Author: Cathy Nolan

March 6, 2020 Reflection – I am asking for love…

I am asking for love… (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 March 6, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! “Apostles of my love, it is a time of vigilance, and of you I am asking for love, that you not judge-anyone. Because the Heavenly Father will judge everyone.” (March 2, 2020) Our Lady calls us to hold vigil, but she doesn’t stop there. She continues with a very difficult call:  “Of you I am asking for love… and that you not judge-anyone….”    Mother Mary knows that these two calls are both difficult, and lofty! If we embrace them both, we will be on the path to holiness, to be like her Son, Jesus. In the Office of Readings for today, March 6, 2020, there is an incredible teaching by Saint Aelred, Abbot. (From “The Mirror of Love, Christ the Model of Brotherly Love”). It demonstrates perfectly how we can “love and not judge-anyone”:  The perfection of brotherly love lies in the love of one’s enemies. We can find no greater inspiration for this than grateful remembrance of the wonderful patience of Christ. He who is more fair than all the sons of men offered his fair face to be spat upon by sinful men; he allowed those eyes that rule the universe to be blindfolded by wicked men; he bared his back to the scourges; he submitted that head which strikes terror in principalities and powers to the sharpness of the thorns; he gave himself up to be mocked and reviled, and at the end endured the cross, the nails, the lance, the gall, the vinegar, remaining always gentle, meek and full of peace. In short, he was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearers he kept silent and did not open his mouth. Who could listen to that wonderful prayer, so full of warmth, of love, of unshakeable serenity-Father, forgive them-and hesitate to embrace his enemies with overflowing love? Father, he says, forgive them. Is any gentleness, any love, lacking in this prayer? Yet he put into it something more. It was not enough to pray for them: he wanted also to make excuses for them. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. They are great sinners, yes, but they have little judgment; therefore, Father, forgive them. They are nailing me to the cross, but they do not know who it is that they are nailing to the cross: if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory; therefore, Father, forgive them. They think it is a lawbreaker, an impostor claiming to be God, a seducer of the people. I have hidden my face from them, and they do not recognize my glory; therefore, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. If someone wishes to love himself, he must not allow himself to be corrupted by indulging his sinful nature. If he wishes to resist the promptings of his sinful nature, he must enlarge the whole horizon of his love to contemplate the loving gentleness of the humanity of the Lord. Further, if he wishes to savor the joy of brotherly love with greater perfection and delight, he must extend even to his enemies the embrace of true love. But if he wishes to prevent this fire of divine love from growing cold because of injuries received, let him keep the eyes of his soul always fixed on the serene patience of his beloved Lord and Savior. (St. Aelred – Christ, the Model of Brotherly Love.) Thank you, dear Jesus! You are the perfect Model. May we follow you always! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan© Mary TV 2020 PS. On March 8, 2020 Daylight Savings time begins in many countries. But it does not begin in Medjugorje until March 29, 2020. So we who change on Sunday, March 8, will have to adjust our schedules in order to view the live programing from Medjugorje. We have a digital clock at the top – right hand side- of our home page at marytv.tv  – You can always check to find the time in Medjugorje there. Then you will know what time it is for you locally to tune in for our live programing from Medjugorje.

March 5, 2020 Reflection – A Time of Vigil!

