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Author: Cathy Nolan

The December 15, 2020, Reflection – A time of love, warmth, prayer and joy!

A time of love, warmth, prayer and joy! December 15, 2020 Christmas Novena, Day 1 Dear Family of Mary! Today the parish of Medjugorje begins a Novena before Christmas!  Each day the parish will climb Apparition Hill, praying the Rosary.  Mary TV will stream this event, live, each day, at 2:00 pm Medjugorje time.  You can join in on our Channel at www.marytv.tv Each day I will write a short reflection on a line from Our Lady’s November 25, 2020 message. There are nine sentences!!  Shall we begin! “Dear children! This is a time of love, warmth, prayer and joy…” (November 25, 2020) When Our Lady first gave us this message, I was struck with how odd this declaration sounded!  In the midst of Covid, lock downs, isolation, loneliness, and fear, how could she say that? And yet, she was right!  This is the time of love, warmth, prayer, and joy! Why?  Because this is God’s time! And God is Lord of Heaven and Earth! He is in charge of all time!  And He is the God who loves us unconditionally, who’s heart is on fire with love for us, who comes to us in prayer, and who’s Spirit transmits joy!  This is God’s time! Advent tells us that we have everything to live for!  The answer to all our needs, hopes, desires, and longings is about to be born in a stable to a Virgin!  Our hope is not in vain.  Jesus, our Savior is coming! I found a lovely Litany of our Lady of Hope, which gives us so much to ponder as we wait this Advent.  Our Lady is the Woman of Hope!  She can teach us how to live in expectation of the coming of the Lord.  She is our Mother, our Light, our Sweetness, and our Hope! May we be filled with the love, warmth, prayer, and joy that Our Lady announces, through the graces she can procure for us today! Let us pray: Litany of Our Lady of Hope (Pontmain) (Also known as Our Lady of Pontmain) Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Response for the following: Pray for us. Our Lady of hope Our Lady of the way Our Lady of light Fullness of Israel Dawn of the new world Mother of God Mother of the liberating Messiah Mother of the redeemed Mother of all people Our Lady of hope Virgin of silence Virgin who listens Virgin who sings Servant of the Lord Servant of the Word Servant of the redemption Servant of the kingdom Our Lady of hope, light up our way. Response for the following: Pray for us. Disciple of Christ Witness of the gospel Sister of humanity Beginning of the Church Mother of the Church Model of the Church Image of the Church Our Lady of hope Mary, blessed among women Mary, dignity of women Mary, greatness of women Woman faithful in waiting Woman faithful in her task Woman faithful in discipleship Woman faithful to the cross Our Lady of hope First fruit of Easter Splendor of Pentecost Star of evangelization Shining presence Prayerful presence Welcoming presence Active presence Our Lady of hope, light up our way. Response for the following: Pray for us. Hope of the poor Trust by the humble Strength of the marginalized Relief of the oppressed Defender of the innocent Courage of the persecuted Comforter of the exiled Our Lady of hope Voice of freedom Voice of communion Voice of peace Sign of God’s maternal aspect Sign of the Father’s nearness Sign of the Son’s mercy Sign of the Spirit’s fruitfulness Our Lady of hope Christ, Savior of history Christ, Savior of humanity Christ, Hope of creation Let us Pray: Almighty and eternal God, the blessed Virgin Mary, glorious Mother of your Son, helps and defends all those who call upon her. By her intercession may we be strong in faith, steady in hope, and persevere in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2020  

