Day: October 23, 2018

(c)Anthony Zubac October 24, 2018 St. Anthony Mary Claret Dear Family of Mary! “My children, your prayers, your words, thoughts and actions – all of this either opens or closes the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven for you…” (October 2, 2018) (I know the following words of Jesus are tough. But I think this is what Our Lady is getting at.) Matthew Chapter 5 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. “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny. “You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. “It was also said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply `Yes’ or `No’; anything more than this comes from evil. “You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Mt 5: 1-48) “My children, your prayers, your words, thoughts and actions – all of this either opens or closes the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven for you…” (October 2, 2018) In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018

(c)Mateo Ivankovic October 23, 2018 St. John of Capistrano Dear Family of Mary! “My children, long for holiness but in humility, in the humility which permits my Son to do that which He desires through you…” (October 2, 2018) I guess that Our Lady understands us pretty well. She knows that if we long for holiness, thinking that we can become holy on our own steam, we will find that only our pride has grown in the effort. Try as we might, we cannot make ourselves holy. Only God can do that. Our part in the work of holiness is to give Him free reign in our lives, and then just keep on giving Him permission to guide us into holiness, day by day. That is why I love the Surrender Novena that we pray together during the Daily Rosary. Jesus speaks very gently but firmly in that Novena, constantly calling us back to our childlike need for help. Each moment of each day we can turn to Jesus and ask Him to take over, and do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Whether it is a family relationship that needs healing, a domestic task that needs doing, a project at work that overwhelms us, or daily prayer that must be performed but seems to never happen. In every part of our life, we need Jesus to take over. We need to surrender to Him, and let Him guide us through the complications of life. When we surrender to Jesus, we let go of our own ideas of how to accomplish something. We allow Jesus to “do that which He desires through [us]”. As Our Lady knows, the hardest thing for us is to let go control. But that is exactly what we need to do. Jesus wants to work through us, but only one person can drive the car. We have to let go of the wheel so that Jesus can take over. I think this is why in the Catholic tradition, we pray when we awake, and when we start our work. We want very much for Jesus to take over in our life. We need Him to do that which He desires through us! Here is the link to our Surrender Novena that we pray each day together. Our surrender is the way to long for holiness in humility! https://marytv.tv/novena-prayers/ Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. You take care of it! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018