Author: Cathy Nolan

(c)Mary TV / Anthony Zubac 2018 Procession during the Youth Festival 2018 February 22, 2019 The Chair of Peter Dear Family of Mary! In Fr. Slavko’s homily from February 1986 (see Daily Reflection for February 21, 2019), he quoted Our Lady as saying, “All those who listen to my messages and live them are my parish.” He explained: Every evening Mass is celebrated here for all the pilgrims, for all those who come here and for all those who ask us; and we priests ask the people here to accept you, with love if possible. When you return home you should become Medjugorje for others, like a sign and invitation towards conversion and prayer. We must be conscious of this reality – people will ask your help, just as Our Lady has asked your help. You are Medjugorje too. Our Lady once said, “All those who listen to my messages and live them are my parish.” So, there are no boundaries to the Medjugorje parish; all those who live with us in prayer and fasting are parishioners. We feel responsible for your conversion, and when you return to your homes you at once become responsible for the conversion of others. In this way Our Lady’s wishes will be spread. We are part of the parish of Medjugorje! We are those who listen to and live Our Lady’s messages, and so we are part of the parish. And our job, like the job of the parish, is to pray for the conversion of others and live the messages! To do this we need to give ourselves to Our Lady. Here then, is a prayer that Our Lady dictated to Jelena so very long ago, to help us to learn to give ourselves to her: How to Give Oneself to Mary Mother of Goodness, of Love and of Mercy (Given by Our Lady to Jelena Vasilj, 4/19/1984) Oh my Mother! Mother of goodness, love and mercy! I love you immensely, and I offer myself to you. Through your goodness, your love, And your mercy, save me! I wish to be yours. I love you immensely And I wish that you protect me. In my heart, oh mother of goodness, Give me your goodness, So that I go to Heaven. I ask you for your immense love That you may give me the grace That I will be able to love each one Just like you loved Jesus Christ. I ask you in grace That I be able to be merciful to you. I offer myself completely to you And I wish that you will be with me at each step, Because you are full of grace. I wish never to forget your grace, And if I should lose it, I will ask, make me find it again. Amen. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mary TV / Anthony Zubac 2018 Pilgrims pray during the Evening Program at St. James Church February 21, 2019 St. Peter Damian Dear Family of Mary! Our Lady has told us many times that God has given her a plan for the salvation of souls which will be enacted in and through her presence in Medjugorje, specifically in the parish of Medjugorje. We have seen over the past 37 years that a great program of prayer has developed in the parish of St. James. Through this program alone, many conversions have happened, many lives have been changed. Combined with the messages, the life of the parish is powerful. Fr. Slavko understood the importance of the parish of Medjugorje. He points out that in January 1986 Our Lady gave five messages that were formative for the parish of Medjugorje. I will include them at the end of the reflection for us to pray over. Fr. Slavko mentions these messages in this homily from early February 1986: “All those who listen to my messages and live them are my parish.” Our Lady insists on prayer in a special way in her January messages, “I invite you to prayer”, “I invite you once again to prayer”, “I invite you especially to prayer of the heart”, and also in her latest message, “Today I invite all of you to pray so that all the plans God has for you may be fulfilled together with everything that God wishes to realize through you.” This is a very simple message, but also very profound. Our Lady tells us that our prayer helps God to realize all the plans He has for us, for each one of us. When she says, “Today I invite all of you”, we can say that she is thinking of all those who have accepted these apparitions and these messages. So, God has some plans for us and in us, to bring about peace in our hearts, love, reconciliation, the spirit of prayer and fasting. If God has been able to realize His plans with us, He has another plan – to bring about the same things for others through us. Our Lady tells us, “God cannot do anything without you.” Our Lady is not calling us to ask for peace from others or reconciliation from others in her messages. Our Lady always wants us to be the ones to bring peace, for us to start to be reconciled, for us to begin and not wait for others to do so. There is no human being in the world who does not wish to be loved, to have peace. But if no one loves and if no one brings peace, who will have peace, who will be loved? Our Lady is not calling us to criticize our neighbor because we already know how to criticize and judge others, but to bring peace, love and reconciliation to others. Her message continues, “Help others to be converted, especially those who come to Medjugorje”. In her last message, too, she also asked us to pray for others and their conversion and said that the ice of their hearts would be melted if we pray; she is making us responsible for the conversion of others. Many times, we say, “Leave him alone, if he doesn’t want to. He is an atheist, he doesn’t go to Mass, he doesn’t pray, leave him alone.” Our Lady doesn’t want us to judge or leave someone