Mary TV: January 16, 2018 Reflection - May your crosses be your means in the battle...

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2018 J.M.J. January 16, 2018 Dear Family of Mary!   "...May your crosses be your means in the battle against the sins of the present time..." (October 2, 2010)   I have always considered crosses something to be avoided, something to set aside as quickly as possible. And so the October 2, 2010 message was a revelation for me. To believe that the crosses in my life can be opportunities to turn the tide of evil, the sins of the present time, is to change the way I think about so much! As I was praying about it, I came across this message from 1996: September 25, 1996 "Dear children! Today I invite you to offer your crosses and suffering for my intentions. Little children, I am your mother and I wish to help you by seeking for you the grace from God. Little children, offer your sufferings as a gift to God so they become a most beautiful flower of joy. That is why, little children, pray that you may understand that suffering can become joy and the cross the way of joy. Thank you for having for responded to my call."   Our Lady has been praying for us to receive the grace from God that will enable us to offer our crosses and suffering for her intentions! She has needed our cooperation in her battle for souls all along. Without our willing sacrifices and sufferings, she cannot achieve her plan to bring about an era of peace. Our crosses are the means in the battle!!   But she assures us that if we give our sufferings and crosses to God as a gift, they will be transformed into joy! We might wonder how this can be. And indeed, every person has their own path to this joy. St. John Paul II wrote an Apostolic Letter, Salvifici doloris, in 1984, in which he explored our call to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. He was still recovering from the assassination attempt in 1981, and his pontificate was shaped by his own suffering from that point on. He writes about the joy that comes from offering suffering to Christ in this way: (26)...Christ through his own salvific suffering is very much present in every human suffering, and can act from within that suffering by the powers of his Spirit of truth, his consoling Spirit. This is not all: The Divine Redeemer wishes to penetrate the soul of every sufferer through the heart of his holy Mother, the first and the most exalted of all the redeemed. As though by a continuation of that motherhood which by the power of the Holy Spirit had given him life, the dying Christ conferred upon the ever Virgin Mary a new kind of motherhood-spiritual and universal-towards all human beings, so that every individual, during the pilgrimage of faith, might remain, together with her, closely united to him unto the Cross, and so that every form of suffering, given fresh life by the power of this Cross, should become no longer the weakness of man but the power of God. However, this interior process does not always follow the same pattern. It often begins and is set in motion with great difficulty. Even the very point of departure differs: people react to suffering in different ways. But in general it can be said that almost always the individual enters suffering with a typically human protest and with the question "why". He asks the meaning of his suffering and seeks an answer to this question on the human level. Certainly he often puts this question to God, and to Christ. Furthermore, he cannot help noticing that the one to whom he puts the question is himself suffering and wishes to answer him from the Cross, from the heart of his own suffering. Nevertheless, it often takes time, even a long time, for this answer to begin to be interiorly perceived. For Christ does not answer directly and he does not answer in the abstract this human questioning about the meaning of suffering. Man hears Christ's saving answer as he himself gradually becomes a sharer in the sufferings of Christ. The answer which comes through this sharing, by way of the interior encounter with the Master, is in itself something more than the mere abstract answer to the question about the meaning of suffering. For it is above all a call. It is a vocation. Christ does not explain in the abstract the reasons for suffering, but before all else he says: "Follow me!". Come! Take part through your suffering in this work of saving the world, a salvation achieved through my suffering! Through my Cross. Gradually, as the individual takes up his cross, spiritually uniting himself to the Cross of Christ, the salvific meaning of suffering is revealed before him. He does not discover this meaning at his own human level, but at the level of the suffering of Christ. At the same time, however, from this level of Christ the salvific meaning of suffering descends to man's level and becomes, in a sense, the individual's personal response. It is then that man finds in his suffering interior peace and even spiritual joy. 27. Saint Paul speaks of such joy in the Letter to the Colossians: "I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake"(88). A source of joy is found in the overcoming of the sense of the uselessness of suffering, a feeling that is sometimes very strongly rooted in human suffering. This feeling not only consumes the person interiorly, but seems to make him a burden to others. The person feels condemned to receive help and assistance from others, and at the same time seems useless to himself. The discovery of the salvific meaning of suffering in union with Christ transforms this depressing feeling. Faith in sharing in the suffering of Christ brings with it the interior certainty that the suffering person "completes what is lacking in Christ's afflictions"; the certainty that in the spiritual dimension of the work of Redemption he is serving, like Christ, the salvation of his brothers and sisters. Therefore, he is carrying out an irreplaceable service. In the Body of Christ, which is ceaselessly born of the Cross of the Redeemer, it is precisely suffering permeated by the spirit of Christ's sacrifice that is the irreplaceable mediator and author of the good things which are indispensable for the world's salvation. It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls. Suffering, more than anything else, makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption. In that "cosmic" struggle between the spiritual powers of good and evil, spoken of in the Letter to the Ephesians, human sufferings, united to the redemptive suffering of Christ, constitute a special support for the powers of good, and open the way to the victory of these salvific powers. (Salvifici doloris, n 26-27 https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1984/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_11021984_salvifici-doloris.htm l )   I know this is long. But how can we not listen to Saint John Paul II talk about the process that makes suffering turn into joy? Our Lady told us it is true. Saint John Paul II showed us the way by his own life. He tells us that Mary has been given a new kind of motherhood, one in which she draws us to her Son on the Cross, to help us unite our suffering with His. And he assures us that our suffering can turn to joy, because "human sufferings, united to the redemptive suffering of Christ, constitute a special support for the powers of good, and open the way to the victory of these salvific powers!!" Our suffering, given as a gift to Jesus, can change the world! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan Mary TV 2018     PS.  Mike Nolan has created a new website where you can purchase and download his new CD's, "Mary TV Soundtrack", and "Oh Jesus, we adore you." https://www.medjmusic.com/ I recommend them both highly!