A Time of Vigil (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 March 5, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! “…Apostles of my love, it is a time of vigil, and of you I am asking for love, that you not judge-anyone. Because the Heavenly Father will judge everyone…” (March 2, 2020)  Our Lady told us this is a time of vigilance (or a time of vigil as it was called in the Croatian version). As I prayed about what a time of vigil might be, the Lord brought several moments from His life on earth to mind. Jesus seemed to say to me:   -My fasting and prayer for 40 days and 40 nights was a time of vigil…    Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. (Matt 4:1-2) Jesus spent 40 days fasting and praying in solitude, to prepare himself for the battle with Satan. Jesus in His humanity was able to defeat the Devil, because of the strength of fasting and prayer he received in the desert. So, we see that the vigil was a time of strengthening and purifying. We are also in a time of 40 days set aside as for fasting and prayer. We too are being prepared for battle… -I held many night vigils in prayer during my public ministry, before I chose the Twelve Apostles, before I taught the people, before I raised Lazarus from the dead… In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all. (Luke 6, 12-19) Jesus’s power came from those long night vigils in prayer with His Father.   My prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was a time of vigil… And they went to a place which was called Gethsem’ane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again, he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again, he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. (Mark 14: 32-43) We see hear, that Jesus knew well how to keep vigil, to pray amidst great temptation and agony. Jesus kept His eyes on the Father even in this moment, with the disciples fast asleep. He teaches us vigil. Jesus shows us that vigil always precedes a move by God in our lives. Without a vigil in silence, prayer, fasting, we are not ready for the grace nor the task at hand. Our Lady teaches us how to keep vigil through her 5 stones and her messages. She kept vigil before St. Gabriel came to her and she was ready to say yes to the Father. She kept vigil throughout her pregnancy and was ready for Bethlehem! She kept vigil in Egypt, in Nazareth, and in Jerusalem, always ready to say yes. And at the end, she kept vigil under the Cross as she waited for the greatest event in history, the Resurrection! She knows vigil. She can help us to keep vigil as well. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2020

March 4, 2020 Reflection – Our Father!

Our Father, who art in Heaven… (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 March 4, 2020St. Casimir Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children, your pure and sincere love draws my motherly heart. Your faith and trust in the Heavenly Father are fragrant roses which you offer to me-the most beautiful bouquets of roses which consist of your prayers, acts of mercy and of love…” (March 2, 2020) Our Lady is so overjoyed when she observes us living our lives in relation to the Heavenly Father. She is just ecstatic!! Isn’t it like a mother, to want her children to love their father? From the first moment, the mother shares the baby with its father. He is far less physically attached to the child than she is, but his love for the child is real and powerful. And so, she encourages the father to hold the baby, speak to him, comfort him, and attend to his needs. This bond is vital for the child. And so is our bond with our Heavenly Father equally vital. We need Him more that the air we breathe. But that relationship needs to be nurtured as well. And so, both Jesus and Mary have taught us about our Father, drawing us closer and closer to Him, through their human presence in our lives. They know Him and they want us to be so close to Him, so bonded to Him, that we can’t live without Him. The prayer that Jesus taught us offers us a way to bond with the Father, if we pray it very intentionally. I can see the beautiful bouquets of roses in this prayer! Our Father…Jesus invites us to call His Father, Our Father. He invites us into the family. He encourages us to approach the Father in an intimate way. We are wanted and loved. Who art in Heaven…The Father is near us, but we need the eyes to see Him. He is in Heaven. This earth where we live is created for us, as a place of gestation. We grow here in order to be ready to be birthed into Heaven. Very much like our earthly birth, it is after our birth into Heaven that we will see Our Father. Hallowed be Thy Name…Jesus always said the name of His Father with such love. He teaches us to understand how absolutely loving and lovable our Father is. To say His Name with love! Thy Kingdom come…Just as an earthly father has his own little domestic kingdom, the Heavenly Father has a Kingdom that cannot be matched. His Fatherly leadership will make our lives Heavenly. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven…The will of our Father in Heaven is all good, only good, and eternally good. His will makes our lives all joy, freedom and peace. This is the kind of Father we have. Give us this day our daily bread…We can look to our Heavenly Father for our sustenance. And if we take it day by day, we will have the peace that a child has when cared for by a wonderful father. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…With such a Father, forgiveness is constant and complete. Forgiveness is the most necessary part of our relationship with God the Father. Because we will fall, we will hurt others and ourselves, but through forgiveness, all can be made right. And lead us not into temptation… (some translations say “do not bring us to the test”) The Father may need to give us tests in order to make us stronger. But we can always ask for His help. We do want to mature and become strong. But only with the Father teaching us. But deliver us from evil…The Father sent us Jesus to do that. And Jesus did it all through the Cross. Every time we make the Sign of the Cross, we should weep for joy, because the Father made a way for us to escape our enemy. Jesus, crucified, is our shield from all evil. Where are the roses? They are in the love. Each phrase of the Our Father shows us the Father’s love, and when we accept that love with pure hearts and return it, there are Roses!! May we live always in the Father’s love, the Father’s protection and care, the Father’s guidance and wisdom, the Father’s providence. Then Our Lady will be at peace for us, and she won’t have to worry so much for us!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2020