December 12, 2020 Update from Denis – A room with windows round about…

(c)Mary TV   December 12, 2020 Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dear Family of Mary TV, Apostles of the Gospa of Medjugorje: My wife tells me my updates are boring. “All you do is give messages from Our Lady, one after another….People also want to be hearing from you…. You should be telling them stories!” I can’t think of anything more boring than me talking (I already do it enough during the Rosary)…. And I can’t think of any more exciting words than Our Lady’s messages. Nothing else is giving light these days. And every one of them carries grace from heaven! “I speak for your salvation,” she tells us! But she did ask:“…for this time to be for all of you, a time of witnessing. You who live in the love of God and have experienced his gifts, witness them with your words and life that they may be for the joy and encouragement to others in faith.”(9/25/11) OK. I’ll tell you a story. This one happened thirty five years ago. It begins with Our Lady of Guadalupe and is connected to Our Lady’s November 25, 2020 message i.e., reading Scripture, seeing miracles around us, etc… It brings me a lot of joy to remember,,,, A priest friend, Rev. John S. Dunne, CSC., suggested that my wife Cathy and I go on a retreat with him during Lent. The CSC’s owned a house on a lake. The three of us could use it for a Saturday. That was all the time Cathy and I felt we could take away from the children. We each brought something to share on the retreat. I brought a message from Our Lady in Medjugorje. (Back in those days I’d make copies and hand them out on street corners!) Fr. Dunne had the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe translated from the original Aztec that he wanted to read to us. It was given to him by an old monk on top of a mountain in Oregon where he had given a retreat several months earlier. We had Mass and prayed. Cathy shared what she felt the Lord was saying to us during our prayer time, and John read the account of Our Lady’s coming to Juan Diego. Halfway through the retreat, I became distracted by the room we were in. Someone had added this room onto the house. It had windows all around, and was a very comfortable place to pray. The thought struck me that I too could add a room onto our house. I thought it would be a place to pray and be big enough also for the kids to play during the winter when it was too cold for them to play outside. And maybe it could be big enough so that sometimes we could set up a ping-pong table! Cathy thought it was a crazy idea. Our seventh child was to be born that summer, and it seemed I would need to get a summer job. I was teaching “Theology” at St. Joseph High School, right across the road from Notre Dame. My starting salary five years earlier had been $5,000 a year. I didn’t have any money to build. And I didn’t really know the first thing about how to do it. When I was little my father had built our house in California out of adobe bricks….I hadn’t a clue how to use wood.  Cathy’s arguments made sense. But I knew that God loved families. He loved children. And kids needed room to play. Winters in Indiana were just too cold for them to play outside. Adding on a room made a lot of sense to me! I sat right down after getting home from the retreat and prayed, explaining to Jesus we needed more space with six children and another one on the way. “Jesus, everything Cathy says is true, but I know you love families and you love kids. We need this room. If you bless it, I’ll start tomorrow. If you don’t, even though I think it’s a great idea, I won’t touch it with a ten foot pole. What do you say?” Opening the big Jerusalem Bible my eyes fell on a passage giving the dimensions of a room: “Fifty cubits by fifty cubits,” the measurements for the foundation of the Temple. When my eyes fell upon the sentence, “With windows round about,” that was it! I knew I could find second hand thermal pane sliding glass doors, take the frames off and use them as windows. I had seen some at Lakeville Salvage for $10.00 each. Starting the next day I went to a neighbor’s garage and paced off his ping-pong table to get an idea for how big the room needed to be. (Not to get ahead of the story, it ended up being 18 feet wide and 30 feet long!) The first thing I had to do was cut down a pine tree next to the house where the room would be built. The wind was blowing towards the house….when I started up the chain saw the wind changed directions and was blowing away from the house….after the tree fell the wind resumed blowing towards the house! (You don’t forget these kinds of details. This job would be filled with them.) Someone told me that a foundation in Indiana needed to be below frost line, 33 inches deep, and so I started digging. I bought 500 used cement block from a guy down the street who had them piled in his yard. Made numerous trips driving them the one block to my house. Poured the foundation.  Got sand and cement. Borrowed Perry Pence’s cement mixer and laid the block.  Then put a 2” by 8” board on top for a sill. That was the end of my knowledge. I figured I could get used wood from buildings being torn down. One Saturday it took me all morning to snake out one eighteen foot long 2” x 12” from an old bar coming down on Notre Dame Avenue (“Frankie’s” when I was a student, later ND grads may remember “The Library”). And I needed forty 2” by 12”s, each twenty feet long! Realizing my plan getting used wood wasn’t going to work, it would take years to scrounge the wood, I prayed, “Jesus, give me money so that I can just buy the wood I need and I won’t have to get a second job for the summer. I can build!” The next day, Cathy told me her father phoned: “We hear Denis is building a room. How would you like to borrow some money? But we know you can’t really pay it back, so just see it as a gift. What would you like me to send? $20,000?”  I told her to ask for $5,000. Several days later she received a check in the mail for $10,000. God bless her dad. He ended up sending me his credit card so I could just purchase whatever materials I needed when I needed them. Not knowing how to build, I had called an Amish construction company in Nappanee. They said they could start in a month. It would cost $450 dollars a day, and that was just for labor. His last words: “Of course, we’ll need the plans.” Plans! Plans! I thought, “Plans? That’s what I called you guys for!” I had no idea how to get plans. I told him I’d call him back. I needed to talk it over some more with my wife. I didn’t need to talk it over with my wife. She already thought the whole thing was crazy. What I really needed to do was pray! I went out under the patio enclosure and asked the Lord if He’d help me. We could do it together. I didn’t hear any voice. The only way I can explain it is that I got a “shot” of adrenalan! Two things came to mind. First, the Lord had said that He would bless it (receiving that passage giving the dimensions of a room). Also, Jesus was a carpenter. Maybe Jesus would enjoy helping me, 2 x 4 by 2 x 4, putting this room together. It would be like a vacation for Jesus! Right after that prayer I had the confidence to begin. I remember taking a skill saw, guessing at the depth of the blade, and cutting right up the side of my house where I figured the two structures would join. I measured out the first wall. Someone had told me to use 2 x 12 headers. “What’s a header?” I was told you just nail two 2”by 12”s together. Most of that whole wall would be windows, so the header needed to be strong. It would have to hold a second floor. I nailed it in place.   