December 10, 2018
Dear Family of Mary!
” …I know that you desire to have a strong faith and to express it in the right way. What my Son asks of you is to have a sincere, strong and deep faith – then every way in which you express it is proper. Faith is a most wonderful mystery which is kept in the heart. It is between the Heavenly Father and all of His children; it is recognized by the fruits and by the love which one has towards all of God’s creatures…” (December 2, 2018)
Advent is a time of faith. We are waiting on several different levels. We wait for the Second Coming of Christ. We wait for our own particular judgement (when we die). And we wait for the celebration of the Incarnation and Birth of Jesus! Christmas!!! We wait with faith on all three accounts. Faith is what gives meaning and hope in each case.
And so I am really intrigued by Our Lady’s little teaching on faith in the December 2nd message. She seems to understand that Advent is all about faith. And she shows us how we can best relate to it.
She tells us she knows we desire to have a strong faith. She knows that we struggle sometimes in our very challenging world to maintain a strong faith. We live among so many who do not have faith (yet). And there is a river of public opinion that would move us away from our faith in God. This pressure makes us maybe too quiet about our faith. It is not easy to go upstream.
And so she tells us what Jesus would have us know, “What my Son asks of you is to have a sincere, strong and deep faith – then every way in which you express it is proper.” Jesus does not want us to be shy about our faith. But strong faith without sincerity or depth will not be enough. To be sincere means that our faith has become personal. Our faith is not a habit or a way of life that makes us feel safe. No, our faith needs to come out of our personal relationship to the One in whom we believe. Our faith has to rest on Jesus.
And our faith also needs to be deep. What does this mean? I think it means that our faith, our belief in Jesus has to come from the very bottom of our heart, the very bedrock of who we are. Our faith cannot be just one of the things we do in life. It has to be the basis of who we are! A deep faith is one that will never be shaken. Why? Because we have been deeply and powerfully loved by our Savior.
I am also blown away by the next sentences: “Faith is a most wonderful mystery which is kept in the heart. It is between the Heavenly Father and all of His children…” Imagine! Our faith is a mystery, my faith cannot be understood by anyone else but me. My faith is so intimate that only the Father understands where it comes from and how I got it. My faith is a function of the Father’s love for me and my response to Him. Our God respects each one of us so much that He will never disclose what is in our hearts to others, and He will always be faithful to that intimacy. He sees, He understands, He loves, where no one else can go, the depths of our hearts. And it is from that love that our faith springs.
Only God can love each one of us individually, all the billions of humans He has created are each known and loved by Him intimately and uniquely. No one is unnoticed or unloved. No one.
The only way we can see the faith of another is through the fruits of their lives. “…it is recognized by the fruits and by the love which one has towards all of God’s creatures…” It is by our love that we are recognized as people of faith. Our good works and our great-heartedness show the footprints of God’s presence in us. It can’t be counterfeited.
Well, I just love Our Lady’s words on faith. May we all take time in the Advent season to go deeply into ourselves, to find that spot where the Heavenly Father resides in us, and let Him share the mystery with us. Oh the joy!!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2018
PS. Christine Watkins has written a new book, “Of Men and Mary.” It is a wonderful book about the conversions of six different men, through Our Lady. Thank you, Christine for your tireless efforts to help us grow closer to Our Lady and Jesus!
A quote from one review of the book: OF MEN AND MARY recounts the riveting conversion stories of, among others, a convicted murderer and a man who was clinically dead. Three of the book’s six subjects became Catholic priests and one became a deacon. At a time when men are feeling discouraged and disengaged from the Church and the priesthood is under attack, this book offers a much-needed dose of hope, courage and inspiration. Female readers will also want to hear her grace-filled message-and to share it with the men in their lives.
Here is a link to see more about the book and/or order one!
