(c)Mary TV 2013
J.M.J.
September 19, 2013
St. Januarius
Dear Family of Mary!
Yesterday in his Wednesday General Audience for September 18, 2013,
Our Holy Father spoke about the motherly face of the Church, and how
much the Church must be like a mother. He shared three particular
aspects of motherhood, mother as teacher, mother as companion, and
mother as intercessor. His words were so beautiful, so full of the Holy
Spirit, and so down to earth. As I read the excerpts of his talk, I felt
that they complimented the message from Our Lady for September 2. So I
will share the excerpts of Pope Francis' talk in connection with the
message. Everything that the Pope says about the Church is reflected in
Our Lady of Medjugorje! She is the Church in a real way. And she is
Mother! Enjoy! (Quotes from Pope Francis are from the Vatican
Information Service - 18-09-2013 - Year XXII - Num. 177)
TEACHER:
Our Lady told us:
"...I
need humble apostles who, with an open heart, will accept the Word of
God and help others to comprehend the meaning of their life alongside
God's word. To be able to do this, my children, through prayer and
fasting you must learn to listen with the heart and to learn to keep
submitting yourselves. You must learn to keep rejecting everything that
distances you from God's word and to yearn only for that which draws you
closer to it..."
Pope Francis said:
The Pope
began by considering what a mother does for her children. First of all,
"she teaches us how to proceed in life ... she orientates us, she always
tries to show us the right path in life in order to grow and become
adults. And she does this with tenderness, with affection, with love,
always - even when she tries to correct our path because we lose our way
a little or take routes that might lead us to a fall".
"The Church
does likewise: she orientates our lives, she offers us instruction on
how to walk in the right way. Think of the Ten Commandments: they show
us the route to follow if we are to mature, fixing certain cardinal
points in our behavior. And these are the fruits of tenderness, of the
very love that God gives us. You might say to me: but these are
commandments! They are a list of negatives! I would like to invite you
to read them, ... and then think about them positively. You will see
that they concern our way of behaving towards God, towards ourselves and
towards others, just as a mother teaches us how to live well. They
remind us not to make material idols for ourselves, which then turn us
into slaves; to remember God; to respect our parents; to be honest; to
respect others ... Try to see them in this way and consider them as if
they were the words and teachings a mother gives us in order to take a
good path through life. A mother never teaches anything that is bad, she
wants only what is best for her children, and the same is true of the
Church".
COMPANION:
Our Lady also said:
"Dear
children, I love you all. All of you, all of my children, all of you
are in my heart. All of you have my motherly love and I desire to lead
all of you to come to know God's joy. This is why I am calling you... Do
not be afraid. I am here. You are not alone..."
Pope Francis continued:
Secondly,
"when a child grows and becomes an adult ... and assumes his
responsibilities ... he does what he wants, and at times, he may happen
to stray away from the path. ... A mother always, in every situation,
has the patience to continue to accompany her children. She is animated
by the strength of love ... and even when [her children] make mistakes,
she always finds a way of understanding them ... to help them. We say
that a mother 'stands up and is counted' for her own children; that is,
she always seeks to defend them".
"The Church
is the same: she is a merciful mother who understands, who always tries
to help, to give encouragement even when her children have made
mistakes or continue to do so. She never closes the doors of her house
to them: she does not judge, but rather offers God's forgiveness, she
offers her love to invite her children to return to the right path and
even when they have fallen into the deepest abyss, the Church is not
afraid to enter into their darkest night with them in order to give them
hope; the Church is not afraid to enter into our night when our soul
and conscience are surrounded by darkness, to give us hope! Because the
Church is our mother!"
INTERCESSOR:
And Our Lady said:
"I
am imploring the Holy Spirit that, as you help others, you too may be
healed. I am imploring Him that, through Him, you may be God's children
and my apostles..."
And Pope Francis said:
Finally, "a
mother also knows how to ask, to knock on every door for her children,
without calculation but with love. And I think of how mothers know, most
of all, how to knock on God's door! Mothers pray a lot for their own
children, especially for those ... most in need, whose lives have taken
dangerous or mistaken paths. ... The Church does likewise: through
prayer, she places the lives of all her children in the hands of the
Lord. Let us trust in the strength of prayer of the Mother Church: the
Lord never remains indifferent. He always knows how to astonish us when
we least expect us. The Mother Church knows this!"
"So, these
are the thoughts I wanted to share with you today: we see in the Church a
good mother who shows us the path to walk in life, who is always
patient, merciful and understanding, and knows how to place us in God's
hands".
Our Lady is the perfect
Mother, and she is doing all these things Pope Francis mentions for us!
And the Church, through her sacraments and her children, is also doing
them, as a mother. We are so blessed to have such motherly care
surrounding us! Thank you, Father in heaven for providing so much love
for us!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world!"
Blessed John Paul II -
Be connected!