The end wall of the room was eighteen feet long and only had six inches of wood (4 two by fours), the rest would be windows (sliding glass doors). And it too had to support a second floor. I remember a neighbor stopping by to see what I was doing telling me it would never work because there needed to be siding to keep the wall from collapsing. Just for decoration I purchased several hand hewn beams from an old barn being torn down. I thought they’d look rustic. Little did I know that the way I placed them across the first floor ceiling, header to header, would give necessary support solving that problem. But I had just put them up because I thought they looked nice. Then went up the next wall and then the next. I asked someone how you build a second floor, and he said, “The same as the first!” So we went ahead – just Jesus and me . I only had Jesus helping me (and an occasional friend, like Matt Hunckler and my son Sean to help lift things). Once someone did stop by, Brother Alberto Bondi, who also taught at St. Joe. He happened just when I was putting down the first floor…. so I gave him a glue gun so the plywood would be glued and not just screwed…. if he hadn’t shown up I woujldn’t have glued at all. That turned out to be important because of all the wear and tear that floor was going to endure…. Actually the whole job was very enjoyable. When you don’t know what you’re doing it’s easy to pray…. you just get in the habit. And that always brings joy….especially the more you need to trust. The more joy it brings. Next came the second story floor and the second story walls. Next would come the roof. When my father was visiting that Summer he told me when it came time to tie the two roofs together to be sure to hire someone to do the job… otherwise for sure I’d be plagued with a leak where the two roofs joined. When it came time to build the roof, I called a carpenter I had been told worked at Big C Lumber Company. Bill McCluen came out. Taking a slow look around, standing on the floor of the second story, he said, “OK. I’ll build your roof. I’ll be here on Monday morning to start.” He dropped his work belt and some tools on the second floor and left…. As he drove his car away I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if I had committed a mortal sin…. Watching him drive away I said, “OK Jesus, if this job is really like a vacation for you, you want it to be just you and me and you don’t want me hiring anyone… have me never see him again. Have him never come back!” To this day, all these years later, I have never again seen him…. (When I brought his tool belt and tools to Big C Lumber Company so he could get them back, they told me he had quit working there and had left town)…. So I set about making a roof. I couldn’t figure out from a book how to determine the angle for rafters, so I just took a 2” by 6” and guessing, drew a straight line on the board at an angle with a pencil. After cutting it, that board became my pattern for all the rafters. It worked perfectly. I needed 45 of them, two every 16 inches. The roof was 30 feet long! When I got to the end I had no idea how to tie the two roofs together….the roof of the addition I was building to the roof of the house. I remember just sitting there thinking… and of course praying…. when all of a sudden the thought popped into my head: take two 8’ long – 2” by 4”s, frame a little 4 foot high wall, and carry it up and tack it along the very peak of the house. Don’t tie two roofs together. Go right over the roof of the house and make a third story! And that’s what I did. I remember when I had the little wall nailed together, Jerry Faust’s son, Jerry Jr., showed up with some of his friends from St. Joe High. They helped me carry the wall up and hold it in place as I tacked it onto the peak of the house. It was very simple. It worked. I’ve never had a leak. And that third floor became a favorite place for my kids to play, and now for grandkids to play. In those days I always carried a hammer and a crowbar under the front seat of my car…. in case I came upon a building being torn down and I spotted something Icould salvage…… and so that’s how I got the beautiful oak stairs leading up to that third floor… When I began I was told I needed to get a building permit. We live in the city (a couple of blocks from Notre Dame….How Our Lady gave us this house is another story.) When I went to the County City building to get a permit I was told I had to have plans. Plans! There was that word again. I asked for a piece of paper and drew a little sketch of “an enclosed porch.” That got me the permit. I remember after enclosing the walls after I had done the electrical work, I was told, “Denis, the electrical inspector is going to want to see all that work. He’s going to make you tear out all that sheet rock!” That day in class my prayer was, “The electrical inspector is coming today and I’m told he’s going to make me tear out the inside walls so he can see my electrical work…. pray with me that Our Lady takes care it and I don’t have to tear out those walls.”  My students and I were always praying for everything… Everything I needed. Everything they needed. We spent a lot of time praying together. And our prayers were always answered! That day the city electrical inspector was too busy, so the county electrical inspector was sent instead. He passed everything. In fact when the final building inspector came after the project was all done, he had only one complaint. It was all too well built. I remember his exact words: “You could drive a semi across the second floor. It’s overbuilt!” The second floor would become bedrooms. It took two years to finish, and during that time all the kids slept in one room… Every night mom would read to us all together. It was heaven. She went from having two closets to having nine closets. And that 1st floor room became a place of prayer. It seems we never remember getting the ping-pong table out. When Notre Dame got its first web page (only students knew how to set things up for the university)….the web page opened up to four categories: Academics, Athletics, Social Life, Spiritual Life. And when you clicked on Spiritual Life, two things came up: Knights of the Immaculata…and Children of Mary…with an announcement that on Wednesday nights ND vans would be waiting at the circle to give rides to any students who wanted to go pray the Rosary at the Nolan’s house. That room became a center for prayer for a lot of years. And from it later for years (see above) Cathy and I would pray the rosary daily through Mary TV with Our Lady’s children on six continents. (I don’t know the number, not necessarily many, and I don’t care to know. I believe Our Lady said that every time we prayed in response to her call from Medjugorje, she’d come and pray with us. It’s Our Lady praying with us that makes it a joy! God bless you, Denis Nolan          

