asdfasdf

February 10, 2020 Reflection – Live my messages!


Live my messages!
(c) Mary TV/Anthony Zubac

February 10, 2020
St. Scholastica, Virgin

Dear Family of Mary!

January 25, 1993 “Dear children! Today I call you to accept and live my messages with seriousness. These days are the days when you need to decide for God, for peace and for the good. May every hatred and jealousy disappear from your life and your thoughts and may there only dwell love for God and for your neighbor. Thus, and only thus shall you be able to discern the signs of the time. I am with you and I guide you into a new time, a time which God gives you as grace so that you may get to know him more. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Our Lady has asked us many times to live her messages. She gives them to us to help us through these very important and difficult times. But She even gets a little disappointed in us, because we are so easily distracted from her messages. Like all children, we lose our concentration, and resolve. And so, she continues to call us to live her messages.
 
On Friday, February 7, Fr. Leon gave a homily about living the messages that was very helpful. Our shipmate, Stephanie, transcribed it for us!! Fr. Leon has a way of saying things that makes it all quite clear!

Here is the Homily by Fr. Leon during English Mass — Friday, February 7, 2020:

Homily
The family of Herod is very complicated. King Herod the Great, so called “the Great,” – the one who tried to kill Jesus when He was an infant – had a number of sons. One of them is Herod Antipas; the one you hear of in the gospel today.   Now, Herod; let me see, first of all, his niece, Herodias, had been married to one of his brothers called Herod Philip, by whom she had a daughter called Salome. Later she divorced her uncle, and married another uncle, Philip; also called Philip. This is very confusing. And, then she divorces Philip and marries Herod Antipas. And then John the Baptist comes on the scene and says to him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
 
Now, telling the truth to people is a difficult thing, and yet we are duty bound to this. It is one of the Acts of Mercy, to instruct the ignorant; to tell them, for the sake of their souls. But we have to do this with charity. John the Baptist; notice, he doesn’t come to Herod and say, “Oh, let me accompany you in your journey of adultery, and, you know, slowly, hopefully before you die, it will all work out and you’ll repent.” No, he says to him, “It is not lawful.” Because, John the Baptist loves Herod. He cares for his soul. He cares too much to lie to him.
 
On the other hand, we have Herod. Herod is a very confusing character. Because he seems to believe certain things about the faith. He believes in the resurrection. When he hears about Jesus, he says, “This is John whom I beheaded, and he has risen from the dead.” So, he actually believes in resurrection, which is a curious thing. But at the same time, it says: He kept him in prison, and he was very much perplexed by John, and yet he liked to listen to him.
 
Whenever I hear these words, especially, I think about Medjugorje. How many of us have been coming for years and years to Medjugorje? How many people have come here and heard the messages? But, how few of us put them into practice?
 
Now, I’m not here, I don’t delight in pointing fingers and saying, “Oh, you have failed to live the message of Medjugorje.”   I remember even before speaking about The Five Stones, I thought, before I even speak about them, I must live them. No one is going to listen to a fat priest talk about fasting. Okay, and that’s paraphrasing. St. John Chrysostom actually says that; he says, if you’re fat and greedy, who’s ever going to listen to you when you talk about fasting?
 
We must live the messages. Our Lady doesn’t come here and just give messages just to titillate us, to delight us. And we think, “Oh isn’t it marvelous she’s here.” And then we go off and forget about her messages. If we don’t live them, we are like Herod. Herod loved listening to John but didn’t want to act on anything he said. And it didn’t do him any good; it didn’t do him any favors! Herod ended up in a worse place. Because, to his adultery, he adds murder. And then lust – he lusts after his own great niece, Salome. Then, he adds, to that, he adds cowardice; because he is afraid of looking bad in front of his friends.
 
None of this does us any good, if we don’t live Our Lady’s messages. Every day in the news you can see how – I’m not going to comment on any one thing – but lots and lots of things are taking place in the world that show us, things are moving in a certain direction. And if we are not constant in the faith, if we don’t actually live our faith, what good does it do us?
 
