June 11, 2021 Reflection – Give time to God…
Give time to God… June 11, 2021 Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!Dear Family of Mary! Today we will consider just one message given on the anniversary in 1995. I am finding it difficult to manage considering 3 or 4 messages at a time!! There are important gifts in each message, and when there are several messages, one cannot receive all the gifts!! So today we will prayerfully consider this message: June 25, 1997 “Dear children! Today I am with you in a special way and I bring you my motherly blessing of peace. I pray for you and I intercede for you before God, so that you may comprehend that each of you is a carrier of peace. You cannot have peace if your heart is not at peace with God. That is why, little children, pray, pray, pray, because prayer is the foundation of your peace. Open your heart and give time to God so that He will be your friend. When true friendship with God is realized, no storm can destroy it. Thank you for having responded to my call.” By 1997, the Balkan states were slowly recovering from the terrible war that had engulfed them. There was tension everywhere. And so this message spoke directly to the needs of the people. “Dear children! Today I am with you in a special way and I bring you my motherly blessing of peace.” Our Lady was with the people of Medjugorje in a special way. She was still appearing every day to 4 of the visionaries, Jakov, Vicka, Ivan and Marija. This special presence of Our Lady changed everything for the village. There were holy spots all over the village! Apparition Hill, Cross Mountain, the Church of St. James, the old rectory, many places in the fields, the Blue Cross, and now the homes of the visionaries, were all apparition sites! Imagine that!! Our Lady had come physically to them all!! Her miraculous presence had made the whole village special. And she really did bring her motherly blessing of peace!! You could feel it every where. That peace is the most prominent experience for everyone who visits Medjugorje. Even today. Our Lady created heavenly peace in Medjugorje by being present there. “I pray for you and I intercede for you before God, so that you may comprehend that each of you is a carrier of peace. “ But that peace was not meant just for Medjugorje. Our Lady said that she prays and intercedes before God that each one of us who come to Medjugorje would become a carrier of peace! She desired and still desires that each one of us take that peace we receive in Medjugorje home with us! Our Lady wanted her peace to spread. But for us to do that we would need to become friends of God! “You cannot have peace if your heart is not at peace with God. That is why, little children, pray, pray, pray, because prayer is the foundation of your peace. Open your heart and give time to God so that He will be your friend. When true friendship with God is realized, no storm can destroy it.” Our Lady wanted to teach us how to be carriers of peace. Her advice was and is perfect: First, we have to recognize that peace can only come from God, not from any other source. Only God. No amount of counseling, exercise, diet, money, or power can give us peace. The world cannot give peace. Only God. Second, to receive the peace of God, we need to pray, pray, pray. Only prayer keeps us in contact with God. Nothing else. Third, in prayer we need to open our hearts to God until He becomes our friend. Well, that does not happen in a moment. Friendships take much time to build. Trust, honesty, patience and lots of love are required. So to be carriers of peace would involve a huge commitment. But that commitment is worth it. No storm can destroy such a friendship with God. Such a friendship will make us carriers of peace to all those we meet. And that is the only way for peace to spread in this very unpeaceful world. So, you see, Our Lady came with a very precise plan, and that plan must be lived out by each one of us. Only our yes is missing! We must be carriers of peace! This is also the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Here is a wonderful little prayer to the Sacred Heart that will help us to get close to Him and become His friend as Our Lady asked us!! Let us pray: Prayer to the Sacred Heart O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within your heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus, help me. Amen. PS. Jesus, may we be friends!! Amen! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2021