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv

Mary TV: January 15, 2018 Reflection - May your weapon be patience and boundless love.

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2018 J.M.J. January 15, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! "Dear children; Today I call you to a humble, my children, humble devotion. Your hearts need to be just. May your crosses be your means in the battle against the sins of the present time. May your weapon be patience and boundless love, a love that knows to wait and which will make you capable of recognizing God's signs, that your life, by humble love, may show the truth to all those who seek it in the darkness of lies. My children, my apostles, help me to open the paths to my Son. Once again I call you to pray for your shepherds. Alongside them, I will triumph. Thank you." (October 2, 2010) Our Lady calls us to be humble. To worship God with hearts that are aware of their complete dependence on Him. Humility is very much a matter of truth. God is our creator. We are creatures. We cannot exist without God's constant creative action. What else can we say to this?   She wants our hearts to be just. This is to love our neighbor as our very selves. If God has created us all, we can only reverence each other as the work of His hand.   She tells us that our crosses are the "means" in the battle against the sins of the present time. What a powerful wisdom this is! There are many sins in our day. They seem to be overwhelming. But it is in our crosses that we can meet the enemy. Our crosses mark the battle field. It is in these sufferings and burdens that we engage the enemy. The enemy is not the people involved in the sins, but the accuser of the brethren who is behind the sins.   Now we get the most powerful statement in this message: "May your weapon be patience and boundless love, a love that knows to wait and which will make you capable of recognizing God's signs, that your life, by humble love, may show the truth to all those who seek it in the darkness of lies." Wow!!! Our weapon is not our brilliant arguments or political power. Our weapon is patience and boundless love in the midst of our crosses. Our strategy is to wait in patience with endless and limitless love, and in the waiting we will recognize God's signs, see His guiding hand, and know just what to do or say to help those who are caught in the enemy's lies. Patience when we suffer is the purifying fire that wins the victory! Patience makes our love grow.   If we enter the battle field, embracing our crosses with patience and love, waiting for the Lord to lead, we will help Our Lady to open the paths to her Son for others. Graces will be won to deliver souls in darkness! We all have crosses in our lives. Our Lady wants us to see them for what they are, the means in the battle, the things that enable us to confront the enemy and take territory away from him. Our crosses are gifts, because with the weapons of patience and love, they become powerful opportunities for the victory of the truth. The Victory is coming, and it will be won through Our Lady and our shepherds, supported in the battle by our patience and love while bearing our crosses.   May it be so!   In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018   PS.  Mike Nolan has created a new website where you can purchase and download his new CD's, "Mary TV Soundtrack", and "Oh Jesus, we adore you." https://www.medjmusic.com/ I recommend them both highly!

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv

Mary TV: January 12, 2018 Reflection - Pray for those whom my Son has called to lead you.