alone; we must pray day by day for the conversion of others. It would be a big mistake to think, “Others need to be converted, not me.” We all need to be converted every day. By inviting us to pray for others, Our Lady is asking us to bring love to others, to everyone. She said, “Especially those who come to Medjugorje.” So she is making the parishioners responsible for our conversion. We do all we can here; I do not know if you will return home converted as Our Lady desires… Every evening Mass is celebrated here for all the pilgrims, for all those who come here and for all those who ask us; and we priests ask the people here to accept you, with love if possible. When you return home you should become Medjugorje for others, like a sign and invitation towards conversion and prayer. We must be conscious of this reality – people will ask your help, just as Our Lady has asked your help. You are Medjugorje too. Our Lady once said, “All those who listen to my messages and live them are my parish.” So, there are no boundaries to the Medjugorje parish; all those who live with us in prayer and fasting are parishioners. We feel responsible for your conversion, and when you return to your homes you at once become responsible for the conversion of others. In this way Our Lady’s wishes will be spread. Now something very important. Our Lady said, “Dear children. Do not allow satan to take control of your hearts.” How does one become an image of satan? Look, if there is hate, bitterness, jealousy in your heart, if we quarrel with others, if we do not forgive, if we are not reconciled, who is in our heart? Certainly not Our Lady, not God, because God always asks us for love, peace, reconciliation and forgiveness. If we want to become the image of Our Lady then it is necessary to open ourselves to peace, love, reconciliation, to God and to others. Once again, “I invite you to pray so that you may become witnesses of my presence.” If we have now decided to become Our Lady’s witnesses, if we want to help towards conversion and the grace of peace, we must pray, fast and open ourselves to God and He will fill us. If we want to become witnesses of her presence we must pray. Our Lady has also said, “Without you, God cannot fulfill His plans.” So, we are important. A young man asked me why God who is almighty cannot realize what He wants without us. I explained that we have been created free; God respects our freedom and says to us, “If you wish…” It is in this sense that we can say God cannot do everything without us, because if God is love – as St. John tells us – He cannot and does not want to act by force. In this message, too, Our Lady says, “God has given everyone a free will and it is in your control.” Our Lady knew that she was free when the Angel came and asked her, “Do you want to become the Mother of God?” She thought for a little and replied, “Yes”. She was free, even if she was full of grace; freedom was not taken from her and neither was responsibility. We must feel free, and in freedom and love answer the messages.” (Fr. Slavko Barbaric – 1st February 1986) Here are the January 1986 messages Fr. Slavko was referring to.  Powerful! January 2, 1986 “Dear children! I call you to decide completely for God. I beseech you, dear children, to surrender yourselves completely and you shall be able to live everything I am telling you. It shall not be difficult for you to surrender yourselves completely to God. Thank you for having responded to my call. January 9, 1986 “Dear children! I call you by your prayers to help Jesus along in the fulfillment of all the plans which He is forming here. And offer your sacrifices to Jesus in order that everything is fulfilled the way He has planned it and that satan can accomplish nothing. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 16, 1986 “Dear children! Today also I am calling you to prayer. Your prayers are necessary to me so that God may be glorified through all of you. Dear children, I pray you, obey and live the Mother’s invitation, because only out of love am I calling you in order that I might help you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 23, 1986 “Dear children! Again I call you to prayer with the heart. If you pray with the heart, dear children, the ice of your brothers will melt and every barrier shall disappear. Conversion will be easy for all who desire to accept it. That is the gift which by prayer you must obtain for your neighbor. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 30, 1986 “Dear children! Today I call you all to pray that God’s plans for us may be realized and also everything that God desires through you! Help others to be converted, especially those who are coming to Medjugorje. Dear children, do not allow satan to get control of your hearts, so you would be an image of satan and not of me. I call you to pray for how you might be witnesses of my presence. Without you, God cannot bring to reality that which He desires. God has given a free will to everyone, and it’s in your control. Thank you for having responded to my call.