The December 14, 2020, Reflection – Am I not holding you on my lap?

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us! December 14, 2020 St. John of the Cross Dear Family of Mary! We find ourselves in the third week of Advent, already!  It seems that time is moving so quickly these days. Our longing for Christmas, and the birth of our Savior grows within us.  But we also are living through very difficult times and very much need Our Lady to take care of us.  Like all good mothers, she can multitask.  So, as she prepares for Christmas, she can also take care of us!! I want to share with you the transcript of Fr. Leon Pereira’s homily for December 12, 2020, given in Medjugorje, because he teaches us something very important about Our Lady, and just why she can take such good care of us. Listen carefully and renew your trust in the Mother who has come to save us. She told us on August 25, 1995 “… Little children, I am with you, and I love you and I bless you and I wish for every one of you to be in my embrace. You cannot be in my embrace if you are not ready to pray every day. Thank you for having responded to my call.” A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus why did the scribes say that Elijah must come first?  He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things.  But I tell you that Elijah has already come; and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.  So, also, will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”  Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. The Gospel of the Lord HOMILY There is a principal at work in the Bible which we call Typology, to do with types; in Greek “tupos.” Now, I want you to think of a typewriter – those of you who are old enough to remember typewriters – when you hit the key, the – I don’t even know what it is called… no, no… — it hits… the letter hits the ink and the paper, and it leaves a printed letter.  The printed letter is what we call the “type.” So, if you hit the letter “T,” you get a “T” printed.  And if you, you can hit “T” over and over again, you’ll get lots of “T’s.”  Now, all those “T’s” are called “types.” The metal part that hits the ink is known as the “anti-type.”  It’s not the opposite of the “T,” it’s just the opposite side, the one that presses the ink. Okay?  So, you have the “type” which is the printed version; and the “anti-type” is the metal thing that hits the ink, the ink tape.  So, the “anti-type” is the reality.  And the “type” is a version. Now, I’m using these words because these are the exactly the same words used in the Bible.  We are told that Adam is a “type” of Christ.  We are told that baptism is the “anti-type” of the flood of Noah.  Okay?  So, reality… Baptism is the reality; Noah’s flood is an image of that reality because they went through the water and were saved.  So, it’s a “type,” it’s an image, a foreshadowing.  And Adam is a “type” of Christ, that he also is a foreshadowing of Christ, and Christ is, therefore, the “anti-type,” the reality.  Okay. Now, this happens throughout the Bible over and over again.  So, you can say the Ark of the Covenant is a “type” of Our Lady.  Our Lady is the “anti-type,” the reality; she is the true Ark of the Covenant. Now here in the passage that we just heard, we are told about Elijah; that Elijah must come first.  And Jesus says something quite surprising.  You know, he doesn’t just say, “Elijah has come; they did to him whatever they wanted,” meaning, John the Baptist. John the Baptist is Elijah as you have been hearing for the last two or three days in the readings, that he comes in the Spirit of Elijah to prepare the nations.  He is – there’s a technical term for this – he is the “anteambulo,” the “one who walks beforehand.”  You know, if you’re walking… say, you’re a king, and you’re walking, you must not step on a stone or stumble; so, the anteambulo goes before you – literally, in Latin, “the one who walks before you” – and clears the way.  And we’re told as exactly in Isaiah, “he goes before to lower the hills and the mountains, and to build up the valleys;” so there’s a flat road for the Messiah to walk on.  So, he prepares the way for the Messiah. But Jesus says something else, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things.”  So, who is that Elijah?  Because, he means, the one who is in the past: “Elijah has already come.”  That’s John the Baptist.  But there’s another one: “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things.”  This refers to the future with respect to Jesus and his disciples.  It refers to:  Our Lady.  Our Lady is Elijah, “the one who comes to prepare the way” for Christ’s second coming.  She, and we’re told, she “will indeed come and restore all things.”  What does she say here in Medjugorje?  “I have come to tell you that God exists.”  This is how she begins when she first came here. Today, we keep the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is really the beginning of all modern apparitions of Our Lady.  Because, from this time on, we not only have clearer records; but there’s also a pattern of things happening, of things being hinted at, of things being made clear.  The Tilma that she left, the imprint of her image on the tilma – we find out more and more things about it as time goes on. The stars on her cape correspond to the stars in the sky of that particular time, December 9th of 1531 (I think the year was).  And also, now, today, Father Francesco sends me a thing saying that the stars correspond to musical notes and it plays a kind of heavenly haunting melody; it’s quite beautiful, actually.  Because remember, on December 9th, Juan Diego says, “I heard this beautiful music; that’s what drew my attention,” he says, to the hill at Tepeyac. And then, of course, she wears a black sash.  She’s pregnant.  She’s standing on the moon clothed with the sun and the stars – a crown of 12 stars, etc.  Hinting at… more than hinting, saying she’s the Virgin of Revelation, of Chapter 12 of Revelation; and at the end of Chapter 11: “the Ark of the Covenant was seen… in Heaven.” So, it’s saying all these things to us.  But really, Guadalupe – the message of Guadalupe – comes down to her words to Juan Diego.  She addressed him as “Juanito, Juan Dieguito;” you can’t really translate that into English, because it doesn’t sound right if you say, “Johnny” instead of John, or “Johnny-kins” for Juan Dieguito, or something.  But it’s affectionate; very affectionate, very warm.  And he called her “grandmother.” Now this is not strange to me.  Also, in the Indian language that I speak – Malayalam – when you want to honor someone no matter how old they are, you call them “mother” or “father” even if they’re younger than you.  And if you want to really honor them, you call them “grandfather.”  So, St. Thomas the Apostle who converted my ancestors, we call him, “grandfather.” Muttacchan. – “Acchan” means father – “Muttacchan,” eldest father, grandfather, first father.  Okay? So, calling someone “grandma” is not a disrespect at all.  So, yeah. In case I call any of you, “grannies;” from now, yes, I mean it respectfully; it’s a term of respect.  So, he calls this young girl… he says, “she’s a young girl,” and he calls her “grandmother.”  So, this is the dialogue that they have. And she says to him – this is worth hearing again and again; maybe even pinning it to your mirrors and read it every morning – she says, “For am I not here with you, your mother?  Are you not safe in the shadow of my protection?  Am I not the source of your life and your happiness?  Am I not holding you in my lap wrapped in my arms?  What else can you possibly need?  Do not be upset or distressed.” This is what Elijah, the new Elijah, comes to do for us.  Here also in Medjugorje, I was helping Lydia Paris translate the messages again into English.  And we noticed, like back in the 1990’s, one of the messages said something like, “I am embracing you…” or something.  But in Croatian, it literally said, “You are in my lap.”  Okay.  And this is exactly the same language she uses here in Guadalupe, “Am I not holding you in my lap wrapped in my arms?” This image of tenderness, intimacy, protection, motherly care, and a maternal love, a maternal instinct.  “Elijah must indeed come to prepare the way” for Christ as He comes again in glory.  And so, beginning with Guadalupe, we have Elijah with us.  Our own heavenly mother reminding us, “Am I not here with you, your mother?” In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Praise God!  I can tell you that this homily gave me a great deal of hope.  Our Lady is with us, the type of Elijah, come to prepare us for the coming of the Messiah.  She is with us to tenderly and powerfully, protect us and defend us as we await the coming of the Lord.  I feel her care very much in these days. Let’s say these words of Our Lady every day, as Fr. Leon suggests!  Maybe tape them to the bathroom mirror, so that the first words we think of in the morning and the last at night, are Our Lady’s tender words of motherly care to us! “For am I not here with you, your mother?  Are you not safe in the shadow of my protection?  Am I not the source of your life and your happiness?  Am I not holding you in my lap wrapped in my arms?  What else can you possibly need?  Do not be upset or distressed.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2020 P.S. Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15, the parish will begin the Christmas Novena! Each day for nine days at 2:00 pm the parish will climb Apparition Hill, praying the Rosary, in preparation for Christmas!  Mary TV will stream this Novena, live, beginning at 2:00 pm Medjugorje time!  Join us!  

