Author: Cathy Nolan

Jesus, lover of my soul.

(c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2018   April 11, 2019(St. Stanislaus) Dear Family of Mary! “My Son saw beauty in all things. He seeks the good in all souls-even that which is little and hidden-so as to forgive evil…” (April 2, 2019) When I was a child there was a certain feeling amongst the laity that Jesus was the Divine Judge who was looking for even the slightest impurity in our souls in order to punish us. I remember being afraid of Jesus and His Father. Afraid of being judged and found wanting! It is very healing to hear Our Lady say that Jesus sees beauty in all things and seeks the good in all souls. In other words, Jesus is much more interested in looking for the beautiful and the good than He is in looking for our sins and failings. Jesus loves us! He loves the way we have been created, the gifts we have been given, and the good that we try to do. He looks for all those things in us, patiently and with such great love. Finding even the smallest good in our soul gives Jesus the opportunity to forgive the evil we have done. That little and hidden goodness, a merciful deed to a stranger, a kindness to a child, a forgiveness of a small debt, a deep yearning for God that is as yet unspoken…Jesus looks for these things. He can meet us there in those small or hidden acts and introduce Himself to us. He can make a connection with us there which could change the trajectory of our lives. He looks very hard for just those things because His hope is so strong. His love is so deep for each one of us. As I prayed about this message, the words, “Jesus, lover of my soul” kept coming into my mind. I looked on the internet and found that Charles Wesley wrote a hymn by that name. It is a hymn in which Wesley recognized that Jesus was his only hope, and that Jesus loved him in spite of every sin. It shows a trust in the mercy of Jesus that is based on the fact that Jesus loves us even when we are in sin, and finds the way to save us, through the call of our soul to Him. I think it might be helpful for us as we ponder this message from Our Lady. She is trying to get us to have unfailing faith in her Son who loves us and looks for the good in us continually:   “Jesus, lover of my soul” By Charles Wesley Jesus, lover of my soul,Let me to Thy bosom fly,While the nearer waters roll,While the tempest still is high!Hide me, O my Savior, hide,Till the storm of life be past;Safe into the haven guide,Oh, receive my soul at last! Other refuge have I none,Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;Leave, ah! leave me not alone,Still support and comfort me!All my trust on Thee is stayed,All my help from Thee I bring;Cover my defenseless headWith the shadow of Thy wing. Wilt Thou not regard my call?Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall- Lo! on Thee I cast my care:Reach me out Thy gracious hand!While I of Thy strength receive,Hoping against hope I stand,Dying, and, behold, I live! Thou, O Christ, art all I want;More than all in Thee I find:Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,Heal the sick, and lead the blind.Just and holy is Thy name;I am all unrighteousness:False and full of sin I am;Thou art full of truth and grace. Plenteous grace with Thee is found,Grace to cover all my sin;Let the healing streams abound,Make and keep me pure within.Thou of life the fountain artFreely let me take of Thee:Spring Thou up within my heart,Rise to all eternity! As we approach Holy Week, I think Our Lady wants us to be very aware of our hearts. All our prayer should come from our hearts as we live the Passion of our Savior. There is something wonderful prepared for us during this holy time. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019  