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2016 J.M.J. January 12, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! "...As a mother I implore you not to forget those whom my Son has called to lead you. Carry them in your heart and pray for them. Thank you..." (January 2, 2018)   Here are two prayers that can be prayed for our shepherds, our priests, bishops, deacons, and the Pope. Our Lady calls them "those whom my Son has called to lead you." Indeed, they have a very difficult calling. We owe them our love and prayers, because they have given themselves up completely for us. One prayer is by St. John Paul II, the other by St. Therese of the Child Jesus.   Prayer by Blessed John Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis Mother of Jesus Christ and Mother of priests, Accept this title which we bestow on you to celebrate your motherhood and to contemplate with you the priesthood of your Son and of your sons, O holy Mother of God. Mother of Christ, to the Messiah Priest you gave a body of flesh through the anointing of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of the poor and the contrite of heart; guard priests in your heart and in the Church, O Mother of the Savior. Mother of Faith, you accompanied to the Temple the Son of Man, the fulfillment of the promises given to the fathers; give to the Father for his glory the priests of your Son, O Ark of the Covenant. Mother of the Church, with the disciples in the Upper Room you prayed to the Spirit for the new People and their shepherds; obtain for the Order of Presbyters a fullness of gifts, O Queen of the Apostles. Mother of Jesus Christ, you were with Him at the beginning of His life and of His mission, you sought the Master among the crowd, you stood beside Him when he was lifted up from the earth consumed as the one eternal sacrifice, and you had John close by you, your son; accept from the beginning those who have been called, protect their growth, accompany your sons in their life and in their ministry, O Mother of Priests. Amen.      Prayer of St Therese of the Child Jesus O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests; for your unfaithful and tepid priests; for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields. for your tempted priests; for your lonely and desolate priests; For your young priests; for your dying priests; for the souls of your priests in Purgatory. But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me: the priest who baptized me; the priests who absolved me from my sins; the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion; the priests who taught and instructed me; all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way (especially ...). O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity. Amen.       Mary, Mother of Jesus, pray with us for our priests! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv

Mary TV: January 11, 2018 Reflection - I am speaking about little and great things

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017 J.M.J. January 11, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! "...I am among you and am speaking about little and great things. I will not grow tired speaking to you about my Son - the true love. Therefore, my children, open your hearts to me. Permit me to lead you as a mother. Be apostles of the love of my Son and of me..." (January 2, 2018)   We are so blessed to have Our Lady "among" us! She truly is among us!! She is present in a very real and tangible way in Medjugorje. How do we know? Through the witnesses of the pilgrims! Each one has some story in which Our Lady touched them in a particular and unique way that spoke just to them. Each one has met Our Lady there during the course of their stay. She is truly among us in Medjugorje!   And she does speak to us about "little and great things"! The things she teaches us in her messages may seem little, ordinary, small. But they lead to such great things! She comes as one of us, and does not overawe us with her great intellect. She comes rather as a mother who wants to help her children, to give them small bits of wisdom when they are ready for them. She leads us as a mother!   And everything she teaches us leads to Jesus, to His love and to His life. This is Our Lady's consuming passion. To lead us to her Son!   When I was praying about these lines of the message I was reminded of a similar message from St. Paul to the Corinthians. (1Cor 2: 1-16). See if you can hear a similar kind of loving and parental care in St. Paul's letter:   When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.   Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.   But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him," God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit.   The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2: 1-16)   There is so much in this passage! Certainly Our Lady comes having seen "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of Man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him." She has seen it all, and yet comes so quietly and gently to us in Medjugorje to draw us by our heartstrings to her Son.   Certainly she teaches in "words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit..." Our Lady is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, and her thoughts are His thoughts, they are so close.   Certainly Our Lady's message is "not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." Miracles happen in Medjugorje, conveying the power of God to the pilgrims. This is how Our Lady helps us to receive faith, just like St. Paul.   Certainly she "knows nothing among [us] but Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified"! Our Lady can show us how to put Jesus in the very first place in our lives, because she also does it!   Certainly Our Lady has the mind of Christ, and she is a sure guide to His Heart. We are so blessed to have such a teacher with us, such a wise and holy woman in our midst, such a Mother with us to guide us.   Thank you dearest Mother for coming to us in these days, these most momentous days! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018   PS. The Mary TV APP for iPhone is currently off line, being updated. While you wait for it, you can use your Safari browser on your phones to access the web page. Pray for us as we work to improve Mary TV!

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv

Mary TV: January 10, 2018 Reflection - May your soul breathe in His Spirit!

