Author: Cathy Nolan

      (C)Mary TV 2017   May 17, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! I can’t stress enough how important it is to pray the Rosary daily and often! Our Lady asks for the full Rosary each day. It is not hard to pray the Rosary once we begin to see the power of it. Peace begins to reign, lives are changed, families are united and healed, and hope grows. Praying the Rosary from the heart brings us very close to Jesus. The mysteries feed our souls with the truth about God. The Hail Marys are rock solid prayers that we can depend upon. Our Lady is with us when we pray the Rosary. All is well when we pray the Rosary. Here are five messages Our Lady has given us about the Rosary. Let them form us in our prayer: Thursday, August 15, 1985 (Feast of the Assumption)To Mirjana:“My angel, pray for unbelievers. People will tear their hair, brother will plead with brother, he will curse his past life lived without God. They will repent, but it will be too late. Now is the time for conversion. I have been exhorting you for the past four years. Pray for them. Invite everyone to pray the Rosary.” October 8, 1984 (Monday) (Jakov was sick and received this message at home.) “Dear children, Let all the prayers you say in your homes in the evening be for the conversion of sinners because the world is in great sin. Every evening pray the Rosary.” 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!” (This message Our Lady gave in response to the question of Marija Pavlovic: Our Lady, what do you wish to recommend to priests?) June 12, 1986 “Dear children! Today I call you to begin to pray the Rosary with a living faith. That way I will be able to help you. You, dear children, wish to obtain graces, but you are not praying. I am not able to help you because you do not want to get started. Dear children, I am calling you to pray the Rosary and that your Rosary be an obligation which you shall fulfill with joy. That way you shall understand the reason I am with you this long. I desire to teach you to pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.” 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.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

      (C)Mary TV   May 16, 2019 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.” Our Lady is with us to instruct us and lead us on the path of salvation. Her messages are meant to be guides to us along this way. They are powerful and timely and yet eternal, as she has said. Without her words, I think it would be hard to remain in peace and hope for the future. She has been our firm support these many years. I had a prayer experience recently that showed me the power of praying the Rosary. As Our Lady said in this message, the Rosary is dear to her. And I think my experience demonstrates why.   I attended a wake for a wonderful man who loved Our Lady and Medjugorje. He died suddenly, and it was a very sad moment. Many friends gathered for the Rosary at the funeral home. It was a comfort to be together. At the appointed time, the assistant pastor of our parish stood up, holding his Rosary in his hand. He explained that we were going to pray the Rosary for the eternal rest of our friend’s soul. He said that the mysteries of the Rosary are very important, because they convey the faith to us. He chose the Glorious Mysteries for that Rosary, and we began. Everyone prayed. Everyone said the beautiful words of the Rosary together. It was a moment of true unity. And as I prayed, I began to have images. As we prayed the first decade, the Resurrection, I saw the figure of our friend, standing at the very bottom of a very long stairway. It was dark down there, and he appeared to be very weak, and encumbered with chains. But he bravely started to climb the stair, one step at a time. As we continued to say Hail Marys, he seemed to gain strength. The Resurrection was giving him an increase in Faith. It was beautiful. Then as we prayed the Ascension, I saw that he was being given a new hope! Jesus ascended into heaven, and our friend felt the hope that he too would be able to reach heaven. Each Hail Mary fed that hope, and he climbed a bit faster, though the chains were still attached to him. The third decade came, the Descent of the Holy Spirit! And as we prayed the Hail Marys, I saw a bird approach, all aflame, burning brightly. It was the Holy Spirit! He began to dive towards him, cutting the chains and burning off the fetters, until my friend was totally free! He was able to climb better now, free of the bindings. The fourth decade, the Assumption of Our Lady, came. Mary approached him and hugging him, helped him to climb. She comforted him and showed him that they were almost there. Her motherly presence gave him strength. And with the fifth decade, the Crowning of Mary, they both arrived miraculously at the seat of the Heavenly Father. Our Lady presented him to Jesus, who presented him to the Father. There was great joy in heaven!! And then the Father gave him to St. Joseph, as his special guide and friend in heaven. What joy it gave me. I could feel that it was the Rosary that empowered this ascent. The prayers we were praying with Our Lady were really powerful in helping this friend reach the throne of God. What a powerful prayer the Rosary is!! And I do think that having our priest lead the Rosary was very powerful!! As Our Lady said: “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.” We have been given a very special gift in the Rosary. It is far more powerful than we realize. If we only knew the graces that we are given during the Rosary, we would never stop praying it. Please understand that my experience during that prayer is not revelation. It is meant as a little confirmation and a gift to help me to pray. But I can say that I felt the power of the Rosary that night. I really did feel it!! And for my friend:    “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

