A grain of hope and faith…
A grain of hope and faith… (c) Anthony Zubac 2019 January 30, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “Therefore, in the warmth of your heart, may a grain of hope and faith grow and you, little children, will from day to day feel the need to pray more…” It doesn’t take much. God can work with a very small “yes”, a tiny glimmer of hope, a miniscule opening to faith. It isn’t necessary that we understand the whole Bible, or grasp the theology of St. Thomas, for our faith to begin and grow. All it takes is a grain of faith, a grain of hope. As Jesus told us: And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32) When God reveals Himself to someone, He doesn’t give that person the entire plan for their life in one moment. The first encounter will more likely be a brief but powerful flash of light, or confirmation of His presence. It is in such moments that the seeds of faith and hope are planted in the very heart of a person. “God is real. God is a person. He loves me. I have met Him. He is calling me. I am not alone. Heaven is real.” These are the realities that change our hearts from cold and barren rocks into warm and fertile gardens. This is when the seeds of hope and faith are planted. Our Lady understands this awakening of the heart. She wants us to experience this planting of the grains of faith and hope in our hearts. She wants us to encounter the Lord and let that encounter become a planting of faith and hope. She is with us in Medjugorje to help that process. She it is who comes to us first to warm our hearts with her love. We feel her motherly care which envelops us so gently. And our hearts begin to thaw. Our hearts begin to warm up, like the earth in the spring. Her love prepares the soil of our hearts to receive the grains of faith and hope that her Son will sew in them. Her warmth makes us warm. And then the miracle begins. The tiny seeds of faith and hope can take root in our hearts because they are readied. When we encounter Jesus, in a flash of insight and love, the seeds will enter our hearts and take root. This is when the Kingdom begins to grow in us. And, oh the wonders that ensue. Families are healed, vocations are discovered, good works abound, all the characteristics of the Kingdom emerge, each in its kind. All it takes is a tiny glimmer of hope or a miniscule opening to faith. A small word from Jesus, a gesture, a gazing into His eyes is all it may take. And the encounter will have happened, and the seeds will have been planted. But none of these things will grow without prayer. The planting is only the beginning. It is in our relationship to Jesus, through prayer, that the glimmer becomes Mary’s Meals or Rachel’s Vineyard, or countless other blessed works. May we cherish those grains we receive from Jesus for we will thank Him for eternity. Our little tiny “yes” now will become something amazing in time, as we pray. And all will rejoice! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan © Mary TV 2019