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017 J.M.J. January 10, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! "Many of my children on earth do not know my Son, they do not love Him; but you who do love my Son, you who carry Him in your heart, pray, pray and in praying feel my Son beside you. May your soul breathe in His Spirit..." (January 2, 2018) What a beautiful invitation Our Lady gives to us! She calls us to pray and pray until in prayer we feel her Son beside us! In fact, we will be so close to Him that our souls will breathe in His Spirit, as if we were close enough to Jesus for His breath to cover us!   The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 691) speaks of the Holy Spirit as breath:   The term "Spirit" translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the divine Spirit.   The Holy Spirit is the breath of God. When we are close to Jesus we do breathe in His Spirit!! We receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus, even as He breathed upon the Apostles and they received the Holy Spirit! "And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" (Jn: 20:22). The Holy Spirit communicates to us God's love and power. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to fill us with grace!   St. Faustina has described just such a closeness with Jesus and the Holy Spirit (the Breath of God) in her Diary: I got up how much earlier than usual and went to the chapel, steeping myself in the love of God. Before receiving Holy Communion, I silently renewed my religious vows. After Holy Communion, the infinite love of God swept over me. My soul was in communion with the Holy Spirit, who is the same Lord as the Father and the Son. His breath filled my soul with such delight that it would be useless for me to try to give even a faint idea of what my heart experienced. Throughout the whole day, wherever I was and regardless of with whom I talked, a vivid presence of God accompanied me; my soul was drowned in thanksgiving for these great graces. (Diary, 1781)   Our Lady wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, to breathe in the Holy Spirit as we stay close to Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit, who gives us healing graces, conversion graces, and all sorts of gifts, like wisdom, knowledge, fear of the Lord, understanding, and on and on! She tells us many people on earth today do not know her Son and do not love Him. So we need to be those children who are filled with the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, so that we can share with them the truth about His love. We can carry Jesus' love with us into the world that does not know Him. "Pray, and in praying feel my Son beside you! May your soul breathe in His Spirit!!" In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv

Christian Persecution: Christians who have given their life for Christ in 2017

Tribulation Times

Image from http://catholicfundamentalism.com/

January 10, 2018  

(Rev 6:9-11) And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord (Holy and True), dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given to every one of them one; And it was said to them that they should rest for a little time till their fellow servants and their brethren, who are to be slain even as they, should be filled up.

CNA: Pope's latest prayer video highlights religious persecution in Asia

CHRISTIAN TIMES: Persecution Trends Report lists China, India as top countries of concern for 2018
ALETEIA: Christians who have given their life for Christ in 2017

VATICAN: Missionaries killed in 2017Image from www.churchinneed.org

 


In the year 2017, 23 Catholic pastoral care workers were killed worldwide: 13 priests, 1 religious brother, 1 religious sister, 8 lay persons. For the eighth consecutive year, the place most affected, with an extremely elevated number of pastoral care workers killed is AMERICA, where 11 pastoral care workers were killed (8 priests, 1 religious brother, 2 lay people); in Africa 10 pastoral care workers were killed (4 priests, 1 religious sister, 5 lay people); in Asia 2 pastoral care workers were killed (1 priest, 1 lay person).

According to information gathered by Agenzia Fides, from 2000 to 2016, 424 pastoral care workers were killed worldwide, including 5 Bishops. As it has been for some time, Fides’ list does not only include missionaries ad gentes in the strict sense, but all pastoral care workers who died violent deaths. We do not propose to use the term "martyrs", if not in its etymological meaning of "witnesses" since it is up to the Church to judge their possible merits and also because of the scarsity of available information in most cases, with regard to their life and even the circumstances of their death.

Once again the majority of the pastoral care workers were killed in attempted robbery, and in some cases violently attacked, a sign of the climate of moral decline, economic and cultural poverty, which generates violence and disregard for human life.

In these situations, priests, religious and laity share the same daily life with ordinary people, bringing the specific value of their evangelical witness as a sign of hope. Those who were killed are only the tip of the iceberg, as the list of pastoral workers or simple Catholics, assaulted, beaten, robbed, threatened, as well as Catholic structures at the service of the entire population, assaulted, vandalized or looted is certainly long. The provisional list compiled annually by Agenzia Fides, must therefore be added to the long list of many of whom there may never be news, who in every corner of the world suffer and even pay with their lives for their faith in Christ. Hardly any investigations conducted by the local authorities lead to identifying and convicting the perpetrators and the instigators of these killings or the reasons why they were carried out.

The condemnation of the instigator of the assassination of Spanish Jesuit missionary Vicente Canas, who was killed in Brazil in 1987, is exemplary. In the first trial, celebrated in 2006, the defendants were acquitted for lack of evidence; the new trial on 29 and 30 November, led to the condemnation of the instigator, the only survivor out of the those who were accused.

ACN: Persecuted & Forgotten? – A Report on Christians Oppressed for their Faith 2015-2017

RELATED NEWS
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Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 20- "On bodily vigil"

11. Long sleep is an unjust comrade; it robs the lazy of half their life, and even more.

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This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.

Mary TV: January 9, 2018 Reflection - My Son said to forgive and to love each other.

