J.M.J.
September 21, 2017
St. Matthew, Apostle
Dear Family of Mary!
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mt 9:9-13)
I always marvel at this reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel. This is his own story, the story of how he was called to be an apostle. He was a most unlikely candidate. A tax collector, a sinner of the first order. To the Pharisees he was an outcast. Someone not to be associated with. And yet, Jesus walked right up to him, where he was collecting taxes, and called him. No hesitation.
Matthew followed Jesus, gave a dinner for him that night, inviting his other sinful friends, and Jesus sat among them with love. Unbelievable. But Jesus knew what he was doing. “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
I want to point out that Our Lady is just like her Son. In Medjugorje there is the biggest collection of sinners you could imagine. From the very beginning Our Lady has drawn sinner after sinner to her village. Once they arrive, they are welcomed by the parish, washed in the confessional, fed by the Eucharist, taught by the witness of others, and healed by climbing the rocky hills in prayer. Our Lady gives signs to each one, according to their need, so that they can understand her individual love for them, and also find their way to Jesus. They learn to know themselves while in Our Lady’s brilliant presence. They see their wounds, their scars, their sins, their weaknesses, and they see how very much they are loved. That love is the key to the changes that take place in each person. Medjugorje is very much like Matthew’s house, where all sorts of sinners gather to be with the Lord.
Take, for instance, the most recent Fruit Show, #281. (Here is the link to the Fruit of Medjugorje page: https://marytv.tv/?page_id=167 ) In it Melanie shares her story. She was wounded as a child, and lost her way in drinking and faithlessness for many years. But she finally found herself in Medjugorje with her mother, and through the Cenacolo Community discovered the way to healing. Our Lady made the connection for her and gave her the inner conviction that she needed to join the community. She has been 4 years in the Cenacolo Community and now is ready to live her life. This healing happened very much through Our Lady of Medjugorje, who welcomed Melanie to her village and found the answer for her, the way to wholeness and joy.
Melanie was very much like the people who were gathered at St. Matthew’s house that night with Jesus. She was sick and she needed a doctor. She found Jesus and Mary in Medjugorje and she has been healed. There are very many testimonies on our web page that share the same good news. Jesus and Mary have come not for the healthy, but for the sick. They are calling us all to come and be healed, to learn that we are loved, and that we are made for God. Medjugorje is a field hospital for the walking wounded. Come and be healed!
Our Lady once said:
June 2, 2010 “Dear Children; Today I call you with prayer and fasting to clear the path in which my Son will enter into your hearts. Accept me as a mother and a messenger of God’s love and His desire for your salvation. Free yourself of everything from the past which burdens you, that gives you a sense of guilt, that which previously led you astray in error and darkness. Accept the light. Be born anew in the righteousness of my Son. Thank you.”
This is what happened to St. Matthew. It happened to Melanie. And it can happen to all of us!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2017