    (C)Anthony Zubac/ Mary TV   May 15, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…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…” (July 2, 2014)    Our Lady speaks in beautiful images in this message. She compares her love to a mantle. She says she wants to envelop us in her mantle of love, like a mother envelops her little child in a blanket and scoops that child up into her arms! She wants to scoop us up and hold us fast in her blanket of love. Don’t we need to be held tightly by our Mother? Don’t we need to be enveloped by love! Pilgrims often experience just that sort of enveloping warmth when they go to Medjugorje. It is a peace that is not of this world! The result of being enveloped in this mantle is that we become apostles of light, of God’s light! We may wonder how this can happen. How does light come from a hug from Our Mother? It is possible that the mantle of love Our Lady wraps us in is made of light! It may be made of the Light of God which brings to us deep knowledge of God’s Heart of Love. The Light of God reveals the Truth. We see things as they are from God’s point of view. And that point of view is love. God loves us. Jesus showed us that love on the Cross. When we finally understand that Love in its fullness, we see everything clearly! We see Truth! And that Truth is Light! What peace there is in seeing the Truth, the Light, and the Love of God. Everything makes sense when we have the Light that shows us God’s Love. Who wouldn’t become an apostle of light, having seen God’s Heart? Jesus, in our Gospel today speaks about this Light, the Light He came to give to us: Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. (John 12:44-46) Jesus came into the world “as Light”!!! He came to reveal the Truth, and to present to us the Heart of Love of His Father. He came to dispel darkness. He came to bring light to where darkness/blindness rule. And Our Lady is with us now to do the same. We live in a world that increases in darkness daily. We see it and it is a great source of sadness for us. Wouldn’t we like to scoop up our brothers and sisters who have lost their way and wander in darkness. Wouldn’t we like to envelop them in God’s love! Our Lady wants very much that we help her to do that. And so, she tells us the key to being Apostles of Light. Humility. “With the love that comes forth from humility you will bring light to where darkness/blindness rule.” It is humility that carries Jesus’ love to others. We need to be small, forgiving, gentle and humble people in order to bring Jesus and Mary to others. This is the only way. It is the best way!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

       (C)Anthony Zubac/ Mary TV   May 14, 2019St. Mathias, Apostle Dear Family of Mary! In light of the announcement from the Vatican allowing official pilgrimages to Medjugorje at every level of the Church, I want to share with you something that St. John Paul II said in 1976, when he was visiting the USA as a Cardinal. His words are prophetic. They were given to him by the Lord, I think, so that we would have a fixed point to look back to when we try to understand the things that are happening in our time. Cardinal Wojtyla said:        “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think that the wide circle of the American Society, or the whole wide circle of the Christian Community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist. The confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence. It is, therefore, in God’s Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously…” (Cardinal Wojtyla, Eucharistic Congress, 1976 in Honor of the Bicentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the USA) Our Lady’s presence in Medjugorje is no accident. She has been sent by the Father to be with us and to guide us in these days of the final confrontation. The oldest enmity ever established was between Our Lady and the Devil:   The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Gen 3: 14-15) After the fall, the Lord established an enmity between Satan and “the woman”. Our Lady has bravely born this enmity for our sakes. She was faithful to the Father’s plan for her in conceiving and rearing Jesus. And she became one of His disciples, remaining faithful to her Son throughout His Passion and Death. She waited for Him to rise from the dead, and then stayed with the Apostles in prayer, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Mary stood firm throughout this battle with the devil, showing us the firmness of faith that is necessary in our life on this earth. And so, at this time of the final confrontation, it is Mary who stands against Satan. It is she who remains firm in her resolve, and constant in her love for us. She is in Medjugorje now, giving us the guidance and courage that we need to also remain firm in our faith to the end. We must be the Church that stands against the anti-church. Our Lady will lead us in this task. She knows the Church, the true Church, and can teach us everything we need to stand as Church! She told us how to stand in this message:       July 02, 2014 “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.” Thank you dearest Mother, for having come to stay with us “in the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist.” With you, we shall stand and bring the Light of Christ! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