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017

Youth Festival

J.M.J.

January 9, 2018

 

Dear Family of Mary!   

"...My Son said to you to forgive and to love each other. I know that this is not always easy. Suffering makes you grow in spirit. For you to spiritually grow all the more, you must sincerely and truly forgive and love..." (January 2, 2018)

 

Here is something else that Jesus said to us about forgiveness. It is a long story, but worth pondering very slowly:

 

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

 

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."

"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, `Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

"But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, `Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, `Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt.

 

"When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, `You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt.

"So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." (Mt 18: 21-35)

 

Several things strike me as interesting in this parable from Jesus.

 

First, the king had many servants who owed him money. Owing the king was not unusual it seems. I think that if we are honest, we have a King to whom we all owe a great deal, more than we can repay. All of us were lost to sin, original and actual, with no hope of repaying our Lord. Not one of us was in the black on that score. We are all debtors to Jesus!

 

Second, during the reckoning, one servant, who owed a great deal, fell on his knees and asked for mercy. He promised to repay the King, but needed time. Notice how merciful this king was! He forgave the entire debt. Unheard of!! Are we not like that servant when we enter the confessional, admit our debt, and ask for mercy from the Lord? Do we not get it in abundance, more than we could ever hope for?

 

Third, upon receiving forgiveness of his entire debt, the servant shows no real understanding of what has just happened to him. When he meets a fellow servant who owes him a little bit and asks for mercy, he exacts punishment to the last penny, with no mercy. How could there be such a disconnect? I suspect we are similar when we ask to be forgiven for a sin, and in turn we refuse to forgive our neighbor, judging him and rejecting him. Such disconnect is not unusual.

 

Fourth, the King discovers this ungrateful behavior, and withdraws his forgiveness. There will be a day when we will have to face the Lord, and explain our own unforgiveness.

 

What this tells me is that forgiveness is not something unusual in the kingdom that Jesus describes. Forgiveness is part of the fabric of life in that kingdom. The King forgave. The servants expected forgiveness from one another. And when one of them would not forgive, the other servants told the King about it. Forgiveness was part of daily life in that kingdom.

 

I believe it is supposed to be part of the basic fabric of our lives as well. It is not a special gift, but the way that we should relate to one another day in and day out, seventy times seven times a day! Who are we to withhold forgiveness when we have been given so much mercy by our Father in heaven, so much forgiveness through Jesus, our Lord, so much clemency through the Holy Spirit? We live in a Kingdom of love, and love and forgiveness are inseparable.

 

Our Lady is honest with us in this message. She says that she knows it is not easy to forgive, that suffering comes from being treated wrongly, and it causes us pain. But she tells us not to fear that suffering, because God will bless us in that suffering, suffering that comes from forgiving and loving, and we will grow in spirit. We will grow in the joy of holiness. No fear, God will not be outdone in generosity.

 

We must "sincerely and truly forgive and love..."

 

What a good mother we have!

 

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2018

 

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world."
Saint John Paul II
Be connected!
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Mary TV: January 8, 2018 Reflection - Love and forgive!

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017 Youth Festival J.M.J. January 8, 2018 The Baptism of the Lord Dear Family of Mary! "...My Son said to you to forgive and to love each other. I know that this is not always easy. Suffering makes you grow in spirit. For you to spiritually grow all the more, you must sincerely and truly forgive and love..." (January 2, 2018)   Though we have heard these words about forgiveness many times, it may not be so evident to us that to be Christians we must forgive. Forgiveness is at the base of Christ's message to us. Through forgiveness we bring about a dramatic change in the world. How many marriages and families are torn apart by unforgiveness? How many friendships are lost through unforgiveness? How much mental illness is the result of not forgiving oneself, and not being forgiven by others? Wars come from not forgiving debts. The list is long. But through forgiveness we can stop or mitigate these calamities.   As Our Lady tells us, her Son told us to forgive and to love each other. Most notably, Jesus gave us the Our Father as a blueprint for life, and forgiveness has no small part in that blueprint:   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: 9-15) We ask the Father to meet all our needs in the Our Father. We ask for daily bread which is to ask for everything we need to live for that day, food, shelter, even the Eucharist! Next on the list is to ask the Father to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. The process of forgiveness must be really fundamental if it comes right after our daily needs.   And I think it is! I know that I sin every day. The older I get, the more I see it. How can I be so weak? Only God knows the why and how! But it is true. And so all the disorder I leave in my wake needs to be rectified. First I must ask God to forgive me for my behavior. And then a big part of the process is my willingness to forgive those in my life who are as weak as me! My forgiveness for them can be life giving. It can open up pathways of understanding and peace for my family and friends. Forgiveness is as important as eating and sleeping, I think! Maybe more important!   Of course the Father is quick to forgive, when He sees us forgive others. Our forgiveness can call down a huge blessing from God on all involved. He blesses those who forgive. So a huge part of being Christian is being a forgiver!   Finally, Jesus gave us a most powerful example of forgiveness from the Cross:   And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Lk 23:34)   He forgave His murderers, and not only that, He asked the Father to forgive them as well. It leaves us speechless. It seems impossible and scandalously generous. But it is Jesus, showing us how to forgive those who trespass against us. And it gives us the power to forgive as well. Through Jesus' redemptive act, we receive the power to be like Him, to love like Him, to forgive like Him. We can become extensions of His forgiveness. We can be part of the solution in a world so bound up in sin that it cannot move.   Mother Mary wants us to be like her Son. She, of all people, knows it is not easy and that suffering will always be our companion. But she sees suffering as an asset, because it can make us grow in love and the strength to forgive. It is a tool to bring us to holiness.   May we ponder the power and beauty of forgiveness and choose to forgive today!   In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv

Mary TV: January 5, 2018 Reflection - Pure hearts are always young and joyful!

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017

Youth Festival

J.M.J.

January 5, 2018
St. John Neumann
Dear Family of Mary!

"My Son used to say that He loves to be among pure hearts, because pure hearts are always young and joyful..." (January 2, 2018)

 

I am always so happy when Our Lady shares with us some of the things that Jesus said to her during their life together on earth. It seems so natural and yet it is astonishing!

 

Jesus told Our Lady that He loved to be among pure hearts! He loved to be with them because they were always so young and joyful! I think that Jesus left us similar words in the Gospels that we have received through the Evangelists. Here are some of those inspired words in which Jesus tells us about how much He loves pure souls:

 

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. (Lk 10:21)

 

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 18:3)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 18:1-4)

 

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Mt 5:1-12)

 

Pure hearts are hearts that live in total faith and trust in Jesus, depending on His care and guidance and always seeking the good and love. Pure hearts are true hearts. Pure hearts are childlike hearts, open and trusting. It is true that pure hearts make us all feel young and joyful, because they point to our eternal life with God, where all are young, all are filled with joy, all are pure and spotless and totally in love with God! What a joy to be pure of heart! What a gift from God. To be His children is the best thing possible for each of us. Thank you, dearest Mother, for bringing us back to our childhood in God. We will always be so grateful!

 

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2018

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world."
Saint John Paul II
Be connected!
www.marytv.tv

January 4, 2018 Reflection - I, the mother...

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2018

J.M.J.

January 4, 2018
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! When love is beginning to disappear on earth, when the way of salvation is not being found, I, the mother, am coming to help you to come to know true faith - living and profound - so as to help you to truly love. As a mother, I am longing for your mutual love, goodness, and purity. My desire is that you be just and that you love each other. My children, be joyful in your soul, be pure, be children..." (January 2, 2018)

 

"I, the mother, am coming to help you..."

 

What child has found himself in a fix and not called out for his mother? And what hope floods the one whose mother comes in a time of need. Children know that they need their mother to sort things out for them. They are little. They have very little experience of life. And so their troubles are bigger than they are.

 

"I, the mother, am coming to help you..."

 

Our Lady is our mother. And she is coming to help us in this time when love is beginning to disappear one earth, when the way of salvation is not being found. Surely the troubles of our day are far beyond our ability to correct or understand. We are in a fix. And so the Father has sent our Mother to come to help us. He has sent her to help us in our very real time of need.

 

"I, the mother, am coming to help you..."

 

But the kind of help Our Lady brings is for children. She comes to help her children. Children are those who know that they need their mother. Children are aware that they are small, that they are vulnerable, that they can't make things better on their own. Children need mothers.

 

"I, the mother, am coming to help you..."

 

Our Lady tells us to "be children"!! That is how we can cooperate with our Mother as she comes to help us. Be children! Trust. Obey. Follow. Hope. Be joyful. Be pure. Be simple. Let your Mother help you.

 

"I, the mother, am coming to help you..."

 

Let us pray:

 

Mary, our Mother, I come to you with

my needs and beg you to help me.

 

I honor you as my Mother and helper

and trust in your love for me.

 

Lead me on the path of virtue,

and preserve me from every evil.

 

Let me enjoy your protection

and walk in your love and peace.

 

Guide me closer to Jesus,

Who gave you to me to be my Mother.