The December 11, 2020, Reflection – Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us! December 11, 2020 St. Damasus I, Pope Dear Family of Mary! Tomorrow is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!  This is a very special day!!  We honor and pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary, thanking her for her decisive role in procuring the deliverance and conversion of the Mexican peoples who were under the oppression of the Aztec nation, who offered them as blood sacrifices to their god.  Our Lady gave such an amazing sign of her presence to Juan Diego.  It was her image on the front of his tilma.  There are many books written about that miraculous image, which in every way shows its supernatural origin.  Our Lady made it very clear that she was present, and that she was claiming the poor people of Mexico as her own. Let’s pray this Litany in honor of Our Lady’s incredible work of liberation and blessing in Mexico.  And may we remain faithful to her presence in Medjugorje in our day, as she continues her work of liberation, conversion, and blessing!  May her Immaculate Heart Triumph now!! Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, Creator through whom we live, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us. Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of America, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of America, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Perfect and Ever Virgin, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of the True God, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother worthy of honor and veneration, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother most merciful, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of those who love you, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of those who have confidence in you, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of those who cry to you, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of those who search for you, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who cures all our pains, miseries, and sorrows, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who alleviates our sufferings, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who keeps us within her compassionate and merciful gaze, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who shows us her help, love, and compassion, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who chooses those who are humble and simple, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who graciously repays all who serve her, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who has us under her mantle and protection, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Mother who carries us in her embrace, pray for us. Holy Mary of Guadalupe, Fountain of our joy, pray for us. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Lord. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ. Let Us Pray Almighty and Eternal God, your message of mercy, entrusted to the Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe, invites all of your children to place all their trust in You. Through the intercession of the Mother of Your Son, may Your message of Merciful Love inflame our hearts that we may be faithful heralds and instruments of this Divine Mercy to the world. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan Mary TV 2020      

December 9, 2020 Update from Denis – She is coming to claim her own!

(c)Mary TV   December 9, 2020 Feast Day of St. Juan Diego Dear Family of Mary TV, apostles of Our Lady of Medjugorje: Christopher Columbus sailed under the flag of the Immaculate Conception.  He discovered the new world on her feast day.  From its beginning and throughout its history, America has continually been consecrated to Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.  And so to have many, many of our countries throughout the world been consecrated to her.   The Mother is coming now to claim her own! She’s told us, “Everything around you is passing and everything is falling apart, only the Glory of God remains.  Therefore renounce everything that distances you from the Lord,” (9/2/11).  I think we’re witnessing an exorcism.  Our Lady is doing an exorcism.  She is routing Satan as prince of the world.  He cannot stay.  She’s not leaving!  And the Woman from the future is filled with joy.  She can’t wait for the time fast approaching! She tells us if we work on ourselves, “you will see miracles around you.” Today is the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego.  In 1531 he simply did what Our Lady told him to do – stand by his tilma bearing her miraculous image and witness his encounter with her.  More than nine million indigenous people in ten years were baptized into Christ! The grace is even greater for us now than it was for St. Juan Diego.  We’re being told, “You are a part of me,” and more recently, “Day by day God wraps you with my presence!”  You are her Tilma!  The miracles through you will be far greater than the miracles done through Juan Diego, as miraculous as his tilma still is!  We’re going to see far greater miracles than experienced on Tepeyac hill!  (See, for example, her June 25, 2019 message). God bless you! Denis Nolan MaryTV.tv P.S. So inspired by your generous response to Mary TV’s mission, our matching grant donor has extended the matching grant campaign until December 31, 2020. All donations to the matching grant appeal through the end of this year will be doubled! You can go to our website to see all the ways of donating – www.marytv.tv Or use this donate button: Donate PPS.  December 12 is the great Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  To learn more about the most spectacular event in the history of the western hemisphere, I suggest you get the little book, “Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness” by Warren H. Carroll, Christendom Press, 1983.  A great Christmas present!  Tired of hearing from homilists who didn’t really know what happened, I purchased 15 books and gave them away…  (It’s short.  I think only 119 pages.)          