As a Mother…

(c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2018   April 10, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! Before I get started, I want to apologize to all of you shipmates!!! Our family had a baptism in Baltimore, Maryland, last weekend. Denis and I traveled there with about 35 other family members! I intended to continue writing reflections, but it just didn’t work out (I only had an iPad and couldn’t figure out the app for Constant Contact!!). And I had no way to alert you all. Soooo, I failed you!!! Please forgive me!!! Back to Our Lady’s April 2nd message: “Dear children, as a mother who knows her children, I know that you are crying out for my Son. I know that you are crying out for truth, for peace, for that which is pure and not deceptive. That is why I, as a mother, through the love of God, am addressing you and calling you that, by prayer and a pure and open heart within yourselves, you may come to know my Son – His love, His merciful heart…” Our Lady hears the cries of our hearts. She knows our suffering. She can see how much pain we endure, trying to navigate in this difficult time in history. She may even understand our hearts better than we do ourselves. She has a very special perspective. She lives in Heaven with Jesus, completely surrounded by light, love, truth, peace, purity and joy! Imagine what she sees when she comes to us here on earth! She sees the lies, the deceptions, the manipulations, the violence, the faithlessness, the lack of respect for human life, etc. She sees it all. How it must break her heart! How much she must long to extract us all from this world of woes. And so, she speaks to us, addresses us in her messages, with words of hope and wisdom: “I am calling you that by prayer and a pure and open heart within yourselves, you may come to know my Son – His love, His merciful heart.” Simply put, the only way out of here is Jesus. He is the only one that can bring us safely home to the Father. Our job is to turn to Him and seek Him with honest and pure hearts, putting aside all our excuses and stalling. There is no time left. This is the time to seek Jesus. St. Augustine of Hippo spent a lot of years of his life mired in sin, just as we have. He remained in his worldly life for a long time! His mother, much like Our Lady, prayed for him ceaselessly and encouraged him to repent and come to Jesus. He finally converted. And what a conversion! He became a Doctor of the Church. But he wrote a much-quoted prayer to Jesus about his conversion that seems to reflect what Our Lady is saying to us. Let’s pray it over a few times and let Augustine’s words move our hearts as well: Late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace. (From St. Augustine’s Confessions) May Jesus call, shout, break through our deafness, dispel our blindness and breath on us with His Holy Spirit, awakening all our senses to His love. Only Jesus is our truth, our hope, our all. In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019

The Cry of our Heart!

  (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2019   April 4, 2019St. Isidore Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children, as a mother who knows her children, I know that you are crying out for my Son. I know that you are crying out for truth, for peace, for that which is pure and not deceptive…” (April 2, 2019) In the first line of the April 2, 2019 message, Our Lady captures very well how many of us feel these days. She said it so simply! First, she makes it clear that she looks at each one of us with a mother’s eyes. She truly is our mother, because Jesus gave us to her as she stood under the Cross. Her dying Son asked her to open wide her heart to the human race, and to take us all into her heart as her children. And she said “yes”. As she always had her whole life, she said “yes”. So as our Mother, Our Lady beholds each one of us, and knows exactly what our hearts are crying out for. She beholds each one of us and sees that many of us are so very poor in these ways: Many of us are poor in truth. We have been schooled poorly. We may know all about technology, business, psychology, politics, medicine, mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, and on and on. We may know all of that, but we have been deprived on the one thing necessary, Truth. Truth is the knowledge of God. God created us. He is the author of all things. He alone can show us who we are and why we exist. That knowledge leads to the truth about everything else. But it is a struggle to find truth in our secular age. As Pilot said, “What is truth?” Many of us are poor in peace. Peace is the fruit of knowing the truth. When we know that we are creatures and we have a good God who loves us, then we can have peace within because we can surrender to that God completely and live in Him, in His peace. But when God is questioned, denied or just ignored, peace is lost. Many of us are poor in purity. Purity is the living out of our destiny according to God’s plan for us, in freedom and self-gift. We are not made for ourselves alone. We are made to be a gift to God and to one another. Purity makes that gift possible. Without God, purity makes little sense. All of us are inundated with deception. Everywhere we turn, we behold lies. Lies about our origin. Lies about our future. Lies about what is good. Lies about what is not good. Virtue run amok, as Chesterton said. Lies about our bodies, our minds and our spirits. This is the enemy’s work. He lies to us about our true identity. He wants to divide us from God and without God there is no light. Everything becomes shadows and darkness. Our Lady sees the battle we are in. She sees her children wandering in a wasteland of darkness and blindness. She has come to bring us light. She has come to answer that cry that comes from deep in our hearts, “Where is God?” She has come to bring us to Him. Thank you, dearest Mother, for being our Mother and not leaving us alone in this dark moment in human history. Thank you for hearing the cry of our hearts!! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan © Mary TV 2019

