Day: September 18, 2023

Obstacle 2! WORRY   September 19, 2023 Dear Family of Mary! Here is the August 25, Message again: Dear children! In this time of grace, I am calling you to prayer with the heart. May your hearts, little children, be raised in prayer towards Heaven, so that your heart may feel the God of love who heals you and loves you with immeasurable love. That is why I am with you, to lead you on the way of conversion of heart. Thank you for having responded to my call. (August 25, 2023) Today we take on Obstacle 2 to praying with the heart…Worry! Fr. Shamon wrote: Chapter 1, Teaching One: In every apparition at Medjugorje, Our Lady asks for prayer. “Pray, pray, pray.” On April 25, 1987, she begged the children (and that includes each of us) to pray, pray, pray with our hearts. To pray, we must first remove the two obstacles to prayer; sin and worry. (b) WORRY The Second obstacle to prayer is worry! First of all, you cannot be preoccupied with two things at the same time. If a bottle is filled with vinegar, it has to be emptied before you can fill it with honey. It is upsetting when you are talking to someone and that person is not paying attention. Generally, you stop speaking. When as kids, if we were not paying attention in class, the teacher would just stop teaching. Our Lady mentioned this problem in praying. She said: “Your hearts are still taken up by earthly things and they worry you.” Worry is fear of the future- of an impending evil. The future belongs to God. He has a No Trespassing sign there. When you trespass into the future, the penalty or fine for so doing is worry. Someone said: “Sorrow looks back, Worry looks ahead, and Faith looks up!” What Our Lady advised was for us to cast out worry by looking up to God. The biblical section she asks us to meditate upon again and again is Matthew 6:24-34. Your worries, your problems, must not mean more to you than God Himself. If you are full of worries, you are closed to God. Put God first, and the problems will become manageable. It is as simple as that. Our Lord Himself said; “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you” (Mt. 11:28) In His last talk to His own, Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith in God and faith in me” (Jn. 14:1). St. Peter echoed the same thought; “Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you” (1 Ptr. 5:7) Some unknown poet explained why you can in “The Weaver.” My life is but a weaving Between my Lord and me; I cannot choose the colors, He worketh steadily. Oft-times He weaveth sorrow, And I, in foolish pride, Forget He sees the upper, And I the under side. Not till the loom is silent And the shuttles cease to fly, Shall God unroll the canvas And explain the reason why. The dark threads are as needful, In the Weaver’s skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver In the pattern He has planned. He knows, He loves, He cares- Nothing this truth can dim; He gives the very best to those, Who leave the choice with Him. Therefore, Our Lady asks that we abandon ourselves totally to her. “Dear children, surrender yourselves to me so that I can lead you completely” (7/17/86). “Dear children…my Son is happy for your abandonment” (5/17/84). “Dear children…I am always with you, so do not be afraid of the trials, as God always watches over you…” (7/19/84). “Dear children. Pray with your hearts and abandon yourselves in prayer to Jesus…” (8/9/84). (From “Our Lady teaches about Prayer at Medjugorje”, by Rev. Albert J.M. Shamon) In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan (c) Mary TV 2023