The December 10, 2020, Reflection – Our Lady of Loreto

Our Lady of Loreto Our Lady’s Holy House from Nazareth December 10, 2020 Our Lady of Loreto Dear Family of Mary! Today is the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Loreto.  This day we remember the amazing story of the house in which Our Lady was born, lived as a young girl, experienced the Annunciation, and finally probably lived with Jesus and Joseph!  This little stone house was the location of so much grace!  The story of its relocation to Loreto, Italy, is mysterious.  But it seems that the stones of the house are from Palestine, and the foundation in Nazareth that is thought to be Our Lady’s house matches the walls of the house in Loreto perfectly. Well, such a holy place invites us to again wonder and thank God for the miracle of Our Lady.  She is a gift to all mankind.  She is the preparation for the coming of our Messiah.  And her motherly presence continues to prepare the way for the Lord in our world today. Here is a website with a concise discussion of the house of Loreto, Our Lady’s house: https://media.ascensionpress.com/2019/12/10/the-extraordinary-story-of-loreto/ I want to prayerfully present this message from Our Lady, July 02, 2014.  In it Our Lady shares something about her life that draws us close to the reality of Mary, the woman from Nazareth: “Dear children, I, the mother of all of you gathered here and the mother of the entire world, am blessing you with a motherly blessing and call you to set out on the way of humility. That way leads to the coming to know the love of my Son. My Son is almighty, He is in everything. If you, my children, do not become cognizant of this, then darkness/blindness rule in your soul. Only humility can heal you. My children, I always lived humbly, courageously and in hope. I knew, I became cognizant that God is in us and we are in God. I am asking the same of you. I desire for all of you to be with me in eternity because you are a part of me. I will help you on your way. My love will envelop you like a mantle and make of you apostles of my light – of God’s light. With the love that comes forth from humility you will bring light to where darkness/blindness rule. You will be bringing my Son who is the light of the world. I am always alongside your shepherds and I pray that they may always be an example of humility for you… Thank you.” (July 2, 2014) Our Lady lived humbly, courageously and in hope.  The little house of Loreto is a tangible demonstration of this.  Our Lady’s home was small, and humble.  It was no palace.  She had to be strong, courageous her entire life, to make a home in that little house.  And yet, all of Heaven and Earth could not hold the wonder that existed in that little house for so many years!  Jesus, the Son of God, dwelt there. Our hearts are like that little house, humble and impossible to fix up, but Jesus wants to dwell in our hearts with the same joy and love as He did in the house of Loreto.  He wants to make His home in us.  Let us give thanks and kneel before Him with gratitude! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan PS.  Today is the last day to submit a video to Christina!!! Thank you to all of you who have already shared your greeting with our Mary TV Family!! There is still time today to take your phone or computer camera and point it at yourself, and just say Merry Christmas to our Mary TV family, and share something you like about Mary TV or even more about Our Lady of Medjugorje. You can upload the video from your computer or phone to this link, and we will take it from there. Just make sure there is audio, and that we can see you!! Share from your heart! We need to encourage each other this Christmas. Christina Zubac will receive your video here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/PIigZj8QdScxDWBvva0G    

December 8, 2020 Update from Denis – Our Mother, the Immaculate Conception

(c)Mary TV   December 8, 2020 The Great Feast of Our Mother’s Immaculate Conception Dear Family of Mary TV, Apostles of Our Lady of Medjugorje, In his rage against the newborn Baby Jesus, Satan wants all babies killed. He believes that his victory is now complete. Today is the great Feast of our Mother’s Immaculate Conception, who alone has the promise of victory over him. She moves now to crush his head! On November 25, 2020 she told us that if we follow her message, “You will see miracles around you!” Thirty-five years ago she had called:“Dear children! You have always prayed that I not abandon you. Now I ask of you, in turn, not to abandon me!” Throughout 2020 her children in 170 countries have stayed connected with her presence in Medjugorje through Mary TV. Please help Mary TV continue to be a way for Our Lady’s children throughout the world to stay connected to her, not to abandon her! So inspired by your generous response to Mary TV’s mission, our matching grant donor has extended the matching grant campaign until December 31, 2020. All donations to the matching grant appeal through the end of this year will be doubled! You can go to our website to see all the ways of donating – www.marytv.tv Or use this donate button: Donate Thank you and God bless you! Denis Nolan MaryTV.tv

The December 9, 2020, Reflection – My yoke is easy and my burden light!