    Priests concelebrating at Holy Mass in Medjugorje! (C) Mary TV   May 13, 2019Our Lady of Fatima Dear Family of Mary! Today is the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, commemorating Our Lady’s appearances to the three shepherd children in 1917. Our Lady’s call to the Fatima visionaries was to pray, pray very much…for sinners. Our Lady wanted to bring peace to our world and bring souls to God. And this is her continued desire in Medjugorje! She said to us: August 25, 1991 “Dear Children! Today also I invite you to prayer, now as never before when my plan has begun to be realized. Satan is strong and wants to sweep away my plans of peace and joy and make you think that my Son is not strong in His decisions. Therefore, I call all of you, dear children, to pray and fast still more firmly. I invite you to self-renunciation for nine days so that, with your help, everything that I desire to realize through the secrets I began in Fatima, may be fulfilled. I call you, dear children, to now grasp the importance of my coming and the seriousness of the situation. I want to save all souls and present them to God. Therefore, let us pray that everything I have begun be fully realized. Thank you for having responded to my call.” We have been called to participate in this great plan for the salvation of mankind through Our Lady’s presence now in Medjugorje. It would seem that as a gift to Our Lady, Pope Francis has decided to clear the way for people to come to Medjugorje to convert and pray with Her for the conversion of the world. He gave an announcement on May 12, 2019 (yesterday) through the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia-Hercegovina which has brought great joy to us all. Our team in Medjugorje sent us the words he spoke: At the 8am Sunday mass in the parish of Medugorje St James .Bishop Hoser Vatican Envoy and the Nuncio of Bosnia Hercegovina presided at holy mass.  An announcement was read in many languages: “Pope Francis declared the possibility of Official Pilgrimages to Medugorje. Always remembering that this is not a recognition of the events which take place in Medugorje since there need to be more collective investigations from the Church and this must not cause any misleading or confusion as far as Church doctrinal matters. With this in mind the declaration of Pope Francis means that all clergy from all stations of priesthood to the hierarchy are permitted to go to Medugorje and to even celebrate or concelebrate in a solemn way.” Here is a link to an article from the Vatican on the announcement: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-authorizes-pilgrimages-to-medjugorje.html   It is now clear that there are no restrictions from Holy Mother Church as far as visits to Medjugorje are concerned! The faithful and the clergy can come and pray very much, as Our Lady said in Fatima, for the conversion of sinners and for peace in the world! This is an awesome gift to Our Lady! May we respond! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

Love opens the doors to Paradise (C) Mary TV   May 10, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “My children, also when you strive to live the words of my Son, you are praying. When you love the people whom you meet, you are spreading the love of my Son. It is love that opens the doors of Paradise….” (May 2, 2019) Here are two Scriptures that show how love opens the doors to Paradise; As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. This I command you, to love one another (John 15:8-17) If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. So, faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.   Love never ends!!  (1Cor13: 1-8, 13)    In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019 PS. Have a very loving and joyful Mother’s Day! We love you, Blessed Mother!!

Prayer in the most exalted form… (C) Mary TV   May 9, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…Therefore, my children, apostles of my love, may prayer show you the way and the means of spreading the love of my Son-prayer in the most exalted form…” (May 2, 2019) Our Lady never lets us stand still. She wants us to give what we are given. And so, she tells us that our prayer must become the means of spreading the love of her Son. We might wonder how that happens? Yes, intercessory prayer can help bring Christ to others. We have no idea what our Rosaries and Novenas are doing to help spread the love of Jesus. But Our Lady says “Prayer in the most exalted form…” What is the most exalted form of prayer? The Mass, of course. The Mass is the highest prayer we have. The Eucharistic prayer is the prayer of mystery that Jesus prayed at the Last Supper. It re-presents to us the Passion and Death of Jesus, which is truly present to us at the moment of the Consecration. It is the most exalted prayer, through it we enter into the salvation of the whole world accomplished by Jesus on the Cross. Nothing is higher!! And so, Our Lady is calling us to spread the love of her Son through the Mass! And we see her designs being met in the prayer program of the Parish of St. James in Medjugorje. Mass is celebrated every day, all morning long, in several languages. Then there is the Evening International Mass, celebrated for all the people, every night, rain or shine, 365 days a year. That Holy Mass is the center of the pilgrims’ experience in Medjugorje. The pilgrims gather at the Church at 5:00 pm for an hour of prayer of the Rosary! Then at 6:00 pm the Holy Mass begins. Thousands are often present for this exalted prayer, participating with all their hearts. The at 7:00 pm there are various other prayers, like the Rosary, or Veneration of the Cross. But on Tuesday and Friday, there is Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament! A full hour of silence with Jesus, interspersed with beautiful worship songs. Surely this prayer spreads the love of Jesus very much! So we can see that Medjugorje is living what Our Lady is speaking about: Spreading the love of her Son by prayer of the most exalted form!!! Miracles happen because of this Eucharistic focus in Medjugorje. Jesus is adored, and hearts are changed! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

