(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2016
JMJ
August 31, 2016
Dear Family of Mary!
August 25, 2016
“Dear children! Today I desire to share Heavenly joy with you. You, little children, open the door of your heart so that hope, peace and love, which only God gives, may grow in your heart. Little children, you are too bound to the earth and earthly things, that is why, Satan is rolling you like the wind rolls the waves of the sea. Therefore, may the chain of your life be prayer with the heart and Adoration of my Son Jesus. Give over your future to Him so that, in Him, you may be joy and an example with your lives to others. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Our Lady tells us that we are “too bound to the earth and earthly things.” Satan is rolling us like the wind rolls the waves of the sea. She recommends that we pray with the heart and adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. She wants us to give over our future to Him.
I want to suggest that she has given us another tool to use in grounding ourselves in Jesus, and letting go of the world. That tool is fasting. Every Wednesday and Friday she asks us to fast on bread and water. Tomorrow is Wednesday! If we don’t want to get rolled over like the waves of the sea, we might try to fast as she asks.
Here is a prayer that Fr. Slavko wrote for the beginning of a fast day. It might help us as we begin our fast!
O Lord God, You are the Creator of the entire world and my Creator! Today I thank You for having so wonderfully arranged the world. Thank You for the fruitfulness that you have bestowed on mother earth for it to bear such a vast variety of fruit. Thank You for the food prepared from the fruits of the earth. Father, I rejoice with Your creatures; I rejoice today with all the fruit and I give You thanks. O Lord, thank You for our need for the daily bread and for the need of daily drink.
Father, thank You for having created my organism to be able to use the fruit of the earth so as to grow and to serve You. Thank you, Father, for all those who, by their labor provide new possibilities for life on earth. Thank you for all those who have much and give to others. Thank You for all those who hunger for the Heavenly Bread as they eat the bread of this earth. Father, I also thank You for all those who have nothing to eat today because I am convinced You will send them help through the goodness of others.
Father, today I resolve to fast. In doing so, I do not despise your creatures. I do not renounce them; I only want to rediscover their worth. I have decided to fast because Your prophets fasted, because Your Son Jesus Christ fasted and because His Apostles and Disciples fasted. I especially decide to fast because Your servant and our Mother, Mary, also fasted. She calls me to fast: “Dear children! Today I call on you to begin fasting with the heart!” (10/20/1984)
Father, I present this day of fasting to You. Through fasting, I want to listen to Your Word and to live it more fully. During this day, I want to learn to be turned more toward You, despite everything that surrounds me. With this fast, which I take freely upon myself, I pray to You for all those who are hungry and who, because of their hunger, have become aggressive. I offer this fast to You for peace in the world….
Mary, You were free in Your heart and bound to nothing except the Father’s Will. Obtain for me the grace of a joyful fast today, in which my heart will be able to sing a song of thanksgiving with You. Obtain for me the grace that my decision to fast may be firm and lasting. I offer the difficulties and the hunger I am going to feel today for all people. Mary, Pray for me. Let every evil and temptation of Satan be kept away from me today through Your intercession and through the power of Your protection. Mary, teach me to fast and to pray so that day by day, I may become more and more like You and Your son, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. Amen. (Fr. Slavko Barbaric. “Fast with the Heart”. Par 12.1)
May we grow less bound to the earth and more bound to heaven on this day!!
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2016
PS. Don’t forget www.livethefast.org – It is a fantastic support for fasting and prayer!
PPS. We are approaching the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I feel that Mother’s intercession will be very powerful for us on her canonization day. Let’s prepare our hearts for that day by asking for her intercession and thanking her for her great fidelity to God’s plan for her life. She is a true hero for us all!
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, you allowed the thirsting love of Jesus on the Cross to become a living flame within you, and so became the light of His love to all. Obtain from the Heart of Jesus (here make your request). Teach me to allow Jesus to penetrate and possess my whole being so completely that my life, too, may radiate His light and love to others. Amen.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for me.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for me.
(Text © Missionaries of Charity
Image Courtesy of Father Woody and Regis University)