My Yoke is easy and my burden light. December 9, 2016 St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin Dear Family of Mary! “Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  (Mt 11:28-30 – Gospel for today) October 02, 2018 Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje: “Dear children, I am calling you to be courageous and to not grow weary, because even the smallest good – the smallest sign of love – conquers evil which is all the more visible. My children, listen to me so that good may overcome, so that you may come to know the love of my Son. This is the greatest happiness – the hands of my Son that embrace, of Him who loves the soul, of Him who has given Himself for you and is always giving Himself anew in the Eucharist, of Him who has the words of eternal life. To come to know His love, to follow in His footsteps, means to have a wealth of spirituality. This is the wealth which gives good feelings and sees love and goodness everywhere. Apostles of my love, my children, be like the rays of the sun which with the warmth of my Son’s love warm everyone around them. My children, the world needs apostles of love; the world needs much prayer, but prayer spoken with the heart and the soul and not only pronounced with the lips. My children, long for holiness but in humility, in the humility which permits my Son to do that which He desires through you. My children, your prayers, your words, thoughts and actions – all of this either opens or closes the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven for you. My Son showed you the way and gave you hope, and I am consoling and encouraging you because, my children, I had come to know pain, but I had faith and hope. Now I have the reward of life in the Kingdom of my Son. Therefore, listen to me, have courage and do not grow weary. Thank you.” St. Juan Diego, pray for us! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2020 PS.  Tomorrow is the last day to submit a video!! Our Team at Mary TV wants to put together a Christmas greeting made up of short videos from you shipmates from around the world.  We hope that you can take your phone or computer camera and point it at yourself, and just say Merry Christmas to our Mary TV family, and share something you like about Mary TV or even more about Our Lady of Medjugorje.  You can upload the video from your computer or phone to this link, and we will take it from there.  Just make sure there is audio, and that we can see you!!  Share from your heart!  We need to encourage each other this Christmas. Christina Zubac will receive your video here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/PIigZj8QdScxDWBvva0G    

The December 8, 2020, Reflection – Abandon yourselves to me!!

Our Mother, the Immaculate Conception December 8, 2020 The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Dear Family of Mary! Today is a very special day for me because my country (the USA) is consecrated to the Immaculate Conception!  Here is a brief history of that consecration: Consecration to the Immaculate Conception In 1792, Bishop John Carroll, first Bishop in the United States, consecrated the nation to Mary under the title Immaculate Conception. Some years later, on May 13th, 1846, bishops across the United States gathered for the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore, in which they unanimously elected The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, as patroness of the United States of America. On February 7th, 1847 the decision was approved by the Holy Father, Pope Blessed Pius IX (this was even before the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed). On December 8th, 1854 the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed as a dogma of the Catholic Faith by Blessed Pope Pius IX (the same who approved the title as Patroness of the United States). In the Papal Bull proclaiming the dogma he declared, “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” (https://ssvmusa.org/index.php/2020/10/17/praying-for-our-nation-litany-of-the-immaculate-conception-1476/ ) As you can see, Our Lady’s Solemnity today is very important to us as Americans.  But this feast is for the whole world!!  Our Lady, through her special prevenient grace of being preserved from all sin through the merits of her Son, is the powerful intercessor and protectress of peoples of the whole world, their queen and their mother! Our Lady told Jelena, in 1983, to expect many blessings on this feast!  Here is what she instructed Jelena to do on the feast day, December 8: Wednesday, December 7, 1983 The vigil of the Immaculate Conception, To Jelena: “Tomorrow will really be a blessed day for you, if every moment is consecrated to my Immaculate Heart. Abandon yourselves to me. Strive to make your joy grow; to live in the faith, to change your hearts.” Let’s pray this Litany to the Immaculate Conception today with great faith and hope and love!!  Our Lady is still with us to bless and protect us, to intercede and deliver us from evil! LITANY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION By Pope Sixtus IV Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Lord. In thy Conception, O Virgin Mary, thou wast Immaculate Pray for us to the Father, Whose Son Jesus, conceived of the Holy Ghost, thou didst bring forth. Let us pray O Almighty and Eternal God, Who didst prepare for Thy Son a worthy habitation, by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; we beseech Thee, that, as Thou didst preserve her from every stain of sin, through the merits of the pre-ordained atonement of Jesus Christ, so Thou wouldst grant, that we also may come without spot to Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Lord have mercy,  Lord, have mercy. Christ have mercy,  Lord, have mercy. Lord have mercy,  Lord, have mercy. God the Father, Source of all Sanctity, Have mercy on us God the Son, Uncreated Sanctity, God the Holy Ghost, Spirit of Sanctity, Most Sacred Trinity, One God, Holy Mary, Immaculate, pray for us Holy Virgin of Virgins, Immaculate, Holy Virgin, by predestination, Immaculate, Holy Virgin, in Thy conception, Immaculate, Holy Virgin, after Thy conception, Immaculate, Daughter of the Father, Immaculate, Mother of the Son, Immaculate, Spouse of the Holy Ghost, Immaculate, Image of the Wisdom of God, Immaculate, Dawn of the Sun of Justice, Immaculate, Living Ark of the Body of Christ, Immaculate, Daughter of David, Immaculate, Guide to Jesus, Immaculate, Virgin, triumphing over original sin, Immaculate, Virgin, crushing the head of the serpent, Immaculate, Queen of Heaven and earth, Immaculate, Gate of the Heavenly Jerusalem, Immaculate, Dispenser of graces, Immaculate, Spouse of St. Joseph, Immaculate, Star of the world, Immaculate, Impregnable tower of the Church Militant, Immaculate, Rose amid thorns, Immaculate, Olive of the fields, Immaculate, Model of all perfections, Immaculate, Cause of our hope, Immaculate, Pillar of our faith, Immaculate, Source of Divine Love, Immaculate, Sure sign of our salvation, Immaculate, Rule of perfect obedience, Immaculate, Pattern of holy poverty, Immaculate, School of devotion, Immaculate, Abode of chaste modesty, Immaculate, Anchor of our salvation, Immaculate, Light of Angels, Immaculate, Crown of Patriarchs, Immaculate, Glory of Prophets, Immaculate, Lady and Mistress of Apostles, Immaculate, Support of Martyrs, Immaculate, Strength of Confessors, Immaculate, Diadem of Virgins, Immaculate, Splendour of all Saints, Immaculate, Sanctity of all Christians, Immaculate, Companion of devout souls, Immaculate, Joy of those who hope in Thee, Immaculate, Health of the sick, Immaculate, Advocate of sinners, Immaculate, Terror of heretics, Immaculate, Protectress of all mankind, Immaculate, Patroness of those who honour Thee, Immaculate, Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Lord. In thy Conception, O Virgin Mary, thou wast Immaculate Pray for us to the Father, Whose Son Jesus, conceived of the Holy Ghost, thou didst bring forth. Let us pray: O Almighty and Eternal God, Who didst prepare for Thy Son a worthy habitation, by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; we beseech Thee, that, as Thou didst preserve her from every stain of sin, through the merits of the pre-ordained atonement of Jesus Christ, so Thou wouldst grant, that we also may come without spot to Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2020   PS.  Our Team at Mary TV wants to put together a Christmas greeting made up of short videos from you shipmates from around the world.  We hope that you can take your phone or computer camera and point it at yourself, and just say Merry Christmas to our Mary TV family, and share something you like about Mary TV or even more about Our Lady of Medjugorje.  You can upload the video from your computer or phone to this link, and we will take it from there.  Just make sure there is audio, and that we can see you!!  Share from your heart!  We need to encourage each other this Christmas. Christina Zubac will receive your video here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/PIigZj8QdScxDWBvva0G    