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mary TV / Anthony Zubac 2018 Pilgrims pray during the Evening Program at St. James Church February 20, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! January 25, 2019 “Dear children! Today, as a mother, I am calling you to conversion. This time is for you, little children, a time of silence and prayer…” Here is a teaching that Fr. Slavko Barbaric gave in 1986 about prayer. It is wonderful, and so practical, just like Fr. Slavko! “Without prayer, dear children, you will be unable to experience either God, me or the graces I am giving you.” Marija and Jakov have left for their spiritual exercises. The simple fact that the visionaries have to make their spiritual exercises and pray is significant for us. It should be a message for us all. I have been with the pilgrims for nearly five years and I well know that many people have thought that the visionaries are already saints and that they already possess everything because they see Our Lady. But I must tell you that if the visionaries do not pray, fast or regularly go to confession, their faith and their peace will not grow only by reason of the apparitions. It would be too easy. If a visionary does not pray or fast he or she could become just like the telephone. Our Lady telephones to us what we should do through the visionaries, and that would be the end – everything would remain really dry within. Why? Because God leaves us free, because He wants us to grow, each one according to their personal gifts. Even if you were to be all the time with a visionary, if you did not pray, you would not receive graces. As a small consolation for you all, if you have not yet seen any of the visionaries but find the Rosary in your pocket and start praying, you will already be on the right path. I will read to you last Thursday’s message: “Dear children, today I invite you all to prayer. Without prayer, dear children, you will be unable to experience either God, me or the graces I am giving you. I am therefore inviting you to begin and end your day always with prayer. Dear children, I wish to guide you as much as possible, day after day, to pray, but you are unable to grow spiritually as you do not wish to. I invite you, dear children, to make prayer your first priority.” Let us be sincere; what was the response in your heart when you heard Our Lady’s words, “I therefore invite you to pray both at the beginning and the end of your day”, that is to say, starting and ending your day with prayer? If Our Lady had said, “Please wash your face or have breakfast every day, drink a little coffee in order not to go to work on an empty stomach.” I am sure you would have said, “Of course, one would die if one did not do so, or one would not be able to work.” But if Our Lady says, “Pray”, what is your reply? “I cannot because I am always in a hurry in the morning, I have not time.” Something else. What would parents do if Our Lady said, “Pray.” Would they wake their children in the morning in order to pray? Normally, because they usually watch television until late it is impossible next morning to enter into the spirit of prayer.   If Our Lord tells us through Our Lady, to behave in this way, but during the day we are not at peace and live in conflict, I assure you that it is only the result of your own choice. Our Lord invites us through Our Lady to pray every morning and we say, “Sorry, I cannot’. What will be the consequences? A void in our soul and in our heart. Before the fifth anniversary of the first apparition Our Lady invited us all to pray continuously. It is now for five years that she has been appearing and hoping that at least some of us may walk during the whole day, not just take a few steps forward. She invites us to continuous prayer, not just to move our lips. Our Lady is thinking of something else. I will explain. When Our Lady invites us to pray continuously, to pray with the heart, she invites us to be in touch with God. I dare say that in order to pray continuously it is not enough just to love God, but one must be in love with God. When one is in love with somebody, this person is ever present in one’s thoughts, in one’s heart and in one’s feeling, even when at work. It is only in this way that we can explain continuous prayer. It is not enough just to love, one must be in love! If someone says, how can I? I ask you and also myself, when was the last time we prayed for the grace of prayer with the heart, or for continuous prayer, or for the grace of being always able to accept the love of Our Lord and Our Lady? This message is then very clear. Our Lady is asking us to give first place to prayer in our priorities. Without prayer we can experience neither God nor Our Lady. This is quite normal; if we are not in touch with Our Lord, if we do not pray, if we do not open our hearts to Our Lord, how can we hear Him? Here is something very important and practical. Our Lady says, “I want to guide you day by day as much as possible to prayer, but you cannot spiritually grow, because you’re not willing to.” We can wish it, “yes, I would like to…” as the lazy student says, “I would like to complete my studies,” but when you tell him to study, he replies, “I cannot”. What a useless wish! It is not enough to say I would like to pray with my heart. It is necessary to try. Our Lady shows us here a maternal teaching which is practical. Read the messages. She never recommended a book from which to learn to pray, but how many times she told us to pray, to meditate on the Rosary, to go to confession, to be reconciled, and so on. So Our Lady is like the mother who takes her child by the hand and tries a new step every day until it can walk. No mother has ever first given her child a book so that it can understand which muscles to use in order to walk; she takes him by the hand and begins in a practical way. And so, Our Lad also does the same. So, let us kneel down and pray individually, in