What good does it do us if we say that we are here in Medjugorje and then we fight with each other, provoke quarrels, maybe deliberately misunderstand each other – or not deliberately misunderstand each other – but still, revel in fighting and quarreling and anger. What good does this do any of us? We are then like Herod. Not living God’s will, but our own, our own will, our own stubbornness. And this certainly does not make for peace. This is not being a child of the Queen of Peace.

(You can listen to the homily here: https://marytv.tv/english-mass-in-medjugorje/  – remember it is 020720)

Let’s pray for one another that we can all grow in living Our Lady’s messages!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020
 
 PS.  Mike Nolan is leading a pilgrimage to Medjugorje from April 13 to 22, 2020!  Denis and I will be joining the group!  There is still room for more pilgrims. Join us!!   Here is Mike’s contact information and website:

Mike Nolan:
mnolan6@me.com
574-335-9952

/by
asdfasdf

February 7, 2020 Reflection – My Son, who feeds you with his Body….


The cave where the martyrs were killed at Siroki Brijeg on February 7, 1945
(c) Mary TV/Anthony Zubac

February 7, 2020
The 30 Franciscan Martyrs of Siroki Brijeg

Dear Family of Mary!

“…You will find strength in the Eucharist-my Son who feeds you with His Body and strengthens you with His Blood…” (February 2, 2020)

St. Faustina wrote a beautiful litany to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Her prayer will help us to strengthen our devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist:

St. Faustina’s Litany to the Blessed Host

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the testament of God’s mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus as proof of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained life eternal and of infinite mercy, dispensed in abundance to us and especially to poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the mercy of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit toward us, and especially toward poor sinners.

O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the infinite price of mercy which will compensate for all our debts, and especially those of poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fountain of living water which springs from infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the fire of purest love which blazes forth from the bosom of the Eternal Father, as from an abyss of infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the medicine for all our infirmities, flowing from infinite mercy, as from a fount, for us and especially for poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom is contained the union between God and us through His infinite mercy for us, and especially for poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, in whom are contained all the sentiments of the most sweet Heart of Jesus toward us, and especially poor sinners.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in all the sufferings and adversities of life.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of darkness and of storms within and without.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in life and at the hour of our death.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of adversities and floods of despair.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of falsehood and treason.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the darkness and godlessness which inundate the earth.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in the longing and pain in which no one will understand us.

O Blessed Host, our only hope in the toil and monotony of everyday life.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope amid the ruin of our hopes and endeavors.
 
O Blessed Host, our only hope in the midst of the ravages of the enemy and the efforts of hell.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when the burdens are beyond my strength and I find my efforts are fruitless.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when storms toss my heart about and my fearful spirit tends to despair.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my heart is about to tremble, and mortal sweat moistens my brow.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when everything conspires against me and black despair creeps into my soul.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my eyes will begin to grow dim to all temporal things and, for the first time, my spirit will behold the unknown worlds.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my tasks will be beyond my strength and adversity will become my daily lot.
 
O Blessed Host I trust in You when the practice of virtue will appear difficult for me and my nature will grow rebellious.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when hostile blows will be aimed against me.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when my toils and efforts will be misjudged by others.
 
O Blessed Host, I trust in You when Your judgments will resound over me; it is then that I will trust in the sea of Your mercy. Amen.  (Diary 356)

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

PS. Today is the 75th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the 30 Franciscan Friars of Siroki Brijeg. WE know that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was their strength!! Here is a short paragraph about these powerful martyrs:

“The Thirty Franciscan Martyrs of Siroki Brijeg. Thousands of pilgrims visit the Franciscan Monastery in Siroki Brijeg every year, about one hour distant from Medjugorje. On 7th February 1945 the Communist soldiers arrived and said, “God is dead, there is no God, there is no Pope, there is no Church, there is no need of you, you also go out in the world and work.” The communists forgot that the Franciscans were working, most of the Franciscans were teaching in the adjoining school. Some of the Franciscans were famous professors and had written books. The communists asked them to remove their habits. The Franciscans refused. One angry soldier took the Crucifix and threw it on the floor. He said, “you can now choose either life or death.” Each of the Franciscans knelt down, embraced the Crucifix and said, “You are my God and my All.” The thirty Franciscans were taken out and slaughtered and their bodies burned in a nearby cave where their remains lay for many years. Today they are buried inside the Franciscan church. In our Gospel today Jesus said, “if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven.” The thirty Franciscan martyrs of Siroki Brijeg are a powerful example of declaring oneself in the presence of others for Jesus. They lived something else Jesus also said in the Gospel, ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell.’
http://sirokibrijegofs.org/siroki-brijeg-martyrs/ 

As we remember these holy men, we can ask for their intercession for us in these days, that we will be faithful to Jesus to the very end of our lives.

/by
asdfasdf

February 6, 2020 Reflection – You will find strength in the Eucharist…


(c) Mary TV

February 6, 2020
St. Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

Dear Family of Mary!

“…You will find strength in the Eucharist-my Son who feeds you with His Body and strengthens you with His Blood…” (February 2, 2020)

Our dearest Mother is the one who gave us Jesus in the flesh, and now she offers Him to us as our food. Again, a mystery we can never fully comprehend. But we all know the great blessedness of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. St. Faustina lived for the Eucharist. And she wrote these two entries in her diary, describing her life with Jesus in the Eucharist:

+ I find myself so weak that were it not for Holy Communion I would fall continually. One thing alone sustains me, and that is Holy Communion. From it I draw my strength; in it is all my comfort. I fear life on days when I do not receive Holy Communion. I fear my own self. Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to me. From the tabernacle I draw strength, power, courage and light. Here, I seek consolation in time of anguish. I would not know how to give glory to God if I did not have the Eucharist in my heart. (Diary 1037)

+ Jesus, when You come to me in Holy Communion, You who, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, have deigned to dwell in the little heaven of my heart, I try to keep You company throughout the day, I do not leave You alone for even a moment. Although I am in the company of other people or with our wards, my heart is always united to Him. When I am asleep, I offer Him every beat of my heart; when I awaken, I immerse myself in Him without saying a word. When I awaken I adore the Holy Trinity for a short while and thank God for having deigned to give me yet another day, that the mystery of the Incarnation of His Son may once more be repeated in me, and that once again His sorrowful Passion may unfold before my eyes. I then try to make it easier for Jesus to pass through me to other souls. I go everywhere with Jesus; His presence accompanies me everywhere. (Diary 486)

St. Faustina, please intercede for us to Jesus, that we can make of our hearts little heavens in which He can stay, and we will keep Him company all day long! Thank you, St. Faustina, for your love from heaven.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

/by
asdfasdf

February 5, 2020 Reflection – Truth, Salvation and Love!


(c) Mary TV 2019/ Anthony Zubac

February 5, 2020
St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

Dear Family of Mary!

“…I was in the service of truth, love and salvation, as I am now among you to call you, my children, apostles of my love, to be carriers of truth; to call you to spread His words, the words of salvation, by your will and love for my Son: that with your actions you may show, to all those who have not come to know my Son, His love…” (February 2,2020)  

 
Our Lady speaks to us of three important aspects of who Jesus is. And in Jesus, she served those three beautiful realities.

Jesus is the truth!

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” (John 14 :6)
 
Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38)
 
We must reckon with the Truth (the revealed truth in Christ) if we desire to grow in holiness. We must carry the Truth in our hearts. That means very simply, to carry Jesus in our hearts. To know Jesus in our hearts and minds. And to share Jesus, in all we say and do.
 
Jesus is Salvation!