The December 7, 2020, Reflection – Our Mother, the Immaculate Conception

Our Mother, the Immaculate Conception December 7, 2020 St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Dear Family of Mary! Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  I believe this day is very important in the plans of God.  Let’s pray very much to our Mother, the Immaculate Conception, that she can guide us into the way of peace.  Here is the consecration prayer that Our Lady gave us through Jelena.  And also, five messages that we can use with our rosaries, to pray with Our Mother in preparation for tomorrow. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Given by Our Lady to Jelena Vasilj, 11/28/1983) O Immaculate Heart of Mary, overflowing | with goodness, Show us your love for us. May the flame of your heart, Oh Mary, Descend upon all peoples. We love you immensely. Impress in our hearts a true love. May our hearts yearn for you. Oh Mary, sweet and humble of heart, Remember us when we sin. You know that all mankind are sinners. Through your most sacred and maternal heart, Cure us from every spiritual illness. Make us capable of looking at the beauty of your maternal heart, And that, thus, we may be converted to the flame of your heart. Amen Five messages to help us draw close to our Mother’s Immaculate Heart: September 25, 2009 “Dear children, with joy, persistently work on your conversion. Offer all your joys and sorrows to my Immaculate Heart that I may lead you all to my most beloved Son, so that you may find joy in His Heart. I am with you to instruct you and to lead you towards eternity… Thank you for having responded to my call.” May 25, 2010 “Dear children! God gave you the grace to live and to defend all the good that is in you and around you, and to inspire others to be better and holier; but Satan, too, does not sleep and through modernism diverts you and leads you to his way. Therefore, little children, in the love for my Immaculate Heart, love God above everything and live His commandments. In this way, your life will have meaning and peace will rule on earth. Thank you for having responded to my call.” June 25, 2011 “Dear children! Give thanks with me to the Most High for my presence with you. My heart is joyful watching the love and joy in the living of my messages. Many of you have responded, but I wait for, and seek, all the hearts that have fallen asleep to awaken from the sleep of unbelief. Little children, draw even closer to my Immaculate Heart so that I can lead all of you toward eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 25, 2012 “Dear children! With joy, also today I call you to open your hearts and to listen to my call. Anew, I desire to draw you closer to my Immaculate Heart, where you will find refuge and peace. Open yourselves to prayer, until it becomes a joy for you. Through prayer, the Most High will give you an abundance of grace and you will become my extended hands in this restless world which longs for peace. Little children, with your lives witness faith and pray that faith may grow day by day in your hearts. I am with you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” April 25, 2017 “Dear children! Love, pray and witness my presence to all those who are far away. By your witness and example, you can draw closer the hearts that are far from God and His grace. I am with you and intercede for each of you so that, with love and resoluteness, you may witness and encourage all those who are far from my Immaculate Heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2020 PS.  Our Team at Mary TV wants to put together a Christmas greeting made up of short videos from you shipmates from around the world.  We hope that you can take your phone or computer camera and point it at yourself, and just say Merry Christmas to our Mary TV family, and share something you like about Mary TV or even more about Our Lady of Medjugorje.  You can upload the video from your computer or phone to this link, and we will take it from there.  Just make sure there is audio, and that we can see you!!  Share from your heart!  We need to encourage each other this Christmas. Christina Zubac will receive your video here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/PIigZj8QdScxDWBvva0G