 

(Prayer to Mary, Our Mother - http://www.amm.org/prayers/maymary.aspx  )

 

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2017

Mary TV: January 3, 2018 Reflection - Marija's talk in Vienna

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017 J.M.J. January 3, 2018 The Holy Name of Jesus! Dear Family of Mary! "Dear children! Today I am bringing to you my Son Jesus for Him to give you His peace and blessing. I am calling all of you, little children, to live and witness the graces and the gifts which you have received.  Do not be afraid! Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to be joyful witnesses and people of peace and hope.  Thank you for having responded to my call."(December 25, 2017) Our Lady spoke to us of our mission to witness peace and hope to others.  To witness all we have received.  It reminded me of the beautiful witness that Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti gave in Vienna on October 24, 2017.  I have received a transcript of that witness, and so I thought we could each read it and ponder what Marija shared.  It is a good way to begin a New Year! Transcript of Marija Pavlovic Lunetti's October 24, 2017 testimony, given during a "Prayer for Peace" in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.   Prior to Marija's talk, the choir played a hymn emphasizing peace and repeatedly sang "Shalom." So when Marija began, her first word was: Shalom! And then she began:   I wanted to ask somebody else to translate my speech, but I picked someone who got his vocation in Medjugorje. [a priest translated for Marija] As we have heard "Shalom", we wanted to dance to the music, but rather than dance, let us talk about peace. It is a great joy to be here with you because today, in this year, we are celebrating the 10th meeting here in the Cathedral and we are praying for peace. As Our Lady has appeared from the beginning and has introduced Herself from the beginning as the Queen of Peace, so also she has invited us to work for peace.     On the third day of the apparitions, Our Lady appeared with a cross behind Her and She said, 'Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace must reign between God and men, among all men, and peace in the world.' That was the first message that Our Lady gave. Today we can feel in our hearts how important peace is. That is the biggest treasure that mankind can have...the peace within our hearts. That is why Our Lady has said, 'God has allowed me to be among you: To invite you, to love you, and to instruct you on the path to peace. '   Our Lady started to guide the parish of (Saint James) of Medjugorje through the messages that she was giving every Thursday to the parish. Then Our Lady started to guide prayer groups. Our Lady has said that families can be prayer groups. Our Lady said to read the Holy Scripture every day, to pray the rosary every day. Without saying it to us, we (visionaries) knew that the rosary is the dearest prayer to Our Lady. Our Lady said that the rosary is the strongest weapon against satan.   Today we met with Cardinal Ernesto who will give his testimony as well. It is a great joy to be here with you, but also because of him. Because Cardinal has said that the Rosary has saved his life in his most difficult times. Also we can say that those are the precious moments (the difficult moments are precious ones). At the beginning of the apparitions, we were small, we were living under Communism and the Mother of God was telling us, 'Pray. Pray. Pray' and we have done what She asked of us and we survived.   In the most difficult times, we have lived the joy of Our Lady and our faith was stronger every day. There are still difficulties today. We have problems, illnesses, but when we have prayer, when we have God, everything else takes second place. As Our Lady said, 'Our goal is heaven- the eternal life.' If you think about heaven, everything else is not important. When we think about Our Lady, angels, and all the Saints; we can already feel the joy within our hearts. Our heart is moving towards heaven. The Mother of God said to us, 'Without God, there is no future and no eternal life.'     Through the messages that Our Lady is giving out to us, she is inviting us to get closer to God and to prayer, and then we will have peace. The peace will reign within your hearts. Our Lady is saying that "In these difficult times, God has allowed me to be with you." Our Lady IS with us. When we have God and Our Lady with us, then who can be against us? Just thinking about that, there is already joy in our hearts.   What is Our Lady inviting us to? In the first days of the apparitions when we climbed the apparition hill, Our Lady said to us, 'Go to the fields close to your homes, pray, and I will come. ' And She came. She appeared to us. We have prayed the Rosary. Our Lady was very joyful because we have made the intention of our rosary Our Lady's Intentions. Our Lady was so joyful that She invited us to touch Her.   Really what She wants is to take all of us with Her into heaven. But then I asked Our Lady, "How is it possible that we can touch you? Okay, we can see you, but what about those that cannot see you?" Then Our Lady said to us, 'Take their hands and lead their hands to touch me.' And we did it. Everybody felt the presence of Our Lady. Some felt cold. Some fragrance, electricity and different ways that people experienced, but all those people thought mainly that Our Lady is there with us. And then as we, who could see Our Lady, we noticed that as people touched the dress of Our Lady, we could see that Our Lady's dress was becoming dirty.     