March 2, 2020 – Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje

Dear children,   Your pure and sincere love draws my motherly heart. Your faith and trust in the Heavenly Father are fragrant roses which you offer to me-the most beautiful bouquets of roses which consist of your prayers, acts of mercy and of love.   Apostles of my love, you who sincerely and with a pure heart strive to follow my Son, you who sincerely love Him, you help; you be an example to those who have not yet come to know the love of my Son-but, my children, not only with words but also with acts and pure feelings through which you glorify the Heavenly Father.   Apostles of my love, it is a time of vigilance, and of you I am asking for love, that you not judge-anyone. Because the Heavenly Father will judge everyone.   I am asking that you love, that you convey the truth; because truth is old, it is not new, it is eternal, it is truth. It testifies to God’s eternity. Bring the light of my Son and keep breaking the darkness which all the more wants to seize you. Do not be afraid. Through the grace and the love of my Son, I am with you. Thank you.  

March 2, 2020 Message

Mirjana greets Our Lady today! (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 March 2, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! Here is the message for March 2, 2020 from Our Lady, Queen of Peace: Dear children,   Your pure and sincere love draws my motherly heart. Your faith and trust in the Heavenly Father are fragrant roses which you offer to me-the most beautiful bouquets of roses which consist of your prayers, acts of mercy and of love.   Apostles of my love, you who sincerely and with a pure heart strive to follow my Son, you who sincerely love Him, you help; you be an example to those who have not yet come to know the love of my Son-but, my children, not only with words but also with acts and pure feelings through which you glorify the Heavenly Father.   Apostles of my love, it is a time of vigilance, and of you I am asking for love, that you not judge-anyone. Because the Heavenly Father will judge everyone.   I am asking that you love, that you convey the truth; because truth is old, it is not new, it is eternal, it is truth. It testifies to God’s eternity. Bring the light of my Son and keep breaking the darkness which all the more wants to seize you. Do not be afraid. Through the grace and the love of my Son, I am with you. Thank you. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy NolanMary TV

March 2, 2020 Reflection – Prayer with the heart!

Prayer with the heart! (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 March 2, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! June 25, 2017 “Dear children! Today, I desire to thank you for your perseverance and call you to open yourselves to profound prayer. Prayer, little children, is the heart of faith and is hope in eternal life. Therefore, pray with the heart until your heart sings with thanksgiving to God the Creator who gave you life. I am with you, little children, and carry to you my motherly blessing of peace. Thank you for having responded to my call…” As we await the message given through Mirjana today, I want to share a beautiful homily given by St. John Chrysostom, Bishop – Oh so many years ago. It captures so much of what Our Lady has told us about prayer with the heart! From a Homily by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop: Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean that prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods but continuous throughout the day and night. Our spirit should be quick to reach out toward God, not only when it is engaged in meditation; at other times also, when it is carrying out its duties, caring for the needy, performing works of charity, giving generously in the service of others, our spirit should long for God and call him to mind, so that these works may be seasoned with the salt of God’s love, and so make a palatable offering to the Lord of the universe. Throughout the whole of our lives we may enjoy the benefit that comes from prayer if we devote a great deal of time to it. Prayer is the light of the spirit, true knowledge of God, mediating between God and man. The spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness; like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. It seeks the satisfaction of its own desires, and receives gifts outweighing the whole world of nature. Prayer stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by man but by God’s grace. The apostle Paul says: We do not know how we are to pray but the Spirit himself pleads for us with inexpressible longings. When the Lord gives this kind of prayer to a man, he gives him riches that cannot be taken away, heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. One who tastes this food is set on fire with an eternal longing for the Lord: his spirit burns as a fire of the utmost intensity. Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace, and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit. (St. John Chrysostom – Office of Readings for Thursday after Ash Wednesday) May our spirits reach out to God today and always! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2020 PS. I will send out today’s message as soon as I can!

February 28, 2020 Reflection – Pray and do penance!

