July 4, 2024 Reflection – “To know or to not know Jesus Christ!”
“To know or to not know Jesus Christ!” July 4, 2024 Dear Family of Mary! Yesterday was the Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle. And we heard in the Gospel reading about how Thomas was not present when the other disciples encountered the Risen Jesus, who walked through the locked door and presented Himself to them. And that Thomas would not believe that Jesus was alive unless he could put his fingers in the holes in His hands, and put his hand in Jesus’ side. We know that one week later, Jesus appeared to them all, and turned to Thomas, offering His hands and side as evidence that He was truly risen! It is an amazing event. Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God!” Denis tells me that Thomas was the first apostle to declare that Jesus was his Lord and his God. This act of faith came out of Thomas’ deepest self, out of the darkness of his unbelief which had turned into the light of faith! Thomas went on to be an incredible Apostle, traveling throughout Asia, making disciples for the Lord. At Mass yesterday, our parish priest, Fr. Peter, said in his homily that this transformation in Thomas demonstrates the deepest reality in a human being’s life. He said, “There is only one great joy and one great tragedy in life: To know or to not know Jesus Christ.” These words make sense out of everything! Thomas made the transition from no faith to total faith in one moment. We, too, must reach that critical moment when we choose to believe or not to believe in Christ. Each human must make that choice. It is the moment we know Christ or we turn away from Him. Our Lady told Jelena 1983:, “I have come to tell the world that God is truth; He exists.” She was sent by the Father to save as many souls as possible in these most difficult times. It is the fundamental choice that must be made in each heart. And Our Lady is with us to shine the light of the Holy Spirit upon each heart so that they can see that fundamental choice and choose God! They can open their hearts to know Jesus! (We know of the countless conversions that take place in Medjugorje. They are the fruit of Our Lady’s transforming love.) Finally, I want to share a moment in prayer that I had after Mass. Fr. Peter’s homily had a profound effect upon me. And when I prayed about it, I realized that my mind and heart are constantly being barraged by fearful thoughts, hopeless thoughts, sad thoughts, etc… I realized that all those thoughts were trying to drag me away from the one thing necessary, my faith in Jesus. I turned to the Lord for help and here is what I heard: “Fill your mind with these two words. Say them constantly. They will protect you from all those temptations to faithlessness. The words are: “Only Jesus”. I immediately started to slowly say “Only Jesus” over and over in my heart and mind. And peace began to grow in my heart, my mind, my spirit. “Only Jesus,” “Only Jesus.” I believe there is a huge battle for souls in our time, as the enemy wants to convince as many people as possible that there is no God, no Jesus. This is the fundamental battle ground for each one of us and for the world. To argue with the enemy is useless. To assert gently over and over again, “Only Jesus”, drives the enemy away. May we stay very close to Jesus, “Only Jesus”! And very close to Mother Mary, “I have come to tell the world that God is truth, He exists.” God bless you all!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Cathy Nolan (c)Mary TV. TV