it created for that young couple! This is what Our Lady is asking of us all, to be humble and to show great love of neighbor.
She calls to us all: "By your life, open the way to all those who still wander in search of the truth..." May we become powerful bulldozers who can open the paths to the Father through our humility and love for all who are wandering!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