our families, in communities, in our prayer groups, and then all else will be given to us. If we then still dare to find excuses for being unable to pray, this means that Our Lady’s words are still incapable of moving us, but one day they will. It is important to fast. Jesus, said, “Blessed are the poor in heart, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” This is true, but we are not poor in heart and in our practical neglect of God we say, “Lord, I do not need you.” The words, ‘Poor in heart’ may be translated as, blessed are those who have a need for prayer, who need God. By fasting, little by little we overcome our neglect of God and we are able to experience to a greater extent our true selves and our need for God. This then seems to me to be the summary of Our Lady’s school and of her teaching. In the light of the messages Our Lady shows us her behavior and tries to enter into our lives, our families, in the whole Church and in the whole world. The greatest grace when you come to Medjugorje is this – God gives us a stimulus for prayer. This is the experience of a great number of people; when one comes here one is able to pray, one continues to pray, and prayer can grow. Make up your minds to pray, meet together every week, meditate on the Rosary, read the Bible and let God speak to you in silence – this then is your prayer group. It is very easy. (Fr. Slavko Barbaric – 9th July 1986 – from “I beseech you, listen to my messages and live them.” 1986) Classic! This is Our Lady’s priest caring for her little ones! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mary TV / Anthony Zubac 2018 A time of silence and prayer! February 19, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! January 25, 2019 “Dear children! Today, as a mother, I am calling you to conversion. This time is for you, little children, a time of silence and prayer. Therefore, in the warmth of your heart, may a grain of hope and faith grow and you, little children, will from day to day feel the need to pray more. Your life will become orderly and responsible. You will comprehend, little children, that you are passing here on earth and you will feel the need to be closer to God, and with love you will witness the experience of your encounter with God, which you will share with others. I am with you and am praying for you, but I cannot without your ‘yes’. Thank you for having responded to my call.” In this message Our Lady calls us to silence and prayer and then gives us a long list of the benefits of such prayer! A grain of hope and faith will grow. Our lives will become orderly and responsible. We will realize our lives are passing and the God is everything. And we will share all this with others. Wow! I found some powerful help in understanding the prayer of silence that Our Lady calls us to in the Catechism. If this prayer is so fruitful, we need to do it! Catechism of the Catholic Church – Part Four – Christian Prayer – Section One – Prayer in the Christian Life – Chapter Three – The Life of Prayer – Article 1 – Expressions of Prayer – III Contemplative Prayer (Paragraphs 2709 to 2719) III. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER 2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: “Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”6 Contemplative prayer seeks him “whom my soul loves.”7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself. 2710 The choice of the time and duration of the prayer arises from a determined will, revealing the secrets of the heart. One does not undertake contemplative prayer only when one has the time: one makes time for the Lord, with the firm determination not to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter. One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state. The heart is the place of this quest and encounter, in poverty ant in faith. 2711 Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we “gather up:” the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and transformed. 2712 Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who wants to respond to it by loving even more.8 But he knows that the love he is returning is poured out by the Spirit in his heart, for everything is grace from God. Contemplative prayer is the poor and humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son. 2713 Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts.9 Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, “to his likeness.” 2714 Contemplative prayer is also the pre-eminently intense time of prayer. In it the Father strengthens our inner being with power through his Spirit “that Christ may dwell in [our] hearts through faith” and we may be “grounded in love.”10 2715 Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. “I look at him and he looks at me”: this is what a certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle. This focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus, it learns the “interior knowledge of our Lord,” the more to love him and follow him.11 2716 Contemplative prayer is hearing the Word of God. Far from being passive, such attentiveness is the obedience of faith, the unconditional acceptance of a servant, and the loving commitment of a child. It participates in the “Yes” of the Son become servant and the Fiat of God’s lowly handmaid. 