April 2, 2019 – Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje

“Dear children, as a mother who knows her children, I know that you are crying out for my Son. I know that you are crying out for truth, for peace, for that which is pure and not deceptive. That is why I, as a mother, through the love of God, am addressing you and calling you that, by prayer and a pure and open heart within yourselves, you may come to know my Son – His love, His merciful heart. “My Son saw beauty in all things. He seeks the good in all souls-even that which is little and hidden-so as to forgive evil. Therefore, my children, apostles of my love, I am calling you to adore Him, to ceaselessly give Him thanks, and to be worthy. Because He has spoken to you divine words, the words of God, the words which are for all and forever. “Therefore, my children, live joy, radiance, unity and mutual love. This is what you need in today’s world. In this way you will be apostles of my love. In this way you will witness my Son in the right way. Thank you”    

The April 2, 2019 Message

  (c)Mary TV/ Anthony Zubac 2019 April 2, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! Here is the April 2, 2019 Message received by Mirjana Soldo: “Dear children, as a mother who knows her children, I know that you are crying out for my Son. I know that you are crying out for truth, for peace, for that which is pure and not deceptive. That is why I, as a mother, through the love of God, am addressing you and calling you that, by prayer and a pure and open heart within yourselves, you may come to know my Son – His love, His merciful heart. “My Son saw beauty in all things. He seeks the good in all souls-even that which is little and hidden-so as to forgive evil. Therefore, my children, apostles of my love, I am calling you to adore Him, to ceaselessly give Him thanks, and to be worthy. Because He has spoken to you divine words, the words of God, the words which are for all and forever. “Therefore, my children, live joy, radiance, unity and mutual love. This is what you need in today’s world. In this way you will be apostles of my love. In this way you will witness my Son in the right way. Thank you” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy NolanMary TV

What can I do to get closer to Jesus?

  (c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017 What can I do to get closer to Jesus? April 1, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! We are mid-way through Lent, and many of us may be flagging in our zeal! Our Lenten practices can become tedious. I must admit I am not doing that well with mine. So, Denis suggested I share with you one of his favorite messages from Our Lady of Medjugorje. It is a message given through Ivan, on the mountain to his prayer group several years ago (December 28, 2012): “Dear children, also today I desire to call you to joy. Anew I call you to joy!  I call you at the same time to responsibility. Dear children, except my messages responsibly and live my messages, because in the living of my messages I desire to lead you to my Son. “All of these years that I have been together with you my finger has been directed toward the Son, towards Jesus.  I have a desire to lead all of you to Him.  Therefore, these days that are upcoming, may your question also be – and I pose this question to you – ‘What can I do that my heart may be closer to Jesus?’  May this question lead you.  Say to yourselves, ‘What must I leave behind?  What must I reject that my heart may be closer to Jesus?’   “Pray dear children, and I will pray for all of you that your answer in your hearts may be, ‘Yes, I desire to be closer to Jesus!’  Thank you, dear children, for having responded to my call.” (December 28, 2012 – To Ivan on Apparition Hill) For the next three weeks, let’s do as Our Lady says, every day!! “What can I do that my heart may be closer to Jesus? What must I leave behind? What must I reject that my heart may be closer to Jesus?” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019 PS. Mirjana receives Our Lady tomorrow, April 2.  Mary TV will post the video of her encounter as soon as possible.  Thank you, dearest Mother, for your coming to Medjugorje! PPS. We began a Matching Grant Campaign two weeks ago, and I just want to share that you are doing well!! Donations are coming in! Keep up your prayers and donations so that we can reach our goal of $85,000!! You can donate on our donation page: DONATE

God is only peace!

