Day: December 14, 2018

The parish arrives at the Apparition Site on Mt. Podbrdo! (c) Anthony Zubac   December 15, 2018 Christmas Novena Day One Dear Family of Mary! Today we begin the Christmas Novena with the Parish of St. James! Our team will climb with the parishioners each day, praying the Rosary and preparing for Jesus’ Birth. The climb is at 2:00 pm each day. Then at 3:00 pm Mary TV will pray the Hour of Mercy, including our novena prayers. www.marytv.tv Here are our prayers for today: Christmas Novena Day 1 The Gift of Faith “Dear children! I call you today and encourage you to prayer for peace. Especially today I call you, carrying the newborn Jesus in my arms for you, to unite with Him through prayer and to become a sign to this peaceless world. Encourage each other, little children, to prayer and love. May your faith be an encouragement to others to believe and to love more. I bless you all and call you to be closer to my heart and to the heart of little Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (December 25, 2001) Our Lady desires that our faith will be an encouragement to others! Our faith can be contagious! Think of how the shepherds’ faith grew when they saw the angels singing and praising God on Christmas night, and then found the New Born Baby Jesus in the stable! They must have left, changed forever! A King, born in a stable? A Child, so poor and small who would rule the world one day! May we allow little Jesus to increase our faith this Christmas too! Let us pray: May the Virgin Mary help us to open the doors of our hearts to Christ, Redeemer of man and of history; may she teach us to be humble, because God looks upon the lowly; may she enable us to grow in understanding the value of prayer, of inner silence, of listening to God’s Word; may she spur us to seek God’s will deeply and sincerely, even when this upsets our plans; may she encourage us while we wait for the Lord, sharing our time and energies with those in need. Mother of God, Virgin of expectation, grant that the God-who-comes will find us ready to receive the abundance of his mercy. May Mary Most Holy, “Woman of the Eucharist” and Virgin of Advent, prepare us all to joyfully welcome Christ’s coming and to celebrate worthily his sacramental presence in the mystery of the Eucharist. (St. John Paul II) Now let us pray the 7-7-7 prayer, or the Rosary as we have time! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018

The parishioners of St. James Parish climbing Apparition Hill for the Christmas Novena (c) Mateo Ivankovic 2016   December 14, 2018 St. John of the Cross Dear Family of Mary! Christmas is approaching!! Let’s listen to Our Lady’s message from last Christmas! December 25, 2017 “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.” Last year Our Lady spoke these consoling and encouraging words to us! She told us she was bringing her Son, Jesus, to us to give us His peace and blessing! Vicka says that on Christmas Day Our Lady brings the Baby Jesus with her for the apparition. What a special moment that must be for Vicka! But Our Lady is speaking to all of us in this message. She brings Jesus to each of us as well!! Our Lady told us she wanted us to live the call we have been given by her. She wants us to witness the graces and gifts we have been given in Medjugorje. Mary TV has an ever growing archives of testimonies that do just that! Pilgrims from all over the world have shared their stories. You can see them in the “Fruit of Medjugorje” archive on our homepage! Each person is so unique, each story is surprising and joyful. Thank you to all who have shared your witness over the years! Finally, Our Lady told us these precious words: “Do not be afraid. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to be joyful witnesses and people of peace and hope.” Fear stops grace. Fear keeps grace out. Fear denies grace an entrance into our hearts. And it stops us from sharing our graces with others. Instead we need the Holy Spirit, who frees us from all fear, to come into our hearts and empower us to share the good news! Maybe we need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come to us this Christmas, along with Baby Jesus! Here is a good way to prepare for Christmas 2018~ Tomorrow (December 15, 2018) St. James Parish begins the annual Christmas Novena! They will climb Apparition Hill each day for nine days before Christmas, praying the Rosary. Mary TV will stream the climb each day, live! It is a beautiful way to prepare for The Nativity of Christ! ST JAMES PARISH CHRISTMAS NOVENA Dec 15 through Dec 23 2:00 pm Medj time, 8:00 am EST www.marytv.tv Denis and I will follow each day’s novena climb with our usual “Hour of Mercy” prayer time at 3:00 pm Medjugorje time (9:00 am EST) in which we will add a very simple novena prayer to Jesus in honor of His Birthday! Join us!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan © Mary TV 2018