2717 Contemplative prayer is silence, the “symbol of the world to come”12 or “silent love.”13 Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the “outer” man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus. 2718 Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts. 2719 Contemplative prayer is a communion of love bearing Life for the multitude, to the extent that it consents to abide in the night of faith. The Paschal night of the Resurrection passes through the night of the agony and the tomb – the three intense moments of the Hour of Jesus which his Spirit (and not “the flesh [which] is weak”) brings to life in prayer. We must be willing to “keep watch with [him] one hour.”14 Footnotes 6 St. Teresa of Jesus, The Book of Her Life, 8,5 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, tr. K. Kavanaugh, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1976),I,67. 7 Song 1:7; cf. 3:14. 8 Cf. Lk 7:36-50; 19:1-10. 9 Cf. Jer 31:33. 10 Eph 3:16-17. 11 Cf. St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 104. 12 Cf. St. Isaac of Nineveh, Tract. myst. 66. 13 St. John of the Cross, Maxims and Counsels, 53 in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, tr. K. Kavanaugh, OCD, and O. Rodriguez, OCD (Washington DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1979), 678. 14 Cf. Mt 26:40. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s1c3a1.htm In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mary TV / Mateo Ivankovic Our Lady of Medjugorje, pure hope!!! February 18, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! November 25, 2008 “Dear children! Also today I call you, in this time of grace, to pray for little Jesus to be born in your heart. May He, who is peace itself, give peace to the entire world through you. Therefore, little children, pray without ceasing for this turbulent world without hope, so that you may become witnesses of peace for all. May hope begin to flow through your hearts as a river of grace. Thank you for having responded to my call.” Our Lady has come to give us hope. She is the beacon of hope for this very tired and lost world. We cling to her presence and her words to us, because she pours hope into our hearts with every word she speaks to us. Her messages are liquid hope!! I want to share something I found in a wonderful monthly Medjugorje Newsletter, The Spirit of Medjugorje! ( http://www.spiritofmedjugorje.org/ ) Deacon Jerry Peterson wrote “Mysteries of Hope” for the Rosary, as a way to strengthening our hope through Jesus’ words and deeds in Scripture. I am reproducing the little article which introduces those mysteries, so you can pray them in your private prayer. Deacon Jerry explains it this way: Mysteries of Hope By Deacon Jerry Peterson Why I wrote these mysteries [for private devotion]: I love praying the Rosary. I know that in Jesus there is always hope. There is no better way to send our prayers of hope to Jesus than through our mother Mary. These mysteries were given to me by the Spirit as my wife, Joan, and I were praying the Rosary after morning Mass. 1. Jesus feeds 5,000. [Jesus] said to them “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied… (Matthew 14:16-21) 2. Jesus calls Peter to walk on the water. Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him. (Matthew 14: 28-31) 3. Jesus restores Bartimaeus’ sight. [Jesus said to him] “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way: your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10: 51-52) 4. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11: 21-23, 25-26) 5. Jesus welcomes the Good Thief into His kingdom. Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23: 42-43) Editor’s note: Deacon Jerry is the nephew of our late spiritual advisor, Msgr. James Peterson (Fr. Pete, as he preferred to be called). I suspect maybe he got a little help from him while composing these mysteries, especially with the fifth mystery, since Fr. Pete often spoke about St. Dismas, the Good Thief http://www.spiritofmedjugorje.org/issues/February2019pdf.pdf Thanks to June Klins and her helpers for sending out Spirit of Medjugorje every month. This little newsletter is filled with hope!! Hope from Medjugorje! We are the most blessed of children to have Our Lady with us in these days. We are truly children of hope!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mary TV / Anthony Zubac Jesus, our all! February 15, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…My Son gives Himself to you and breaks the bread with you. He speaks the words of eternal life to you so that you may carry them to everyone. And you, my children, apostles of my love, what are you afraid of when my Son is with you? Offer your souls to Him so that He can be in them and that He can make you instruments of faith, instruments of love…” (February 2, 2019) Our Lady tells us that her Son, Jesus, is with us to do everything necessary for our salvation. Jesus gives himself to us in the Sacraments, especially in the Holy Eucharist. What more could we ask for? What more could we need! In the Magnificat for today (Friday, 15th of February, Vol 20, No12) there is a stunning Meditation of the Day. It is written by Father Jean-Baptiste (+1657) a French Jesuit Priest who in turn quotes Peter, Abbot of Moustier. I will share a small section of that meditation with you now. May it comfort us in these days of trial. …”We find in our Lord Jesus,” says Saint Ambrose, “all we require, and he is all things to us”: our justice, our all…But to put us in a state to enjoy these advantages, Jesus Christ assists us with his grace, according to these beautiful words of Peter, Abbot of Moustier: “Jesus, with a goodness and