In Isaiah there are prophecies about the coming Messiah. The Father would send a King one day to save His people. Jesus is that King, that Messiah, and He is our Salvation. He alone won the victory over sin and death and brought us into the Kingdom of the Father. Jesus is our Salvation, as Simeon said at the Presentation:
 
“And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to thy people Israel.” (Luke 2: 27-32)
 
“Mine eyes have seen thy salvation…” Jesus is the only source of salvation. We must live out of this reality and speak the words of salvation to others. Like the Apostles of old, we must spread the Good News of our Salvation, the words and person of Jesus.
 
Jesus is Love!

Our Lady served Jesus for His entire life. She loved Him and helped others to love Him. Her Immaculate Heart grasped everything through love.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:9-13)

Jesus is love. He has loved us to the end! Now we are called to live that love through grace, so that others will come to know Jesus as well.

“…I was in the service of truth, love and salvation, as I am now among you to call you, my children, apostles of my love, to be carriers of truth; to call you to spread His words, the words of salvation, by your will and love for my Son: that with your actions you may show, to all those who have not come to know my Son, His love…” (February 2,2020) 

 
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

/by
asdfasdf

February 4, 2020 Reflection – Choosing and being chosen


(c) Mary TV 2019/ Anthony Zubac

February 4, 2020

Dear Family of Mary!

“Dear children, by the act of the decision and love of God, I am chosen to be the Mother of God and your mother. But also, by my will and my immeasurable love for the Heavenly Father and my complete trust in Him, my body was the chalice of the God-man…” (February 2, 2020)

Our Lady makes it very clear that God chose her, and she chose God! It was a beautiful meeting of hearts in which total trust and love existed. The Father trusted and loved Mary so much that He would ask her to be the Mother of His Son. And Mary loved and trusted the Father so much, that she could accept the Father’s call, even though it was beyond understanding.

Let’s listen to how St. Luke recorded this encounter :

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?”

And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)

Well, this encounter is so mysterious and wonderful, that we will contemplate it for all eternity. But for us, it is the beginning of our salvation, a moment upon which all eternity turned. Jesus became Man to save us. And Mary, well, Mary became His mother and by extension, our Mother. What a mystery of love. What a bold act of love on the Father’s part and on Mary’s part. Real, solid, life-changing love.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

/by
asdfasdf

The February 2, 2020 Message


Mirjana greets Our Lady
(c) Mary TV 2020/ Anthony Zubac

February 2, 2020
The Presentation of the Lord

Dear Family of Mary!

The February 2nd, 2020 Message:
 
Dear children,

By the act of the decision and love of God, I am chosen to be the Mother of God and your mother. But also by my will and my immeasurable love for the Heavenly Father and my complete trust in Him, my body was the chalice of the God-man.

I was in the service of truth, love and salvation, as I am now among you to call you, my children, apostles of my love, to be carriers of truth; to call you to spread His words, the words of salvation, by your will and love for my Son: that with your actions you may show, to all those who have not come to know my Son, His love.

You will find strength in the Eucharist-my Son who feeds you with His Body and strengthens you with His Blood. My children, fold your hands [in prayer] and look at the Cross in silence. In this way, you are drawing faith to be able to transmit it; you are drawing truth to be able to discern; you are drawing love that you may know to love truly. My children, apostles of my love, fold your hands [in prayer], look at the Cross. Only in the Cross is salvation.

Thank you.
(February 2, 2020)

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
Mary TV 2020

/by
asdfasdf

January 31, 2020 Reflection – This is why God sends me to you…


(c) Mary TV

January 31, 2020
St. John Bosco, priest

Dear Family of Mary!

“Dear children! Today I am calling you to pray even more, until you feel the holiness of forgiveness in your heart. There must be holiness in the families, little children, because there is no future for the world without love and holiness – because in holiness and joy, you give yourselves to God the Creator who loves you with immeasurable love. This is why He sends me to you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (January 25, 2020)

“This is why He sends me to you”:


1. To call you to pray even more… (Our Lady’s most important call is prayer because everything flows from our relationship with God in prayer.)
 