Then we started to cry and I asked Our Lady, 'Why is your dress getting dirtier every time somebody touches you?' Then Our Lady said, 'That is because of the sins.' Our Lady said to us to go to a church, to a priest for confession. We all went because none of us wanted to leave stains on Our Lady's dress. Today Medjugorje is the biggest confessional in the world!     Four days ago, I met a priest, a Spanish priest who is 65 years old. He was ready to hear confessions in the Spanish language. He said, 'I have a lot of experience hearing confession because I'm 65 years old.' Then he said to me with tears in his eyes, 'My heart is so moved by the confessions that I have heard (in Medjugorje) -- those deep confessions. All the pilgrims have decided to convert and to get closer to God. Then I bless the pilgrim and believe that, for this person, a new life will start.'   The same is true for us here today: us, we that are here celebrating the peace. From today on, we can become even bigger instruments of Our Lady. As instruments to achieve peace through our testimonies, through our prayer, through our examples, we can convert many people that we meet. The same as the Apostles did. They were known as Christians because of their love and because they shared.   Today, this year, we are celebrating the 100 years of Our Lady's apparitions in Fatima. That is another celebration! Only once did Our Lady speak about another apparition other than Medjugorje and what Our Lady said is that whatever She has started in Fatima, she will finish in Medjugorje. What did Our Lady say in Fatima? Our Lady said, 'Pray for all those who do not pray. Pray for all those that are not adoring God.' In Medjugorje give witness for all those that are not able to give witness.     Our Lady is inviting us to spend as much time as we can before the Blessed Sacrament. To be there, in front of the Blessed Sacrament is a blessing for our lives. Because when someone loves, they speak about love. When you love God, you speak about God. When you love someone, you tell others about them and so on... If you are really in love with God, then you will become His witnesses. This is what the Saints did. They bore witness, gave witness and testimony.     Two days ago (October 22nd) we celebrated the feast day of Saint John Paul II. The way St. John Paul II spoke of Our Lady showed how much love that he had for Our Lady. So many times Pope John Paul II sent us visionaries rosary beads that we used. And then Benedict was holy Father, Pope Benedict was for us all good and theological. He taught us sin is sin and wholeness is wholeness. He taught us to take the true path as Our Lady has said, 'Live the Commandments of God. Love your neighbor, don't take what doesn't belong to you, and so on.'     As we can see, there are not so many people that convert. But then I say, 'No, it's not true because it is easier to hear a tree that falls than a tree that grows.' The tree that grows with its branches so high gives witness to others. We should witness with our lives. Our Lady said, 'It doesn't matter who you are or what skin color you have, you are invited to give witness of your faith.'   He (Cardinal Ernesto Simoni) comes from Albania and he told us about Muslims. He said to the Muslims, 'You pray in your way and I will pray for you. I am blessing you and I will pray for you.' Then they came back and said that they had received grace. Work for the unity, for peace because peace is the biggest treasure for mankind and we know that satan all the time is trying to start a war here or there. But the most beautiful thing is when a man kneels down with a Rosary in his hands because the Rosary beads are a stronger weapon than a nuclear bomb. We know that, and we believe that, and that is why we pray!   As Our Lady said, 'God has allowed me to be among you,' and we would like to thank Our Lady for Her presence in Medjugorje. She is still with us. We would like to say thank you to Our Lady for being with us, and to thank Her for not leaving us. She has allowed us to be close to Her and that She allowed us to fall in love with Her and that She brought us to Her Son because She has the most love for Her Son. She always speaks about Her Son. She brings us Jesus. She is carrying Him and that is what we will do as well (they were going to have the Eucharist at Mass after the recitation of the Rosary). When we all love the Son; at that point the world changes and then peace will reign.     And I believe, that now, with this year, begins, as Our Lady said, the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart. Our Lady said to us that She will not leave us alone. She is giving us the messages. During the apparition, Our Lady prays. Our Lady prayed in Her mother language -- in Her own Aramaic language and I didn't understand anything. And as we couldn't understand, she said, 'Do not forget that I am your Mother and that I love you.' We shouldn't forget that She is the Mother and that She loves us. And let us pray that those who are away from God and lost in sin that She will bring us all to Her Son. And let it be so. Amen.   Finally, I have found this priest (the translator for Marija to translate into German) that received his vocation in Medjugorje and I would like to thank this priest for translating me. I hope that the message of Our Lady will be even stronger because it was translated by a priest!   May Marija's words give us hope and a renewed desire to live the messages that Our Lady has given us!  Our Lady is very close to us and we want to be her children! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan Mary TV

"Medjugorje is the spiritual center of the world." Saint John Paul II Be connected! www.marytv.tv