largess truly divine, recompenses not only our good actions, but even our good desires. He walks before us, his hands, charged with gifts; he walks at our side with a beautiful countenance; he walks behind us with extended arms. He walks before us, to smooth the rough places of our paths; he walks at our side as a faithful companion, to cheer, to encourage, console and defend us. He walks behind us, to receive us if we fall. He walks before us, that we may follow and imitate him; he walks beside us, that we may not grow lonely on the road, and he walks after us, to be the remedy of our evils. In following him we cannot wander; in traveling in his company we shall be strong and vigorous; and in keeping us intimately united to him, he takes care to prevent the slightest suspicion that, with such a support, we cannot do and suffer all things.” Jesus, our Lord and Brother, be before us, beside us and behind us all our days. We give ourselves to you! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mary TV / Mateo Ivankovic Our Lady’s glow!! February 14, 2019 Sts. Cyril and Methodius Dear Family of Mary! “…Apostles of my love, may you always be recognized among all others by your hiddenness, love and radiance. I am with you. Thank you.” (February 2, 2019) I am intrigued by Our Lady’s desire that we be radiant! So, I looked up the definition of “radiance” in the dictionary: “Radiance is a type of glowing: either from a light source like the sun or a healthy, beaming person.” Of course, we understand radiance in terms of glowing. “The radiance of the sun…” We know that the sun is unbelievably hot, and that heat produces light which travels millions of miles to us here on earth. And it does radiate! It flows over the earth in waves! So, what about radiance in terms of a healthy, beaming person? What does that mean? I think of seeing children who have been playing out in the summer sunshine, who just overflow with health and joy. They radiate wellbeing and energy.  It is as if you can see the life just pulsating in their little bodies. That is one kind of radiance in a person. But Our Lady wants us to be radiant. Being radiant is a sign that we are her apostles of love! So, what is she getting at? It struck me that I have seen radiant people, people just filled with pulsing life. I have seen them by the hundreds! In Medjugorje! Yes, there is bright sunshine in Medjugorje, at least in the summer months. Yes, there is clear air and lots of outdoor activities in Medjugorje, like climbing hills. Radiance can come from those natural activities. But the radiance I see is more than natural. It is something else, something coming from within them, something emerging from their inner self, their heart. It seems to be a supernatural glow. My guess is that when we go to Medjugorje, we receive a super abundance of blessing from heaven. We are blessed by the rosaries we pray. We are blessed by the sacraments we receive, mainly Eucharist and Confession. We are blessed by Adoration. We are blessed by the good news that is preached, and the testimonies we hear of God’s life changing grace. And we are blessed by the presence of Our Lady, covering us with her mantle of peace. We are so blessed, that our hearts begin to sing for joy! They radiate joy! That thought leads me to another person who radiates. It is Our Lady herself. And her radiance can be traced to one thing, the incredible blessings she received from the Father, in her Immaculate Conception, in the Annunciation of the Lord, when she conceived Jesus, in her divine Motherhood, and in her co-redemption through the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus, and by the Resurrection of her Son which changed everything! She is incredibly blessed by the Coming of the Holy Spirit upon her Church, and by her Assumption, and now by her crowning as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Mary has seen so many miracles of mercy in her life that she calls herself blessed. And that blessedness radiates from her in waves. My Soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name…. (Luke 1:46 ff) It is the incredible blessedness of Mary that radiates from her being to all of us!!! And she wants us to recognize our blessedness and rejoice in it, so that it will radiate out from our hearts to others. We can radiate because we have been soooo blessed. We only have to rejoice in it and give thanks for it, like Mary, and we will radiate too!! So, let’s make a long, long list of the blessings we have received, and let those blessings radiate through us to all who see us. “The Almighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name!!!” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan © Mary TV 2019