  (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 February 28, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children! In this time of grace, I desire to see your faces transformed in prayer. You are so flooded by earthly concerns; you do not even feel that spring is at the threshold. You are called, little children, to penance and prayer. As nature fights in silence for new life, also you are called to open yourselves in prayer to God, in Whom you will find the peace and warmth of the spring sun in your hearts. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (February 25, 2020) This wonderful message is a call to joy! Our Lady wants us to be transformed by our prayer, freed from our earthly concerns, filled with new life and basking in the peace and warmth of the spring sun, Her Son, in our hearts. She wants us to live the joy and peace of a relationship with God. That is what our Lenten practices are meant to accomplish. And so she tells us we must pray and do penance. It sounds quite dire, but in fact prayer and penance lead to joy!! Let’s pray Psalm 51 together to help us respond to Our Lady’s call to prayer and penance! Psalm 51Have mercy on me, O God,according to thy steadfast love;according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,and cleanse me from my sin!For I know my transgressions,and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,and done that which is evil in thy sight,so that thou art justified in thy sentenceand blameless in thy judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,and in sin did my mother conceive me.Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.Fill me with joy and gladness;let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins,and blot out all my iniquities.Create in me a clean heart, O God,and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence,and take not thy holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways,and sinners will return to thee.Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,thou God of my salvation,and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance. O Lord, open thou my lips,and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.For thou hast no delight in sacrifice;were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure;rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices,in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;then bulls will be offered on thy altar. Amen In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2020

February 27, 2020 Reflection – Choose Life!

  (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2020 February 27, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! As we begin our Lenten pilgrimage, we are called by God to make a choice. It is the choice for life or for death. It is up to us. Each one of us. Do we want to accept the gift of life He has given us, or do we turn from God and His ways, which means choosing death? For truly there is only life in God, to reject Him and His ways removes us from our life source.  We have free will. It is vital we choose. Here is the first reading for today’s Mass from Deuteronomy 30: Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Dt 30: 15-20) Our Lady speaks in the same way in these two powerful messages: March 25, 1996 “Dear children! I invite you to decide again to love God above all else. In this time when due to the spirit of consumerism one forgets what it means to love and to cherish true values, I invite you again, little children, to put God in the first place in your life. Do not let satan attract you through material things but, little children, decide for God who is freedom and love. Choose life and not death of the soul, little children, and in this time when you meditate upon the suffering and death of Jesus I invite you to decide for life which blossomed through the Resurrection, and that your life may be renewed today through conversion that shall lead you to eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call…” March 18, 2003 “Dear children! Particularly at this holy time of penance and prayer, I call you to make a choice. God gave you free will to choose life or death. Listen to my messages with the heart that you may become cognizant of what you are to do and how you will find the way to life. My children, without God you can do nothing; do not forget this even for a single moment. For, what are you and what will you be on earth, when you will return to it again? Do not anger God; but follow me to life. Thank you for being here.”     What a blessing it is that we who hear these words are alive today. We can choose once more the gift of life God has given us and choose to support life for our brothers and sisters, from the newly conceived to the oldest among us. “I call you to make a choice. God gave you free will to choose life or death.” Dearest Mother, help us to understand that life is a beautiful gift from God that we must choose to accept. God wants us to be partners with Him in the path of life which can only happen if we obey Him. Help us to choose life! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2020

February 25, 2020 – Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje

“Dear children! In this time of grace, I desire to see your faces transformed in prayer. You are so flooded by earthly concerns; you do not even feel that spring is at the threshold. You are called, little children, to penance and prayer. As nature fights in silence for new life, also you are called to open yourselves in prayer to God, in Whom you will find the peace and warmth of the spring sun in your hearts. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (February 25, 2020)  

February 25, 2020 Message

  (c)Mary TV February 25, 2020 Dear Family of Mary! Here is the February 25, 2020 message from Our Lady, Queen of Peace! “Dear children! In this time of grace, I desire to see your faces transformed in prayer. You are so flooded by earthly concerns; you do not even feel that spring is at the threshold. You are called, little children, to penance and prayer. As nature fights in silence for new life, also you are called to open yourselves in prayer to God, in Whom you will find the peace and warmth of the spring sun in your hearts. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (February 25, 2020) In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy NolanMary TV

Pope Leo XlV asks everyone to pray and fast on Friday, August 22, the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

 

“May Mary, Queen of Peace intercede so that peoples may find the path of peace.”

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