  (c)Mary TV 2013 God is only peace! March 29, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “…Wars are reigning in hearts and nations, because you do not have peace and you do not see, little children, a brother in your neighbor…” (March 25, 2019) Over the years Our Lady has been very persistent with us about one thing, and that is the need for peace in our hearts. She sees the direct correlation between our own personal lack of peace and the growth of war and hatred in the world. Peace must begin in our hearts first. It will not come to us from outside. Peace comes from within, as we turn to the Lord for mercy, and forgive our neighbors. That is how peace comes to the world, one person at a time. Here are five messages in which Our Lady has called for peace in our hearts. Let’s use them today as our meditation before each decade of the rosary we pray. If we ask, the Lord will help us to understand Our Lady’s words and put them into our lives. We want to allow our hearts to be filled with peace. She can help us!!   February 25, 1991 “Dear children! Today, I invite you to decide for God, because distance from God is the fruit of the lack of peace in your hearts. God is only peace. Therefore, approach Him through your personal prayer and then live peace in your hearts and in this way, peace will flow from your hearts like a river into the whole world. Do not talk about peace but make peace. I am blessing each of you and each good decision of yours. Thank you for having responded to my call.” January 25, 1996 “Dear Children! Today I invite you to decide for peace. Pray that God give you the true peace. Live peace in your hearts and you will understand, dear children, that peace is the gift of God. Dear children, without love you cannot live peace. The fruit of peace is love and the fruit of love is forgiveness. I am with you and I invite all of you, little children, that before all else forgive in the family and then you will be able to forgive others. Thank you for having responded to my call.” June 25, 2015 “Dear children! Also today the Most High gives me the grace to be able to love you and to call you to conversion. Little children, may God be your tomorrow and not war and lack of peace; not sorrow but joy and peace must begin to reign in the heart of every person – but without God you will never find peace. Therefore, little children, return to God and to prayer so that your heart may sing with joy. I am with you and I love you with immeasurable love. Thank you for having responded to my call.” December 25, 2016 “Dear children! With great joy, today I am carrying my Son Jesus to you, for Him to give you His peace. Open your hearts, little children, and be joyful that you can receive it. Heaven is with you and is fighting for peace in your hearts, in the families and in the world; and you, little children, help with your prayers for it to be so. I bless you with my Son Jesus and call you not to lose hope; and for your gaze and heart to always be directed towards Heaven and eternity. In this way, you will be open to God and to His plans. Thank you for having responded to my call.” December 25, 2016 “Dear children! Today, on this day of grace, in a special way, I am calling you to pray for peace. Children, I came here as the Queen of Peace and how many times have I called you to pray for peace. But, children, your hearts are restless. Sin is preventing you from opening yourselves completely to grace and peace which God desires to give you. To live peace, my children, is to first have peace in your hearts and to be surrendered completely to God and to His will. Do not seek peace and joy in the things of this world, because this is all passing. Long for true mercy and peace which come only from God; and only in this way will your hearts be filled with true joy; and only in this way will you be able to become witnesses of peace in this peaceless world. I am your mother and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (Jakov) In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2019 PS. We began a Matching Grant Campaign two weeks ago, and I just want to share that you are doing well!! Donations are coming in! Keep up your prayers and donations so that we can reach our goal of $85,000!! You can donate on our donation page: DONATE

In nature, seek God who created you…

  (c)Mary TV 2013 March 28, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! “In nature seek God who created you, because nature speaks and fights for life and not for death….” (March 25, 2019) Our Lady sees nature as a wonderful window into the heart of God. She loves nature. In our technological world, nature can seem rather remote and inexplicable. Machines are far more dependable and useful, we think. We can be insensitive to the wonders of nature, and what they speak to us. But Our Lady regularly calls us back to a contemplative encounter with nature. She wants us to learn from creation about the God who made us. Nature fights for life. This is a marvelous insight. Nature fights for life. Plants don’t give up. Animals don’t give up. They keep trying to grow, trying to propagate, trying to live. We are part of that hopeful urge to live. But sin has warped us, and death is now too often the choice we make. On Thursdays, Our Lady has asked us to prayerfully read Matthew 6: 24-34. Jesus tells us to learn from nature about God, the Creator, and what it means to be His creatures in this scripture passage as well. To learn how to live! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?’ or `What shall we drink?’ or `What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. “Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Mt 6: 24-34)     “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all…” Jesus uses nature to show us that we are in God’s hands for everything. The Father is watching over us at all times. He who made the earth and all that is in it, will provide for us as well, if we trust in Him. This trust will protect us from all kinds of sins like greed, envy, lust, gluttony, anger, sloth and pride! When we trust God, we can stop being anxious and worried and self-centered! These sins and weaknesses come from our hearts when we think that we have to do everything for ourselves. That we are all alone, left to our own wiles. Isolated from God, we fight for our life, but in the wrong ways. We fight to take life from others and make ourselves bigger. Trust in God can heal all those impulses. If we trust the Father to care for us, we will stop harming others in our quest to take care of our own needs. So, yes, we can learn from nature. The birds and the lilies show us the providence of the Father. They show us that we are not alone. We have a Father God who is with us to provide for us and love us. With God, we can be free to live! In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019 PS. We began a Matching Grant Campaign two weeks ago, and I just want to share that you are doing well!! Donations are coming in! Keep up your prayers and donations so that we can reach our goal of $85,000!! You can donate on our donation page: DONATE