(c)Anthony Zubac/Mary TV 2019 Silent prayer with Our Lady on Apparition Hill February 13, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…Apostles of my love, may you always be recognized among all others by your hiddenness, love and radiance. I am with you. Thank you.” (February 2, 2019) If we live Our Lady’s messages she tells us that we will be marked by three things: hiddenness, love and radiance. Hiddenness: “Dear children! Thank you for continuing to respond to my invitations and for gathering here around me, your heavenly mother. I know that you are thinking of me with love and hope. I, too, feel love for all of you, just as my most beloved Son also feels it: He who, through his merciful love, is always sending me to you anew; He who was man; He who was and is God – one and triune; He who suffered in body and soul for your sake; He who made Himself bread to feed your souls and thus to save them. My children, I am teaching you how to be worthy of His love, to direct your thoughts to Him, to live my Son. Apostles of my love, I am covering you with my mantle, because as a mother I desire to protect you. I am imploring you to pray for the whole world. My heart is suffering. Sins are multiplying, they are too numerous. But with the help of those of you who are humble, modest, filled with love, hidden and holy, my heart will triumph. Love my Son above all and the whole world through Him. Never forget that each of your brothers, within himself, carries something precious – the soul. Therefore, my children, love all those who do not know my Son, so that through prayer and the love which comes through prayer, they may become better; that the goodness in them could win; that souls could be saved and have eternal life. My apostles, my children, my Son told you to love one another. May this be inscribed in your hearts and with prayer, try to live that love. Thank you.” July 02, 2017 Love: “Dear children! Also today I call you: live your vocation in prayer. Now, as never before, Satan wants to suffocate man and his soul by his contagious wind of hatred and unrest. In many hearts there is no joy because there is no God or prayer. Hatred and war are growing from day to day. I am calling you, little children, begin anew, with enthusiasm, the walk of holiness and love; since I have come among you because of this. Together let us be love and forgiveness for all those who know and want to love only with a human love and not with that immeasurable love of God to which God calls you. Little children, may hope in a better tomorrow always be in your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 25, 2015 Radiance: “Dear children! Also today I call you to also be like the stars, which by their light give light and beauty to others so they may rejoice. Little children, also you be the radiance, beauty, joy and peace – and especially prayer – for all those who are far from my love and the love of my Son Jesus. Little children, witness your faith and prayer in joy, in the joy of faith that is in your hearts; and pray for peace, which is a precious gift from God. Thank you for having responded to my call.” September 25, 2014 Mother Mary, teach us to live what you are saying to us! We want to become hidden and holy, love-filled and radiant with joy! Show us the way, and never leave us!! We want to help you in the Triumph of Your Heart! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Anthony Zubac/Mary TV 2018 My children, set out with me… Parishioners climbing Apparition Hill for the Sunday Rosary February 12, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…As a mother I am saying to you: set out with me, love one another, give witness. Do not be afraid, with your example, to defend the truth-the Word of God which is eternal and never changes. My children, whoever acts in the light of merciful love and truth is always helped by Heaven and is not alone…” (February 2, 2019) Our Mother is not raising a bunch of wimps! She has been speaking to us for almost 38 years, encouraging us, teaching us, reprimanding us, comforting us, challenging us, and leading us in the ways of truth and love. She has been investing herself in us because she needs us in this plan for the salvation of the world. Her plans are broad enough to include every soul on earth. And so, she really needs a big family helping her with this task. She lists several things that we can do to be ready to help her in the small section of the February 2, 2019 message quoted above. These are ways we can help her to reach her children who do not yet know her or her Son, Jesus: “Set out with me..” We are no good to Our Lady standing still. She needs children who are ready to move, to follow her. To set out on a journey of love and encounter that will bring us into contact with others who need the good news. “Love one another…” If we are going to work with Mother Mary, we must realize that the most important work we do is to love our neighbor, to love one another. As St. Paul said in 1Corinthians 13: 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. (1 Cor 13:1-3) “Give witness…” Each of us has experienced something beautiful that Our Lady has done just for us. A special grace or healing that she has provided through her intercession for us. This is what we can share with others, what we can witness to others. First hand witness carries the power of the grace received and shares it with others. No gift is too small to be meaningful to others. Even the smallest sign from God can change hearts. “Do not be afraid…” Fear turns our eyes inward, where we see our own weaknesses and imperfections. Fear makes us doubt ourselves and then doubt God. Fear creates an inner panic that jumbles our minds and confuses our thoughts. Fear is not from God. “Do not be afraid, with your example, to defend the truth-the Word of God which is eternal and never changes…” In our world today, the Word of God is held in derision and the moral and theological truths are negated. It could seem daunting to publicly stand for these truths, but with our example we can do it. Just by living a true Christian life, we can witness without words. Our lives will shine with joy, and the truth will be seen for what it is, the life of heaven. “My children, whoever acts in the light of merciful love and truth is always helped by Heaven and is not alone…” These words speak for themselves. As Christians throughout the ages have known, God is near to those who do not deny Him. He helps those who witness the truth. He blesses those who stand with Him. The Holy Spirit remains with them to encourage and strengthen them in all things. Our Lady has big plans for us. She needs us to be her apostles of love in these difficult times. She has high hopes for us and she will stand by our side always. We can rely on her guidance. She is an expert! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019