2. To help you to feel the holiness of forgiveness in your heart. (In prayer we perceive that we have sinned and can repent.   We also perceive that we have been harmed by the sins of others, and we can forgive them. Forgiveness changes everything. There is no feeling as life-giving as having been forgiven and being able to forgive.)
 
3. To help you build holiness in your family. (Through our experience of forgiveness – God’s forgiveness and our own, we can begin to live holy lives in our families.)

4. To keep you humble by reminding you that you are little children! (We are at our best when we realize we are children of God.)
 
5. To build a future in you through love and holiness. (Without a future, life has no meaning. Our future is with God.)
 
6. To give that future to the whole world through your love and holiness. (We can share our future joy with others, until the whole world realizes there is eternity with God.)
 
6. To show you how to give yourself to God the Creator through joy and holiness. (In holiness, we learn to give of ourselves until we are completely given to our Lord.)
 
7. To help you to discover the immeasurable love of God. (Heaven!!!)

Thank you, dearest Mother, for sharing your heart with us. Thank you for teaching us how to return to Jesus, how to accept His love and forgiveness, and how to open our hearts to joy! Thank you for being sent by God, for coming to us in Medjugorje. Thank you!!!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

PS. Mirjana will have her monthly apparition on Sunday, February 2. I will send out the message as soon as I can. And the video of her encounter will be posted on Mary TV! www.marytv.tv

/by
asdfasdf

January 30, 2020 Reflection – There must be holiness in the families…

There must be holiness in the families…
(c) Mary TV/ Mateo Ivankovic 2017

January 30, 2020

Dear Family of Mary!

“…There must be holiness in the families, little children, because there is no future for the world without love and holiness – because in holiness and joy, you give yourselves to God the Creator who loves you with immeasurable love….” (January 25, 2020)   

Our Lady often reminds us that our families must be holy. She knows that so much depends on the family. The family is the place where life begins. The family is where God’s great design for the human race is enacted, as we co-create with Him our children. The family is where community is first experienced. The family is where prayer exists, between husband and wife, and with the children, every day. God is present in that prayer. And in the family the faith is shared and grows.

Humanity depends on these families. Our Lady knows how crucial it is that there are good and holy families in the world.

Fr. John Hampsch, C.M.F. authored a beautiful prayer for the healing of the family, and indeed the extended family. It is powerful. Let’s pray this prayer for our families, asking that holiness will grow in our families, and love and joy will follow:
 
 
PRAYER FOR HEALING YOUR FAMILY TREE    
Heavenly Father, I come before you as your child, in great need of your help; I have physical health needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs, and interpersonal needs. Many of my problems have been caused by my own failures, neglects, and sinfulness, for which I humbly beg your forgiveness, Lord. But I also ask you to forgive the sins of my ancestors whose failures have left their effects on me in the form of unwanted tendencies, behavior patterns and defects in body, mind and spirit. Heal me, Lord, of all these disorders.

With your help I sincerely forgive everyone, especially livings or dead members of my family tree, who have directly offended me or my loved ones in any way, or those whose sins have resulted in our present sufferings and disorders. In the name of your divine Son, Jesus, and in the power of his Holy Spirit, I ask you, Father, to deliver me and my entire family tree from the influence of the evil one. Free all living or dead members of my family tree, including those in adoptive relationships, and those in extended family relationships, from every contaminating form of bondage.

By your loving concern for us, heavenly Father, and by the shed blood of your precious Son, Jesus, I beg you to extend your blessings to me and to all my living and deceased relatives. Heal every negative effect transmitted through all past generations and prevent such negative effects in future generations of my family tree.

I symbolically place the cross of Jesus over the head of each person in my family tree, and between each generation; I ask you to let the cleansing blood of Jesus purify the bloodlines in my family lineage. Set your protective angels to encamp around us, and permit Archangel Raphael, the patron of healing, to administer your divine healing power to all of us, even in the area of genetic disability. Give special power to our family members’ guardian angels to heal, protect, guide and encourage each of us in all our needs. Let your healing power be released at this very moment, and let it continue as long as your sovereignty permits.    