Dear children, this is a time of grace!

  (c)Mary TV March 27, 2019 Dear Family of Mary! Our Lady gave us a challenging message on her feast day! She wants us to take her words to heart and have an inner conversation about them, a conversation with ourselves. This could be similar to an examination of conscience. Though I am sure you have your own questions to ask, allow me to suggest some questions we might pray about in response to the March 25, 2019 message: “Dear children! This is a time of grace.” Do I really believe this is a time of grace?Lent is a time of grace, the grace of repentance and renewal. Am I taking advantage of that grace? Or am I letting it pass me by?Our Lady’s presence in Medjugorje is a time of grace. Am I responding to her call? Am I living her program of conversion, prayer, fasting, confession, Eucharist, the rosary, good works? “As nature renews itself for a new life, you also are called to conversion. Decide for God.” Our Lady often draws our attention to nature. She tells us that God is speaking to us through nature. What do I hear Him saying? As spring comes to many of us, what does it say to me? The trees and plants that were seemingly dead are developing leaves and stems again, turning that florescent green of new life. Where in my life have I been dormant? Am I coming back to life? How can I decide for God and come back to life? “Little children, you are empty and do not have joy, because you do not have God. Therefore, pray until prayer becomes your life.” Our Lady often tells us we are empty and without joy. How does she know that!! Probably because her life in heaven is beyond all earthly happiness,and so she sees the difference. We don’t have God often. Distracted and lost, we need to find God again. This can happen to us on a daily basis. How can we find God again? Pray, pray, pray! “In nature seek God who created you, because nature speaks and fights for life and not for death.” Look at nature and see how even in the harshest environments, life emerges. In the cracks of the old cement sidewalks, grass pushes through! Even in our old, cracked and broken hearts, barren and hard, the life of God can emerge, if we pray. He can turn our wasteland into a fruitful garden. How can I accept life and turn from death? “Wars are reigning in hearts and nations, because you do not have peace and you do not see, little children, a brother in your neighbor.” We do not see our brothers because we are often blinded by fear and unforgiveness. A heart filled with resentment and unforgiveness is a heart at war. This Lent maybe we can spend our prayer time learning to forgive, forgive everyone including ourselves. Think of how many brothers we will begin to see around us! Think of how love could return. Therefore, return to God and to prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.” (March 25, 2019) How can I return to God and prayer?  What needs to change in me to turn me towards the Lord again? Let’s return to God in prayer, taking these and many other questions to the Lord, for Him to answer. He will heal us if we ask Him. Our Lady wants us to ask for just that. Everything comes from prayer. “Dear children, this is a time of grace.” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!Cathy Nolan©Mary TV 2019  

March 25, 2019 – Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje

“Dear children! This is a time of grace. As nature renews itself for a new life, you also are called to conversion. Decide for God. Little children, you are empty and do not have joy, because you do not have God. Therefore, pray until prayer becomes your life. In nature seek God who created you, because nature speaks and fights for life and not for death. Wars are reigning in hearts and nations, because you do not have peace and you do not see, little children, a brother in your neighbor. Therefore, return to God and to prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.”