Our Lady at the Blue Cross in Medjugorje!
(C)Mateo Ivankovic 2017
J.M.J.
May 10, 2017
St. Damien de Veuster
Dear Family of Mary!
August 25, 1997 “Dear children! God gives me this time as a gift to you, so that I may instruct and lead you on the path of salvation. Dear children, now you do not comprehend this grace, but soon a time will come when you will lament for these messages. That is why, little children, live all of the words which I have given you through this time of grace and renew prayer, until prayer becomes a joy for you. Especially, I call all those who have consecrated themselves to my Immaculate Heart to become an example to others. I call all priests and religious brothers and sisters to pray the rosary and to teach others to pray. The rosary, little children, is especially dear to me. Through the rosary open your heart to me and I am able to help you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
These words from Our Lady in Medjugorje highlight the importance of the prayer of the Rosary in these days. Our Lady desires that we pray the Rosary with living faith, daily, for the salvation of souls. In Medjugorje the parish has taken up this call by praying two mysteries of the Rosary before evening Mass and praying a third mystery after Mass each day! Incredible!!
In Fatima, she gave the same importance to the Rosary, and asked all her children to pray it. In honor of the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s coming to Fatima, here is a beautiful synopsis of her call to pray the Rosary in Fatima, again from the website rosary-center.org.
PRAYER
Besides a call to penance Fatima is in a special way a call for the Rosary. So central is the Rosary to the Fatima message that Our Lady chose to identify herself as “The Lady of the Rosary.” In each of the six apparitions she asked for the daily Rosary, and especially as an instrument of world peace. As she revealed in the third apparition: “You must recite the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war for only she can obtain this.” In this Our Lady renewed her request for the prayer she gave to the Church centuries before, a prayer that has proven a powerful weapon against the enemies of Christianity as history testifies.
When asked about the importance of the Rosary, Sr. Lucia responded: “My impression is that the Rosary is of greatest value not only according to the words of Our Lady at Fatima, but according to the effects of the Rosary one sees throughout history. My impression is that Our Lady wanted to give ordinary people, who might not know how to pray, this simple method of getting closer to God.”
The Rosary is basically a gospel prayer, and for those who pray it properly, it is, as Sr. Lucia said, “a simple method of getting closer to God.” But to pray it properly requires that each decade be a reflection on some aspect of the joyful, sorrowful or glorious mysteries of our redemption. Without that meditation, the Rosary would become monotonous repetition. As Pope Paul VI wrote in MARIALIS CULTUS: “Without this (contemplation) the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation is in danger of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas.” In praying the Rosary, we can well take Our Lady as a model, for as the Scriptures tell us, “Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her Heart.”
The Rosary is a simple form of prayer that can be prayed by the young or old, the learned or the uneducated, the saint or the sinner. Each can adapt it to his or her own capacity. It is so pleasing to Our Lady, because it brings us to review again and again the life of Christ, the mysteries of our redemption. As Pope Paul VI pointed out, it not only recalls to mind these mysteries, but stimulates the will to draw from them the norms of living. That is, it not only points out the way, but helps us to obtain the graces needed to follow in that way.
After repeatedly asking for the daily Rosary, and identifying herself as “The Lady of the Rosary,” the Blessed Mother terminated the final apparition by showing the children three separate tableaux symbolizing the entire message of the Rosary. The first was a vision of the Holy family – representing the joyful mysteries; the second a vision of Our Lady of Sorrows – representing the sorrowful mysteries; and the third a vision of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel – representing the glorious mysteries.
The Rosary may seem like an insignificant thing in the light of the magnitude of the evils of today’s world, but it is the weapon given to us by Our Lady. She merely asks our cooperation, and she will do the rest. It is like the slingshot of David that killed the mighty enemy because the power of God was behind it. Thus, as the saying goes, he who prays the Rosary has the power of God in his hand. http://www.rosary-center.org/fatimams.htm
The Rosary is THE WEAPON against the evils of today’s world!! Our Lady has told us so:
August 8, 1985 “Dear children! Today I call you especially now to advance against satan by means of prayer. Satan wants to work still more now that you know he is at work. Dear children, put on the armor for battle and with the Rosary in your hand defeat him! Thank you for having responded to my call.”
June 25, 1985 (Tuesday) “I invite you to call on everyone to pray the Rosary. With the rosary you shall overcome all the adversities which satan is trying to inflict on the Catholic Church. All you priests, pray the Rosary! Dedicate your time to the Rosary!”
January 25, 1991 “Dear children! Today, like never before, I invite you to prayer. Let your prayer be a prayer for peace. Satan is strong and desires to destroy not only human life, but also nature and the planet on which you live. Therefore, dear children, pray that through prayer you can protect yourselves with God’s blessing of peace. God has sent me among you so that I may help you. If you so wish, grasp for the rosary. Even the rosary alone can work miracles in the world and in your lives. I bless you and I remain with you for as long as it is God’s will. Thank you for not betraying my presence here and I thank you because your response is serving the good and the peace.”
Our Lady of Fatima/Medjugorje, pray for us!! Lead us to prayer, especially the prayer of the Rosary, so that the Triumph of Your Immaculate Heart will be won!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2017
