“My children, have faith!”
(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2016 J.M.J. February 9, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! “My children, have faith. When you have faith you are happy and are spreading peace; your soul trembles with joy. My Son is in such a soul. When you are giving yourself for the faith, when you are giving yourself for love, when you are doing good to your neighbor, my Son smiles in your soul…” (February 2, 2018) Our Lady emphasizes faith in her latest message. “Have Faith!” She explains that when we have faith in God, faith in her Son, we are happy. We live peace. We are so alive in our souls that they tremble with joy. Faith is the foundation of a life with Jesus. Our Faith is our choice to believe in Jesus! Our faith makes a home for Jesus in our hearts. And when Jesus finds faith in our hearts, he comes to stay, smiling with joy as well!! The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the Theological Virtue of Faith this way: 1814 Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.” For this reason, the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Living faith “work[s] through charity.” 1815 The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it. But “faith apart from works is dead” when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body. 1816 The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.” Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” We can see that Our Lady’s words about faith are very much like those of the Church. She very much wants us to live our faith by giving ourselves for the faith. This means witnessing to our faith just as it says in paragraph 1816. She also speaks of “giving yourself for love, when you are doing good to your neighbor…” As it says in the Catechism in paragraph 1814, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Living faith “works through charity.” To live our faith is to serve our neighbor, to love others and to give ourselves out of love for Jesus, whom we believe in by faith. I also think that when we have a living and vital faith, our faith just shows. I have noticed young people who obviously have had a deep conversion, trembling with joy at Holy Mass. Their faith has taken over in their lives and they are so happy, so desirous of God, so filled with expectation, that they can’t contain it. Their entire being seems to tremble with joy! Jesus has come to stay and He is smiling in their soul! May it be so for all of us! May our faith grow so strong that our souls tremble with joy! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018 PS. Exciting new CD available on Medjmusic.com!! Songs of Medjugorje is a CD of Roland Patzleiner’s music which he has written for Adoration and for Our Lady in Medjugorje, which is now available at medjmusic.com! Until now, it has only been available in Medjugorje. Now it can be purchased as a digital download world wide, or as a physical CD by visiting: Medjmusic.com Roland has been living in Medjugorje for years and has written much of the Adoration music that is associated with this holy place. Adoration is considered the heart of Medjugorje. Roland’s music gives voice to the pilgrim in prayer, with simple, heart felt, holy refrains, and shapes the silence with delicate instrumental interludes. This CD, recorded by Roland himself, is a collection of his adoration songs, and a few songs that honor Our Lady! Don’t forget Mike Nolan’s “Mary TV Soundtrack” and “Oh Jesus, We Adore You” Medjmusic.com