  Life Triumphed; My Son is alive!(C) Mary TV   May 8, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…Out of love, the Blood of my Son was shed for you. That Precious Blood is for your salvation, for eternal life. The Heavenly Father created man for eternal happiness. It is not possible-for you who know the love of my Son and who follow Him-to die. Life triumphed; my Son is alive. Therefore, my children, apostles of my love, may prayer show you the way and the means of spreading the love of my Son-prayer in the most exalted form.” (May 2, 2019) In this beautiful passage from Our Lady’s May 2, 2019 message, she tells us about our destiny. It is a destiny that we can scarcely take in. We are created to live forever with God in heaven. And the Son became man in order to accomplish that destiny for us. He came to rectify our sins and open the doors to heaven for us on the last day when we are raised. She tells us we cannot possibly die if we know the love of Jesus and follow Him. Jesus IS life!! And He gives Himself to us as our heavenly food, the food of eternity, so that we will rise with Him and go to the Father. “Life triumphed; my Son is alive!” This is our hope! This is our truth! Jesus lives, and He loves us!! We are going to live with Him forever! In the Gospel for today, Jesus tells the crowd this very truth. He is the Bread of Life! But they don’t believe Him. We are now that crowd, and we have a chance to believe Him and say Yes: Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” (Jn 6: 35-40) Jesus, we see you in the Eucharist and we believe in You! We love You and will follow You! We believe that you will raise us on the last day and bring us home to the Father! Alleluia! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