In our family tree, Lord, replace all bondage with a holy bonding in family love. And let there be an ever-deeper bonding with you, Lord, by the Holy Spirit, to your Son, Jesus. Let the family of the Holy Trinity pervade our family with its tender, warm, loving presence, so that our family may recognize and manifest that love in all our relationships. All of our unknown needs we include with this petition that we pray in Jesus’ precious name. Amen
   
St. Joseph, Patron of family life, pray for us.    

Rev. John H. Hampsch, C.M.F.

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
(c)Mary TV 2020 

/by
asdfasdf

January 29, 2020 Reflection – Let no soul fear to draw near to Me…

Let no soul fear to draw near to Me
(c) Mary TV/ Mateo Ivankovic 2016

January 29, 2020

Dear Family of Mary!

“Today I am calling you to pray even more, until you feel the holiness of forgiveness in your heart….”
   
The holiness of forgiveness!! We should all long to feel this holiness. We will never want to NOT feel it once we do!! Jesus became one of us in order to bring forgiveness to us, the kind of forgiveness that will endure. It will carry us into heaven. His forgiveness is beyond all the possibilities that we can think of in our human finiteness. Jesus’s forgiveness is complete, unwarranted, and at the cost of His own life on the Cross. His forgiveness brings us into the heart of the Father, who is that very Father who welcomed home the prodigal son. So feeling the holiness of forgiveness for each one of us is holy ecstasy!!

Jesus told St. Faustina about His forgiveness in the revelation of His Divine Mercy:

(699) On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable (138) mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy139 be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. (139) It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (St. Faustina’s Diary, 699)


Our Lady has called us to pray even more, because she wants to envelop as many souls as possible in the Mercy of her Son while there is still time!! Let’s all pray even more!!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

/by
asdfasdf

January 28, 2020 Reflection – The Holiness of Forgiveness

The Holiness of Forgiveness
(c) Mary TV/ Mateo Ivankovic 2016

 


January 28, 2020
St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Doctor of the Church

Dear Family of Mary!

“Dear children! Today I am calling you to pray even more, until you feel the holiness of forgiveness in your heart. There must be holiness in the families, little children, because there is no future for the world without love and holiness – because in holiness and joy, you give yourselves to God the Creator who loves you with immeasurable love. This is why He sends me to you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (January 25, 2020)

“Today I am calling you to pray even more, until you feel the holiness of forgiveness in your heart….”

Our Lady calls us to “pray even more” so that we will begin to feel “the holiness of forgiveness” in our hearts. I have been asking myself what this holiness of forgiveness might be. (Obviously I am not praying enough yet!)

We know that Jesus was very focused on forgiveness during his public ministry. Jesus was all about forgiveness. When Jesus was healing people, He was forgiving their sins at the same time. When Jesus taught, He taught about the necessity of forgiving others, and the need we have to be forgiven. Jesus came to forgive all of us, because we are all sinners. All of us. Jesus is forgiveness itself.

So, the holiness of forgiveness must have to do with how close we are getting to Jesus. The closer we come to Jesus, the more we will become forgiven and learn to forgive. Forgiveness will pulse through our veins and live in our hearts. We will be forgivers, like our Lord.

In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches this parable about forgiveness:

Mt 18: 21-35

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 servants 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)
 
Obviously, the wicked servant saw forgiveness as a one-way street. Forgiveness flowed his way but did not flow through him to others. It is impossible to forgive if one is self-centered and grasping. Forgiveness comes from a heart that is humble and giving, a heart that does not build its own kingdom, but instead is open to helping others, to building community and love.

We will feel the holiness of forgiveness to the extent that we pray and pray and pray. The closer to Jesus we become, the more we will understand that our kingdom is in heaven, and there is no need to grasp for ourselves here on earth. Jesus is forgiveness and we must be as well.

There is so much more to say about forgiveness. What a blessed word it is! What a blessed gift it is!! What a blessed relief it is for our sin-sick souls. The holiness of forgiveness!
 
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2020

/by