(c)Mateo Ivankovic/Mary TV 2016 The Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in St. James Church, Medjugorje February 11, 2019 Our Lady of Lourdes Dear Family of Mary! August 25, 2000 “Dear children! I desire to share my joy with you. In my Immaculate Heart I feel that there are many of those who have drawn closer to me and are, in a special way, carrying the victory of my Immaculate Heart in their hearts by praying and converting. I desire to thank you and to inspire you to work even more for God and His kingdom with love and the power of the Holy Spirit. I am with you and I bless you with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (reprinted from my February 11, 2016 Reflection) On this day, February 11, in 1858, Our Lady first appeared to Bernadette Soubirous at the Grotto at Lourdes. We celebrate that great apparition today. Bernadette is now a saint! And the Shrine at Lourdes is famous and much visited. I love to read St. Bernadette’s words, as they communicate the simplicity and intimacy she had with Our Lady. Here is her account of the apparition on March 25, 1858: On March 25th, I was roused from sleep by an inner insistence to go to the grotto. It was still dark when I reached Massabielle. The Lady was there and waiting for me. I apologised for keeping her waiting, for I had caught a cold. She smiled, I knelt down, we said the Rosary together. Then the Lady came very close to me. I told her how I loved her, and how happy I was to see her again. “Mademoiselle,” I said, “would you be so kind as to tell me who you are, if you please?” Instead of replying, she only smiled. I said again, “Would you be so kind as to tell me who you are?” I said this four times altogether. The Lady extended her hands towards the ground, swept them upwards to join them on her heart, raised her eyes, but not her head to Heaven, leaned tenderly towards me and said, “Que soy era Immaculada Conceptiou.” She smiled at me. She disappeared. I was alone. I did not understand the words, but I knew the Priest would. I knew also the Lady loved the Priest. Leaving my candle at the grotto, I went straight to Fr. Peyramale, saying the Lady’s name to myself along the way. Father was waiting for me. I bowed and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Seeing his surprise, I explained, “Aquero said, ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’.” The good Priest stood there stunned. Suddenly he stammered, “Do you know what that means?” I shook my head, I said ” No.” “Then how can you say the words if you do not understand them?” “I repeated them all along the way,” I replied, then added, “She still wants the chapel.” The Priest by now was deathly pale, but he pulled himself together, saying, “Go home now, child. I will see you another day.” Years later I learned that Father wrote to the Bishop that night, and as he wrote, his heart filled up with emotion, and his eyes filled up with tears. Mary’s Magnificence. What my Lady meant by “I am the Immaculate Conception,” I had no idea. I decided to ask Mademoiselle Estrade. She had a serene sense of the supernatural. “Mademoiselle, what does it mean, Immaculate Conception?” Mademoiselle explained how Pope Pius IX had applied the words to Our Blessed Lady four years ago on December 8th. It was then I realised I could speak what was unspoken in my soul for seven silent weeks-that Aquero was the Immaculate Virgin Mary. She was the Mother of God, and she had been stepping out of Heaven to share her soul with me. She had taught me prayers no soul on earth had prayed. She had promised me happiness, not in this world, but in the next. Through all her visits, she had spoken, not the flawless French of the town officials, but the homely words of my Lourdes patois. Holiness and prayer are simple. God’s Mother taught me so. The majority of people sensed it was Our Blessed Lady who was hallowing Lourdes. When they knew for certain, they could scarce contain their joy. Throughout her visits, not a single crime was committed in the district, the confessionals in the church were besieged, and the Priests were well-nigh exhausted. The Lady told me always to bring a blessed candle to the grotto, then bring it home with me. On March 25th, she asked me to leave it lighted at the grotto, and to this day candles have always been burning at Massabielle. I noticed that Our Blessed Lady would often look over my head to single out individuals in the crowd. She would then smile on them as though they were old familiar friends. Nor did she forget the town officials who caused my parents such distress. All finally believed in the Apparitions and died with the crucifix pressed to their lips. Jacomet admitted, “Our opposition was in vain. Bernadette had the Immaculate Virgin Mary on her side.” (http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/bernlife.htm ) Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan Mary TV