Friends with Jesus(C) Mateo Ivankovic   May 7, 2019 Dear Family of Mary!    “Dear children, with a motherly love I am calling you to respond to the great love of my Son, with pure and open hearts, with complete trust. I know the greatness of His love. I carried Him within me, the Host in the heart, the light and the love of the world. My children,also my addressing you is a sign of the love and tenderness of the Heavenly Father-a big smile filled with the love of my Son, a call to eternal life…” (May 2, 2019) Our Lady speaks beautifully of the love and tenderness of our God. Her words inspire confidence in us to fall in love with the Lord. She tells us that Jesus’ love is great, worthy of all trust. She tells us to see her presence among us as a sign of the love and tenderness of the Heavenly Father! And the Holy Spirit is the “big smile filled with the love of Jesus!” Mary is drawing our attention away from the works of the enemy and directing them to Heaven, to our loving God. Don’t we need this redirection? It seems that Mary is calling us to really fall in love with God. Not just worried love, needy love, but complete love of God. And it is a love that can be understood in terms of friendship. She wants us to become friends of God. I have collected five passages from the Diary of St. Faustina that reveal something of her friendship with God. I think they might be helpful for us as we pray to understand the love and friendship of the Lord for us. We might use them as meditations before the decades of the Rosary. Here they are:    1st Decade: “O Jesus concealed in the Host, my sweet Master and faithful Friend, how happy my soul is to have such a Friend who always keeps me company. I do not feel lonely even though I am in isolation. Jesus-Host, we know each other – that is enough for me.” (Diary 877) 2nd Decade Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my heaven. You are my peace. You are my salvation, You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. You are the bright ray that lights up the path of my life. You are everything to a lonely soul. You understand the soul even though it remains silent. You know our weaknesses, and like a good physician, You comfort and heal, sparing us sufferings – expert that You are. (Diary 247) 3rd Decade + Hail to You, Eternal Love, my Sweet Jesus, who have condescended to dwell in my heart! I salute You, O glorious Godhead who have deigned to stoop to me, and out of love for me have so emptied Yourself as to assume the insignificant form of bread. I salute You, Jesus, never-fading flower of humanity. You are all there is for my soul. Your love is purer than a lily, and Your presence is more pleasing to me than the fragrance of a hyacinth. Your friendship is more tender (147) and subtle than the scent of a rose, and yet it is stronger than death. O Jesus, incomprehensible beauty, it is with pure souls that You communicate best, because they alone are capable of heroism and sacrifice. O sweet, rose-red blood of Jesus, ennoble my blood and change it into Your own blood, and let this be done to me according to Your good pleasure. (Diary 1575) 4th Decade  Jesus: Here, soul, are all the treasures of My Heart. Take everything you need from it. Soul: O Lord, I am inundated with Your grace. I sense that a new life has entered into me and, above all, I feel Your love in my heart. That is enough for me. O Lord, I will glorify the omnipotence of Your mercy for all eternity. Encouraged by Your goodness, I will confide to You all the sorrows of my heart. Jesus: Tell me all, My child, hide nothing from Me, because My loving Heart, the Heart of your Best Friend, is listening to you. (Diary 1486) 5th DecadeJesus: My child, do not be discouraged. I know your boundless trust in Me; I know you are aware of My goodness and mercy. Let us talk in detail about everything that weighs so heavily upon your heart. Soul: There are so many different things that I do not know what to speak about first, nor how to express it. Jesus: Talk to Me simply, as a friend to a friend. Tell Me now, My child, what hinders you from advancing in holiness? (Diary 1487) May we open our hearts to the love and friendship of Jesus, who is our Lord and brother. May we live out of this friendship all our days. Jesus, we love you, may we be your friends! In Jesus Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

A big smile from heaven!(C) Mary TV/Anthony Zubac 2019   May 6, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children, with a motherly love I am calling you to respond to the great love of my Son, with pure and open hearts, with complete trust. I know the greatness of His love. I carried Him within me, the Host in the heart, the light and the love of the world. My children,also my addressing you is a sign of the love and tenderness of the Heavenly Father-a big smile filled with the love of my Son, a call to eternal life…” (May 2, 2019) Our Lady wants us to love Jesus back. She wants the love that her Son has for us, that deep and incredibly strong love, to be received and reciprocated! She wants us to love Him back. And I think He wants us to love Him back too. I think, in fact, that Jesus waits for us to love Him. Yes, He became one of us, completely human, so that He could be with us, teach us, suffer for us and die for us. Yes, He rose again, in order to prove to us that He would take us with him to heaven. He showed us that He is God! And He is the God who loves us!   But I believe there is another dimension to Jesus’ great love! It is the human dimension. Jesus loves us because we are His own family now. He loves us! And wants us to love Him back with our own little human love. Why? Because He wants us to be in love with Him like He is with us! Yesterday at Mass, we read from John 21, in which Jesus meets the Apostles at the seaside after the Resurrection. He cooks them breakfast! He invites them to come ashore and be with Him. He then takes Peter aside and asks him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” We realize that Jesus is rectifying the three times that Peter denied Him during His Passion. It seems Jesus is also testing Peter to see if He has recovered from His fall. But I sense another level in this conversation. I think Jesus missed Peter’s love. I think Peter was so full of shame, that he wasn’t relating to Jesus with the love he had given Him before the Passion. Jesus missed His old friend and wanted their relationship to be healed. And so, He asked Peter three times to say, out loud, that he loved Him. That could have caused a healing in Peter, the healing of his broken heart. Peter must have realized the Jesus actually needed Him. Jesus loved Peter and wanted their relationship to be healed. Jesus loved Peter so much at that moment. And this great love is also there for each of us. Jesus wants all of us to love Him as Peter did. He wants us to realize how much He loves each one of us. He loves us so deeply, humanly, and truly, that if we knew it we would cry with joy!! This love for us, this love for each of us IS the BIG SMILE!!! Like Peter, we need to be healed in our hearts from the shame and brokenness of our sins and realize that Jesus really misses us and needs us to be in a loving relationship with Him. He wants it!! He wants us to be His friends. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019